Apollo Justice replaces Phoenix Wright at the bar
First DS-only Ace Attorney game gets US release date
Bad news for those of you who were quite attached to Phoenix Wright, with his spiky hair and tendency to sweat profusely when under pressure in the courtroom, because he's about to be replaced with brand new legal hero Apollo Justice.
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (or Gyakuten Saiban 4 as it's called there) was released in Japan in April this year as the fourth Ace Attorney game in the series and the first to be designed especially for DS (the previous games were Game Boy Advance adaptations).
The game was the first Ace Attorney game not to feature English translation so up until now we've been in the dark as to what it all involves. But Capcom has just given us the English title and release date for the US.
Alongside your new defence attorney lead character, there's a whole new cast of characters in the game. This includes a new arch-rival prosecutor to hate, called Klavier Gavin – a lawyer who sings in a rock band on the side. Think that's odd? Apollo's sidekick is a female magician called Trucy. And he also gets help from mentor Kristoph Gavin, the brother of Klavier. Surely that's going to be cause for some fireworks?
Old Phoenix himself crops up too, although his career sounds like it's gone a bit downhill since we last saw him. It's heartbreaking.
Anyway, as ever, each chapter in the game is divided into two parts – the clue-gathering investigation stage and the courtroom segment. All new for this episode is a 'crime recreation mode' that enables players to reveal clues by recreating the scene of the crime.
Expect plenty more bonkers dialogue, colourful characters and – yes – shouting "Objection!" into the DS mic (not to mention the concerned look on the faces of your fellow commuters).
The game is set for release in the US at the start of 2008. Around the time we'll just be getting the third Phoenix Wright game, Trials and Tribulations, here in the UK, then.
