Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth – A Prosecutor’s Work is Never Done

When it was announced in early 2009 that the next Ace Attorney game would be featuring Miles Edgeworth it didn’t come as a complete surprise to me. Edgeworth is certainly popular enough to star in his own spin-off game. The real surprise came when Capcom declared the switch from a first-person view to a third-person view and a game entirely focused on investigating. The courtroom drama is essentially the heart of the Ace Attorney series and I had my initial doubts about the change. Still, the idea of playing a game from the opposite side as Phoenix Wright’s main rival was too intriguing to pass up. While a slow start and the lack of a courtroom setting sucked many compelling elements out of Investigation’s early story I eventually found the game to be a worthy entry in the series.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth takes place between Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Many of the game’s events occur after the last case of the third game and before the tragic events of the forth game. Miles Edgeworth has just returned from one of his frequent trips abroad and discovers a murder has taken place in his office. Before he can ask questions the prosecutor is confronted by a gunman hidden in the shadows. The gunman says little before shooting a nearby portrait and making his escape. Hearing the noise Detective Gumshoe and other officers immediately rush to Edgeworth’s aid. Unharmed but shaken, the cravat sporting prosecutor vows to examine the entire crime scene. He and Gumshoe discover the identity of the murder victim and they eventually bring his killer to justice. The murder in his office was just a glimpse into the seedy underbelly of a larger international crime conspiracy. Uncovering the conspiracy will leave behind more victims and will ultimately cause Edgeworth to question the effectiveness of the law at times.

Like all Ace Attorney games Investigations overall plot comes together at the end. Unlike the spectacular plot twists of the first four games in the series AAI is by far a more realistic game. The methods of murder and the motivations are more believable this time around (as believable as an Ace Attorney game can be anyway). The move to increased realism means much of the plot is predictable, at least for the first few cases of the game. Combined with the overall ease in difficulty the plot of Investigations occasionally feels like a step backward when compared to the rest of the series. Fortunately, when it becomes apparent that much of AAI’s plot is interconnected the story really hits its stride.

Good characters are vital to the Ace Attorney games and for the most part Investigations delivers. Kay Faraday and Shi-Long Lang are two interesting new key characters. Kay, a self-proclaimed legendary thief literally steals the role of assistant from Gumshoe. In other words her role is similar to that of Maya Fey and Trucy from previous games. Her bubbly attitude contrasts nicely with the overly calm Edgeworth and her interactions with him give the game a much needed shot of humor. Prior to her arrival much of the game’s humor is quite dry. It may seem odd that a self-proclaimed thief would want to team up with a prosecutor but it’s no more outrageous than spirit mediums and magicians who roll with defense attorneys.

Shi-Long Lang on the other hand serves as Edgeworth’s rival. The international crime investigator frequently makes odd but amusing wolf analogies, has 99 officers working directly under him, and absolutely hates prosecutors. As the alpha officer on many international investigations Lang has no problem with chasing Edgeworth away– much to the prosecutor’s chagrin. And as if to please fans who felt cheated by their near absence in Apollo Justice many of the original characters are trotted out from the first three games. The most notable returning character would be Franziska von Karma whose vital role in Investigations almost rivals Egdeworth’s in importance.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth can be considered an incremental upgrade in the Ace Attorney gameplay formula. The switch from a first person perspective to a third person perspective is certainly a step in the right direction for the Ace Attorney series but it is hardly evolutionary. The ability to control Edgeworth as a sprite makes crime scene navigation and exploration much easier than in previous games. The days of navigating various screens to get from location to location are gone in favor of a single expanded location. AAI has some pretty interesting crime scene locations including an airplane, an amusement park, and even the famous courthouse.

The game itself is split into two major sections consisting of investigation and debates. The investigation works much like it does in previous Ace Attorney games but with one key exception, Logic. Edgeworth utilizes Logic (i.e. common sense) to help move a mystery along in order to reveal the truth. Logic is the act of putting together several bits of information Edgeworth has noted about a crime scene to come to a conclusion. For example if a victim has been shot and an exit wound is present but there is virtually no blood around the crime scene the savvy prosecutor can piece the clues together. From there he will that conclude the murder may have happened elsewhere. Using logic is pretty straight forward and is a great tool for figuring out what to do next during an investigation. The logic system makes exploring a crime scene more interesting than in previous Ace Attorney games. But for all of the improvements made in crime scene investigation the lack of a courtroom setting really robs this entry of the series’ signature punch.

The second half of the game’s segments consists of various debates between Edgeworth and other characters. Debating is the replacement to courtroom cross-examination, unfortunately debates often fall short of the excitement of cross-examination. The mechanics are nearly the same but without the courtroom setting the stakes feel so much lower. As usual the wrong people are accused of a crime they didn’t commit but the frequency and faulty reasoning makes taking apart an argument more of a chore than a pleasure at times. (Amazingly, no one ever invokes their right to silence in this game.) Especially when you already know who the criminal is, via your own deductive reasoning or the game literally pointing it out for you. Actually exposing the flaws in a testimony is all too easy and the exciting plot twists don’t occur until late in the ga
me.

Ace Attorney Investigations really shines when it comes to visuals and music. The game’s graphics are nearly on par with Apollo Justice, the only exception being a lack of full motion video. However, pulling back the camera allows locations to be viewed in greater detail. Vivid character sprites pop nicely on detailed backgrounds, giving you a feel of the hustle and bustle of various crime scene locations. And like any Ace Attorney game music is a key element and it does not disappoint in the least. Noriyuki Iwadare returns to help compose the music along with Yasuko Yamada. Previously, Iwadare composed the music for Trials and Tribulations and the orchestrated Ace Attorney album. Many of the new character themes fit in perfectly with the Ace Attorney universe, while fans will instantly recognize powerful remixes from the three Phoenix Wright games. For example, Investigation’s version of “Tell the Truth” takes a fairly good song and remixes it to a spectacular piano theme. The soundtrack is easily one of best aspects of AAI.

I want to make it clear that by the end of the game I really liked Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. The game’s strong finish nearly made me forget the really slow start. The new gameplay mechanics and third person perspective gives the series a much needed upgrade, which I hope will be included in future titles. The visuals and music are some of the best in the Ace Attorney series and will please just about any fan. Slow start or not, AAI is a game that will certainly please fans of Miles Edgeworth and hold over fans waiting for a proper Apollo Justice sequel.