Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All

 DS
  • Publisher: Capcom
  • Release Date: Jan 16, 2007
User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 192 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 157 out of 192
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 192
  3. Negative: 3 out of 192
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  1. theshonen8899
    May 11, 2011
    7
    Not my favorite from the series but the mere fact that you need to play the cases to understand Trials and Tribulations (one of my favorite games of all time) makes this easily worth the playthrough. If you're having a hard time getting through this one then take comfort in the fact that Trials and Tribulations will be amazing.
  2. BROstoise
    Jun 3, 2014
    7
    My least favorite in the trilogy. However, it still is a truly brilliant game. The only outstanding trial was Farewell, my Turnabout. The Lost and Turnabout Big Top were rather weak. Franziska von Karma is the only prosecutor of the 3 original games that doesn't change at the end. However, the courtroom battles are still amazing, and this game introduced the psych-locks, which added aMy least favorite in the trilogy. However, it still is a truly brilliant game. The only outstanding trial was Farewell, my Turnabout. The Lost and Turnabout Big Top were rather weak. Franziska von Karma is the only prosecutor of the 3 original games that doesn't change at the end. However, the courtroom battles are still amazing, and this game introduced the psych-locks, which added a great gameplay mechanic to the series.… Expand
  3. andrew9
    Nov 16, 2021
    8
    ace atrney .
  4. toysjoe
    Nov 30, 2010
    6
    First of all, I loved the first Phoenix Wright, however, I cannot bring myself to like this game. The first game was based entirely on logic and finding contradictions. This game prevents you doing that by way of making contradictions MUCH less obvious. When you DO find a contradiction, the game wouldn't let you succeed because it wants you to play the game ITS way. For example, oneFirst of all, I loved the first Phoenix Wright, however, I cannot bring myself to like this game. The first game was based entirely on logic and finding contradictions. This game prevents you doing that by way of making contradictions MUCH less obvious. When you DO find a contradiction, the game wouldn't let you succeed because it wants you to play the game ITS way. For example, one witness testified she heard one gunshot, but if you present the gun with the description "two shots were fired" the game fails to recognize the contradiction. This, among other failings in presenting evidence, boils this game to a trial-and-error system which is really disappointing because somehow the first game avoided this problem. I've played the first game entirely and was only stumped once or twice. On this game, I'm not halfway through the second case and am already extremely frustrated with the game. Clearly, something is wrong here.… Expand
  5. JoshM.
    Jan 20, 2007
    10
    If I could bring myself to look at it objectively, I would give this game a lower score. However, the writing is just too freaking good (though not Alexander O. Smith good), coupled with the awesome presentation, for it to get anything but a 10.
  6. LeeB.
    Jan 16, 2007
    4
    Slow pace - nothing new over the first game. Requires soem leaps of faith to solve some of the cases.
  7. pinball123
    Apr 3, 2016
    7
    aha aha aha aha aha aha aha ..............................aha aha aha aha aha aha aha ....................aha aha aha aha aha aha aha ........................aha aha aha aha aha
  8. Stefan
    Jan 29, 2007
    9
    It's a must-play. The gamplay is identical to the previous one (minus a couple of things), but the cases are much more imaginative and gripping.
  9. SergioC.
    Jan 9, 2007
    9
    Not as good as the original. I hear number three is the best.
  10. AndrewC.
    Feb 13, 2007
    8
    The only problem with this amazing game is that it's little different from the original. Also, there's no fifth case that takes full advantage of the DS capabilities, which is disappointing. Otherwise, this is some new great court action! Do it.
  11. Christopher
    Jan 18, 2007
    9
    Almost as good as the original, although I don't care for the Psych Lock feature as much.
  12. BaljotB.
    Apr 12, 2007
    8
