Play Phonenix Wright 3 Right Now

[mkelehan]

Well, not right now, but certainly sooner than you were planning. Much like the first two, the Japanese DS release of Phoenix Wright 3 has an option selectable at the beginning of the game to play it entirely in English. It's available right now, and the best part is it's the same price to import it as it is to buy it here (http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-2tq-71-hk-49-en-84-j-70-220c.html).

Here's to region-free gaming!

[kid cabelgo]

Yowzer I better beat the second game first.

Great news though!

[Triprotic]

I did this with the second game too, well worth it! :)

Shame the 4th game (which is already out in Japan) doesn't have the same feature :(

[NinjaSverre]

This should be on it's way to me as we speak.

[score]

Maybe, I'm going mad but I thought Phoenix Wright 4 had already dropped in Japan and now they're releasing 3?

[JimmyDanger]

To buy now or to wait?

[Triprotic]

Maybe, I'm going mad but I thought Phoenix Wright 4 had already dropped in Japan and now they're releasing 3?

Phoenix Wright 1, 2 and 3 were all GBA games, so they had to be ported to the DS, 4 was in the works while 1 was under way I think, either way they finished 4 before they had finished porting 3.

You'll also notice that the 5th chapter in the first game has a lot more 'features' (3D effects, and good use of the microphone and stylus), which were added as a bonus to take advantage of the DS (you'll see more of these in number 4).

As ever Wikipedia has all the info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Wright

[IrishWhiskey]

Sweet. Just finished playing 2, and can't wait to continue with the next installment.

More than DS features I wish they would make the cases a little more interesting, the objections less arbitrary, and less emphasis on exploring through randomly examining and presenting evidence. Also I hope 3 is a long longer than 2, which really was way too short.

[Spigot]

Sigh. I was saying this LAST WEEK in the Weekly Release thread.

Mine shipped last week and should be here any day now. I can't wait. I did this with the second game too.

This is a rerelease of Phoenix Wright 3's DS version as a budget title in Japan with English text. It has actually been out on the DS for a while in Japan but it didn't have the English text.

And Phoenix Wright 2 was short? WHAT?! I find these games take me forever to play. Not because they're terribly hard or anything but for a very linear game that is basically about taking a few wild guesses and reading a lot of funny text, they usually eat up at least a month of my playtime.

[frederec]

To buy now or to wait?

Wait, for crying out loud, please wait. You'll notice that at least one person in the thread mentioned that Gyakuten Saiban 4 (Phoenix Wright isn't the main character in this one) doesn't come with English text. What does this mean? We don't have this option for importing the next one.

And Capcom has already been acting a little hesitant (possibly just messing with us) about bringing 2 and 3 over. So while I could have imported the first three games and played them in English (with probably the same bad typos the official release has), I'm buying the official release as my way of saying "Hey, Capcom, keep putting this out in the US!!"

(Though just checking Wikipedia to make sure I spelled the Japanese version of the game right, it looks like Gyakuten Saiban 4 may be called "Apollo Justice." Maybe I'm just overly paranoid about them not bringing it over.)

[Spigot]

Oh, they're going to bring 4 over. You know they will.

Also remember that Gyakuten Saiban 3 on the DS didn't have English text when it was first released. This is a rerelease of it and now it has the English because they probably got the script finished and ready for the localized NA version. I do have the first one as the NA release but the second's Japanese version was pretty much the exact same script as used for the NA release. And yeah, there were a couple of typos but otherwise it was pretty spot on.

While I did have a momentary hesitation about whether to wait on this or not, I know it will still sell like hot-cakes when it is released over here. Plus you have to know that Capcom knew that people would import and they'd probably look at how well the game sells on the import market as an indication of how excited people were.

If they didn't offer a flawless English translation and the opportunity to get it 2-3 months early, I would just wait for the official release but hey, they're the ones giving us the opportunity to play it early so I'm going to take advantage of it!

And I'll do the same thing with Apollo Justice if they put the full english text on it's Japanese cartridge! I just love my Ace Attorney games.

[frederec]

Oh, they're going to bring 4 over. You know they will.

