New Ace Attorney 6 Details

The new issue of Famitsu is out, which means the feature on Ace Attorney 6 has been revealed. Let’s take a look at the new scans and information, courtesy of Court-Records.

As we learned yesterday, Phoenix travels to another country. When his tour guide (the monk-in-training, Bokuto Tsuani) is arrested, Phoenix attends the trial and learns the country has no concept of defense attorneys.

Since good ol’ Nick doesn’t want his tour guide declared guilty because an “oracle of spirits” says so, he jumps in to defend him and attempts to revolutionize the court system.

These scans also revealed an unnamed woman the developers said is Ace Attorney 6’s “key person” and that she isn’t a prosecutor/witness/judge but has a “fourth role” in the courtroom.

It seems the developers felt there were no longer any valid threats to Phoenix in the Japan/California court system, so they decided to put him in a more hostile environment.

How hostile it will be is unclear, but the bailiff is holding a gun. The judge also looks more severe.

They didn’t provide any more details about the Water Mirror or other changes to the court system, but apparently changes to the system will give trials a new sense of urgency.

Finally, they said they’ve listened to the criticisms that Dual Destinies was too easy. Therefore, players will be able to disable hints, and characters won’t give such direct clues. (I hope this also means we’ll be able to investigate all environments again, though this wasn’t addressed.)

Many questions remain, and a lot of fans just want to know about Maya.

The spiritual elements, the monks, and what appears to be a variant on the usual Magatama all make it very likely the Fey clan will return. Perhaps this group is a rival to the Kurain tradition?

And who is the mysterious new female character? Some people think she’s a Fey (a few even claiming she’s Maya herself, although the appearance and age don’t add up), but her staff makes me wonder if she’s an important figure in this new religion. Perhaps the equivalent of Kurain’s Master?

Both her attire and her stance suggest she’s a powerful person. According to people who can read Japanese, her dialogue sounds formal. If this is meant to be a more dangerous environment for Phoenix, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s an antagonist.

What little we’ve seen of the setting suggests Tibet or India, or a place inspired by them. Some fans think it will be set in Zheng Fa, a fictional country reminiscent of China that is referenced in the Investigations games. Shi-Long Lang is from Zheng Fa. Other fans have suggested a region near Zheng Fa, with a relationship similar to that of Tibet and China.

Okay, if Zheng Fa is involved, and this game is coming West, they really should localize Investigations 2. Perhaps this is a precursor to an announcement? (I will never lose hope.)

What do you think? Will we see the long-awaited Apollo Justice/Investigations/Investigations 2 collection to bring the entire series to the 3DS for newcomers? Does this game feature a clan connected to or rivals of the Feys? Which characters will return?

If you’re new to the series and you like what you see, be sure to check out my guide to the best playing order so you can catch up in time for Ace Attorney 6.

Note: if you heard the rumors that Dai Gyakuten Saiban localization has been officially shot down, it isn’t so clear-cut. Keep telling Capcom we want DGS (and AAI2).