The Gamer's Quarter

[Nana Komatsu]

I am on case two (or is it case one?) now and I am enjoying it quite a bit.

I think psychelocks add a needed layer of depth to the investigation portion of hte game.

Also, playing it for the Phoenix and Maya hintings alone is totally worth it.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

Man, Von Karma is just whipping everyone! And clearly the judge can't get enough of it.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

This game is horribly punny, moreso than I remember the first one being.

"Foolish fool who foolishly dreams of foolish dreams"

Also oh god there was a clue for this case in one of the judge's comments.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Ethoscapade]

i - unlike most of the people on here, i guess - really enjoyed case 2, although note that i hadn't yet played the first game.

case 3, not so much.

[Nana Komatsu]

Mia being channelled through Pearly is really creepy looking.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

Von Karma is going nuts and whipping everyoene in sight!

"If you were lying, I swear that my whip will be the last thing you see!"
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[dessgeega]

hello thread.
_________________

[dongle]

nice av! Franziska is the best part of pw2

[dessgeega]

my first one was animated but it broke the margins too much.

listening to nana describe justice for all has renewed my enthusiasm for the game after all the complaints i've heard. i'm totally prepared to play it with a walkthrough after the first game, anyway. i rarely expect good gameplay out of adventure games.

i might play this when i get a replacement sd card for my flash card (my last one exploded), though i might save it for the plane ride to gdc.

maybe andrew toups will finally mail me my copy.
_________________

[B coma]

I am enjoying justice for all, despite it's classic adventure game flaws.


with that said, I am coming from the perspective of never playing a PW before, and saving part one for another time when I can borrow someone's copy.

[Mister Toups]

I have decided to finish this game!

The last case (almost!) makes up for the rest of the game!!
_________________
where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

[Nana Komatsu]

All this talk about branch families and main families reminds me of the Hyuga family from Naruto.

When I think about it, the two are really similar. Maya is Hinata as the talented but not gifted child from the main family, Pearly is Neji as the prodigy from the branch family, and Morgan is the branch family member plotting to overthrow the main family.

Comparing Phoenix Wright to KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU anime itt
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Ethoscapade]

trying to get rid of my JPN copy of JFA for $20 shipped itt

[Nana Komatsu]

Pearly while upset is so cute!
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

Sad Maya makes me very ;_;

Punk rock doctor is kinda creepy looking.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

Sprite based cutscenes, neat!

Heading into day two of the trial and I am pretty sure I see where all of this is going.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[B coma]

once trial two gets going it's pretty fun, though the beginning is pretty URGH.

[Nana Komatsu]

I have been right so far, so I am guessing I am right about the second half of day two as well.

"You've cause me enough pain and suffering."
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

"Cry, and my whip will accomodate!"

"Ignorance is to be whipped!"
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

So yeah, I guessed right about Ini really being Mimi (god I hate the punny names in these games). Von Karma's reaction to the end of the trial was great, and I loved Morgan Fey swearing her revenge.

The reviled trial number 3!
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

So far the third case is FABULOUS!

Maxmillion Galactica is hot.

"You must be pulling my magic wand" OH BABY
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Mister Toups]

I finished this game yesterday.

The ending's pretty damned good!

Arguably better than the first game's ending!
_________________
where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

[Nana Komatsu]

"Yeah, I head about that..."

Still don't hate the third case.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Mister Toups]

I have finally sent my copy to dess!

We shall see what her opinion is!
_________________
where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

[Nana Komatsu]

"Will you just stop it you poster pilferer!"

My guess at this point is that Ben killed the ringmaster to frame Max although I'm not really sure as that seems too obvious.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, you 8-bit excuse for an attorney!"
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Nana Komatsu]

Oh man the puppet is bitchslapping the ventriloquist! This game is great.

"Don't you have nerve pills or something to take right now?"

"The pay sucks.. the clown sucks... and my partner has his hand up my pants."

"Like sand through the hourglass, so are the Days of the Circus"

"It's all Wright to be wrong every now and again, Wright?"
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Mister Toups]

So you're still at the part of the case where things make sense.
_________________
where were you when nana komatsu got a wii?

[Nana Komatsu]

I have beaten case 3! I guess I can see why people dislike it so much? I didn't really have many problems with it, the main one being that the wording for some of the evidence questions was rather vague.

"Maybe the circus would be better of without me?"

Overall I am liking this game more than the first! I think part of that was how I wasn't crazy about the Ema Skye case from the first game for lack of Maya, but with the supposedly excellent fourth case coming up I am excited!
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Ethoscapade]

interjection: i just finished "turnabout goodbyes" tonight. it was really terrific.

i have been playing the phoenix wright games in a really bassackwards order. to wit:

JFA case 1 > case 2 > wait two months > case 3 > AA case 1 > case 2 > GS3 case 1 > AA case 3 > case 4.

i think i'm at a high point though! that ending montage really got to me. reminded me of trauma center.

i don't know which final case to play first!

