From what I've heard (keep in mind, I've tried to keep myself as unspoiled as possible), it's ambitious, I'll give it that much. However, that works to its disadvantage, given that it a.) still has Kay around, b.) does not consider Edgeworth's previous actions in AAI non-canon, c.) is built upon AAI, which sucks. It had a "chess" system, TWO playable characters to develop, multiple rivals coming in, et cetera. While the chance to play as Gregory is nice, and Edgeworth's motivations to become a prosecutor are explored (Didn't we do this already? He was raised by von Karma, and hated criminals ever since his father was murdered. How much exploring does this need?), it's not enough, in the end.Shadowsleuth wrote:I understand you don't care for AAI. What are your thoughts on AAI2?
I think another problem with the AAI series is that Edgeworth has already been developed so much, that the writers seem a bit confused. Instead of pushing forward, they're back-tracking and exploring already developed character development (i.e. why he became a prosecutor, his ethics, etc.). The worst part is that AAI gave the player the choice on whether or not to use illegal evidence, and using illegal evidence was the CORRECT choice? This baffles the mind, as we've previously established that Edgeworth plays strictly by the books, even if he will find every loophole possible. There was no loophole. Furthermore, we don't see much of Lang making changes. In fact, most of the development we see from Lang is told to us by Shi-na, which is almost as telling the story via text-scroll, a la many bad movies. The most we see Lang develop (from the player's PoV) is at the very end of the game. Even then, not much really changes.
One of the major problems of AAI is that it feels like the player is still a defense attorney. Let us review...
Phoenix/Apollo:
* Sees their client in trouble, and the client is (most times) innocent.
* The attorney decides to take on their case.
* The attorney then goes to gather evidence, ferreting out the truth from the lies.
* The attorney then confronts witnesses and suspects with the evidence, to find the leads that will reveal the true culprit, bring them to justice, and exonerate his client.
Edgeworth:
* Edgeworth sees someone falsely arrested, and figures him/her to be innocent.
* Edgeworth then vows to prevent them from getting arrested.
* Edgeworth then goes to gather evidence, ferreting out the truth from the lies.
* Edgeworth then confronts witnesses and suspects with the evidence, to find the leads that will reveal the true culprit, bring them to justice, and exonerate the person Edgeworth has vowed to protect.
Edgeworth acts entirely like a defense attorney the entire game. He defends arrested people as if they were his clients. Furthermore, you look at the argument system, and it's just a renamed version of the court system. All you do is replace "rebuttal" with "cross-examination", et cetera, and you haven't changed a thing. Edgeworth might as well be in the courtroom at this rate.
Furthermore, the Logic and Deduction systems are just laughable. The Logic system is handled in such a way that it connects two thoughts the player has already connected. The fact that Edgeworth (a genius, mind you) needs help from the player to figure out that a gun was used on a victim that was shot is simply insulting to the player (even if Edgeworth didn't have the "genius" status). Deduction is also a carry-over from the court section. What was "look at this picture, point, present evidence" now becomes "look at this crime scene, point, present evidence". How original.
Edgeworth's relation to Kay is also baffling. Edgeworth hates criminals. Yet, at every turn, Kay proclaims and confesses she is a PROFESSIONAL THIEF. Even if it's "to steal the truth" (Really? I never thought something could beat "unlocking the truth", but fan disappointment is always able to be met), she is committing (at the very least) vigilantism, which is against the law in both the US and Japan (the latter being the justice and judicial system the AA series is based off of). She barely contributes anything beyond her high-tech "Little Thief" (in an age where VHS cassette tapes are still commonplace), which doesn't do anything a supposedly genius prosecutor couldn't do in his head. Furthermore, any development she's supposed to have is shoved into TWO OF THE FIVE cases, appearing in Episodes 3 and 5, the first two establishing Edgeworth and the game's systems, and episode 4 being a flash back where Kay's relation to Edgeworth is introduced (but no real development actually happens). And Ema is there! If ANYONE would have a high-tech gizmo, it'd be her! In fact, one could entirely eliminate Kay, and there would be VERY LITTLE change in the storyline.
Need I also point out how the translation team has become increasingly sloppy since T&T? It is simply unacceptable that a game about A GENIUS PROSECUTOR has so many grammatical and spelling errors.
Furthermore, character designs range from surprisingly appealing to outright lazy. Mack Rell and the fat Mask DeMasque wannabe are so poorly designed, it baffles the mind. They look like they were fan-made by a two years-old boy.
I will say, however, that there are SOME aspects of AAI that I liked. The music wasn't horrible (though Revival was abused like it was in T&T), and the graphics were a step up even from the already impressive Apollo Justice. Though the Yatagarasu storyline crashed and burned like a deformed bird, you can tell there was at least SOME effort placed into constructing the story (though the character assassination of Edgeworth and other beloved characters has been far from going beyond notice!).
Honestly? If these characters had been entirely dissociated from the Ace Attorney series, and were entirely original characters, this game might have hit "mediocre" status. However, these writers and developers clearly missed their mark when carrying previous characters to this game.
However, having not played the game, I cannot make an OFFICIAL judgment on it. Doesn't mean I still can't mourn for the days Shu Takumi was still on the team. But since AAI 2 insists on keeping the events of the first AAI, it will be fundamentally flawed no matter what.