Ultimately, it’s people who condemn people. The Law is just a tool they use to do it.
Kazuma Asogi
Review of the visual novel The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles by Capcom, released for the Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 in Juli 2021.
This Ace Attorney spin-off set in Victorian London and featuring classic literary icon “Herlock Sholmes” has now finally received its international release. As Capcom wants us to believe it took them six years to realize they could swap two letters around and absolve all legal responsibility for copyright claims, the English-speaking world is now finally ready to enjoy the chronicles of itinerant lawyer and iatrophobe Ryunosuke Naruhodo. This duology finally allows western players to experience the trials of the very first Ace Attorney, as he arrives in Britain at the cusp of the 19th century’s rapid technological advancements. Resolved to learn of the customs of the new world so he can reform the infant legal system of his native land, his stay proves to be complicated further by government conspiracies and great detectives alike.
The game follows in the tradition of the standard set by all the predecessors in the franchise. You are a fresh green-eared attorney set to defend clients too incompetent to be complicit, while a prosecutor stultify every single verbal recourse you offer to their assistance. So far, so familiar for anyone who have ever tried another game in the series. Technically residing in the realm of being a “visual novel”, the gameplay is divided between segments where you investigate crimes allegedly committed by your client, and segments where you stand in court and unravel the mystery at hand. The fieldwork always offers plenty of opportunity to build up the case as you interview the eccentric residents of the sooth covered capital, while the trials puts your logical reasoning to the test as you are implored to discover the truth behind layers of deception and misunderstandings.
It then functions by interviewing subjects at the stand and presenting evidence when said statements prove dubious against the proof at hand. A twist in this new edition is given by the implementation of a jury system, where a selected group of British citizens will attest to the examination and conclude the trial if they deem your brief unsatisfactory. This adds a new dimension to the gameplay, which requires one to focus on the rhetorical devises offered by Ryunosuke.
Chronicles presents a duology and they will be considered together in this review, both in regard to how they play equally and as a coherent experience. The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve have arrived simultaneously in their official localized capacity, but in the overall timeline they are respectively the 4th and 5th spin-off in the series and the 9th and 11th releases in the overall franchise, so how do these period pieces of law drama find their footing in this long-established series?
To Be or Rather Not
Before I get into the review, I would like to present a conspiracy of my own. I do not currently know if it is documented, but it is nevertheless a conspiracy I believe to be true. Regardless if evidence will prove it to be otherwise, the effect is still the same. If it is true it is true, if it is false, so much worse to the credit of this game.
I believe that when the original script was about 90% completed, some high-ranking producer or director said; “actually, here is content enough to make two games” and so they did, and never have I ventured into a story where such an issue was so dismally palpable. The Ace Attorney games have always presented themselves as being very episodic, and it has been a proven formula until now. Fun and exciting cases make for individual chapters but with strong character arcs running through all the original games. Together it creates a picturesque and diverse setting, but with a clear red thread which compel the audience into really sympathizing with the principal cast.
When looking back on the red thread which ties together the main arch of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, one finds solely chaos accumulating over the presence of the two games. It is so very evident that one single game was the intention and that with one main plot to be explored. In order to stretch the scenario out an extraordinary amount of filler have been stuffed into these two torn limbs, and it all together really lacks the punch and gut of the earlier iterations. If brevity be the soul of wit these writers should have stopped a long time ago.
If one is a prior fan, it seems pretty easy to identify which cases have been cut up, replaced, mauled and fitted into a format far too sprawling for this type of narrative. In The “Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve” you get to experience the unprecedented scenario of investigating a case, presented as a direct continuation of a case which occurred in the previous game. The coherency being so immanent that extensive notes and specific evidence is carried over between the two games. Perhaps this was once upon a time a first act and a second act, which now find themselves separated between prequel and sequel?
There is also the matter of the very conclusion to the last game, where the two last cases seems intrinsically linked, to the point where perhaps it would have made more sense to present them as one case after all? The fourth case is mainly spent investigating while the fifth subsequently resolve everything in a prolonged trial session, the accused being the same and the crime unchanged.
