Angela Oct 26, 2006
My copy of Gyakuten Saiban 2 came in from NCSX today, and I tore through the first case and about a third of the second.
What most of us know I'll gloss over anyway; yes, a full English language translation is present here, which is selectable at the beginning of the game. Like the first DS Gyakuten Saiban, substituting GS2 to English completely changes the game over to its English counterpart, from text, graphical images, and voices. For all intents and purposes, it becomes "Phoenix Wright: Justice For All," as evidenced from the title screen.
The game is, of course, outfitted specifically with the DS's touch and voice capabilities, so everything functions just about the same as the first Phoenix Wright. The music has once again been remastered, where compositions are the same, but the instrumentation sees a significant improvement over the GBA's original synths. As a point of interest, some tracks that were carried over from the first game, such as "Suspense" and "Auspicious People," remain untouched from the last DS remastered score. Others, however, like "Maya's Theme," got a total reworking.
I recorded an eight minute sample medley, which you can check out here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NAHW0QS2
As for the most important thing, the translation..... Playing through the first hour or two, there is the notion that this feels a little more like a straight-up translation, and not quite the clever and most excellent Alexander O. Smith-laden localization of the first. Which isn't to say the localization isn't good; it's still smart writing, but it just feels more literal and not quite as vibrant as before. I can say that characterization that was established from the first game has more or less made it intact here; Gumshoe keeps his trademark "pal" in, for instance, while Maya retains her passion for burgers and still playfully refers to Phoenix as "Nick."
There was also a concern with spelling and grammatical errors, as was shown by the release shots from various web sites -- and unfortunately, there are a few noticeable ones, even in the earlier parts of the game. I would imagine that the two to three month gap between this and the domestic release will be used to iron out these errors. One hopes, anyway.
But all in all, I'm extremely pleased with the game. I mean, dudes, this is more Phoenix Wright we're talking about; new characters, new locales to investigate, new courtroom battles..... once you're into the thick of it, you'll be hooked all over again. I know I am.