Making the transition from supporting character to leading man isn't always the right move, especially if you're an anti-hero. Anti-heroes are always more interesting when they're mysterious, when their motivations are veiled and ambiguous. Boba Fett is cooler when he's in the background, passing out menacing nods. Hannibal Lecter is more exciting and dangerous when you're not watching just walk around. Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix Wright's erstwhile rival in Capcom's "Ace Attorney" series, isn't nearly so villainous as those examples, but the rule still applies: Is the debonair prosecutor a cool enough character to carry his own game?
The Basics
You play as perfect prosecutor Miles Edgeworth in "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth," a side story to the main "Ace Attorney" series. Mechanically, the game is almost identical to its predecessors. You comb crime scenes for clues, interrogate a cast of colorful characters, and navigate dialog trees by presenting evidence that contradicts or supports statements about a given murder. In a fresh twist on the play, you move the story forward using "Logic"; pertinent information is filed into a menu and you link them together to progress. The scenarios in "Investigations" are an inversion of previous games, though. The game takes place almost entirely outside of the courtroom, letting you first find a suspect then build a case to prove their guilt rather than their innocence. Not only that, but you play in the third-person, with large, expressive sprites alongside the series' traditional, animated character portraits.
The Highs
Character to Spare
The "Ace Attorney" games are stories first and games second. You spend far more time clicking through dialog text than you do walking around a given environment checking for clues. "Investigations" is no exception, and while that would be enough to damn other games, its characters are so charming, their stories so funny and fun, that you never find yourself wishing for more direct agency in their lives.
New Perspective
Pacing and transparency were the biggest problems with previous "Ace Attorney" games. There were too many times when you'd end up bouncing back and forth between the games' environments, trying to trigger a new dialog or find some obscure piece of evidence you missed. The new third-person perspective in "Investigations" keeps your goals clear without making them obvious; you know who to talk to and what to examine. It doesn't hurt that the new character sprites look fantastic.
Logic
On the one hand, you'd think Capcom made a mistake by not trying to shake things up more with what you actually do in this new branch of the "Ace Attorney" series. You're a whole new guy, why are you still just presenting evidence and finding the contradictions in people's statements? Truth is, changing it too much would make unrecognizable. The Logic system is a subtle and welcome variation on classic rules.
The Lows
Inaccessible
Character and story may be the best parts of "Ace Attorney Investigations", but their mutual charms will be lost on newcomers to the series. Little effort was made to introduce Miles Edgeworth at the beginning of the game, let alone the expansive cast of returning characters, so players unfamiliar with his personality and relationships will probably be wondering who the hell this guy is and why they should care about him.
Cramped Space
The new third-person environments, pretty and detailed as they are, are cramped in "Investigations." This helps keep the game moving and cuts down on the brutal backtracking of older games, but it feels like a missed opportunity to not let these characters run around with their new legs. Backtracking isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes a little backtracking is just what a game world needs to make it feel lived in.
Stick in the Mud
As anti-hero foil to Phoenix Wright's bumbling but earnest cad, Miles Edgeworth had to play the straightman. He's prim, proper, arrogant and easily embarrassed. It's what made him such a great supporting character. The problem with making him the lead is that he isn't nearly as relatable as Phoenix, or even Phoenix's would be successor Apollo Justice. It's just not as fun to be Miles Edgeworth, unless you yourself are a stick in the mud, in which case you probably aren't playing an "Ace Attorney" game.
The Verdict
"Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth" is fan-service so potent, its practically caustic. Series fans run the risk of having a joy-induced stroke when they start playing. It's a good game, one that succeeds at making minor changes to a proven formula. For anyone looking for an easy entry point to the franchise, though, "Investigations" couldn't be more forbidding.