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Capcom launched a new Cap Kuji Online lottery featuring Miles Edgeworth merchandise from the Ace Attorney Investigations series in Japan. The prize items in this lottery will range from a sealing stamp with the Prosecutor's Emblem, a towel modeled after the scroll from Shi-Long Lang's ancestor, and Kay Faraday's Promises notebook.

A single ticket in this lottery will cost 880 yen (~$5.55). However, people who order ten tickets simultaneously can pay with a 10% discount at 7,920 yen. Capcom will deliver up to 20 prize items domestically in Japan with a shipping cost of 660 yen.

Here is the complete prize list from the lottery, along with the winning probabilities for each tier. Note that Capcom will completely determine the prizes in random, so one will have to further divide the probability for a specific item in the same tier.

• S Prize: Mega Big Capcorom plush of Miles Edgeworth - 1%
• A Prize: Sealing Stamp featuring the Prosecutor's Emblem - 2%
• B Prize: Towel based on Kay Faraday's Yatagarasu muffler or Lang Zi's scroll - 4%
• C Prize: Acrylic stand of a character with an exclamation bubble - 12%
• D Prize: Ringed memo book - 31%
• E Prize: Tin badge based on a character - 50%

The revelation of this new merchandise lottery followed the announcement of Ace Attorney Investigations Collection at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct and return of Edgeworth. Capcom will release the new compilation of the spin-off duology worldwide on the Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 6, 2024. The company is also preparing new localized names for characters who debuted in the second entry, such as Verity Gavelle, Eustace Winner, and Eddie Fender.

Capcom will close the order period for the Ace Attorney Investigations Cap Kuji Online merchandise lottery on July 26, 2024. The company will deliver the prizes between late November 2024 and early December 2024.

The post Ace Attorney Investigations Kuji Merchandise Stars Edgeworth appeared first on Siliconera.

Next week, Famicom Detective Club makes its Western debut. Itching to solve video game mysteries? We’ve got some great recommendations for you!

I always wished more people got into the Touch Detective series. Debuting on the Nintendo DS, it followed a young woman named Rina who... well, touches things! (This was when companies were finding reasons to use the system's touch screen.) In addition to solving silly crimes in a world populated by people who wouldn't be out of place in a Tim Burton movie, Rina would keep a diary of the things she touched and described how they felt. It was surprisingly pleasant for something with such a macabre approach. — Jenni

It's not exactly an unusual choice! But when I want to solve a mystery, I turn to Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Each murder case winds and twists in so many bizarre ways that they're incredibly hard to predict. And when you do? You feel so clever in doing so. Plus: the music during the Nonstop Debate is just fantastic. It captures the energy of an action game, and its ability to get your blood pumping makes it unbelievably exciting to look for holes in testimonies.

Just the same, solving these deaths is bittersweet. The victims tend to be characters you know and care about. It makes for an emotional ride that no other mystery game I've played has matched. — Joel

The Layton series is full of weird video game mysteries. But if you really want some bonkers lore? The one to play is Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. Is there time travel? What's going on? I won't spoil anything, but the answer is as nonsensical and elaborate as you could want. And yeah, it doesn't quite have the charm of Curious Village or the sheer content of Last Specter. But the puzzles you solve along the way are still very fun. — Graham

This is seriously a no-brainer. All you need is the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney trilogy. Now that it's on Switch, there's no excuse to not try out this classic series. All I need now? For Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Dual Destinies, and Spirit of Justice to all port to the Switch. And the Great Ace Attorney series is about to come to the West! So many great murder mysteries all in one series. But I'm serious about the original trilogy. I've now played it through completion on three different platforms. — Keri

Adding to Keri's suggestion, I'd also like to specifically mention Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Unlike the mainline titles that spend most of the time in court, Investigations let you control Edgeworth in moving around and inspecting "every suspicious-looking nook and cranny." The way this game delivered most of the confrontations right at the crime scenes? It made me feel like I was actually unraveling murder mysteries on the spot.

I also wish Capcom would work on the multiplatform remaster of Investigations after The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. And also perhaps the later mainline trilogy! Hopefully, that can also finally lead to an official English localization for the sequel. — Kite

Though it's a completely different genre than anything that has been mentioned, I found Siren to be a very compelling mystery story. Piecing together the lore through archives and creating hypotheses about the characters and history of Hanuda was tougher than any mystery or detective game I've played in the past. The interesting thing about Siren is that there are so many fan theories that have never been officially confirmed. That means we may never know the answers to all our questions.

