And roll credits.
Premise: Turnabout Tennis is a short simple case about a murder which occurs right during the semifinals of a tennis tournament, and Phoenix Wright is assigned as the lawyer of this case. With his epic long-time rival Winston Payne returning to crush him in court and an uncooperative defendant, will Phoenix be able to get to the bottom of this case or will he just cause a...
racket?
Okay, bad jokes aside, let's get to the review bit. Starting with the...
Story- The case itself is rather clear-cut. The story itself isn't anything to write home about but it works well for what it is and even has a few interesting twists and turns. This works particularly well for a tutorial case, which is what it's meant to be. The trial itself is well paced and easy to follow and the case logic itself, while it starts off easily enough (with the first three testimonies or so being pretty much a cakewalk), gradually gets more difficult as the case goes on and does get more interesting in terms of contradiction design (which will be addressed later on). I solved most of the case without actually needing to consult the walkthrough, though, so it's a fairly standard affair here. The writing is fine as well.
Presentation- This really isn't the type of case you would expect too much of a need for custom graphics, but AceJakkidFan really went all out on this. Putting in the proper fades, making a custom intro, making the maps and other custom scenes and
even making one of the character's sprites all by himself. It's certainly a commendable effort and adds a lot to the experience, so kudos on that. There was one drawing which confused me my first time through, but I think it's mostly just a misinterpretation I had. In terms of other stuff, the dialogue is pretty well written, I only spotted one or two typos in total. There are a few timing errors here and there but they'll be fixed before the case releases, so there's not much to worry about. A few frames which could have used some sound effects, though. Music is mostly just from JfA but it fits the tone of the case pretty well.
Puzzles- As mentioned above, the puzzles are good. Testimony design is strong and it keeps you on your toes. The evidence is also used cleverly enough in multiple different ways, and they're pretty much used to their full potential there. And while the puzzles can get a little tricky towards the end, it's not to any insane degree and they're still mostly solvable with a good deal of thought.
Theme Relevance- As has been established, this case adheres to the theme quite well. There's only about 6-7 pieces of evidence in total, and only 2 actual witnesses. The evidence is used well enough and each piece gets its own use in its own time. So, obviously, this gets a pass in theme relevance!
Overall- Turnabout Tennis is a simple case which is short and sweet. I can easily see it working as a good canon tutorial case. It has good trial flow, an interesting setup, and a generally strong mystery with some unique gameplay extremely befitting of this comp. It's definitely worth playing and I recommend checking it out once it releases, especially since it's already complete. This Turnabout Tennis is more like a Turnabout
Elevenis, if you ask me! ...Heheh.