Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
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Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom Nintendo (AU)
Composer(s)	Masakazu Sugimori
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS PC Windows
Release	Game Boy Advance JPN October 11, 2001 Nintendo DS JPN September 15, 2005 NA October 11, 2005 EUR March 31, 2006 AU March 8, 2007 PC Windows JPN December 23, 2005
Genre(s)	Visual novel
Mode(s)	Single player

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, released in Japan as Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten (逆転裁判 蘇る逆転, lit. "Turnabout Trial: Revived Turnabout"), is a visual novel-type adventure video game published and developed by Capcom in Japan, North America, and Europe, and published by Nintendo in Australia. It was first released in Japan on September 15, 2005, and was later released in North America on October 11, 2005, in Europe on March 31, 2006, and in Australia on March 8, 2007.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a remake of the Game Boy Advance video game Gyakuten Saiban (originally released October 11, 2001), which was never released outside of Japan. The Nintendo DS version takes advantage of the touch screen, dual screens, and microphone support as well as adding a new fifth episode called Rise from the Ashes, which was designed specifically for the remake.

A PC version of Gyakuten Saiban was released under the title Gyakuten Saiban PC. It was published by the Japanese company SourceNext on December 23, 2005. It is an emulation of the original Game Boy Advance game compatible with Windows-based PCs. It was only released in Japan, and there have been no plans to release it anywhere else. A mobile phone version of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was released in North America in January, 2007. Only the first case has been released; the rest of the game will be available for download in the future. It plays more similarly to the Game Boy Advance version, as it lacks touch support, two screens, or microphone support, and it will not feature Episode 5.

Gameplay

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a remake of Gyakuten Saiban (pictured above), which was released only in Japan.

In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the player takes on the role of Phoenix Wright, who must do various tasks, some being standard operation for a defense attorney and some having nothing to do with the profession.

The game has a total of 5 trials. In the game's setting, once a suspect is arrested, a trial lasting no more than 3 days is held to determine their innocence or guilt. A guilty verdict will cause the suspect to be tried in a higher court, which means game over.

Except for the first case, the game cycles between two phases: Investigation, and Courtroom Sessions. The new episode takes advantage of the DS's features at several points, such as spraying luminol with the touch screen to locate blood stains at crime scenes, dusting for fingerprints, or examining a three-dimensional view of evidence.

Investigation

During the investigation, the player can move between several areas related to the crime and investigate those areas for evidence and other clues. The player can also talk with people in those areas and present them with evidence and information to try to elicit more information from them. These sections are mostly linear. Once a key piece of information is obtained, a new line of questioning, a new area or a new character will be revealed. By the end of the investigation phase, the player will have sufficient evidence in the court record to use for the trial.

Courtroom sessions

During the courtroom session, the player listens to testimony, and then performs a cross examination of the witness. During cross examination, the player can press the witness on each statement, which may reveal a flaw in the witness' testimony or additional information that was not present before; if the latter, the testimony may be updated to reflect this new information. Also during cross examination, the player can produce evidence from the court record in an attempt to contradict the current statement. When a contradiction is correctly pointed out, this may lead to new testimony from the witness or a new witness being brought to the stand. This process continues until there is a delay for further investigation or the suspect is found not guilty. If the wrong evidence is used, or evidence is presented at the wrong time, the player will be punished with a strike. If the player accumulates five strikes during a courtroom session, the accused is found guilty and the game ends. There are also times during courtroom sessions where the player can select an option (such as whether to press a witness further on a statement or not), or will be required to produce evidence to support a claim. In some of these cases, selecting the wrong option will also punish the player with a "penalty". If the player is penalized

The player can investigate the evidence and the persons listed in the court record during both the investigation and the courtroom session phases.

Characters

Character names for the English release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney have been changed significantly from the original Japanese names in Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten to help with the localization of the game. Characters below have been identified by both their English and their original Japanese name.

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Phoenix Wright

Phoenix Wright / Ryuichi Naruhodo (成歩堂 龍一 Naruhodō Ryūichi) - Age 24

The protagonist, who is known for his spiky hairdo. He has only been an attorney for three months when he went into his first trial (episode 1). He is a very bright attorney but very inexperienced, causing him to often win a trial by the skin of his teeth. His nickname is "Nick", which is used by his friends, and also was called "porcupine head" once by his opponents. Phoenix is generally cynical, yet clumsy. His Japanese name is a pun on the Japanese for "I see", naruhodo (成程). In English, there are frequent instances such as, "Isn't that right, Wright?"

