FI so i see you've been playing DGS..... 👀👀 i am already hyped for this game but ooc what is your take on it (good?? bad?? comparison to other AA games??), as someone whose opinions i trust
HIII first of all, i'm honored to be someone whose opinions you trust! i personally really enjoyed dgs1! i could probably talk about it for ages. the main characters are so endearing -- i adore naruhodou, asougi, and susato, as well as iris and holmes (or shlomes, as we're calling him now). the found family dynamic that i have come to love in ace attorney is very much present here.
in terms of gameplay and presentation, the jury mechanic is fun and i found the deduction mechanic delightful. both mechanics liven up trial and investigation segments, respectively. the game has beautiful sprites and animations, and i particularly loved how characters would be in the same frame reacting to each other or to naruhodou. character reactions even become relevant in the trial gameplay -- if someone is acting weird while someone else is testifying, you can call them out on it to get more info, for example. overall, dgs1 felt like a nice homage to the previous games. playing through it reminded me of how much fun i had the very first time i ever played an ace attorney game as a teenager. i blasted through this game in a week or so, if that's helpful to know. as a result, the individual cases are a bit hazy, but i didn't feel like any of them were boring or unnecessary. i honestly was just excited to see what would happen next and spend more time with the characters. the exposition and pacing felt similar to that of the trilogy, with little pieces of each case falling into the place by the end. some questions are still left unanswered by the end of dgs1 and i expect they will be answered in the sequel since this was a planned duology. the Big Final Case of dgs1 felt quite different from other big aa cases in a good way. to me, it seemed akin to the final cases in aa6, aa4, or aai2. I also appreciated that the main conflict of the case dealt with issues outside of the main characters' internal struggles or backstories (as far as i'm aware, given that there is a sequel to this game). at times, it felt like some sort of spy thriller. the cliffhanger into the sequel had a similar kind of intrigue. like any piece of media, dgs1 obviously has its Flaws. since i was playing through the fan translation, i'm not sure how relevant this will be for the official version, but the racism on the part of the british characters (esp. van zieks) did get to be a lot on occasion. i'm south asian myself and it was not fun seeing asian characters being talked down to or insulted. naruhodou definitely takes all of it better than i might have -- he holds his head up high and keeps his calm, as does susato.
i don't think the racism is out of proportion given the characters' circumstances and historical context, but it did feel jarring at times. also this is ace attorney, the game where there are spirit mediums in court, realistic racism doesn't necessarily need to happen. van zieks' racism in particular is also qualified and almost excused in a weird way that i personally did not like (it's a spoiler so i will not elaborate here, but i'm glad to clarify). holmes, was, luckily, one of the few exceptions to the casual racism -- he really does seem to value and appreciate naruhodou et al. and goes above and beyond for them.
there's also the issue where japan is portrayed solely as a victim of british imperialism despite its own imperialist past, which i do not have the expertise or knowledge to speak on in detail. the game just kind of ignores that and focuses all its anti-imperialism messaging onto the british empire.
problems aside, i really have not felt this attached to an ace attorney ensemble cast/story in a while. i am thoroughly invested in their adventures and am looking forward to the sequel. i also did appreciate playing a historical mystery game as an asian character. i feel like most historical media set in this time period that we get in here in the US focuses on the experiences of white people, and it was nice to play as someone else for a change.
