Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney, returns for this third in the series with five new cases where players portray Mia Fey, Wright's mentor from a past case involving Phoenix. Those who haven't played the first two games can start with this one without any confusion. Of course, some scenes will have more meaning to those playing the first two in the series. Whether new players will like Phoenix Wright depends on how they feel about interactive stories that require lots of reading.
Each story comes into two parts: The investigation and the trial. During the investigation, players examine scenes, interview characters, move to different locations, and present evidence to prove a point. The stories last for a long time giving players a chance to thoroughly learn a case and pick it apart during the trial to help your client.
The game grows tedious with all the dialogue, but players can't help but want to reach the truth and get an innocent client off the hook especially since it requires thinking to take the right actions. Object at the wrong time or present the incorrect evidence, and lose points with the judge. When the "health" meter runs out, the judge proclaims your client guilty and the game ends.
The screen shakes whenever a character turns flustered, and this gets very old after a few times. It doesn't matter if the character feels stressed, mad, aggravated or anxious — shake, shake, shake… enough, enough, enough.
Another frustration point is the constant repetition of scenes when you take the wrong step or missed one. Though you can save the game, there are times when saving won't make a difference or you can't be sure where to save the game. However, what else can the game do or else it becomes too easy? It might help to let players decide if they want to repeat questioning, present different evidence, or replay a specific section.
On the other hand, the game saves you plenty of work as it automatically enters items into evidence once they enter the story. This doesn't make the game easy at all as some evidence needs presenting at some point to gain more information as a court record before going to trial. A court record reveals more insight into evidence. You might come across an ID badge, but won't understand its significance until you present it to someone who can offer more details. The game set up makes it possible for players to focus on figuring out the meaning of the evidence and piecing together the story.
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