With that in mind, we won’t go deep into the history of the Ace Attorney games. Instead, let’s talk about everyone’s favorite antagonist, Miles Edgeworth. Veteran fans of the series will remember Edgeworth as Phoenix’s nemesis in the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series. Edgeworth was the flawed prosecutor you love to hate who somehow lost his way and is eventually redeemed by Phoenix himself. Well, sort of. He’s a vicious, unlikeable prosecutor with a streak of genuine caring tucked deeply away inside. He’s also the focus of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, a 2009 DS game that was released to little fanfare. Within the game, you play Edgeworth investigating a series of incidents he becomes embroiled in. It’s a fairly obscure title that barely graced store shelves. Sales were poor enough that the second game in the series, Prosecutor’s Gambit was entirely unreleased in English and fans were relegated to playing fan translations on ROMs. At least until now that is!
With the entire rest of the Ace Attorney series released on Switch both physically or digitally (though the original trilogy only got an Asia English release), Capcom has finally brought us Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, a combo pack of both Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and the sequel, finally officially translated to English. Fans have been waiting for this for some time now and as of this release, every Ace Attorney game ever released has now been translated to English and released in physical format (excluding a couple of comedy DLC chapters on the 3DS)!
In Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, you’ll control Miles Edgeworth as he is dragged into a web of murder, deceit, and conspiracy that spans countries and brings out new faces and old friends alike. While the game is similar to the other games in the Ace Attorney series, it stands out for several reasons. First because Miles is possibly the least likeable protagonist that has ever been featured and second because the structure is a bit different than other entries in the franchise.
Right from the beginning of the game, there’s a shift in Edgeworth’s approach. He’s still the same acerbic prosecutor you love to loathe, but he’s also the good guy and his sense of right and wrong are the key focus of this duology. Gameplay doesn’t take place in the courtroom this time around either and testimony takes place at crime scenes, setting up criminals for prosecution rather than actually prosecuting them. Their inevitable admissions of guilt will certainly make Miles’ job easier in the courtroom though!
Crime scene investigations are different in this series as well. Instead of a first person perspective, you control Edgeworth and another character (at first everyone’s favorite bumbling detective Dick Gumshoe, and later others) as they walk around the crime scene and various related areas looking for clues as to what has happened. From airliners to wild west theme parks to presidential rallies and more, Edgeworth and company manage to investigate a wide variety of areas through the course of the collection’s ten chapters (five in each game). This new format makes it easier to look around larger crime scenes and has slightly more motion and visual interest than the rest of the Ace Attorney series, but it also makes it easier to overlook key evidence or miss something.
Every time Edgeworth gets near something that can be examined, a tiny magnifying glass in a word bubble pops up. If you’ve finished every possible interaction with that item, a red checkmark appears beside it. However, some of the magnifying glass images don’t show up until you’re positioned just right in the area, making it difficult to find all of the details, especially if they’re tucked away in a corner that you didn’t walk close enough to. It’s also difficult to talk to your partner and occasionally, hitting the button to speak with them simply doesn’t work. While this rarely affects gameplay, it’s still kind of irritating and the way they trail you can be slightly off-putting as well.
As you discover information, you’ll gain clues. Unlike Phoenix and Apollo, Edgeworth uses logic to link disparate clues together to generate new ideas and lines of thinking, allowing you to progress through the mystery and solve the case. Fail to put the correct items together and you’ll be penalized, taking a hit from your life bar just like Phoenix does when he says the wrong thing to the judge. Succeed and you’ll have new clues that are necessary in order to figure out what’s going on. You can also examine some items for clues (a recurring mechanic) and present evidence to people you are speaking to or receiving testimony from, though there’s less of a focus on that in these games.
