If the premise of Ace Attorney Investigations doesn’t thrill you, the music will.
Miles Edgeworth’s starring adventure had me concerned for the decaying crispness of Capcom’s legal not-quite-sim series; at least before my shamefully gluttonous yet entirely satisfying playthrough over the weekend.
As much as I adore the Ace Attorney games, I admit they don’t offer much leeway in converting newcomers to the franchise. The presumptuously juvenile anime aesthetics, coupled with the seemingly endless amounts of reading required, can cloud the series’ value to the uninitiated.
Certainly, Capcom’s ability to meld endearing writing and silly situations with otherwise gruesome murder scenarios is an admirable achievement in any medium. And yet Wright and Co. reside contentedly in their niche, making few attempts to engage those who are unfamiliar with the admittedly now convoluted narrative elements of the series. Playing through each Ace Attorney title released thus far first (in order) is an understandably daunting requirement.
Indeed, it’s that sense of necessitated familiarity that drives the series forward, case to case. Despite the changes in pace and space the Ace Attorney Investigations spin-off introduces, players are still investigating crime scenes and cross-examining shifty witnesses in much the whodunit tradition they always have. The difference between the menu-driven navigation of earlier titles and the direct control of Edgeworth in Investigations is, at worst, a pleasing aesthetic shift; at best, it’s a far less cumbersome way of exploring environments.
What exactly obligates myself and other like-minded fans to return for what is essentially “more of the same”? I was reminded mere minutes into my premiere Ace Attorney Investigations investigation; that, through almost a decade of serendipitously bluffing my way to victories in court, there has been a constant compelling factor, greater than any given starring attorney.
Not necessarily the edge-of-your-seat kind, although that particular reaction is definitely one of the by-products of former Ace Attorney composer Masakazu Sugimori’s re-re-re-returning musical piece of the same name.
Like the franchise’s overall grasp of charm, the soundtrack of any Ace Attorney game is as vital as the text, imbuing every scene and character with palatable cues and identity. Engaging with the eclecticly eccentric likes of Dick Gumshoe, Kay Faraday, or Shi-Long Lang in silence leaves little impression; like watching the infamous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho without Bernard Herrmann’s screeching violins, one can understand the situation, but won’t feel the emotional pull.
The aptly-titled “Suspense” is the very centrepiece of the series’ design goals, having appeared in each and every Ace Attorney game since 2001′s inceptive Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten on the Game Boy Advance. Despite the improvements in audio technology provided by the Nintendo DS, the very same “Suspense” composition nevertheless rears its ominous tones in Ace Attorney Investigations. Moreover, even though 2007′s Apollo Justice featured its own take on the track, the quasi-reboot still utilised the tried and true version of “Suspense” far more often. Clearly, this barely 36-second-long beat is as resonant as any victorious “Objection” or “Cornered” fanfare, essentially having become the driving force for players to reach those conclusions.
Indeed, as satisfying as a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict is, “Suspense” is what each and every learned Ace Attorney player looks forward to. Ace Attorney Investigations’ designer Motohide Eshiro admits as much:
“One of the most important aspects of adventure and text games for me [is] the ‘turnaround’ point.
“In the Ace Attorney series you always have these surprising twists, sometimes two or three times in one case. You just never know what to expect. That’s what keeps adventure games interesting for me.”
Ironically enough, the prime purpose of “Suspense” is to tip players off to such “surprising twists”. We’ve learned the tropes by now: we can foresee that our underdog protagonist will be saddled with a quirky sidekick, just as we can safely bet on facing off against a self-assured opponent and an oily villain at some point. Every crime has arguably become so calculable, that as well-versed Ace Attorney players we will know the murderer and their methods before even completing our initial investigations.
Or at least we think we do, until that sinister musical cue re-evaluates our hypotheses and has us rushing for the save option; that buzzing nuisance to a well-crafted defence which dashes our assumptions of an easy turnabout at the very last moment. We await that theme to announce a simultaneously unwelcome and entirely welcome element: heretofore unforeseen evidence; the beginning of a battle wits with smug opposition; a surprise life-threatening danger to our attorney avatars. The motif for criminal (and player) motives, suspense via “Suspense”.
