Though last night's Level-5 Vision press conference was largely a bust for new information, we have gotten some new information from around the event.

First, a number of screens from last week's Famitsu have been released in better quality:



Further, the game is on the show floor for attendees to play during the event, so we should be getting impressions in English at some point. For now, one blog has provided a very detailed write-up in Japanese. While my Japanese probably isn't up to snuff to translate the whole thing, it does mention a few neat facts, such as the fact it seems most of the music is orchestrated (including an orchestrated version of "Objection! 2001") and a new shout is present for the Mob Trial system: "Chotto!", here roughly translatable as "Hey!" or "Just a minute!"

Update: A very short clip of gameplay is available at 1UP. It doesn't show off any cross-examination, but we do get a look at the animations.

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Last edited by Bolt Storm on Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Maya looks great here, especially when you compare her to her 2D self:


Yep. Maya's looking pretty good!
The prosecutor guy looks pretty cool too, though I feel the chances of him being a bad guy are quite high... I hope I'm wrong. I like him.

Anyway, we've only seen court scenes so far... I wonder how the investigation phases work. I guess they're probably Layton-based, because otherwise the game is pretty much 100% Ace Attorney...
Orchestrated music sounds great. I hope we get impressions soon.

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I don't know why a new orchestra arrangement of Objection 2001 fills me with glee... particularly since I already have the 06, 08, and the preview version of the 06 orchestra arrangements.

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This is just me but I much prefer the other Objection themes over 2001. Hope those find their way in too. I mean, PW's music was good but it'd be nice if themes from the other games got some new orchestrations too in this game.

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Which Objection themes are you talking about? Not trying to be rude, but I'm honestly curious.

2001,
2002,
2004,
2007,

There's also Edgeworth's Great Revival songs, which I'd count as they're used the same way. But those and 2007 are out since they're tied to protagonists who aren't Phoenix. 2001 is also out since, well, it's already in.

This leaves 2002 and 2004. Of the two, 2002's I believe is considered by most the black sheep in the family (GS2's sound track in general for that matter).

So in that end, the remaining song is 2004, in my mind at least.

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By others I was referring to both 2002 and 2004 as I like them both better than 2001. I was expressing sadness over the fact that the only remixes they saw were both paired with Objection 2001. (Turnabout Orchestra and Turnabout Jazz Soul) Out of those two though, I prefer 2004 more.

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Objection! 2001 is of course going to be used because it's an iconic part of Phoenix's character. It's the same with Cornered! 2001.

You need to look no further than Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney to see that. When Phoenix's themes play, they're not his 2002 or 2004 ones; they're the 2001 versions. They're the most widely associated themes with Phoenix's character. Heck, even Trials and Tribulations ended with Cornered! 2001 playing as you dealt the final blow to Godot.

It's no oddity that Level-5 chose to use it as a theme in this. I imagine it's possible that 2002 and 2004 will be included, but unlikely 2007, 2009 and 2011 will due to them, as Wooster said, holding connotations of very specific characters.

My God, those models look too much like hand-drawn sprites. They are handling the transition from 2D to 3D extremely well. I mean come on, DAT MAYA

One thing's puzzling me: Could this 5 "witnesses" that the game has shown us be permanent, or could new ones appear throughout the game? Also, can anyone catch their names from the screenshots?

I have the strong feeling that this game may break a lot of conventions for Ace Attorney fans. Hopefully the next time the game's shown at some big event, they'll cover the Layton part of things; but I think they're covering the Phoenix part because we AA fans deserve it. The last Layton game was released this February, and the last game starring Phoenix dates back from around 2007. This truly is the return of the Ace Attorney series to what first made it great, and what a way to come back!

This game is the closest we've been to Gyakuten Saiban 5 in a very long time. And as if that weren't enough, we also get Professor freaking Layton thrown in there too.

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Honestly, I'm curious how they'll do once we hit AA5. Both the Court and Investigation phases are showing their age thanks to AAI and Layton Vs Ace Attorney.

Court phase has always been limited to Judge, Defense, Aid, Prosecution, and Witness. Only on the rarest of occasions, do we see two people behind the witness stand, and in GS1-5, with Lana and Gant both trying to hold the same spot at the same time, but not, it became jarring.