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Mia Fey

Mia Fey / Chihiro Ayasato (綾里 千尋 Ayasato Chihiro) - Age 27

A highly competent lawyer and Phoenix's boss and mentor. Her first meeting with him was in her second case. He was impressed with her constant belief in his innocence, and vowed to work hard to become a defense attorney for her sake. She tragically meets her end in the second case of the game. Even after death, however, she continues to provide assistance to Phoenix, by channeling her spirit through her little sister, Maya. Her mother, Misty Fey, was double-crossed by Redd White in a case many years ago, and Mia became an attorney with the sole intention of one day putting White behind bars. She is extremely professional and calculating, but friendly and warm towards Phoenix. She often saves Phoenix at the eleventh hour, though on rare occasions even she gets stumped. Her Japanese name is a pun on the Japanese for "know everything", chihiro (千尋).

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Maya Fey

Maya Fey / Mayoi Ayasato (綾里 真宵 Ayasato Mayoi) - Age 17

Mia's little sister, Wright's assistant and a medium-in-training. She can channel her big sister's spirit into her body for a limited amount of time, via a method similar to possession, but can only do so in desperate situations. Otherwises, she is like any teenage girl and is fan of Tokusatsu shows and films, particularly the Steel Samurai and Pink Princess. Maya is usually kind and sweet, though she has a tendency to overreact and has a strong love of food, often saying she has a "second stomach" for foods she likes. She seems to treat Phoenix in the same way as she did with her older sister.Her Japanese name is a pun on the Japanese for "perplexity", mayoi (迷い).

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Dick Gumshoe

Detective Dick Gumshoe / Keisuke Itonokogiri (糸鋸圭介 Itonokogiri Keisuke) - Age 30

Dick Gumshoe is a police detective from the homicide division. Hot-headed and overzealous at times, he often leaps to conclusions and makes wrongful arrests, but is generally apologetic afterwards. He holds a deep respect for Miles Edgeworth, almost to the point of hero worship. Gumshoe also has a habit of interrupting conversations at inappropriate moments. He tends to be gullible, brash and definitely isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he means well. Also, Gumshoe makes and throws confetti at the end of every case.

Winston Payne / Takefumi Auchi (亜内武文 Auchi Takefumi) - Age 52

The prosecuting attorney Phoenix Wright encounters during his first murder case (Case 1). Known as the "Rookie Killer" in his profession, he is in fact very unconfident of himself and often extremely frail as an attorney. He is known for his rather screechy voice and his tendency to flick his forehead whilst thinking. Phoenix easily defeats Payne and solidifies his ability as a defense attorney. Payne also appears as the introductory prosecutor for the subsequent two games and again reprises that same role in the fourth game.

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Miles Edgeworth

Miles Edgeworth / Reiji Mitsurugi (御剣 怜侍 Mitsurugi Reiji) - Age 24

Wright's rival, he became a prosecutor at the age of twenty and has been called a "genius" by many. Cold and calculating, he will use any means necessary to get a guilty verdict, and has rumors surrounding him regarding the use of forged evidence and tampered testimonies. He, Phoenix, and Larry Butz were once friends in grade school. Edgeworth is the prosecutor in Chapters 2, 3, and 5. He is the defendant in Chapter 4. In the English version of the game, Edgeworth is given both the nicknames "Edgey" and "Worthy".

Manfred von Karma / Go Karuma (狩魔豪 Karuma Gō) - Age 65

Karma is a ruthless prosecutor, in office for over forty years. He believes only perfection can be tolerated and it is said he'll do anything to get a guilty verdict. Karma never loses his cool and has even the judge under his control. Karma was also Edgeworth's mentor; he prides himself on his perfect winning streak and clean record in court. Karma is the prosecutor in Chapter 4, in which Edgeworth is the defendant. His Japanese name can mean 'The great demon which hunts' or 'The fires of hell', depending on how the kanji is interpreted, and is a reference to the effects of karma.

