Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney iPhone Review

In a world of rampaging Greek gods and larger-than-life Western outlaws, Capcom's Phoenix Wright is an unlikely videogame star: he's a lawyer. He doesn't carry a gun. In fact, the biggest weapon he seems to possess is his index finger, which lashes out like a snake's tongue when he bellows "Objection!" in the middle of a trial. But it is this kind of goofiness that helped Wright find an audience and lead to a successful career on the Nintendo DS.

Objection!Now, the original game in the series takes the stand on the iPhone. It contains the first five cases, so if you've already played the first DS Wright, you know exactly how these proceedings are going to turn out. Despite a great price ($4.99), Wright's value is questionable to longtime fans. But newcomers? Do not hesitate to grab Phoenix Wright. You're in for some good fun.

Though Phoenix Wright is an attorney, he's also something of an investigator. When not in the courtroom, he spends time combing crime scenes or interviewing potential witnesses. (This is not a serious law sim.) You must move between the courtroom and exterior scenes, slowly building your case so you triumph in a final showdown at the end of each trial. If you have the necessary evidence and connect the dots for the judge at the right moment, you'll coax a confession from a slippery witness and win the day. But between here and there, be ready for lots of silliness. Phoenix Wright's cast is pompous, nutty, and sometimes delirious. Humor and general weirdness carries Phoenix Wright more than gameplay at times, which can get a touch mundane and repetitive, especially in some of the lengthier talking scenes.

Capcom treats the iPhone like a single-screen DS in this port. You hold your device vertically. The top and bottom screens of the DS occupy the entire iPhone screen with an info bar that divides the two windows. The top "screen" shows the action. The bottom screen is where you access your inventory, control dialogue scenes, and poke around locations. Just tap virtual buttons to navigate through a day in the life of Phoenix Wright. It works just as well here as it did on the DS several years ago. However, I do wish there was a way to speed through the dialogue scenes because while conversations may be funny, they can go a bit long. Watching text appear letter-by-letter takes too long, especially on a platform that specializes in fast entertainment.

Wright is also a very straightforward game. It is actually difficult to screw up enough to fail. That's great for casual gamers, to be sure. But it also means you will get through Wright in just a few hours. And once you have seen all five cases, there really is little reason to replay it.