Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Review - Law & Order

Capcom has done solid work in getting all the Ace Attorney games out on modern platforms. No longer confined to a single handheld, they’re accessible to more people than ever before.

The latest release is the last in the collections to be made available - the aptly named Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, which includes both Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and its sequel Ace Attorney Investigations: Prosecutor’s Gambit. Both titles were originally out on the Nintendo DS, so it has been some time since their release. Prosecutor’s Gambit is especially notable because it’s releasing outside of Japan for the first time ever.

To that end, Capcom has seen fit to give these games a proper remaster treatment - redrawing the pixel-based sprites in HD, as well as the backgrounds for a modernized look with the game available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

Having missed out these games before, I was keen on how different they might play compared to the courtroom trials of the mainline series. It’s lucky then that the Collection lets you get right to it.

Upon booting the menu, you have the option of choosing to start Miles Edgeworth or Prosecutor’s Gambit. As the latter is a sequel, it makes sense to start from the beginning.

Right away, the game lets you choose from the original pixel style sprites from the DS version, or the updated HD ones created by the original character designer. It’s a nice touch having that option for purists’ sake.

Miles Edgeworth starts off with the titular main character involved indirectly in a murder scene that took place in his very office. While we know Miles didn’t do it, the scene is immediately put into investigation as series detective Gumshoe helps assist, and Miles himself digs deep into unmasking the culprit.

I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising, what with ‘Investigations’ in the title, but right away it’s one of the main things you’ll be tasked with despite Miles being a prosecutor. He’s found a new role for himself by solving crimes out in the field, and much of the story is focused on how he gets roped into these messes - often as a target, and even as a suspect in subsequent chapters.

It’s an interesting turnabout, with much more agency placed on the story, and the larger and murderous plots at play.

As with the other Ace Attorney games, Miles Edgeworth is presented in a visual novel format with a lot of reading, some point and click interaction during the investigation sections, and selecting choices to advance the plot while interrogating suspects. There’s even some gimmicks like recreating the crime scene in a simulation, and is something that puts Miles in more of a direct role, along with other new characters.

My only complaint is there’s no voice acting despite the modern updates. It feels a bit outdated in that aspect, but it’s ultimately a trade off for getting these games at all.

Prosecutor’s Gambit, being a direct sequel, is fairly similar in game design to its predecessor. The story continues once again with Miles Edgeworth of course, but this time he finds himself in the middle of a presidential assassination plot.
Right away, Miles is tasked with understanding the aims of the shooter, their identity, and the evidence of the gunfire. As the investigation continues, Miles finds himself caught up in a setup that eventually leads to some unexpected arrests.

The story is arguably more complex than it was in Miles Edgeworth, with Miles himself put under risk of losing his own badge, and having to further work with rivals to uncover the truth. I largely appreciated his role here because it gave him a lot of depth and nuance. It made me want to see his success to the end.

In Prosecutor’s Gambit, several new gameplay elements have been added to the series’ usual visual novel presentation. There’s the usual investigation segments, including talking to suspects and searching for clues, but the former adds a new mechanic called Mind Chess.

Mind Chess is a game that Miles sets up when a suspect doesn’t want to testify. He will question them as always, but these timed segments rely on making decisions that metaphorically destroy the suspect’s chess pieces. Listen to what they have to say, and select the best option to press the truth out of them.

It’s an interesting mechanic that adds a bit of tension, and more layers to help uncover contradictions in testimonies.

The Investigations Collection has been updated throughout with an eye pleasing style that cleans up everything in HD. I found the sprites were especially standout, with the dialogue portraits and investigation items having more of a hand drawn look to them compared to previous games.

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Review | Final Thoughts

It’s a solid transition from the DS graphics in any case. The music is still there, and again, you can use the old pixel sprites if you really want. Overall it’s a great remaster, and even better that it’s the vehicle we finally get to play Prosecutor’s Gambit in. With it finally here, the Ace Attorney collection for the modern age is finally complete.

TechRatpor reviewed Ace Attorney Investigations Collection on PlayStation 5 with a copy provided by the developer over the course of 35 hours of gameplay - all screenshots were taken during the process of review.