LogFAQs > #956530025

I figure I should probably document my thoughts here given how much I've talked about AA over the years, huh?

first, some housekeeping - I know nothing about this game, didn't watch any playthroughs over the years that it's been around and didn't even really watch the trailers or read any reviews. please don't talk about what's upcoming for me or hint at what might come. I'll probably drop the topic if I feel like I can't get an authentic experience. I likely won't be too quick so I might be well behind some of you who have lots of free time to play games. thanks for understanding, etc.

oh, and spoilers, obviously.

Case 1, Part 1

I won't recap the story beat by beat because that would take entirely too long and I'd probably make a fool of myself by trying to remember what's going on. my first immediate takeaway are the names! our main character is Ryunosuke or something like that. Ryu, I guess, for this topic. Naruhodo, that's at least a name I recognize! we've got a Kazama and a bunch of other names that I couldn't even begin to remember correctly. now, I'm not saying that I'm dying to go back to the Rheel Neemus of the world, but I'm definitely going to struggle with this game being so much more openly japanese. do I miss "japanifornia"? no, not really, but it's really damn convenient to have a memorable name like April May as opposed to these names.

our main character is.. kind of an idiot, even moreso than Phoenix in 1-1. our lawyer best friend is much smoother and feels like what Edgeworth might have been if we didn't get DL-6. he's ready to defend me but some clearly underhanded teacher comes in and suggests that I defend myself. I actually refuse to do this just because this guy is so shady, but the game makes me do it anyway. Kazuma joins me as my assistant, and it's a weird dynamic of being a newb while your partner is so much better than you. it's something like Armando in 3-4 or Gavin in 4-1, and because of the latter, he's immediately sus.

I get excited in a way that I wasn't expecting when I see a Payne. I realize quite quickly that I'm looking for anything that can familiarize myself with this new, foreign world, and I get completely pumped that I get to wreck this guy. "Auchi" is a great name for a Payne, and one of the only ones I've managed to commit to memory. despite that, he's still just Payne to me, and I'm going to destroy him.

I need to spend a minute talking about animations. Ryu's animations are *killing* me. his hand raise is amazing and his eyes shooting everywhere is really good. "Yes!" is... I don't know how we came to this, but it's kind of great. I'm waiting for him to break into an honest objection. that might be really hype as a way to close out the case.

actually, let's tease this out for a minute. Phoenix has been the game's mascot for like 20 years here, 15 years in the states. I've been playing as him for what feels like half my life. it is extremely weird to not be him, and to have this idiot as my player character after all this time! I think I'm on board with it because I get to see him grow. AA1 Phoenix was always good because he grew into himself throughout the course of that game, but basically never changed from AA2 on. having a new face, foreign as it is, is going to make this game stand out, good or bad.

I'm really hoping that we get some kind of character development arc with his animations. maybe his eyes stop going everywhere and he gains some confidence as he does this more. right now I love how green he is, and half the time Kazuma steps in and does the job for me because I'm just so bad at this. it'll be neat if I develop new animations over time as I become more and more competent. I'm going to love it when I get my first objection, assuming we ever progress past "Yes!".

our first witnesses here are a waiter that acts like the opening Gumshoe witness to lay out the case, and then a couple of idiots, a soldier and an old man whose names have totally escaped me already. the multiple character interrogation reminds me of the Layton game, but thankfully is a lot better than that as it's just one testimony and you're never trying to play them off each other. these testimonies make 1-1 look competent as they are hilariously easy to break, but this is a good thing narratively as Ryunosuke's not exactly sharp here.

the first section of this case revolves around a missing person at a restaurant and has obvious parallels to 3-3. I was worried that there might be a double murder event like that case because the crime scene wasn't making any sense. fortunately, as we pull out the dentist visit, the lack of eating and the missing person, we have a case that looks a bit more standard than the recent AA games where everything is extremely convoluted.

we eventually find out that the waiter is an inspector and hid the crime scene at somebody's request. this guy reminds me of Kristoph Gavin with his animations - they feel wholeheartedly ripped from him with the glasses and the way he shakes his head. it's obviously not the only 4-1 parallel here. he doesn't seem villainous though and is a fairly helpful witness. I don't have to break this guy into pieces in order to ascertain the truth, which I appreciate. I think I like this guy, though his character design is not great.

Ryu eventually gets a little more competent by the end of this section, and it seems like he's got a good memory for details and some strong convictions. I like that Kazuma isn't some kind of uber defense attorney here - he's just your BFF doing his best. if he sticks around, that dynamic will be interesting - the guy who knows how to do the job, and the goofy protagonist who sometimes stumbles into the right logic with his natural gifts. it's like they split Phoenix into two characters.

we finally confirm that a young woman was in the restaurant with the victim and break for the midway point.

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xyzzy