Okay, this game is pretty fun, just got it yesterday and I've been playing it a whole damn lot. But there's one thing that really fucking annoys me, and it's something that I've always hated in games, especially adventure games.
Okay, I can deal with the fact that everybody in Ace Japamerica is some kind of compulsive perjurer, that's pretty much the whole premise of the game: Occam's Razor is a ridiculous concept and each murder case must have more false identities, red herrings, and hidden scandals than an episode of Law & Order. Well, normal Law & Order anyway, even the most ridiculous AA case isn't up to SVU's level ("The altar boy was the one who molested the priest, who was actually the mother of his own father.") That's not the problem.
The problem is, the main character is a dumbass who doesn't give a shit about your thoughts, opinions, or logic. It's frustrating when you spend half an hour flawlessly making direct logical connections and presenting those... BUT SUDDENLY!
-- WITNESS TESTIMONY: "IT'S A SECRET" -- 1. I can only tell you this much.
2. I started doing the thing, but I can't tell you why.
3. I was doing the thing when I witnessed the crime, but it's a secret.
4. I stopped doing the thing and ran away, it's secret why I was there.
5. My reason for all that is a secret, by the way. But that's all I know.
"Okay... I have Evidence here which shows exactly WHY it was a secret. It's worked on multiple occasions before.
"Right. I'll just select the last statement about 'the reason' and... PRESENT EVIDENcwhy isn't the penalty bar disappearing."
Apollo: DERP YOUR HONWHORE THAT STORTEMANT ARE IN TOTAL CONTRADORCTIONS TO DIS EVADINCSE
Crushed: wait what i wasn't trying to point out a contradiction what the shit are you doing apollo
Judge: Lol not it isn't contradictory, idiot.
Crushed: jesus god why did you do that
Apollo: WELL GORSH I GUESS I SHORE IS DUMB HUH, I JUST CAN'T DO THAT THINKIN, SHUCKS SORRY
Judge: Yep you am dumb, this is calling the player dumb, you Crushed, this game is calling you dumb by extension of your in-game avatar, despite the fact that he makes his own conclusions and you have no control over his stupid.
"Shit. That didn't work out. I guess I have to present it during the statement when Witness said... they started doing the Action? Going by Evidence, and the circumstances of the Action, that makes the most sense to point out the reason. I guess.
"Whatever, this time it'll work. PRESENT... oh what in hell why"
Apollo: YOR HONOR, TAKE A LOOKY AT THIS EVYDENSE HERE
Crushed: Oh. I guess it did work. So why is the penalty bar still-
Judge: ...and?
Crushed: please tell me that the judge is being stupid judge and not actually noticing something "wrong"
Apollo: "AND" WUT?!?!?
Judge: What about this evidence is relevant to the statement?
Crushed: Holy mother of fuck there is no fucking way, the judge IS just being stupid, that evidence is like a goddamn DNA confession video of the witness's reason, with signed affidavits for its opening and closing credits. It is 100% related, in every way. It is directly related. Please Apollo, tell me you're just acting like a troll and playing dumb because you want to be like Socrates.Apollo: ...the relevance is obvious!
Crushed: praise the lord the boy can think hallelu
Apollo: ...LOL I SURPOSSE IT AIN'T RELTATED AT ALL, DERP APOLLO-CRUSHED AM SO DUMB FOR NOT BEING AS SMART AS YOU, SMART VIDEOGAME MAKERS
Crushed: don't speak for me you son of a bitch i hate you so fucking much right now why the fuck don't you just point out the obvious relevance there oh my god people in japamerica have the shittiest concept of "relevance" ever
Judge: That's right, you are stupid, you stupid moron. Whoops out of penalties! Despite proving that the prosecution is totally flawed, I presume that the case is closed. I will now ruin a life on the basis of highly contested evidence and vital unanswered questions.
So yeah. I hate that I have to choose the exact right moment, even when multiple moments are all legitimate and logical starting points for an argument based on evidence. Of course, dumbass Apollo doesn't give a damn that it IS relevant, because it's not "the right statement" to be presenting in response to... so he bends over and accepts that, just because the game makers want him (and by extension, me) to feel stupid for not picking their careful path. It's something I'm always pissed off about in adventure games, or even a lot of other games where you have a speaking protagonist. I try to do something, an NPC objects to my actions and presents a faulty reason, and the protagonist just accepts it despite there being obvious viable alternatives.
If each object or argument in Ace Attorney had... I dunno, "tags" or something, relating to their various attributes and relevance to the crime, it would do so much more. The game would be more challenging (blindly picking becomes a bit harder when the choices are multiplied several times, and sometimes vauge hunches wouldn't cut it), while being more logical. You could more specifically choose the point that you're trying to make, instead of just giving your Attorney a valid thread of logic and watching them strangle themselves with it.
Still, it's otherwise a really fun game.
