Ace Attorney Investigations Collection - Switch Review

Nathan Rudge -

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is the latest remake release of Ace Attorney franchise and the first western release of Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit. Stepping away from Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice, we follow Miles Edgeworth as he gets caught in a mess of cases tied into a smuggling ring and we're doing the investigation out in the field instead of in the courtroom like the rest of the franchise. There will be plenty of reading in this visual novel experience as you use logic, deductions and the occasional OBJECTION!! to get to the bottom of the murders and uncover the truth to everything. As a visual novel though, there is a significant amount of reading to cover with no voice acting, so you have to be ready for that.

The Good

Without going into too much detail for spoiler reasons, the Miles Edgeworth stories are just an incredible addition to the Ace Attorney series by giving screen time to one of the most popular characters in the franchise. Set two years after the original trilogy, you’ll find a plethora of references to the original trilogy through subtle details and cameos in the background to old characters being actual witnesses in the current investigation. Helping Miles along the way are his trusty detective companion Dick Gumshoe and Kay Faraday, a great thief who saves Miles from a situation.

The Ace Attorney series is known for giving characters names that are over the top puns, like the aforementioned Detective Dick Gumshoe, a name that is basically detective detective detective. You’ll also come across some of the most ridiculous reactions when people are caught out in a lie, leading up to a complete meltdown when the truth is finally found out. I can’t help but have a smile on my face every time I see some of these moments and names, with a genuine out loud laugh to a character just straight up called Deid Mann who was a victim in a murder incident.

The added extras include a cutscene gallery, concept art, and character gallery, and the added achievements to unlock said art provide a level of replayability through the story. However, the quality of life improvement of being able to choose specific parts of the episode to play will speed up the process. There’s even a new story mode option that’ll autoplay the story for you, so if you struggle with the deduction process of the game, the option is there. In addition to this, though, you have the original character designer coming back to bring you updated 3D models as well as the pixel art work where you can switch between the two stylistic options.

TL;DR

  • Compelling story
  • Hilarious moments
  • Quality of life improvements

The Bad

The most frustrating thing to deal with in the Ace Attorney series is present in the investigations collection, which is you have to follow the game's logic. Like you can work out what a certain piece of evidence is used for before it's relevant in the story and if you present it on what you've worked out but something else has to be discovered first, it can feel punishing for using your logic. It's not a huge issue though, just a bit annoying when you think you've worked it out to be told no in the moment, only to later on realise you were right—just too fast for the game.

TL;DR

  • Having to do things in order

Final Score: 9/10

The Ace Attorney Investigations Collection is an instant recommendation for Ace Attorney fans and a strong recommendation for visual novel fans. Finally having an official translation of Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit is the equivalent of Mother 3 for us Ace Attorney fans and having access to the additional content with the art, cutscene player, and the ability to switch between updated 3D models from the original character designer and the original pixel art makes this release just perfect for fans. If you’ve never played an Ace Attorney game, you’re missing out, and with Ace Attorney Investigations Collection completing the remaster of the franchise, you have no excuse to not give it a try.

Thank you for checking out our Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Switch review, thank you to Capcom (via Five Star Games PR) for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support: