GIP, and then some.
May. 7th, 2007 12:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elwen[The GIP component of this post: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nendil drew this for me a while back after seeing maruchan's 研究パン icon. I knew I wanted to icon it, but I didn't feel worthy of using it until I'd actually played Phoenix Wright.]
So I've been playing Phoenix Wright for a month or so now. Wow, way to have a lawyer game that was apparently never vetted by a real lawyer. It took me a while to realize that at least some of the oddness might be ascribed to the fact that it's probably based on Japan's civil law system -- it would explain why there's no jury, for example. But some of the other details are still pushing it.
I mean, maybe it's because there's no 4th Amendment requirement for a warrant that evidence I stole from a drawer in someone's hotel room wouldn't be thrown out as inadmissible, or maybe it's because being a lawyer just isn't glamorous enough unless you also throw in some detective elements. My dad's always telling me how lawyers on TV do their own crime scene investigations and all.
Speaking of evidence, though, that has been my latest amused-as-a-lawyer-in-training moment with this game. I'm on the bonus story of the first game, Rise From The Ashes, and they talked about the "rules of evidence law". And there were two! If I hadn't been playing in bed late at night, I would have laughed until I cried. Relevance? Privilege? Hearsay? Details, details.
[I mean, a lot of times when I tell classmates I'm working for a judge this summer, they'll say, "Oh, and you're taking Advanced Civ Pro, which will be helpful right?" And I can't help but respond, "But I didn't take Evidence, which I think would have been more helpful."]
Other unique elements include: the defense isn't allowed to put on witnesses, so I only ever get to cross-ex; somehow trials always end with one of the witnesses who's not the defendant ending up being found guilty; trials can last no more than 3 days. I especially want to giggle every time they try to bring in something "real". The talk about the statute of limitations was generally accurate, at least.
[ETA: Oh no, I forgot the best inaccuracy of all: prosecutors make "the big bucks"! I know more than a few people working at prosecutors' offices this summer who wish that was true.]
What's really sad is that I think playing the game actually did help me as a law student, or maybe it was the other way around (studying for exams improved my gameplay), I can't really tell. Basically, it can be really hard to find the contradiction sometimes, and you really have to think a few steps out from the testimony and the evidence. And that's the same way you spot the more obscure issues on a law school exam. I have the problem of only seeing the surface of a fact pattern and not realizing its implications, but I think I've gotten better, and at the same time I've gotten better at spotting obscure contradictions. I guess I can't complain.
In more general gameplay terms, I really like how the stories get progressively more complex, requiring you to make creative use of more and more features. At first you're just impeaching witnesses with evidence [that's what it's called, y'know, when you "find contradictions"]. Then you start having to examine a room and collect the evidence. Then you start having to present different pieces of evidence to characters to get them to tell you stuff. And in Rise From The Ashes,and on into the second game, from what I can tell, [or not] it starts becoming full-scale detective work: dusting for fingerprints, spraying for bloodstains, and all.
Throughout, though, the game is still extremely linear. I think somewhere I read them described as "visual novels", and I think that's very accurate. You're not really playing the game for the sake of playing, per se. You're there for the story -- the interactive element is just an excuse for not having FMV graphics. :P
Actually, it really reminds me of the games made by Humongous Entertainment -- Putt Putt, Freddi Fish, and Pajama Sam are the ones I've played. They were these semi-educational kids games that basically work the same way: you're clicking through screens that have interactive hot spots, but you can't unlock the next event until you've talked to people and done things in the proper order. In particular, when I had to go around trading Steel Samurai cards in Phoenix Wright, that was just like the part in Putt Putt Travels Through Time where you have to trade things from different time periods. I mean, you might find it worrisome that I'm comparing it to kids games, but seriously, some of those were hard. And I'd still play them today if we could find the discs, so.
Okay, that's all for the review. Now for fandom matters. :3
Back in the "tell me about your interests" meme,nendil was saying how awesome and slashable the characters were. Which is very true, although it didn't really quite hit me until Turnabout Goodbyes. I'm sure none of you are surprised that I like Miles and I find his backstory with Phoenix the most adorable thing ever.
To be honest, I was kind of worried about getting sucked into this fandom. From what I can tell it's quite sprawling and expansive, but with a mostly Japanese fanbase. And the names are translated. (I can understand why in this case, since the names are so punny, but it makes it hard to know whom people are talking about. And all the pairing names are in Japanese.) It's a lot like when I discovered that there was a huge fangirl following for Dynasty Warriors. You can tell me how irrational this is, but for some reason the idea of slashing historical figures -- even when they have the aura of myth and legend -- kind of squicked me out. On the other hand, the fanart was sooooo cute. So I did end up mucking around in that for a while. [And in the end the fact that they're historical figures didn't really bother me since the games make them sobish different anyway.]
