2017 is coming to an end. The final two days have started and everybody is looking back at what an eventful year it has been. Various top ten lists are appearing left and right and it’s time that I do the same. Today and tomorrow will have a top ten list published at 8PM about this year and the upcoming year. In any case, I’m not saying this to hide the fact that I don’t have a theme for these articles yet. So, that’s why I’m first going to get dressed and answer today’s question. So, LaterLevels, what question do you have in store for today’s collab?
You’ve been invited to a swanky New Year’s Eve party but have nothing suitable to wear! Which video game character do you call to ask if you can borrow an outfit?
While I can choose for an easy answer and say the suit of Professor Layton and go all classy, I think that would be too easy. I think the better question to ask myself is why do I want to cosplay as?
Since I personally think that only borrowing the costume of said character would be too easy. As an amateur actor, I would also like to play the role of the character I’m using the clothes from you know?
Oh, if you didn’t know, I’m an amateur actor. I have played a role in 5 plays, where I play one time a lead role. It was quite a lot of fun to do. So, whenever I can act out a role, I don’t hesitate to do so. As long as my self-confidence is there to back me up.
One character I would love to cosplay as is Niko from OneShot. For real, this is an adorable chap. While I would love to talk about him and his game, it would spoil way too much. For real, if you are into unique adventures and puzzle games, check out OneShot. You will understand why I fell in love with this game so much.
Another character I want to cosplay as is Satoshi from Corpse Party. I mean, this would be a great choice for me. Even when he isn’t wearing anything special, I would be so surprised if people recognized me from Corpse Party.
Satoshi is such a caring soul. Especially when his younger sister is involved in something. I can relate to his personality quite a lot and he is one of my favorite characters from the series. I only wish that the Corpse Party was a bit more mainstream so I would be easier recognized when I cosplayed as him.
Somebody who would be more noticeable would be either Phoenix Wright or Miles Edgeworth. To be honest, I would also enjoy cosplaying as Detective Gumshoe instead of them. I dunno why, but the cosplaying as somebody else from the series; those three clicked more with me. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, they are characters in the Ace Attorney franchise.
The biggest issue is that if I wanted to cosplay as somebody, I wouldn’t take the obvious ones. I would take somebody who isn’t easy to recognize or hasn’t a million cosplays of that character already.
Oh, I think of something fun. Hey, LaterLevels, what about I cosplay as this guy? Would you cosplay as Elaine? You may even pick which generation you like best!
For those who don’t understand what I’m getting at, Kim from LaterLevels is a really big fan of Monkey Island and the image above displays Guybrush Threepwood from that series.
But, I think I’m going to turn the question around. Who do you think would be a great cosplay or have a great outfit for me? Let me know down in the comments! Also, who do you would have their costume or cosplay at? That’s also something you can put in the comments.
In any case, thank you so much for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
Some time ago, I wrote a first impression on this game. I know it has been way too long, but I finally finished this game. So, the readers who know me; know what that means! No need to shout an objection! Is it actually good or is it bad? Keep in mind, this game isn’t officially in English. I played a fan translated English rom. If you want to play this game as well, I won’t help you finding it. Piracy is something I don’t want to promote. In any case, let’s get this trail started! And as usual, feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on the game and or the content of this article.
Objection!
Would it be wise of me to talk about the story when it’s translated by fans? I think it’s actually quite fair to do so. After all, the English players will most likely play this game using the patched rom. Like I (should have) said earlier, I won’t provide information on how to get it.
In any case, the story is written quite well. I actually enjoyed reading and experiencing it. The care and love put into the translation is mind blowing. I haven’t seen any typos as far as I can remember. (And that’s an impressive feet since the main games actually have typos in the game.)
The characters are quite memorable and they have a nice personality. Some old characters return and a few new ones are introduced. In Ace Attorney 5 – Dual Destinies, the actual character development happens mostly in the 5th and last case. But in this game, the character development happens in every case. More then in the 5th game.
