The defense will not rest in the latest title of the Ace Attorney series. The Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Dual Destinies hands-on demo I tried at this year’s E3 Expo started with a case of a bomb blowing up in a courtroom. Your defendant allegedly set off the bomb, even though it was evidence for a different crime! The judge wanted to move things along because according to him there “isn’t much time in a demo after all!” It seems as though the trademark humor of the series is back, but that seems to be the only thing that didn’t get tweaked or changed.
The first big change that startled me was the complete lack of 2D art. For a game series that thrived on it to change to 3D models seems like a bad idea, but it’s actually an improvement. Character emotions seem like a much more fluid transition so rather from going from satisfied to sweating, Phoenix Wright can have a gradual plunge into the depths of despair. The change in art style also affects gameplay with the new Emotion mechanic. Characters testimonies can now be entirely fabricated and you have to look at their faces in order to determine if the witness is feeling the same emotion that they say they are. Thankfully Wright’s new assistant has a computer program that can measure someone’s emotions through the tone of their voice, adding another layer to this new feature.
The Ace Attorney series has always been about good writing and lovable characters. Both seem to be in top form, and the game looks beautiful to boot. Seeing Wright get a little older but still have that awkwardness that I’ve come to love was amazing to see play out in typical fashion. While this probably won’t bring any new players into the fold, this is exactly what fans could’ve hoped for from such an endearing series.
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Dual Destinies Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C0chA_rVtU