One of the great advantages of the current generation of consoles is that historical publishers are not reluctant to give a second life to old opuses. And among them, many gems have never been translated into French, or even had no international release. This is the case for both Ace Attorney Investigationson Nintendo DS: the first, Miles Edgeworthwas only released in Japanese and English languages in 2009, while the second, Prosecutor’s Gambitwas only published in Japan in 2011.
French fans of this excellent license from Capcom can now, since September 6, 2024, discover these spin-off with the compilation Ace Attorney Investigations Collectionin remastered versions and in the language of Molière. We tested this compilation on Nintendo Switch.
No trial
These two games had the audacity to contravene the essence of the Capcom saga: the trials. The business ofAce Attorney were previously divided into two phases: first a field investigation, followed by a hearing before a court. We played the lawyers Phoenix Wright and then his successor Apollo Justice, who had to prove the innocence of a generally innocent murder accused. Sometimes, we found ourselves face to face with the terrible prosecutor Benjamin Hunter (Miles Edgeworth in English), ready to do anything to win a trial.
It is this charismatic character that we embody, after the events of the first trilogy and therefore his return to the light side of the Force. But there is no question of leading the prosecution into trials: the gameplay focuses exclusively on preliminary investigations. The prosecutor intervenes at crime scenes, often assisted by another person, identifies clues and collects testimonies to build his case.
“Mental chessboard”
There is no supernatural here: the star of the prosecution uses logic to solve the complex puzzles of the crimes to be solved. This results in phases where two elements of the file must be joined to draw a new deduction.
In The prosecutor’s bethe must also draw the lines out of his interlocutors during the “Mental Chessboard” phases. It is a confrontation of witnesses in which it will be necessary to select the right choices of dialogue when the interlocutor lowers his guard for the obligation to reveal information. Good mechanics that reinforce tension.
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The prosecutor’s bet : one of the best Ace Attorney
When enough evidence and elements are amassed, comes the famous witness testimony phase, of which the gameplay is identical to the previous trials Ace Attorney. It will once again be necessary to detect the statement contradicting the correct element in the file to advance the investigation.
Thus, even in the absence of a trial, the gameplay is essentially the same as in the opuses with lawyers. And what also doesn’t change is the quality of the writing: many episodes are top-notch. In the first game, Benjamin Hunter will have to dismantle a dangerous smuggling network. Although these investigations are more incidental, they remain successful.
But we go up a notch in The prosecutor’s bet : the five investigations are among the best of the saga, full of twists and turns, new storytelling ideas and memorable characters, in particular deliciously detestable antagonists.
A French translation with little onions
All this is enhanced by great music, as always, and a French translation done with care – we once again delight in puns in the localizations of the characters’ names.
This remastered version also smooths out the graphics to high definition, although the player has the option to choose visuals in pixel artlike on Nintendo DS. Finally, people who simply want to let themselves be carried away by the scenario of these visual novels can choose story mode, at any time.
Fans of the saga therefore do not have to hesitate for long: these spin-offs are as important as the main episodes ofAce Attorneyalmost all available in French on the current generation. Capcom just needs to translate The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles compilation of two spin-offs taking place in the 19the century, and all the opuses can be played on the same console in French.
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