Not only is the story a mystery, but the game itself is one as well. You could say that all horror games have a puzzle element to them (Silent Hill 2 and the Resident Evil series, for example), but Siren was truly mind-boggling. Who would ever think to freeze a towel in one character's route so that another character in the future can use that frozen towel to trick a shibito away from his patrol route? — Stephanie

I hate using the thinking meat in my head. So for me, the best detective games don't make players actually solve the mystery so much as feel surprised and delighted by its twists and turns. And maybe feel a bit smart for putting together a puzzle that was always meant to be solved in the first place! For that, one of my favorite games of all time is Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.

Players wake up in the dead form of a detective named Sissel. They're then charged with finding out just what Sissel was doing when he died and who killed him, using the poltergeist-like powers of a spirit. From there it's a long chain of environmental puzzles, manipulating objects and events to create a set of Rube Goldbergian chains of cause and effect that lead to the finish line. Along the way is a number of genuine surprises and twists, and the best dog in games, Missile the Pomeranian! — Josh

What are your favorite video game mysteries? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter! And read our other handy roundtables for more thoughts from the Siliconera team.

The post What Are the Best Video Game Mysteries? appeared first on Siliconera.

It's Cyber Monday and that means another day of crazy video game deals. The first batch of games are Heavy Rain, Splatterhouse (which just came out last week!), and Demon's Souls for $14.99.

At 12:20 PST, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, 3D Dot Game Heroes, and Mass Effect 2 go on sale.

In the afternoon, Amazon will discount a truckload of Nintendo games. Two clues hint at Professor Layton games, but which titles correspond to the clues "Save London from catastrophe" and "Solve mysteries with this beloved Professor"? Nintendogs, Mario Kart Wii, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, and Wario Ware: D.I.Y. are also part of Amazon's Cyber Monday sale.

At the end of day, Capcom games get price cuts. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, Super Street Fighter IV, Lost Planet 2, and possibly Dead Rising 2 are the final deals from Amazon this Cyber Monday.

The post Amazon’s Cyber Monday Sale Kicks Off With Heavy Rain & Demon’s Souls, Nintendo Games Later appeared first on Siliconera.

It certainly took long enough, but a year after its Japanese release, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is finally out. Was the long, painful wait for the return of the original cast worth it? Since the series is known for being extremely story-driven, the extent to which you've invested yourself in these characters and their world, and your expectations of the game will be what decides how much you get out of it.

Ace Attorney Investigations game starts out rather slow, and ittedly, is a little lacking in the humour department. Edgeworth stood out in the Ace Attorney games because he was such a contrast to the other lunatics you would often find yourself associating with. Getting to play as him in the final case of Trials & Tribulations was a real treat because he really couldn't be any more different from Phoenix, and watching him swoop down out of nowhere onto a case that he wasn't even monitoring from the very beginning and work his wonders was incredible.

In Ace Attorney Investigations, however, you'll be hearing a lot of his eloquent monologues and they aren't quite as funny as Nick's daft-yet-somehow-insightful observations. Gumshoe's own idiotic brand of humour is getting a little old, too, and you're so used to his antics by now, they tend not to surprise you anymore. Also, since the game doesn't take place in the courtroom and your opponents' theatrics aren't nearly as outrageous as in the original trilogy, Ace Attorney Investigation's humour can feel a little dry. To the game's credit, however, it does have its hilarious moments.

Right off the bat, the first case makes one thing very clear: the logic in Ace Attorney Investigations is far more down-to-earth than that of the previous games. On the one hand, this can feel like a real boon when you're at a loss for what to do. On the other, as some of our Japanese brethren pointed out, it makes each case feel like less of a "turnabout." But more on this shortly.

Ace Attorney Investigations introduces what is called the Logic system. As you walk around the environments and examine things, Edgeworth "etches the facts into the forefront of his mind" (his words, not mine). These facts are then accessible via a Logic button, which allows you to connect different facts together to form a hypothesis. If you connect the correct facts, a hypothesis is formed. If you connect the wrong facts, Edgeworth's lifebar goes "ker-bash!", complete with his "Ack!" animation.

