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Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

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Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth
Click here for the japanese cover
Japanese Name Gyakuten Kenji
Genre Visual novel
Developer Capcom
Release May 28, 2009 (Japan)
Feb. 16, 2010 (NA)[1]
Feb. 19, 2010 (Europe)[2]
Number of players 1
Media DS Game Pak
Rating CERO: B
Miles Edgeworth
A prosecutor is one who seeks the conviction of a defendant. However... I don't believe that's all we are.
—Captivate 2009 Trailer

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth[3] (逆転検事 Gyakuten Kenji, lit. Turnabout Prosecutor), codenamed "NEW Gyakuten NOT Saiban" prior to its official announcement during an orchestra, is a spin-off from the core Ace Attorney series of text adventure video games. It centers around prosecutor Miles Edgeworth and detective Dick Gumshoe, with some other characters from the main Ace Attorney series appearing in the game with varying degrees of prominence.

In March 2009, Capcom trademarked "Ace Attorney Investigations"[4] as the game's English title. Prior to this, American fans and magazines often referred to the game as "Miles Edgeworth: Perfect Prosecutor" or some variant.

The game is not Gyakuten Saiban 5; a different Gyakuten Saiban 5 was announced with no other details.

Contents

[edit] Basic information

The game takes place mostly after Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations. Unlike the core series, which Shu Takumi directed, Takeshi Yamazaki is the director for the game.

Investigations is more similar to "point-and-click" adventure games than the text-adventure style of previously released games. During investigations, characters appear as small sprites standing at a specific point in an area rather than as large sprites facing the player. Edgeworth and Gumshoe also appear as such and the player is able to move Edgeworth around. Many gameplay functions return in similar if not identical forms to those in the previous games.

The developers have stated that they have taken great care in animating the characters correctly; for example, they have tried to ensure that Edgeworth's running animations are "graceful, while exerting effort".

Like the other games in the series, the player can access gameplay features through the touchscreen or the buttons.

[edit] Development

[edit] Pre-announcement

While developing the Nintendo DS version of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, producer Motohide Eshiro had the idea of making a spin-off series based on a major character in the Ace Attorney series.[5] He ran into Takeshi Yamazaki and suggested the idea to him, and Yamazaki agreed to work on it. In his blog at the official Ace Attorney website, Eshiro described it as a reckless suggestion with an inspiring, enthusiastic, reckless response. Daily meetings occurred soon after that.

Eshiro and Yamazaki quickly established an emphasis on the crime scene, rather than on the courtroom, for the game. Some points of contention during the "endless discussions" included the meaning of searching for contradictions in a crime scene, the possibility of playing as multiple different characters, and conveying an Ace Attorney game without the signature courtroom battles.

Director Yamazaki's original plan was to create a detective game starring Akane Houzuki (Ema Skye). However, producer Eshiro saw Mitsurugi (Edgeworth) in his mind as the main character of the detective game, partly because he was seen as a more popular character according to fan feedback,[5] and it was so. The game was developed as a follow-up and spin-off to the main Gyakuten Saiban series.[6][7] Mikumo Ichijou (Kay Faraday) was the first character to be created for the game.[5]

[edit] Post-announcement

Logo for Gyakuten Kenji.

On March 5, 2008, the official Gyakuten Saiban developer's blog hinted at the revelation of the game. The blog referred to the game as a product called "NEW Gyakuten NOT Saiban" and stated that more info would be released on the product during an orchestral concert for the music of Gyakuten Saiban.[8] During the concert, the developers showcased a trailer revealing the game and a new major character, Mikumo Ichijou (Kay Faraday). An official website accompanied the revelation.

On September 17, 2008, the September issue of the magazine Famitsu revealed more information about Mikumo Ichijou as well as a new character, Makoto Yuuki. The official website was also updated over the following month.

During Tokyo Game Show 2008, more info on the game was released, including info about gameplay phases and the confirmation of Mei Karuma (Franziska von Karma) as another major character. The developers also announced that the game was about half-done at that point.[9] Visitors were able to play a demo of the first case, which featured an appearance by Mako Suzuki (Maggey Byrde).