Every case was fun to play through. At certain moments, it was tough to keep track of everything since the final case actually somewhat connects to the previous four. If you would play this game, either play it in one go or take notes so you can remember. Otherwise some parts of the story actually get a bit lost.
What really surprised me is that they actually replaced the Japanese voices with the English voices. The voice acting of Miles was simple to get I assume. Just from the previous Miles Edgeworth game. But for the other actors, well, congrats. You did an amazing job. The quality of the voices is also extremely well done. Almost as if they were made in a professional studio.
Gameplay wise, this game is almost the same as in the original. There is one addition, which is logic chess. This is a sort of logic battle where to try and get information out of somebody. It’s more fast paced and it’s the only thing that is timed in the game. Compare it to Phoenix Wright’s breaking of psyche locks or Apollo’s bracelet. The good thing is that it’s well used, but not overused in the game. Truth to be told, it are the most challenging parts in the game in my opinion.
A scoop of a story.
Alright, visually this game is what you would expect from an Ace Attorney game. Nicely crafted visuals. Again, thank you to the translation team to actually put in the effort to photoshop the art and make it in English. The game is nice to look at. It makes the game that more memorable.
Animation-wise, this game is one of my favorites. While I know for a fact, some things won’t be possible in the real world, the creative approach that the designers took payed off. It really makes the game pop a bit more. It also felt a bit more alive and polished.
The controls, well, if you have problems or complaints in the previous game… They will be here too. If you got used to them, you will feel right at home here. They are responsive and I have nothing to complain about. Only one minor thing and that is in the translation, some controls get explained a bit too late. But that’s only a very minor nitpick.
The music and sound effects, well, they are in my opinion, the weakest link in this game. Don’t get me wrong, it is enjoyable music. But when I’m listening to music from the series, I rarely to go the soundtrack of this game. It just doesn’t want to stick with me enough like with the previous games. The sound effects add to the atmosphere and none stood out as a sore thumb.
No creativity anymore for subtitles.
Length wise, this game hits that rare butter zone. Apart from the 5th case which was a bit too long, I have no complaints about the length.
Until now, I have been praising this game. And in the end, apart from some minor text issues with the translation like the text that sometimes not appears when you load your game or open your DS or that you can already skip most of the dialogue that you haven’t read… Those issues might all get fixed when the patch isn’t in beta anymore.
The game is a bit on the easy side if you played a lot of Ace Attorney games. Even then, I got stuck on some parts and rethink everything. I could try the “save and try out everything technique” but that’s lame. If you find things out by yourself, its way more rewarding.
Before I go to my conclusion, I think the translation team did an amazing job. I would like to thank them for the amazing translation they did. They also added their names in to the credits. Which is a really nice touch.
If you know how to patch roms and find translations online, I really recommend patching this game to English and playing it. Hopefully, Capcom never does this again with any Ace Attorney game. In any case… I think I have said everything I wanted to say about this game. So, let’s go right on to the conclusion.
Conclusion
The good:
+ The visuals are amazing just like the last games.
+ Perfect translation of this game. The care and love put into this project really shows.
+ Lovely and thrilling story with a true unexpected end.
+ ….
The bad:
– The music is a bit so-so
– Some minor bugs in the translation.
– The game didn’t come over to the west. Such a shame!
– The 5th case was a bit too long to my taste.
Final thoughts:
So, I think this patch was really well done. They replaced all the voice work, the artwork and the text into English. Not only that, they made it bit more interesting to the Western audience. Besides from some minor glitches and one freeze, I think this game is really well crafted.
While I played the beta version of the patch, I didn’t encounter any major issues that would stop me from enjoying the game. Besides the things I mentioned in the article of course.
If only, they release this to the west one day. So, I can buy this game and that I can recommend this game to my readers. It’s really worth it! As any Ace Attorney game actually.
So, I think it’s time to wrap this one up. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. And I hope to be able to welcome you in another article. But until then, game on!
