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sabinetzinSo, Dual Destinies. TL;DR: it was everything I wanted out of Apollo Justice and didn't get. No plot spoilers, but full character appearance spoilers.
Apollo Justice is, for me, a very depressing video game. I only played it once, fully 10 years ago, so I remember more about the metaplot than the specifics of the cases (though tbh that applies to most of the games). But the way you have to watch Phoenix's downfall unfold, eventually becoming complicit in it, is not very fun. It's the only one I haven't replayed, because I didn't want to go through that again.
Dual Destinies is, however, a very fun video game. It was just a good time, even with the sometimes heavy subject material. I loved seeing old characters again, because in adding so many new ones, AJ lost the sense of community that the trilogy had. Those games were about Phoenix and his friends, who were always working towards the same goal as him no matter where they were in the courtroom. It did my heart such a good to see Miles and Pearl, and to know they were still in Phoenix's life in his lost years. (I did miss Maya, but it's attenuated a little bit by the fact I can go straight into Spirit of Justice.)
Unlike AJ, DD managed to add new characters without it feeling like the old ones were being cast aside. Because of that, I liked the new characters more. I found Athena and Blackquill a little dull at first, but by the end I was invested in both of them. I loved Fulbright, even as I missed Gumshoe. Also I need Juniper and Robin to run away together. Hugh can visit on weekends.
But of course, as a connoisseur of these games, I did have some issues:
1. You can tell this game was made for 3DS and meant to be downloaded rather than played off a cart. Sometimes this is good; the game is just lovely compared to the trilogy, and there's so much more in terms of animations and music. Unfortunately, it suffered in places from a sense of "here is where the 3D goes" that ages poorly. The caveat is that I was playing on a 2DS, so I might not have noticed if I'd been on a proper 3DS.
But it felt like there was less for me to do because they were showing off the features of the 3DS, rather than what they did with the trilogy and AJ. Those games utilized the features of the DS- microphone, touch pad- much more. I missed taking fingerprints with the tap and blow, and similar puzzles; even the luminol section was less involved. Investigation is my preferred part of the game, and I wanted it to be little heftier.
2. Related to the previous point, the game felt much more like it was on rails than previous entries. Make no mistake: Ace Attorney is as on rails as they come. You will play the story and you will like it. But there were subtle differences that ruined the illusion of free will a bit.
In DD, when you're finished with an area and need to progress to a different one, the game advances you there. You used to have to move there yourself, which also generated tension when you had to get somewhere fast because something was going on. It also, importantly, let you save before big story beats, and if you needed to, set down the game before starting them. That sounds like a really minor thing considering that you can pause and save at almost any point, but I've played these games so much for so long that I noticed.
3. I have seen the error of my ways: I disliked how you could move to anywhere from anywhere. I went back and read my Countdown to Apollo entries (would not recommend, I had some wack opinions 11 years ago) and one of the specific things I called out was trying to travel through the Fey household and Global Studios. At the time, it was really annoying that you had to move like you were moving in physical space, going down hallways to get to rooms, etc. But seeing it the other way, now I realize that it did create a sense of space that DD lacks.
4. Drove me batshit that Klavier had an American accent.
5. Definitely could have done without the fat shaming in the DLC. It was particularly jarring because the character is a high femme fierce bitch, and it ended up sounding like the other characters were just being catty and jealous. But really, most fat shaming is indeed catty. Ditto for some of the gender identity issues, but it mostly felt bumbling and atavistic rather than deliberately malicious.
But overall, I very much enjoyed this video game. I don't know if I'll end up playing it again; that's mostly because it's quite long. Based on my 2008 stats, the trilogy is between 40 and 50 hours long (I clocked in at 42, but it was a full replay and I skipped part of Turnabout Big Top). Dual Destinies clocks in at 36 hours with the DLC. It helps to justify the increased price, but it's more of a commitment than picking up, for example, T&T (which I might replay before I dig into Spirit of Justice, shhhh).
So yes. Phoenix Wright, won't you?
PS: FYI, you can buy a Dual Destinies theme for your 3DS, and I am delighted to have done it. It makes everything look like the Court Record and replaces the music and sound effects with the Dual Destinies theme and lines from the game. A+ would blow $2 again
Apollo Justice is, for me, a very depressing video game. I only played it once, fully 10 years ago, so I remember more about the metaplot than the specifics of the cases (though tbh that applies to most of the games). But the way you have to watch Phoenix's downfall unfold, eventually becoming complicit in it, is not very fun. It's the only one I haven't replayed, because I didn't want to go through that again.