This is just the small details one can ponder on, but it is evident the whole series suffer from these mistakes. From the very beginning to the very end, it is evident that no setup or payoff appears in any balanced form. The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures launches with an exciting court case set in Ryunosuke’s homeland of Japan; here it introduces us to the grand world of fin de siécle, the pitfalls within Japan’s archaic legal system as well as the political intrigues which would take up much of the plot later on. It’s a long and thrilling case which ultimately ends with a standstill against the real culprit, setting up the main arch of the series. At least it should be, however, as soon as you actually arrive in London everything gets thrown aside so the rest of the game can meander to an unsatisfying conclusion, while every promise made in the introduction resolves into dew.
Of course it then all culminates in a cliffhanger, assuring the player that actually there is a point in investing your faith and credibility in the authors, you just have to get through the next installment to figure it out.
It goes without saying such an approach to writing directly affects the enjoyment of the game, and The Great Ace Attorney could very easily go on to become a case study in failed pacing. Everything which follows the initial trial never manages to regain the same amount of energy and excitement, and you are mainly just solving the cases as per routine, hoping the façade of mundane toil will falter and finally reveal that greater underlying mystery which only once ever appeared in a brief second.
The sequel which follows Adventures is substantially better in this regard, as it does pick up on these foreboding clues. As you play through The Great Attorney 2: Resolve, you get the feeling you are actually moving towards a singular conclusion, the discovery of an immense secret, and as such, it is far more compelling and thrilling to experience. However, as it is the final game in the series it is also forced to deliver the final revelation, and previous stutters and stumbles are never really far forgotten as loquacious dialogue becomes the main drive to reach the goal.
It also seems like corners were cut in order to get this one out as well, as many character models and music cues are recycled directly from the previous game and the otherwise neatly animated cutscenes, which highlighted key moments in the first game, have now been entirely omitted.
It is altogether composed so Adventures is all set up and filler while Resolve is all fillers and payoffs. By this virtue, Resolve does appear to be a much better game than adventure, as a game that starts somewhere but ends at the conclusion is a lot better than a game that starts at the beginning but ends nowhere.
Hear them down in Soho square dropping “H’s” everywhere
From design to dialogue, Chronicles offers a unique take on the damp and murky metropole. One moment you might be wandering through sooth-covered streets in a London back alley, the next you might be attending the magnificent spectacle of the Great Exhibition. Which Great Exhibition? As the age of some specific characters puts the date at roughly 1899-1900, the artistic liberties do permit some lucid interpretations of that fact. “The Chrystal Tower”, which becomes the main set piece in the middle of the second game, seems to represent an obvious amalgamation of both the Chrystal Palace and the Eiffel Tower. This does to some extent put fealty to accuracy out of order, but this should not stop one from appreciating the attention to detail given to make the period seem appropriate.
The localization seems to have been a true tour-de-force for the team, giving lead localizer Janet Hsu plenty of opportunity to quip from a vast nomenclature of period specific expressions. You might quickly be getting used to regale before you account or to be advocating instead of defending. Not to tarry on the couch when you should be sitting on the settee. To fare the hansom fairly handsomely and take stock of the penny farthing before the iota inflates. Resolve the antinomies which prevaricates the truth and be home for pheasant before five O’clock. Blimey, at least I’m just glad Ryunosuke never ejaculated in the midst of high court!
Attention to vernacular is equally important, as the cockney does not speak like the egghead and the Germans uses and abuses the Z faster than an East Ender can neglect the H. You know it’s French when the sentence starts with an E- and you know it’s an Italian if the sentence ends with an -A. There is a playful abundance when it comes to these quirks and their perceived phonetics, fitting both the vigor of the characters and their locality. While the fecundity of these tendencies can seem like a cheap gesture, it is the wit and purpose of the dialogue which keeps it fresh and interesting.
It is the commitment to these details which makes the experience absolutely scintillating, when the dialogue is at its best.
The ambitions are evidently revealed as you progress your way through the games, though with some oddities along the way. In the midst of all the archaic dialogue, you might find yourself wondering if it’s possible for an inanimate mask to lie “languid” or if the line; “I have letters from imprisoned criminals all the time, you know.” is spelled with proper syntax? The stream of language presented through Hsu seems to ebb and flow according to its private sensitivities; the intricate prose quickly giving way to scrutiny as the players peruse the obscure phrases. Mistakes and carelessness becomes at this point more transparent than it has ever been before.
