3.5/5 ★ – DarkDrawer's review of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All.

This game is pretty heartfelt overall and does give a few clues into what will becomes its sequel and the third entry into this trilogy, but overall, I can't say this is an improvement or a regression in any way from the previous entry. I think this is a serviceable game, but like the first in the series, there are only really 2 cases with a satisfying ending (maybe 2 1/2 if I'm being charitable). Part of this might be my biased assessment as someone who has played these games out of order, but nevertheless this is my impression. One thing that was a sort of mystery throughout was Edgeworth's "death" as he left a note stating as much, but with no body it was pretty apparent he was showing back up. In his place for the majority of the game we have Franziska von Karma, the daughter of the prosecutor who was involved in the last game. As Edgeworth was under his tutelage, the two have history and some of it is explained in the game. Two of the most fun characters introduced in this game is Pearl Fey, who will occasionally act as the assistant character in place of Maya (with some assistance from Mia), and Franziska who I previously explained. I'd say these characters had the most stuff going on that felt fresh, especially as these characters arent featured in other games as prominently and I had the most fun when these characters were front and centered. With that in mind, in terms of cases, I liked 2-2>2-4=2-1>2-3 if I had to rank each case. 2-2 features Maya back in the hot seat, but this created a nice personal connection for Nick and Pearls and it had a pretty satisfying conclusion and twist. 2-1 started from a nice place with the amnesia detail, but execution wise the gameplay isn't as dynamic as its only a trial portion as is most prologues. 2-4 is the big case of this game and while the twist of a defendant being the end murderer (as he put a hit on the victim) is interesting, gameplay wise it doesnt work for me and the details in the past really aren't worthwhile to uncover. There are some things about that case that are just left up in the air. The only saving grace for that case is that Maya is captured and so Nick has to clear his client through some means if he hopes to save her. The ending is pretty sweet, but Franziska is sidelined the entire time for Edgeworth to establish the role of prosecutor and lawyer to Nick and... I was not impressed to say the least, but that might be my bias as this sort of thing is played up in other games repeatedly. 2-3 would be a fine case if it had more going on. Between the 3 "suitors" affections for a girl involved and the lack of care this game gives me for the defendant, I was not invested in this case. With that being said, the pacing of this game is pretty nice and things are a lot easier to play through aside from having to transition between several different areas before actually going to where I want to go. This and having to present peoples' profiles to people can make things difficult for investigations if you aren't playing close attention. This game is at its best when I figure out what happens along the way and for the majority of those, it doesn't happen. Mia fey returns as someone who both Maya and Pearls can channel as skilled spirit Mediums. While I love to see her again, she is underutilized for the majority of the game, largely acting as an adviser in dire moments, however, she was especially involved in 2-2 and that is where she was at her best. The next game seems to largely feature her, so I'm sure in that area, it'll pick up the slack (whether I find it satisfying remains to be seen). Shu Takumi's involvement on this series is pretty noticeable as he loves to make cases usually more than good vs evil. There can be accidents, some good people doing bad things, etc. I think if used sparingly, this can make things more varied, but overused, this made some cases especially annoying to play through. I think one thing that can make these games more predictable is the lack of new characters. We had some returning characters from the last game, notably Will Powers, Wendy Oldbag, and Lotta Hart. I think returning characters are fine if used well, but a character like Wendy Oldbag is just annoying to even be on screen. I think the lack of newer characters with each case also make it easier to narrow down who could be the killer as its almost never going to be someone spriteless until the end. All in all, a game that made me think in a lot of areas and a game that left me wishing for more with some of its characters. While I can't say I wasn't disappointed with this game, it was definitely a necessary step in this series. My evaluation of this game may depend on what happens in the third series.