User Reviews (21 - 31 of 79)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Well thought out game, but a bit boring

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: February 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this on the high reviews that people gave for this game. Because of that, I had high expectations for it. The game offers 5 cases (I'm in the middle of the third) and harkens back to the age of text RPG adventures of the olden days.

Pros:
The game is well thought out. You are given chances to find clues and solve cases. So you are a mix between a PI and a lawyer. You interview the witnesses (by choosing topics of discussion) to find info and clues, once done, you go into trial phase where you present clues to the appropriate arguments to win the case. The dialog is well designed and funny, at times.

Cons:
The dialog moves WAY too slowly. It's frustrating to have to wait for the dialog to finish before you can move on (you can fast forward a bit on the second time you hear it). Considering that there is no recorded voices, there is NO advantage to doing it that way and extremely time consuming and frustrating (considering I can read 80% of Trauma Center's dialog in the fast forward mode).
Also, except for the recording gimmick, there is nothing that could not be done on a GBA instead, so there was no reason to put it on the DS. Frankly, anything you could do with a touchpad you were able to do it better and more easily with the buttons

Overall:
This was a well crafted game, but because of the frustrating controls, it becomes tedium. I can't say too much about replay value as I have not finished it. But from the 2.5 cases I've seen so far, I see no reason why it should be replayed

A fun concept with a few flaws

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: February 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney hearkens back to the days of my youth when the adventure game was king. While adventure games may have taken a back seat to FPS shooters and RTS strategy games since about the mid-1990s, Phoenix Wright proves there should still be a place in every gamer's library for titles with complex stories, interesting characters, and an emphasis on thoughtful problem-solving.

In Ace Attorney, players assume the titular role of Phoenix Wright, a fledgling defense attorney. Throughout five episodes, Phoenix must defend clients with the odds stacked heavily against him. The prosecution always seems to have the evidence on their side and the judge in their pocket, but if the player is attentive to the evidence in these (fairly wacky) cases, Phoenix will save the day in court. The game primarily alternates between investigating crime scenes and questioning witnesses in court, pressing them on vague statements and objecting to point out contradictions. Ace Attorney is generally fun and interesting, but it is not without flaws. The investigations are enjoyable, but as with most adventure games, they occasionally require the player to jump to rather bizarre conclusions in order to figure out what to do next. Also, the story really strains credulity at points, especially to anyone with a even a passing familiarity with the legal system. Finally, the game really should have had an option to adjust the text speed--for a game with so much reading involved, it can be quite frustrating for the game to dictate the speed at which you read all of that text. Despite these flaws, however, Phoenix Wright is definitely worth checking out on your Nintendo DS. The stories are genuinely interesting, the puzzles challenging but not overly difficult, and the writing is funny (albeit a bit juvenile). Despite a few flaws, Phoenix Wright is ultimately a satisfying adventure gaming experience.

An absolute blast!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is too much fun - it features some of the best writing in a console game ever, I was frequently laughing out loud in public spaces, and almost always entertained or giggling otherwise. Phoenix Wright spins a variety of murder mysteries and story twists that you must unravel by presenting evidence that you collected to the judge to prove that the notoriously unreliable witnesses are indeed lying. Gameplay is mostly point-and-click with the stylus, with the exception of the final case (the first 4 cases are ported from the Japanese-only Gyakutan Saiban for the GBA). The final case features video scrubbing, fingerprinting, bloodstain detection, and a much more in-depth investigation. The story suffers a little, but the gameplay is stellar.

If you're looking for something a little offbeat that is clever enough for adults to thoroughly enjoy, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is your best bet on the DS!

Law and Order, eat your heart out

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is severly underrated. Some people told me that you have to read too much. Wrong!! The reactions of the witnesses in the cross examination portions were ridiculous(there's also fun in screaming "Objection!!" at your DS like a moron). The investigation sections can get boring, and there is little replay value, but it's still a great game.

Good!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Pros:
Nice graphics
Fun game
"real life" experience "feel" to it.
The cases

Cons:
Only 5 cases

Hope this was helpful, lol but I do recommend this so go buy!
:)

Short but oh-so-sweet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I got this game for Christmas. My oh my, where have I been the last year?! this game is an awesome showcase of just what the DS can do.

You take the role of a rookie Defense attorney named Phoenix Wright. You will take on 5 unique cases and along the way will go to many beautiful places and meet many...interesting people, including your rival and friend from grade school, Miles Edgeworth, Your boss and Mentor, Mia Fey, and Mia's little sister, a spirit channelor named Maya Fey. One of the funniest aspects of this game is how Phoenix's Down-to-earth, straightforward personality clashes with the more zany of the games characters.Plot twists riddle the exciting storyline, and you are kept guessing until the final verdict.

The game is mostly (in fact, entirely) dialouge, so if you are a person who needs constant action, this game might not be for you. That being said, It doesn't mean Phoenix Wright is not an exciting game. Quite the opposite, in fact. The adrenaline in the mere atmosphere, from the music to the dialouge, will never fail to excite you.

