Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tribulations is not very different from its predecessor. While you do get the chance to play as several characters this time around, that doesn’t change the witness questioning, evidence presenting, crime scene investigating, psyche-lock breaking gameplay. So what is noteworthy about it? I for one enjoyed the interweaving of characters and stories through three out of the five trials - it gave the game more cohesion than “Justice for All,” where the cases were largely self-contained and episodic. It was additionally engaging that these cases involved the backstories and tangled relationships of several major characters; one of PW’s strengths is its characters - Phoenix, Maya and a handful of lovable prosecutors new and old are all present and accounted for.
It’s also worth pointing out that whereas I often find localization of games and anime to be too contrived when they try to add cultural references and jokes, these games handle the job with style (”Special Password Admin-Restricted Data Access? That’s madness!” “No Maya, that’s SPARDA.”). Although the Japanese name puns are lost completely, I feel this is no big loss (puns seem to be highly appreciated in Japanese humor, while in English they’re the last resort before you get the hook).
In short, if you liked the previous two PW titles and you’re craving more, Trials & Tribulations does not disappoint.
