Board 8 > Ace Attorney Topic Part 2: The Continuation (Spoilers for AA1-6, AAI1-2)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Can't sleep so I'm playing more. Sneak preview of my thoughts on 6-4 so far: this is shaping up to be the most aggressively Japanese case in the series and I have a sinking feeling it's not going to be very good
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your premonitions are accurate
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6-4 is great.

Leon, do you have your lists of case lengths posted anywhere?
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NeoElfboy posted...

6-4 is great.

Leon, do you have your lists of case lengths posted anywhere?

I do. I have nearly all my AA stuff from last year (I guess technically the year before last now) saved.

6-5 - 14:03:49
E2-5 - 9:36:06
3-5 - 9:35:46
2-4 - 9:05:21
1-5 - 8:46:43
E1-5 - 8:42:23
6-3 - 8:13:50
E2-3 - 8:09:06
L-4 - 7:34:56
E2-2 - 7:29:23
5-6 - 7:21:19
5-2 - 7:13:40
5-3 - 6:50:24
4-4 - 6:38:01
5-5 - 6:16:05
6-6 - 6:04:07
3-2 - 6:02:56
E2-4 - 6:01:14
6-2 - 5:58:46
4-3 - 5:58:33
3-3 - 5:48:31
2-3 - 5:06:33
1-4 - 4:59:52
4-2 - 4:58:35
E1-4 - 4:58:26
2-2 - 4:47:40
5-4 - 4:27:31
L-3 - 4:08:41
E1-3 - 4:02:16
1-3 - 3:49:35
E2-1 - 3:36:32
6-4 - 3:21:23
L-2 - 3:16:00
E1-2 - 3:15:49
6-1 - 2:59:52
1-2 - 2:40:40
5-1 - 2:19:33
4-1 - 2:11:44
3-4 - 1:54:15
E1-1 - 1:44:51
3-1 - 1:43:09
L-1 - 1:39:12
2-1 - 1:15:57
4-0 - 1:09:44
1-1 - 0:33:35
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sometimes looking at those numbers again still amazes me

like seeing that 6-2 is only a little shorter than 5-5
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That's because 5-4 contains part of what would normally be 5-5 if it were divided into the similarly proportioned segments as 3 and 6.
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I mean, it's obvious why it's "short"-ish.

Though even combining 5-4 and 5-5, they're nowhere near 6-5!
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kevwaffles posted...

That's because 5-4 contains part of what would normally be 5-5 if it were divided into the similarly proportioned segments as 3 and 6.

Yeah, but they're both single day cases, and one of them is an epic case. It's just a testament to how absurdly long SoJ is.
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It's weird how long 5-2 and 5-3 are though

Also AA5 is the only game where the finale case isn't the longest one, I just realized

The crazy thing is that the time for the last case in Layton/AA is just the trial. The total length of the case is less than an hour shorter than 6-5.
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L-4 is so bloated and long

LeonhartFour posted...

Yeah, but they're both single day cases

Actually 5-4 is Trial-Investigation-Trial. That's why it's easy to say it "steals" from 5-5, especially since 5-1 literally happens during it.
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LeonhartFour posted...

The crazy thing is that the time for the last case in Layton/AA is just the trial. The total length of the case is less than an hour shorter than 6-5.

that sounds insane and not fun

forgot about how damn long it took to peruse espella and darklaw's memories aughhh
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kevwaffles posted...

LeonhartFour posted...

Yeah, but they're both single day cases

Actually 5-4 is Trial-Investigation-Trial. That's why it's easy to say it "steals" from 5-5, especially since 5-1 literally happens during it.

...I'm not talking about 5-4. I'm talking about 5-5 and 6-2.
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Oh. Well, 6-2 is still its own self-contained mystery like most cases, where 5-5 is of course not.

On another note, is the general consensus that 6-6 is not very good? Maybe it just didn't live up to the standards of 5-6 or maybe it's because unlike 5-6 I played it right after the main game, but man I did not like it very much. And I'm usually pretty easy to please in this series outside of AA4.
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6-6 ranks very low for me

That seems to be the consensus. I don't think 6-6 does much badly, but it really lacks in banner moments - even most low-ranked cases have higher highs than 6-6, I think.
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I like 6-6 for what it is, but it mostly exists for nostalgia and I gladly ate all that up. The rest of it is fine, but nothing special. I like some of its ideas, but the execution usually is less than stellar.
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I'm in the camp that 6-6 actually does do a lot of stuff badly honestly, it's really low for me

I think I'm overdue for a full series replay so I can get a more solid idea of how I feel about the newer games since they're not as established in my mind as the OT and AJ. It's already been nearly a year, after all.
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I've been playing the Layton games lately though.
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first time?
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Yep, I finished Unwound Future the other day, which was really good. Curious Village and Diabolical Box were decent. It's still a few steps below Ace Attorney, but they're fun games.
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better than Layton/Wright's layton parts, would you say?
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LvW's Layton parts are slightly held back by the fact that the puzzles are overall a couple steps easier than the actual Layton games I think

I still think LvW is the best Layton game overall though because the Phoenix parts really help tie the story together

not super-promising for layton as a series lol

i guess if i'd never played an AA game i'd like it more
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SeabassDebeste posted...

better than Layton/Wright's layton parts, would you say?

