My Thoughts on Ace Attorney Switch Rumours
Capcom recently revealed in an interview that they're planning on increasing their support for the Nintendo Switch after April 2018. For whatever reason, the only franchise they specifically mentioned was Ace Attorney, much to my surprise and delight. For a few days, there was all sorts of speculation regarding this interview; could they mean new games, ports of old ones or both?
A few days later, Kotaku revealed they have sources saying that Capcom is currently working on three Ace Attorney titles for the Switch; two of which are compilations of past titles and one brand new title (Ace Attorney 7, for all intents and purposes). They say the two compilations contain Ace Attorney 1-3 and 4-6 respectively, and are planning on releasing them between April and October 2018. That's pretty exciting in and of itself; the Switch is growing at a rapid pace and opportunity for the Ace Attorney series to grow and gain more fans is always a good thing.
That said... Ace Attorney 7 is apparently being developed for a simultaneous Switch and mobile release in late 2018, featuring five cases at launch and Phoenix Wright as the playable protagonist. Now there's always a chance these rumours could be completely false, but I'm willing to believe there's some truth in them. After all, there aren't any contradictions jumping out at me.
Now, Capcom's Switch support has been kind of messy so far. They clearly didn't expect it to be a success and were all but writing it off as a second Wii U. It seems like they've seen the error of their ways however, especially if the interview is to be believed. Whilst it doesn't offer much, the interview does confirm that Capcom are working on at least one Ace Attorney Switch game. And considering how much Capcom likes porting their old games to new consoles, I'd be willing to bet they're definitely planning on releasing Ace Attorney Trilogy on the Switch.
The second compilation is more interesting, as those three games (Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice) haven't been part of a compilation before. The part that's worrying me is whether Capcom would be willing to put Spirit of Justice in a compilation so soon after its release (well, relatively soon)? That said, having all six main games readily available on the Switch would honestly be a no-brainer and would likely sell relatively well. I think it's safe to assume that the six current main Ace Attorney titles will be coming to the Switch at some point in the near future.
Naturally, the most exciting part of this rumour is the part about the new Ace Attorney title being developed for the Switch (and mobile). If we believe the rumour, we're getting Ace Attorney 7 in about a year's time, containing five cases and featuring Phoenix as the playable character. Let's take a second to digest that information.
I'm not sure what to think about the late 2018 date. It's only been a year since Spirit of Justice, is two years too short of a time for a brand new title on a new system? I'm sure it's not impossible, especially given Capcom's marketing push for Spirit of Justice and Apollo Justice on 3DS; it's possible they've finally realised that the series has fans and began dedicating more money and staff to work on Ace Attorney. Either way, I think it's definitely possible we'll see a new game on the Switch next year, especially if the compilations are real; they'd be a great way to get new people interested in the series before releasing a brand new title.
The rumour mentions the game having five cases at launch, which isn't really surprising. Both Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice had five cases, with an additional DLC case each. It's entirely possible Ace Attorney 7 will continue this (although I definitely wouldn't mind there being more than one DLC case, as long as they're good).
The part which most captured my attention is that Phoenix will be the playable protagonist. The rumour doesn't elaborate on this further, but I imagine we'll get a Dual Destinies/Spirit of Justice style game with multiple playable characters. I mean, Capcom essentially marketed Spirit of Justice as Phoenix's game when in fact it was pretty much Apollo's game, so I'd take Phoenix being the main character with a pinch of salt. That said, it's clear Capcom wants Phoenix Wright to be at the forefront of Ace Attorney (probably because his name's on the box), so he's definitely not going anywhere.
Honestly, I'd be kind of disappointed if Phoenix was the only playable character, especially after Spirit of Justice. Assuming this new game takes place after the events of Spirit of Justice, surely I can't be alone in wanting to be able to play as Apollo and solve cases in Khura'in? Perhaps we'd even see some old faces return (Klavier and Laimroir, perhaps?) and some truths brought to light (the teaser about Apollo and Trucy at the end of Spirit of Justice has to be expanded upon in Ace Attorney 7, right?).
And while I doubt we'll get a full game revolving around Athena, it would be really nice to see her solve some cases on her own and really get to see her grow as an attorney. But anyway, I've already spoken in lengths about what I'd personally like to see in Ace Attorney 7, so please go and check that out if you're interested!
All in all, I'm very excited about what next year could hold for Ace Attorney. With Capcom's confirmation that they're working on Ace Attorney for the Switch, this rumour could definitely be true. Until they give us more information, speculation and rumours are all we have, but I'd definitely be happy having every main Ace Attorney game plus a brand new one on the Switch in 2018. Keep up the good work, Capcom, and there'll be no objections from me.
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