It has been a while since I wrote one of these, is it not? Well, it’s time to fix that. I wanted to do something special for the 13th article of this series, but the only thing I was able to come up with is 13 tracks. I’m sorry, but that’s a bit overkill. Anyways, for the people who don’t know this series on my blog… In these articles I talk about some game music tracks and why I think they are really good. I try to always link to a sort of extended version or at least a high quality one. I have a rule where I can’t talk about more then one track of a game (series) per article. I think I might have broken my other rule of trying to always get unique tracks. If you see me do that, feel free to point it out! That way I will try to do something unique in the next article. Anyways, enough talk! Put on your headset and get ready for some, according to me, amazing game music! (And as always, feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on the music, games and/or your own favorite game music.)
I think this is one of the best tracks in the entire EU IV soundtrack. It starts off kind of calm but around the 2 minute mark, that completely changes. When I close my eyes while listing to this I imagine an epic battle, where the camera slowly pans around like in those medieval war movies.
The chanting is perfect. It adds some additional flavour to the track and it makes it that more exciting to try and win your battle.
And what I adore even more about this track is that near the end, it goes to a calm-ish vibe again. Like it wants you to take a step back (or zoom out) to look how the situation is. Maybe I’m looking way too deep into this track, but it’s the vibe I actually get from this masterpiece of game music.
If you read my previous article, then you should already know that I’m enjoying this game quite a lot. I also praised the music for being ear-candy. If I didn’t, well, then I do it now.
This is the music that plays when you fight one of the bosses. And this sounds just amazing. It really sets the mood for an epic battle. And let me tell you, the battle with that boss is tough. You won’t be able to beat it that easily. The build-up to the boss is also incredible. Making the music sound that much better.
I have to admit that once I just put my 3DS down to enjoy the music and forgot about the battle I was in for at least 5 to 7 minutes. Now, that is proof that this is good music to me.
When I was looking through my game collection for some inspiration for this list, I found this gem of a game. I got this game as a present from my aunt. I was a bit jealous of my sister, since she got the sequel, where the copy ability was present.
But did that stop me from enjoying this game? Oh hell no. The first time I finished this game was on one of those long car rides from Belgium to Austria to have a nice relaxing walking holiday in the summer. Man, I remember bringing my gameboy into the mountain woods and play this game. Reaching this level, the 4th one if I recall correctly, and then looking around me to take in the scenery… Those are some amazing childhood memories.
So, first of all… this is one for you buddy. MiseryLC, my best friend loves this game to death. And I think he has a very good point. I used to play the demo of this game over and over again.
I haven’t grown up with any oldschool console or PC games. I grew up with a Gameboy. But each time I felt like playing some old school games, since my pc couldn’t handle newer games… I kept coming back to idSoftware.
This song takes me back to those memories. But lately, it’s reminding me of the amazing friendship I have with my best friend at the moment. Also, his birthday is in the near future. Here is to more years to come man! We shall make it a wonderful day!
Editorial note: the game I actually played the most is the more fantasy based game: Heretic. Just something in that game was a bit more interesting to me then Doom. I’m not saying it’s better then Doom… Nah, in my eyes, they are equals.
Man, is this a great game. Finally, we get a better look into Miles and his friends’ personalities. If you thought that the first game was great, then go play the fan translated sequel.
The music is also just great. I love hearing the familiar, yet very fresh tune. One of my favorite tracks in this game is the one I selected for this article. It plays when you finally proved the lies you expose. It’s so upbeat and adds to the rewarding feeling you get.
Also, I have almost fully finished the game. So, that means I might write a full review on this game in the near future. So, stay tuned for that.
Wrapping up
So, there you have it. 5 songs added to my ever growing list of amazing game music. I hope you enjoyed listening to them. If you have suggestions, never be afraid to contact me.
I love gaming music. Quite a lot. To the point that I listen to this amazing website called RadioNintendo, every day at work and lately when I’m writing articles. Well, certain articles…. because with articles like reviews, I play the game soundtrack in the background so I can better visualize the game while writing.
