Phoenix Wright's replacement wins over Japanese DS gamers
Goodbye Ryuichi Naruhodo, as a quarter of a million rise for Housuke Odoroki
It was mere days ago that we were getting all excited about the third Phoenix Wright game – Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations – due to be released in the UK sometime this autumn. Over in its homeland, however, Gyakuten Saiban 4 (as the fourth Phoenix Wright game is known there) has just been released, shooting straight to the top of the charts with over 250,000 copies sold in one week.
The next highest-selling game, Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, which was also released in the same week, sold 'only' around 90,000 copies. Case closed!
You have to feel a bit sorry for Phoenix though. Apparently, in this latest outing he's given up on law to become a restaurant piano player. So in his place steps another young, cocky lawyer, Housuke Odoroki. His catchphrase is "Soko da!" which in English means "It's there!". It comes courtesy of a new gameplay feature where you can focus in on witnesses to check them for signs of nervousness or lying as you cross-examine them.
Another notable difference is that this game is the first one in the series to have been developed for the DS from the ground up. The first three games were originally made for the GBA and then ported to the DS.
Still don't get too excited about yet. We don't expect Gyakuten Saiban 4 to be released in the UK until 2008. And don't bother importing it either. It's the first game in the series not to include an English translation. Spoilsports.
