Posts tagged phoenix wright

So I just finished the first Ace Attorney game and since me and Sam (the guy who started the S.T.A.R.S Marathon team) often have debates over Professor Layton and Ace Attorney, no doubt brought about by the announcement of the crossover game, I felt I should air my opinions on both games. I am a die hard Professor Layton fan so I was quite dismissive of Ace Attorney at first. I know there both different games made by different people I just meant in terms of comparing the two games I felt I had a loyalty to Herschel Layton.

Watching Sam play Ace Attorney, I could see how there was certainly a good game there, yet I wasn’t ready to admit that, not till I had played it myself. So I’ve played it and damn Ace Attorney is really good. The mystery of solving the cases with all their twists and turns, it is in no way predictable and it has you hooked. I’m still not convinced on the art style personally, like it’s very good but I have no desire to see Phoenix Wright sweating profusely.

I like that the game is a challenge the whole way through. In order to work it out for yourself without using a guide you have to pay so much attention and always be three steps ahead. I thoroughly enjoyed playing the game, note I’ve only played the first one but shall be playing the others in the series, and look forward to getting a chance to play the others. In fact I was tempted to not bother writing this and just continue playing the games. Ace Attorney is a damn good game and to anyone who hasn’t played it yet, get out there and play it. Seriously you wont regret it.

Yet as this entry is titled there is still the matter of Professor Layton. I’ve played all the Professor Layton games that have been released in England and they are all really good. I love everything about the games from the story to the puzzles, from the art work to the music. It is safe to say besides Little Big Planet they are my favourite games. The more recent game The Unwound Future being the better of all three, not by any large distance because they’re all equally good games.

I can’t say anything bad about the Professor Layton series so I will admit, I still prefer the Layton series compared to Ace Attorney. However I like the differences between the two games, the differences which make them different but both amazingly good. Take Ace Attorney, you have to some extent solve the mystery of the cases in order to progress. You need to look for contradictions but you have to know where those contradictions are taking you and what it means for the case. Comparatively the mystery in the Professor Layton series unravels within the cut-scenes, not to say the narrative is secondary or unnecessary in fact it adds so much to the game and really develops the characters and the world of Professor Layton. You can progress through the whole game without any knowledge of the narrative and still be successful in completing the game because all the puzzles are in a sense completely separate. The puzzles are unrelated but this is by no means a negative. If you love puzzles your going to love the Professor Layton games. The narrative within both games are extremely captivating in their own way, whilst Layton draws on elements of the fantastical, Ace Attorney has a strong sense of reality though not necessarily being part of our own.

Both games are extremely good and well made, I’d recommend them both to anyone. They both deal with issues of mystery and unravelling cases in unique individual ways. Both games are incredibly fun and it’s hard to put down either of them, they are so addictive. I really hope that Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney gets a UK release that would make me so happy. I think as a game it could only be amazing. Both games warrant merit and hopefully I’ve convinced you enough to try both, I have and I loved them both and appreciated them on different levels.