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Hold it! Can you believe that the first – and rather underrated – Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth was released fifteen years ago?
Capcom has done it once again. Following up on the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy remaster, the new and improved Ace Attorney Investigations Collection was released on September 5th, 2024. This collection contains the duology of Miles Edgeworth, paired with updated spritework, UI, and mechanical features. An even greater feat is that, originally, Ace Attorney Investigations 2 had never been released outside of Japan . . . until now!
Regardless if you have played Ace Attorney titles in the past, it is difficult to not enjoy these dramatical puzzle adventures. If you are unfamiliar with Ace Attorney lore, it is easy to hop into the Investigations Collection since it is a spinoff. If you are a long-term fan, you may appreciate the return of beloved characters and the deeper dive into Miles Edgeworth’s past.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam, and PC.
Love, Laugh, Maim, and Murder
The collection features both Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Prosecutor’s Gambit, containing a total of ten lengthy episodes to play. All episodes come with a beginning segment, one or more middle segments, and an end segment.
Step directly into the shoes of famed prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, the first Ace Attorney protagonist you can control the overworld movements of. Edgeworth, the former disciple of Manfred von Karma, receives some much-needed attention and character development in these titles. Initially portrayed as a brooding, snobby antagonist in the original Ace Attorney, Edgeworth showcases his more confidently awkward, justice-seeking, humorous side in Investigations. Players get to witness the reasoning behind his post-traumatic fear of elevators and earthquakes as well as his relationships with Franziska von Karma and homicide detective Dick Gumshoe.
The first investigation begins in Edgeworth’s office, which had been raided while he was abroad. Not only were files stolen, but the murder of detective Buddy Faith occurred in that very room. Throughout the next few episodes, Edgeworth will be investigating this mysterious thief – named Yatagarasu – as well as a Borginian smuggling crime ring. Prosecutor’s Gambit takes its plot up a few notches, increasing the stakes tremendously. It opens with an attempted assassination of a foreign president and begins to unfold into issues more personal for Miles Edgeworth. Be prepared to travel to all sorts of locations, from a bougie airplane, to a prison, to a district court.
Saddled with unnecessary feelings
The first game is much more slowly paced than its sequel, but titillating nonetheless. The narrative is straightforward, circling around Interpol’s investigation of a smuggling ring, with Miles Edgeworth at the forefront. This is indeed a refreshing perspective away from Phoenix Wright, the typical main character. The most notable feature of the Investigations duology is the top-down overworld control of the protagonist, where players can openly walk around and interact with people and objects. This is quite different from the purer visual novel-likeness of mainline Ace Attorney games.
Prosecutor’s Gambit explores deeper topics, including Edgeworth’s identity crisis and life story; and each chapter keeps a steady tread going. Miles gets wrapped up in the “Prosecutor’s Purge” as well as the circumstances around his father Gregory Edgeworth’s final case before death, leaving Miles struggling with the meaning of his current job. Here, players get to see a lot of positive growth coming from Edgeworth and a further understanding of the IS-7 and DL-6 incidents.
Miles Edgeworth is an absolutely fun character to play as, with his charmingly awkward social skills, accidental humor, sharp wit, bluntness, and righteous attitude. It is pleasing to see his typical cold nature warm up a bit and how he interacts with others. There is also a wonderfully pleasant mix of both new and preexisting Ace Attorney characters, and while Investigations does not necessarily impact the narrative of the mainline games, it certainly fleshes things out a bit.
Eureka!
The collection is an upgrade from the original in every regard, plus the localization of Prosecutor’s Gambit is a big bonus.
As aforementioned, Investigations is different due to its top-down movement-based exploration. The sequence of events carries out similarly, with the visual novel-esq debates, rebuttals, and cross-examinations. However, a big difference is that Miles Edgeworth receives the option to manually look around areas, examine items and clues, and deduce information from that point.
