Followers of iconic courtroom dramedy visible novels may suppose they’re all caught up on Ace Legal professional at this stage. Even in the event you by no means touched the sequence throughout its authentic 2001-2017 run, Capcom’s admirable curiosity in preserving their older flagship titles means you have had ample alternative to play the Phoenix Wright: Ace Legal professional Trilogy, which hit then-modern consoles and PC in 2019, and was lastly adopted by the Apollo Justice: Ace Legal professional Trilogy earlier this yr. Since 2021 you have even been capable of play The Nice Ace Legal professional Chronicles, a prequel duology that many followers have been satisfied would by no means be formally localised outdoors of Japan.
However one recreation you in all probability have not performed in the event you’re a relative newcomer — heck, possibly not even in the event you’re an old-school fan — is Ace Legal professional Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, which stays gated off to fashionable audiences due to its distribution largely counting on an ever-diminishing provide of second-hand Nintendo DS cartridges (though not less than you may play it on cell). And since right now marks the fifteenth anniversary of that recreation’s authentic Japanese launch, it appears appropriately celebratory for us die-hard Ace Legal professional varieties to make some noise about the truth that whereas we’re actually grateful for our present bounty, we would additionally actually like to see this one get a remaster subsequent, Capcom, please.
For the advantage of the uninitiated, this two-part spin-off focuses on primary sequence protagonist Phoenix Wright’s childhood finest good friend turned skilled rival and later pleasant adversary plus possible love curiosity, no critically, they’re barely even making an attempt to be coy about leaning into that studying any extra: Miles Edgeworth. (In case you are questioning, the second Investigations title — which isn’t celebrating a birthday right now and so should not be hogging our consideration an excessive amount of — got here out in 2011, and stays the one Ace Legal professional recreation other than half-a-dozen in-browser curios by no means to be launched outdoors of Japan.)
Making a gaiden recreation about Edgeworth was a wise transfer on Capcom’s half for quite a few causes, prime amongst them being that Ace Legal professional followers completely adore this man. You possibly can argue forwards and backwards about whether or not Phoenix or Apollo made for the very best primary sequence protagonist, however you may hear only a few detractors from the perspective that Edgeworth has been extra constantly superior than both.
Free of the requirement to be somebody the notional everyman viewers might determine with, Edgeworth acquired to only be Edgeworth proper off the bat: suave in a no-f***s-left-to-give kind of a means; surprisingly nerdy when you get to know him slightly; a bit morally doubtful, however you may change him. No actually, you may: he obtained some substantial character growth to rapidly retool him from a villain-turned-ally right into a extra unambiguously heroic determine as soon as it grew to become obvious that gamers of the primary recreation had responded to him rather well. A byproduct of this was to quickly give him a way of depth that different recurring characters within the sequence would take far longer to achieve.
No marvel, then, that when the thought of a spin-off sub-series was being chucked round following the wrapping up of the unique Phoenix Wright trilogy, the plan to offer the function to Phoenix’s one-time assistant Ema Skye was rapidly sidelined in favour of giving Edgeworth his day within the limelight.
Investigations demotes Phoenix Wright to some compulsory references, however Edgeworth is not the one supporting character from the principle sequence given the possibility to take centre stage: the spin-offs additionally gave extra focus to Edgeworth’s spiky adopted sister Franziska von Karma and his adoring lackey Detective Gumshoe — by the way marking the final main look for both character, since each have been written out of the principle sequence following the time-skip between trilogies.
Ema nonetheless will get her fair proportion of screen-time, too, regardless of Edgeworth fairly unchivalrously denying her the chance to turn out to be Ace Legal professional’s first feminine lead; and a flashback chapter sees a younger Edgeworth and Franziska taking up the teenager assistant function to their villainous father determine slash lawyering mentor, permitting an sudden encore flip for Ace Legal professional’s authentic huge unhealthy, Manfred von Karma.
In different phrases, except you are a fully devoted Phoenix fan and can settle for no substitutes, Investigations is an all-round crowd pleaser: serving up shameless fanservice with out sacrificing something of the signature type that made the sequence so in style within the first place. Regardless of being the primary Ace Legal professional recreation not helmed by sequence creator Shu Takumi, you may discover loads of gamers who listing Investigations up there with the perfect within the franchise.
So, assuming Ace Legal professional 7 continues its record-breaking streak of not getting introduced anytime quickly, this milestone birthday marks the proper time to (re-)uncover the Investigations spin-offs — recommendation that, by the way, applies equally effectively to followers of the sequence and to Capcom themselves.