Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Preview

In the past few years, Capcom’s beloved lawyer game series, Ace Attorney, has been getting collected into very nice combo packages that offer graphical improvements, gallery modes, and the ability to play these adventure titles on platforms other than the DS and 3DS. Then, after The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles in 2021 finally provided an official English release for both of its games, only one title in the Ace Attorney franchise hadn’t made its way outside of Japan. That was Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit, the sequel to the first Investigations game, a spin-off following prosecutor Miles Edgeworth as he, well, investigates crimes and puts together his cases. However, with Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, both of those titles have been remastered in HD and translated into a variety of languages, finally completing the series as it stands for many fans.

I got a chance to take an early look at the games, and I have to say I’m quite impressed. I’d never played the original Investigations, but both it and its sequel look fantastic and play just as well. This side series primarily trades in the courtrooms and first-person exploration from the main series for a sort of point-and-click adventure style, with the environments seen from further away and there being a Miles sprite you can have walk around the place, looking at things and chatting with suspects. Theoretically, you could play this with your mouse and click everywhere you need to go, but I found playing with either the keyboard or a controller to be a more satisfying experience.

Speaking of the tiny Miles sprite, in the original games, those smaller sprites were shown as pixel art, which does look nice and has some real charm to it, so it’s very good that the option to use this art is still available in the Collection. However, there is also the option to switch to HD sprites that look much smoother and more accurately match what the characters actually look like in their larger dialogue counterparts. Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be an option to switch between these options while mid-game, but having the choice at all is a blessing. I primarily played with the HD sprites, and while at first I was worried they would look a bit floaty, they actually fit the environments incredibly well and I didn’t notice any issues.

I started off looking through the first Investigations to see how it specifically looked and played and I enjoyed my time with it. The characters were entertaining, the puzzles were interesting, and the novelty of playing as Miles was very fun. When I continue playing the series, I might skip around a little with the chapter select function to check out different sections of the game, but I knew going into this that my main priority was checking out Investigations 2, so I didn’t mind putting the first one on the back burner for now. It is a fine HD remaster and it plays splendidly with either keyboard or controller, while also still being okay with the mouse.

Then there was the main event: Investigations 2. While I can't speak to most of the chapters, but I will say that the first two are absolutely fantastic. One of my few gripes with the Ace Attorney series is that the first episodes or cases in these games can be a bit on the boring or safe side. I understand that they’re meant to let you wade into the story and the mechanics without getting overwhelmed, but many of these introductions leave me feeling only okay about the titles, only moving on with the promise that I’ll enjoy the plot and gameplay more and more as it goes on and ramps up. There are definitely exceptions to this, but not many. Thankfully, Investigations 2 easily joins that group of Ace Attorney titles with incredible first chapters.

For one thing, this very first case starts with an attempted presidential assassination, so the stakes get to start incredibly high as Miles is thrust into the position of investigator. There’s also a surprisingly sizable cast for an introduction, juggling a handful of loveable characters in addition to Miles and his allies, Detective Gumshoe and Kay Faraday. Personally, my favourite new face is Tabby Lloyd, a plucky journalist covering the event. Then you have the chapter’s twisting, ever-changing plot that would feel right at home at the midpoint of an early Ace Attorney game while still managing to offer a clear and concise tutorial for new players. Throw in the fact that it manages to be a fine starting point for new players even as it plays off of plot threads from the prior title and sprinkles references to the older games in the series and you have a recipe for greatness, right in the first episode. When I finished it, I understood why other fans of the franchise have been clamouring for an official release for years.

Then, the second episode was set in the Detention Center and explored that prominent location properly for the first time and I knew I was hooked for the long haul. Overall, Investigations 2 has been a love letter to the series that came before it while still managing to deliver its own gripping story that I can’t wait to get to the bottom of. You can feel that love in every inch of the game and that’s carried over to the Collection at large. Everything looks beautiful in HD and the new arrangements for the soundtrack are rather pleasant to listen to. Whenever I’m playing, I just hum and bop to the music the entire time. It’s very fun. Then there’s the gallery, where you can listen to every single track and appreciate some very nice concept art. Plus, as you make your way through the stories, you unlock CGs shown throughout and full collections of the characters’ sprites. That element was very useful for me, as I wanted to look through certain animations over and over again to appreciate every detail and make certain I hadn’t missed anything.

I’ve loved every second of Ace Attorney Investigations Collection and I am so excited to play more of it when it releases on the 6th of September later this year on Windows, Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. I don’t normally go for compilations, but I’m definitely happy with this one; you won’t be hearing any “Objection!”s from me.