According to a Famitsu survey of 55 companies that were present at TGS 2008, Gyakuten Kenji received the most attention of any portable game at the show.[10]

The October 2008 issue of Famitsu and the official website corroborated the information revealed at TGS 2008.

The November 2008 issue of Famitsu revealed the second case of Kenji and some relevant characters.[11]

The January 2009 issue of Famitsu revealed two new characters. B's Log published the same information and added the age of one of them.

On February 2009, the box art was revealed. The February issue of Famitsu also revealed a limited edition of the game as well as a new mode of gameplay, "crime scene reproduction". As well, the TGS 2008 demo appeared on the official website. Additionally, e-Capcom, Capcom's virtual store, announced that the game's official soundtrack would be released as a two-disc set on June 24, 2009, and began pre-orderings at a price of 3.360 yen (including taxes). Tatsuro Iwamoto, the game's designer and art director, will draw the cover art.

In March 2009, Capcom trademarked the name "Ace Attorney Investigations". In late April, an English logo for the game was leaked on Court Records in a picture taken from the event Captivate 2009. The English version of Tokyo Game Show trailer was also released soon after the event's conclusion, revealing Mikumo Ichijou's name as Kay Faraday as well as officially releasing the English logo. A release period of Winter 2009 was also revealed.

The May 2009 issue of Famitsu revealed returning characters Ema Skye, Winston Payne and Mike Meekins.[12] The game was released on the 28th of that month (though due to time zone differences it was the 27th in America when it came out).

[edit] North American coverage post-release

The English logo.

A small trailer was shown at E3, revealing "Portsman" (Makoto Yuuki) and "Jim".[13] A release date window for North America of January 2010 was also leaked by Nintendo.

Comic-Con 2009, which was held on July 23-26, 2009, featured a playable demo of the English version of Investigations as well as the official North American and PAL release dates.[1][2] The demo revealed Portsman's first name as well as "Jim's" name, as Jacques Portsman and Buddy Faith.

Nintendo Power's November 2009 issue contained an article on Investigations, revealing new English names such as Shi-Long Lang.[14]

The English name "Shih-na" was revealed for Shi-Long Lang's partner during Tokyo Game Show 2009.[15]

On Sept. 25, 2009, the official English website fully launched.

[edit] Canceled crime scenes

One crime scene was indicated on a map that looked identical to the one used in Turnabout Corner to reveal the locations of the three minor crime scenes Apollo Justice was tasked to solve. The crime scene in question was shown to be located near the spot on which the Wright Anything Agency would have sat.[16] This crime scene was cut from the game along with several other crime scenes that were shown over the course of the game's development.

[edit] Gameplay

Gameplay is divided into two distinct phases, investigation and confrontation, which interchange with each other periodically until the case being investigated is solved.

Investigations are centered around moving Edgeworth to different locations and interacting with different objects and people. This includes talking to people and examining objects. The player moves Edgeworth around by touching a directional pad on the touchscreen. Any partners that Edgeworth has follow behind him as he moves around, and Edgeworth can converse with them by touching their partner icons on the touchscreen. As in the core Ace Attorney games, the player can access an "Organizer" (the game's court record) at any time and peruse evidence and profiles collected. Investigations also features a second inventory, called "Logic", that stores important pieces of information that Edgeworth has found. Here, the player can combine two ideas to reach a conclusion; this can create a new piece of information or trigger some other event.

Certain events can also open up new modes of gameplay. For example, some areas, like crime scenes, can be examined more closely in a manner that is similar to the "Examine" function in the core Ace Attorney games. There is also another examination mode in which the player must look for a clue in an area that contradicts collected evidence.

In addition, Kay Faraday has a gadget called Nusumi, which has an appearance similar to a black cellphone, that can reconstruct the events of a crime based on information gathered so far in a case.[17]

Between investigation phases, Edgeworth engages an individual in a "Confrontation" that is similar to cross-examinations in the core Ace Attorney games.

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Characters

Returning characters are denoted by their North American names. New characters are denoted by their Japanese names or, if they have one, their English names.

[edit] Major

[edit] Minor/cameo

[edit] Timeline

This section is mostly speculation and should not be assumed to be canon!

