Ace AttorneyFeatureTuesday, 31st December 2024 by Mike

I did “30 days of video games” on Bluesky, and managed not to make it all about Ace Attorney

Throughout December, I’ve been doing the “30 days of video games” challenge on Bluesky and… well, today’s the 31st, isn’t it, so you can work out where I’m going with this. I joked in my opening post that the world was about to “finally see what a basic gaming bitch I really am”, and I… still think that’s pretty accurate, although I did manage to surprise myself with a few of my answers. So here they are again, all in one place and with some of the answers tweaked or expanded a bit.

By the way, that first post is the place to go if you want to copy the prompts and have a go at this yourself, too! The systems and release dates I’ve listed below are based on the systems I remember playing the games on, so don’t get all up in my grill about about it.

Day 1: First video game
Prince of Persia (MS-DOS, 1990)

I might’ve played some of my dad’s games earlier (I don’t know why this threw me at the time, but I definitely did — I was obsessed with Galaxian on his old Amstrad CPC computer, and I definitely remember playing the original Doom and Elite, but oh well), but this was the first I owned. When my parents bought me my first PC, the man installed this for me (I’m 99% sure it was pirated). It was way too hard for me, but I was (and am) mesmerised by the rotoscoped animations.

Day 2: Most hours in game
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch, 2020)

It’ll be the most hours in recent years, anyway; Theme Hospital must be up there. It’s arguably not as good as New Leaf and the dialogue is hollow as fuck. But boy, did it release at exactly the right moment. Here’s a flyover of my beloved Blauburg.

Day 3: Hardest boss fight
Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS5, 2024)

The final one boiled my piss. It’s not “difficult” hard, just “long” hard (giggity). It’s three phases long and only refills your MP once. Just the worst kind of HP sponge. I ended up putting it in “baby mode” because I just wanted it to be over (and the second and third phases still took me three quarters of an hour, as you can see in this spoilerific timelapse). 😔

(The whole endgame massively overstayed its welcome, to be honest… I suspected Metaphor might be “too fantasy” for me, and I was more or less right.)

Day 4: Currently playing
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch, 2024)

It’s… fine? I still love this art style, and it seems to perform better than the Link’s Awakening remake. The dialogue is fairly skippable and it’s a little too hand-holdy, but overall it’s just a cute, charming world to spend time in. (I don’t think I ever went back to it after I posted this.)

Day 5: Game that deserves a remake
Crash Twinsanity (PS2, 2004)

It needs the Soulstorm treatment, i.e. go back to the concept art and make it into “the game it was meant to be”. I would’ve preferred it to the Crash 4 we got, at least. It has so many unfinished areas — so much cut content and wasted potential. But it’s still so much fun.

Day 6: Best world-building
BioShock series (2007–)

Let’s be real, a lot of BioShock Infinite and Columbia were pretty wangy. But Rapture is so well realised, I feel like it’s real. It all comes together so well that you’re never really left thinking “but why is X?” or “how does Y work?” Roll on BioShock 4!

Day 7: Favourite multiplayer or MMO
Journey (PS3, 2012)

Honestly I… don’t really “do” multiplayer other than some occasional Mario Kart. I’m bad at most games and… look, just google “ADHD RSD”, OK? 💀 Against all odds, Journey won me over with its whole multiplayer-once-removed deal. Beautiful game.

Day 8: Favourite protagonist
Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney series

(I didn’t say I didn’t make any of it about Ace Attorney.)

Mistreated in Ace Attorney 4 (by Capcom and by Phoenix Wright 😒), Polly came into his own with Ace Attorney 5’s new writers. He’s guarded around new people but lacks Nick’s snark, which gives him a lovely vulnerability. He’s complex, well-rounded, and a thoroughly good egg.

Day 9: Favourite antagonist
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations (DS, 2004)

It’s been out for 20 years, but still — I’m naming the game, not the character. I ain’t spoiling this one. The antagonist I’m thinking of is pure evil but deliciously blasé about it. It’s amazing the lengths and depths some people are willing to go to for petty revenge. (We’ll be revisiting this game’s finale case a couple more times, yet...)