In that regard, there is also the question of the voice acting. While this is used very sparingly throughout and full speeches only reserved for special moments, it is, as well, affected by some weird choices beholden to the direction. There seems to be a tendency for the actors to wildly oscillate between enunciating some phrases with a clear Japanese diction and others with a prominent English sound. It is very possible that this again is an attempt to achieve verisimilitude, but the immediate effect again creates more confusion and makes the performance seem inconsistent.
I was rather ambivalent about how I should approach these strange kinks, but I resolved to not judge it on the clear dedication and ambition the localization team possesses. While the word archaic might just mean dated in another nomenclature, the challenge imposed by something presented as authentic should be savored by all with an interest in literature and history. While I do not think The Great Ace Attorney really hit the mark with sublime finesse, the will and commitment on display do the localization team great credit.
Cockaigne Interlude
The soundtrack is sublimely fitting and perfectly emanates the atmosphere of old London. The Professor Layton series seems to have been a clear influence on the way string and accordion interweave to create a sophisticated and upbeat sound, the ambiance perfectly fitting for pursuing murderers down foggy streets or having tea in Hyde Park. The music seems to work on a gradient with one point being a late Beethoven quartet and the other a Piazzolla tango, between the vector slides depending on the intensity or serenity of the situation. It is all very well composed and the shift and acceleration of the tunes make for an exciting backdrop when you’re just about to make a great turnabout. I do not however think the tunes are as iconic as the original themes, but it is still music which excels at portraying the people and places of the Great Ace Attorney eminently.
A Penny for the Guys?
The characters are as always an immaculate blend of brilliant lunatics and pompous stoics. The designs manifested by Kazuya Nuri are a treat to behold and immediately endear one to the quirks and personalities of each single person. Nothing is really like Tissot or Sargent would have painted it, but that is their prerogative. Nuri creates a vision of the 20th century fully set within the universe of Ace Attorney, which means it is set to the same impeccable standard as the rest of the franchise.
The protagonist of this storied affair is the locum student Ryunosuke Naruhodo, distant ancestor of the series main star, disaster attorney Phoenix Wright. When reviewing a game like Ace Attorney, one is really more approaching a format. Little is changed to divert from the usual models of gameplay, so how does this new and older ace attorney differentiate from the old and younger one?
I believe the most immediate and palpable notion is revealed in the relationship he shares with his assistant, Susato Mikotoba. Of course, it is un par for the first course that the main character is paired with a teenage girl, but this partnership has always demonstrated different types of dynamics. From the early games where Phoenix and Maya shared something of a chaotic sibling relationship, to Apollo and Athena who had the banter of intimate colleagues, where now Ryunosuke and Susato takes these routines to a much more tender level.
Ordinarily, the wacky jabs shared between main and side characters are comically in a sense which is often self-deprecating and sardonic, and while this is still generally the norm, it is now laced with a much more sensitive consideration. Ryu and Susato share the same fate as foreign expats, exploring and assimilating into a wildly different culture and adapting unknown and strange customs. The bond they share reflects a subtle insight to the mental anguish of journeying into the strange, one of both loss of identity as well as the awe of all things new and modern. Prevailing through the impiety of the rancor festering within the xenophobic British population. They work together, dine together and live together. Recourse is found in trinkets from their homeland, which offers a sanctum of familiarity, but it is above all a familiarity they share together. While banter is still farce and blunt, it is built on a much more mature and substantial base than previous iterations.
As Ryunosuke is also the dilettante and Susato the legal expert, it is quite the topsy-turvy version of the ordinary master and apprenticeship, and the influence she wields is quite extraordinary. While Ryunosuke’s manner and behavior is not that much different from his ancestor, the self-esteem he builds through the duology truly sets him apart from all previous Ace Attorneys. During the cause of the games he further learns to trust his clients and then to see him grow into a fully competent lawyer is truly a joy to see. It does the animators great credit when you feel the audacity of this wreck of a dilettante who shakes and trembles trying to defend himself, and then see this amateur shred all the ticks and flaws of a fledgling fowl until only the mature Ryunosuke stands left.
By his side is Susato as mentioned before, but then on the opposite side of the courtroom stands the gothic and lugubrious prosecutor Barok von Zieks. More ostentatious and Byronic than any other fiendish adversary, Zieks is probably the greatest victim of the disastrous planning of the two games. In the first game he is emblematic of the unnecessary expansions and in the second he is merely suffering from the casualties of the compact narrative.