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Larry Butz

Larry Butz / Masashi Yahari (矢張政志 Yahari Masashi) - Age 23

Larry has been Phoenix's friend ever since they were in elementary school. A born troublemaker, ("If something smells, it's usually the Butz.") and the defendant in "The First Turnabout", as well as a witness in "Turnabout Goodbyes". Not much is known about him, however, he's generally quite emotional, and somehow manages to date models, even if they don't seem to think much of him.

Larry's Japanese name, "Yahari", is a pun on yappari, for "I knew it".

The Judge - Saibanchō (裁判長 presiding judge) - Age unknown

Presiding at all 5 cases, the white-bearded judge generally maintains the proceedings and order in the court, but seems to be easily influenced through favors, flirting witnesses, or by those with strong wills, particularly by von Karma in "Turnabout Goodbyes". However, when faced with factual contradictions, he will make sure justice is served. He's initially highly skeptical of Phoenix's ability to defend though comes about in later cases. He appears to have been on the bench for a long time, and seems to be good friends with Police Chief Damon Gant (Kaiji Ganto (巌徒 海慈 Ganto Kaiji)), who calls him 'Udgey').

Setting

The original Japanese version of the game is set in Japan. The English version has localized many of the catch phrases, puns, and colloquialisms to make it seem as though the game might be set in a North American locale; The localization designers specifically set it in Los Angeles, California.

Since this game is a courtroom drama, one might expect the differences in the Japanese and American legal systems to come into play. This is not entirely the case, however, as the game is set in 2016-17, allowing Capcom to improvise a little with the setting's legal customs. This does not change the fact that the courtroom is modeled after a Japanese court, not an American one.

There are no significant visual differences between the game's setting and actual present day, but the dialog refers to several major laws that were passed during that chronological gap. For instance, all trials in the game are limited to a duration of three days, which provides an additional sense of urgency that runs counter to the drawn-out courtroom proceedings often seen in real life.

Storyline

The story focuses on five separate trials. The main character, Phoenix Wright, is a rookie defense attorney who works at a small law office headed by the experienced Mia Fey. The word "Turnabout" in the titles of trials 1-4 refers to the game's Japanese name, which can be translated as "Turnabout Court" or "Comeback Court". The name most likely refers to Phoenix Wright's habit of making sudden comebacks in the face of impossible odds during trials.

The First Turnabout

(はじめての逆転)

Larry Butz is accused of killing his girlfriend Cindy Stone (Mika Takabi (高日美佳 Takabi Mika)). His longtime friend, Phoenix Wright, takes the case.

Frank Sahwit (Hoshio Yamano (山野星雄 Yamano Hoshio)), the actual murderer, appears as a witness and claims he saw Butz leaving the apartment and looked inside to find a woman lying dead on the floor. However, his testimony has clear contradictions, including a mistaken time of death and hearing the television despite a power outage, which Phoenix uses to expose his guilt. Butz is proclaimed not guilty and gives Mia Fey another statue similar to the one used to murder his girlfriend in thanks (despite Wright being the one mostly responsible for clearing his name).

Turnabout Sisters

(逆転姉妹)

Phoenix’s mentor Mia Fey is killed and her sister, Maya, is implicated as the murderer. The night of the murder, Mia had arranged to meet Maya at the Fey & Co. offices. However, before they meet, Mia is murdered and Maya arrives to find her body. A woman named April May (Umeyo Shouchiku (松竹梅世 Shōchiku Umeyo)) in the hotel opposite the Fey & Co. offices, the Gatewater Hotel (a reference to the Watergate Hotel), screams and calls the police, who arrive to arrest Maya.

The next day, Phoenix sets out to prove Maya's innocence. During the trial, it is revealed that not only is April May being deceptive, but that a man may have also been present in April May's room at the time of the murder. Phoenix investigates and discovers that the man, Redd White (Masaru Konaka (小中大 Konaka Masaru)), had built a business around blackmailing prominent and powerful people, and that Mia Fey had been working to expose him.

