Devil’s Attorney Preview

When the first Phoenix Wright for the Nintendo DS was announced, I found myself incredibly confused. I wasn’t entirely sure how playing as a lawyer could be fun – a line of thinking I’m now willing to admit was foolish. It was awesome, and I crave more. With Mr. Wright on a (hopefully temporary) vacation, 1337 Game Design is looking to step in and fill the void with Devil’s Attorney. Trust me, you should be excited for this one.

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If our law system is a joke, then here’s the punchline

When the first Phoenix Wright for the Nintendo DS was announced, I found myself incredibly confused. I wasn’t entirely sure how playing as a lawyer could be fun – a line of thinking I’m now willing to admit was foolish. It was awesome, and I crave more. With Mr. Wright on a (hopefully temporary) vacation, 1337 Game Design is looking to step in and fill the void with Devil’s Attorney. Trust me, you should be excited for this one.

Before we talk about anything else, let’s have a look at its intro video:

I know, right? Plain and simple, it’s one of the greatest intros you’ll ever see. It plays like the opening to a campy 80s show, catchy tune and all. Of course, an amazing intro isn’t all it takes to make a game good. It needs solid gameplay and, especially with a game like this, clever writing. Having spent some time with it, I can confirm that both of those things are here in full force.

Much of the game’s action takes place in court, where you defend alleged criminals and go tit-for-tat against prosecutors. It’s a turn-based affair, the object being to take out the prosecution before they manage to do so to you. Tools like interrogation (which can damage someone’s credibility), and analysis (devalues incriminating evidence) make up but a small part of your arsenal, but don’t let either of those things trick you into think you’re operating above the board. You also have the option of performing actions like tampering with evidence, which can temporarily reduce its strength.

 

All of this requires the use of “Action Points”, and different abilities require a different amount of them. Once you’ve used them all up in a turn, it becomes the prosecution’s chance to do their worst. If you survive their attacks, your Action Points are refilled and it’s your chance to fight back. Rinse, repeat.

Winning a case will earn you some in-game cash, which can then be used to deck out your living space. Certain items you purchase will award you skill points for various attributes, which can strongly improve your ability to win a case. Bumping up your “materialism”, for example, will make you better at analyzing things in court, and improve your ability to intimidate.

Awesome intro and all, Devil’s Attorney will arrive on iOS and Android October 11.