Day 10: Underrated game
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS, 2009)

Epic and cinematic in a way that simply shouldn’t be possible on the DS, this was the first Zelda that really grabbed my attention. I hate that people dismiss it just because of its touch controls, when they work so well. It has a fantastic soundtrack, too. (I thought about choosing the other DS title, Phantom Hourglass, but I hate having to trek through the Temple of the Ocean King over and over again. Spirit Tracks is just more refined.)

Day 11: Comfort game
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS1, 1997)

It can be the OG or the remake, it doesn’t matter to me. Nothing quite fixes a bad day like 100%ing those first two Warp Rooms. Everything about the environments, level design, character design, cutscenes, voice acting… it’s all just *chef’s kiss*. 😍 (Most people seem to prefer Crash 3, but I just find it a lot with the massive variety of level types and power-ups. Crash 2 is a bit more focused.)

Day 12: Most annoying character
Larry Butz, Ace Attorney series

It’s not so much the character as how he’s used: he’s the Harbinger of Padding. Whenever he pops up you know he’ll have witnessed “something amazing” and all the characters (many of whom, let us remember, are world-famous lawyers) will act lobotomised and waste a trial day talking about the pterodactyl he says he saw.

Day 13: Best voice acting
Max Mittelman (Ryuji Sakamoto, Persona series)

Max’s take on Ryuji makes a great character even more loveable. He nails Skull’s hopeless doofiness, infectious enthusiasm, and world-weary anger at those Shitty Adults™. He also says Ryuji is “probably” bi, so… thank goodness for that.

Day 14: Favourite class or fighting style

The only RPGs I like are Pokémon and Persona, and I don’t do fantasy. So who knows? I’m certainly not smart enough to be much of a strategist, so… I guess I’m an Ash Ketchum (or a Karen, which thankfully means something good in the Pokémon world)? As in, I’m just happy to be on an adventure, and the people around me resent how shit I am at battling. 😬

Day 15: Overrated game
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch, 2024)

I was so excited to finally play this when the remake came out, after years of everyone going on about how amazing it is. Real talk: it’s nowhere near as funny as Super Paper Mario or The Origami King, and absolutely riddled with pacing issues. 🤷‍♂️ (Backtracking is almost never a good thing, but this game revels in it. On a positive note: The Origami King looked gorgeous, and this somehow made that look like shit.)

Day 16: Best plot twist
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies (3DS, 2013)

Pearl: What is she talking about? Athena…?!

Athena: Of course… Why didn’t it ever occur to me before? If Prosecutor Blackquill is innocent, somebody else had to have been the true culprit. Did I…? Did I…?

My favourite video game scene ever. (And another one I absolutely refuse to spoil. If you know, you know.)

Day 17: Favourite cinematic
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS, 2012)

The below video contains major spoilers for the ending of “The Golden Court”.

The game may be mid, but these anime scenes need a remaster. This one still gives me shivers. The way it unfolds is amazing.

Day 18: Worst minigame
BioShock (PS3, 2008)

I’m referring to the fucking Pipe Dream hacking, of course. It’s fun the first four or five times you do it. You have to do it significantly more than four or five times in a typical playthrough. It was wisely replaced by a quick-time event in all subsequent visits to Rapture.

Day 19: Favourite game mechanic
Psyche-Locks, Ace Attorney series

They were presumably added as a quality of life change to make the second game’s investigations feel less meandering, but… at least four of my all-time favourite gaming moments are based on Psyche-Locks. And their design is just really evocative.

Bonus: the best Psyche-Lock scenes in Ace Attorney history

The below linked videos all contain spoilers, some of which are pretty major.

• Case 2-2: The unsettling feeling when even your closest friend is hiding something from you
• Case 2-4: Finally breaking the lock that’s been hanging over you for the entire investigation
• Case 3-5: An unnerving late-night encounter at Hazakura Temple
• Case 3-5: Not strictly a Psyche-Lock, but still the last thing I expected to see
• Case 5-5: My aforementioned all-time-favourite scene, from Day 16’s entry

Day 20: Easiest final boss fight
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, 1996)

Hours of build-up, through some of the toughest platforming levels ever, for… what? A couple of easy jumps and spins, and Cortex is toast. I guess it’s supposed to be a hint that this isn’t the game’s “true” ending, but c’mon. The N. Brio boss is more challenging.