Dual Destinies is, however, a very fun video game. It was just a good time, even with the sometimes heavy subject material. I loved seeing old characters again, because in adding so many new ones, AJ lost the sense of community that the trilogy had. Those games were about Phoenix and his friends, who were always working towards the same goal as him no matter where they were in the courtroom. It did my heart such a good to see Miles and Pearl, and to know they were still in Phoenix's life in his lost years. (I did miss Maya, but it's attenuated a little bit by the fact I can go straight into Spirit of Justice.)
Unlike AJ, DD managed to add new characters without it feeling like the old ones were being cast aside. Because of that, I liked the new characters more. I found Athena and Blackquill a little dull at first, but by the end I was invested in both of them. I loved Fulbright, even as I missed Gumshoe. Also I need Juniper and Robin to run away together. Hugh can visit on weekends.
But of course, as a connoisseur of these games, I did have some issues:
1. You can tell this game was made for 3DS and meant to be downloaded rather than played off a cart. Sometimes this is good; the game is just lovely compared to the trilogy, and there's so much more in terms of animations and music. Unfortunately, it suffered in places from a sense of "here is where the 3D goes" that ages poorly. The caveat is that I was playing on a 2DS, so I might not have noticed if I'd been on a proper 3DS.
But it felt like there was less for me to do because they were showing off the features of the 3DS, rather than what they did with the trilogy and AJ. Those games utilized the features of the DS- microphone, touch pad- much more. I missed taking fingerprints with the tap and blow, and similar puzzles; even the luminol section was less involved. Investigation is my preferred part of the game, and I wanted it to be little heftier.
2. Related to the previous point, the game felt much more like it was on rails than previous entries. Make no mistake: Ace Attorney is as on rails as they come. You will play the story and you will like it. But there were subtle differences that ruined the illusion of free will a bit.
In DD, when you're finished with an area and need to progress to a different one, the game advances you there. You used to have to move there yourself, which also generated tension when you had to get somewhere fast because something was going on. It also, importantly, let you save before big story beats, and if you needed to, set down the game before starting them. That sounds like a really minor thing considering that you can pause and save at almost any point, but I've played these games so much for so long that I noticed.
3. I have seen the error of my ways: I disliked how you could move to anywhere from anywhere. I went back and read my Countdown to Apollo entries (would not recommend, I had some wack opinions 11 years ago) and one of the specific things I called out was trying to travel through the Fey household and Global Studios. At the time, it was really annoying that you had to move like you were moving in physical space, going down hallways to get to rooms, etc. But seeing it the other way, now I realize that it did create a sense of space that DD lacks.
4. Drove me batshit that Klavier had an American accent.
5. Definitely could have done without the fat shaming in the DLC. It was particularly jarring because the character is a high femme fierce bitch, and it ended up sounding like the other characters were just being catty and jealous. But really, most fat shaming is indeed catty. Ditto for some of the gender identity issues, but it mostly felt bumbling and atavistic rather than deliberately malicious.
But overall, I very much enjoyed this video game. I don't know if I'll end up playing it again; that's mostly because it's quite long. Based on my 2008 stats, the trilogy is between 40 and 50 hours long (I clocked in at 42, but it was a full replay and I skipped part of Turnabout Big Top). Dual Destinies clocks in at 36 hours with the DLC. It helps to justify the increased price, but it's more of a commitment than picking up, for example, T&T (which I might replay before I dig into Spirit of Justice, shhhh).
So yes. Phoenix Wright, won't you?
PS: FYI, you can buy a Dual Destinies theme for your 3DS, and I am delighted to have done it. It makes everything look like the Court Record and replaces the music and sound effects with the Dual Destinies theme and lines from the game. A+ would blow $2 again
(no subject)
Date: 2019-02-19 06:52 pm (UTC)Oh my god that's true. And an unending source of frustration that they need you to do/say these two things in EXACTLY THIS ORDER and if you don't you spend the next forty-five minutes going in circles and crying because you're about to be arrested for murder and you have a piece of evidence you can't use because you didn't do the things in the right order and now no one will talk to you.
Looks like I have some AA trauma.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-02-19 07:13 pm (UTC)Though a thing I noticed about DD is there was less of that? There was a lot of the attorneys claiming to have proof in court and me going "lol k hope you know what it is, cause I don't", but less of "I have shown you everything, please just confess so we can go home".
(no subject)
Date: 2019-02-21 01:12 am (UTC)I felt bad the first time I broke down and used a walkthrough, but then it turned out the answer was something I'd already considered and I just hadn't pointed at precisely the right area on the evidence, and I've used walkthroughs ever since with absolutely no compunction. Because I enjoy everything about these games except for that fussiness, so, yeah, I didn't buy the game to be angry at it.