When confronted, White agrees to testify in an attempt to finger Phoenix as the murderer. Phoenix must defend himself in court against a man who has apparently influenced both the judge and the prosecuting attorney with his "information gathering". Though Phoenix manages to find many contradictions in White's testimony, Edgeworth unexpectedly gets White to incriminate himself on a lesser charge, which seemingly solves the contradictions and leaves Phoenix on the verge of being declared guilty. At the last minute, Mia Fey appears, channeling herself through Maya and aids Phoenix in foiling White's plans. White admits that he is the murderer and both Maya and Phoenix are cleared of charges.

After the trial, Phoenix takes over Fey & Co. and renames it Wright & Co., and Maya decides to join as Phoenix's assistant.

Turnabout Samurai

(逆転のトノサマン)

Will Powers (Saburou Niboshi (荷星三郎 Niboshi Saburō)), the star of the popular kids’ television show “The Steel Samurai” is suspected of killing his co-star, Jack Hammer (Takeshi Ibukuro (衣袋武志 Ibukuro Takeshi)). Maya, an enthusiastic fan of the show, "convinces" Phoenix to defend Powers.

Powers claims that he slept through the whole ordeal, but the security guard Wendy Oldbag (Kaoru Ooba (大場カオル Ōba Kaoru)) says she saw him, dressed in The Steel Samurai costume, limping towards the studio prior to the murder. Further questioning of Oldbag reveals that a few other people were present at the studio the day of the murder: Sal Manella (Takuya Uzai (宇在拓也 Uzai Takuya)), the creator and director of The Steel Samurai; Dee Vasquez (Sakura Himegami (姫神サクラ Himegami Sakura)), the producer; and Cody Hackins (Kyuuta Ootaki (大滝九太 Ōtaki Kyūta)), a young fan of the show who had snuck unto the studio grounds.

Cody Hackins testifies that he saw The Steel Samurai defeated at the hands of an unknown person at studio two rather than studio one, where the body was found. Phoenix finds out that five years earlier, Jack Hammer had unintentionally killed a man while shooting a film, and Vasquez had been blackmailing him ever since. The pieces slowly fall into place, and during the final phase of the trial Phoenix discovers that Powers had been drugged by Hammer, who stole his costume and went to studio two to kill Dee Vasquez. Vasquez ended up killing Hammer in self defense, after which she moved the body to studio one to prevent her blackmail from being found out by framing Powers for the murder.

However, Phoenix cannot take all the credit for winning the trial. On the final day, Edgeworth objects to his own witness (Vasquez) and forces her to testify when Phoenix has given up. Phoenix is able to solve the case but is left wondering: why would Edgeworth blow his own case?

Turnabout Goodbyes

(逆転, そしてサヨナラ)

Miles Edgeworth’s past comes back to haunt him when Robert Hammond (Yukio Nakamura (生倉雪夫 Nakamura Yukio)), the defense attorney involved in the murder case of Gregory Edgeworth, Miles' father, is himself murdered, and Edgeworth is the only suspect. Initially, Edgeworth is reluctant to take on Phoenix as his defense attorney, but after Phoenix uncovers many clues in the case, Edgeworth accepts his representation. The prosecutor, Manfred von Karma (Gou Karuma (狩魔豪 Karuma Gō)), was Edgeworth's mentor and has a perfect 40-year court record -- except for being penalized once in a trial where Gregory Edgeworth was the defense attorney.

The first day in court starts disastrously, as Phoenix is unable to find anything wrong with the testimony of a photographer who claims to have witnessed the murder, and Maya is even arrested for an outburst in court. A slip by the photographer leads to her testimony unravelling however, and she is eventually forced to admit that she didn't really witness the murder at all - she just thought it'd be cool to take part in a murder case. Moreover, an enlarged version of a photograph of the murder shows the shooter holding the gun in his left hand, whereas Edgeworth is right-handed. The judge declares a recess in order for von Karma to prepare his next witness.

The next witness is an apparently senile old man, who runs the boat hire service on the lake that the murder took place on (though he's convinced that it's an Italian restaurant). Phoenix become suspicious when the man's parrot mentions the DL-6 case; the Police's code-name for Gregory Edgeworth's murder. Phoenix does some more investigation into the murder, and finds out that Gregory, Miles and a bailiff named Yanni Yogi (Koutarou Haine (灰根 高太郎 Haine Kōtarō)) were trapped in a lift in the aftermath of an earthquake. Suffering from oxygen deprivation, Yogi apparently shot Gregory dead in an argument. Hammond defended Yogi in court, and was able to get him to plead insanity, which resulted in his acquittal.