In Adventures he is neglected any character development, which just makes him a bigot and nothing else. He is capricious and vengeful, provoking Ryu with racist remarks and blatant aggressions, while resorting to underhanded methods for securing his own victory. Especially is his manipulation of the jury a source of great frustration, as he will at any point appeal to their base and simple instincts to call for the trial to end in his favor. There is inherently no great shame in concocting a character determined to prove a villain, if it suits the narrative the measure will be fitting, however these traits will immediately differ for any situation where the plots call for him to side with Ryu.
As the trials go on and complications ensue, you might find yourself battling together with this otherwise nefarious prosecutor, why? Because we need to get to the end by one way or the other, and since all actual development will happen in the next game, it seems like the fastest way to get there, for now, is by contrivance. And while Zieks will get his final resolution, his epiphany and revelation in the grand finale, it is all summarized in a third act divorced from a first and second.
While there is no shortage of tragic backstories for the prosecutors in the Ace Attorney series, Zieks is uniquely tormented by both the morbid romanticism of the genre as well as the incompetent craftsmanship of the writers.
The last character important to make distinct is the auxiliary protagonist “Herlock Sholmes”, the great detective. You can probably from that name alone guess that threats from the Connan Doyle estate were probably involved in the naming process, but perhaps or allegedly it really does not change much. As we are playing a mystery game set in 20th-century London, who else but Mr. Dimlock Scrooms should be there to guide us along the beaten path?
As one can either groan or cheer from the cliché of such a literary intervention, the writers have taken great care to diverge his appearance from all other interpretations, and whether you will like him or not really do depend on how enthralled you are by the idea of a “living meme”. Sholmes is neither smart nor clever in this version, only imbued with a proclivity for saying dumb things. The genius then is solely beholden to Iris Watson, the 10-year-old girl who has taken it upon herself to write augmented versions of his misadventures and then publish it as the spectacular achievements of the “great detective”. OH BLOODY YES, Without A Clue is not a relic for nothing, but sadly neither Michael Caine nor Ben Kingsley could make an appearance to do their old bit.
The humor Sholmes brings often directly seems to transport me back to the genesis of “lol so random XD XD” and a time when people were unironicly pushing for Homestuck memes. While I was personally never really bothered by him, as I believe his shenanigans do somewhat lighten the dry and extensive dialogue, I can easily see why someone might find his tangents too insipid to bear. What additionally fails to really lighten that motion is his function in the narrative, where he mostly seems to pivot as a third wheel to Ryu and Susato’s own investigations.
Far too often his appearances follows the tendency of:
Ryu, Susato and Sholmes arrive at the crime scene, Sholmes then suddenly runs off to pursue wacky tomfoolery, Ryu and Susato do the investigating bit, Sholmes then appear again just before the chapter is over so you can do an extensive recap of everything you’ve just learned, and this is all done in the service of that exciting new game mechanic he introduces, The Dance of Deduction.
Whenever the investigation comes to a hold, you get a chance to peruse the 3D models more closely and so find new clues. It is honestly not the lighting striking twice for the franchise, but neither does it really need to be. The problem is each time you have to do it, Sholmes need to do a funny version first. Each time you embark on a “dance” Sholmes first take the lead and makes the wrong observations; you are then tasked to correct his missteps. If it is charitable to call it a joke, then it is exact to call it one joke. It is one joke which gets repeated over and over again, resulting in dozens of “hilarious” mistakes which does seem to need an ever-increasing amount of text bubbles to pass.
Sholmes might come to your aid once or twice and the refrain for now and always seems to go “it will have significance in the end”, regardless it seems like his most efficient purpose is to put up hundreds and thousands of text boxes between the player and the plot. At this point it is not so much comic relief as comic constipation.
All The Legal Furies Seize You!
Chronicles sees the return of the original creator of Ace Attorney, Shu Takumi, to helm both writing and directing. As his last contribution to the main series was with Apollo Justice in 2007, the Great Ace Attorney then comes to prove his own next big advancement for the series. There is a vast difference between the original games and this, and the main instigator for this irruption I claim to be due to my conspiracy. There are still plenty of the odd parallels which link Phoenix Wright with his ancestor, for the formality of the conception it seems like most of the cast have been directly reincarnated in new bodies.
One distinct aspect where Takumi has developed as a writer is in regard to his philosophical considerations. From the original trilogy which was mainly focused on flawed individuals confronting each other in joint legal consultation, the scope have shifted to become of a much greater magnitude. Now the concern has moved to a much more political stage. Government intrigues, the validity of the court. This is also a trend the main line of games have followed, which continue to focus more on the corruption within the legal system itself.