Day 21: Favourite character customisation
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time (PS4, 2020)

Something something, “I don’t really play RPGs”, something something. 😪 On one hand, this barely even counts. On the other hand, it’s either this or I just shrug and say “Pokémon”, and nobody wants to see that do they. (I must’ve been having a bad day when I posted this, although I genuinely really do love Crash’s balloon animal look. It even gives him unique death animations!)

Day 22: Favourite in-game quote
“The worst of times are when lawyers have to force their biggest smiles” — Ace Attorney series

Smiling in the face of adversity is arguably the main theme of the series (which is something I’ll write a very, very long post about, at some point. This is not that point). It’s something I’m not very good at in real life, but these words make me at least want to give it a try. (I also want to get them tattooed on me, one day.)

Day 23: First pre-order
Nintendo 3DS (2011)

This is the first one I remember, anyway – and definitely the first midnight launch I ever went to. At Game on Oxford Street. Iain Lee was there, and they gave Domino’s to the people in the queue. 😍 Here’s a shit video I did about it (for Critical Chicken’s spiritual predecessor, no less!).

Day 24: Best OST
Persona 5 Royal (PS4, 2020)

I’m certain they’ll do just fine with Persona 6, whenever they eventually show it off. But it seems like madness to even attempt another soundtrack without Lyn. 😭 I will miss her and her English pronunciations forever.

Day 25: Favourite supporting or side character
Ema Skye, Ace Attorney series

People outside the main cast rarely get as much development as Ema (I think she’s tied with Phoenix for “most different life stages we meet a character in”). I love her mood swings. I can totally relate to her being super ambitious but also pretty defeatist. And I desperately want to try karinto (AKA Snackoos).

Day 26: Favourite series
Ace Attorney (2001–)

Duh. 😌

I bought the first game used, not expecting much. I’d ordered the (at the time) three sequels before I’d even finished “Turnabout Goodbyes”. It’s always surprising, hilarious, and packed to the damn rafters with heart. It’s about time for game #7 now, surely? 🤞 (Assuming it still hasn’t come out when you’re reading this, you can track how long it’s been on our homepage.)

Day 27: Favourite series-specific species
Psyduck, Pokémon series

He’s my spirit animal!

Canonically, as per the Pokédex:

• Has a constant headache
• Passes time by spacing out and doing as little as possible
• Always looks puzzled
• Occasionally exhibits mysterious powers and can’t recall doing so (i.e. has ADHD!)

Day 28: Favourite genre

I don’t think I have one… do most people? It just doesn’t work that way for me. Most non-Ace Attorney mysteries are shit (Danganronpa). Most non-Crash Trilogy platformers are shit (Crash 4). Most non-Pokémon RPGs are shit. Most non-BioShock immersive sims are shit. You get my point.

Day 29: Most anticipated game
Pokémon Legends: Z-A (Switch, 2025)

Say what you will, but… actually, don’t, if it’s something about “PS2 graphics” or “high-quality animations” or “corridors”. 💅 It’s going to be a lot of fun. I will get 100+ hours of play time out of it. That’s all I need to know, to be honest. (Well, that, and the fact it might finally give us some much-needed Kalos lore. I wonder whether it might be “Switch 2-enhanced” or something, as well.)

Day 30: Best-made game ever
Portal 2 (PC, 2011)

(The prompt was “favourite game overall, per system”, which was too difficult and way too much to fit in a single Skeet. So I changed it.) A genius game about teaching you how to play itself(!) which in turn makes you feel like a genius all the way through. Basically flawless, and hilarious even on the nth replay.

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Follow me on Bluesky @criticalchicken.com for more stray gaming thoughts — particularly if you’ve got another daily challenge to recommend for me.