But check the site out guys, the owner is quite a cool guy and the small community is starting to grow over time. It’s quite lovely to see. While the site might have a hick-up here and there, it’s some quite impressive coding.
In any case, I think I’m going to wrap up this article right here. Thanks for reading and until the next one. Until then, take care & game on.
Before I begin, I could link you to the translation patch. But that would involve piracy. While this is the ONLY way to play this game in English, I still don’t want to get my blog into trouble by providing you with links to the patch. For that reason, you will have to look up the patch yourself. You can find it quite easily and the instructions are pretty solid so if you never patched a game before with a translation patch, you won’t be lost! Anyways, I have waited for a long time with writing this article. That’s because the translation has only recently been finished. So, let’s take a look at the game. (All the screenshots are of the translation and the first case.) Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on the game and or my article.
Why no English release?
The reason why this game didn’t saw an English release is because the first game didn’t bring enough profit. The first game was pirated too much. Now, we can debate this move. But in the long run, the pirates win here. In order to play the game you either have to learn to read Japanese OR play a rom translated to English.
Now, the patch that’s floating around on the internet is amazingly crafted. It’s more then just a patch to change the text. They went to the length of changing the art and even the sound into English. Now that’s dedication.
I have tested some beta versions of this patch and I have seen the patch progress and evolve. It’s very clear that they handled this with the uttermost care. It’s very clear that they wanted to release a patch without any bugs or mistakes. Seriously guys, my hat goes off to you. My Indy hat!
The story of this game is really interesting. We get a better look at who Miles actually is. That’s something I really missed in the first game. In the first game you only saw Miles in all his glory. Now you can see him from different angles. How he reacts to people from his past.
Because this is an Ace Attorney game, you can bet your law court that this is an amazing game in terms of story. It’s a visual novel adventure after all. The translation brought this game really to life. That’s what I love about the handheld communities, when they team up to help the devs to get their game out.
Now, if this is really helping out the devs in a positive way, that’s a subject for a whole other debate. So, let’s look at the game now. How much fun is this game to play? Was it worth translating? Let’s take a look!
Playing chess
I was blown away by the new chess mechanic in this game. At first I was afraid that this would ruin the game. But it turns out very good. I only finished the first case and I’m halfway through the 2nd one. (I assume) and the mechanic really makes you feel like Egdeworth.
The mechanic is used when you want information out of somebody. And comparing it with chess is an amazing translation in the game. The clues and arguments you find in what the person says can indeed be used to corner him (or her) and get the information you need out of that person.
What I truly like about this mechanic is that it’s timed. This way the questioning doesn’t loose it’s feel of being just that. Don’t worry about running out of time since you get some time back if you break one barrier.
The rest of the gameplay is exactly the same as in the original. You can walk around one area to find clues or progress the story. The logic mechanic makes a great return as well. The game isn’t a boring game to play. I dare to call this game an example to other visual novels. The game has an amazing balance between gameplay and story.
One issue is still present. It’s a problem I have with the whole series. At some moments, you can possibly show more then one piece of evidence. But the game is programmed that only one piece of evidence is the correct piece. While this doesn’t happen very often, I don’t think this is a major issue.
Perfect game?
As a big Nintendo DS fan, I dare to say that this game is one of the best visual novel games that the system has to offer. But it’s not perfect. I have said earlier that this game sets a great example for other visual novel games.
But the game has some minor issues with the controls. The start button won’t always give you the ability to save. Now, that’s an irritant issue. It might possibly get fixed by the translation team but I doubt it myself.
After I have played two Ace Attorney games on the 3DS, I agree with the claims that the 2D games like a bit plain. But, it would be cheap to call this game ugly based on that. Actually this game isn’t ugly at all.
Graphically, this game is pretty well done. I have to admit that some of my favorite character designs of the series are in this very title. In addition with that, the animation is truly top notch! As we are used from Capcom.
