It’s that time of year again, when you can’t believe  anything you read on the internet… okay, this time even more so than your average day: April 1st!

This year, our teams in Japan took some time to go all out on some pretty elaborate and surprising activities. They’re not so much about deceiving you, but just having a fun time with our games.

You may have noticed these going live around 24 hours ago, so if you noticed any of these popping up on March 31st, just remember this for next year: Japan Standard Time is roughly 13 to 16 hours ahead of US time zones.

Street Fighter: World President Challenges a Shooting Game

In a classic throwback mini-game, but also a very fitting tie-in with the anime  Hi Score Girl , you get to play a  1942 style shoot ’em up as G, President of the World.

If this description and the header image of this blog sounded and looked appealing to you, check it out here:  game.capcom.com/cfn/sfv/aprilfool/2019

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Resident Evil: Zombies Wanted

Okay, so contrary to what the website will tell you, we’re not  actually running out of zombies in the game… that’s not how video games work. That said, the main stat shown up front is a real number! Since launch,  Resident Evil 2 players have killed over 770 million zombies! 😮

Anyways, check out the application page here, and make sure to apply and share your results: I got the Stunt Zombie job.  game.capcom.com/CapcomDev1/aprilfool2019…

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Devil May Cry: Playable Empusa

The Trickster gang in the Devil May Cry team got together and tried to pull this fast one on us… I’ll just leave you with the Tweet + video here so you can watch for yourself; just make sure to stick around till the end for the non-joke portion.  twitter.com/dev1_official/status/1112511…

I kinda really want to play DMC5 as an empusa now……. T_T

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Anyways, that’s all we had in store for this year. Have fun!

Hello again, Ace Attorney fans! We’re back with another blog from Shu Takumi, the creator and original writer for the Ace Attorney series. This time, Mr. Takumi talks about some of the trials and tribulations of creating the story for all three games.

The floor is yours, Mr. Takumi!

***

Hello, again. This is Shu Takumi, the original planner, scenario writer, and director of the first three Ace Attorney games. This week, I’d like to talk a little about the challenges and difficulties I had while writing the trilogy.

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t have a lot of video game story writing experience when I initially came up with the first game’s design document in the summer of 2000. So, you could say that everything was difficult and a challenge for me back then. I’m often asked if I had the entire narrative for the trilogy mapped out in my head from the very beginning, but it was nothing of the sort. In fact, we weren’t even planning to make a sequel at the time, so I’d spent all of my energy focused on creating a single, self-contained story for the first game.

I used to read nothing but mysteries when I was young, and once I grew up, I decided to join Capcom because I wanted to make a mystery adventure game. So basically, I am what you’d call a “big mystery nerd”. When the Ace Attorney project started to take off, I assumed it would be my one and only shot at making my dream come true, so I took all of the mystery story ideas I’d ever had and enthusiastically poured them into the game. By contrast, the game’s dramatic elements were centered on relatively straightforward themes like “true friends and rivals,” “messy pasts,” and “defeat the big bad for a happy ending.” I suppose this is because, in addition to the mystery novels I loved so much, I was greatly influenced by the Japanese shÅnen manga that were all around me when I was young.

The decision to make a sequel was handed down to us around the time we were wrapping up the first game. In fact, we were told, “Why not make it a trilogy?” This… really stressed me out, personally, because I’d just spent all of my ideas on the first game. But a part of me also wanted to take advantage of this great opportunity and write a new story, so for the second game, I focused my attention on that which I had mostly left on the back burner in the first game: the dramatic elements. I wrote a narrative centered around a community that’s steeped in an ancient tradition, and another story about a ragtag bunch of circus performers who come together as a troupe in the end. It was through tales like these, in addition to each case’s big mystery, that I was able to give the characters more depth and the second game’s stories a different feel from the first game.

Finishing the second game, we immediately started on making the third, and this time, I really used up every last idea I had. Even knowing that I’d have to make an “Ace Attorney 3,” I wasn’t clever enough to save some ideas for later when we were making the second game. In fact, I had originally wanted to use the outline of the last episode of “Justice For All” as the basis for the final episode of the third game. The theme of “What are lawyers really supposed to protect?” would’ve made for a good story to end the series on, I thought. But since I’d already used that theme in the second game and I couldn’t come up with another good narrative related to that theme, I was really at a loss as to how to conclude the last episode of the third game. I had an especially tough time with how the characters were going to bring the culprit to justice. After all, due to the culprit’s “unique nature,” there was no way for the protagonists to do it the normal way through the legal system. But humans are strange creatures, and the more stress we are placed under, the more likely we are to come up with something. I managed to finish the story eventually, and when I turned around to take a look back over it all, I found myself in a place that the younger me from the year 2000 could never have imagined.

