The designs of the locations throughout the game are also outstanding. Seeing character development reflected in the character sprite is wonderful and something that I hope we see more of in future entries of the series. By the end of the game, these jittery animations have vanished, replaced with strong, confident finger points. In the first case, Ryunosuke’s eyes are darting everywhere, signaling his lack of confidence in himself and the situation he finds himself in. The 3D modeled characters retain the simplistic anime charm of the 2D sprites from the original games, simply with smoother animation and expressiveness. Originally a 3DS game, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles isn’t overly eye-catching in the graphics department but more than makes up for it with exceptional character and location designs. In case after case, Ryunosuke must find his resolve to pursue the truth, assisted by Susato, the brilliant 10-year-old inventor Iris Wilson, and her partner, the world-famous master of deduction himself, Herlock Sholmes! But he soon discovers that behind the bright facade of the “world’s greatest justice system” are lies, corruption, and murder. After finding his calling as a defense attorney while on trial for a murder he didn’t commit, Ryunosuke and his legal assistant Susato Mikotoba travel to London, England to study law in the self-proclaimed capital of the world. In The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, you play Ryunosuke Naruhodo, a second-year English student in Meiji-era Japan (and the 19th-century ancestor of long-time Ace Attorney protagonist Phoenix Wright).

Do the games live up to the unbelievable hype that has built up around them? But Capcom stunned the entire Ace Attorney community when they announced both games would be released as a single title in the West: The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. Though I reviewed a rather exceptional fan translation of the game a few years ago, I honestly never thought we would get an official localization, let alone the game’s sequel. Since its Japanese release on 3DS in 2015, my most-wanted game was Dai Gyakuten Saiban: Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Bōken, a prequel to the long-running Ace Attorney series. Occasionally, a passionate fanbase might do an unofficial localization, but there are still many amazing games out there never brought over from Japan.

There are some games you never expect to be released in the West.

Great ace attorney fan translation