Phoenix Wright: Justice For All Review, by LoC

Phoenix Wright: Justice For All

Nintendo DS

Capcom

2007

Review by LoC

Phoenix Wright is a game series that I have been a fan of ever since the first game was released here in the U.S, but I didn't get to finally buy the games until I purchased my Nintendo DS last summer, and the original Phoenix Wright was one of my very first game purchases, and the first game that I had played through for the system. Shortly afterwards, I also purchased used copies of the second and third games, but I only started to play them within the past month, and I beat Justice For All only about 2 days ago, and am currently playing Trials&Tribulations, but that is a story for another time.

Justice For All is frequently considered the weakest part of the original trilogy, which is a verdict that I don't entirely agree with. While the game may be little more than a rehash of the first game with new cases, the same is also true for Trials&Tribulations, which was recieved considerably warmer. The graphics for all 3 titles are often reused in all of the games, and none of them exactly reinvents the wheel created in the first game, but the fact remains that the entire series is highly enjoyable, filled with memorable characters and plot-lines. Part of the backlash against Justice For All has to do with the fact that the game only had 4 cases, and lacked any DS exclusive cases, like the first one had. To further worsen the problem, only 2 of the cases were actually relevent to the series ongoing storyline, but that doesn't stop the other two cases from being very enjoyable in their own right. 

The only real gameplay changes of note are that you can know present character profiles as evidence, and the new Psyche Lock system on certain characters when they are asked questions they don't want to answer. These psyche locks are broken in much the same way that you would advance the game during the court segments, by presenting evidence to the witness in question. 

Anyone who loved the first Phoenix Wright should still find plenty to enjoy about Justice For All, as long as you aren't expecting any major innovations. Any of you who didn't care for the first game won't have their mind changed with this one.