Unwound Future is, for sure. Layton isn't the completely unflappable and unbeatable guy there that he is in Layton/AA. The endings are still utterly absurd, but Unwound Future's legitimately surprised me in a good way.

But yeah, I think the Phoenix parts in Layton/AA help make that game overall better than regular Layton games.
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The Layton games occasionally try to do like "Professor Layton solves the overarching story mystery!" segments but they're super lame compared to AA's approach so LvW really benefits from that

even if L-4 is... well

SeabassDebeste posted...

not super-promising for layton as a series lol

i guess if i'd never played an AA game i'd like it more

Layton games don't really try to be quite as plot heavy as Ace Attorney does. They're puzzle games with a story woven into them. The characterization for just about all the NPCs is practically non-existent. They're mostly there to give you puzzles. The games do have some neat stuff in them, and I'd say they're worth playing. Just don't expect a groundbreaking plot.
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i'm not gonna lie, i didn't hate all of L-4. the primary twist - magic isn't real - is executed fantastically

really like the storyteller's testimonies, too

it's the loooong part after the mystery, about espella's past (which in fairness, fits AA's theme of exploring the past) that turns the case into such a drag
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Well, if you enjoyed those parts, you should be fine. There's nothing like Espella in any of the ones I've played so far.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Well, if you enjoyed those parts, you should be fine. There's nothing like Espella in any of the ones I've played so far.

agree

Oh hey, a new Ace Attorney anime English dub clip!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvFgr8MUA1E
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Not sold on that Edgeworth voice, although it's just one line.
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I kind of hate that Edgeworth voice, it sounds like he's going through three different accents and a partial stroke in the span of ten words

kevwaffles posted...

On another note, is the general consensus that 6-6 is not very good? Maybe it just didn't live up to the standards of 5-6 or maybe it's because unlike 5-6 I played it right after the main game, but man I did not like it very much. And I'm usually pretty easy to please in this series outside of AA4.

I don't like how 6-6 has Edgeworth pretend to forget all of his character development (the stuff about pursuing the truth) for most of the case only to have Phoenix remind him of it.

They could have used Edgeworth in a case without recycling his character arc. Felt awkward as hell.
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I don't think they rehashed it so much as it was Edgeworth just feeling out of character until near the end when he finally stops demanding a verdict when he thinks he's got Phoenix beaten. Like, it never really comes across as Phoenix "reminding" him or "helping" him. It was mostly Pierce bringing it out of him.
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The thing is that he shouldn't need someone to bring it out of him when that's like his biggest character quality.

It's just bad writing.
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I mean I'm not arguing it's not bad writing

I just think it's inconsistent characterization, not rehashing a character arc
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Other than that 6-6 is decent tho.
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LeonhartFour posted...

I mean I'm not arguing it's not bad writing

I just think it's inconsistent characterization, not rehashing a character arc

Fair enough.
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Up we go.
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Ha...!
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I'm replaying 6-5 and am I nuts or does Paul Atishon look like Richard Spencer a little

yeah I can kinda see it
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The more I think about it the less value I see in 6-6. I like Larry Butz a lot but the case does almost nothing new for him (other than that wonderful outfit), has bizarre villain motivations, is hokey even by AA standards (sure, let's have an entire party of people re-enact a wedding), does badly by Edgeworth, doesn't do a very good job with Maya (she acts too much like her 17-year old self IMO; I felt the maingame did a better job of aging her up believably). I like pre-transformation Pierce and Sorin well enough at least, but not so much they could carry a case.
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NeoElfboy posted...

is hokey even by AA standards (sure, let's have an entire party of people re-enact a wedding)

It's one thing that they did this in the first place, but then having the entire party still keep quiet to the police after it turns out there is a murder might be the most unbelievable thing that ever happens in the entire series.
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kevwaffles posted...

It's one thing that they did this in the first place, but then having the entire party still keep quiet to the police after it turns out there is a murder might be the most unbelievable thing that ever happens in the entire series.

it's not even close to the most unbelievable thing

NeoElfboy posted...

doesn't do a very good job with Maya (she acts too much like her 17-year old self IMO; I felt the maingame did a better job of aging her up believably)

Nah, Maya was probably the best part of the case. She's a good blend of her old self and her more mature self. Like, if Maya's my partner, I don't want her being serious most of the time anyway. She brings out her mature side a handful of times in 6-6 and usually at the right time. She doesn't really have the chance to goof off the rest of the game, so she might seem a lot more mature then than she does in 6-6, but she still fangirls over the Steel Samurai and the Plumed Punisher and stuff like that. Her old self is definitely still in there the whole time.
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LeonhartFour posted...

Maya was probably the best part of the case.

agreed here
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