The old man's testimony seemingly dooms Phoenix's chances, and Edgeworth is declared guilty. Larry shows up at that moment however, and claims to have seen the events that occurred that night. The judge allows him to testify, and it is discovered that while he heard some gunshots, they happened 25 minutes before Hammond's supposed murder. Phoenix then realizes that Hammond was killed at that moment, and that the shooting witnessed by the photographer was actually committed by the old man, who then threw himself into the lake in order to frame Edgeworth. The judge asks to question the man again, but he turns out to have disappeared, forcing the trial into a third day.

Phoenix's investigations lead him to conclude that the old man is really Yanni Yogi, helped on by a note they find in his shack, which instructs him on how to murder Hammond and frame Edgeworth for it. The note turns out to have been written by von Karma, and when Phoenix and Maya confront him, he assaults them and takes most of their evidence, except for a bullet retrieved from Gregory Edgeworth's body.

Under repeated questioning from Phoenix (who at one point is bizarrely forced to question the parrot), the old man eventually admits that he is Yogi, and was responsible for Hammond's death. Still, he maintains that he was not responsible for Gregory Edgeworth's death, which results in Miles making a shocking confession - he was responsible for his father's death, by throwing Yogi's gun at him during their fight. A trial is held for this, and Phoenix discovers some inconsistencies in the testimony Edgeworth gives. Evidence eventually points to von Karma as the real killer, and Phoenix realizes the truth - when Edgeworth threw the gun, the shot actually hit von Karma, who happened to be walking by the lift. Power returned shortly afterwards, and the lift doors opened, revealing its unconscious occupants. Von Karma then took Yogi's gun, shot Gregory and planted the gun on Yogi. Now, fifteen years later, he helped Yogi frame Edgeworth partly as a way of making up for the ruination of Yogi's life in the intervening years, and as a way of getting revenge for the scar he was left with. Phoenix uses a metal detector to show that von Karma still carries the bullet in his shoulder, then offers the bullet retrieved from Gregory Edgeworth as proof that it came from the same gun. Von Karma is sent down for the murder, and Edgeworth goes free. The next day, Maya returns home to further her training as a spirit medium.

Rise from the Ashes

(蘇る逆転)

It's been two months since Phoenix's last case and he hasn't taken on any others since Maya left. However, a young girl named Ema Skye (Akane Houzuki (宝月 茜 Hōzuki Akane) comes to him asking for his help. The defendant is her older sister, Chief Prosecutor Lana Skye (Tomoe Houzuki (宝月 巴 Hōzuki Tomoe)), who is alleged to be the murderer of Bruce Goodman (Michio Tadashiki (多田敷 道夫 Tadashiki Michio)), a police detective assigned to the infamous SL-9 case two years ago. There is indisputable proof provided by Angel Starr (Kyouka Ichinotani (市ノ谷 響華 Ichinotani Kyōka)), a former detective turned lunch meal delivery woman, that Lana had stabbed Goodman, who was in the trunk of Miles Edgeworth's car at the prosecution building. However, there are crucial timing elements that are unresolved by Angel's testimony. Lana is very assured about her guilt in the case, which raises Phoenix's suspicions that something else is involved with this case. At the most inopportune time, the chief of police, Damon Gant (Kaiji Ganto (巌徒 海慈 Ganto Kaiji)), drops in on the trial and claims that Bruce Goodman was also murdered in the evidence room of the police station. The first day of court ends with the double murder of the same person at the same time, in the same fashion, at two different locations.

During the second day, Officer Mike Meekins (Susumu Harabai (原灰 ススム Harabai Susumu)), who was assigned to the evidence room, is charged with Goodman's murder there. Evidence shows Meekins assulting Goodman in the evidence room. However, Phoenix is able to determine from records and video footage that "Goodman" was actually Jake Marshall (Kyousuke Zaimon (罪門 恭介 Zaimon Kyōsuke)), an eccentric patrolman also assigned to the evidence room. Jake reveals that he had to infiltrate the evidence room in order to get the SL-9 evidence before a two year anniversary of the case, otherwise the evidence would be locked away forever by standard legal procedures. It is further revealed that Jake's older brother, Neil Marshall (Naoto Zaimon (罪門 直斗 Zaimon Naoto)), along with Jake, Angel Starr and Bruce Goodman and lead by Lana and Damon, were the main detectives on tracking down the suspect in the SL-9 case. Neil was also the final victim of the case. Meekins is cleared of the murder charge as no double murder took place, though there still seems to be evidence of a murder in the evidence room earlier in the day.

