Ace Attorney Investigations Collection review: Justice with an edge

On the surface, one might look at Ace Attorney Investigations Collection and see it as a second series compilation in a single calendar year. That's technically true, but this latest collection is its own animal. Miles Edgeworth isn't quite Phoenix Wright and that shows throughout this set of titles. With that said, this spinoff collection shines in ways both new and familiar, made even better with some fun extras.

Opening argument

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection brings together both Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit. Only one of those games may look familiar to Nintendo DS owners, as the latter was only released in Japan. That already makes this compilation feel like more of an attraction than previous Ace Attorney compilations, offering a new set of stories that many players never experienced.

In both games, players take on the role of Miles Edgeworth, famed prosecutor and Phoenix Wright's greatest rival. Like the other Ace Attorney games, the Ace Attorney Investigations titles are mainly point-and-click adventures. The key difference is that while Phoenix does the bulk of his work in the courtroom, Miles will operate mainly in the field for his stories. His stories focus more on emulating the sections of the main Ace Attorney games that involve searching crime scenes for evidence. Witnesses and suspects are interrogated at the scene, usually with Detective Dick Gumshoe hanging around in case there's a breakthrough and an arrest needs to be made.

In each of his cases, Edgeworth collects evidence, makes observations, and interrogates people on the scene using what he's learned. He puts many of his findings to work with the Logic system, which allows players to piece together two similar pieces of evidence to craft a new observation, one that's usually brought up when questioning other characters. There's immense satisfaction in connecting two pieces of evidence, seeing what results, and watching how it brings the overarching mystery that much closer to a resolution. Some of the solutions can require some lateral thinking, though they can get much more complex in Prosecutor's Gambit when another mechanic gets put to work.

There are additional ideas that are employed over time across both titles. As the story in the first game advances, Edgeworth meets a plucky young thief named Kay Faraday who will help break down crime scenes. All of this feels like the usual Phoenix Wright-style fare, though the Mind Chess mechanic in Prosecutor's Gambit can get a little tricky. This is where Edgeworth locks horns with his subjects in a virtual chess space and he uses gaps in testimony or logic to overwhelm his opponents. What's interesting about Mind Chess is that there are numerous instances where Edgeworth can stay silent, biding his time for a later turn. It's basically letting the other person walk themselves into a trap, which isn't something I'm entirely used to in one of these games. It can be confusing at first, though trial and error does help lead the way in most instances.

Rebuttal

As great as the previous Ace Attorney collections have been, Capcom has added some refreshing quality-of-life ideas to the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. Unlike Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, players have the option to use Capcom's remastered HD visual presentation or play with pixel sprites that closely emulate the original Nintendo DS titles. Both styles have their own merits and it's nice that Capcom has offered these options.

The other new addition might be a little more divisive. Capcom has also added a Story Mode setting. This might be oversimplifying its function, but it basically plays the game for you. Dialogue will play out automatically, characters will go where they need to go, all evidence will be presented, and Edgeworth will play out every dialogue decision as it's supposed to go.

On the one hand, Story Mode is a great idea for anybody who just wants to see how every episode plays out. That's perfectly fine, because these stories are compelling. They tie into each other. They have interesting characters and you want to see how all of these episodes come together and wrap up the overarching story.

With that said, I mentioned earlier the satisfaction that comes with figuring out a solution and Story Mode removes that entirely. I'd have rather seen something closer to a hint system implemented, especially because Story Mode comes with an undesired side effect. Trophies and Achievements are disabled once this is activated and they stay that way until the end of the episode. Even if Story Mode is switched on for just a puzzle section that you might be struggling with and toggled off afterward, the Trophies and Achievements stay disabled.

The verdict

Like the Phoenix Wright compilations before it, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection features riveting crime drama that follows a main character devoted to justice and a slew of wacky side characters that he encounters in his pursuit of it. While Phoenix often fits in with the eccentric folks that he meets, Miles Edgeworth is much more of a straight man. The allure of his stories is that while he has an idea of what justice is and how to achieve it, as the collection's stories unfold, he starts to gradually come around and (almost grudgingly) comes to learn that maybe there is something to Phoenix Wright's philosophical perspective after all.

This collection is enjoyable for taking the typical Phoenix Wright formula and presenting it in a totally different way. Edgeworth's adventures are wholly his own presented in his own unique style, but at heart, the Ace Attorney blueprint is still on display, for better or worse. The worst thing I can say about it is that certain sections, like with Phoenix's games, can feel too verbose for their own good. There will be a good place for everything to wrap up relatively neatly, the epic orchestral score will start to swell up, and then the story will just keep going for another 20-30 minutes.

Those looking for a different kind of Ace Attorney experience that still delivers that same sense of justice can find a pair of gems with Miles Edgeworth's games. Even if the setting is slightly different, few should have any objections to more of these captivating tales of justice.

This review is based on a Steam code provided by the publisher. Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is available now on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch for $39.99 USD. The game is rated T.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?