You're almost certainly right. But the thinly veiled comments from Capcom threatening otherwise feeds my inner paranoid. Capcom has also stated that the English version of Phoenix Wright 3 will have a better English translation that the Japanese DS version, which I don't think was the case with the second one.

Also remember that Gyakuten Saiban 3 on the DS didn't have English text when it was first released. This is a rerelease of it and now it has the English because they probably got the script finished and ready for the localized NA version. I do have the first one as the NA release but the second's Japanese version was pretty much the exact same script as used for the NA release. And yeah, there were a couple of typos but otherwise it was pretty spot on.

This is not entirely accurate. Gyakuten Saiban 1, 2, and 3 were originally GBA games. In this form they were Japanese only. It's the DS re-releases that have had both Japanese and English text. As far as I know, the first three games did not have Japanese only DS versions.

I think this distinction is important. Gyakuten Saiban 4 has only been released on DS, so there is little reason to re-release it in Japan with the English language included. At least with the other ones, it was a port to the DS that also had English language (and the first one had the bonus trial).

[Chris_D]

It's actually about 800 yen cheaper in stores. I noticed that PlayAsia seems to like to take a bit of a fatter cut on the Phoenix Wright games for some reason. Taking advantage of importers maybe? Many of their other games are retail price or cheaper.

[Zacharai]

Sigh. I was saying this LAST WEEK in the Weekly Release thread.
WHAT? I should have been paying more attention — my productivity is a small price for a Phoenix Wright game.

[GabeCube]

I have to go with Fredrec in this one. Fans in the US should definetely wait and not import, because we NEED to give Capcom a signal that the game can fare well in America.

I know it is tempting - I've definetely had a hard time resisting, seeing as the game has been out in Japan for a few days now... but I want Capcom to know as clear as possible that Ace Attourney is worth releasing over here.

[Spigot]

You're almost certainly right. But the thinly veiled comments from Capcom threatening otherwise feeds my inner paranoid. Capcom has also stated that the English version of Phoenix Wright 3 will have a better English translation that the Japanese DS version, which I don't think was the case with the second one.Well, given how good the translation was on the second game's import version, I'd be perfectly happy with one on par with that. And heck, if it's really bad, I'll just get the NA version when it comes out and give my Japanese copy to my friends for Christmas :)

This is not entirely accurate. Gyakuten Saiban 1, 2, and 3 were originally GBA games. In this form they were Japanese only. It's the DS re-releases that have had both Japanese and English text. As far as I know, the first three games did not have Japanese only DS versions.Actually, you're partly right and partly wrong.

You're right about the fact that yes, these are all gussied-up GBA games now on the DS. That's a fact. Same with the fact that GS4 is the first game developed exclusively for the DS.

And you know what, I was wrong about you being wrong. I could have sworn that GS3 came out on the DS earlier in the year in Japan with no English track and that the version that just got release last week was a budget rerelease with the new English translation. It seems that I was wrong and that you were wright, er, right.

And this line worries me.

It has been reported on Capcom's official message board that the Japanese release's English Translation has many typos. However, a Community Specialist with Capcom stated that "...you will be quite pleased with the localization effort for the US version, versus the version you imported"Man... Man oh man...

Well, it's too late to change my mind. My copy is already on the way. I can handle some typos if the majority of the text is well translated. If it's sort of deliberately borked to spite importers, THEN I won't be very happy.

If you look on the Capcom boards, the poster which led to the response from Capcom had this to say:
Playing my import copy right now; and I'm loving it. The localization team did a BRILLIANT job on this game; it's easily up to the standard set by the first two (and in my opinion, passes it--characters like Luke/Aiga and Godot/er...Godot are localized fantastically). My thanks and congratulations to them, this is certainly a gem.

However... there's a problem. This otherwise amazing localization is marred by a TON of typos. They're all over the place; which leads me to believe that a bit more proofreading is needed, and it certainly jolts you out of the moment which is a **** shame with the awesome writing.
So it seems that the localization is fine, there's just a lot of typos. And I can handle that, given the mangled English I'm forced to read when at work or whilst surfing around the net (but not here on EvAv. Never here!)

