For those of you unfamiliar with the Phoenix Wright franchise, it’s about a quirky defense attorney who solves crimes involving characters as colourful as they are culpable. Last night, I was playing Phoenix Wright: Justice For All, which led me through four distinct cases of questioning witnesses, gathering evidence, and pointing the finger at the highly suspect.
The game is unique in that it values story and character development over high-tech graphics, and is full of emotional intrigue. One of its problems, however, is that it is insanely difficult to pick up the game after a long absence due to its complex, and often confusing, storyline.
In some ways, I suppose I should be applauding the game’s realism. After all, it’s not as if a real lawyer could simply vanish from a trial, return spontaneously after an unexplained absence, and expect to deliver a convincing defence. Nevertheless, it had been months since I last touched the game, and I was certainly paying the price. I found myself looking frantically through Phoenix’s inventory for clues about the trial, desperately scrounging for details I had missed in order to win each case.
All the while, I could feel a palpable sense of guilt creeping up on me. I was like a student who hadn’t done my homework, or a surgeon who couldn’t remember the next step in a crucial operation.
Inexplicably, I was terrified.
After a few moments, I had to remind myself that the game’s offbeat defendants had no real investment in my ability to obtain an acquittal. They were fictional characters, living in a digital game, far removed from the real world of barristers, judges and hackneyed attorneys. In Phoenix Wright, the characters exist solely for the purpose of advancing the game’s storyline, and providing a little humour on the side. But it’s strange just how emotionally attached we can become to these digital avatars; with their compelling storylines, it’s easy to think of them as real people.
I abandoned this game months ago because I couldn’t beat a certain case, and I relished in the fact that I could simply flick off my gaming console when the going got tough. Once the screen went black, Phoenix’s world, and all of its inherent problems, simply disappeared.
A friend recently confided in me that her job was too tough, her coworkers too rude, the pay too low. After listening to her story, I couldn’t help but imagine what her life would be like if it had its own restart button.
In the digital world, getting a fresh start is easy, and one of the things I love most about games. They’re fast-paced and full of new experiences which are easily shaped by our own creative input. There’s no financial investment in starting over– you can just press a button, and go. And like good friends, characters in the digital world will always be around when we return. There’s no pesky address book or social media list to take care of. All of your closest confidants are right at your fingertips.
Playing Phoenix Wright last night made me reflect on some of the values which are important in my own life– friendship, hard work, loyalty and integrity, to name a few. Hitting restart when our lives fall into a slump– finding a new job, moving across the country, taking another degree–is a constant temptation in the real world. But if video games have taught me anything, it’s that dedication and perseverance through tough times almost certainly pay off in the long run.
After all, in video games, as in life, no one wants to be known as acquitter.
Hah, nice pun at the end :P.
I found myself reflecting on this too, since I have barely had time to play a video game in weeks (I think I was supposed to have my review of LEGO Batman published over two weeks ago, and I’ve only gotten to the third hero mission… Yikes). I keep thinking how nice it is that while brick-ified Gotham City is in chaos, it will take its time and wait for me to go save it… Then, promptly trash it again when I play the villain missions!
That aside though, it would be interesting to think about the real world having a reset button or a suspend button, but it’s true that hard work and perseverance always pays off. Also, like video games, real life can have surprising rewards that you may not expect to reap for your diligence :).
P.S.- I have played and beaten all five Ace Attorney games up to this point, and I think they’re amazing! I hope that Ace Attorney Investigations 2 gets localized post-haste! By the way, if you want another great DS game to play, you should track down a copy of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective if you haven’t already. It’s another puzzle/text adventure game by Phoenix Wright’s creator and lead designer that Capcom published in North America at the beginning of this year. GREAT game, especially if you love a good story!
This was my first experience with an Ace Attorney game and I loved it!! I’ve never heard of Ghost Trick, but it sounds like I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂
Oh, you’re welcome! Yeah, most people haven’t heard of it, even though it’s done by Capcom, a very well-known game developer. If you look it up online though, you’ll see that it scored very, very high with professional game reviewers, for good reason! When I was playing through it, my friends had no idea what it was, but I convinced them to buy it, since they also love Ace Attorney. They admitted that it’s one of the best DS games they’ve ever played after finishing it. Like Ace Attorney, it’s a one-play game, but very much worth it for the clever gameplay mechanics and story, not to mention that it’s one of the most visually striking DS games you’ll ever see. Shame that no one bought it. Maybe sometime you should do a blog on that; Underrated games that slip through the cracks because they’re either not marketed or too outwardly weird for the mainstream. It’s sad what some gamers miss out on because they don’t look hard enough for these hidden gems (and I find that’s especially true in the Wii library).
Sometimes I wish my life had a reset button. Great post! I still haven’t played the Ace Attorney games yet, but I’m borrowing a copy from my roommate and I intend to start it soon. Have you played the Professor Layton games? They’re great puzzle games with interesting plots and wonderful artwork. The person who’s lending me Phoenix Wright is doing so because he figures since I’m nuts for the Layton series I’ll love the Ace Attorney games, too.
I have been meaning to play the Professor Layton games for SOOOO long, but I haven’t got around to it. I really want to try them soon, though 🙂
Just wanted to say now that I’ve played a little of this game, I’m very thankful for the suspend and save option…I’d go crazy if I couldn’t save til the end of a case. Admittedly, I sometimes use the option to save as a way to try out things during the trials that I’m not sure will work. If they don’t work and I’m running out of chances I’ll power off and try again. I can see the appeal of this sort of restart, and I can definitely think of things I’d do differently given the option to press it in real life.