Phoenix Wright: The Turnabout Sisters

Capcom's unique 'lawyer sim' series has been pretty popular in Japan for a while now. Originally released on the Game Boy Advance with the tongue-twisting moniker Gyakuten Saiban, this refreshingly original series has subsequently been re-branded for western markets as Phoenix Wright and has experienced considerable success on the Nintendo DS console.

A short time ago we reviewed the mobile interpretation of this fine, upstanding adventure game. Although it's a direct port of the first DS title (subtitled Ace Attorney), we were sad to report that memory constraints resulted in Capcom having to release the game in several episodes.

Episode one – also known as The First Turnabout – covered the opening trial of the DS original and served as little more than a tutorial, helping rookie lawyers to get to grips with the complexities of courtroom etiquette.

Although it offered the opportunity to complete the trial, The First Turnabout was unforgiveably short, granting the player only a couple of moments of interactivity for their hard-earned cash. Unfortunately, although the next episode offers a little more scope for criminal-busting action, it's crippled by the same issues that we found so objectionable (pun intended) in the first instalment.

In many ways, this episode – The Turnabout Sisters – is even less satisfying as it doesn't even allow you to complete the entire trial in one single download. What we have here is a much larger case than The First Turnabout and it makes it possible for you to get more involved with finding evidence and nailing the suspect.

In the first instalment, the action took place exclusively in the courtroom, but here you're let out on the streets in order to build up your case. You visit crime scenes and interview witnessess in your relentless quest for justice – you're even expected to visit your client in prison with the aim of finding out just what happened. Once the correct evidence has been collated, the game automatically whisks you back to the courtroom, leaving the task of utilizing the new-found information in your hands.

There are plenty of twists and turns along the way and in terms of plot and pacing, Phoenix Wright is bang on the money. The DS original was widely praised for possessing a complicated yet intelligent storyline and seeing as the mobile game is an exact replica you can expect the same level of quality.

The key issue here is the need to divide the game up into so many different sections, pushing the cost up for those of you that want to see each trial through to its bloody, nail-biting conclusion.

The Turnabout Sisters is split into four different parts, each priced at £2. So just to complete this one trial – which is merely a fraction of the entire Phoenix Wright DS game, don't forget – is going to sting you to the tune of £8. Not a complete rip-off when you consider that many mobile phone titles offer far less enjoyment, but not exactly value for money when compared to the (obviously) superior DS original, which can now be found discounted from some outlets.

That's obviously irrelevant if you lack a DS console and still want to know what all the fuss is about. And if you do, then you could certainly do a lot worse than check this out. As a mobile conversion it's extremely accurate in terms of graphics, presentation and sound – it's just a shame that each trial has to be split up into sections, which render it a costly exercise in digital courtroom entertainment.