Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

This article is about the video game. For the character, see Phoenix Wright. For the video game series, see Ace Attorney. For the live action film, see Ace Attorney (film). For the animated series, see Ace Attorney (TV series).
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
North American Nintendo DS box art featuring (clockwise from upper left) the judge, Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix Wright, and Maya Fey
Developer(s)Capcom Production Studio 4[3]
Publisher(s)Capcom
Director(s)Shu Takumi
Producer(s)
Programmer(s)Noriyuki Otani
Artist(s)
  • Kumiko Suekane
  • Tatsuro Iwamoto
Writer(s)Shu Takumi
Composer(s)
  • Masakazu Sugimori
  • Naoto Tanaka (DS)
SeriesAce Attorney
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Windows, Wii, iOS
ReleaseGame Boy Advance
  • JP: October 12, 2001
Nintendo DS
  • JP: September 15, 2005
  • NA: October 11, 2005[1]
  • EU: March 16, 2006
Windows
Wii
Episodes 1-4
  • JP: December 15, 2009
  • NA: January 11, 2010
  • PAL: January 15, 2010
Episode 5
  • JP: March 16, 2010
  • NA: May 24, 2010
  • PAL: May 2010
iOS
  • JP: December 21, 2009
  • NA: May 24, 2010
Genre(s)Visual Novel, Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney[a] is a visual novel adventure game developed and published by Capcom. It was released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance in Japan and has been ported to multiple platforms. The 2005 Nintendo DS version, titled Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten in Japan, introduced an English language option, and was the first time the game was released in North America and Europe. It is the first entry in the Ace Attorney series; several sequels and spin-offs were produced, while this game has seen further ports and remasters for computers, game consoles, and mobile devices.

The story follows Phoenix "Nick" Wright, a rookie defense attorney who attempts to have his clients declared "not guilty". Among other characters are Phoenix's boss, Mia Fey; his assistant and Mia's sister, Maya; and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. The player controls Phoenix through two sets of sections: investigations and courtroom trials. During investigations they gather information and evidence. During trials they cross-examine witnesses, and answer questions from the judge, the prosecutor, and the witnesses. The story is split into five cases. The fifth was introduced in the Nintendo DS version to take advantage of gameplay elements using the handheld's touchscreen not available in the original Game Boy Advance version.

A team of seven developed the game over the course of ten months. Written and directed by Shu Takumi, it was originally planned as a Game Boy Color game about a private investigator. The game was designed to be simple; Takumi wanted it easy enough that even his mother could play. While the original version of the game takes place in Japan, the localization is set in the United States; this became an issue when localizing later games, where the Japanese setting was more obvious.

Generally, the game has been positively received by critics who praised its premise, writing, characters, and presentation. The game has been a commercial success both in Japan and internationally. The release sales in North America broke expectations, and as a result the software became difficult to find in stores shortly after its release. Other media based on the game have been produced. It has been credited with helping to popularize visual novels in the Western world, and has been cited as one of the greatest games ever made. A manga series premiered in 2006, a film adaptation of the game, titled Ace Attorney, premiered in 2012, and an anime series adaptation aired in 2016.

A high-definition version of the first three Ace Attorney games, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD,[b] was released for iOS and Android in Japan on February 7, 2012, and for iOS in the West on May 30, 2013.[4][5][6] Another collection of the first three games, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy,[c] was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on April 17, 2014,[7][8][9][10][11] in North America on December 9, 2014, and in Europe on December 11, 2014.[12] It was also released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on February 21, 2019, in Japan, and on April 9, 2019, internationally; a Windows version was released internationally on the same date.[13][14]

  1. ^ Adams, David (October 11, 2005). "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Opens Practice". IGN. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  2. ^ https://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20060309/source.htm Archived 2020-08-06 at the Wayback Machine ported by SourceNext
  3. ^ "Production Studio 4" (in Japanese). Capcom Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005.
  4. ^ "Android版『逆転裁判 123HD』配信サイト" (in Japanese). Capcom. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  5. ^ "逆転裁判 123HD 〜成歩堂 龍一編〜 まとめ (iPhone/iPod)". Famitsu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  6. ^ Schreier, Jason (May 30, 2013). "The Phoenix Wright HD Trilogy Is Finally Out on iOS Today". Kotaku. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  7. ^ "Ace Attorney 123: Wright Selection for 3DS Previewed in Video". Anime News Network. January 23, 2014. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  8. ^ "Ace Attorney 1, 2, and 3 coming to 3DS". Gematsu. January 21, 2014. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  9. ^ Luster, Joseph (January 22, 2014). "Original "Ace Attorney" Trilogy Heads to 3DS in Japan". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "VIDEO: "Ace Attorney 123: Wright Collection" Relives the Original Trilogy in Debut Trailer". Crunchyroll. January 23, 2014. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "逆転裁判123 成歩堂セレクション まとめ (3DS)". Famitsu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 11, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  12. ^ McWhertor, Michael (October 9, 2014). "Ace Attorney Trilogy comes to Nintendo 3DS in December". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  13. ^ Wales, Matt (February 27, 2019). "Capcom's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is out in April". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  14. ^ "『逆転裁判123 成歩堂セレクション』発売日が2019年2月21日に決定！ 成歩堂龍一の大活躍が大画面で大復活！ 巧舟×渡辺歩インタビューも必見！【先出し週刊ファミ通】". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. November 7, 2018. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.


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