Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice Reviews
If you want more Ace Attorney, Spirit of Justice will keep you entertained for hours on end!
Gorgeous, but let down by a lack of confidence
Capcom has the Ace Attorney foundations firmly mastered at this point, meaning fans know what to expect from a new entry in the series.
It can be too predictable at some points and its longer lifespan feels unnecessary at some moments but the overall result is still on par with the high standards that the series has left its players used to.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Bringing together the key players from recent Ace Attorney outings, whilst developing some of the newer characters to flesh out their stories for future entries, is a very difficult balancing act, yet with Spirit of Justice Capcom expertly navigates any pitfalls to deliver the most in-depth, enthralling episode of Phoenix Wright's adventures so far. It might, for better or worse, feel like Apollo Justice 2 to some, but the way the story unfolds over the five cases is magnificent and leaves players - new and old, alike - hungry for much more.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice shines as few games do. It has beautiful stories, amazing characters, and twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. If you're a fan of Ace Attorney, this is a game you must play.
Obwohl ich mich nicht als Ace-Attorney-Experte bezeichnen würde, kann ich der Reihe schon einige positive Seiten abgewinnen. Bislang habe ich als großer Fan der Professor-Layton-Serie lediglich das Crossover von Capcom und Level 5 aus dem Jahr 2014 gespielt und dieses auch sehr genossen. Allerdings sollte sich jeder angehende Star-Anwalt auch über die Eigentümlichkeiten bewusst sein, die zur DNA eines jeden Phoenix Wright zwingend dazugehören. Die Inszenierung der Gerichtsprozesse kommt in ihrer Anmutung schon sehr japanisch daher. Der Schlagabtausch zwischen Richter, Staatsanwalt und Verteidigung erinnert in seiner Hektik an die Aufgeregtheit eines Duracell-Hasen. Unentwegt schmettern die Protagonisten "Einspruch, Euer Ehren!". Und wenn mal eine der handelnden Personen in die Defensive gerät, fließen die Schweißperlen in einer völlig überzeichneten Ästhetik an der Stirn herab. Auch die Texte, obwohl mit viel Witz und Liebe zum Detail ins Englische übersetzt, arten zum Teil in nicht enden wollende Klickwüsten aus. Auch der klackernde Sound der Buchstaben kann nach einiger Zeit schon ein bisschen nerven. Dafür kann man die Serie nur lieben oder hassen. Einen Mittelweg gibt es wahrscheinlich nicht. Von daher können alle Fans der Serie bedenkenlos zugreifen, während Skeptiker auch diesmal einen großen Bogen darum machen.
Review in German | Read full review
Spirit of Justice proves that Ace Attorney can still manage to be fresh, exciting, and most importantly tell a great story.
I hope the next Ace Attorney game has more structure in its overarching narrative and the developers actually have the cases flow naturally from one to the next. Even with its flaws, Spirit of Justice is good fun, through, and another quality example of a narrative from the ever-growing stable of visual novels we are now getting translated into English.
At this stage, it feels incongruous to state whether or not this is the best Ace Attorney game. A lot of the aspects in the game are nothing new, but whilst there are elements that separate it from its predecessors, there is nothing that instantly makes it significantly better than the rest. In part, this is because the main series has been so continuously strong. Even though there has been an increase in the number of visual novel type games to come to the West, Ace Attorney is still one of the best, and Spirit of Justice does not detract from that. The fact that it holds its own against previous entries, as well as providing the most engaging overall narrative in the series makes it worth playing. What's more, it retains the humour and character (and not to forget great music) that makes the Ace Attorney series so exceptional. Now if there aren’t any objections, the verdict can now be given…
Spirit of Justice has every quality and every flaw of the Ace Attorney series. On the western edge of far East you'll find a great story, amazing characters and that sense of humor we all learned to love. But you'll also find a linear game with very few changes. A solid visual novel overall.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Although Spirit of Justice doesn’t utilize all of its mechanics to their full potential, it is filled with the strong storytelling and humor fans of the series expect. It is a must-play for any Ace Attorney fan.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice does everything you’d expect from a sequel, and whilst some issues from the past linger you’ll be too engrossed to be bothered. A great instalment for series fans and newcomers alike.
Spirit of Justice is yet another enjoyable entry in a cherished franchise, which doubles-down on the delightfully zany aspects of the series to great effect. The back-and-forth courtroom disputes suffer from a weak presence on the opposing bench and several decade-old mechanical flaws, but none of its sins are egregious enough to quash the divine character work and enchanting anime style.An imperfect, but nonetheless victorious, return for Capcom's distinguished defence attorney.
If you’re a fan of the series and haven’t picked this game up yet, I can’t fathom why. It’s easily one of the strongest entries and while there may be some pandering to nostalgia, it feels like its continuing Dual Destinies’ work to get the series back on track.
From prisoner prosecutors to astronaut defendants, the Ace Attorney series has built a reputation on turning legal proceedings into over-the-top battles for the truth. You’d think after five games, three spinoffs (two of which we’re unlikely to see in the West) and one crossover, every possible plotline would be played out, but the writers behind Ace Attorney just keep coming up with new scenarios, new gimmicks and new memorable characters. In fact, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice proves the franchise still has a lot of life in it yet, and ranks among its best entries.
The new episode of this peculiar series continues on the winning path undertaken with Dual Destinies. The undoubted charisma of the characters helps to support a strong and well-written script, and the process that accompanies the resolution of cases in consistent ance with very few holes in logical steps.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Eric Van Allen is a Texas-based writer. You can follow his e-sports and games rumblings @seamoosi on Twitter.
While the overall writing and story is a little weak here, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice is still a fun game, featuring characters you all know and love. Sadly, it's starting to prove that living up to the quality of the first three games is a hard feat to pull off.
Another exciting visual novel - but only if you can get over the series' longstanding irritations.