I feel that in the course of making these three games, I started as a “know-nothing newbie,” but as I gained more and more experience, and thanks to the guidance of my fellow team members and you, the players, I was able to somehow keep writing to the very end. In a way, Phoenix’s growth from a rookie into an accomplished lawyer mirrored my own growth at the time. Just thinking about it brings back so many fond memories for me.

***

Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful reflection on Phoenix’s early adventures, Mr. Takumi! For both greenhorn attorneys and veterans returning to the courtroom, you’ll be able to pick up Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy for PS4, XB1, Switch, and Steam starting April 9 ^th . See you in court!

What drives a person to choose her profession? When you’re a von Karma and the daughter of a prosecutor with a spotless record, the choice seems to be made for you. The revenge-seeking prodigy, Franziska von Karma, is the star of today’s Ace Attorney File!

Heads up: Mild spoilers for the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney to follow.

While Franziska makes her first appearance in the second game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, she’s not the first von Karma to appear in the franchise. Phoenix faced another von Karma in court before: Franziska’s father, Manfred von Karma. In addition to being prosecutor Miles Edgeworth’s mentor, Manfred’s dogged pursuit of perfection earned him a spotless victory record in his own right – forty years’ worth of wins, to be exact! Due to the events that unfolded from Phoenix and Manfred’s incredible court battle, Franziska set out for the United States with a singular goal in mind – to find the man that defeated her father and take him down in court.

Being a von Karma, Franziska holds up the ideals of perfection and victory above all else. In fact, she was trained from her youth to be an incredible prosecutor, having passed the bar exam at the age of 13 with flying colors. After starting her career in her native country of Germany, a blow to her family’s honor brings her tothe United States to do battle against Phoenix. While Phoenix fights for justice, there’s only one thing on Franziska’s mind when she first stands in court. To quote Franziska herself: “I gave up a promising career in Germany and came to this country for one sole reason. Revenge.”

Not one to hold back, von Karma never pulls her punches. Not that she has to; she brings a whip with her wherever she goes, up to and including the courtroom. Nobody is safe from her furious whip, and anyone who crosses her risks getting a lashing in more ways than one. While Phoenix is the most familiar with the sting of her whip, she’s been known to lash out at investigators, witnesses, and occasionally even the Judge! She certainly knows how to whip a courtroom into shape. While the Judge may give out penalties for misguided guesses, Franziska will dole out her own painful penalty if she doesn’t like Phoenix’s deductions, too.

As you may have guessed from the above, Franziska tends to look down on others quite a bit, often coming up with snubs towards Phoenix, aggravating nicknames for the people she meets, and her personal favorite, creating elaborate insults such as “foolishly foolish fool.” Accepting nothing less than perfection in all aspects of her profession, she can often be seen cracking the whip – literally – to move the investigation along or intimidate witnesses, making her a particularly difficult prosecutor to stand against in court. Even during her quest for revenge, there might be more that motivates her beyond vengeance and preserving a flawless win record in court.

You’ll be able to find out more about Franziska for yourself when you play through Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, part of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy coming to PS4, XB1, Switch, and Steam on April 9!

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s me, Janet Hsu, back with another localization blog! We’re less than a month away now (April 9 ^th !) from the release of “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy” on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam!

Whether you play the game in English or in Japanese, I’m sure the question of “I wonder what this pun is like in the other language?” comes up from time to time. After all, as a humor-based series, there are many elements that just wouldn’t make sense if it were literally translated, and that’s where localization comes in.

Spoilers for the third game, “Trials and Tribulations” are included, so beware!!!

The thing with localization is that it isn’t this one cookie-cutter process that can be applied to any and every game. It requires a lot of thought and effort to balance the needs of the game and the player’s expectation that they’ll be able to beat the game of their own volition, among other things. For example, a game that takes place in Japan can be localized in any number of ways. In an action game where the Japanese setting and/or cultural references don’t directly affect a player’s ability to clear said gme, the Japanese setting and the Japanese text within the game may be left as-is.