[Nana Komatsu]

Okay, I am seriously calling "bullshit!" on anyone who says this game is inferior to the first.

The translation is poor, but overall the writing is much better. Using psyche-locks to indicate that someone is hiding something/lying is genius and advances the plot much better than randomly wandering around presenting stuff to people. I mean, there's still some of that, but I've had a lot less trouble with the investigation portions of this game than the first by far.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[JasonMoses]

How is the translation poor if the writing is excellent? It just seems like they didn't proofread the script.

[Mister Toups]

[Nana Komatsu]

[Mister Toups]

[Ethoscapade]

toups, if nothing else, i can 100% confirm that many of the evident prompts late in the third case just don't make that much logical sense.

[Nana Komatsu]

And this is where I mean that the translation itself is poor.
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Mister Toups]

[Nana Komatsu]

And I think it does! NEENER NEENER
_________________
resetbutton.net: videogames for unattractive people

[Six]

Hey, so there's a hacking utility for creating your own cases now? That's kind of hot.

[Nana Komatsu]

[dessgeega]

i've been playing justice for all. phoenix starts with amnesia? that's terrible and hilarious because anmesia is almost a running joke in developers contriving ways for adventure game protagonists to know as little about themselves and their environment as the player does. as dumb as that was, the first case went very smoothly and i was never at a loss for where to take my questioning.

i am now on the second case, up to the third (i think) cross-examination. and i am at a loss. i spent at least half an hour re-reading the testimony, looking through the evidence, visualizing the scene in my head and trying to figure out what contradiction the witness's testimony contains. then i saved and turned it off. when i turn it back on i will reread and rethink and try to deduce is awry. whether this leads me to the correct answer or i am forced to look at an online faq will have a great affect on how i view the rest of the game.

<-- von karma is fantastic. and wow, phoenix and edgeworth are such a couple. "rivals for life"! phoenix is heartbroken over miles's departure, but i'm promised that there's a reunion in his future. if only i can figure out this case first.
_________________

[dessgeega]

nana helped me work it out through gentle hinting. if my solution is correct, then it was fair, and i approve. we'll see!
_________________

[B coma]

I had a few chapter restarts on the second case.

I managed to avoid using an FAQ completely until the third case, where I pretty much just said "fuck it!" when the wording/logic of everything got so awkward.

In regards to that third case though - I really did enjoy what happened with the characters involved at the very end (I found all of them irritating as hell at the outset), but since the resolution was handled so well getting outside help didn't bother me much.

I'm mid trial in case four...

[dessgeega]

so i've completed the second case.

though i did use faqs to verify my answers before submitting them once my life bar got low - for fear of having to replay the entire trial from the beginning when i'd gotten so close to the end - once i got past yesterday's hurdle i've never been at a loss in the courtroom. it was as good as the best moments in the first game - the flashes on flashes of insights, each coalescing into a larger understanding of the case that, once fully grasped, made me undefeatable. the worst moments were no worse than those in the first game.

in the courtroom, that is. outside the courtroom was a different matter. the psyche-locks give direction to your investigations - someone is concealing fact xx, so you need to research fact xx. breaking the psyche-locks plays out like courtroom cross-examinations - but with one crucial difference. in the courtroom you know that the key to whatever puzzle's in front of you is already within your grasp - you only need to figure out what it is. interrogating characters outside of the courtroom, you often will not know whether or not you have the appropriate item to confront a suspect with. the issue is compounded by the fact that you gain information at the game's pace, not your own: for example, i was not allowed to examine the incinerator, the urn, or the box until the game decreed i was at the correct point in the script to, even though those items were obviously suspicious and had been readily available for me to examine for a while.

so the investigation portions are still a tedious mess. the courtroom scenes, though - at least so far - are still as sharp as ever. the translation is definitely not as good as the original's, however - and the original's weren't perfect to begin with. the translators managed to work in lines like "excuuuuse me, princess" but didn't see fit to work out some of the awkward phrasing in the english script. i imagine it was more of a challenge, as case 2 of this game is a lot more japanesey than anything in the first game, but there's still a lot that slightly more rigorous editing would have fixed. and there are typos.

von karma is still fantastic. they couldn't screw that up, because most of her character is conveyed through gesture and timing. where the script reads "(character is whipped) (cut to von karma) von karma: '...'" there isn't much room to mistranslate. she does happen to get all the good lines, though. she's easily my favorite thing about this game. though it should be no surprise that women with whips are my favorites.
_________________

