In the dark age of the law, truth has no place in the confines of a courtroom. Reality is nothing greater than an unreliable recollection of events by a flawed person. How do we trust memories which are tempered by emotions, undermined by biases, and torn apart by baseless assumptions? Truth and lies are much closer than people would need to believe, and to pretend otherwise is disingenuous. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies explores the twisted path of the judicial system. When the top is the only real thing that matters, the means you operate to reach at that time isn’t important. Or is it? The ethical quagmire of the law is a hard road to navigate and Dual Destinies weaves a clever analysis of this fascinating process.
Apollo Justice has sworn to guard those wrongly accused of heinous crimes, but an attorney has only rather a lot power to right injustices. When certainly one of his friends is accused of murdering another, his duty to hunt justice goes much further than an insignificant courtroom could allow. Such dramatic events are interspersed with comedic jabs so you’re never burdened by these lofty themes. Cutting insults hurled on the buffoonish judge by prisoner-turned-lawyer Simon Blackquill inject levity in the heated debates, and spirited newcomer Athena Cykes displays an brisk naivete while she deconstructs the feelings of these who take the stand. Dual Destinies expertly balances two narrative extremes, using off-the-wall dialogue at key moments to maintain the mood light even if the characters are grappling with their very own limitations.
Practicing law in the Phoenix Wright universe requires a cleverness better suited for authors of courtroom drama than to actual barristers. While scouring a criminal offense scene, you could discover a trinket seemingly unrelated to the facts of a murder, but you tuck it on your inventory without question, in case its importance becomes known throughout the court proceedings. Pretrial investigations push you from one disorderly scene to a different, and also you interview potential witnesses to slowly piece together what actually happened. Such activities are performed by rote because there’s little variance in what’s expected of you. A checklist chronicles exactly what you ought to accomplish before the subsequent event is triggered, so although the occasional eureka moments stamp exclamation points onto your actions, you’re so rarely asked to think beyond the fundamentals that you are left facing the motions until court is in session.
Off-the-wall dialogue at key moments keeps the mood light even if the characters are grappling with their very own limitations.
Verbal sparring inside the courtroom rises above the pleasant predictability of the investigative process. Witnesses provide testimony tinged with contradictions, so that you must scour your evidence to locate the piece that proves they’re lying. Following the breadcrumb trails of lies to an ultimate truth gives weight to each objection you utter. Although the committed crimes are incredibly complex in how they were performed, there’s an underlying plausibility that makes it easy to just accept the results. From motivations to opportunities to the tactic for covering up his or her actions, the perpetrator’s thought process is eventually unraveled and displayed intimately. To succeed in the stressful back-and-forth swings is to find the very essence of truth, and the sport masterfully urges you onward to unearth the secrets that lie hidden deep below the outside.
Trust is always the simplest thing that keeps Phoenix Wright and his colleagues afloat when odds seem stacked against them. The bonds of friendship run so deep that even if every bit of evidence is screaming that the defendant’s hands are covered in red, the unwavering belief in his or her innocence keeps the attorneys pushing to describe how the crime actually transpired. And though such loyalty is admirable, it creates situations that border closely at the dangerous adage “the tip justifies the means.” This phrase is uttered by folks that have ushered at nighttime age of the law, ignoring truth for the greater good, and though Phoenix strongly disagrees with that theory, he’s forced to make use of creative means to bypass guilty verdicts. Concocting questionable alternate theories eventually brings Phoenix to the reality, but he tears down the wall separating fact from fiction to return to these conclusions.
The game masterfully urges you onward to unearth the secrets that lie hidden deep below the skin.
Because of the dance both the defense and prosecution must perform, Dual Destinies presents either side of the coin within the the continuing discussion about achieving justice while working within a flawed judicial system. Up to Phoenix’s team members deny some great benefits of lying to further their goals, they’re guilty of the identical actions, so that you understand why someone would twist facts for his or her own purpose. It’s fascinating to work out these scenes play out. A witness may lie because he’s covering up his own despicable actions, attempting to hide that he’s really guilty of a murder most foul. But other times, lies surface only to offer protection to a friend. Would you testify in the event you knew your words could send your friend to prison? Dual Destinies shows just how scary the reality can also be, so that you sympathize with those that turn their backs on it.
There are times when someone changes reality to suit their very own needs, but those aren’t the sole lies that exist in Dual Destinies. Words are empty to Athena Cykes. As a trained psychoanalyst, she knows that individuals can say whatever rushes into their heads, but their emotions are unfiltered. When Athena discovers discord, she analyzes the feelings of whoever is at the witness stand to determine what she or he refuses to claim out loud. Why would someone be at liberty when a ceiling crumbles upon them? Or sad once they don a cloak adorned with shining constellations? This easy mechanic reverberates beyond the courtroom proceeding. i began to give thought my very own emotions that surface after I wish they might stay hidden. Even if lying would make my life a lot easier, the reality still finds a method out, and that i realized while calling out witnesses on their contradictory feelings just how pointless it can be to conceal from who you’re.
Dual Destinies dives deep throughout the psyches of these enthusiastic about crimes–from the attorneys to the perpetrators and everybody else related to the events–and such ruminations provide you with a more robust understanding of human motivations. The style wherein you investigate and argue is unchanged from previous iterations, and the exaggerated personalities of the characters hit an identical notes as before, which does lessen the mysterious appeal of a courtroom drama. However, Dual Destines is greater than just another retread. Themes of friendship and trust make you appreciate the depth of relationships, and the omnipresent question of the need of truth provides a compelling backdrop. Phoenix Wright’s return to the courtroom brings with it a powerful blend of comedic sensibilities and philosophical examinations that make you question how any judicial system can determine guilt when the relationships people have with the reality are so complicated.