And of course, I have to talk about the music. The music of this series is one of my favorite game music of all time. And in this game we find old and new tracks. They are a real joy to listen to and give that extra to the game which makes it even more fun.
Anyways, I think I’ll leave it here for this first impression. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as I enjoyed writing it. I will write a review of this game as soon as I beat beat, you guys may be sure of that. But for now, I hope to see you guys in another article!
So, it has come to this. This case is the hardest to crack. I want to prosecute this game and get a “Must Play” verdict. Yet, I’m up against some serious competition. So, let’s see. What is in my court record? A lot— What? Oh, that’s great! You have the perfect man for this job? What’s his name? Reviewer NekoJonez? Okay. We will give this a shot!
16 November 2013 – 9 PM
NekoJonez’s Gaming Room
Ahn, mister Introduction. What? You want me to review this new game on the eShop I just finished? Okay, I was planning too… What?! This review will decide your verdict? -Gulp- Okay. I hope that the comments will tell me how they liked this article and or the game…
Opening statement
So it has come to my attention that this game will receive DLC around the time the new Zelda game is going to be released. Yet, I have to study as well. So it’ll be a busy period for me as a reviewer. Yet after several years of absence, how ironic that Phoenix Wright was also absent from the story in the last games, Phoenix Wright is back. In this new game, he shines. Like I made clear in my first impression article of this game.
Now that I finished it, I’m going to review it. After looking to a disappointment in the first place, which is the DLC, I think I’m going to take that back. A totally new case is going to come, and I’m rather excited for it. As usual, I’m trying to read up as little as I can about it. Here is Nintendo World Report’s article about the new case.
In this game, we get 5 new amazing cases. Each with their unique story like all previous Ace Attorney games. Capcom’s writing is again top notch here, and it’s surely a prime example to visual novels and adventure games. Yet, I have to point one thing out that kind of bugs me.
So, this game takes place 8 years in the future from all other games. But somehow the humans evolved to killing people using the “stab-y stab-y” method. Come on writers, I know you can be more creative! Gunshots, pushing people over the edge… are just examples of what you could have used. I just wish the DLC isn’t going to be a case where the victim is going to be stabbed. Another thing is that in most of the cases, the prosecutor is the same guy. While it does help get the personality of him very well explained, I felt like he was overused. And that the returning characters got underused. Like Pearls or Edgeworth. Such a wasted potential.
Yet, every returning character is presented in a beautiful way. The story is now supported with anime cutscenes which make the game as beautiful as -bleep-. I extremely enjoyed reading them all. And I do admit that I often presented some wrong evidence since the reactions can be so hilarious.
Whilst you get more out of the game’s plot when you played the previous games, newcomers won’t be weirded out by it. Since they explain a lot of things with flashbacks or “This reminds me of…”.
It’s quite clear that the character development is quite up there. Yet, some people found Athena Cykes a boring character. I tend to disagree. She is a well-developed character. And the case where she is the attorney is one of my favorites in the game. Yes, in this title you don’t play the whole game as the same attorney. That makes up for the prosecutor flaw. But let’s leave it here for the story since otherwise, we are still here tomorrow. But let’s not forget several typo’s in the game. Hopefully, they patch this!
New yet not better
So, the new gameplay mechanics. The mood matrix is such an interesting idea. It adds to the game a lot. It’s less difficult than the locks from Phoenix or Apollo’s bracelet. Furthermore, it’s something I actually imaged coming to the series while playing the previous games.
Taking the lessons learned from the Miles Edgeworth spin-off games, the entire scene is now searchable. But this time in stellar 3D graphics. You can turn and move around easily and the controls are extremely nice.
The game presents beautiful locations in each and every game. And they are all really fascinating since we haven’t visited them in the previous entries in the series. Like a murder in college. It blew my mind. Ugh, I’m talking again about the story.