    An excellent game, with varied cases. Break out your logic, because you're definitely going to be needing it here. The game is hard, and at times incredibly frustrating, but hell, we need some difficulty from Nintendo game. Things that definitely need to be added in future PW games- the ability to load from the game, instead of having to shut it off and turn it back on. S'more An excellent game, with varied cases. Break out your logic, because you're definitely going to be needing it here. The game is hard, and at times incredibly frustrating, but hell, we need some difficulty from Nintendo game. Things that definitely need to be added in future PW games- the ability to load from the game, instead of having to shut it off and turn it back on. S'more customization options (sound, text speed, etc) would be nice. And in ANY text adventure game, you shouldn't have to read along with the text, but be able to just double-tap and have the full text displayed. I don't care if it's not immersive, it's just a pain in the ass to have to wait for the text to finish when you're 10 seconds ahead of it. Otherwise, a great game with hilarious writing, and somehow it managed to stay immune to the usual crappy translation from Japanese to English. If you can stand the slow pace in the investigation parts outside of court, than you'll love this game.… Expand
  13. vahn
    Dec 31, 2012
    7
    Definitely not the best of the series, due to the biggest difficulty leap from the very beginning and, sometimes, the hard logic behind the clues. However, it's still a great adventure game at its finest, with still solid and remarkable characters and a good length. Only small addition is the psychic locks, which you'll literally see through the heart of people, in order to discover ifDefinitely not the best of the series, due to the biggest difficulty leap from the very beginning and, sometimes, the hard logic behind the clues. However, it's still a great adventure game at its finest, with still solid and remarkable characters and a good length. Only small addition is the psychic locks, which you'll literally see through the heart of people, in order to discover if they are or not the criminal...which can spoiler a bit, but still works great and, in the end, you'll still have to do the hard work: find out HOW the murder was done. But again, it's the difficulty that makes this game very hard for beginners (this was my first game of the series so...), but probably less harder for "veterans" of the first game. Also the game has only 4 cases, with the first one functioning as both a tutorial (which is still hard for beginners) and as a proper case. Afterall that, it's still a good game to buy and also pretty vital in order to understand the events of the sequel (and the previous too. At least a few details). Worth a buy if you're wanting to follow the series, or else you might be discouraged to even continue.… Expand
  14. hippiej
    Sep 18, 2011
    6
    A bit disappointed after basking in the brilliance of the first in the series. The biggest issue i have with the game is how it changed the way you present evidence, hiding the particular moment when you can present evidence (the only one at that) behind convoluted and frustrating, illogical hurdles... not nearly as fun as the previous entry, don't get me started with the "only one chance"A bit disappointed after basking in the brilliance of the first in the series. The biggest issue i have with the game is how it changed the way you present evidence, hiding the particular moment when you can present evidence (the only one at that) behind convoluted and frustrating, illogical hurdles... not nearly as fun as the previous entry, don't get me started with the "only one chance" moments that if you get wrong (and you will) make you go back and repeat the last hour or so of the story with NO WAY TO SKIP, NOT EVEN THE DIALOGUES, especially egregious when the characters "talk" slowly or too much, for the sake of inflating play time... Again these were things that weren't there in the first game cause it was so well written and paced. The "Psyche" Locks: *sigh*...… Expand
  15. Gwyndolin
    Mar 6, 2016
    9
    Went into this game expecting it to be worse than the original, due to the reviews...came out of it thinking it's just as good.
    Great new characters, more 'lol' humor, relatively shorter cases with less fumbling around at the investigation parts, and the final case has got to be one of the best in the series.
    Only gripe is that the difficulty is a bit more harsh than the original, so I    Went into this game expecting it to be worse than the original, due to the reviews...came out of it thinking it's just as good.
    Great new characters, more 'lol' humor, relatively shorter cases with less fumbling around at the investigation parts, and the final case has got to be one of the best in the series.