But as any player of Ace Attorney knows, text-based puzzles abound in visual novel mystery games, so the text must be adapted so that most people can solve the puzzles with general knowledge facts from their culture. And unlike other mediums such as manga and anime, on-screen subtitles and translation notes were simply a no-go, visually or otherwise on a screen as small as a Nintendo DS. Therefore, in order for a player to play and beat the games, all relevant Japanese text has to be localized.

But that’s a very technical way of viewing localization, isn’t it? The mechanics of finishing the game aside, another unique aspect of Ace Attorney is its humor, and what fun is it to play a comedy series if none of the jokes land properly? If the text were translated literally, you would end up with gibberish lines that make no sense. Take for example, one of Luke Atmey’s lines:

動機ですよ、動機。　‥‥ムウビング・マシイン‥‥

Douki desu yo, douki. …Muubingu Mashiin…

If I were to translate this literally, the line would simply read:

“Motive, motive.

… moving machine…”

The second line is already the English words “moving machine” so in my literal translation, I should keep it as is, but then, where is the joke in that line? Why is it funny at all, you may ask? The answer is that it’s all in the wordplay.

動機 = motive

動 = to move

機 = machine

In the Japanese, Luke Atmey’s character quirk is to spout ridiculous phrases that the other characters can’t make heads or tail of. Therefore, him literally translating the 2 kanji characters that make up the word for “motive” (動機) into “moving machine”, and using a very unconventional Japanese spelling (normal spelling: ムービング・マシーン) is hilarious to a Japanese player.

The dilemma here in localizing this line was “how do we convey the same sentiment in English?” How do we show that Atmey is back to his usual ridiculous self through humor? Well, we took cues from the intent of the original Japanese: use Atmey’s trademark nonsense phrasing.

We intentionally made as many words start with “M” as possible to add that extra Atmey flair, and voila, a similar comedic line was created in the exact same vein as the Japanese.

Similarly, given how punny names and even signs in the background can be in this series, we had to focus more on capturing the essence of the text, rather than the literal meaning of the text itself.

Tender Lender’s motto “三日坊主” and “Win Through Compromise”

Take for example, Tender Lender’s motto, “Win Through Compromise” and its Japanese counterpart, “三日坊主”. “Mikka bouzu” (lit. “3-day monk”) is a fairly common phrase that is used to describe someone who is fickle or gets bored of things easily and who doesn’t see things through to the end. But in the hands of Tender Lender, both language versions use very unconventional interpretations of these everyday phrases to convey what terrible fate will befall anyone who doesn’t pay back their loan. In the Japanese version, Violetta interprets the phrase to mean “We make our clients as bald as monks in 3 days by stripping them of all their hair (aka: money)”, while in the English, she says that they win by “compromising” (aka: hurting) their clients.

Lastly, just in case you think localization only impacts short lines here and there, there is one tricky phrase that affected an entire episode. I’m talking, of course, of “Bridge to the Turnabout” or “華麗なる逆転” (“Karei naru Gyakuten” – The Magnificent Turnabout).

家元に、華麗に引導をたたきつけてやりなさい

Iemoto ni, karei ni indou wo tatakitukete yarinasai

Literally: Send the Master off with a glorious last rite.

As those who have played this episode know, the key to this word puzzle hinges on something we learned in the second game: namely, that Pearl isn’t very good at complex Japanese characters/reading in English. Here, she mistakes 華麗 (“karei” – gorgeous, magnificent) and 引導 (“indou” – last rites, funeral) for the similar-sounding words カレー (“karee” – curry) and インド (“indo” – India). So she misunderstands the sentence as having something to do with “Indian curry”.

In the English version, she gets “gravely” and “(to) roast” mixed up with “gravy” and “(meat) roast”, and thus she used the gravy for the pot roast that was served for dinner on the Master. The reason we chose to go with “gravy” for the word play was actually because we couldn’t change the color of the sauce, so we had to pick a brown sauce and go from there. I remember searching for phrasings that would work with things like steak sauce and even onion soup!

But all that aside, an unintended consequence of the wordplay needing to be localized was that it necessitated a change in the title of the episode itself. The word 華麗 (“karei”) held a lot of significance for the episode, and so the use of the word in the episode’s title was a nice callback in the Japanese version, but a simple word swap just wouldn’t do in the English version. “The Grave Turnabout” in English didn’t have the same sparkle and glory of the Japanese “The Magnificent Turnabout” (華麗なる逆転), so we set out to look for something else of significance that would make for an equally meaningful title.

