After five years of off-again, on-again playing, I have finally finished Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Phew!
I bought the game back in 2010 as I recall, about a year after its release. Playing through the previous game, Ace Attorney 4 (Apollo Justice), had been grueling. That game just didn't want to end, every nit got picked each time it was introduced, and other than Trucy Wright, I didn't find any of the new characters to be that likeable, especially the annoying, monkey-faced lead character, Apollo Justice. After that game, it took me awhile to be willing to pick up another Ace Attorney game, especially as I just wanted Phoenix Wright to be back in the lead again, not some second fiddle replacement. And wouldn't you know it, that's when we got Miles Edgeworth.
Now Ace Attorney Investigations is not a bad game. I actually find it to be superior to Ace Attorney 4 in every way. Sure, sometimes it overloads on the cameos of the reoccurring characters, but it also returned button controls to the series (Thank God!) and introduced third-person perspectives and main-character-on-screen sprites to the game during the investigational phases of things. And new character Kay Faraday is great. But Miles Edgeworth is a milksop. He's just so understated. And when he gets flummoxed, he makes the weirdest reactionary sounds. Sure, he makes for a great rival for Phoenix Wright, but he doesn't make for a strong lead character.
However these things are mere trifles compared to my biggest qualm with AAI. IT JUST NEVER WANTED TO END. That last case was especially grueling. It seemed to be 2x-3x as long as any other case. I mean, for crying out loud, the investigation on that one lasted until after 3:33 A.M. in the game's story itself! That's why I would end up playing the game for one day to a few days, then take a break for a few weeks to a few months before playing it again. This kept happening over and over again which is why it took years to finish the game.
But I'm glad the game is now complete. I have witnessed the game's whole story, and now this "book" can be put to rest. And as Cheapcom refused to release AAI2 here in the West, I guess that's it for "Investigations." (Although if you are interested in continuing the Investigations series, AAI2 did get a full translation job released as a software patch by a fan translation group. Just look for Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth: Prosecutor's Path)
However I must be a glutton for punishment by this series, as despite my *ahem* objections, I'm already *ahem* sustaining thoughts about continuing onto the next entry in the series, AA5 (Dual Destinies). After all, Phoenix Wright is back in the lead (some of the time), and AA5 has improved the controls and UI further, and the multimedia upgrades including the 3D visuals are pretty impressive, and I have already completed the first case in AA5...
...I guess I'll be back in a few more years to tell you what I thought of Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies!