Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

[SecretAsianMan]

 

There's no Dual Destinies thread!

 

Oh wait, I guess there is now.

 

 

I grabbed Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies from the eShop.  I've completed the first case and I've started the investigation on the second.  It's definitely an Ace Attorney game, which is good or bad depending on how you feel about the series.  What's surprising me is how much I like the 3D in this game.  I think the game looks much better with the 3D on.  It's kind of gimmicky but the perspectives benefit from the 3D effect, especially in the court room.  I'm not really liking some of the new characters, particularly the new detective, but we'll see how that goes.  I do like the defendent for the second case though.  He cracks me up.

 

Anyone else playing it?

[tegan]

I wanna' pick this up ASAP. I really wish they made more of an effort to make the non-court sections of these games less insufferable though.

[shammack]

I wanna' pick this up ASAP. I really wish they made more of an effort to make the non-court sections of these games less insufferable though.

 

They've streamlined that stuff a bit in this one, in that the characters will explicitly tell you when you've done everything you need to do in an area and what you should be doing next. So (at least in the cases I've played so far) those parts are basically just clicking through all the text, which isn't exactly fun, per se, but at least you don't get stuck.

[SecretAsianMan]

There are also random animated cutscenes.  So far each case has started with one, but there are additional scenes that have nothing to do with the case and are mostly incidental.  Also, it's weird hearing them speak.  I didn't play the demo for AA:DD or Professor Layton vs Pheonix Wright so it's still weird to me to hear things other than "Objection!" or "Take that!".

 

Playing another Ace Attorney game makes me want my Steel Samurai ringtone back.

[Roderick]

Yeeeeeeeees I've been playing this for a few days. It's really fun to be back, the animations are beautiful (I play with 3D off, since the (admittedly nice) effect of depth in the background is less important than super crisp details on the characters), and yet again great music.

 

But I really dislike the animated cutscenes. Everything about them is loathsome. The great characters of the series there transform into stereotypical anime oafs; stumbling over things, gasping aloud... blarg. And the voices don't fit either, they've got these horrible all-Americaine voices - and no option for the Japanese dub. I'd have greatly preferred the game without them.

[TheLastBaron]

I still haven't gotten around to playing Apollo Justice even though I liked the first 3 AA games a lot.  Are there any other games in the series that have been released in the West?  There was a Miles Edgeworth game right?

[Roderick]

Yes, the first Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth was released in the West, the second wasn't due to disappointing sales (and heavy piracy). It's a fun game, but nowhere near as brilliant as the original series. Get it if you have an immense craving for all things AA, otherwise, stick to the main games.

Apollo Justice is a good game. It has aged well and in retrospect I like it more and more. Fun cases.

[SecretAsianMan]

I liked Apollo Justice.  I thought the perceive system was pretty good compared to the other ways of getting information out of people.  It also has some of my favorite characters in the series.  I like Trucy the most out of all the assistants (although I haven't interacted with Athena very much yet).  The animation where she bounces on her feet is adorable, as well as the young Trucy deploying Mr. Hat.  She's in DD as well but I don't know how large of a role she plays.

[Roderick]

Lovin' Apollo's new look in DD, by the way. I already have a good cosplay of him, let's see if I can update it with a blue uniform and bandages.

[SecretAsianMan]

I like his new look too, but I'll be extremely dissapointed if I don't get a good reason for that jacket's existance later in the game.

[tegan]

I picked this up today! I'm really digging the new 3D models, but the voice acting is a little odd. Phoenix is played by Teddie's VA from the Persona 4 remake...

[Merus]

I have heard that there's a certain amount of transphobia in the third case. I'm not surprised, after all it is the third case of an Ace Attorney game and it is Japan, but it's been a dealbreaker for some of my Twitter friends.

[SecretAsianMan]

I've finished the second case and started the third.  So far I haven't found anything like that yet but it's still early.

 

In the mean time, I did encounter a reference to Metal Gear Solid.  Athena runs into a cardboard box and freaks out that there's someone or something inside, only for Apollo to respond "Don't let it be a SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!"  It was so dumb I couldn't help but laugh.

[SecretAsianMan]

I have heard that there's a certain amount of transphobia in the third case. I'm not surprised, after all it is the third case of an Ace Attorney game and it is Japan, but it's been a dealbreaker for some of my Twitter friends.

 

I reached the point I think you're referring to.  I wouldn't necessarily say it's transphobic per say, but the scene is...awkward.  I think calling it transphobic is maybe going a bit far because the character is never presented nor addressed as trans, but it most certainly plays up a lot of gender stereotypes to an ABSURD degree.  

[tegan]

I notice that there's a recurring theme present in each case of "the Dark Age of the Law" and falsified information in court. I like that there's an overarching theme tying everything together like that, and it's a nice reminder that Ace Attorney was originally made as a criticism of the Japanese legal system.

 

I like all the little gameplay tweaks, too. Being able to save at any point with no restrictions, only being able to examine areas when it's relevant, getting a checklist and a textlog... They're all small improvements that really add a lot to the game. I'm also really digging the character animations and 3D models. They capture the feel of the original spritework much better than most games ever come close to.

[SecretAsianMan]

I really love the textlog.  I'm always end up skipping dialog cause I'm trying to get through the tedious stuff quickly but sometimes I go too fast and end up missing something I think is important.

[Sno]

I'm almost positive there was always a text log.

[tegan]

I'm almost positive there was always a text log.

 

I replayed the second game earlier this year and there totally wasn't.

[SecretAsianMan]

I just finished the third case.  That had a weird ending.  Honestly that whole case was wacky, even for an Ace Attorney game.

[SecretAsianMan]

I finished the game today.  The fourth case is pretty short.  It's really just a setup for the fifth case, which was NUTS.  It's got all kinds of things like

 

the return of Pearl Fey and Miles Edgeworth (with a brief cameo by Maya), robots taking people hostage, Athena being accused of murder (twice), a trial taking place in the ruins of bombed out courtroom, and a villain who's been in plain sight the whole time.

I wasn't particularly pleased with the final conclusion though.  Seemed kind of contrived.  Well, more contrived than I would have liked anyway.

 

Also, Phoenix's phone still uses the Steel Samurai theme ringtone.  That made me happy.

[Squid Division]

Sounds like your summation in the Recently Completed thread that this would be a good one to jump into the series with?

[SecretAsianMan]

Dual Destinies has characters that were introduced in previous games, so you'll miss some of the details and a certain level of familiarity by starting with this game, but nothing of critical importance.  You get a general summary of what you need to know about everyone so that you can get by without much confusion.  As far as the games go, I still think Apollo Justice is the best, but Dual Destinies isn't a terrible place to start.

[tegan]

I finished it! I'm pretty satisfied. A lot of the frustrations of the series really got ironed out in this installment.

 

Now to wait until Thursday for the first DLC case!

[lobotomy42]

In anticipation of this game, I have started playing Apollo Justice which I borrowed from a friend two years ago and then never played.

[SecretAsianMan]

The DLC for Dual Destinies is out today.  Did I mention that the defendent is an orca?