Yeah… there were quite a few themes to choose from…

We brainstormed and brainstormed, and finally settled on “bridge” for a number of reasons, among which: 1) Dusky Bridge itself is pretty significant in the scheme of things, and 2) the trials and tribulations the characters endured were like a metaphorical bridge they had to cross to get to their futures, especially for Maya and her decision to claim the title of Master.

And there you have it! These examples were representative of just a few of the considerations we had to make while localizing the Ace Attorney games. If you’ve never tried before, I hope you’ll try to play them in different languages. It’s always neat to see how the more they differ, the more they remain the same.

I’ll be back in a bit for one last blog. In the meantime, Takumi-san will be here next week to shed some more light on his inspirations and the challenges he faced while creating the Ace Attorney games.

Until then!

Today, we’re talking about Phoenix’s red-suited rival, a calm, collected, cravat-wearing man known as the “Demon Attorney” due to his perfect win record and commanding presence in court: Miles Edgeworth!

That’s right; you’ll pay for the whole seat, but only need the edge’s worth, because it’s time to – sorry, the Judge has instructed me that I’ll be held in contempt of court if I make another pun like that. At any rate, let’s take a closer look at the feared prosecutor with a flawless court record.

You’ll first hear about Edgeworth by name only when you start the second case of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, building up a bit of mystery around him as Phoenix rides high off of his victory over Winston Payne, the “Rookie Killer.” When tragedy befalls the Fey and Co. law offices, Phoenix finds himself in the awkward position of defending his mentor’s younger sister, Maya Fey. The prosecutor for the case? A ruthless man known as Miles Edgeworth, famed for being one of the youngest prosecutors in the country as well as his pristine victory record.

It’s not just his record that’s cause for alarm, though. Rumors swirl around Edgeworth along with whispered accusations that he will chase down victory at any cost, including hiding and even forging important pieces of evidence to ensure that the case goes the way he wants it to, when he wants it to, every single time. In truth, Edgeworth seems to detest crimes in all its forms. To him, the only way to ensure justice is served is to find the accused guilty by any means necessary.

As you navigate each case, you’ll be treated to a number of Edgeworth’s underhanded tricks, including dictating the flow of the courtroom, to presenting evidence that he “accidentally” forgot to introduce earlier on in the case. While Payne may be a pushover, Edgeworth has none of the older prosecutor’s flaws. His effortless ability to command the pacing of each trial and clever use of logic to bolster his case – while undermining Wright’s arguments – makes him an intimidating addition to the courtroom. None of this is surprising for a character who initially comes off as cold, calculating, and occasionally a bit cruel.

Of course, the game isn’t called Miles Edgeworth: Ace Prosecutor Trilogy. While Phoenix may have his work cut out for him, he’s not willing to back down in the defense of his clients, either. The stubborn rivalry between Phoenix and Edgeworth makes for incredible courtroom clashes between Phoenix’s unshakable belief in his client’s innocence and Edgeworth’s, desire to see each of Phoenix’s clients proven guilty.

You’ll be able to find out the truth for yourself when Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam on April 9 ^th!

With Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy bringing the loud lawyer to a wide variety of platforms, we were fortunate enough to have Shu Takumi, the series’ creator, share his reflections on both crafting Phoenix’s early adventures and seeing them brought to new platforms.

Without further ado, take it away, Mr. Takumi!

***

Hello. This is Shu Takumi, the original planner, scenario writer, and director of the first three Ace Attorney games.

The first Ace Attorney game made its overseas debut in 2005, but it was originally released in Japan in 2001. So, as we approach the series’ 20 ^th anniversary, I was surprised to hear that we would be releasing this latest version with redrawn graphics and a more refined UI. I was doubly surprised to hear that the series would be taking its first steps away from Nintendo handhelds to make its global multi-platform debut on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. While I left the actual work of porting the game to the dev team, when they showed me the final game on a large TV, I was surprised yet again by how fresh everything felt thanks to all the little details they had restored.

When I had set out to write the first game’s script, I had wanted to make it something people could play in 10 years’ time and still feel that it was as relevant then as when I’d written it. Therefore, I avoided things that would date it like using popular slang phrases or building stories around current affairs, and instead, focused on stories that anyone can easily relate to and understand… And now, here we are 18 years later. What started as the creation of a small, seven-member team has grown into a series that people all around the world can enjoy. As a creator, that fact in itself is a great source of joy for me. I am grateful for everyone’s love and support.

