Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit
Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth returns in a new investigation adventure.
It is the sixth entry in the Ace Attorney series and the sequel to Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. The game follows prosecutor Miles Edgeworth as he investigates five cases, facing off against judge Verity Gavèlle as part of a "prosecutor purge."
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Capcom
- Director
- Takeshi Yamazaki
- Producer
- Motohide Eshiro
- Designer
- Takanori Amano, Natsuki Ikawa
- Artist
- Tatsuro Iwamoto
- Writer
- Takeshi Yamazaki
- Yuki Nakamura
- Teruhiro Shimogawa
- Composer
- Noriyuki Iwadare
- Series
- Ace Attorney
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Prosecutor's Gambit is an adventure game where the player controls prosecutor Miles Edgeworth across five cases; in one case, the player also controls Edgeworth's father Gregory. The gameplay is largely the same as in Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, divided into investigations and rebuttals. During investigations, the player directly controls Edgeworth, searching crime scenes for evidence and speaking with witnesses. Observed information is saved as Edgeworth's thoughts; combining these can reveal hidden information. The player can use the "Little Thief" device to generate hologram crime scene reproductions, walking through them to find inconsistencies with evidence and update the recreation. Sometimes the player switches between recreations of the crime scene at two different times. A new mechanic, "Mind Chess," is used when a character refuses to testify. The player interrogates them, visualized as a chess game where they aim to destroy the opponent's pieces by building advantage through alternating speaking and listening, then going on the offensive. Mind Chess sections are timed, with the player taking damage for wrong choices; opponents grow more difficult throughout the game. After gathering enough evidence, the player confronts characters and reads their testimonies, pressing for more information and presenting evidence to point out contradictions.
Synopsis
A week after the events of Ace Attorney Investigations, the story resumes with Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, and Kay Faraday. Familiar faces like Franziska von Karma, her father Manfred, Interpol agent Shi-Long Lang, detective Tyrell Badd, forensics student Ema Skye, and Gregory Edgeworth—playable in a flashback—also appear. Newcomers include judge Verity Gavèlle, who monitors prosecutors for the Committee for Prosecutorial Excellence and becomes Edgeworth’s rival; defense attorney Eddie Fender, a former student of Gregory; and prodigy prosecutor Eustace Winner. The plot begins when Zheng Fa’s president Di-Jun Wang survives an assassination attempt, but his head bodyguard Bastian Rook is killed. Edgeworth uncovers that the president staged the attempt to regain popularity, and that Bronco Knight murdered Rook to take his position. Knight is arrested but later found dead in prison. Suspicion falls on Simeon Saint, but Gavèlle assigns Winner to the case instead of Edgeworth. Teaming up with Fender, Edgeworth investigates inmates like assassin Bodhidharma Kanis, eventually learning that warden Fifi Laguarde killed Knight, believing he worked for Kanis. Saint is released, but Gavèlle warns Edgeworth that pursuing cases not assigned to him could cost him his badge.
Development and release
Prosecutor's Gambit was produced by Motohide Eshiro, directed by Takeshi Yamazaki, with character designs by Tatsuro Iwamoto and music by Noriyuki Iwadare. Takuro Fuse handled event images and episode opening and ending sequences. Development was faster than the original Ace Attorney Investigations because the earlier game provided a base, allowing more focus on the story. Major changes included the addition of an interrogation mechanic presented as a chess game, reflecting Edgeworth's favorite game, and graphical improvements to sprites and background art. In summer 2010, the development team spent five days and four nights at Capcom Manor, inspired by filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's method of gathering scriptwriters in a hotel. There they finalized the plot, new gameplay system, and created rough sketches for most characters. Eustace Winner was Eshiro's favorite minor character due to his arc and growth. The game was developed for the series' tenth anniversary, prompting cameo appearances from previous characters such as Frank Sahwit and Will Powers.
Reception
Media Create theorized the decrease was due to fewer TV commercials and lower consumer recognition, noting that marketing targeting women increased interest among women but decreased interest among men and overall. Famitsu reviewers praised the story, calling the "turnabouts" exciting, and liked the urgency of Mind Chess and the sound effects. AsbelGrants at Jeuxvideo.com called it the best series entry, highlighting the plot and characters as keeping the player in suspense, and found the first episode surprisingly strong as a long, exciting case compared to typical tutorial episodes. They noted the gameplay was mostly unchanged but considered it the best investigation type in the series, and enjoyed the Mind Chess implementation and memorable music. In 2012, GamesRadar ranked it 7th on a list of seven games needing western localization. Rebecca Rudeen at NF Magazine called the lack of localization unfortunate, saying the game was crucial to Edgeworth's story. Tim Sheehy at Destructoid, based on a Tokyo Game Show demo, called the game promising and wanting more, though he wished the trailer's voice acting were in the game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit?
Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit was designed by Takanori Amano and Natsuki Ikawa.
Is Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit single-player or multiplayer?
Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit offers single-player play.
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