And all of that said, aside from the veiled threats from Capcom a while back regarding GS4, I highly doubt they'll withhold it as there is already a trailer for the french version (http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/video-apollo-justice-ace-attorney-7565-0-0.html=1) and they're doing localization for the English version.

[Spigot]

I have to go with Fredrec in this one. Fans in the US should definetely wait and not import, because we NEED to give Capcom a signal that the game can fare well in America.

I know it is tempting - I've definetely had a hard time resisting, seeing as the game has been out in Japan for a few days now... but I want Capcom to know as clear as possible that Ace Attourney is worth releasing over here.And it is only a month and a bit delay between the Japanese release and the NA version. It was much more compelling to get the import for the second game given that there was a 4-5 month difference in the release of the two versions.

But I'm a sucker for all things lawyerly (at least in Phoenix's universe) so I can't resist importing this one.

I just can't see Capcom refusing to bring Ace Attorney 4 over here given how well the series has done so far (it's not setting records or anything, but for a niche title it has done very well). Plus, as I stated before, you have to know that Capcom is keeping an eye on the import market to see how much demand there is for the game before the official release in North America. Not that I have any proof or anything, but if they were serious about making sure that the game sold every possible copy in NA, they wouldn't release it with a full english translation in Japan. They'd just stick with the Japanese dialogue and then basically force the NA market to wait.

And if they AREN'T keeping track of the import numbers and how well it sells outside of Japan via the importers, well, they should!

[frederec]

If you look on the Capcom boards, the poster which led to the response from Capcom had this to say:
So it seems that the localization is fine, there's just a lot of typos. And I can handle that, given the mangled English I'm forced to read when at work or whilst surfing around the net (but not here on EvAv. Never here!)

And all of that said, aside from the veiled threats from Capcom a while back regarding GS4, I highly doubt they'll withhold it as there is already a trailer for the french version (http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/video-apollo-justice-ace-attorney-7565-0-0.html=1) and they're doing localization for the English version.

If the typos are as bad as they were in Justic for All, they'll be irritating, but they won't ruin the game. I don't remember noticing that many in the first game, but the second game seemed to have a number of them that just stuck out. You'll probably enjoy your import version just fine.

I also noticed the reports of the French language version. That gives me confidence. I guess, like I said, I'd rather wait a couple of months (and try to work through some of the games I already need to play) and pay for the US version so I can give my little drop in the bucket to let Capcom know I enjoy these games.

This sort of thinking comes from years of supporting tiny bands and small video game companies. With a lot of the stuff I like, just about every sale counts. Capcom may be a large company, but Phoenix wright is one of their smaller series. So I think the logic is not too far off.

[Spigot]

Plus there's a poster visible if you look in the links on the Wiki for GS4 that has Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney in english. And if you look at the actual article that has the quote from the dev about #4 possibly not making it over here, you have to realize that he was probably talking off the cuff. Plus, how better to make sure you really get the fanboys riled up and buying every possible copy of the third game than to make a veiled threat about not bringing the 4th over if the 3rd doesn't sell well?

If I start reading reports of lacklustre sales of #3, I'll definately buy one or even two copies of the NA version, don't you worry. I'm just going to go by faith that we will see #4 over here at some point next year. I just doubt they'll remake it as an import friendly game :)

Though this is the studio that closed down Clover... You never really know about Capcom.

[frederec]

If I start reading reports of lacklustre sales of #3, I'll definately buy one or even two copies of the NA version, don't you worry. I'm just going to go by faith that we will see #4 over here at some point next year. I just doubt they'll remake it as an import friendly game :)

Though this is the studio that closed down Clover... You never really know about Capcom.

Don't remind me about the closing of Clover. That was seriously jacked up. I can't fathom someone looking at Okami and going "Good job guys, this game is a work of art. You're all fired!"

And when it all comes down to it, I don't really think the sales are that bad. After all, Capcom has reprinted the first Phoenix Wright a few times, and the second is no longer listed at Gamestop. I presume this is because it's virtually sold out. Though it is available at Amazon. Who knows.

