![]() She’s able to read the emotions of witnesses, and through her ability is able to see whether a witness’ testimony match their emotional state. Newcomer, Athena Cykes is armed with a little robot called Widget that augments her impressive skills in analytical psychology. have secret weapons to defend themselves or at least to carve through the tricky witness testimonies, in their pursuit for the truth. It’s truly a battlefield and one where the prosecution even throws in a few personal jabs at Phoenix and his gang. It’s where the defence and the prosecution battle it out through cross-examinations – while objections spew forth, murmurings litter the gallery and a bearded judge bangs his gavel. The courtroom is really where all the action is. There is linearity to the process that I wish could have been avoided, but on the other hand, there’s nothing worse than being forced to try to find a particular piece of “smoking gun” evidence. I would like to point out though that the “investigative phase” has been streamlined (since Apollo Justice), and not necessarily for the better. Once you’ve searched through all the areas and spoken to all the witnesses, you proceed to the courtroom with a notebook filled with juicy material. The investigative sections are reminiscent of old-school adventure games where you have to point-and-click to find evidence in a crime scene for your court case. Even though, Dual Destinies features occasional and beautiful anime cut-scenes with audio, you’re still required to read the transcripts, discover contradictions and select the appropriate responses. ![]() The best way to describe Ace Attorney is that it’s essentially an interactive novel. But the biggest shock for newcomers is the sheer amount of “text”. ![]() If you’ve never played an Ace Attorney game, a typical Ace Attorney game has the following general structure a short introductory case, to familiarise yourself with some of the basic concepts (how to present evidence or how to perform a cross-examination etc.), and then longer cases that involve courtroom and investigative sequences. It sticks close to its roots, and the mechanics behind the game has barely changed since the first few titles. There is definitely a familiarity with how Dual Destinies is presented. Together, the trio makes it their business to defend those who have been wrongfully accused of dastardly crimes. He is joined by his partner, Apollo Justice and the newest addition to their law firm, the very capable Athena Cykes. Fortunately, Phoenix has been re-admitted to the bar. As much as Phoenix Wright would love to dispute it, the disastrous events at the end of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney still haunts him, and the overall effect of his disbarment -during the last game- is undeniable. The game does a decent job at filling in the blanks on its own. You don’t have to know anything about the previous titles (or how all the various characters fit in). In other words, how far should you go to defend your client? Or how far should you go to prosecute a would-be felon? Or more vexing, how far will you go to defend a friend, a loved one or a family member? And would it be moral not to? Denny Crane.? Harvey Specter? No… call me Phoenix Wright!Īce Attorney -Dual Destinies can easily be seen as a stand-alone title. One in which truth or the “pursuit of truth” becomes a casualty in a vicious game of one-upmanship. It’s a powerful vindication of the legal profession however Dual Destinies delves deeper into the reality of the Courts. Aristotle once said that “The Law is Reason free from Passion”. After all, Dual Destinies comes with its fair share of silly (new and recurring) characters – set within an established and serialized world. It’s easy to dismiss the latest Ace Attorney game as yet another wild and wacky Phoenix Wright courtroom adventure. Spec Ops: The Line hid a deeper message under the guise of “a military shooter,” and in similar fashion Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies takes on the legal profession. It’s not as simple or as mundane as a lazy plot-twist, but rather the art of hiding deeper philosophical questions behind a façade of simplicity. It leaves you in a state of contemplation. I love it when a game (or a book or even a movie) starts off in one direction, lures you in, and while you’re confident that you have a fair understanding of its motives, it rattles your cage. I have to admit, I’m a huge fan of misdirection.
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