LogFAQs > #949811116

#45 - Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Path (lol never localized)


Ace Attorney Investigations 1 is a mess of a story. The idea of playing as Edgeworth has a lot of potential, though, and making the entire story interconnect to create one big plotline was a solid idea. Functionally combining investigating with cross-examining witnesses makes the game flow a whole lot smoother and leaves a lot less down time. And Edgeworth is a really fun character to take control of. He can be a dick, but hes a lovable dick, and his inner monologues are really fun. The main issue was that the cases werent the least bit interesting or fulfilling, and thats ultimately what you are going to remember about Ace Attorney games.

Investigations 2 fixes all of this, and it does so immediately. Instead of taking down a loser prosecutor in Edgeworths own office, like in the first game, your first task in 2 is to check out a failed presidential assassination in what I consider easily the best first case in the series. Case 2 is a bit underwhelming and drags on a bit, but it sets up the stage for later, so it can be forgiven.

From then on is when the game really ramps up and never stops. Case 3 is nothing short of epic, and completely bucks the trend of Case 3s being the weak link of each game. You get a glimpse into Gregorys job as a defense attorney, and help figure out a case that went unsolved for decades. Case 4 forces Edgeworth to decide what being a prosecutor really means to him: should he fall in line with the status quo, rebel against the system and fight for what he believes in, or toe the line between the two and try not to rock the boat too much?

It all comes to a head in Case 5. I dont want to go too much into detail with anything, because its hard to discuss this case without spoiling anything, but I will say it had the most surprising twist in the entire series for me. Was it the best twist in the series? Not really, but it works, thematically, and fits the story.

Another reason Investigations 1 ultimately sucked was because of its new characters. Was there a single person other than Kay introduced that stuck with you after the game? Lang is alright, but as far as Ace Attorney antagonists go, I think he would only beat out Klavier. Detective Badd is pretty good, but criminally underutilized. Investigations 2 has several super-memorable characters brought into the series. The new witnesses are really fun. The new investigating partner is pretty cool. The new culprits are truly terrible people that are easy to hate. I would personally argue that the two new main antagonists are the deepest, most well-written villains in the series. Godot and Edgeworth himself are probably their only competition at the top, with Blackquill a somewhat distant fifth.

When it all gets added together, it becomes an easy upper-tier AA game. Its an absolute disgrace that the only way to experience this game is through unofficial means.

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Xbox GT/PSN name/Nintendo ID: TatteredUniform
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