I totally missed the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney games when they were released on the Nintendo DS, so I was super stoked when I saw that it was available on iOS. The cost for the whole package was around $15, which is more than I like to pay for apps, but plunked down for this one since I had heard good things about it.
This port does not disappoint. The UI is redone to give full screen attention to the action while still having everything you need to interact. If you are feeling nostalgic, turning the iPad to portrait shows a "classic" view, with the story on a top screen and the interactive buttons on the bottom.
For those that are unfamiliar, the Phoenix Wrigth games are a crime and courtroom simulation type game. The rules of evidence, investigation, and court proceedings don't exactly mimic reality, but make logical sense and are easy to grasp. I enjoy legal thrillers, like books by John Grisham, so the back and forth of courtroom drama appeals to me.
Phoenix is a defense attorney that specializes in defending murder suspects. Handling murder after murder did get a bit repeitive for me, but the storylines and characters and situations are different enough to keep it interesting. A colorful cast of characters joins Phoenix- some allies, some prosecutors, and some pretty good recurring villains. The game is episodic, but also has a nice continuity which rewards you for playing previous cases with recurring jokes or other references.
The entire game consists of 3 parts- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice for All, and Trials and Tribulations. Each section has several cases that took me an average of several hours per case. They could have been completed much quicker, but I enjoyed going through every possible conversation and I even chose the "wrong" path a few times, just to see what would happen.
This is a great game for people that like logic puzzles and text boxes. If you get bored if there isn't an explosion every few seconds, this probably isn't the genre for you.