The SL-9 incident, or "The Darke Killings" happened two years prior to the current case. While the investigative team was certain of Joe Darke (Joe Aokage (青影 丈 Aokage Jō)) being a serial killer, they lacked critical evidence to be able to convict him. Thus, they falsified evidence in order to convict Darke. Darke was brought in for questioning, during which he managed to flee the guards during a blackout; Neil Marshall, Gant, and Lana gave chase through the building. Darke managed to make it to the shared office of Damon Gant and Lana Skye, where Ema Skye was staying during the trial. Before Darke could harm her, Neil made his way into the room and attempted to subdue Darke. Ema, guided only by silhouettes, pushed what she believed was Darke away from Neil before the figure could stab the other, then lost consciousness. Lana, who claims she arrived next, found Neil dead from a stab wound, Darke fallen unconscious from the fight, and Ema out and curled in the corner.

However, Lana refused to go any further into the matter. Unfortunately for her, Phoenix pushes on her to reveal what she actually saw when she entered the room: Neil apparently pushed onto a sword from a suit of armor, likely due to Ema's push, and a blood-written note with Ema's name near his body. This would have made Ema a murderer herself and be brought before the court. Lana claims she quickly rearranged the scene to make Ema appear innocent. However, the story still does not ring true for Phoenix, and continues to push to discover the truth.

The real story of the end of SL-9 is finally revealed; Neil managed to knock Darke out, but Ema's push also caused him to lose conscious but otherwise unharmed. Damon Gant arrived first on the scene, and quickly decided to make things work in his favor. He first took Neil and impaled him on the suit of armor, and then arranged items to make it look like Ema was at fault, including taking evidence that would have pointed to Ema for his own safekeeping. Thus, when Lana arrived and realized what looked like had happened, begged Damon to help her cover up the apparent evidence, which he gladly did - in exchange for her being at his beck and call for the long term. When others arrived, it had looked like Darke had taken one last victim, and the case was easily closed. Shortly thereafter, he had Lana move to become Chief Prosecutor, while he fired Angel Starr, demoted Jake, and let Goodman keep his job, making sure he could keep them all quiet. However, for Angel, Jake, and Goodman, the results of the case never sat well with them.

With the two-year mandate on removing evidence from closed cases quickly approach, Gant realized that he had more tracks to cover to protect himself, despite having taken necessary steps. Earlier on the day of Goodman's murder, Gant accompanied Goodman into the evidence room to do the transferal. However, Goodman had a change of mind due to Jake's pleading, and asked Gant to reopen the case. Enraged, Gant killed him via stabbing, and then took what he could of the bulk of the SL-9 evidence with him. Dumping Goodman's body in the trunk of Edgeworth's car, he then asked Edgeworth to drive over to the Prosecutor's Building on a pointless task. He then told Lana, still under his thumb, where to find Goodman's body and where to dump it. At that time, Lana, seeing the knife from the SL-9 case, removes it from the body and hides it in the car's exhaust pipe, and stabs Goodman, now with Edgeworth's knife - witnessed by Angel. Unfortunately, Jake Marshall's own interference as well as Phoenix's ability to see through the lies defeats Gant's plan once and for all. While Lana's reputation has been harmed and her job at stake, she's thankful to have been able to tell the truth and to know that Ema was not guilty after all.

Music

See also: Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten Original Soundtrack

The official soundtrack for Phoenix Wright is titled Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten Original Soundtrack (逆転裁判 蘇る逆転 オリジナル・サウンドトラック, lit. "Turnabout Trial: Revived Turnabout original soundtrack"), and was first published by Suleputer on November 30, 2005.