Debates come in bursts rather than prolonged trial segments, which I personally consider a great way to pace the story (especially for newcomers to the series). Miles Edgeworth has a unique logic ability where players must manually piece together hints and clues to formulate new revelations. For example, in episode one of the first game, you find a handgun on the ground. Gumshoe informs Miles that this is the same model as the guns issued to detectives. Players will use the logic function to match this information up with the victim, which you have deduced is a local detective. Thus, Edgeworth realizes that the murder weapon was indeed owned by the fallen victim. The culprit must have stolen it from Buddy Faith and used it against him.
The truth will reveal itself
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection has the typical mechanics of presenting evidence and pressing on for more information. Players have a meter at the top left corner of the screen. Of course, there is also only one answer to everything. If you continue to fail, this meter will deplete and you will run out of time to solve the case. For example, Miles will be booted off of the airplane and arrested immediately if the meter depletes in episode two.
In Prosecutor’s Gambit, there is another new mechanic introduced: mind chess. During intense debates, Edgeworth and the opponent will be metaphorically placed in front of a chessboard background. Players must make quick choices in the correct order before time runs out. You can press for information or bide your time, hoping that silence will cause the opponent to crack. This is a timed activity so you must be fast, and observe specific character gestures to determine how they will react. This mechanic is . . . okay. Overall, I do not think it is necessary. These chess segments are not any more dramatic than regular debates, but it is still interesting to solve regardless. The downside to mind chess is how punishing a failure is. If players mess up, you have to begin the process all over again.
Something more incredible than lightening
Investigations 1 and 2 looks better than ever. The updated UI is smooth and easy to navigate, and the refined art style is spectacular. Players are free to switch between the new chibi sprites and the old-school DS graphics at will. There is also a large character compendium for players to see new and old versions of the cast. Certain characters will have clips of “objections” if available.
The duology’s music is remastered, of course, and remains wonderfully dramatic and suspenseful. Some tracks are kind of hilarious with how over-the-top it is. Collection‘s music library also offers orchestrated versions of the soundtrack, providing hours of music to listen to.
Players can also unlock achievements, and none of them are particularly hard to get. Unlocking achievements can be as low-effort as progressing the storyline or as niche as selecting a certain piece of optional dialogue. The collection has a photo gallery and document library too, showcasing concept art of Investigations 1 and 2 as well as other Ace Attorney games! You have to play through all the episodes to unlock most of the art work.
Blue pawn is no match for the red knight’s might
Ace Attorney Investigations is also a pleasant deviation from the spiritual, supernatural side of things in the Ace Attorney series. If you are the see-it-to-believe-it type, Investigations is refreshingly grounded in reality, devoid of spirit mediums and psychic twitches.
To be honest, despite Miles Edgeworth’s supposed knack for logic, some of the puzzles take strange logical leaps. Despite leaning towards the side of legalities rather than courtroom drama, the game can still be rather silly and far-reaching. There were times I absolutely could not figure out how to progress despite the best use of my own logic, but oh well. It is all humor and fun with Ace Attorney.
I highly recommend playing the game on increased dialogue speed. You can select “story mode” which makes it automated, or just play as normal. But, I read a bit fast, and having it on normal speed can be a drag. I also turned off the flashing and rumbling. Despite being nostalgic Ace Attorney aesthetical gimmicks, it kind of got on my nerves!
It’s all coming together . . .
To have all ten Investigations cases on modern hardware translated into English is an absolute blessing for Ace Attorney fans. Newcomers and fans alike will enjoy the drama, deductive reasoning, detective work, and interactions between an amusing cast of characters.
The stronger storyline falls within Prosecutor’s Gambit, but I find both plots to be enjoyable in their separate ways. Overall, the collection is incredibly accessible, easy to get into, and plays smoothly. There is a near-perfect balance of adventuring, puzzle-solving, and reading. I would highly recommend Ace Attorney Investigations Collection to anyone, whether you have never played Ace Attorney before, or even if you had played the original Investigations back in the day (if you were not a fan at the time, give this title another chance)!
