Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Gameplay

Gameplay

Players take on the role of Phoenix Wright, who acts as a defense attorney. There are two segments: trial and investigation. During trial, players must do a variety of court tasks, including cross examining witnesses, presenting evidence, and objecting to contradictory statements or evidence presented by the prosecution. Players are given five exclamation points representing their health, which is depleted when the Judge punishes them for making a severe enough mistake.

In the first episode, players do not leave the courtroom; later episodes have the Judge put the trial on recess if something is brought up that the Judge feels the trial must be delayed so that the attorneys may look into it. On these days, players control Phoenix in the first person and investigate related areas. There are four options - Talk, which allows players to speak to anyone present; Present, which allows players to present evidence to anyone present; Examine, which allows players to search an area; and Move, which allows players to leave the area.

The new (fifth) episode, introduced for the Nintendo DS version, introduces new gameplay mechanics for the investigative portion of the game that take advantage of the DS' features. These include the luminol spray, a spray that allows people to see blood that would normally be undetectable to the naked eye and aluminum powder, which may be used to dust for fingerprints. Both use the touchscreen, while the latter uses the microphone as well. Players may also view evidence in three dimensions during this episode, which allows them to see things they would be unable to detect in two dimensions. The Nintendo DS version also introduces the ability to play the game entirely with the touch screen, the ability to view evidence and profiles on the bottom screen, and using the microphone to say various phrases in it.