Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Professor Layton News, Ghost Trick Release Date, and Ace Attorney Sale!

 Video Games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , , , ,
Mar 102023
 

Yesterday featured both the Level-5 Vision 2023 showcase and a Capcom Spotlight showcase later in the day, so we have quite a few things to talk about.

Level-5 Vision 2023

In Level-5’s showcase, they reiterated their new commitment to releasing all of the games showcased worldwide, in multiple languages.

All are planned for 2023 or 2024 releases (and since everything was given a 2023 window except for Professor Layton, that’s probably a 2024 title).

They started with another trailers for Decapolice, which looks like it should be a lot of fun. A detective investigation game with turn-based combat sounds like it was made for me. They also had a new trailer for Fantasy Life i (the “i” stands for “island,” “Internet,” and “individual”), and while it does look like it has more of an emphasis on customization than the first game did, it still looks like it will follow the original game’s direction. I’d like to see more of the game world beyond the town, but I’m excited.

Next came Megaton Musashi: Wired, a mech game that is an updated re-release of the previously Japan-exclusive Megaton Musashi X.

Then the fourth game Level-5 showed was the one I was waiting for the most, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam (with proper capitalization in its title and logo now). It still feels like a dream that we’re getting a new Professor Layton game, and while the new trailer is short, we do have some more details to work with.

Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is set one year after the events of Unwound Future and features Layton and Luke reuniting in America, in a town called Steam Bison (seriously). No one in America knows who Professor Layton is, while Luke has already solved mysteries there and become known as a detective, so that’s an entertaining way to play with the usual dynamic.

This trailer gives us our first look at Luke, as well as art showing some new characters and steampunk devices.

Curiously, the trailer says, “This time, it seems like the more puzzles you solve, the more the city will develop.” I don’t entirely know what that means, and some fans are worried it will feel less like a Layton game, but I’m intrigued by the potential. What I hope for from that concept is a Professor Layton game that progresses like usual, but earning more picarats and solving optional puzzles makes the city change and grow. The games always have some sort of side mini-game, and I could see city development taking a similar form.

One more detail from this trailer is that the puzzles are being developed by a group called QuizKnock. I’m not familiar with QuizKnock, but a fan on Reddit who follows their content had a lot of praise for them, so that’s the best thing I’ve heard about this new game so far. Layton’s Mystery Journey suffered from both a weak story and weak puzzles, and the puzzles are what I was most concerned about going into a new entry. So although the original Puzzle Master, Akira Tago, is no longer with us, the fact that Level-5 has called in a team of accomplished puzzle designers to work on the new game fills me with much more optimism.

The trailer also claims this adventure will “go beyond your wildest imaginations,” and I sure hope so. After Layton’s Mystery Journey, I want this one to return to form with an intense mystery culminating in an absurdly bizarre twist.

Finally, Level-5 concluded their show with Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road. I never got into the Inazuma Eleven series, but this game stood out to me for the past several years as a sign that Level-5 might be in trouble. First announced in 2016 as Inazuma Eleven Ares and expected to release in 2018, it was delayed repeatedly and then renamed to Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes and announced for 2020, only to be delayed multiple times again before being announced for 2023 as Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road of Heroes. Now it looks like it’s finally on track, so I’m happy to see this game escaping its troubled development.

Capcom Spotlight

That was it for Level-5’s show, and then Capcom had a showcase later in the day! Their release dates all leaked ahead of the show, but at least that meant I learned early that Ghost Trick would indeed be getting a release date. The remaster of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective will be out on June 30, and digital preorders are available now.

Preorders also come with some bonus digital content, four backgrounds and two extra music tracks. The game itself features a remastered soundtrack and some other extras.

I love Ghost Trick, so I already preordered. I still wish it was getting a physical release outside of Japan (especially since Japan is getting a special edition), but I’ll absolutely buy a digital copy if that’s what we’ve got, at least to show support.