I have to give credit where credit is due. The user interface is above amazing for this game! Now you have a save button right in front of your face. Also, you can skip the dialogue from the get-go. I do admit, this brings the possibility that you miss some dialogue. But Capcom has thought about that, they have a button where you can check on the past dialogue.
A change that has mixed opinions for me is the fact that you can “try again” right if your meter drained. But you get a full bar, and you start at the question you failed at. While this takes away the problem of spending too much time with re-playing the case, it does take away from the difficulty. Yet, I have to admit, I saved all the time before these kinds of questions. So, it’s like I said, a mixed feature.
I truly missed the feature where you can view the evidence in 3D. It’s not present in this version, only once or twice. But the features which are present are lovely. Like a notepad where they keep a sort of “To Do” list. So, getting stuck isn’t a issue anymore. Also, now they inform you when you are completely done with a scene. So, missing anything isn’t a concern any longer.
But enough about the gameplay mechanics and such, next!
B-E-A-UTIFUL
If you play this game without the 3D slider set to max, SHAME on you. The new graphics are beautiful and aid a lot with the new feel of the game. While for some critics, it feels a bit too different from the old Ace Attorney games, it’s still top-notch. What I am saying here is that it’s one of the best looking games in the series but not the best in terms of story.
In the cutscenes, the beautiful graphics continue. And the attention to detail is amazing. The animation of this game has blown me away. And how lovely that you can view the cut-scenes again when you 100% completed the game. So, you don’t have to play through the game to see the cutscenes again.
Speaking of the animation. It’s superb! The attention to detail is amazingly well done. And the game feels much more alive now. And the animation is so much better in 3D. You feel like you are really there.
The sound effects help an awful lot with it as well. They are tight and on the spot. And they feel new and not stolen from the best sound library around.
But the music is something you can applaud this game for. The Ace Attorney games always had astounding music and this game isn’t an exception. The track list has some new and old remixed tracks which make this game a blast to play.
So, the game’s length is extremely decent. Around 20 hours of play, you’ll get more than the crazy price they ask on the eShop for it. Which is at the moment of writing only 25euro’s.
So, let’s go on with the conclusion right here. Since this game deserved a longer review, and if I would write it to the length I wanted it to, I would be still writing till I go to sleep, and we don’t want that right?
Conclusion
The bad
– Some spelling issues.
– Mixed “Try Again” feature.
– Underused characters.
– STAB-Y STAB-Y STAAAAAAAB.
The good
+ Extremely improved UI.
+ Great length.
+ Lovely music.
+ Great story.
+ Nice voice acting.
+ DLC is better than I expected.
+ Graphics that put the 2D ones to shame.
Final thoughts:
So, this game is perfect. Some minor flaws but we can’t rip a game apart for it right? It could have been a lot better story wise for me, but it was still a better story than the last visual novels I played. (When I don’t count Corpse Party, that is.)
Let’s keep these final thoughts short. When you love Ace Attorney, play this game. Otherwise, play it. This is a must-have gem on 3DS! (And let’s ignore that I totally blew the theme of this article in the second part since I wrote this over two days).
While I can choose for an easy answer and say the suit of Professor Layton and go all classy, I think that would be too easy. I think the better question to ask myself is why do I want to cosplay as?
One character I would love to cosplay as is Niko from OneShot. For real, this is an adorable chap. While I would love to talk about him and his game, it would spoil way too much. For real, if you are into unique adventures and puzzle games, check out OneShot. You will understand why I fell in love with this game so much.
Another character I want to cosplay as is Satoshi from Corpse Party. I mean, this would be a great choice for me. Even when he isn’t wearing anything special, I would be so surprised if people recognized me from Corpse Party.
I think this is one of the best tracks in the entire EU IV soundtrack. It starts off kind of calm but around the 2 minute mark, that completely changes. When I close my eyes while listing to this I imagine an epic battle, where the camera slowly pans around like in those medieval war movies.
NekoJonez's Gaming Blog 