ACE ATTORNEY: DUAL DESTINIES REVIEW
I've heard a lot of mixed things about Dual Destinies as a game. Some people say it's one of the better 3DS Ace Attorney games, while others say it's a pretty weak entry in the series. My opinion after playing through the entire game is somewhere in the middle. I like this game, a lot more than I thought I would, but the game has some weird elements that keep me from calling it a great game overall.
On one hand, this game introduces some of the best characters and gameplay elements in the series. Characters like Athena Cykes, Bobby Fullbright, and Blackquill are among the greatest Ace Attorney characters, with others ranging from "bad but with good ideas behind them" to "likable, well realized characters." With them comes some gameplay enhancements and new mechanics that I love a lot, like the Mood Matrix helping you sort out inconsistent emotions in testimonies, or the consult feature helping you out when you need it. I also love how streamlined investigations are, only letting you investigate an area when it's necessary, cutting out a lot of filler, and having those investigations in a 3D space you can move the camera in takes advantage of the upgraded hardware of the 3DS.
On the other hand, the writing of the game and the 3D character models leave a lot to be desired. The writing isn't bad, I'll go into more detail about each specific case, but the writing is unsubtle in a way that the series has never been before. The first time we hear about the "dark age of the law" and the value of emotions and psychology, it's not bad, but with every reiteration of those ideas, I start to get more and more annoyed. You can exemplify all of these ideas from the actions and events of the game, like how the "dark age of the law" is depicted perfectly from the first case due to the courtroom bombing. This game is one of the worst examples of tell, don't show in the entire series. As for the new 3D models, they're a mixed bag as well. Sometimes, the models are really nice looking and make for some excellent animations, as is the case with Athena, Professor Means and Blackquill. Other times, it's clear that these characters had some growing pains from sprites to 3D, as is the case with Phoenix and Miles. The trial segments with them look good, but whenever they're viewed from the front, it gets into an uncanny territory that I don't like. Miles is the worst case because of the way his lips look and move. It's clear that there were some growing pains adapting to this artstyle and models given that this is the first canon game to include them. On the bright side, the fully animated cutscenes do look really good and have some great voice acting to go along with them. Though, my copy of the game might be bugged because the audio in these cutscenes lags so often and it annoys the hell out of me. It might just be Switch port issues, but it's still annoying.
Enough with sounding like a Pokemon fan though, how are the cases? Well, there are good cases eventually, but the first chunk of the game is a slog to get through. There are some gems, though, so let's dive deeper into all of them.
A decent intro case and that's really about it. It sets the tone of the game pretty well and it introduces Athena really well, plus the murder case being tied to a bomb going off in a courtroom is a really cool intro to this game, but this case does have some glaring problems. Revealing Ted Tonate as the culprit before the gameplay even starts is so lame, especially when he's one of the most obvious culprits in the entire series so far, almost as lame as setting this case up as a solo Athena case before Wright comes in when she has a realistic depiction of a panic attack. Combine that with the fact that it's a bit far fetched that people would blame Juniper out of all people, and you can see some definite issues. Still, the mystery is fun to untangle and you even get a taste of the Mood Matrix for the first time, which is a massive plus. Plus, seeing Gaspen run out of the courtroom like that made me giggle.
I've seen plenty of statements within the Ace Attorney community and in videos saying that The Monstrous Turnabout is one of the worst cases in the entire series, and I don't necessarily agree. It's far from the best case, but it's also far from the worst. I do agree that this case is a snooze fest at times, and that the one-off characters are so unserious it's irritating, and that this has the worst culprit in the series so far, but the actual mysteries the case presents are pretty cool. Well, not the mystery of who kill the alderman because IT WAS SPOILED IN THE OPENING CUTSCENE. Honestly, 90% of this case's problems would be fixed if that wasn't the case. However, the other mysteries about the apparent demonic possession being sleepwalking, the true identity of the Amazing Nine-Tails, and what exactly is Tenma Taro are a lot of fun to decipher. The case really gets good during that second day of trial, the only problem being it only gets good during the second day of trial. Still, I can't speak too negatively about the case that introduces Fullbright and Blackquill.
Yep, it's finally time to talk about the funny "ends justify the means" case, the case that's infamous for exemplifying the unsubtle writing of Dual Destinies as a whole. Surprisingly, I think this is the best case so far, even though it has such glaring issues. Yes, having every single character go on about "the dark age of the law" and how "the ends justify the means" gets tiring after a while. Yes, even though he isn't revealed in the opening cutscene, Aristotle Means is still the one of most obvious culprits in the entire series thanks to his design and never shutting up about his evil ideology that he clashes with the victim on. Yes, the writing in this case is really bad to the point where saying the writing is bad would be too obvious for me to mention. However, there's still enough quality elements in this case to say that I really enjoyed playing it. Every single new character is really fun, which includes Means. Ignoring the issues mentioned earlier, Means is a very fun character with lots of great animations, especially when he gets cross-examined. Robin, Hugh, and Juniper are also great characters and the way their friendship gets tested is really compelling, with the cutscene showing the bands Robin made being really sweet and my favorite part of the whole case. It's also nice getting to play as Athena for a whole case without Phoenix stealing your thunder, and she has some great moments. Not sure how I feel about her transvestigating Robin, but the Mood Matrix segments are as fun as ever, and her accusing Apollo of being into bondage was the funniest shit ever. It was also nice seeing Klavier back to help us out, and Miriam is a good addition as well. In a way, this case is kinda the inverse of Rise from the Ashes, whereas that case is great from a story perspective and horrible from a gameplay perspective, this case is horrible from a story perspective and great from a gameplay perspective. Might be controversial, but I liked this case a lot more than I thought I would, for every reason aside from this being an actually good case.