With AAI, while, no, there is no court phase, but having as many as four people in an argument on screen, and none, aside from Edgeworth were locked into one of the four, it was very liberating the sort of conversations one could have. Plus, depending on the setting, such as the finale, in a single scene you have 10 or so swapping in and out of the conversation. 10 people!

Layton Vs solves the problem of a stagnant court cast via the Mob system. But, they can't take the mob system back into the main series for lack of anarchy.

Then there's investigation. Investigation for the most part is boring. For the most part, it has to be. All the big reveals must be in the game's staple, court phase. There's a few ways they've tried to fix that, Psyche-locks, Ema's Investigative tools, Mayson System.

I enjoy cracking Psyche-locks, but their automatic triggering when someone lies, it becomes a lie detector. For all intents, a cheating mechanism. If the system or a replacement was triggered by submitting evidence that makes the target uneasy, thus giving a tell, it might've worked better.

Ema's investigative tools are a mixed bag. When she's your aid in 1-5, you're allowed to investigate every nook and cranny for blood and finger prints. When she's the detective, she hold's the case's one mini game. To me, it points out the problems with Maya and Trucy as aids. They don't really bring much to the table in terms of solving the case. A bit less so a problem with Trucy since she is mostly on top of things. But a problem none the less.

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Added a short gameplay clip to the first post.

Woost, I agree that AA5 will be a challenge whenever it comes around. AAI and PLvsAA have provided us with some meaty additions to the traditional gameplay, and if Capcom ignores those in favor of the systems from AA1-4 it runs the risk of being seen as stepping back.

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The biggest challenge AA5 faces is properly realising its jury system. In a franchise known for the little guy taking on a legal system where you're guilty until proven innocent and always pushing uphill, how will something as amicable as a jury system be properly inserted into the game?

I honestly think Takumi threw the whole concept in there as... almost propaganda supporting Japan's re-instigation of their jury system. Playing 4-4 the other day, much of the dialogue came across as so, almost painfully so the point where I felt like I was playing through a political commentary.

Perhaps Takumi had some ideas for where it could go, but with him leaving I think it's steered the series into a rut; that's why we haven't had a 'real' Ace Attorney since 2007. Honestly, as much as I want to love Apollo Justice, I can't accept the fact that the final case really does play like it's trying to persuade the typical Japanese gamer to embrace the new court system.

This is even reflected in the final court session; you present maybe two or three pieces of obvious evidence, there's not a single Cornered! or otherwise stirring moment save Kristoph's breakdown (the personification of all wrong and evil about the non-jury system, of course) and then you just sit back and watch Phoenix and the Judge monologue about how everything is so much better whilst the insane person rants about how it's bad.

Urgh, I glossed over it the first time but playing through the case again it really annoyed me. I think this is the real problem AA5 faces, not the inclusion of new gameplay elements.

Here's my solution for the Jury system.

In the first game, Phoenix explains that in the current system, crime is so rampant that they engaged a 3 day court system to speed trials up. In the event that the trial can be solved in those three days, then the more formal hearing does not occur. This is the trial the Judge refers to every time you get a game over.

What I propose, is that the Jury system only apples to the 'formal trial'. Thus, the speedy 3 day court trials still apply, but for major ones the Jury system would fit. Under what I'm imagining, Maggie's case in GS3 would be a Jury trial, since it was an appeal after a failed 3 day trial.

Plus, there's ways that the Jury system would be practical. Imagine a case with a Von Karma like Judge. The jury system would be a way to get around a corrupt official, and perhaps a way to convict said official all in the same round.

Then there's the alternative that, while you have a right to a trial by jury, one is not provided by default. Could be something you have to request.

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Honestly? In the world of Ace Attorney I wouldn't be surprised to see jurors stomping around the crime scene on their own. And a corrupt jury could make for an interesting final case (since the Judge is, for all his faults, always going to be a good guy.)

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Hello guys ! I have got so many questions that I hope that they will be answered :

1) If the game is out and nobody will understand it, will someone of this website translate us what's going on as spoilers or something like that ?

2) By the time the game is being developed, will the Nintendo 3DS price drop or stay the same ? I really have big problems concering buying online since I can't have an international credit card unless I get a job in my country ! It's really a big waste to let the game go, but that's destiny.

Thanks for your answers !