Phoenix Wright is a thinkers game. If you are a button smasher, you will never survive in court. you must constantly think things through and think outside of the box.

one of the things I didn't like about this game was the constant shaking of the screen. It's ok at first, but after a while it can get a little...much. This is not enough to drag the game down, though.

All in all, this is one of the best games for the DS. It suffers minimal problems, and delivers it's story in an expert fashion with plenty of plot twists and interesting characters and locations. I would reccomend it to any Ds owner.

May I also say that this game has a sequel, and it's just as charming, original, and fun as the first. I would check it out too! It is called Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - Justice for All.

Gotta Love It

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My teenage son & I both got DS's this fall ... we were looking for a game we'd both like ... one I needed to think through, and one with some sense of adventure. This game does both ... and dexterity isn't an issue ... unlike most of our games.

The only drawback is I want to ask it questions, that it hasn't 'thought' of ... guess that's the problem of an analytical mind.

But all in all, I recommend it highly ...

So much fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I am addicted to this game. It is so cute and so much fun. I am a civil trial attorney, so the criminal spin is nice. Just keep in mind that if you are an attorney, you'll have to ignore the fact that criminal procedure and trial procedure in this game are nothing like they are in real life. Just go with it and you'll have fun. The dialogue is very entertaining, and the characters are really cute. I would especially recommend it for older Nintendo DS owners.

my favorite ds game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

i've gotten a lot of other games for the ds like new super mario bro castlevania tetris brain age etc and this is the first game that i actually liked a lot. some people dont like the reading but thats the whole point of the game. it actually becomes like watching anime or reading a comic book. the cases take interesting twists and the courtroom drama is so funny. you really get to know the characters and watch them develop. nothing in this game is that difficult although you might get stuck once in a while as to what evidence to present. a lot of the stuff can be figured out with trial and error but that defeats the purpose of the game. you should try your best to think before doing something in the game instead of just trying every option.

i liked how the last case made it more like a ds game but don't forget this wasn't originally made for the ds. some people say the game is too short..well there are only 5 cases (1 being a tutorial) but the last few cases are very long and one case could have up to three trials on separate days, with investigating in between. of course, having more cases would be better but as long as it doesnt compromise the quality of the other ones.

the replay value is obviously poor since you already know what happens but i still think the game is worth it and you can probably play it again after a while when you have sort of forgotten about it.

i have the 2nd game of this series, justice for all, and i look forward to playing it!

A return to classic graphic adventures!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

As others have observed, the Nintendo DS--through accident or design, although since the end result is the same, who really cares?--seems tailor-made for the sort of graphic adventures that so many of us grew up with before LucasArts decided to make its name churning out cookie-cutter Star Wars games, and Sierra decided to slowly and painfully kill off all of their most established titles. Of the games which have resurrected this well-loved and much-missed genre, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney stands out as a prime example.

The premise, in case it's not obvious enough from the title, is simple. The player takes control of a defense attorney named Phoenix Wright, still new to the job and quite green but with a passionate dedication to the law that knows no bounds. He's usually got an assistant of some sort--Maya Fey in the first few chapters, Ema Skye in the final chapter--who is overeager and has a tendency to get in the way, but can always be counted on to prove her worth in the end. The chapters themselves are divided up into phases: Investigation and Trial, which operate in more or less exactly the way they sound. During Investigation, your job is to visit the crime scene and other locations to gather clues and information, sometimes by questioning witnesses; during the Trial sequences, you must use what you've found in order to obtain a Not Guilty for your client. If all of this sounds as boring as watching the lawn grow, bear in mind that the game never takes itself too seriously and pretty much all of the dialogue is played for laughs.

To be sure, there are minor flaws, the main one being that the game has a fair number of spelling and grammatical errors. Also, although the game's text was altered from the original Japanese to set the game in Los Angeles of the near future, in places this clashes with the very obviously Japanese setting of the game, right down to the layout of the courtroom; the witness stand is directly in front of the judge, for instance, rather than to his left. (Worth noting is the fact that the characters' names were also altered as part of the localization process, and although they're completely different from the Japanese version, they still rely on wordplay and puns, just as the original names did.) Fortunately, these flaws are easy to overlook, and the game itself holds up phenomenally, full of humor and characters that you actually care about. The final case, which was developed specifically for the DS port (this game started out as a Game Boy Advance game that never saw release outside of Japan), is particularly well-done as it incorporates features that make excellent use of the DS's unique touch-screen interface (dusting for prints) and 3D graphics capabilities (rotating found objects along an axis to examine them from all angles).

There is, however, one fairly sizable flaw, which is that the game is at times somewhat frustratingly mum as to what you're supposed to do to advance the story, and I found myself once or twice just blindly guessing, or failing that, consulting the Internet for walkthroughs. For the most part, though, the game was challenging enough to stay interesting without seeming like a chore, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to playing the rest of the games in the series.

One final point of interest: Apparently, Marilyn Manson is a huge Phoenix Wright fan. Make of that what you will.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next 

Actions