Dick Gumshoe's age was listed as 32 in the demo of Turnabout Visitor.[22] In addition, Visitor takes place on March 14, while Farewell, My Turnabout, in which Gumshoe's age is listed as 31, takes place on March 20. This cements the year as 2019, which coincides with interviews in which Gyakuten Kenji was said to take place "around" or "after" Gyakuten Saiban 3. Nevertheless, other sources could indicate that the game takes place in 2018, as this would not be the first time the character profiles produced a timeline contradiction with characters' ages.

[edit] Limited edition

The limited edition of Gyakuten Kenji in Japan will include the following:[17]

  • A pamphlet from the spring concert
  • A few character illustrations
  • A card case
  • An orchestra "mini album" (four of the tracks plus a bonus)
  • A DVD of promotional trailers

[edit] Reception

Ace Attorney Investigations sold 172,000 units in its week of its release in Japan,[23] and 42,000 the following week.[24] In both cases, the game was the 2nd best selling DS title in Japan, trailing Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.

In June 2009, an interview with Eshiro revealed that, considering the positive fan reaction to the game, another Kenji game would probably be developed in the future.[6][7]

[edit] References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chris Faylor. Ace Attorney: Miles Edgeworth Gets Release Date. Shacknews. Retrieved on 2009-07-25.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgworth (Nintendo DS). Capcom Europe. Retrieved on 2009-07-25.
  3. ↑ Wooster. Ace Attorney Investigations. Court Records. Retrieved on 2009-04-26.
  4. ↑ Spencer. So, Capcom Is Localizing The Miles Edgeworth Spinoff. Siliconera. Retrieved on 2009-03-30.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Spencer. Origins Of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Siliconera. Retrieved on 2009-08-15.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kawasaki Masaitirou. "最初は「逆転刑事」だった？　「逆転検事」開発スタッフに聞いた開発秘話から今後の展望まで" (please translate). 4Gamer. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tuesday. "Hey...We may get another GK game!" Court Records. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
  8. ↑ Akira EX (2008-03-07). "Ace Attorney Dev Blog: Something "Exciting" in April?". GameGrep. Retrieved on 2009-01-17.
  9. ↑ Animeish editor(s). Tokyo Game Show 2008: Gyakuten Kenji/ Miles Edgeworth: Perfect Prosecutor. Animeish. Retrieved on 2008-11-01.
  10. ↑ Grifford, Kevin (2009-01-17). "Post-TGS: Capcom "Wins" The Show". 1UP. Retrieved on 2008-10-29.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Famitsu editors. "Famitsu." (Gyakuten Kenji section) 14 11 2008: 2 (p. 1). Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Famitsu editors. "Famitsu." (Gyakuten Kenji section) 5 13 2009: 190. Retrieved on 2009-5-13.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 E3 trailer
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Chris H. Miles to Go. Nintendo Power. Retrieved on 2009-09-22.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 xfactor. Ace Attorney Investigation assets (screenshots etc) @ TGS. Court Records. Retrieved on 2009-09-25.
  16. ↑ Croik. Locations in Gyakuten Kenji. Court Records. Retrieved on 2008-11-16.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Famitsu editors. "Famitsu." (Gyakuten Kenji section) 27 2 2009. Retrieved on 2009-02-27.
  18. ↑ Famitsu editors. Gyakuten Kenji's heroine is Mei Karuma?! Tokyo Game Show Special Trial 2008 holds an exhibition. Famitsu. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Famitsu editors. "Famitsu." (Gyakuten Kenji section) 16 1 2009. Retrieved on 2009-01-15.
  20. ↑ Famitsu editors. "Famitsu." (Gyakuten Kenji section) 14 11 2008: 2 (p. 2). Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  21. ↑ http://www.court-records.net/screenshot/kenji/waterpark.jpg
  22. ↑ Croik. The official Gyakuten Kenji FAQ and information thread. Court Records. Retrieved on 2008-11-16.
  23. ↑ David Jenkins. Kingdom Hearts and Ace Attorney boost Japanese chart. Games Industry.biz. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
  24. ↑ Kris Graft. Japanese Charts: Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Leads For Second Week. Gamasutra. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://aceattorney.wikia.com/wiki/Ace_Attorney_Investigations:_Miles_Edgeworth"