Once you conclude your investigation of the current scene, you move onto interrogating the other people involved in the case. This -- and, surprisingly, not the investigation aspect -- is where the game gives you a taste of its real potential.

Ace Attorney Investigations does some interesting things with the interrogation system. Even though you're investigating the crime scene, sometimes, it feels like you're the one being interrogated. Perhaps this is because, in every case, at least one of your dealings is with cutthroat individuals who bear some sort of grudge against you. This is particularly prominent in case two, where Edgeworth is framed for murder, and before you can make any progress whatsoever, you must first clear his name.

Even more interesting, sometimes, the cross-examination can be very different, emotionally, from anything previously seen in Ace Attorney. This is because, sometimes, you actually find yourself caring for the person you're examining. The thing is, Edgeworth himself is extremely professional. Not cold, not without concern...just very professional. Much more so than you or I (or Nick) would be inclined to be in a similar situation. Watching him cut through testimonies like warm butter can feel quite uncomfortable when you, as the player, want to be more sensitive. At certain points, the irony of the situation is conveyed brilliantly through the music, and it really made me feel Ace Attorney Investigations, as its own series, has a lot of potential to be something the original trilogy couldn't.

Case two -- possibly my favourite -- is also where the game really picks up. The series' trademark humour makes a comeback, and there's a wide enough variety of crazy characters to serve as a contrast to Edgeworth's personality. Miles himself stands out much better, too. He's different from Nick, and you can tell. He's far more sure of himself, always keeps track of the bigger picture, and doesn't loose his cool. It doesn't make you feel like you're fighting a constant uphill battle up until the point of the "turnabout," which takes away some of the tension, but on the plus side, it also makes you feel more in control of cases.

On the emotional and characterization front, case two adds its own unique twist to the Ace Attorney formula -- being paired up with a partner whose methods you don't agree with. In the past, you had to compete directly with a prosecutor, but for part of case 2, you're teamed up with Franziska von Karma, whose methods are far more brutal than even Edgeworth's, and Miles makes it known that he doesn't approve. It's an interesting dynamic, and yet another sign of what Ace Attorney Investigations could be, dramatically, were the series to continue.

By case three, ittedly, the game starts to feel really outlandish. Sometimes, you feel like it's stretching itself out longer than it needs to. Furthermore, cases 2, 3 and 4 delve further and further back into Edgeworth's past (before the last case brings it all together), and each one is chock full of sometimes unnecessary character cameos. This aspect can feel a little tacked on. Perhaps the reason, as someone in our Amazon Curve pointed out, is that Takumi Shuu, the regular series director, wasn't involved with the game.

Before we wrap up, something I want to touch upon briefly is Kay. I'd like to point out that, personally, I feel Kay is the perfect partner to Edgeworth. I'm not going to get into how or why, for fear of spoilers...she just "clicks" on multiple levels. She's got her emotional moments, but she's also so perfectly the opposite of Miles, you can't help but think, "Hell yes. He finally got his own assistant."

The one thing the game does really well is demonstrate how being in the shoes of a prosecutor is very different. While Nick and his pals often got up to all kinds of tomfoolery, Edgeworth's life and line of work are far more serious. The constant barrage of crimes; competing investigative organizations; the egos of cops working the same case as you; the fact that the game questions the true meaning of "law." The prosecutor's office is nothing like "Wright and Co."

Ace Attorney Investigations is a different game from the original trilogy. Not vastly different, but there are enough morsels of fantastic narrative decisions and depth that really got me thinking. It has potential to do more -- to be a bit of a more mature take on the franchise, because it draws out emotions and reactions that Ace Attorney never did. And really, isn't that what we love about story-driven media? That it makes you think.

Food for thought:

1. The small sprites don't do as good a job of conveying the personality of the characters as the larger portraits. The "chibi" style is a little jarring, considering that Ace Attorney Investigations is a bit of a more serious game and that the characters look kind of ridiculous when chibi'd down.

2. Watching a merciless Edgeworth and Franziska interrogate the judge is one of the all-time highlights of the series.

3. Edgeworth carries a spare cravat with him, which he promptly produces when Kay decides to blow her nose on his.

4. Case five, hands down, has the best cameos, and the best jokes.

5. AAI has the best "Announce the Truth" theme of the entire series, and it's part of the reason it feels like a more serious game. It suits Miles and his legacy so perfectly.

