Basics - Phoenix Wright: Trials & Tribulations Guide - IGN (2024)

Basics

Welcome to the Basics section of our guide. Here, we'll briefly outline the basic fundamentals you'll need to know to effectively play the game. At first, the game seems fairly complicated (especially during the beginning parts of the second episode... the first episode is rather elementary), but once you get the hang of everything, you'll be all set. Let us help you on your way!

The Premise

The premise of Trials and Tribulations is to take the place of ace attorney Phoenix Wright, famed defense lawyer. Using your wits, powers of observation, and even a little bit of luck, you're to prove innocent each of your clients, freeing them from a guilty verdict. Along the way, you will investigate the crime at hand and then return to the courtroom in order to present your case and fight a never-ceasing barrage of prosecutorial fodder.

The game is extremely linear (meaning that there's really only one way to go through, and that's the way we describe in our Flowchart), but there's still room for some open-endedness. Nonetheless, if you want to get through the game succinctly, you'll follow our instructions in the Flowchart to get from Point A to Point B as quickly and efficiently as possible. Of course, we leave all of the story details out of the Flowchart so you can learn about the story as you go, so that nothing is ruined.

Sounds fun, doesn't it? It is! Read onward to learn more about what to expect...

The Court Record

The Court Record (which has a corresponding section in this guide, coincidentally) has all of your evidence, goods, and profiles in it. It's separated into two fundamental sections ("Evidence" and "Profiles") and just about everything you learn or acquire ends up in there. If you meet a character, chances are that character will have a profile in your "Profiles" section. Your personal belongings, evidence, et cetera will naturally find its way to the "Evidence" section. Our corresponding section in this guide has everything outlined in case you'd like to read up more on anything.

Also, keep in mind that items will disappear from the Court Record when a new story begins... with the exception of, of course, your Attorney's Badge. After all, how would you conduct your business without that!?

Menus
You'll be presented with various menus in the game, but there are a few key choices in these menus that you should know how to effectively use:

• TALK - Use this to talk to the character present (if no character is present where you are, this command won't appear).
• EXAMINE - Use this to examine your surroundings. You can do this almost anywhere, though the Flowchart will outline where it's necessary in order to continue (which is, admittedly, not very often).
• MOVE - Use this to move from place to place. Remember that not all options are available from every location. In otherwords, if you're at Point C, you must go to Point B in order for Point A to become available. This necessitates a level of memorization of various areas throughout the chapters so you won't get too lost, and therefore frustrated.
• PRESENT - Use this to present items from the Court Record. You can present both evidence and profiles, so don't forget!

Courtroom Conduct

Finally, we come to the court itself, where things change a bit and the game intensifies. As mentioned earlier, your choices here will make or break the outcome of the case (of course, if you mess up you can just reset your game to the previous save, but that goes without saying). You'll be judged (with varying degrees of harshness) based on the evidence you present, the statements you press, and the conduct you carry yourself with. There are a few items of note that we'll end the Basics section of the guide with, however, that'll outline what you should do in the courtroom setting.

• PRESS - Pressing a witness on his or her testimony is a way to get more information out of a witness or scare them into submission or into making a mistake, though you shouldn't always press.
• PRESENT - Use this to present evidence or profiles from the Court Record.
• QUESTIONS - Sometimes, a question will be presented to you with varying numbers of answers. Answer to the best of your ability.

Note, of course, that if you use our Flowchart, you'll know exactly what to do at all times so this won't concern you much. Instead, simply sit back, do what the Flowchart tells you, and enjoy the rather crazy stories the game provides you with. They are far-fetched at times, but still very enjoyable indeed.

(Oh, and just so you know... the game takes place in America, but there is no jury system and the legal system shouldn't be taken seriously. There's nothing even remotely resembling the American legal system... or any other system in the First World, for that matter, in the game).