[dessgeega]

i'm on the second day of case three. that first investigation was monotonous. the writing is terrible, the dialogue is obnoxious, and there are lots of missing punctuation marks.

the courtroom scenes are as tight as ever. i was able to get through the entire day at court without looking at a faq once or having to start over.

incidentally, what's the legal age for marriage in japan?
_________________

[dessgeega]

i finished episode 3.

during the the first half of the last courtroom scene, i looked up two answers online. the reason i looked up two answers online is because i was sick of replaying the trial from the beginning. the reason i had to replay the trial so many times is because i entered the courtroom with only half a life bar. the reason i had only half a life bar is because i got a one question wrong during the previous investigation scene.

phoenix wright 2, you see, gives you a single life bar for an entire case. making mistakes in the courtroom reduces your life bar (and since you spend most of the court scenes bluffing, a few mistakes are inevitable). you regain life by completing "psyche-locks" outside of the courtroom, in the interstitial investigation scenes. completing a psych-lock restores half of your life bar, and there are at least two in each scene. completing them both perfectly means you walk into court with a full life bar.

however, making a mistake during a psyche-lock, as in court, causes your life bar to diminish. and since it's a homogenous life bar instead of a count of "lives" (as in the first gyakuten saiban), different mistakes cause different amounts of damage. the single question i got wrong was worth half my life bar, bringing my bar down to zero. i then tried again, got the question right, and my life bar was restored halfway - giving me exactly one half of life bar. then the scene ended, and court began.

i'm proud, at least, that i didn't get a single question wrong in the second half of that courtroom scene. i did check my last two answers against a faq before i submitted them, though. that was because i went into the second half of that scene with a single hit left on my life bar.

i wonder if phoenix wright would play better with no life bar. i understand that the threat of game over contributes to the tension that makes the courtroom scenes so exciting. and i'm not opposed to player mistakes having consequences in adventure games. it's just that the consequences in a phoenix wright game are that you load your saved game, sit through all the text you've already read, and repeat the puzzles you've already solved. there's no skill involved, nor is there any of that tension or excitement. it's just a chore, and a needless one - it's like reading to the second to last page of a chapter of a novel and then being forced to reread the chapter from the beginning before you're allowed to see the last page.

theoretically the scenario is so tightly wrought and the puzzles so perfectly clued that you're always on the same page as the game and you never see the game over screen. but this is a game about bluffing that punishes guessing. and the writing is definitely not up to it. (my favorite typo so far has been "silver" in place of "sliver".)

chapter 4 is next. now we're getting to the gyakuten.
_________________

[dessgeega]

so the fourth case is a welcome return to form. i never felt like i had to stretch nearly enough in court as i had in the previous case. except that at one point i knew the contradiction in the witness's testimony, but couldn't figure out which piece of evidence to present to expose it. the correct answer didn't seem any more likely than the ones i'd tried before it. which means that my life bar took a few hits.

i made it to the second part of the trial. but since the life bar never resets, i started the second part with a single hit left. pretty soon i gave up and played with a faq.

i was talking to andrew "michael" toups the other night about this, and he pointed out that in the original game, the exclamation points that serve as your "lives" really measure the judge's patience with your courtroom antics. if this is so, then the persistance of the life bar makes no sense: is the judge less patient with you because you screwed up a psyche-lock during your earlier investigation? wouldn't the game run a lot more smoothly if, say, a convincing (correct) answer gained you a bit more credibility with the judge (health recovery)? having to go through two whole courtroom scenes one the same five-or-so-hit bar or health is asking a little much, i feel. especially when you're not even guaranteed a full bar at the start of that whole sequence.

as for non-mechanical stuff: that sprite of phoenix at the end of the trial. wow.
_________________

[Ethoscapade]

just last night i finished my playthrough of ace attorney (interrupted between cases 2 and 3 by broco's translation of the first case of GS3, out of curiosity), and, having imported and played through JFA up until case four months ago, i was astounded by the difference in quality between the two games, i really was. i may yet get around to the last case of JFA, but mainly i'm afraid that if i do, i'll want to pick up the third game when it turns up stateside, and based on what i've seen so far i severely doubt it's going to be as good as the first.

at any rate, that was a terrific game. this one isn't.

[dessgeega]

oh, something i found out while looking up faqs: apparently if you put a copy of the gba gyakuten saiban 2 cartridge into the ds while the ds remake card is in there, you'll unlock all of the episodes in the ds version. that makes a lot of sense (given that owners of the original have probably played through the game already) and is pretty nifty.
_________________

[dessgeega]

i dreamt there was a sex scene between von karma and phoenix wright.

i dreamt i posted to the forum about it.
_________________