Now, they said during the pre-show that there wouldn’t be any new game announcements, so I dampened my faint Ace Attorney hopes. Ghost Trick is pretty much all I cared about from the showcase, since I’m not the biggest fan of Resident Evil 4 and therefore didn’t care about the Resident Evil news as much as usual.

(Ace Attorney did appear in the showcase when they announced their upcoming digital theme park to celebrate Capcom franchises, though. Some people think this is a means to sell NFTs. I won’t buy NFTs even for Ace Attorney. I’d much rather spend money on new Ace Attorney games, or perhaps merchandise like these adorable things if they would just please start selling them here.)

Ace Attorney 3DS Closing Sale

But while there wasn’t any Ace Attorney news, we do have reason to discuss Ace Attorney. With the 3DS eShop shutting down on March 27, Capcom put all of their 3DS games on sale, and it’s an even better sale than the last few 3DS sales they’ve had. You can now buy any of the 3DS Ace Attorney games for $2.99 each from now until the eShop closes. The DLC episodes remain $5.99 each, however.

Phoenix Wright Trilogy: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-trilogy-3ds
Apollo Justice: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/apollo-justice-ace-attorney-3ds/
Dual Destinies: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-dual-destinies-3ds/
Spirit of Justice: https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-spirit-of-justice-3ds/

(I picked up Apollo Justice during the last $4.99 sale just to have an extra copy, because I thought that was the best sale it would get.)

I still hope they’ll port the later games to modern platforms, but if you’ve been meaning to get the 3DS games, at least they have one last sale to close out at a great price.

Conclusion

Phew, we ended up with a lot to talk about today. What did you think of Level-5’s showcase and the new Professor Layton news? And are you excited for Ghost Trick getting a release date?

The Great Ace Attorney is Getting a Musical and a Recitation

 Video Games  6 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Mar 012023
 

March is upon us, and our February contest is at an end.

It was a close race this time, so while I count up the scores, let’s take a moment to discuss the recent Ace Attorney news!

While it’s not a new game announcement like I’ve been hoping for, a couple of events related to The Great Ace Attorney have been announced for Japan.

Last week, a Great Ace Attorney musical from the Takarazuka Revue Company was announced, to be performed in July and August. They’ve done three previous Ace Attorney musicals, but this will be the first one in ten years.

(These aren’t to be confused with the other Ace Attorney stage plays, which are separate.)

Now today, Capcom made another Great Ace Attorney announcement: a recitation from the voice actors of the two games’ story, as well as a new story episode written by Shu Takumi. This will be held on August 12.

Neither of these events is likely to get an official translation, but maybe someone will translate them into English eventually. I’m especially curious about the new story content being written for the recitation. Overall, I’m just thrilled to see more Great Ace Attorney content being made, not to mention Capcom paying attention to Ace Attorney in general.

Maybe our new game announcement is right around the corner. (Please.)

How do you feel about these two announcements?

Top 5 Ace Attorney Announcements I’d Love to See

 Video Games  2 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jan 232023
 

It’s been a while since we’ve had any Ace Attorney announcements, despite me checking for news every time I see it’s trending on Twitter.

It’s been long enough that when the official Facebook and Twitter accounts changed their profile picture, I clung to it as a hint of upcoming news.

Since the release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles in July 2021 (which itself came after a long drought of Ace Attorney news), all we’ve had in the way of new Ace Attorney releases is an Apollo Justice trademark that still hasn’t come to anything and the replacement of the buggy Phoenix Wright Trilogy mobile port with the better version every other platform already had.

So as far as actual game news goes… we have nothing. And I keep hoping.

But what sort of Ace Attorney announcements am I hoping to see?

Any announcements, I would say… except not another version of the trilogy; the trilogy is so widely-available now that it’s the last thing we need.

So here are the top 5 Ace Attorney announcements I’m hoping for the most.

