Cognition Dissemination: We Still Want to Be the Great Ace Attorney

Last year’s Japanese release of The Great Ace Attorney, known as Dai Gyakuten Saiban in Japan, has yet to be localized. At this point, it will likely stay that way.

It was the start of a new sub-series by franchise creator Shu Takumi, with starts off in Japan during the Taisho era in the 1910s. Without delving into spoilers, the setting subsequently shifts to Victorian England, where the classic equivalent to Phoenix Wright and his partner meet up with Sherlock Holmes and a little girl (aka “moe”) interpretation of Watson. The digital-only release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies seemingly did well enough for Capcom to continue releasing each title outside Japan. While it was disappointing to lose physical copies of them, especially on hardware without an account system like 3DS, at least they were still coming. The game also eventually released on iOS.

Sadly, Dual Destinies selling to expectations only led to a sequel like the recently released Spirit of Justice being guaranteed. Ace Attorney producer Motohide Eshiro confirmed that Capcom has no plans to localize The Great Ace Attorney due to “circumstances,” in a statement that couldn’t have been vaguer. This is sadly the second AA game that has skipped localization, following Ace Attorney Investigations 2 on DS, though it’s happening under different (yet similarly vague) “circumstances” this time around. Both are ostensibly risks Capcom didn’t want to take, but there’s reason to suspect something else might have happened here.

One issue is with the setting. It would have been a little tough for Capcom to localize early 20th century Japan into some place in America, given the number of traditional Japanese fashions and aesthetics. It feels like the development team wanted to give the localization team a challenge to try and repurpose that setting, which perhaps caused them to throw up their hands in surrender. But it wouldn’t have been an impossible task, as calling it “Japantown USA” (a real town) or something equivalent to that could have fit in with the series’ over-the-top and often silly universe. They also wouldn’t have needed to localize the European aspect.

However, there is one matter that might be an issue: Sherlock Holmes himself. He’s frequently referred to as a public domain character, which explains why he can be used in numerous other games and shows released or airing simultaneously, but that’s not quite true. Those rights depend on which territory he’s being used in, and Capcom could have run into trouble here. In the UK, copyrights only extend 70 years after the author’s death. Since Holmes’ creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in 1930, the characters he created have been free to use there. But copyrights extend 95 years in America, so we’ll have to wait until 2025 before that goes up here. It’s possible this could be complicating the localization process.

It’s also possible that it’s simply a combination of the above, and Capcom doesn’t feel it’s worth the effort. History has also shown that games with classic Japanese settings aren’t high sellers in western territories, something this company learned from the Onimusha series.

I would have surmised that the game’s underwhelming sales in Japan (see point “a” under point “3”) compared to Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice also helped finalize their decision to leave it in Japan. That some who’ve played it claim it feels unfinished compared to other AA games didn’t help. But those points went out the window when Capcom confirmed The Great Ace Attorney 2 on the last day of Tokyo Game Show. Interestingly, no details or gameplay footage were provided alongside the announcement, including which console it will be coming to. Unsurprisingly, plenty are expecting it to be an NX title, which they can’t confirm when Nintendo has yet to reveal the system. If that’s the case, we should find out soon.

This also led to further upset among those who originally wanted to play the first title, as there’s the potential that we could lose out on a whole AA sub-series now. There’s no telling whether Spirit of Justice is selling well, but good sales of that title wouldn’t change their minds. If the Sherlock Holmes debacle isn’t the “circumstance” holding them back, the best hope for it is whether it’s ported to another platform, like NX or mobile. I wish I could be more optimistic about its localization chances, but Capcom provides little reason to.

I don’t often like to post about games most English-speakers may not be able to play, since I don’t like setting people up for disappointment. But I made an exception for this one, because I’d still like to see it. If there are no rights issues, hopefully Capcom reconsiders and brings this one over — for 3DS or another platform. But don’t expect it.

P.S. Of course, there’s always hope for a fan translation, despite how arduous a task it would be.