Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (Nintendo 3DS) Review

It has been four years since Apollo Justice hit retail, but in terms of in-game time passage, the events of the fifth main entry, Dual Destinies, take place a year later with Phoenix Wright ready to step back into the ring, earning his Attorney's badge once more after shaking off the cobwebs that had built up after being disbarred. A now far more mature Wright is still in charge of the Wright Anything Agency, which houses some oddball talent, in the form of Apollo Justice, his adopted daughter Trucy, and newcomer Athena Cykes. Together, though, they make an unstoppable force in the pursuit of justice in the midst of corruption in the judicial system.

Coming as part of the series norm, all manner of weird and wonderful characters, from the hilarious to downright kooky, and even ominous and intimidating, can be found in Dual Destinies. They all help to build up and deliver an extremely well-crafted set of scenarios that are just as gripping and fun-filled as previous games. With writer Shu Takumi side-tracked with the Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney collaboration with Level-5, just as he had a lesser role on Apollo Justice after stepping away to do Ghost Trick, there may be some concerns of the sturdiness of the text, but all avenues cleverly tied together with some very sharp wit injected into conversations to help keep it in-step with its predecessors.

The premise still revolves around turning around what seem like hopeless situations, defending those that are actually innocent, yet stuck in almost insurmountable quandaries. Everything is split into two sections: the first being an almost point-and-click-esque adventure where locations are scoured for clues and people are interrogated for key information, and the second being a courtroom-based setting.

With five cases to crack, each one lasting a few hours each, this is one meaty outing and can last even longer if players decided to explore every nook and cranny, going through every permutation of showing evidence and key items to those met along the way to the next court battle. Whilst that may sound like an arduous, and perhaps even tedious, route to go down, the script is full of such quirky humour that it really should not be missed out on. There are also times where, in the heat of court proceedings, certain snippets of peripheral conversation will actually be of benefit when attempting to deliver the correct statement or produce the right piece of evidence to find the contradiction in a witness' testimony (or should that be testiphony, as is often the case?).

There is a lot of familiarity whilst playing through Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, which may lead some to grow bored at particular stages where the whole 'investigate-court' to and fro process feels too pedestrian. However, Capcom seemingly realised this may happen, and has tried to mix up the action as much as possible. Therefore, players can take control of various different leads during the cases - Phoenix, Apollo, Athena, and so on - and although it does not alter the way the game plays, their unique personalities and wacky traits are varied enough to make a strong impression.

On the gameplay front, though, each attorney has special techniques for squeezing information out of people - from Athena's 'Mood Matrix' that offers the ability to hear strain and oddities in people's voices, to Apollo's way of perceiving when lies are being told by analysing telltale signs that give the subject away, and even the classic 'Psyche Lock' where Phoenix must show evidence to break down a witness' stubbornness to reveal pertinent points - and despite some maybe believing them to be gimmicky, they certainly add an extra edge to the tense back and forth's between the defence team and overly harsh prosecution. There is also the welcomed addition of the 'Thought Route' that strongly resembles the 'Logic' system from Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, whereby players work through a flowchart of sorts, tying together vital facts to conclude upon an oft-case-turning clue.

Some of the past irritations have also been removed. For instance, there were many times where not knowing where to go next was extremely frustrating, with each location having to be visited numerous times until one or two minor triggers had been achieved. Now, though, there is a 'notes' section that offers advice on where to head next. There are still some instances where one or two dead ends are reached, and resorting to showing all evidence in-hand to anyone may occur, but at least the frequency has been considerably reduced to a far more palatable amount. There is also the chance to read through all previous conversations in case something was zipped past too quickly by an accidental press of the action button. The same positive change process goes for the moments in court where the answer to a poser is rather obvious, but locating that key piece of evidence in the Court Record (the equivalent of a standard Inventory) can prove taxing, and with a penalty system imposed by the presiding Judge, far too many wrong turns result in an unwarranted 'Guilty' verdict being dished out due to unsatisfactory defence duties.

With streamlined gameplay, wonderful audio, the addition of some voiced scenes, a fantastic transition of the 2D art of old into an impressive 3D rendered form without losing its charm, as well as a simply hilarious script full of twists and turns to keep players guessing, Dual Destinies is a true gem that cannot be put down until completion. Get over that hurdle of it being a download-only game and grab this today!