The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve

The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve
Cover art featuring the game's main characters
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Director(s)	Shu Takumi
Producer(s)	Motohide Eshiro
Designer(s)	Shu Takumi Yoichiro Ikeda Junshi Jodai
Programmer(s)	Junichi Shiba
Artist(s)	Kazuya Nuri
Writer(s)	Shu Takumi
Composer(s)	Yasumasa Kitagawa Yoshiya Terayama Hiromitsu Maeba
Series	Ace Attorney
Engine	MT Framework Mobile
Platform(s)	Nintendo 3DS Android iOS Microsoft Windows Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4
Release	Nintendo 3DS JP: August 3, 2017 Android, iOS JP: April 24, 2018 Windows, Switch, PS4 WW: July 27, 2021 JP: July 29, 2021
Genre(s)	Adventure, visual novel
Mode(s)	Single-player

The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve is an adventure game in the Ace Attorney series and the sequel to The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures, developed and published by Capcom. It was directed by Shu Takumi and produced by Motohide Eshiro. The game was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan in August 2017, with Android and iOS versions following in April 2018. Resolve was released worldwide in July 2021 via The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, a compilation of both games for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows.

The game won the Famitsu Awards 2017 in the Excellency category.

Gameplay

See also: Gameplay in the Ace Attorney series

The game focuses on the signature courtroom style of gameplay used in the Ace Attorney series, including the fully 3D environments and character models that became a part of the franchise since Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies. Like its predecessor, most of the game's episodes are divided between two phases: investigation, in which players explore areas to gather evidence and testimonies; and courtroom battles, in which players must use evidence to find contradictions in witness testimonies to find the truth behind a case. In the latter phase, the player will sometimes have to cross-examine multiple witnesses at the same time, potentially gleaning new information by addressing one witness when they react to another's statement.

The game retains two additional gameplay mechanics introduced in The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures: the Dance of Deduction, and Summation Examinations. Dance of Deduction segments occur during certain investigations and involve correcting mistakes with a flawed theory on a crime issued by the character Herlock Sholmes, based on his observations of the scene and the behavior of witnesses. In these, players must correct his mistakes to reach a more logical conclusion, by examining the scene and witnesses carefully while comparing what is seen to what he states in his theory. Summation Examinations take place during trials, and focus upon convincing the jury to postpone declaring a guilty verdict in order to let the trial continue. Players accomplish this by comparing statements from two different jurors that contradict or otherwise prove strongly relevant to each other, and sometimes may be required to press a juror or present evidence in order to change their statement.

Plot

Four months after the events of Adventures, Susato Mikotoba returns to Japan only to find her best friend accused of murdering Jezaille Brett, the murderer of John Wilson. Aided by her father Yujin, Susato disguises herself as the male cousin of her friend Ryunosuke Naruhodo and proves her friend's innocence. After the trial, she finds that her return home was due to a case she and Ryunosuke handled in England six months ago. After proving a defendant innocent in the near-fatal poisoning of a failed actor, the pair discovered a jewelled dog collar in the defendant's apartment, but were forced by detective Herlock Sholmes to hand it over to the police, advising them and his assistant Iris Wilson to not disclose any details of their discovery.

In England, an explosion at the demonstration of an experimental teleportation device results in its inventor being held responsible for the death of a known crime lord. Ryunosuke, seeking to defend them, receives permission from Lord Chief Justice Mael Stronghart to return to court, after being banned following an investigation of his first trial in the country. Facing off against infamous prosecutor Barok van Zieks — who holds a reputation as the "Reaper" for the defendants he prosecutes dying even if found innocent - he discovers the case is linked to a spate of serial killings conducted with a dog handled by a individual called the "Professor", which allegedly killed van Zieks's brother Klint, that took place ten years ago. With the aid of Susato upon her return to England, Ryunosuke proves the victim was murdered by Scotland Yard's chief coroner, Courtney Sithe, who was being blackmailed over fabricating evidence concerning the Professor's alleged death.

Several days later, Inspector Tobias Gregson is murdered while investigating an outfit called the Red-Headed League. Despite their rivalry, Ryunosuke comes to van Zieks' defense when he is arrested as the prime suspect in the murder. However, he finds himself surprised to be facing off against Kazuma Asogi - a close friend who was presumed dead several months ago in Adventures, but who turned up alive in London, albeit with temporary amnesia. Due to the nature of the case, an order is given for the trial to be closed to the public, resulting in no jury being present. As the trial commences, Ryunosuke discovers that Kazuma came to England to investigate van Zieks, who he blamed for the death of his father Genshin. When a witness collapses after it transpires that they were involved in aiding Gregson in his case, the trial is suspended to allow for further investigation into the matter.

As the trial resumes, with Stronghart presiding over it as judge, Sholmes' investigation into the case, aided by Yujin - revealed to be his partner and not Wilson, as Iris had assumed - leads him to discover that the visiting Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Seishiro Jigoku, is fleeing the country. His findings lead Ryunosuke to discover that Jigoku murdered Gregson on Stronghart's orders, and that Stronghart was the mastermind behind the Reaper and Professor killings. Admitting to the truth, Stronghart claims he was trying to create a crime-free England, using Klint, whom he discovered was the Professor, initially to kill van Zieks' defendants before creating his own organisation, which included Brett, Gregson, Wilson, Sithe and Jigoku. His plans soon began to come undone when Genshin discovered what was happening and put a stop to it by killing Klint. After Klint's murder, Stronghart had to conceal his crimes.

Genshin was initially spared when he threated to use a confession he got from Klint, before his death, to expose Stronghart, but was later murdered by Jigoku when his fake execution was accidentally uncovered by mistake. After this, Stronghart had both Wilson and Gregson murdered to avoid the truth coming out, after being unable to find the confession amongst Genshin's possessions. Despite Ryunosuke and Kazuma finding the confession on a missing page of Klint's will hidden in Genshin's katana, Stronghart declares he is untouchable. At that moment, Sholmes arrives in court with news that the Queen has been made aware of his crimes and stripped him of his rank, allowing him to be arrested. With the trial resolved, Sholmes reveals to Ryunosuke that Iris is actually the daughter of Klint, not Wilson, and that he sought to conceal this knowledge from her as the truth would have been painful. After making peace with both van Zieks and Kazuma, who decides to remain a prosecutor, Ryunosuke returns to Japan with Susato.

External links

• Official website
• The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve at The Visual Novel Database