simpleek

Summer is nearly over and so is most of the year already. I’ve played four games in total and managed to successfully complete three out of the four I’ve played. It may not seem like much, but I feel like my backlog is getting just a little lighter with each game I choose for my challenges. Even when the end of the year suddenly sneaks up on us when we aren’t looking, there will always be games to be played. This month’s challenge will take me to a different device and a game that’s more character and story driven like last month’s challenge.

This time I dust off my old Nintendo DS Lite to dive back into the world of everyone’s famous and most popular ace attorney Phoenix Wright. August is the month for Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, and the selection of this game comes at just the right time.

With the release of Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton due to come out at the end of this month for the Nintendo 3DS, I’ve been wanting to finish the rest of the games from the Ace Attorney series for a long time now. Phoenix Wright is one of those games I’d categorize in the same camp as Final Fantasy IV––loved the games immensely, but just never got around to finishing them. Sometimes I wonder why I have such a bad habit of playing games I really love, only to not finish them when I’m very close to being done. Good thing I’m doing these challenges now to help remedy that immediately.

What drew me to the Phoenix Wright series when I first got my Nintendo DS Lite a few years ago was its anime style look, really compelling cases, characters who are not only funny but have a lot of heart to make players care about them, and it’s a game that makes you think and use basic deductive reasoning based on the evidence, clues, and testimonies presented to you. It’s also the type of game that won’t mentally stress you out, like fighting against a mega-boss in other games might.

The lesson I’m learning pretty quickly when it comes to games broken up into chapters or sections is finish the one you’re currently on before putting it away until the next time you play. Sometimes the next time you play won’t be until several months or even years later. I loaded Trials and Tribulations last week for the first time in ages and realized I stopped in the middle of a chapter the last time I played. Not only did I barely remember the case I was currently on, but I didn’t remember what I had to do to move onto the next part of an investigation. A little tapping around to examine particular items and talking to certain people eventually jogged my memory, but it would have been helpful to have started the game again at the beginning of a new chapter or section of a current case.

With Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies, and Wright vs. Layton just waiting for me to play, it’s more than enough of an incentive to finish Trials and Tribulations. There’s still so much of Phoenix Wright’s story to experience and plenty of newer characters to meet along the way. I certainly can’t wait to go on my next adventure with our lovable lawyer.

Come back at the end of August when I’ll have my usual progress report written!