The idea to make a game about a lawyer fighting in a court of law first took shape in a game proposal doc I wrote in the summer of 2000. There were no courtroom-based games at the time, so it was very hard to convey to others what it would actually play like. When I first presented the game’s concept to the higher ups in the company, I received a lot of negative comments like, “This game seems hard and unforgiving. Are you sure players will take to this?” and “Won’t players need some legal knowledge just to play?” But the point of the game wasn’t “the law” or even “reality”. Instead, I imagined a game where the point was to have fun solving puzzles and enjoy the excitement of calling witnesses out in their lies with evidence. I imagined the courtroom to be like a huge colosseum where the crowds above would loudly cheer on the verbal gladiators below.

That’s why I took the negative comments to heart and used them to help me decide how to create the game’s characters. I aimed to create characters that seemed to sit on the line between “real” and “not real” – ordinary enough to exist in the real world while being just outlandish enough not to. I wanted them to be funny and charming so as to leave an impression on players from just a single glance. For main characters like Phoenix and Edgeworth, I decided to give them each a unique and recognizable silhouette and color scheme. As for the witnesses, I wanted them to change dramatically over time and to reveal their real colors the more you pursued them. That drastic difference in tone was something we wanted to really stress when we were designing them. The first of these characters that we created was April May. I’m willing to bet that there isn’t anyone on Earth who didn’t feel a huge sense of satisfaction when they finally took her down.

From the second game onwards, I decided to take the character designs in a new direction. In the first game, the characters were meant to be “real but not real”, but with the second game, we made them “100% out of this world”. One character that represents this to a T is the whip-loving Franziska von Karma. Her impossibly indiscriminate whip strikes down witnesses, lawyers, and even judges alike in court. Yet, despite all that, not a single person on the team told me it was a totally ridiculous idea when I first proposed it. So, while the first Ace Attorney had laid the groundwork, we kept taking things further and further until one day, a coffee-loving masked prosecutor named Godot appeared.

Back when we were creating these characters, we thought it was vital that we found the characters to be funny ourselves, and that we had as much fun as possible while making them. We believed that if we created them in joy, then players would surely interact with them in joy as well. The fact that the characters we created are still yelling “Objection!” somewhere in the world to this very day… as a creator, it is the greatest honor I could ever have.

***

Thank you so much for your valuable time and insight, Mr. Takumi!

If this is your first time putting on a lawyer’s badge, you’ll get to experience the world of Ace Attorney for yourself when Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam on April 9 ^th ! We’ll have more from Mr. Takumi in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Hello Street Fighter fans. The 2019 Capcom Pro Tour season is ready to kick off this weekend with Final Round 2019 !

As a Premier Event, players from around the world will be flying in to Atlanta, Georgia to compete for up to 700 points on the Global Leaderboard for a 1st place finish.

In addition to the start of the season, featuring Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, the CPT has new theme song called True Champion by music group PKCZ® appearing by courtesy of LDH Music & Publishing INC. debuting at Final Round. PKCZ, consisting of Exile Hiro, DJ Makidai, Verbal, DJ Daruma as its core members, creates new sound by mixing “true excitement and the sensation of indescribable cool.” You might even recognize some of Exile Hiro’s previous work on Street Fighter IV’s Indestructible theme song.

If you’re at Final Round, you’ll get to hear True Champion for the first time! For now, tune in to a sample of the track on Capcom Fighters YouTube .

Final Round always brings the hype and the level of competition will be off the charts.  You won’t want to miss a second of the action so tune in March 15-17 on the following channels:

Twitch.tv/CapcomFighters
YouTube.com/CapcomFighters
Facebook.com/StreetFighter

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With Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy out in just a few weeks, it’s once again time to check in on the colorful cast of characters that grace the courtroom. Last week we covered the pointy hair and pointed finger of Phoenix Wright, but this time we’re moving the spotlight over Maya Fey! Seasoned veterans need no introductions, but if you’re new to the games, now’s a great time to learn more about Phoenix’s spirited assistant.

A lively young woman who loves to poke fun at Phoenix about anything and everything she can, Maya is a constant companion throughout many of Wright’s early cases. Offering valuable insight (and some good-natured teasing) to investigations and courtrooms alike, Maya brings lots of colorful commentary and perspective to dire situations. As the younger sister of Mia Fey (Phoenix’s mentor and boss), Maya knows her way around a court case and has even helped her sister in the past by holding on to key pieces of evidence. Maya’s support can be invaluable when Phoenix has nowhere else to turn, typically only asking for payment in her favorite food: hamburgers! Phoenix still has to foot the bill, of course.

