Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Hands-On Preview (PS5) – Less than half a year since their last release, Capcom returns to the courtroom with yet another collection of Ace Attorney fans for players to sink their lawyerly teeth into.
This duology of games is particularly noteworthy as it not only marks the final set of Ace Attorney games to come to modern platforms in a collection but also finally marks every Ace Attorney game being available (officially) outside of Japan!
Similar to the other collections, this set of games offers a lovingly recreated experience that capitalises on the style that defines Ace Attorney for so many.
Bringing this pair of distinctive Ace Attorney titles to a new audience is an exciting prospect and has been done with a great deal of attention and care.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Hands-On Preview (PS5) – Dusting Off The Attorney’s Badge
Jumping Into the Field
Compared to the mainline Ace Attorney games, which balance courtroom drama and detective investigation in order to puzzle out murder cases, Ace Attorney Investigations cuts out the middle man and mixes the two sides into a cohesive whole.
Taking up the mantle of Edgeworth for the story of both Investigations 1 and Investigations 2, his approach to puzzle-solving is wholly distinct from his legal rivals. This emerges in a greater focus on moving around environments and seeing things in detail, as well as logical deductions to move investigations forward.
For players who might have indulged in the other Ace Attorney games, this different perspective will be a fun change of pace that suits the new protagonist in the series veteran Miles Edgeworth.
Ultimately, fans of the series will feel right at home once you get used to the perspective shift. Cases play out in a familiar way as you move from scene to scene and uncover key evidence to help you puzzle things together.
This is classic Ace Attorney through and through with a new coat of paint. If you weren’t a huge fan of the other games, this one won’t be the one to change your mind. But that’s not a bad thing either.
The Investigations duology shines a spotlight on fan-favourite prosecutor Miles Edgeworth and his exploits outside of his clashes with Phoenix Wright. There are unique wrinkles here to dig into that succeed in making you feel like you’re in the shoes of a seasoned attorney rather than a fledgling lawyer.
A Mix of New and Old
Compared to the other collections of Ace Attorney titles, the visual changes here are generally far more noticeable across the board. Previous collections featured re-drawn illustrations and generally clearer expressions that preserve the style of the original in their improvements.
And for dialogue animations and environments, that’s absolutely the case here. Illustrations are clear and expressive while standing up to the pedigree of the other games.
The additional elements come into play with the overworld sprites that you see as you walk around and investigate various scenes. Impressively, every single character sprite from the original games has been completely redrawn and remade for these games, featuring highly expressive and clear details. Alongside these re-drawn sprites, the original sprites are also able to be chosen without issue.
Players will no doubt have their preferences as to which style they prefer, but having both on offer is a great decision that means every player can have a choice as to their experience through the story.
At the very least, I’m pleased to not see any pixel-smoothing here. The original pixel art is perfectly preserved and is just as expressive as the new hand-drawn artwork.
A Deeper Examination
Following in the footsteps of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy from earlier this year, this collection offers an extensive look at exclusive development materials that will shine a new light on the characters that you know and love.
This feature is greatly appreciated and manages to be an engaging treat for longtime fans of the series. And just like last time, I found myself excitedly exploring the materials on offer here.
Especially in the case of Investigations 2, these materials were fascinating to trawl through and felt like opening a time capsule.
The animation studio from the Apollo Justice collection also returns with the same dedication to ensuring that this title is far more than just a re-release of two older titles. You can freely swap between art styles and compare the animations of particularly memorable characters that you have encountered.
As well as just being cool to look at, the illustrations of these characters are phenomenal reference materials for new fanmade pieces of art. It’s great to see Capcom so diligently embracing the passionate community behind this series and it makes me all the more excited to dig further into this collection.
From being the niche visual novel franchise on the periphery of relevance a few years ago, Ace Attorney has finally found its feet and found a dedicated audience that is well-supported here.
It’s staggering that it’s taken this long for Ace Attorney Investigations 2 to make the jump to Western audiences but the wait for this pair of games has been well worth the wait. I look forward to digging more into the details in the near future as I work through this collection!
Ace Attorney Investigations will be available on PS5 and PS4 on September 6, 2024.