For the series it is conventional territory and for such a short excursion as Chronicles proved to be, it is a fitting apotheosis of its premise and conclusion.
Takumi’s habit of referencing the original Sherlock Holmes are for the most parts kept subtle and delegated to trivia and quotes. Sometimes they emergence as direct plot elements like The Redheaded League, other times they even serve as metatextual criticism, like the case where Ryu and Susato dismantle the inaccuracies in The Speckled Band and calls attention to the misconceived depictions of snakes. (Which is pretty rich for a writer who has so far brought both parrots and whales to court!).
However, one instance where the intertextual elements transgress mere homage do happen later in the second game, where one crucial element to the case will be instantly revealed for all familiar with the original story of “The Man with The Twisted Lips”. It seems thoroughly unnecessary as Takumi have proved himself clever enough to refrain from ripping off twists, and as such it seems almost forced. Like he insisted it could only be like Sherlock Holmes if not at least one deduction was hacked directly from Doyle’s own pen.
Another more general problem is the inordinate amount of repetition which occur throughout both games. Something might appear first as a preamble, an overture or just a general introduction only then to divulge further into a habit, then a ritual until it becomes tradition. So much time is spent repeating the same lines over and over, reiterating the same dull contentions. Every effort to make a gameplay gimmick conducive is set to exactly the same manner of address and presentation each time it appears. Yes, I’m aware what a great offense it is to engage in a summation examination, please let us just get on with it without further condescending remarks, we’ve been trough this five times already!
As egregious as these instances might seem and while the general arch is somewhat hampered by redundant excursions, there still remains separate cases crafted with some masterful inventions of suspense. Like the third chapter in Adventure “The Runaway Room” which offers a fresh and original take on the locked room mystery. Then there’s the final case in the same game “ The Unspeakable Story”, which remains an obtuse and brain churning mystery despite being a rather weak finale for the first part. Resolve offers a few more delectable stories as well, with the second chapter The Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro being equally intriguing as well as moving, and the following chapter “The Return of the Great Departed Soul” being one of the truly epic middle cases.
The conclusive act do manage to bring the story to a somewhat satisfying end as well. However, the verdict presides on a basis which neglects the more logic-based appeals of the other games in the series, which possibly could be interpreted as a poignant conclusion to the thematic elements of Chronicles, but I’m not entirely convinced of that myself. It stands in stark contrast to the more iconic moments in the franchise where you feel the enemy crumble under the weight of your irrefutable evidence, and instead goes in a direction which proves Takumi has learned little from the critique to the ending of Apollo Justice.
The final case also becomes incrementally bogged down, as the unraveling of the truth descends deeper and deeper into the past of the convoluted mystery. This is mediated by garrulous speeches and longwinded exposition, and as intricate as the mystery is, I believe it fails to build towards an organic ending. Evidence gets recycled faster than the prosecutor can make up new slurs while multiple story beats all simultaneously reconvene in the ultimate plot thread collision.
I believe it would have been prudent to set an intermediate act somewhere in this case, which allowed the player to investigate the background of Van Zieks and his family as he becomes the main catalyst for the events. It would have helped to establish the preceding timeline as well as contextualize some of the thematic elements which elucidate the background of this trial.
Takumi’s attempt to expand the Ace Attorney universe is clearly a labor of love, but it fails to encapsulate what makes his writing great. If you know Ghost Trick or just the regular Ace Attorney, then you are familiar with tightly structured, precise plots without unnecessary digressions. Chronicles only prove that anyone can lose control if they’re not careful enough.
A cold and merciless editor could probably have gutted the remains of this bloated mess and then served a much more streamlined and coherent experience, but sadly that was not to be. The Great Ace Attorney will unequivocally remain one of the weakest entries to the series to date. While it offers moments of inspired serenity and intriguing mystery, it is unfortunately all hampered down by horrible pacing and repetitive dialogue. While it might sheath the curiosity of old fans, I do emphatically not recommend it to new players or anyone interested in discovering the appeal of the franchise.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that all Englishmen are portrayed as racist bigots, presiding over a dilapidated capital of grime and smut. 10/10 for realism, most immersive experience I’ve had since visiting Croydon.
DASEIN CON AMORE 