Maya is certainly more spirited than most others, which you may have noticed from her unusual clothing. It causes her to stand out, and there’s a reason for what she wears! While her older sister Mia left their home village of Kurain to study law, Maya stayed behind to train as a spirit medium, learning how to channel the spirits of the recently departed via the Kurain Channeling Technique. In addition to summoning a spirit to speak through a living person, this technique causes the medium to take on physical characteristics of the person they’re channeling, often with surprising results. The occult plays a central role in one of the cases in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, but you’ll have to play for yourself to understand just how this unique form of channeling works.

Even when Maya isn’t around, she finds ways to help Phoenix in spirit. Early on in Justice for All, Maya provides Phoenix with a magatama (the comma-shaped gem she wears on her necklace). Far from just a fashionable accessory, this spiritually charged stone can help Phoenix see the secrets that people are hiding in the form of Psyche-Locks. These are a manifestation of the blockades people have on their hearts to hide away the truth – typically from others, but occasionally even from themselves. With the right piece of evidence, Phoenix can break each lock and uncover even the deepest secrets that people have sealed away.

You’ll get to know lots more about Maya, including her love of the Steel Samurai and keen eye for ladders (it’s a “‘step’-ladder” by the way) when Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam on April 9th!

After all these years, the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is finally making its way to the Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Steam on April 9, 2019! Whether you’re joining us from the anime or you’re just getting around to playing the game that started the “Objection!” meme, welcome to the world of Ace Attorney! I’m your guide, series localization director Janet Hsu, and if you’re all set, we’ll be on our way!

So what exactly is Ace Attorney all about? Aside from ridiculously pointy-haired lawyers pointing ridiculously, I mean. Well, it’s a little of everything: mystery, comedy, drama, and even tragedy. In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, you are Phoenix Wright, and along with your assistant Maya Fey, you’ll take on not one, not two, but 14 cases across the first three games of the Ace Attorney series. But you probably already knew all that, right?

Then let’s get into the nitty-gritty, shall we?

 1)       Forget everything you know about real-life law

No lawyer in the real world would play detective and search crime scenes for clues, yet that’s precisely what you and Phoenix will need to get up to. Before each trial, you’ll have one day to investigate your client’s claims, find evidence that will strengthen your case, and talk with witnesses who can fill in the gaps.

  Examining everything is the key to finding clues… and silly banter.

Of course, nothing is easy for our protagonist, as you’ll quickly find out. The police will try to keep you out of their crime scenes, and witnesses will require some finessing before they’re willing to spill the beans.

Presenting people with evidence will sometimes jog their memory and/or loosen their lips.

Behold, the mighty Attorney’s Badge! See how it sparkles in the light!

Oftentimes, the crime scene isn’t the only location you’ll have to visit in your quest for the truth. Plus, you’ll definitely want to speak with your client down at the detention center. Thankfully, getting around town in this game world is instantaneous!

Once you’ve gathered all you can, it’s time to go home and rest up for the next day’s trial….

2)       Seriously, forget everything you know about real-life law

 

Just as no lawyer yells “Objection!” nearly as much in real life, the witnesses you’ll cross-examine get more chances to correct themselves than me and Ctrl-Z. After opening statements and an overview of the case, you’ll be given a chance to listen witnesses and cross-examine them. The key to victory is to listen carefully to each statement and compare what the witness is saying against the evidence in the Court Record.

If something seems off, it’s up to you to present your evidence and point out the contradiction.

Slowly, a picture of what actually happened will begin to take form, and you’ll begin to see who really committed the crime. Use the evidence you gathered and your deductive reasoning to nail the culprit and bring them to justice!

You believed in your client to the very end, right? Of course you did!

While this all seems very easy, if the judge decides that there just isn’t enough to convince him of your client’s guilt, or if new questions were raised during the trial that warrant looking into, he may decide to extend the trial by another day. In that case, you’ll get the chance to spend the rest of the day following up on any new leads you’ve uncovered or re-interview witnesses. Make good use of this extra day to do everything you can to shore up your case!