    Only gripe is that the difficulty is a bit more harsh than the original, so I had a few game overs that took quite a few minutes to get back from since the text skipping is pretty slow. Not sure if it's new or my game is bugged on 3DS but my health bar didn't even replenish during court recess...

    Don't skip this one if you liked the first and is skeptical about playing the 2nd one from reading the reviews...it's worth the time. Plus, it makes the 3rd game even more enjoyable than it is.    … Expand
  16. MrSonicFan
    May 7, 2013
    8
    The original Phoenix Wright trilogy is amazing. While Justice for all (JFA) is the weakest in the trilogy it is still a great game. The story is the weakest in the trilogy but is till really good. Characters are still memorable and funny. And JFA the second best soundtrack in the trilogy. Again like ace attorney 1 it won't appeal to people who want a game to be more gameplay based thanThe original Phoenix Wright trilogy is amazing. While Justice for all (JFA) is the weakest in the trilogy it is still a great game. The story is the weakest in the trilogy but is till really good. Characters are still memorable and funny. And JFA the second best soundtrack in the trilogy. Again like ace attorney 1 it won't appeal to people who want a game to be more gameplay based than story based. But i still recommend JFA to people who want a good story.… Expand
  17. VidyaBum
    Apr 16, 2014
    7
    AA:JFA is widely considered inferior to the other AAs because of one element, the gameplay.

    This game is without a doubt fun, memorable, still a great adventure series, still has enjoyable characters and plot elements, still is all around great. Buuut it has more plot devices that don't work than the others. It's been less polished. The number of times a plot device or clue either    AA:JFA is widely considered inferior to the other AAs because of one element, the gameplay.

    This game is without a doubt fun, memorable, still a great adventure series, still has enjoyable characters and plot elements, still is all around great.

    Buuut it has more plot devices that don't work than the others. It's been less polished. The number of times a plot device or clue either can't be used or doesn't make sense is much higher than in other AA games.

    Much worse than that already pretty bad part, Ace Attorney always had two way to make people talk: you get an item out and go all OBJECTION on your witnesses, or you press them to make them talk. Not in JFA.

    In JFA, for some ridiculous reason, they decided to go with a gamplay that requires you to constantly press before you're even allowed to object. That means that whenever a character talks, he has 5-8 textboxes. In other games, you find the one textbox where something is wrong, you get your item out and Object, or you can choose to press if you want more precisions. With each press on one textbox usually came also between 5-8 more textboxes.

    But here, many times, the majority of it actually, the original textbox doesn't indicate at all anything wrong. So instead of finding the one wrong textbox and pressing to get more info, or finding the wrong textbox and immediately taking your clue out, you HAVE to press every single last textbox of the statements! That means that you have to make every statement go from 5-8 to 25-64 textboxes, and more often around 64 than around 25! That drags every single last statement to an incredible degree and it just grows so annoying.
    It's especially annoying because this game, again, was less well constructed in its plot and less proofread than its peers, so very often you will KNOW the false statement, you will KNOW what you need to say and what item to give, but the game won't let you use that until that one magical textbox that allows you to use that item!
    You'll spend dozens of minutes going over details, pressing every textbox and checking tiny, insignificant details, when you have an obvious, glaring logical fallacy and the means to prove it right in your hands!

    It gets terribly frustrating and long to constantly press and press and press for no reason. Around the end of the game, you even have to press a guy for all its statements, and then press them all AGAIN before the one magical textbox you need appears! It gets really, really frustrating.

    The characters and story threads are pretty good but Maya starts being used as a damsel in distress in that game and I just...well call me heartless, but I just don't care much for her, she's a fun comic relief but I don't love her and I'm not even sure Phoenix does for sure.

    I liked case 3 the most( the one in a circus), because it's disconnected from the other ones. They focused on making that one case good and not interweave it with the other cases or personal stories from people Phoenix knows, and it feels more fresh, fun and better designed than other cases thanks to it.

    Despite these severe gameplay problems and minor story issues, the game is still fun and definitely worth playing if you're into adventure games.

    A somewhat poor, drawn-out AA, but still an AA in its own right, with its dosage of fun, enjoyable set pieces, characters, research, thinking, and a drama that in my eyes is a bit off, but still acceptable.    … Expand
  18. Twirkkhu
    Jun 11, 2014
    9
    Even though many say that this game is the worst in the series, it still has that great soundtrack, captivating story, and that good old satisfying "OBJECTION!" This is a must for someone who's ready to play the whole series, and in the end, a solid entry in the crime genre.
  19. Steeldude
    Apr 8, 2015
    7
    I am sad to say that after the first game, this game was quite a disappointment for me. The new prosecutor did not amuse me, the cases were not as interesting as in the first game (only the final one is good), the game is shorter overall and has only 4 cases this time and there is not case like in the first game that would actually make use of additional features of Nintendo DS.I am sad to say that after the first game, this game was quite a disappointment for me. The new prosecutor did not amuse me, the cases were not as interesting as in the first game (only the final one is good), the game is shorter overall and has only 4 cases this time and there is not case like in the first game that would actually make use of additional features of Nintendo DS.

    However, even though I find the game not as amusing as its predecessor, so as not to hate, this game actually offers some new game play elements as well, you will be able to present character profiles, Phoenix gets a magatama power that allows him to uncover hidden secrets of various people (my favorite Ace Attorney mechanic thus far) and the penalty system is refined (instead of a set number of penalties, each individual choice during the trial may have a different impact on the penalty received, meaning that more important choices are more punished if the right evidence is not chosen or a wrong decision is made).

    Don't misunderstand, this is still a great game and a must play because of the fact that it continues the story, however, as an Ace Attorney game, it is simply not that good.    … Expand
  20. Kingbode
    Feb 9, 2016
    8
    A good Ace Attorney game,at least the last case.The third and second case are absolutely boring and sometimes you have to be realy skilled to know what action you have to do.You should really play it to just taste the last case that is the best in entire series.
  21. Cosmozerk
    Jul 8, 2016
    8
    Justice for All was the game that introduced me to the Ace Attorney franchise. My story is like from many others in where you hear of this game of being an Attorney and that's all about reading and using logic and at first you don't get it, but then you actually try it and it quickly becomes one of your favorite franchises ever. For that i appreciate Justice for All a lot and i definitelyJustice for All was the game that introduced me to the Ace Attorney franchise. My story is like from many others in where you hear of this game of being an Attorney and that's all about reading and using logic and at first you don't get it, but then you actually try it and it quickly becomes one of your favorite franchises ever. For that i appreciate Justice for All a lot and i definitely love this game..., but between this one and the first...i'm a little conflicted.

    STORY: You once again control the great Phoenix Wright, who transition from being a total N00B to a bad***. In this game you still go through several cases solving a murder crime and declaring your client NOT GUILTY (but there's only 4 instead of 5 like the original, but that 5th case was added to the DS port so it doesn't really count).

    Maya Fey is once again your companion and in this game introduces 2 new major character which are: The new prosecutor Franziska Von Karma and Pearl Fey, the little cousin of Maya who is incredibly adorable by the way. I don't have much to say about Franziska other than some fans like her, but personally this is the point where the prosecutors became more annoying than menacing and Franziska for me is the pinnacle of this. Complain all you want about Edgeworth in Case 2, but for me Franziska in Case 2 was even worse. That obviously is just a nitpick, but i just wanted to put that out there, other than that Franziska is a good character.

    PRESENTATION: If you want more detail of the aesthetics then go see my review of the original, because we have...pretty much the same thing. The environments, designs, voice overs and style are still great and just as good as the original.

    Can't say the same for the music, unfortunately. The soundtrack is amazing no doubt, but some of the best tunes of the original were more upbeat and energetic than this one. The music is still great, but the original had the better soundtrack in my opinion...and by that i mean that Cornered was removed, so that's definitely a negative, however Questioned and Announce the Truth are good enough.

    GAMEPLAY: Just like the first installment the game is really about the characters and story, so gameplay isn't the main focus, nevertheless they did add some thinks so let's see them.

    Like i said the game has 4 case which each one getting harder and harder. To win a case you have to get a NOT GUILTY verdict and you do that by presenting evidence and destroying testimonies from witnesses.