So given all that, I was kind of relieved when I read a few PW fics and found out that I really can live without the fandom after all. As much as the terms "lawyerslash" and "lawyercest" amuse me, I'm really not into slashing these people. [Well, I haven't gotten to Franziska yet, so maybe I'll go for lawyercest after all . . . but I doubt it.] I like the tension between Miles and Phoenix, but I don't find it particularly sexual. I'm sure there's lots of gen fic out there that I'd enjoy reading, but that kind of thing isn't what really sucks me into a fandom.
Musing on this, I realized that it's because I like Miles for the same reasons I like Leon from Tales of Destiny. They're both so prickly and guarded, which makes me like poking at them and finding their vulnerable moments. But I'd rather see them get along with everyone than fall in love with someone. I worry that people will think my Tales of Destiny fic is heading toward Leon/Rutee incest. [Rest assured that it's not, because I can't even imagine what that would be like.] I just want them to be friends, but it's hard to tell sometimes when they're angsting over each other so much.
Anyway, bottom line is: I have no ships and am not part of the fandom per se. I just like the games. But I will take fic recs if you guys have any. :]
P.S. I want to make my own Phoenix Wright moodtheme. The game has such awesome sprites.
nendil drew this for me a while back after seeing maruchan's 研究パン icon. I knew I wanted to icon it, but I didn't feel worthy of using it until I'd actually played Phoenix Wright.]So I've been playing Phoenix Wright for a month or so now. Wow, way to have a lawyer game that was apparently never vetted by a real lawyer. It took me a while to realize that at least some of the oddness might be ascribed to the fact that it's probably based on Japan's civil law system -- it would explain why there's no jury, for example. But some of the other details are still pushing it.
I mean, maybe it's because there's no 4th Amendment requirement for a warrant that evidence I stole from a drawer in someone's hotel room wouldn't be thrown out as inadmissible, or maybe it's because being a lawyer just isn't glamorous enough unless you also throw in some detective elements. My dad's always telling me how lawyers on TV do their own crime scene investigations and all.
Speaking of evidence, though, that has been my latest amused-as-a-lawyer-in-training moment with this game. I'm on the bonus story of the first game, Rise From The Ashes, and they talked about the "rules of evidence law". And there were two! If I hadn't been playing in bed late at night, I would have laughed until I cried. Relevance? Privilege? Hearsay? Details, details.
[I mean, a lot of times when I tell classmates I'm working for a judge this summer, they'll say, "Oh, and you're taking Advanced Civ Pro, which will be helpful right?" And I can't help but respond, "But I didn't take Evidence, which I think would have been more helpful."]
Other unique elements include: the defense isn't allowed to put on witnesses, so I only ever get to cross-ex; somehow trials always end with one of the witnesses who's not the defendant ending up being found guilty; trials can last no more than 3 days. I especially want to giggle every time they try to bring in something "real". The talk about the statute of limitations was generally accurate, at least.
[ETA: Oh no, I forgot the best inaccuracy of all: prosecutors make "the big bucks"! I know more than a few people working at prosecutors' offices this summer who wish that was true.]
What's really sad is that I think playing the game actually did help me as a law student, or maybe it was the other way around (studying for exams improved my gameplay), I can't really tell. Basically, it can be really hard to find the contradiction sometimes, and you really have to think a few steps out from the testimony and the evidence. And that's the same way you spot the more obscure issues on a law school exam. I have the problem of only seeing the surface of a fact pattern and not realizing its implications, but I think I've gotten better, and at the same time I've gotten better at spotting obscure contradictions. I guess I can't complain.
In more general gameplay terms, I really like how the stories get progressively more complex, requiring you to make creative use of more and more features. At first you're just impeaching witnesses with evidence [that's what it's called, y'know, when you "find contradictions"]. Then you start having to examine a room and collect the evidence. Then you start having to present different pieces of evidence to characters to get them to tell you stuff. And in Rise From The Ashes,
Throughout, though, the game is still extremely linear. I think somewhere I read them described as "visual novels", and I think that's very accurate. You're not really playing the game for the sake of playing, per se. You're there for the story -- the interactive element is just an excuse for not having FMV graphics. :P
Actually, it really reminds me of the games made by Humongous Entertainment -- Putt Putt, Freddi Fish, and Pajama Sam are the ones I've played. They were these semi-educational kids games that basically work the same way: you're clicking through screens that have interactive hot spots, but you can't unlock the next event until you've talked to people and done things in the proper order. In particular, when I had to go around trading Steel Samurai cards in Phoenix Wright, that was just like the part in Putt Putt Travels Through Time where you have to trade things from different time periods. I mean, you might find it worrisome that I'm comparing it to kids games, but seriously, some of those were hard. And I'd still play them today if we could find the discs, so.
