LogFAQs > #979436471

case ranking time

5. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Herlock is the bright spot of this case, but virtually everything else drags it down. It's set across only 3 rooms, and instead of feeling claustrophobic and intense, it's more... boring and repetitive. There are barely any one-off characters and those we have aren't particularly notable (except Bif's snake), and the crime itself turns out to be rather uninteresting. They try to make this a very sympathetic crime, a series of virtual accidents with no purpose, but in doing so there's little to grasp onto. The core of the crime bothers me somewhat. Nikolina is supposed to be isolated and desperate, but she had the unconditional backing of the entire crew of the Burya, and had many chances to come clean about things, refusing every one until she had no choice left. I don't feel the tragedy the game wants me to here, though it's sad to lose Kazuma of course. RIP.

4. The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro
The jury shenanigans are fun, Soseki grew on me a lot, and there's some worthwhile investigation sections, particularly Ryunosuke's crisis of conscience and Herlock helping to pull him out of it. But the trial is largely uninteresting, and packed with tropes I do not enjoy. Ace Attorney has always had a fondness for cartoony violence that isn't to be taken seriously, but the 'funny' spousal abuse stuff here doesn't work at all. I think it particularly bothers me because the Garrideb violence directly results in the stabbing itself, yet it's still treated as a joke that Joan threw a knife directly at her husband. The disconnect bothers me. I don't like the Garridebs, I don't enjoy the Beates, and Gregson and Iris don't come into their own until the next case.

3. The Adventure of the Great Departure
OK this one goes on too long (we did not need the switching steaks!), Nosa and Korekuta aren't interesting, and the case itself is pretty slapdash. But as an introduction this does a great job of setting up the themes of the game, the atmosphere is top notch, and the characters are effectively established very quickly. Kazuma is only with us for this one case yet he leaves such an imprint on the whole game! Looking back it's impressive how much detail they put into the particular courtroom dynamics here considering we don't see Japan again. Brett is a solid antagonist, too.

2. The Adventure of the Runaway Room
This is carried by its last hour, but whew what a climax. It plays perfectly on the expectations any AA veteran has, and the player is more involved with proceedings than in any other case. The impact of the evidence fraud twist entirely depends on how thoroughly you've been investigating, what a neat idea! I remember spotting the blood on the floor and chastising myself for missing it earlier on. I mistakenly thought this case would be a simple introduction to British court, but the game pulls the rug out from under us beautifully, it's a great choice throwing this case in the middle where we wouldn't expect it. A surprisingly brief adventure for this game, and it's all the more effective for it. McGilded is the game's best villain.

1. The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story
Yes there are flaws, some catflap oddities and it doesn't conclude a lot of stuff, but I had a blast going through this one. All the returning characters are at their best, Ryunosuke reaches new heights, and I greatly enjoy the last couple hours of court. No idea why this one isn't so well regarded! Shout out to the Skulkins for standing out in a packed case.

TL;DR: 5>3>1>>4>2