Friday, April 3, 2009

This Week's Arrival - Gyakuten Kenji DS - 5/29/09

Our Price: $59.99
Release Date: 05/28/2009
UPC: 4976219029131
Genre: Action
Company: Capcom
Version: Japan
-from wikipedia-
Gyakuten Kenji is an adventure video game to be released for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console by Capcom in Japan. It is a spin-off of the Ace Attorney video game series. The game began development under the name "NEW Gyakuten NOT Saiban", reflecting that while it would involve similar characters, the gameplay would be different from the other games in the Ace Attorney series, or maybe just that the game's title would include "Gyakuten", but "Kenji" instead of "Saiban". In late March 2009, Capcom registered a United States trademark for Ace Attorney Investigations. This is thought to be the game's English name.
  • Capcom has confirmed the starring characters to be Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe. The game is said, according to Capcom, to take place near the time of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations, and will contain other characters from the series. A new female character also appears in the trailer, whose name was recently revealed to be Mikumo Ichijō. The gameplay revealed in the video shows that the game is similar to "point and click" adventure games, requiring the player to direct Edgeworth around crime scenes to collect evidence. The developers have stated that they have taken care to capture the animations correctly, for example making sure that Edgeworth's running animations were "graceful, while exerting effort".
  • Unlike the previous Gyakuten Saiban/Ace Attorney games, this game will not be directed by Shu Takumi, but instead by Tsuyoshi Yamazaki. As of mid-April 2008, Capcom announced the game was approximately 40% complete.
  • Full details of Gyakuten Kenji's gameplay are not yet known. Unlike the previous games in the series which are visual novels with adventure game elements, this game is closer to a standard "point and click" adventure, with the player controlling Edgeworth's movements and what he interacts with. For each case, the goal is to collect evidence to determine who the perpetrator is, how the crime was committed and their motive.
  • During the investigation, for movement, players can either touch a small image representing the place on the touch screen, or use the D-Pad. When the player collides with an examinable object or an NPC, they can either touch a "Talk"/"Check" button or press the "A" button. Touching the "Partner Button" or pressing the "Y" button will take to an interface similar to the "Talk" interface in the Gyakuten Saiban series, where they can talk with Edgeworth's actual partner. Touching the "Logic" button or pressing the "L" button will lead the player to the "Logic Mode" interface. And touching the "Investigation Log" button or pressing the "R" button will lead to the "Investigation Log" tab, where evidence and profiles are filed, replacing the well-known "Court Record" from the Gyakuten Saiban series.
  • From what is known, cases is divided in three parts, or phases:
  • -Investigation Phase: Consists in collecting evidence from the crime scene and examining it, also examining the crime scene itself. Evidence is filed, as always, in the Court Record, and information on the crime scene is then examined in the second phase, Logic Phase.
  • -Logic Mode: This mode consists in examining and linking of the important or curious clues found in the crime scene in the form of a visual equation, in order to answer questions that appeared during Investigation Phase. For example, the player may be asked to determine why a crime was committed in a particular room, and will point to clues about the nature of the room and the crime scene to establish this fact. If the player tries to incorrectly link two unrelated factors, he/she takes damage from a life bar (similar to the one in the Gyakuten Saiban series). If this bar reaches zero, it's game over. The information retrieved in this mode is then discussed with certain characters in the Confrontation Phase.
  • -Confrontation Phase: Similar to the Cross-Examination part in the Gyakuten Saiban series, this phase consists in discussing the results of both Investigation and Logic phases with key characters to the plot's development. This "confrontations" may lead to new information being revealed, or even a confession from the murderer.[16] As Confrontation is the Gyakuten Kenji equivalent to Cross-Examinations, it's equivalent for Witness' Testimony, as shown in the game's demo version, is the confrontated character's Deduction.
  • On January 27, 2009, a Famitsu scan revealed a new gameplay system: the Crime Scene Reproduction Gadget. This new system consists of reproducing an image of the crime scene with a handheld device of Mikumo's, basing it on current information. When new information is input, or the actual information is proven wrong with evidence, the output projection is altered to reflect the new facts. It is yet unknown when the player will be able to use this feature.
  • It's unknown what the general plot of the game is, but, according to scans, there are at least 4 crime scenes (Edgeworth's Office, an airplane's elevator, a "Mirror House"-like building and a back alley close to the Wright and Co. Law Offices), and two suspicious-looking locations, a water park and a music concert venue.
  • To date, two episodes have been revealed:
  • -Episode 1: Turnabout Visitor. Shinji Nakamato's corpse appears in Edgeworth's office, and he decides to investigate it. Prosecutor Makoto Yūki appears, and accuses Gumshoe of murdering Shinji Nakamado. Maggey Byrde will make an appearance. According to scans, one of Episode 1's Confrontations will have Yūki as the target.
  • -Episode 2: Turnabout Airline. In the middle of a flight, Edgeworth and flight attendant Ichiru Konomichi discover a dead body in the plane's elevator, and Edgeworth is treated as the culprit. Zinc White, Franziska von Karma and Mikumo Ichijō appear for the first time in this episode, along with Konomichi.

No comments: