The Ace Attorney Investigations Collection closes a loop that has long been open. The first Investigations game, a spin-off of the popular lawyer-based, detective-style adventure games starring Phoenix Wright, was released in 2009 (or 2010 in English). Despite following fan-favorite prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, it did not sell well, particularly in the West. And so, although Capcom did release a second To research game, it was never localized. After the Great Ace Attorney games were eventually adapted for release outside of Japan in 2021, Research 2 remained on hold as the only game in the series not to receive an official worldwide release.
That makes sense. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworththe first of two games in the collection, is, by all accounts, basically fine. It’s fun to get a glimpse into Edgeworth’s mind after three games with him as a rival and side character. Wandering around crime scenes and rebutting arguments in a new way is a fun twist on the standard Ace Lawyer formula.
But it’s understandable that it didn’t resonate as well as the main trilogy. The pacing – particularly in an infamous argument near the end of the game – is off. Some plot points are convoluted, and the timeline can be hard to follow. And above all, it lacks the personal stakes that characterize the best parts of the series as a whole, and what made Edgeworth a fan-favorite character in the first place.
And yet the sequel, Ace Attorney Investigations: The Prosecutor’s Gambleis an amazingly good video game.
I should have known this already. I played the fan localization not long after it came out and I replayed it less than two years ago. But playing this new version still surprised me somehow. Maybe I was influenced by Capcom’s decision not to release it, assuming there must be a good reason, despite my own enjoyment. Maybe playing the much less consistent Apollo Justice trilogy threw me off. Maybe the terrible ending of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles made me inherently suspicious of late-coming localizations. Whatever the reason, I was completely surprised.
While I’ve always enjoyed it, now that I’ve played it all the way through over the last few days, I think Prosecutor’s Gambit is perhaps the best game in the series, aside from the main trilogy.
It’s still best to play both, even if the changes made to the collection don’t really address the issues. Mile Edgeworth. The new chibi character portraits are adorable; they’ve grown on me much more in gameplay than they did in the promotional materials. (Edgeworth, as muscular as he is, actually has the worst chibi design of them all, looking like he could keel over at any moment. Also, in terms of text, he’s a furrowed brow, a horse of a man with sunken eyes, and he’s not supposed to look cute, a problem the franchise has struggled with since the original Trilogy (The remake has smoothed out all the rough edges.)
There are also some quality-of-life changes. Story Mode, which lets you see the game without having to do any of the puzzles, is a nice addition to the series that has been slowly implemented in each re-release, preventing the frustration of getting stuck (something that definitely happens a few times per game). And there are new gallery items and music, which are cool.
But Prosecutor’s Gambit steals the show. None of the problems from the first game in the collection apply here. Prosecutor’s Gambit is well paced and straightforward, and has all the character drive that Research 1 It is, in fact, a much more direct sequel to Edgeworth’s story in the original Ace Attorney trilogy than Mile Edgeworthregardless of what the name or the order of their release suggests.
It may also be the most thematically consistent Ace Attorney game, even if you count the original trilogy, which is by far the best-written game in the series ever. Prosecutor’s Gambit uses the plot point about Edgeworth’s father’s death that was introduced in the original Ace Lawyer to create a game that is all about parenting, mentoring, and determining the path you want to take through the world. And it does so with a coherence that you won’t find anywhere else in the series, with nearly every plot point woven into the same thread.
The official localization is also very good. It’s jarring to see characters get new names (Sebastian DeBeste, I’ll never forget you), but when you compare the two directly, it’s clear that the professional translation is better. Lines are less literal and sound more natural. Some characters also have more distinctive gimmicks, such as Eddie Fender’s lines that use his “quote unquote” animation that went unnoticed in the fan localization. There are one or two things I find worse about this version than the fan-made version, but with so many little decisions to pick from, that was always going to be the case.
The existence of an easily accessible, professionally located Research 2 really completes the series. People can finally see Miles Edgeworth in his full glory, including the new mechanic that came in 2: Think of Chess. It’s perfect for him! It’s goofy as hell! It’s a lot of trial and error! It’s so, so Ace Attorney in every way good and bad!
I’m so glad this series is officially complete. And I’m glad Prosecutor’s Gambit is really very good. And if Mile Edgeworth not quite up to the same standard, well, that’s part of it.
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection will be released on September 6 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One. The game was reviewed on PC using a pre-release download code provided by Capcom. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.