Furthermore, soundtracks are available for all three Game Boy Advance games as well. Gyakuten Saiban + Gyakuten Saiban 2 Original Soundtrack (逆転裁判＋逆転裁判2 オリジナル・サウンドトラック, lit. "Turnabout Trial + Turnabout Trial 2 original soundtrack") covers the first two games, and Gyakuten Saiban 3 Original Soundtrack (逆転裁判3 オリジナル・サウンドトラック, lit. "Turnabout Trial 3 original soundtrack") covers the third.

Capcom has also released an album entitled Gyakuten Saiban orchestra album ~GYAKUTEN MEETS ORCHESTRA~ (逆転裁判 オーケストラアルバム 〜GYAKUTEN MEETS ORCHESTRA〜, lit. "Turnabout Trial orchestra album ~GYAKUTEN MEETS ORCHESTRA~") with orchestral arrangements of many of the songs used in the game and its two sequels on September 9, 2006. A second CD with additional Phoenix Wright orchestral pieces was released for sale at the Tokyo Game Show 2006, and will be sold to the public sometime in November, 2006. On the March 31, 2007, another official arrangement album named "Gyakuten Saiban" jazz album ~GYAKUTEN MEETS JAZZ SOUL~ (『逆転裁判』 ジャズアルバム～GYAKUTEN MEETS JAZZ SOUL～, lit. ""Turnabout Trial" jazz album ~GYAKUTEN MEETS JAZZ SOUL~") was released by Capcom. As the name implies, the album consists of jazz arrangements. The CDs are scheduled for Japanese release only.

The video game music remixing group Magical Trick Society has released an album with arrangements of songs from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, called CADENZA -Gyakuten Saiban 1- (CADENZA -逆転裁判1-, lit. "CADENZA -Turnabout Trial 1-").

Limited edition

Available only in Japan to customers who preordered early, a limited edition version of the game was available, packaged in a special black cardboard box with an enlarged logo for the game on the front. The version cost slightly more than the standard release, but compensated by including a bonus sound disc featuring music from the game, a "Gyakuten Saiban" branded phone strap, a keyring in the shape of an exclamation of 'Objection!' (Phoenix's catchphrase) in Japanese, and a stylus with a pointing finger on the end with which to touch the screen. Buyers of the pack also received a full softback manga volume following the adventures of the "Gyakuten Saiban" cast, which was not available through any other channels.

Considered a rarity, especially in the West, the pack can now fetch over double its original value, at $150 or more. Copies are rarely auctioned websites such as eBay, but are rapidly purchased when they do.

Reception

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was very hard to find in stores shortly after its North American release because of a shortage due to unexpectedly high demand. Capcom eventually made the decision to ship more units to stores in March 2006. They later issued a new shipment in June 2006, which sold out in a week's time.

Capcom has shipped 100,000 copies as of February 2007.[1]

The game received generally favorable reviews, most of which cited its interesting stories and enjoyable characters as strengths, though the reviews were often accompanied by "satifactory" or "good" numerical scores due to extremely linear plot design, limited opportunities for failure, and the court system depicted. IGN gave the game a 7.8 "Good" score, while 1up.com has thus far turned up an averaged score of 8.2 out of 10. Gamespot bestowed a "great" 8.8 score. Fan reception has generally reflected much more enthusiasm for the game than proper reviews, as cited on many major website's user reviews such as Gamespot. Rocker Marilyn Manson described the game to an E! interviewer as "Fucking amazing".

Cultural references

The localization team, led by translator Alexander O. Smith created a translation for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney that makes several references to pop culture and famous quotes in movies.

In "Turnabout Sisters" there are a few references to the Watergate Scandal. The hotel is called the Gatewater and a wire tap is found inside.

In "Turnabout Samurai" the witness Sal Manella constantly uses Leetspeak. He also uses made-up phrases; RTFC (read the film credits) as opposed to RTFM. Additionally, a reference is made to a character who "couldn't handle the truth", almost identical to a line famously delivered in the courtroom drama A Few Good Men.

The title of the fifth case, "Rise From the Ashes", is a reference to Phoenix's name. The phoenix is a mythical bird that bursts into flames once every thousand years and is reborn from the ashes it leaves behind. Ema Skye's line "It's merely a flesh wound!" is also a reference to and famous quote from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

External links

• Gyakuten Saiban official Japanese website
• Phoenix Wright official English website
• IGN DS preview, as well as a plethora of media