Just thought I'd throw in my two cents that I actually quite like the second game.  Just to balance things out, ya know.  I'll get to the third game when I have a job and don't feel guilty for playing games anymore.  :\

LOL! I loved it when she got pissed and she turned into demon woman. The game has the uncanny ability to make you laugh AND take it seriously at the same time... and it's always juicy when the bad guys completely fall apart in court.

If the second is even half the game the first one is, I'm in for a good time. Either way, it'll be nice to see old friends (and enemies, no doubt) again.

Angela, have you played Gyakuten Saiban 4 yet?
Or are you waiting for the English release before you make your judgment?

I liked the second game,but I just hated Franziscka; that's all.

I'm holding out for the domestic release, yes.  Though as Jay said, it'll be a painful wait before it hits; I can't imagine it coming out any sooner than this time next year. 

Capcom's also announced Gyakuten Saiban 5, which Japan likely won't see until 2008 or even 2009. I wonder if they're going to continue with the Apollo story arc?  Perhaps we'll hear something during TGS.

Bit of a sneak peek of the soon-to-be-released The Art of Gyakuten Saiban, which was apparently on sale at Capcom's TGS booth:

http://www2.ranobe.com/test/src/up16338.jpg
http://www2.ranobe.com/test/src/up16340.jpg

Word is that it's quite a comprehensive collection.  I remember that piece with Ema and Maya from what I believe was an exclusive Famitsu cover, but the one of Phoenix riding a bike is new to my eyes.  The twice in-game reference that Phoenix doesn't have a driver's license is pretty much the summation of this picture.   ^_^

Looks lovely. Anyone know if GS4 contains any scenes or animations beyond the characters just standing talking? It would be nice to see a little more - like that shot of Phoenix on his bike.

GS4 seems to adhere to the characters-talking standard of all the games.  Although in addition to the full profile shots, I'm hoping that the book will feature the black and white "crime" photos as well.  Location pieces would be great, too.

Here's a few more sample scans.  Careful, there are some potential spoilers from GS3 in here:

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … gsgo-0.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … gsgn-0.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … mple01.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … mple02.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … mple03.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … mple04.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … mple05.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … mple06.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … mple07.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa20 … mple08.jpg

Finished the first game (that fifth case just went on and on and on and on...) and am just about to start the second. I'm having a great time, overall.

I think the thing that bothers me most about the fifth case is its inconsistency at where it stands in the Phoenix storyline.  The case was meant to fill in the gap between the end of the first game and the beginning of the second, and while it is successful in a couple of regards, it completely flies in the face of the crucial story theme of Justice For All.  (I don't want to spoil anything, but it basically involves the relationship between two of the main characters.)  Of course, because the fifth case was written well after the second game was released, it would be unreasonable to think that Capcom could change and retrofit JFA to coincide with Case 5.  That would have likely required a total restructuring of the overall story arc.

That said, I did like Rise From The Ashes quite a bit.  I tend to treat it as a gaiden, a "what-if" type of case.  There are some nice little easter eggs to be discovered, too, which leads into PW2 and PW3.  The SL-9 Incident theme, though, is probably my least liked song in the entire trilogy. o_O

I don't remember any of the new music being particularly irritating... There are several existing pieces that served to drive me nuts (that bouncy tune that played when most of the female characters were around, for example). It's hard to criticize the music too much because it did its job in-game pretty well. However, for a game as long as this one, more pieces would have been appreciated.

I did note that I liked Ema more than Maya (if only because she doesn't insist on calling the main character "Nick", something that still baffles me). I also liked the added DS features, even if the fingerprint incorporation was so picky that I would hyperventilate by the time I finally got the results I wanted. And Gant was a real piece of work. I think out of all the villains, I wanted to punch him the most (although Von Karma comes awfully close).

Do note that each successive game brings back certain themes and tracks from its predecessors.  The third game technically boasts the largest soundtrack, with fifty-three tracks total. (34 new songs for PW3, 12 from PW2, and 7 from PW1.  Yes, I really did tally them up. ^_^)  For a text-adventure game, that's pretty varied, and the reoccurrence of themes does lend a nice sense of thematic coherence to the score.   

It's pretty simple, really.  Just pronounce Phoenix's name phonetically: "fee• NICK •s".  And I think you'll soon discover that our man in blue has a boatload of nick names to look forward to.... with "Spiky" and "Nicky-boy" being my personal faves.  ;)

Excellent... I mean, I liked the music in the first game (especially the courtroom stuff). I just wish there was more of it. After 20+ hours, I was able to hear them in my sleep.

Ah, okay... I guess I needed more context. It's not like we ever get an impression of the character's personal life. ... does he even have a personal life? And the poor guy always gets beat up on court. It's entertaining...