There's not really much to say about The Cosmic Turnabout since, more than a lot of other fourth cases, this really feels like the first part of the finale case rather than its own dedicated case. Still doesn't stop it from being the first great case in the game with no caveats like poor writing holding it back. I like all the new characters introduced here, especially Yuri Cosmos and Aura Blackquill, who both have incredible designs and animations, plus they're both great red herring characters for you to speculate over. I'm not as much a fan of Solomon Starbuck, but his character arc throughout this case is neat. The best thing this case does is provide a lot of context for the final* case, with you witnessing the case that led to the courtroom bombing and seeing Apollo get a lot more characterization than he usually gets, with him being friends with the victim. Plus, this case ends on one of the best, if not the best, cliffhangers in the entire series, with Athena's fingerprints being on the lighter the killer had and her being accused of the crime. This case perfectly builds up the momentum needed for the final, explosive case of this game.
I was floored by how great Turnabout for Tomorrow is. The amount of twists and turns the case took while perfectly sticking the landing on the conclusion of everybody's character arcs in this game is a sight to behold, and I loved every second of it. Right from the jump, this case is dedicated to explaining every loose strand of detail across the entire game. The HAT-1 Miracle, Athena's traumatic childhood, her mom's scientific endeavors, the crime that Blackquill was accused of. Everything is explained in such a satisfying way that leaves plenty of room for you to figure out what really happened and who's responsible for it. It all comes together in an impromptu trial held in the ruins of a destroyed courtroom sponsored by Aura taking people hostage, including Trucy, just so she can put Athena behind bars and exonerate her brother. That's to say nothing about the actual trial, where we get the exceptional return of Miles Edgeworth doing his best to help out while also being a little shithead obstacle as the prosecutor for the case, which is absolutely perfect for him in this game. This trial also has my two favorite mood matrix segments in the game, the first with Blackquill getting the emotional strength to spill what really happened to Metis Cykes, and the second being the final battle with the true culprit behind everything, the phantom spy Bobby Fullbright. This twist genuinely got me, and I only figured it out based on Aura's line about lowering the ladder before the reveal, and not only is the twist great, but the final confrontation is excellent, with Fullbright's identity coming to light, him wearing different masks of other characters because he doesn't know who he is anymore, and the final breakdown being punctuated by a shot to the chest, ending the dark age of the law once and for all. This case is also a great end to Apollo and Athena's character arcs, with Athena grappling with the trauma her brain kept from her all these years and Apollo trusting in Athena after a day of believing she killed his friend, both of them taking out Fullbright alongside Pheonix. I also love Blackquill in this case and how he finally got to avenge his false accusation a day before he was gonna be executed. Ace Attorney games usually stick the landing when it comes to incredible final cases, and Turnabout for Tomorrow is no different. The journey might have been littered with weird writing decisions, but it was all worth it. After all, the ends justify the means.
The first ever DLC case in the series, and it's a great case at that. The framing device of it being the first case Phoenix took after getting his license back is a strong one, and the case itself being about you defending an orca in court is a great way to insert that classic Ace Attorney trilogy goofiness into a more "serious" game. It also helps that all of the characters in this case are really likable and really well written. Sasha and Herman started out really fun and got a lot more depth as the case went on, I wasn't into Norma at first but she does get a little better as the case went on, and Marlon Rimes is a surprising culprit that I liked a lot. He reminded me a lot of Acro from Turnabout Big Top, except in a case that's actually written well. I also really like how you figure out by the end that both murders involved in the case were accidental, which is something we don't see a lot in other cases, and I especially like how Marlon shows signs of being rehabilitated by the end, much like Blackquill was. That's not to mention Orla the orca herself, who is such a great addition to the case and cross-examining her while Blackquill crashes out is one of the best moments in the entire case. I also love the unique setting; it's shocking that the franchise hasn't dipped into pirate and aquarium iconography up until this point. The animated cutscenes are a lot of fun and I love how they imply that this is a musical case. Welcome back, Turnabout Legacy. If I had any problems with this case, it'd be that the tutorial elements of the case are incredibly annoying, especially since a DLC case implies that the player has already played through the main game, but it's not that big of a deal. I had a lot of fun with this case and I'd say this is a great addition to the game.
Overall, Dual Destinies is one of the oddest entries in the franchise and one where I like it overall, it just has a lot of elements holding it back from me saying that I love it all too much. It's certainly a step up from games like Apollo Justice and the first Ace Attorney Investigations game, but I wouldn't call it among the best that Ace Attorney has to offer. I'm still giving it a 7/10, since it's really hard for me to dislike anything in this series, no matter how hard the first half of this game tries.
Barkeep! Get my fine reader here two tier lists, on the double!