[Spigot]

I can find copies of the second one at my local EB and some of the other game shops in the area but it was available for quite some time after its release. It's when a game is released in June and you can't find any copies in August that I get worried!

[Skyelan]

Well, given how good the translation was on the second game's import version, I'd be perfectly happy with one on par with that. And heck, if it's really bad, I'll just get the NA version when it comes out and give my Japanese copy to my friends for Christmas :)

It's the best translation in the series (Sans typos, which will obviously be fixed, and one or two minor issues like Phoenix saying he's known Larry for longer than what the game lists his age as), bar none. Unless you hate genius insertions of nerd pop-culture with a seething fury, of course.

Hell, I make the not-a-doubt-in-my-mind claim that it's just plain THE best in the series. It also had far less 'I can in no way figure this out without a walkthrough' moments over Justice for All, as well. The soundtrack is a big leap over the letdown of Justice for All (Not that anyone should've expected less with Iwadare composing).

And yes, what I'm saying is I have the game in my grubby paws and it hasn't left my DS. :D

[frederec]

It's the best translation in the series (Sans typos, which will obviously be fixed, and one or two minor issues like Phoenix saying he's known Larry for longer than what the game lists his age as), bar none. Unless you hate genius insertions of nerd pop-culture with a seething fury, of course.

Hell, I make the not-a-doubt-in-my-mind claim that it's just plain THE best in the series. It also had far less 'I can in no way figure this out without a walkthrough' moments over Justice for All, as well. The soundtrack is a big leap over the letdown of Justice for All (Not that anyone should've expected less with Iwadare composing).

And yes, what I'm saying is I have the game in my grubby paws and it hasn't left my DS. :D

It's good to know that this game will probably do what the last two Phoenix Wright games did for me: absorb all my free time until I'm done with them. It's also one of the few series where I adamantly resist looking at a walkthrough. But I think that's important in adventure games.

[Spigot]

Great stuff, Skyelan. For a little while there I thought we were going to be getting a translation on the lines of Xenogears or some of the early Final Fantasies. "You Spoony Lawyer!"

I can handle typos unless they render the game unreadable. And it's nice to know that the puzzles make more sense. I didn't look in a walkthrough for the first game but I did have to look up the answer to a puzzle once or twice in the second after it basically broke my walkthrough rule.

If I'm going in circles and have wasted 30 minutes to an hour on a game and have made absolutely zero progress, I can look up the solution to how to get past where I am. I do like to work my brain as much as the next guy but when I make absolutely no progress whatsoever and am not having fun, to the walkthrough I will go.

[Skyelan]

Great stuff, Skyelan. For a little while there I thought we were going to be getting a translation on the lines of Xenogears or some of the early Final Fantasies. "You Spoony Lawyer!"

I can now say with 100% official certainty you will love the translation. I won't say anything beyond that, though. ;)

I can handle typos unless they render the game unreadable. And it's nice to know that the puzzles make more sense. I didn't look in a walkthrough for the first game but I did have to look up the answer to a puzzle once or twice in the second after it basically broke my walkthrough rule.

It DOES have a few of those, I won't lie. But no where near the second. In this one I was able to figure out almost everything just by keeping my mind sharp on the details in front of me, or at worst quickly pouring over the court record and 'thinking outside the box'. No situations where I had to, say, RANDOMLY GUESS where in a picture I should be pointing out because there's nowhere near enough hints to know what the fuck I should be looking for.

God-damn you wheelchair. You and your 'only shown below the waist in one cinema graphic'. :mad:

[dirtbag]

And Phoenix Wright 2 was short? WHAT?! I find these games take me forever to play. Not because they're terribly hard or anything but for a very linear game that is basically about taking a few wild guesses and reading a lot of funny text, they usually eat up at least a month of my playtime.

The most frustrating thing for me while playing PW2 was know exactly what the correct argument was, but not knowing what random picture would get it out.

The other (somewhat less) frustrating thing was how PW in general paints prosecutors as "the opposite of a lawyer - they only care about winning," while defense attorneys are poor, downtrodden crusaders for justice. That being said, the games are a blast, and make for a fun diversion.