So my copy of "The Art of Gyakuten Saiban" came in today, and it's a splendidly gorgeous package indeed.  The two books are housed in the GS4 slipcase that you see here.  The GS1-3 book weighs in at 160 pages, the GS4 one at 80.  Content-wise, it's entirely character driven; all of the major players in the series get anywhere between one to ten pages, depending on the relevance of the character. (Obviously, characters like Phoenix, Maya, and Edgeworth get maximum coverage, while others like April May or Payne scrape by with two or three.)  All the pieces are finalized art; that is, there are no preliminary sketches or outtakes like you might find from the "Fanbook" series.  The quality of the art itself is fantastic, and there's details you simply can't see on the GBA/DS screen that you can definitely appreciate here.  For instance, a lot of these characters have lower halves to their bodies!  LEGS!

There's also a lengthy collection of group portraits, such as those that adorned the GBA OSTs, as well as the end-of-case shots from PW1.  What the books don't cover, unfortunately, are any of the victim characters, the black and white crime photos, flashback shots, or any other scenes interpersed between cases.  So, there are no pages dedicated to, say, Jack Hammer or Bruce Goodman, or that shot where Will Powers is happily eating his steak, or Maya's farewell shot at the train station.  I was really hoping for those inclusion, but alas. 

I hesitated to peruse the GS4 book, in fear of spoilers, but I don't think it spoils a whole lot.  Other than seeing the new character designs, again, it doesn't show anything relevant to the cases, like the crime scenes and the like.  The quality is just as high as GS1-3, but I must admit you can certainly see a lot more "Capcom" in the new designs than the older games.  Who knew Dante became a prosecutor, for instance? ;)   

All in all, a healthy recommendation for Ace Attorney fans.  It is a tad pricey; I paid $54 for the cheapest shipping from Play-Asia, but if there's any series more deserving of an expensive collection, I can't think of it.  Not Guilty!

Just to confirm, does it have the portraits displayed after beating a case? I was rather annoyed  by the gaping holes and I'd love the see them in full.

I'm gonna drop by Books Kinokuniya first in the off chance that they have a copy in stock, but HMV Japan appears to have it for 5000 yen, (3800 + 1200 shipping), or around $43.

From PW1, yes, the end-of-case portraits are shown -- and you'll be most pleased at how beautifully depicted they are in their full-page glory.  ^_^  If you're talking about PW2 (and PW3, for that matter), they do have the entirety of the featured character in their respective profile pages.

Finished Case 5.
This case was fan-f---ing-tastic.
It was filled with suspense, it was sly and smart.

DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU FINISH THE GAME, in order, of course.

Spoilers:
It was so cool that Maya was able to hide from her "using her own body" and she never even knew it.  I found it so cool that Mia able to tell her and thus Mia is my fav character.

I admit I had some tears in my eyes because it was the "final" chapter of this amazing trilogy; the pic that made me cry a little was the pic of young Mia and Maya fixing the broken pot, and the words that were said at the point.

I loved the little clues that were hidden in the other cases involving the Prosecutor Godot and his little vision problem (ie apron in Case 3 clue,etc.)

To think that all the Feys hardship started with that case with Edgeworth's father (channeled by Misty) and lying to protect his son....
Gregory didn't know it was Karma, right?
I thought that "the other side" could see all.
and then Edgeworth was raised by the man who killed his father.....that's messed up.
When I saw Case 4 and the similarities between Karma and Edgeworth, I was so freaked out.I loved how Edgeworth took over as defense for that time and had to duke it out with his "sister".

Then the funny moments with Franciska:
she was all whining to godot "Help phoenix! help him now!".
For some reason, I thought this was funny.

And it was actually pretty scary that Morgan only cared out the name of the Fey family and not actually about Pearl's actual feelings, and of course, the wealth it would bring.

Actually I have someone in my family who's exactly like Morgan.
Her offspring are boys and thus "heirs".  So she thinks she should get more dough or rights, whatever.  She's really sneaky.  She lied a lot for her own personal and financial gain.She hasn't killed anyone though, thank god.
I'll be getting that artbook sometime soon, I admit.

Edit: Read your post. Thank you Angela.

It's Case 5, actually. ;)

And I completely agree.  I won't say anything more, but no one -- and I mean NO ONE -- should be looking at the above spoilers until you've finished the game. 

DO NOT.

U.S. version is out today -- don't walk, fellow American gamers.... RUN!   

It's worth mentioning that, unlike Justice For All, Capcom has taken the time to proofread Trials And Tribulations.  I can verify that typos in the earliest cases have been corrected, and others have stated the same for later ones. (Though they didn't catch a fairly obvious one during a court phase in Case 2.)  As said before, though, even the Japanese version had far and few typos in between.  The fact that Capcom has given it a final polish attempt is appreciated.

