Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies

Needless to say, I really enjoyed Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies. It’s a shame that Capcom didn’t see fit to support this game with a retail release, but maybe there’s still some hope for that.

If you're never played any of the Ace Attorney games, this would be a perfect starting point. It's exactly what you'd want an Ace Attorney game. Simply put, it's a masterpiece.

Topped off with beautiful 3D animations, an unsurprisingly excellent soundtrack, and some great anime sequences that highlight major moments in each case, Dual Destinies is not to be missed.

Proves that well-written adventure games still have a place on any system.

Simply sublime work from Capcom! Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies takes the best elements from the previous four main entries, as well as a pinch of excellence from the Ace Attorney Investigations spin-off, and amalgamates everything into one extremely special package, complete with fresh ideas that alleviate any minor issues people may have had with the series in the past.

While the third in the series Trials and Tribulations remains the high point in the Phoenix Wright saga, Dual Destinies comes up as a very close second. Managing to wash out the bad taste the Edgeworth spin-off left, this is an incredible return to form for the series. With each case being as intriguing as the last it’s a game that is hard to put down till you’ve reached the games dramatic conclusion.

Wonderfully witty as ever, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies is another excellent entry into the Ace Attorney series.

Limits on investigation and the notable absence of some cherish characters are boring details, but, by the time you reach the last case, you'll notice that they are just that: details.

More of the Ace Attorney you know and love. With five full cases (plus an extra DLC case to purchase and download), each lasting tons of hours, there’s a full game here for a relatively cheap price.

Dual Destinies follows in its predecessors' footsteps by combining simple gameplay mechanics, memorable characters, and bizarre courtroom antics into a wholly entertaining experience. It drags at times, with pacing between the investigations and trials occasionally being an issue, but that hardly gets in the way of the fun.

The best Ace Attorney so far, with a wonderfully entertaining series of mysteries that showcase the series’ oddball characters to their very best – and make some subtle but welcome improvements to the gameplay.

Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies is a great episode of the popular Capcom's franchise. The new gameplay mechanics and the brand new graphics are enough to turn a classic into something new and shiny.

The verbose characters and clue interactions provide several hours of likeable humour per case. This is the perfect game for sitting in your favourite chair with a hot drink and a soft chuckle just hovering, perhaps even spilling into a quiet giggle.

Any fan of the series should be considering buying this game, as long as they don't mind the lack of physical version or not being translated into any other language but English. There's little innovation here, but it's addictive, fun and satisfying.

It's perhaps the best entry in the series: with the usual high quality script and characters and completely overhauled visuals and presentation, Dual Destinies will engage and will be loved both by fans and new players.

The fresh look and new faces, matched with the familiar game style, make it a must-buy for fans of the original trilogy.

Capcom's lawyer sim continues to carve its idiosyncratic niche with sharp storytelling and impressively polished production values.

Dual Destinies is an excellent chapter in the series. The gameplay is the same that we learned to love, but it's a little more varied and refined. The cast sees a lot of new characters: the fans might miss some of the classics, but the narrative quality is top notch.

The new 3D lookings, an epic soundtrack and the particular direction of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies makes it a well crafted chapter of the series.

Not as light on its feet as older games, but still a great slice of law and disorder. [Christmas 2013, p.79]

Like a good novel, each case is deep and filled with plot twists. If you loved the Phoenix Wright games of the past, you'll feel right at home.

Dual Destinies' main plot falters a little and the simplified puzzles are a shame. DD might not rise to the brilliance of the earlier Ace Attorney games, but it's still a worthy and welcome addition to the series. [Jan 2014]

Capcom has put together yet another fun and witty game, that makes us use the gray matter and will please children and adults. However, it should also be said that, several years from the first game and with only few changes added from time to time, the series may need something new very soon.

One of the best of the games in the series, Dual Destinies takes a while to build back up from its explosive beginning, but it’s more of the same fun characters, stories, and gameplay fans have come to expect.

The latest game in the franchise delivers what the series has always been great at, without jumping any sharks. The story is exciting, the characters memorable and the humor great. The updated 3D graphics feels like a natural evolution of the old style but the difficulty could have been higher. A must for fans of the series.

Thankfully coutroom battles are still as tense as ever, but it's clear the script was written by the B-team without series head Shu Takumi. [Jan 2014, p.74]

If you still don’t know this series, you can start with this game. You’ll love it.

Phoenix Wright's latest misadventure in the courtroom is undoubtedly his greatest. The overarching plot is as well written as always, with plenty of in-jokes and pop cultural references. While the central gameplay of the series remains intact, the game manages to make it all feel fresh through a number of small updates that improve the overall flow of the game.

Dual Destinies is the fifth game in the Phoenix Wright franchise and is a great addition. With a new playable character and her own techniques the game refreshes itself. It gets rather complicated sometimes, which can be quite annoying.

Absolutely Capcom at its best. [Issue#141, p.115]

The narrative that runs through that world isn’t always focused as it could be, but Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies is a largely excellent visual novel adventure.

If you're not afraid of a digital-only title, you can look forward to a good crime-adventure with very special characters.

If you’re looking for some hot courtroom action, clinically insane characters, wild crime scenarios, and a lot of worthwhile reading, then Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies is probably the niche game for you. Although it straddles the definition of “game” very loosely, it is an overall satisfying and sometimes exhilarating experience worth playing.