The post Ace Attorney Investigations: A Different Take on the Series appeared first on Siliconera.

Welcome to the Amazon Curve. We’ve probably all seen many reviews from professional critics, so in this feature, we focus, instead, on “the word off the street,” so to speak — specifically, the opinions of everyday Japanese gamers. We’ll be looking at reviews from Amazon.jp and giving you a rough idea what common s who bought games with their own money have to say about them in the "Overview." For readers that like a little more depth, we’ll translate select reviews that stood out. Hopefully, our readers will find the cultural differences interesting.

The Ace Attorney series is at its fifth game with Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, and it is still going strong. Famitsu gave the Japanese version of Ace Attorney Investigations a 9/9/8/8, which is slightly better than the average rating mid-to-low 80s that the Western reviewers have been giving it. Going for the game is its sheer Ace Attorney-ness, with its ridiculous characters and sometimes impossible scenarios (a three-story plane, complete with elevator? What?)/ Capcom revamped the system creating something different from anything the previous games had. After four games, most felt that the old formula was getting tiresome, so the change was welcome.

On the other hand, alongside the new 3D running on the bottom screen came the control troubles, which were clumsy at best with the touchpad (although, luckily, the d-pad controls work just fine). Meanwhile, the Logic system, Edgeworth’s own “Psycho-Lock-esque" ability, has its problems. While this was more realistic than either Phoenix’s or Apollo’s, some felt that it was also a bit too easy, since at times Edgeworth himself tells you what to do, and at other times the connections are extremely obvious. The connection that is inherent in the Logic system makes understanding the case easier, yet the pieces are put together in baby steps.

Alas, one complaint in almost all the reviews was a problem from previous games in the Ace Attorney series as well. While understanding what needs to be done is easy, presenting the evidence and choosing the right options in the correct order can be a hassle, giving the game an artificial difficulty. This has been a source of frustration for reviewers in the West for the past games, and it is still present in this game.

On Amazon.jp, the average star rating was approximately 3.5.

Most of the players felt that the game lacked something characteristic of the Ace Attorney series – some say it’s the “kick in the face” when you get hit with an unexpected revelation, while others say it’s the different rhythm of the game because there’s no regular courtroom visits that had so marked the previous games. Some felt that the Logic system was too easy, which led to there being no surprises and consequently losing the trademark of the series.

There were also a few complaints about white flashes that appear sometimes during the game, as the Japanese are rather sensitive to sudden bright bursts of light. (Anyone "Electric Soldier Porygon"?)

Several reviewers liked the fact that it was possible to play the entire game without using the DS touchpad, and even more just loved the returning cast and the way they were tied into the story. However much this pleases fans, though, this also results in an alienation of players new to the series, so most of the reviewers suggest playing the original series first.

Reviews

This is it? (3 stars)

I have played the entire Ace Attorney series. I thought people would want to read a review from people with such an experience.

Honestly, “This is it?” are words that can’t be denied. From before the game was out, I had been worried about it, the biggest reason being that Takumi Shuu-san wasn’t working on this game. I like Edgeworth and Gumshoe (actually, I like all the Ace Attorney characters), but the crude parts still stand out in the end.

Perhaps because there was no court part, but I couldn’t feel that tempo special to the Ace Attorney series. The deductions were long, and though the negotiation parts were few, they were lacking in tension. Even though they talk about “definitive evidence,” there were many holes and I could help but feel doubt at the flow of the deduction.

Also, I was a bit put-off, since I felt somewhat cheated about Nusumi-chan. There were unexpectedly many new characters that were very interesting, so I was very satisfied with that. Since moving around scene doesn’t have the same choices are before, the game made it so that it was recognizable, for which I was very happy (although I personally preferred the previous choices).

The music is a collection of great songs, as usual, so I find myself playing the game wearing headphones.

I think the reason I felt more disappointed than refreshed after playing the game was because I had too big of an expectation before the game was released. Even so, it’s true there were many times the game made me grin with all the connections to the old game hidden in the story. I was also happy to learn about the dark past of Edgeworth that the previous works hadn’t shown.

On the whole, it was a bit of a disappointment as part of the Ace Attorney series. However, I think it was a pretty good game if you think of it from as a Detective Adventure game.

The game is stably interesting, but… (4 stars)

I have played Ace Attorney 1-3, but not 4.

