Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 49
 A worthy follow up to a unique game January 25, 2007
N. Durham (Philadelphia, PA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Last year's surprise hit on the DS, Capcom's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney provided a unique gaming experience that utilized many of the DS' equally unique features. This sequel, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All, is pretty much more of the same game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you played the first Phoenix Wright game at any length, then you already know what to expect with Justice For All: engaging characters and a well-weaved storyline involving seperate cases that provide for an entertaining search for truth and justice. Besides Phoenix, there are many returning characters and concepts in this second installment, including a big twist in the game's final twist that is worth the price of admission alone. The gameplay itself is still rewarding and somewhat addictive, but there are a few jarring negatives that stop this sequel from living up to the standards set by the original game. First off, many of the great touch screen features that we saw in the final case of the last game aren't here at all, not to mention that there are no new features of the DS' capabilities either. Also worth noting is that while the first game had moments of rearing it's linear head, Justice For All has more linear moments than one could imagine. Too often must something be done in a case to trigger more events, which in itself is annoying. Besides all the negatives, the game still looks great with crisply drawn animations and wonderful music and sound effects, keeping the first game's top notch presentation intact. All in all, Justice For All isn't a bad game one bit, and in fact it's one of the better third party DS titles to come out in the past few months, but if you've never played the original, you should check that out first before giving Justice For All a final verdict.
Like the original, only bigger. August 3, 2007
Das Book (MD, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
You'll notice, however, that I didn't say "better." (In fact, unlike its predecessor, this game only has four chapters; there's no DS-specific chapter at the end, which disappointed me.)
Don't get me wrong, this game is still a lot of fun. All of the things that made the original as great as it was are still around: Plenty of humor, silly pun-filled character names, engrossing plotlines. Many of the characters from the original game are back, along with some new faces; and while I can't say I was thrilled to see Wendy Oldbag again--I know she's supposed to be itrritating, but jeez, does she have to be THAT irritating?--Maya's cousin, Pearl, is a charming if somewhat cloying addition to the cast.
Unfortunately, most of the previous game's biggest drawbacks are not only still present in the sequel, they're actually even worse this time around, which is where the "bigger" part comes in. Spelling and grammar mistakes abound, for instance; and while this probably won't be a deal-breaker for most gamers, for someone like me who majored in English, it's fairly annoying. The puzzles are quite a bit more obtuse than in the last game, leading to even more aimless scattershot attempts at solving them. ("Okay, let's try this. Dang, that didn't work. Okay, let's try this. Cripes, that didn't work either. Okay, what about... ah to heck with it, I'll just check GameFAQS.") Even the locale is less believable, the attempts to cover up the game's Japanese roots more transparent, particularly in chapter 2. The big innovation in this game is something called a Psych-Lock; the way it works is, occasionally you'll meet a character who knows something but, for one reason or another, doesn't want to tell you, and you have to present evidence to get them to spill it. The first couple of times, it's entertaining; as the game wears on, though, the novelty wears off REAL fast as the Psych-Locks become increasingly more difficult to unlock. Somehow, with one chapter fewer than before, this game manages to feel just as long, and that's not necessarily a compliment.
You'll notice, however, that I still gave Phoenix Wright II a 4-star rating. For all of its flaws, it's still a fun and diverting game; it's not for everyone, obviously, but as I said in my review of the original Phoenix Wright, anyone who's still smarting at the sudden and inexplicable murder of the graphic adventure game genre in the late 90's will find a much-needed breath of fresh air in the Phoenix Wright series.
More of the same... January 30, 2007
Jason C. Ditz (Saginaw, MI United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you didn't like the original Phoenix Wright, look no further as this game is not for you. JFA is basically just four more cases using the same interface, same concept, and largely the same characters.
Well worth its purchase price if you loved the original as much as I did, my only complaint would be that there are a lot of ways to expand on this concept and the developers seemed content to just rest on their laurels. Also, the game feels fairly short, with only four cases (And the first is a short tutorial case that's a real snoozer if you played the original).
A lot of the same complaints are still there, the game is very linear and the objection system is sometimes a little quirky (perfectly reasonable objections can cost you life points if the game can't figure out what you mean).
The criminal justice system in the Turnabout universe is still an absolute travesty with corrupt prosecutors doctoring evidence, coaxing fake testimony, and judges acknowledging your client's innocence and still convicting them moments later when you make a procedural error. Somehow they've managed to take this absurd situation and make one of the best franchises on the DS out of it... but it doesn't feel nearly so fresh this time around. Still, the developing character relationships are interesting, and the introduction of Franziska Von Karma (daughter of the main villain in the original game) as the new up-and-coming prosecutor was a nice touch.
Sometimes, though, I think that another game set in what is ultimately such a dystopian universe might benefit from being a little less light-hearted and a little more grim about the situation. Phoenix and his kawaii psychic sidekicks against whip-wielding teenage prosecutors and bishonen prosecutors who wear all pink are all well and good, but a more stark interpretation of a system that is doubtlessly railroading countless citizens might make for a nice change of pace "sidestory" game.
Who knows, with the Ace Attorney games becoming an established franchise in both hemispheres, perhaps such a game will appear someday. In the meantime though, Justice For All proves if nothing else that the original was no fluke and that even a somewhat half-baked sequel that offered no significant improvements on the original can stand on its own two feet and be one of the best DS titles out there.
A Good Seqeul May 6, 2007
Tony Tsang (BROOKLYN, NY)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you enjoyed Phoenix Wright's first appearance, then Justice For All is no different. I found the cases easier than the first time around (quite possible because I was so deep into the mindset as a "lawyer" :p) but the whole story was interesting and made me want to finish it every time I opened it up.
The two new key features are the use of Psyche-Locks, which requires evidence to find the truth from a person, and the use of profiles of people as evidence.
Though it is text heavy, which may drag at some point, the pros far outweigh this one con. It's fun, captivative and will make you want more in the end.
 Almost but not quite. October 31, 2007
Rancor
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
First off, if you liked the first one you can add another star to my rating.
Like the first one it has a good balance of detective work and presenting all the evidence in the court to make your point. The game started off great with the good character art and each story (case) having a semi-depth to it. Though there are only four cases in the game, each cases are pretty long.
My biggest problem of this game was that there are situations that you know what's going on or what happened but the game doesn't let you present the evidence simply because story isn't written that way. What I'm trying to say is that the story is VERY linear. Sometime I needed to press on the 3rd testimony and then press on the 1st testimony to make the suspect talk. Another problem that relates to this is that some points or logic isn't realistic and doesn't make sense at times. By the time I reached the last case it was pretty much the same as the first three cases but only longer and the only motivation I had to finish the game was because "I came this far so might as well tough it out."
It was an interesting game and Pearl was adorable, however I do not want to touch another Phoenix Wright for at least 5 years.
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