SonicPanda Feb 26, 2010 (edited Feb 26, 2010)
OK, let's rock. My gameplay experience at the end was pretty unique - my sister and I actually raced each other through the final parts, leapfrogging over each other and helping one another past our respective roadblocks. In the end, she was quite pleased to beat it exactly one minute before I did, drat her bones. Spoilers come now, and I'm not shy about referencing other spoilers from the series, be ye warned.
As has been said, the fanservice in this case is overwhelming but not unwelcome. In some ways, it's almost a sister story to Bridge to the Turnabout. Edgey was also snarkier than usual ('Vindictive much?', 'No, next decade...Of course now!', and utilizing The Point to tell Larry to 'Go Away!'), which was fun. And even if some pop references started sneaking in, there weren't many, and the Scooby-Doo one was cute. My favorite moment, though, was probably Edgeworth's dawning realization that his autograph came from Larry, and his inability to deal with that.
Breaking Shih-na and the truth about Yatagarasu was immensely satisfying. I live for the meltdown moments in these stories, and her breaking-point reaction was right up there with the series' best. My hypothesis entering the case was waaaay off, though. I'd been guessing that Yew had actually been slain by the gunshot at the end of Case 4 and that Badd had picked up the mantle for his own ends. The truth was much more interesting, and let Badd walk off a badass as opposed to a bad man. He's definitely the game's coolest character, as cool as everyone tells me that petty shmuck Godot was supposed to be.
Lang turned out to be a great character, too - a much better take on the 'friendly rival' idea than Klavier, who was much too nice to be an effective antagonist. I'm a bit surprised they didn't go into more detail on the event that triggered his distrust of prosecutors, but perhaps that ensures his return in the next game.
I wasn't quite as impressed with the ultimate ringleader villain, though. While much better than Kristoph Gavin, he wasn't in the same league as Damon Gant (in fact, in many ways, he is a poor man's Gant) or Dahlia Hawthorne. Make no mistake, he was condescending and persistent as all hell, but his pervasive nervousness and need to escape made him seem far less devious than the ones who stick around, smirk and casually dare you to make them crack. Seeing those and tough characters like them begin to sweat was the fleeting payoff for Herculean efforts. But even Larry - LARRY! - practically had this guy on his knees. At least his 'Ob-JECK-shon' call, as if Sean Connery were trying to imitate Patrick Stewart, was a hoot.
Other passing thoughts:
- they took the awesome out of Franziska's whip-snap, sadly. It's a simple *Wh-PSH - crick* now instead of the more commanding *Wh-PSH - BANG* of JFA and T&T.
- how perfect was it that in an Edgeworth game, the decisive evidence came from Oldbag?
- did anyone else notice that Oldbag's undershirt was laid out like Edgeworth's framed jacket?
- also, did anyone else notice that the Iron Infant had Sal Manella's topknot and Maya's bangs? Maximum creepiness.
Downsides? You knew it was coming - a cornucopia of fanservice, and they can't put Ema in there somewhere? She's a Steel Samurai fan, too! When a forensics guy calls peoples' attention with a 'Hold It!' in the middle of the finale, and you make it some random no-name instead of the established series' forensics expert, you've just plain screwed it up. All told, she got less screen time than Mike friggin' Meekins, and that's just not right. Honestly, if every time they'd simply called for some analysis they instead had her on hand to actually do the analysis in the course of gameplay, I think I could've safely called this my favorite AA game. Investigations, even the speedy ones on display here, simply aren't as fun without Science (we're going to have to agree to disagree on this, Ramza, as well as your distate for my thematic favorite in the series). I hold out the slim hope that the girl-centric Yatagarasu II Kay mentions in the ending will consist of Kay as the Phoenix, Ema as the Maya, and Maggey as the Gumshoe. If Eshiro does that, I'll build a statue of the man. As it is, she seems to have appeared simply so that preview screens with her could be published, ensuring the interest of otherwise disappointed fanboys like myself. Well played, Capcom.
Also, a lot of the green-text clues spelled out too well what you were supposed to present, robbing some of the challenge - what I wouldn't give for another brain-buster like Farewell, My Turnabout. And the business of dumping unnecessary evidence was supposed to simplify things, but only kept me constantly aware that the Samurai Dog was important, instead of focusing on the matter in front of me.
Still, great game, for reasons I've mentioned before; the series hasn't felt so fresh in years. The original PW and JFA are still my favorites, but as with Angela, Edgey comes in at a strong third. Let's do this every year.
...and with Science.
