The summer has not been good to me...I've had more homework and studying to do for the summer semester at my university then I have ever had in a long time, and that was supposed to be a summer semester. But for every bad of this summer, there has been some good. First off, I finally stopped bitching about it and got a DS just because I can and decided to give some thought about games I wanted to try. Stumbling in the value bargain bin at Amazon was the entire Phoenix Wright Trilogy for $40. I decided to give it a whirl and almost instantly, I fell in love with the single best court drama game series EVER!
For the longest time, I have been extremely puzzled by the memes going around the internet with "Objection!" and what not. Now I know...IT'S FUCKING AWESOME TO SCREAM THAT OUT! As soon as I picked up the first trial and started using my logic to solve contradictions and people's fallacies and what not, I was instantly enticed by the fact that this was unlike any other game I've played.
Almost overnight, I fell in love with all the lovable characters in the Phoenix Wright series: I felt the joy when Phoenix would prove his contradictions, I felt the sorrow of seeing Mia Fey die (oops....spoilers). But most of all, every single character in the entire series, from the most minor like Wendy Oldbag, to the major like Chief Gantz were certainly memorable characters. And they had to be, cause if you didn't remember what ONE character said by slip of the tongue, you'd be completely fucked in the case with no idea of what evidence to present.
After finishing the first game during a weekend, I quickly moved on to "Justice for All" to see all the completely zany adventures Phoenix would have to go through with people trying to undermine him and prove he's an idiot. Needless to say, I didn't like it too much, something from the first one was totally missing. I didn't feel for any of the characters, some cases were downright absurd, and 'ol Phoenix would somehow take it to a new level of stupidity even though he learned all his lessons from the first game. Eventually, I did finish the game, even though it was only 4 cases compared to the original's 5, I just couldn't keep myself awake after series and series of backtracking several rooms and having to put up with the ever annoying Oldbag and Lotta Hart, possibly the two WORST CHARACTERS TO EVER COME INTO EXISTENCE.
Well I waited to try Trials and Tribulations due to being totally disappointed in the 2nd one. But my games started to pile up and I thought, might as well finish the series while I still have it fresh in my head. Well anyways, lemme tell you something, Trials and Tribulations was the shit. A perfect wrap up to the Phoenix Wright saga. Every plot hole ever introduced in the original game was answered, every great character came back in one epic courtroom showdown, and Godot was badass. Not to mention for once in the Phoenix Wright series, someone proven guilty in one crime was actually proven linked to another. That to me was just ingenious. Oh and let's not forget that this is possibly the funniest iteration of the judge I have ever seen.
Then after that, I finally started Apollo Justice. I am now in the middle of Apollo Justice but somehow I think the flair is lost. The biggest disappointment to me was seeing Phoenix in a state of degenerate bum with a daughter, and he speaks in riddles like he's some wise man. I dunno where they're taking this game, but I'm not digging the new courtroom or some of the new characters. I mean Kalvier and Gavin aren't as cool as Edgeworth or von Karma and I don't know if I can stand with Trucy Wright being my replacement Maya. Granted, the gameplay is new and different, but the storyline is almost totally negligent to me, oh and his "Objection!" is weak too.
To sum it up, this summer has been what I will call, the Phoenix Wright summer for me. After a series of hardcore game after hardcore game, Phoenix Wright was certainly the break I needed from the hardcore. I actually for once had to think and examine every nuance of wordplay and detail, something that many hardcore games I was playing at the time were lacking. If I were to describe to anyone who had not seen me the entire summer as to what I was doing.I would scream out "OBJECTION!" Objection indeed....