3)       Remember to enjoy yourself

The colorful world of Ace Attorney is filled with amazing and well-developed characters whose complex stories and interactions are guaranteed to spark joy. Here are just a few you’ll meet:

Phoenix Wright

A newly minted lawyer just starting to learn the ropes, his sense of justice and faith in his clients is second to none.

Mia Fey

Phoenix’s mentor and boss at Fey & Co. Law Offices. A real go-getter in her youth, she remains as dogged as ever in her search for the truth.

Maya Fey

Mia’s younger sister and Phoenix’s assistant, Maya loves hamburgers and teasing Phoenix over anything she can. She’s training to become a powerful spirit medium, but she’s not quite there yet.

Detective Gumshoe

A detective with the local precinct, he is a lovable lunk with a heart of gold. Sure, he’s working for the opposition, but he also leaks info like a runny faucet. A true friend indeed.

Miles Edgeworth

Cool as ice on the outside, an intense desire to bring all criminals to justice burns deep within his heart. Some might say it burns abnormally so, but he has his own reasons for wanting to see them behind bars.

Franziska von Karma

Following in the footsteps of her famous father, Franziska will do anything to show the world that she is as great as the legendary Manfred von Karma, including whipping you. Literally.

Godot

“A masked prosecutor?” you might ask yourself, but as he would say, “No matter the man, we all wear masks… Either on our faces or over our hearts.” No one seems to know much about the man known as Godot, but one thing is for certain: you can’t wait around for him to give you a straight answer — you have to find it for yourself.

In addition to the cast of characters, we’ve made it easier than ever for you to play as you wish with these new options and other quality of life features!

 

• Start playing from whichever game you’d like!

• More save slots! Ten for each language, in fact!

• And glorious, glorious options!

• We’ve also made sure to let you know what you’ve already checked with a convenient checkmark (✔)!

Hooray! No more, “What in the world did I forget to check this time???”

 • And for Switch players, you can play whole game using just the touch screen!

Manipulate the evidence as you wish. Just be careful about leaving your fingerprints on it!

Now that you’ve been armed with the basics, I hope to see you in court on April 9 ^th ! In the meantime, this is just the first blog in a series, so I’ll be back at a later date for some more fun.

Until then!

The anticipation is over, folks! Devil May Cry 5 is here and the world is ready to see all the smokin’ sexy stylish combos you’ll pull off in the game!

As the demonic invasion begins, the stage is set for one of the most epic and badass adventures in the Devil May Cry universe. And for the first time, you’ll be able to take on this gargantuan task by stepping into the shoes of three distinct protagonists. Here’s a refresher on each of these stylish demon hunters.

V, the newcomer to the series, joins the cast in a shroud of mystery and brings with him a completely new take on the over-the-top combat the series is known for. Accompanied by his summoned demons Griffon, Shadow and Nightmare, V controls the entire battlefield in ways never done before! Can’t wait to see all the sadistic and savage combo videos you’ll come up with!

Nero is at the center of this latest chapter in the Devil May Cry series. After all, a powerful demon took his arm and gained a great deal of power from it. But this loss is being compensated for by the addition of the devastating robotic Devil Breaker arms. These new tools are core to his combat mechanics opening up even more opportunities for SSSmooth combos. The real fun begins once you embrace their disposable nature and start to explore what’s under the hood.

Dante, the legendary demon hunter we all fell in love with back in 2001, is also back in business. He’s back with his classic style focused on the triad combination of swords, guns and real-time style-switching. Our masterful designers took the time to tinker with and revamp a lot of the weapon move sets and toolkits offered by upgrading each of Dante’s styles. Seriously: upgrade those styles and you’ll start to see the magic happen.

In case you need some extra motivation before jumping in, here’s our Final Trailer:

And a new personal favorite, our live action TV spot, created by Lord Danger’s legendary director Mike Diva :

Devil May Cry 5 is available now on Xbox One, PS4 and PC!

Keep it stylish!

With Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam in just a few weeks, it’s a great time for new attorneys to discover what makes these games so much fun. We’ll start by taking a look at the ace attorney who started it all. Isn’t that right, Wright?

Phoenix Wright is a man who needs no introduction – his name is in the title, after all! You probably know the spiky-haired attorney from his bright blue suit, shiny gold attorney’s badge, and of course, his tendency to point at things and yell “OBJECTION!” dramatically. What’s with all the yelling and desk slamming, anyways? If you’re picking these games up for the first time or discovered Wright through his appearances elsewhere, here’s a quick overview of what you need to know about Phoenix.