In this game, you collect information and then use Logic and deductions to lead the criminal on and then corner him. However, the series also loses the feeling of getting a flying kick from out of nowhere (that feeling of unexpectedness) that was there before, so in most of the chapters you could tell who the criminal was or what the trick was. Even though it’s called “Gyakuten”¹ it’s not really a “Turnabout” anymore…

Also, there weren’t really any of those portrait arts of the criminals getting caught in a corner that was common to the series, so I was a bit sad.

The characters were solid, so after playing it as a continuation to the series, I found myself laughing here and there while playing, but if you’re playing this game as the first game to the series, you may only feel a sense of tediousness. If you haven’t played the original series, I suggest you first play starting from Ace Attorney 1. (If this game had been the first game in the series, I would’ve taken off 2 stars.)

Lastly, I think it would be difficult for them to make a game unpredictable with the current theme (the main character as Prosecutor Edgeworth), but I hope that next time, they can have a case unfold with Logic, deductions and evidence and end with “That’s impossible, but … it really was him?!”

…Also, there’s the flashing. After playing it for a long time, my head started hurting. People easily influenced by this should be careful.

As Expected of the Gyakuten Series (5-stars)

Pros:
- Characters from before appear often. On top of that, they’re tied in very well with the story. I’m glad that, to a fan of the series, there were many places where I could laugh.
- The difficulty level is just right. The penalties are mild, so that may cut from the tension, but if you limit yourself (such as trying to get through without decreasing the gauge at all), the pressure’s still there.
- All the episodes are interconnected and uphold the standard, so you get drawn into the story. I wonder if the parts that aren’t able to be understood going to be the premise for the next game.
- Improvement of controls. The ability to investigate the evidence without the use of the touchpen was great.

Cons:
- The Logic system was too monotonous. The discovery is good, but you soon get tired of it.
- The other reviews mention this too, but the white flashes are disconcerting.
- I’m a bit unsatisfied with the way the characters were handled. Why did Emma appear…? The only reason is that she’s popular, so they just stuck her in. The existence of a rival character is also weird. It feels like he was just a wild character with a personality contrasting Edgeworth’s and he wasn’t linked deeply with the story at all. The last boss, too, wasn’t very “fresh.”

I wrote a lot of points that weren’t so good, but as a whole I still think it’s a strong game. I think it’s a game worthy of being in the Ace Attorney series. However, there’s a lot of involvement with the old characters, so it might be a little (?) too much for players new to the series. At the very least, I suggest you play the first game (and if possible, the second game).

Has Content that Makes it Not Just an Ace Attorney series Side Story (5 stars)

After playing the game completely, I feel that it’s like an Ace Attorney game where there wasn’t a clear line between the Court Part and the Detective Part.

The basic contents of the game are investigate and collect evidence; listen to the witnesses’ words and gather information; find the contradictions and tear it apart; just like in a Ace Attorney game. The only thing different is that the stage is not in court, but at the scene of the crime.

Another difference would be that up until now in Ace Attorney you investigated things using a cursor in the Detective Part, but now you move Edgeworth himself to investigate things (the visual screen is different, but in the end you’re doing the same thing). This time, during investigations, someone’s already following you around as a partner, so you discuss with your partner and find key points that will lead to finding the truth.

Also, in place of Phoenix-kun’s “Psycho” Logic and Apollo-kun’s Perceive System, you have Edgeworth’s special ability (laughs), Connect the Logic. There, you link together information gathered from many different places to find the truth. I felt it was simple, yet interesting.

Volume-wise, I think there’s about as much content as there are in 1 and 2. It took more time than I’d thought to clear it. As for the story, there weren’t mountain-loads of parallel story points left hanging, and I was glad that it didn’t end up being an unfinished ending.

Character-wise, just as in the previous games in the series, they were all unique characters. As always, the reaction of the witness being cornered was interesting. It was refreshing. However, close to half of the characters were from previous games, so there may be a few details new players to the series may not understand. Contrarily, a fan of the series would be glad for it.

At any rate, there shouldn’t be any problems for series fans who haven’t played it. I feel that there wasn’t much different in the charm of the game from the previous works. For newcomers, there isn’t any big problem. I suggest this game to people who like deduction games and Character Games.²

The post The Amazon Curve: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth appeared first on Siliconera.