5. Ace Attorney 4-6 Collection

For newcomers to Ace Attorney, the second half of the main series presents a problem. The Phoenix Wright Trilogy has been ported to all modern platforms, so you have your choice of where to play it.

But the fourth game, Apollo Justice, is available on DS, 3DS, and mobile. Nothing besides those. The fifth and sixth games, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, are only available on 3DS and mobile. What makes this worse is that the 3DS games never got physical releases, so once the 3DS eShop shuts down in March, it’ll be the mobile ports or nothing for the last two main series entries.

So it’s high time we got ports or remasters of those remaining three games, preferably as another collection to go alongside the Phoenix Wright Trilogy. What would they call it? Ace Attorney: The Second Trilogy? The Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy 2? The Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, ignoring the fact that his name is only in one of the three titles? Since games 4-6 aren’t a cohesive trilogy, naming such a collection might be the trickiest part. All the same, a collection like that is one of the announcements I’m hoping to see.

4. Ace Attorney Investigations Collection

You know, at least Apollo Justice got ported to the 3DS. The same can’t be said for Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, the spin-off available only on the DS and mobile. And then there’s its sequel, the never-localized Gyakuten Kenji 2, which is one of the best in the series according to people who have actually gotten to play it.

After campaigning for its localization for years, I more or less gave up hope until the release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. If those two spin-offs can be bundled together for a new release (and localized), why can’t we have an Ace Attorney Investigations duology bundle?

Apparently the orchestra concert last year contained a large number of Gyakuten Kenji 2 songs, which I’m clinging to as a sign. Maybe this time, Investigations 2 will finally come to the West.

3. The Great Ace Attorney 3

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is a perfect duology. It’s a wonderful story with everything neatly wrapped up at the end, with only the slightest of hints that maybe a sequel could be made. Part of me wants to say that we should just let it end there, lest a sequel ruin the conclusion.

…But partway through Chronicles, I realized I wanted to stay with its characters forever. I didn’t even want another main series title at that point, because I’d grown so attached to the Great Ace Attorney cast. So I’d be nervous about it being done well, but I’d really love a Great Ace Attorney 3.

2. Ace Attorney 7

My fervor for The Great Ace Attorney has cooled since then just the slightest amount, enough for me to accept that getting a new mainline entry is probably more exciting after all. We’ve been expecting Ace Attorney 7 since the rumors in 2017. For that matter, the data breach that first leaked Chronicles also listed Ace Attorney 7 for a Q3 2021 release, which it obviously missed.

The truly pessimistic fans believe it’s been cancelled, but I’m sure we’ll see Ace Attorney 7 eventually. But when? And what will it be like? Yamazaki, who directed the Investigations game as well as Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, left Capcom in 2020, so we could even have someone new at the helm.

Will it be another “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – some new subtitle” entry? Or perhaps an “Athena Cykes: Ace Attorney”? Another game starring Apollo?

Let’s just hope we get Ace Attorney 7 news sooner rather than later… this year, perhaps?

1. Great Ace Attorney Investigations

Finally, the Ace Attorney game I actually want the most is probably the least likely of all the ideas on this list. Edgeworth got his Ace Attorney Investigations spin-offs, and now I want another prosecutor-led game set in the Great Ace Attorney era. That’s about all I can say without Great Ace Attorney spoilers, except that I think there’s enough room for further development and character arcs there that it could be an amazing game!

(I actually went into more detail about what I want behind a spoiler tag in my Great Ace Attorney 2 review.)

It would star all my favorite characters. I want it. I need it. I’ll be terrified about whether or not it could live up to the duology, but I still want it with all my heart.

Conclusion

I’m sure there are plenty of other Ace Attorney games fans might hope for. A port of the Professor Layton crossover? Another crossover? A game starring Sholmes? Something entirely new with a new protagonist? I’m on board for any and all new Ace Attorney content, but these are the five announcements I’d most love to see.

What Ace Attorney games do you hope will exist in the future?

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