Phoenix made his first appearance in 2001 in the Game Boy Advance game 逆転è£åˆ¤ (Gyakuten Saiban), which translates to “Turnabout Courtroom.” When the games were brought to the Nintendo DS in the West, they were renamed to Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, bringing the adventures of Ryuichi Naruhodo to a new audience and giving the character a new name: Phoenix Wright. Makes sense, right?

Moving on from the history lesson, the aptly named Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney begins with Phoenix’s very first case in a court of law, defending his old friend Larry Butz against murder charges. While Wright has had plenty of experience working as a junior member of the Fey and Co. Law Offices, it’s his first time taking the lead on the defense, putting a spotlight on how nervous he is to be standing behind the bench. Worse still, he’s pitted against Winston Payne, a man dubbed the “Rookie Killer.” Armed with only his badge, his wits, and a few pieces of evidence, it’s up to Phoenix to stand tall, defend his friend, and save the day in court!

This is Phoenix’s first case, and he still has quite a bit to learn about how to put up a solid defense, but it also highlights one of his greatest strengths. Throughout his cases, Phoenix eventually becomes well known for his particular ability to turn a bad situation in his favor when things are at their worst, often finding just the right piece of evidence he needs to prove his point or thinking through the entire case from a new angle to turn the tables on the prosecution. Well… that, and his constant pointing, desk slamming, and of course, loudly yelling “ OBJECTION! ”

After an unforeseen incident, Phoenix inherits the Fey and Co. Law Offices and begins to take on new cases with the help of Mia’s younger sister, Maya, who we’ll be covering next time. As time goes on, Phoenix’s idea of what his role in court is changes; instead of blindly seeking to find his client innocent no matter the cost, he starts to understand that his role extends to finding the facts of the case at hand… even if that means learning hard truths that neither he nor his client might want to face.

Throughout the original three Ace Attorney games, Phoenix grows into a competent defense attorney, though he can still be flustered by Maya’s constant antics, the bizarre suspects that come to him for help, and the vibrant cast of prosecutors out to stop him at every turn. Still, he finds a way to smile through it all, putting his unwavering belief in his clients and the truth front and center each time he steps into the courtroom. Eventually, Phoenix will unravel a case that had been haunting him since his college days, involving his ex-girlfriend, his mentor, and a court case that bridges the past and future… but that’s a story for another time. You’ll just have to play for yourself to see how that unfolds.

You won’t have to wait too much longer for your day in court. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy hits PS4, XB1, Switch, and Steam on April 9th!

Hello Street Fighter fans. The Street Fighter League: US-Pro 2019 is officially in progress and we have some updates and new details to share with you!

First, allow us to congratulate the winners of the SFL Phase 1 East and West Coast Online Qualifiers – RobTV and UpToSnuff, respectively. By winning the Online Qualifiers, they’ve placed themselves in the draft pool for SFL 2019.

Phase 2 East and West Coast Online Qualifiers registrations are open right now. If you competed in the first phase, you’re still eligible to play in the second and third phases. Take control of your destiny by registering on the SFL 2019 Smash.gg page and put yourself on an SFL team!

Now on to the actual tournament format of the SFL. As mentioned previously, the 2019 SFL is a 3v3 teams-based competition. Once the captains and players have been determined – via Online Qualifiers and the Community Vote (which we’ll get to in a bit) – a draft will take place to form the six teams.

We’ve put together this handy infographic to visualize the process.

Six teams will compete in a double round robin elimination tournament until we have a winner. However, we’re introducing something a little different to the competition than you’re used to seeing in teams tournaments – the character ban.

Before each match, a team will have the choice of banning one character. Each team will then have to make a strategic decision to determine who will play what characters. Once the character selections are made, they are locked in and repeating characters will not be allowed.

The goal is to introduce a layer of team strategy into the competition rather than focus solely on the individuals.

If you don’t make it into SFL via Online Qualifiers, you still have a shot through the Community Vote. You can log into the official Smash.gg SFL Community Vote page and opt in right now. The opt-in phase lasts until Friday, March 15, 2019. At that time, the community can then vote on the players until March 17.

The six players with the most votes will win the final spots in SFL 2019 and be placed into the draft pool along with the Online Qualifiers.

That’s it for now but we still have more info to share in the coming weeks so make sure you follow Capcom Fighters on Twitter and Facebook for updates on SFL 2019.