Fans could argue that “Suspense” has run its course in court long ago; that, for both the primitive tune and the games harbouring it, it’s high time for “something new”. And yet, avoiding the obvious retort, it’s that very sense of worrying yet consoling familiarity that makes the track a unique metaphor for the Ace Attorney titles as a whole.
“More of the same” is but the brazen justification of lazy critics for hasty reviews. In a series of games that are derided for their linearity and predictability, it’s astounding that the feeling of intrigue, surprise and, indeed, suspense still manages to grip this would-be ace attorney. It’s the type of perfect harmony a von Karma could be proud of: Decisive game mechanics. A decisive player mindset. What more is needed?
[ Images courtesy of Court Records ]
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Tags: Ace Attorney, Apollo Justice, Gyakuten Saiban, Miles Edgeworth, music, Phoenix Wright, soundtrack
“Playing through each Ace Attorney title released thus far first (in order) is an understandably daunting requirement.”
Unbelievably enough, I actually DID this like a year ago… woah. It took a long time, and I didn’t play Apollo Justice, but man, was it worth it. I’ve got a lot of favorite games, but I think that Phoenix Wright is my favorite franchise.
It’s partly due to the insane number of callbacks – I’m not far into Miles Edgeworth, but already I’m seeing so many great references to past games. My favorite so far is the t-shirt that Maggey was wearing in the first case. It was that horrible mascot that Gumshoe made in (maybe the bonus case from the first Ace Attorney?) It cracked me up.
But man, that is some insular humor. Newcomers might like the game, but won’t get half of the richness of the PW world.
Anyhow, I really just wanted to say that I totally agree about the music, particularly “Suspense.” I was actually planning on recording it and writing about it myself… it’s such a great piece of game music, and deserves to be recognized for all the reasons you say.
I really like all of the music from the Ace Attorney games, but that one, as well as what I think of as the “Fey Theme” from the first game (the victorious music with the super triumphant build-up just before the repeat), are my two favorites.
Looking forward to seeing Miles through this latest adventure!
Cheers for the feedback, Kirk.
You’ve actually worded my sentiments on the insular nature of the Ace Attorney series’ storyline better than I could have. I totally agree: new players may very well jump into any of the games and enjoy themselves, but they’ll undoubtedly feel like an outsider, trying to appreciate even a fraction of the persistent world elements Capcom expands between each entry.
It’s also funny you should mention the Blue Badger, as you’ll be seeing a lot more of the creepy thing in one of Ace Attorney Investigations’ later cases … but I’ve already said too much!
It’d be great to read your own writing on “Suspense”, “Won the Lawsuit! ~ First Victory” (is that the triumphant Fey theme you’re thinking of?), or any of the other countless fantastic musical numbers of the Ace Attorney games.
Great post, and so true–the Ace Attorney games are the one series that I simply can’t stand to play muted. It’s just so much more exciting with the music. And the series is just delightful as a whole, definitely among my favorites.
Thanks for those links, Harry! I browsed the (considerable) amount of PW music on YouTube and found my favorite – what I had been thinking of as the “Fey Sisters” theme is the Turnabout Sisters’ Theme/.
I just might have to record my own instrumental version or something… I love the sparkly countermelodies, and that victorious build at 0:46. At the end of the first PW, it played all through the credits/epilogue, and I don’t think another game has made me smile for such an extended period of time.
Cheers!
Okay! I had some free time yesterday, so I went ahead and recorded my own version of Maya’s Theme. I also edited in some screenshots and fan art from the game, and it actually came together into quite the epic tribute video.
I wrote it up (with embedded video) here, and the YouTube video alone is here.
Cheers, Harry, thanks for reminding me how much I love this music.
@Alex Thanks for the stopping by, Alex. We’re big fans of The Border House around these parts. Good to see your taste in games is as great as your industry commentary.
@Kirk Wow, nice work! It’s reassuring to know that the time spent scribbling out musings on a blog can actually inspire someone else. In response: Thanks for reminding me how much I love writing.