Fans of the Ace Attorney franchise may find themselves with an easier experience than what they bargained for. However, that shouldn't be reason to pass on Dual Destinies. The latest installment in the franchise remains wonderfully written, happily off-the-wall and even more attractive now that it has shed its 2D carapace and embraced the wonders of modern technology.

Dual Destinies won’t convince skeptics, as it’s still more visual novel than game and about as linear as it gets. But after a couple of disappointing spin-offs, it’s the closest the series has come to the greatness of the original trilogy.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies is definitely an Ace Attorney game. The mechanics are almost unchanged, but the writing is as fun, witty and clever as ever. It isn't quite up to par with the best of the series, but it's still an incredibly fun experience.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies is a success. Yes, it feels like more of the same, but for a series that has yet to put out a bad title, that shouldn’t be viewed negatively.

Fans will be happy that Phoenix Wright was able to localize it – it really would have been a massive injustice if this game never saw the light of day outside of Japan, as Dual Destinies is up there with the best entries in the franchise.

A serious lawyer drama in an absurd manga setting: ace attorneys Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice are back to fight crime, protect the innocent and once again try to get themselves out of embarrassing situations.

Dual Destinies treads familiar territory, but laying out a complex case and discovering the truth is still exciting. A handful of new elements make it a rewarding addition to the Ace Attorney franchise, but they aren't the real draw of the series.

Phoenix Wright jumps in Nintendo 3DS with the first videogame with tridimensional graphics in the series. It's not revolutionary, but it's still very enjoyable, maintaining the success formula from previous iterations.

Remaining issues and a lack of innovation aside, Dual Destinies and its witty writing manage to fully captivate you and glue you to the screen.

Phoenix Wright is back at his best. A handful of new gaming options take Dual Destinies to an upper-state of quality, although the core of the gameplay still focuses mostly in finding out the truth by means of thousands of lines of dialogue. Both fans and newcomers will enjoy the traditional approach of the franchise.

Viewed abstractly, Dual Destinies is a straightforward sequence of locked narrative corridors.

Phoenix Wright’s triumphant return to the courtroom has been matched by a game worth of such an event. Sure, it is more of the same, but with more variety, a new set of great characters and it looks really nice to boot.

Top-notch writing, great characters and the ever-present thrills of the courtroom - this is unmistakably an Ace Attorney game.

Just because Capcom is scared to lose money on physical copies doesn’t mean you should let Phoenix Wright’s return pass you by.

Dual Destinies is aggressively oddball, but it's also sharply written and cleverly constructed. It trades the typical staid approach to murder mysteries and puts a pair of magic panties on its head (yes, there are magic panties), spinning a clever mystery that will please your crime-solving brain.

If you’re not already a fan, though, you have nothing to worry about. Dual Destinies is the series’ most user-friendly entry yet, offering conveniences such as a conversation log (so you can look for dialogue details you may have missed), a consultation feature (which offers optional hints if you make too many mistakes during trials), and a chapter select that allows you to easily replay completed scenes.

Phoenix Wright's return to the courtroom brings with it an impressive blend of comedic sensibilities and philosophical examinations that make you question how any judicial system can determine guilt when the relationships people have with the truth are so complicated.

Phoenix Wright as you know it: Surreal characters, great dialogue, interesting cases and top notch anime artdesign.

Dual Destinies is another great game in the Ace Attorney series and superb welcome back to Phoenix himself.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies doesn’t do much to innovate the series, but does a great job at bringing a classic experience to the 3DS.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies offers around 25 hours of brand-new Ace Attorney content, and most of that content is in-line with the greatness of previous entries while offering a creative take never before seen.

As my first Phoenix Wright game, I got the impression that Dual Destinies and the series as a whole is enamored with a cavalcade of quirky characters theatrically engaged with marching contention. In that measure Dual Destinies is a success, and while I yearned for an ounce of consequence or more creative approach interaction, I couldn't deny it's whimsical appeal. If you’re in my shoes and have never played a Phoenix Wright game before, Dual Destinies isn’t a bad place to start.

Quotation forthcoming.

Dual Destinies won’t change anybody’s minds about the series’ brand of narrative-heavy, gameplay-light adventuring, but longtime fans will be thrilled by the full docket of goofy legal twists and turns and fun characters.

It's high-pitched, talkative, crazy, hysterical, and funny. A lawyer-like thriller made in Japan. It's simpler and more straight-lined than its previous installments. It's pretty playable, though.

Dual Destinies is an Ace Attorney game, all right, and that’s perhaps the best result anyone could have hoped for.

It’s great to see the iconic Phoenix Wright back in action after six years, and his segments are definitely the high points in Dual Destinies. But when he’s inexplicably MIA—like during the game’s interminable second and third acts—the proceedings slow to a crawl. Still, the story, characters, and courtroom drama are strong enough to draw in newcomers and satisfy lapsed fans.

While Dual Destinies may initially appear like a fresh take on the series, it ultimately doesn't take a lot of chances. Still, Capcom continues to do what it does best: creating a compelling courtroom drama with fun, campy, off-the-wall characters. It may be more of the same, but for fans, that's really all they need.