    There's 2 parts: One is the exploration part. Here you have to examine your surroundings to get evidence and clues, talk with people to get information and even more evidence, plus you can show them stuff to see how their react to them and sometimes that opens new things to talk about. However! this time they added a new thing called the magatama, which let's you see if someone has a secret or is lying to you. Why Phoenix doesn't use this in the courtrooms to make things easier i'm not sure, but hey it's videogame logic cut it some slack. Anyway the secrets are represented with locks that you have to destroy by using the right evidence, the more locks the more harder is to unveil the secrets. I believe the added this to make the exploration and the courtroom a little bit alike and while it works well, i never had any issues with the first one in that regard, but the magatama was a good addition nonetheless.

    But nah, we all know that the second part which is the courtroom is once again the best part of the game. You once again have to take decisions, present evidence and find a contradiction on the witness testimony and it's just as satisfying as before. There are some changes however in the court record since now you can present profiles to accuse someone instead of the game giving you a picture of them like in the original, making things a little bit less predictable. They also changed the penalty system, what once was exclamation marks is now a green bar and while it doesn't sound like much, this means that the game can regulate its level of punishment for messing up, depending on how important the decision is, some of them will only deploy a tiny bit, while others can drain the bar 100% if you mess up, which is always intense...even though i end up resetting the game anyway. Actually that is always the correct strategy for this games just save before doing anything and then reset if you mess up, it may sound like cheating, but in some instances this is pretty much required.

    Sometimes people say that Justice for all is the weakest of the original trilogy, but in my opinion is just as good as the original. Everything that made the first one returns, plus some new mechanics that help the pacing a little bit more. I do prefer some of the first game cases, but the ones in here are at worst: good.

    i'll give it an 8/10.    … Expand
  22. SrPepe
    Mar 26, 2020
    8
    La calidad del uno se mantiene, y el desarrollo de personaje es muy bueno. No llega al uno, pero sigue siendo muy bueno.
  23. Diegochocho
    Jul 3, 2018
    9
    Increíble que la historia que nos narra supera al anterior, es mucho mas dramática e intrigante de lo que va a pasar, y arreglaron la parte tediosa de la investigación, poniéndole un minijuegos que lo hace mas atractivo.
  24. ashketchum
    Apr 8, 2018
    8
    Justice for All isn't as consistent in writing as it's predecessor, but it is a game that has more high points and low points than it's predecessor. Some of the cases such as the second one and last one are some of the best of the series, but the others are weak in comparison. Gameplay is the same as the first, with the addition of Psych-locks, which is a good thing, as the formula works.Justice for All isn't as consistent in writing as it's predecessor, but it is a game that has more high points and low points than it's predecessor. Some of the cases such as the second one and last one are some of the best of the series, but the others are weak in comparison. Gameplay is the same as the first, with the addition of Psych-locks, which is a good thing, as the formula works. Where Ace Attorney really shines is in it's script, and Justice for All has a lot of witty humor and interesting characters to keep you intrigued through the majority of the game. Ultimately, it is still a great game worth playing.… Expand
  25. Filbertian
    Jul 18, 2017
    10
    Best game in the franchise, lets hope you like clowns enough to get to the last case. I would say more but I wouldn't want to ruin the game now would I?
  26. aditya1101
    Sep 4, 2018
    6
    This is my least favorite ace attorney game. It still gets 6/10 because the fundamentals of the game are still there and are still good, but this has one of my least favorite cases (circus) and not many good cases to make up for it. This is a C tier ace attorney game.
  27. sebastianali
    Jan 4, 2020
    7
    No aprovecha las capacidades de la DS, ademas de carecer de contenido y ser el mas corto de la trilogía. Pero eso no es algo malo del todo! La historia sigue estando muy bien, al igual que los personajes presentados y la música! No te saltes al siguiente juego solo por la nota. Lo recomiendo si fuiste fan del anterior.
  28. Luahanseng
    Aug 15, 2021
    8
    Game Completed on Nintendo 2DS
    Date Completed : August 16, 2021
    Playing Hours : 10-15 hrs I fairly enjoy the game because i finished the part one particularly seeing the characters return its like you are catching up with old friends when you see them again. Most of the cases are average and inferior of part 1. The twist in the last part though is really the saving grace of my score    Game Completed on Nintendo 2DS
    Date Completed : August 16, 2021
    Playing Hours : 10-15 hrs