[Spigot]

The most frustrating thing for me while playing PW2 was know exactly what the correct argument was, but not knowing what random picture would get it out.Oh, isn't that the truth. A lot of the time the stuff made sense in retrospect but it drove me nuts regardless. I'd spend so much time banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to get Phoenix to argue what I knew was the proper arguement (or worse, progress the story while you were investigating) and it drove me nuts.

That said, I still love the games. I really hope my copy arrives this week as I'm going out of town for a few days this week and then all of next week.

[mkelehan]

What I like to do is, since the cases are so self-contained, just do one case at a time, and play a different game through in between. This completely curbs burnout in the game, and also doles it out over a longer period of time while I wait for another DS adventure.

[Zacharai]

So it seems that the localization is fine, there's just a lot of typos. And I can handle that, given the mangled English I'm forced to read when at work or whilst surfing around the net (but not here on EvAv. Never here!)
I am so glad I read this here before importing — I'm not being facetious. There were a few typos in PW2, and typos are very jarring for me (in professional products and books, not forum posts). In this case, I'll wait for the US version with better proofreading.

Still, it's a tough call. PW2 was excellent, notwithstanding the typos. And I have to wait, what, two months?

[Spigot]

Well, the mailman just dropped off my copy of the game so I'll be firing it up a little later. I'll let you know how bad the typos are. PW2 had a few typos but not enough to really bother me or break the game.

I'm so glad this came today or else I probably wouldn't be able to play it until mid-September when i get back from my trip!

[Spigot]

I'm a fair way through the first case and all I can say is that the translation is awesome in this game. I haven't hit a single typo yet. You'd think that this version of the game would be just chock-a-block with Engrish and horrible speeeling, but unless the game goes downhill, spelling-wise, later on, I'm perfectly happy with the import.

Unless you're one of those paranoid people who needs to wait for the NA version, I can't see why you'd be at all disappointed with the import.

On a somewhat scary note, I popped the cart into my DS today to play and when I loaded it up, all I got was a black screen with some japanese text on it... 3 times.

Turns out that's the error message that you get when the game isn't inserted properly. I just popped it out and everything is fine.

Suffice it to say, I had a mild heart attack for a minute when I thought the game had locked up or something and was basically junk.

My favourite line so far,
"You made him cry!"
"I'm not surprised. That P on his sweater doesn't stand for Phoenix!"

Took me a second to get that joke, but if the writing is as snappy for the whole game, I'm going to love this game.

[Skyelan]

Took me a second to get that joke, but if the writing is as snappy for the whole game, I'm going to love this game.

Oh the nerd culture allusions... So many, so beautiful, all waiting for you as the game continues. And, like I said a bit ago about many other things, even better than JFA. Hell, at this point the only thing I don't think JFA got topped about is that it's last case really tugged at my moral 'dignity'. This one doesn't do that, but it makes up for it in epicness.

Oh, and as fair warning, one of the five cases is a little short. The length of the rest all make up for it (as well as the sheer memorable-ness of that case and the events that transpire), but I just figure I should let you know in advance. :p

[Spigot]

Well, concidering everyone usually complains that the Phoenix Wright games are too short, I doubt I'll have anything to complain about. I usually blaze through the first case but the rest of them seem to take me forever. I"m talking about a month of regular play time to finish a Phoenix Wright game.

I'm looking forward to sitting down with the game later tonight once the kids are in bed. It's great to hear that the game is great though.

[Chris_D]

Just bought mine today for $25. I'll post some impressions if I get round to plugging it in :).

[Spigot]

Just finished the first case this morning and it was pretty good. The evidence and contradictions weren't mind-numbingly obscure or random and the writing was fantastic.

And there was not a single typo for the whole first case. At least, none that I noticed.

I can't wait to play more of this game.

[DangerousDaze]

Not played any of these, but I'm considering it. I know they're not really comparable but how do these games stack up to Hotel Dusk?

[Spigot]

Not played any of these, but I'm considering it. I know they're not really comparable but how do these games stack up to Hotel Dusk?Sort of in the same genre.

