I started off with AA4 so that was my benchmark. I liked Apollo's bracelet as his special power. So going back and playing the first game there were certain things I didn't like with the original and felt Apollo Justice did a lot better. This definitely includes the ghost channelling, the comedy suicide threats from Larry, and above all Mia's exploitative upskirt death pose.
AA4 has been their biggest seller, and that reinforces that they probably did that off the back of the trilogy. It's common for (even bad) sequels to sell more than the great game that went before them which might not have sold so well, because word has had time to get around.
It also means a lot of people will have started at AA4, like me.
The channelling has definitely been there from the start and it's a core part of the trilogy, but that doesn't mean everyone likes it. The lack of sales of Ghost Trick in the west is telling. Those who have played it say it's a great game, yet most people don't even want to try it once they've heard what it's about. At first, I thought it was just me, but I've seen half a dozen other comments on forums saying "I'll pass".
I'm probably unusual in how much I dislike the ghost plot device. From what I can tell, the most common response is bewilderment and lack of interest. It's just not subject matter that appeals to the west. And I love Death in the Terry Pratchett books and Grim Fandango - but in those, they're treated in a very western way. Dead people are skeletons. They wear robes. They can't be mistaken for the living. They have their own realm of the dead.
I once read a book of ancient Chinese detective stories and the translator even had to warn western readers in the foreword that in one of the stories the detective only solved the case after a ghost told him what happened. The translator explained that this wasn't meant to be seen as ridiculous or as a cheap cop out, but was meant to be taken seriously.
Even Wikipedia notes this about the east/west literary traditions.
"These novels differ from the Western tradition in several points...
the stories have a supernatural element with ghosts telling people about their death and even accusing the criminal;"
I'm sure there are some westerners who're attracted to AA because it includes ghost channelling as a valid and legal means of solving crime, which is something new and different over here. But I suspect there are more who are either just bewildered by it and set it down as just one of those crazy Japanese things, or put it down to cultural differences and try to ignore it because it's creepy, like me.
But still not as creepy as that Mia death scene upskirt pic. If I'd started with the first Ace Attorney game, I might not have got through that.
I've spent far too much time googling "hot ryu" already. That thread I linked above is a goldmine for giving other examples of video game fanservice aimed at gay men and ladies who like men. I'm pretty sure the Ryu above is aimed at men who like men, given the number of "hot daddy" and "woah bear" comments, but I'm enjoying it just the same. That's one way Japanese games are great (and sometimes terrible). They don't care what their customers are into, they're going to give them that fanservice, no matter if it's straight, gay, or much shadier indeed.
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http://forums.court-records.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31412
I started off with AA4 so that was my benchmark. I liked Apollo's bracelet as his special power. So going back and playing the first game there were certain things I didn't like with the original and felt Apollo Justice did a lot better. This definitely includes the ghost channelling, the comedy suicide threats from Larry, and above all Mia's exploitative upskirt death pose.
AA4 has been their biggest seller, and that reinforces that they probably did that off the back of the trilogy. It's common for (even bad) sequels to sell more than the great game that went before them which might not have sold so well, because word has had time to get around.
It also means a lot of people will have started at AA4, like me.
The channelling has definitely been there from the start and it's a core part of the trilogy, but that doesn't mean everyone likes it. The lack of sales of Ghost Trick in the west is telling. Those who have played it say it's a great game, yet most people don't even want to try it once they've heard what it's about. At first, I thought it was just me, but I've seen half a dozen other comments on forums saying "I'll pass".
I'm probably unusual in how much I dislike the ghost plot device. From what I can tell, the most common response is bewilderment and lack of interest. It's just not subject matter that appeals to the west. And I love Death in the Terry Pratchett books and Grim Fandango - but in those, they're treated in a very western way. Dead people are skeletons. They wear robes. They can't be mistaken for the living. They have their own realm of the dead.
I once read a book of ancient Chinese detective stories and the translator even had to warn western readers in the foreword that in one of the stories the detective only solved the case after a ghost told him what happened. The translator explained that this wasn't meant to be seen as ridiculous or as a cheap cop out, but was meant to be taken seriously.
Even Wikipedia notes this about the east/west literary traditions.
"These novels differ from the Western tradition in several points...
the stories have a supernatural element with ghosts telling people about their death and even accusing the criminal;"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detective_fiction#Early_Chinese_detective_fiction
I'm sure there are some westerners who're attracted to AA because it includes ghost channelling as a valid and legal means of solving crime, which is something new and different over here. But I suspect there are more who are either just bewildered by it and set it down as just one of those crazy Japanese things, or put it down to cultural differences and try to ignore it because it's creepy, like me.
But still not as creepy as that Mia death scene upskirt pic. If I'd started with the first Ace Attorney game, I might not have got through that.
I've spent far too much time googling "hot ryu" already. That thread I linked above is a goldmine for giving other examples of video game fanservice aimed at gay men and ladies who like men. I'm pretty sure the Ryu above is aimed at men who like men, given the number of "hot daddy" and "woah bear" comments, but I'm enjoying it just the same. That's one way Japanese games are great (and sometimes terrible). They don't care what their customers are into, they're going to give them that fanservice, no matter if it's straight, gay, or much shadier indeed.