    I fairly enjoy the game because i finished the part one particularly seeing the characters return its like you are catching up with old friends when you see them again. Most of the cases are average and inferior of part 1. The twist in the last part though is really the saving grace of my score for this game. Overall, it has descent writing, in the last part of the game, they manage to provide unique twist which makes this a good game.    … Expand
  29. Jacklg
    May 19, 2020
    7
    Interesting and fun, but retains the flaws on the original, except somehow they seem amplified. Still enjoyable, but could be massively improved
  30. lessacebola
    Apr 27, 2021
    9
    A ideia do jogo é muito boa, várias histórias dentro dele são muito bem escritas. Gostei bastante.
  31. dorohedorofan90
    Apr 3, 2022
    8
    El más flojillo de la trilogía principal de Phoenix Wright. Eso sí, el último caso es bastante top.
  32. eefeef
    Aug 31, 2023
    6
    Phoenix Wright 2 is definitely inferior to the first in every way. It does its job as a bridge between the series, but as a game, the quality of the episodes is disappointing.
  33. Jofe
    May 16, 2022
    7
    Turnabout Circus is horrible. Turnabout Circus is awful. Turnabout Circus is an error. But the final case is a masterpiece.
  34. MacArron23
    May 15, 2023
    7
    Same as original, it gets a little repetitive
    ..................................
  35. GDChrome
    Dec 31, 2022
    8
    About the same quality as the first game, but a smidge higher. I think people give this game too much crap. it introduces Pearl, Morgan, AND Adrian Andrews. the writing in this game is somehow more charming than the first, the final case is LEGENDARY, and the 2nd is also solid. case 3 is bad, but nothing about it is offensive bad to me, it's better than people make it out to be. of course,About the same quality as the first game, but a smidge higher. I think people give this game too much crap. it introduces Pearl, Morgan, AND Adrian Andrews. the writing in this game is somehow more charming than the first, the final case is LEGENDARY, and the 2nd is also solid. case 3 is bad, but nothing about it is offensive bad to me, it's better than people make it out to be. of course, who can forget the Magatama, one of the coolest introductions in the series. solid game.… Expand
  36. hekoh
    Feb 2, 2023
    8
    arguably the worst game on the original trilogy. Chapters 1 through 3 are pretty mid towards bad, but chapter 4 is one, if not the best case on the entire saga. Good game over all
  37. rafaela27
    Feb 2, 2023
    7
    The “meh” game to the ace attorney franchise, if it wasn’t for Miss Von Karma and the last case it would be a waste of time.
  38. NZXD
    Jul 11, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. People like to say its the weakest of the trilogy but I think this game its just unique. The ost, the cases, the characters.. It just feels so unique. The problem I see is this game has only 2 good case: The 2nd one and the 4th while in the first all of them are good and in the 3rd game 3 of the 5 cases it has are good.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Best DS Game of 2007
7
#7 Most Discussed DS Game of 2007
78
#78 Most Shared DS Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 51 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 51
  3. Negative: 0 out of 51
  1. GameDaily
    80
    The few tweaks to the mechanics provide a better experience, complete with the tricky puzzles and amusing dialog that make the original so notable. [JPN Import]
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  2. GameBrink
    90
    More of the same courtroom drama so fans shouldn’t be disappointed. [JPN Import]
    Read full review
  3. Eurogamer
    80
    This is the most joyfully daft fun imaginable, bursting with in-jokes and hilarious set-pieces. [JPN Import]
    Read full review
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