fragilesilver

Loving the first game hooked me into playing the second without a second thought. Went in as an Ace Attorney fan who already loved Miles Edgeworth, so this was an easy sell, what I wasn't sure about was the shift away from courtroom drama, and that turned out to be the best part. Investigating crime scenes directly, piecing together logic outside the usual objection which is heavy trial format, made the whole game feel refreshing rather than a retread. The emotional high point was the case tied to Edgeworth's father, finally getting closure on something that's loomed over his character since the start of the series. Kay Faraday brought great energy as a partner, and Mr. Shields turned out to be a standout too. Then the ending hit every case you solved throughout the game ties together into one beautiful conclusion, and my jaw genuinely dropped. Came in expecting a solid spinoff and left with one of my favorite entries in the whole series.

Platformers usually aren't my thing, so I wasn't sure this would click. What won me over was the RPG side of it, figuring out how to push forward, experimenting with the variety of spells, and having actual build choices made the platforming feel secondary to the exploration and progression. That's a rare thing for me to say about a game in this genre. Map design was outstanding, easily the strongest part of the whole experience, and the boss fights backed it up with fun, well paced encounters. Music hit the right notes throughout too, never distracting, always fitting the mood. My one gripe is the EXP gain slowing to a crawl near the end, it stalls progression right when you want momentum but even knowing the reasoning behind that design choice didn't stop me from enjoying the ride overall.