the sequel to Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Justice for All was the first Ace Attorney game i played -- i'd heard good things about the series, but i was 13 and stupid and couldn't remember what order the trilogy went in, so i picked up JFA and hoped for the best. ...folks, JFA is a rough introduction to the Ace Attorney series. comparative to the first game, the cases were less interesting and the leaps of logic that were required felt unfair. it must have taken me 6+ months to beat the game just because i kept getting stuck at stupid points, and i remember feeling wholly unimpressed with the game up until the final case, which to this day remains one of my favourite in the whole entire trilogy!

my gripes about JFA aside, it does do some things that i did really like. the psyche lock mechanic was super cool, and -- especially now that i've played the rest of the trilogy and have a deeper understanding of the recurring characters and overarching plot -- i really appreciated the ways it factored in characters' motivations and perceived sense of guilt as an influencing force on the narrative.

JFA also introduces Franziska von Karma, whose character i fell in love with almost immediately. while the depths of her character were originally lost on me, having not played the prior game yet, i only grew to appreciate her further upon doing so and understanding her backstory.

i might have kinder thoughts about JFA nowadays because, as i said, i was 13 and stupid when i played it. unfortunately i've just never really felt the desire to lmfao :')