None of the stores had it in our city. Called lots of places. Meant a lot of disappointing replies. They all said sometime later this week or the next.

It's a shame that an "attempt" is the best I can see myself calling it.

Their use of punctuation is terrible, and there's still a bit too much unintentional ambiguity in some of the wording. Though, admittedly, I've only been able to fit in enough time for the first case (school sucks), so it might get a lot better or, as was the case in the previous installments, a lot worse as the game progresses.

But, despite my disapproval of Capcom USA's seemingly always-wanting editorial staff, I've been looking forward to this game as a stress reliever since the start of the current semester, so I'm more than willing to put up with what flaws remain.

-Edit-
Idolores, if I recall correctly, you're in Calgary, too.

The GameStops in Southcentre, Chinook, and North Hill had it yesterday, as did all non-NE Future Shop and Best Buy locations. Amazon is still the cheapest option (I cancelled my $29.99 express shipping pre-order because they still didn't have it in stock [I'll just price-protect when some store lowers its price]), but it definitely has arrived in our city.

I checked the day the game was supposed to be out, the 23'd. They didn't have it then. That's when I made the post. A lot of places said this week or the next. In any event, they did indeed get it this week (just got mine today! Whoo!), as you say. Thanks for lookin' out, though!

On the third case now.  Cases are more interesting than ever before.  There are only two major typos I spotted.  "no" was spelled "on" and "when you were in a child" probably should be "when you were a child."

Yeah, that child bit is getting a lot of heat..... ugh, they've effectively made the Judge into a pedophile with just that one misused word.  >_<

Case 3 is one gem of a riot.  I don't think I laughed so hard as I did in this case...... yet, there is that one moment when you're hit with a pang of sadness and sympathy for one of the characters.  You'll see when you get there.

I picked up my copy on Wed., or as I like to call it, "the day of too many freaking games."  I'm still only halfway through PW2, so I won't be playing this new one until I finish that one, which I don't anticipate happenning until sometime next year.

I found a new spelling error.  "aboot" should be "about" in Case 5.  About halfway through this.

This is the most satisfying PW game ever.  There are slightly better hints this time around for the court scenes, and there is more use of visual contradictions, so I've been tripped up a few times.

I hate Larry Butz now.  Such a loser. heh

Actually, that's an intentional spelling.  The character in question is supposed to be a stereotypical Canadian; hence why he also says "hoser," "double-double," "maple leaf"..... and finishes a lot of sentences with "eh."   

A hoser, you mean!  I love the fact that his dialogue and mannerism is absolutely consistent with the first game.  And his interactions with both the defense and prosecution during his Case 5 cross-examination is priceless.   

And his name is no longer Larry, you know. ;)

Yeah, yeah, but he is still Larry.

I was so busy finishing off the New Super Mario Bros that I've completely neglected PW2! Clearly I must rectify this astonishing lapse in judgement...

Well, it's NSMB..... so you'll get a reprieve.   You wouldn't have gotten away with that it were any other game -- except maybe Elite Beat Agents or Ouendan. 

.... Might I take this opportunity to recommend those as your next series endeavor? ;)

^

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaan... There's just so many great games on the DS! I was just about to start the new Zelda game...

Angela, you're right that a lot of those are Canadian stereotypes, but . . . "aboot" is a new one on me. I was born and raised in Canukistan. And I ain't ever done heard "about" spelled, said, or otherwise expressed in the manner presented. I wonder where it came from?

Other than that, the game is great. Although first case was annoying. Didn't like Grossberg's constant referrals to the contents of his ass.

I think it's pretty common in South Park whenever Terence and Philip are involved.

I even use "aboot" to satirize myself in casual writing. (And, even though I swear I don't, when I speak online, people always say they can hear me saying it)

It's one of the most commonly played Canadian stereotypes, stemming, as far as I've been able to determine,  from our British-like usage of 'ou' in other words, like "honour".

"..., eh?" was used in a completely nonsensical place in case 2 by the robed dude with the red/orange/copper/whatever beard, so I'm guessing he's the one we're talking about.

-Edit-
Forgot a comma. I need more sleep.

Finished the game.  Great game.  Last two cases were harder for me.  There were a lot of visual contradictions and these required a longer memory of the story and case file.

Just want to say...I just played Ace Attorney for the first time and I see why this series gets the cult following it has. Just like a good detective show, except there's a sense of drama since you can actually mess up (I didn't give Larry the right evidence at the very end of the 1st case apparently and I thought I had messed up at the one point with the clock). And yeah...It's wouldn't be half as fun if the characters weren't so damn colorful. Very satisfying game, actually, especially if it gets a lot better than that first case (which I hear it does).

So...Good thing I waited until now, since the rest of the games (save for 4) are out.

Also, if anyone's interested...Wal-Mart has Justice for All for $14.99.