Okay, that's all for the review. Now for fandom matters. :3
Back in the "tell me about your interests" meme,
nendil was saying how awesome and slashable the characters were. Which is very true, although it didn't really quite hit me until Turnabout Goodbyes. I'm sure none of you are surprised that I like Miles and I find his backstory with Phoenix the most adorable thing ever.To be honest, I was kind of worried about getting sucked into this fandom. From what I can tell it's quite sprawling and expansive, but with a mostly Japanese fanbase. And the names are translated. (I can understand why in this case, since the names are so punny, but it makes it hard to know whom people are talking about. And all the pairing names are in Japanese.) It's a lot like when I discovered that there was a huge fangirl following for Dynasty Warriors. You can tell me how irrational this is, but for some reason the idea of slashing historical figures -- even when they have the aura of myth and legend -- kind of squicked me out. On the other hand, the fanart was sooooo cute. So I did end up mucking around in that for a while. [And in the end the fact that they're historical figures didn't really bother me since the games make them so
So given all that, I was kind of relieved when I read a few PW fics and found out that I really can live without the fandom after all. As much as the terms "lawyerslash" and "lawyercest" amuse me, I'm really not into slashing these people. [Well, I haven't gotten to Franziska yet, so maybe I'll go for lawyercest after all . . . but I doubt it.] I like the tension between Miles and Phoenix, but I don't find it particularly sexual. I'm sure there's lots of gen fic out there that I'd enjoy reading, but that kind of thing isn't what really sucks me into a fandom.
Musing on this, I realized that it's because I like Miles for the same reasons I like Leon from Tales of Destiny. They're both so prickly and guarded, which makes me like poking at them and finding their vulnerable moments. But I'd rather see them get along with everyone than fall in love with someone. I worry that people will think my Tales of Destiny fic is heading toward Leon/Rutee incest. [Rest assured that it's not, because I can't even imagine what that would be like.] I just want them to be friends, but it's hard to tell sometimes when they're angsting over each other so much.
Anyway, bottom line is: I have no ships and am not part of the fandom per se. I just like the games. But I will take fic recs if you guys have any. :]
P.S. I want to make my own Phoenix Wright moodtheme. The game has such awesome sprites.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-07 12:50 pm (UTC)As for the detective stuff-- Rise from the Ashes is an extra case, and it serves more as a bridge into Gyakuten Saiban 4 than anything else. So you don't get to fingerprint-dust for another few games. GS4 brings in a 'new' cast-- you get a new lawyer to play as and, for example, instead of Gumshoe, you get Ema Skye as your main detective.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 04:15 am (UTC)...uh, yeah. I don't think that was so much a response to your post as stuff I forgot to talk about in the original post. *sweatdrop*
no subject
Date: 2007-05-07 07:19 pm (UTC)I was into the fandom for about oh... 2-3 weeks, and then I realized that they tend to be more interested in making crack!fic and fulfilling desires to see good-looking lawyers doing unspeakable things than following the actual character development from the games. Besides, while I can see Edgeworth madly harboring a secret love for Phoenix, the latter would be forever naively oblivious. And of course Miles would never tell.
Now go play the second game because the last trial is SO badass.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-08 04:08 am (UTC)Besides, while I can see Edgeworth madly harboring a secret love for Phoenix, the latter would be forever naively oblivious.
If I agreed with the first part, I could live with that. It more or less describes Shinkumi, after all... Okay, now my brain is trying to draw connections between Shin and Edgeworth, especially since Shin said he wants to be a lawyer. *dies* (Though I guess since Shin's goal is to protect Kumiko's yakuza family, he'd be doing much more defense work than prosecution.)
Dude, I'm still working on Rise From The Ashes, okay?
I think I'm ditching the franchise after Trials and Tribulations, though. I don't really care for playing a new main character who looks like a dorkier version of the guy from Tales of Symphonia. And now that Saiunkoku Monogatari is licensed, I have other things to hoard LexisNexis points for. ^^;;