The Ace Attorney games are much more humourous than Hotel Dusk and have amazing writing for a localized game. They do basically boil down to reading a lot of conversations, choosing the type of evidence or arguement that will show a contradiction in a witness' testimony and watch the case unfold.

You also tend to do a bit of exploring by checking out the site of the murder/crime (though they almost always have a murder) and look for clues.

The great thing about the cases is that while they always seem rather cut and dried at the beginning, the roller coaster of plot twists and turns is what is worth the ride and it rarely ends up the way you expected it to be. THe crazy thing is that the resolution of a case, no matter how crazy it may seem, is uncovered in a way that is perfectly logical.

OH, and there are usually a tonne of puns, geek humour and other pop culture jokes packed in amongst the courtroom wrangling. Plus the characters are some of the most memorable in gaming.

[Skyelan]

I agree with Spigot's assessment, and throw in one more point: It has something that I've seen an amazingly few things in ANY medium do. Futurama is the closest example I can think of.

These are some of the only characters who can be incredibly wackey, hilarious, inept, etc in one breath, but when it gets serious, you can very easily take them seriously and have it MEAN something, even through deliciously bad pun-names, off the wall subjects, Fresh Prince theme parodies and all around silliness.

And I mean from breath to breath, from one line to the next, as smoothly as flipping a light switch. And they even show REAL evolution in personalities and belief from case to case, and game to game.

Hell, Gumshoe is likely one of my most unexpectedly-favorite characters ever just for that reason.

Of course, that's just me. Maybe I'm just easy to be jerked around. ;)

[Spigot]

No, it's not just you, Skyelan. That's what I was getting at with the characters and the writing. They go from silly to breaking your heart and back again without seeming phony.

I wanted to also mention that you really need to play this series in order for it to make proper sense and to appreciate the growth in the characters. I'm just starting the second case in Trials And Tribulations and if you hadn't played Justice For All, it wouldn't make near a much sense as you wouldn't really appreciate who the characters are and what they've gone through.

So go get the first two games and by the time you play through them, the NA version of Trials & Tribulations will be out.

[Chris_D]

Ok time for some of my thoughts.

I'm only a little into the 2nd case, and the 1st case is, again, a tutorial style case to give you the basics. Having said that, I enjoyed it more than the 1st case of 1, and far more than the first case of 2, and also it's pretty short (1 hr or less?).

No typos noticed so far, and the writing is pretty much on par with the 1st 2 games. Also, and I don't think this is getting into spoilerish territory, but I had the impression that most or even all of the cases would be based on the PW back story with Mia being more of a main character. However, apart from the first case, the 2nd case picks up right where the 2nd game left off.

One negative for me is that I'm getting a little tired of the pixel identical character animations for the first game, I wish they could have at least included a few new expressions or frames. I suppose it saves money, but it is one of the bad things about having so many returning characters all the time. Some of the music is reused to. Finally, I always found Pearls from the 2nd game annoying, and looks like she's back for more screen time in the 3rd game.

[Skyelan]

One negative for me is that I'm getting a little tired of the pixel identical character animations for the first game, I wish they could have at least included a few new expressions or frames. I suppose it saves money, but it is one of the bad things about having so many returning characters all the time. Some of the music is reused to. Finally, I always found Pearls from the 2nd game annoying, and looks like she's back for more screen time in the 3rd game.

Well, that'll be the nice thing about Apollo Justice. All the larger, more detailed, completely redone for everyone sprites. And likely building up entirely new themes.

And if you disliked Pearl... Hoo boy...

[Chris_D]

How can you not.. every time she starts jumping up and down I feel like poking her through the eye with the stylus. That could have been a nice extra feature for the the DS version! Heh, I'm actually getting quite sick of Maya too, after 6 cases worth of her in the previous games, I liked the sidekick in the extra DS case of 1 better.

Definitely glad they seem to have done a bit of a reset with 4.

[Skyelan]

I liked the sidekick in the extra DS case of 1 better.

All the more reason you'll like 4. :p

[Spigot]

I will say this.

Desirée is the most smoking hot character to ever grace a videogame.

EVER.