In addition to examining crime scenes, you’ll also interrogate witnesses. This is much like the more familiar courtroom portions of the rest of the series with Edgeworth standing in for Phoenix Wright so effectively that there are even jokes about it in the game text. As usually, you’ll listen to statements, press the witnesses to see if you can crack their narrative, and force them to admit what they’re trying to hide. There’s a handy feature this time around that lets you just use the d-pad to go back a statement rather than spooling through the whole dialogue over and over but essentially the process remains unchanged. Of course it isn’t always easy. One of the hallmarks of the Ace Attorney series is particularly convoluted testimony. You’ll have to present the right items and press the right statements in the right order to progress and sometimes that can be more than a little frustrating because the pathway forward is far from intuitive. Sometimes you’ll even know exactly what you’re trying to say but it’s how to do it that ends up being the hangup.
Between investigations, deductions, and interrogations, you’ll quickly slip into the almost comedic narratives and characters of Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. If you’re an old hand at the series, you’ll also notice a ton of special guests from a variety of other games. Criminals, friends, acquaintances, and a whole rogue’s gallery of Phoenix Wright who’s who make their appearances throughout the various episodes of the duology. The Ace Attorney series has always been great for subtle world-building and Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is certainly no exception there. Expect a number of subtle and not-so-subtle nods to various games in the series that will definitely scratch that fanboy itch.
By this point, you’ll note that the second game hasn’t been mentioned yet. That’s because there are some differences between the first and second games. A new mechanic has been added to the second game. While all the things you had to do before are still there, over the course of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection we learn that Edgeworth is a chess aficionado. Capitalizing on that, Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit adds Mind Chess to Edgeworth’s repertoire of investigation. In Mind Chess, you’ll have a limited time to make decisions while a bar creeps downward. Make the right decision and you can challenge opponents, biding your time or going on the offensive to break their mental chess defense and take down their barriers, forcing them to share what they know. The addition of a timed element adds a bit of stress to your decisions in what otherwise works out to be a fairly linear adventure, forcing you to act rather than consider.
Mind Chess opens doors to new testimony and other revelations, fitting smoothly in with other mechanics and feeling more uniquely suited to Miles Edgeworth than other portions of the gameplay. It’s a shame there weren’t more experimental mechanics here because this is the first that really feels fresh and new. While the chess language might not be for everyone, it’s still a fun aside that shakes up the Ace Attorney formula a bit.
Naturally the visuals in Ace Attorney Investigations Collection are quite similar to other games in the franchise with similar character portraits, GUI designs and other expected artwork. There’s a neat setting included that lets you view the game as it was originally presented on DS with SD sprites. The game defaults to the slick new HD textures and characters but it’s fun to jump back and forth between the two and great that it was included for fans. Music is of course the standard high-quality work that the Ace Attorney series has always had, well designed and presented. There’s even a Music Collection in the Gallery allowing you to listen to the rather lengthy soundtracks from both games if that’s your thing (some of us buy them on CD…).
There are a number of special features to enjoy in Ace Attorney Investigations Collection as well. Some, like the Music Collection are fairly standard. Others are nice surprises for fans. Also found in the Gallery section are Accolades (trophies essentially) for completing an assortment of game tasks, a Photo Album that shows every full screen art you’ve unlocked , and a Character Compendium that details every character you interact with and each expression they all have, some of which are genuinely ludicrous and entertaining. There’s also the Documentation section which showcases both concept art and some full screen promotional artwork from the series. Some of it is pretty great but there are a few visual spoilers in there so be careful checking it out too early! You can save anywhere in both games in the duology too and load or continue from the main screen, making this a particularly accessible re-release.
All in all, the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is an excellent release for Ace Attorney fans. While Edgeworth’s approach to solving mysteries feels more than a bit derivative when compared to the Phoenix Wright/Apollo Justice games, there’s a bit of unique flair here that gives the series its own flavor. Not everyone will identify with Edgeworth as readily though, so some players may feel slightly less engaged while playing. It’s wonderful to finally get the last game in the series translated however, and the overall experience is generally more fun than not, even if there’s slightly more exposition here than in other titles. While new players may struggle a bit with the format, series veterans will enjoy the rampant fan service and at only $40, this is a good value for gamers everywhere. If you want more Edgeworth, you’ve got it!
This review is based on a digital copy of Ace Attorney Investigations Collection provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and played equally well on both. Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is also available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on Steam.
Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.