So having finished up GAA1 again (officially, this time) I thought I'd think about my second opinion on the cases and such.
Partway through the GAA2-2 which has been pretty wild so far, I'm looking forward to pushing forward with that.
Case 1: Probably a little more negative than the first time around, mostly because it works as an introduction to the characters and the geopolitical landscape they find themselves in, which I'm already familiar with the second time around. I'll echo the sentiments that it's probably too long, the case could have been wrapped up with the realisation of the poison entering via the dental wound, rather than spending another 30-60 minutes doing the steak-plate shuffle. Interestingly, Asogi comes across as somewhat less hostile towards Britain than in the fan translation, but that could be me misreading tone.
Case 2: Another tutorial case, this time for the investigation/deduction stuff. I don't think my opinion on this has changed: it's a good introduction to Sholmes and for demonstrating why Narohodo wants to become a lawyer. Still, I think it's a weird facsimile of a Investigations case but with only 3 rooms and 3 people to talk to (not counting Susato and Sholmes) so it's more of a howdunnit than a whodunnit. It's a lot shorter than I remember, but I only played the fan translation a couple of years ago so I remembered how everything went, more or less.
Case 3: Not much to say about this one, I still think it's a great case that really puts a dampener on Narohodo's ambitions the moment he starts his law career in earnest. Making McGilded Irish wasn't something I expected but I suppose an official localisation will more readily introduce national/regional interpretations than a fan translation (which may be accused of taking liberties with the characters). Knowing how van Zieks comes across in later cases I'm a bigger fan of him first time around, this time.
Case 4: I was pretty disappointed with the case coming off the first 3 cases when I played the fan translation, so maybe the reason I'm fonder of this one is because I knew what to expect. I like Soseki as a defendent more than most I suspect, and it seems like half the game's animation budget went to his fidgeting and wild gesticulation. If there's an extremely specific complaint I have it's that in the original Soseki asks Narohodo to describe something in the form of a haiku (rather than in 16 words in the official translation) and he comes up with a perfect haiku on the spot, which I found impressive and pretty funny. It's also our first proper introduction to Iris who I still don't like, but again I know what to expect with her so that's probably why I'm not as bothered this time.
Case 5: This is probably the case my opinion has improved most with, partly because I didn't get stuck with the investigation for too long (specifically, presenting the ticket to Gregson) and knowing in advance that Susato, who I had grown to like a lot by this point, was getting benched for Iris of all people. The logic puzzles throughout the trial section remained challenging and compelling, and figuring out the whole deal with the music disks was as rewarding as the first time around. Obviously it ends with too many unanswered questions and loose plot threads, which I knew about prior to my first playthrough but had no idea how many there were. But again having known about this in advance I was focused on the questions that I knew would be answered.
Case 2: Another tutorial case, this time for the investigation/deduction stuff. I don't think my opinion on this has changed: it's a good introduction to Sholmes and for demonstrating why Narohodo wants to become a lawyer. Still, I think it's a weird facsimile of a Investigations case but with only 3 rooms and 3 people to talk to (not counting Susato and Sholmes) so it's more of a howdunnit than a whodunnit. It's a lot shorter than I remember, but I only played the fan translation a couple of years ago so I remembered how everything went, more or less.
Case 3: Not much to say about this one, I still think it's a great case that really puts a dampener on Narohodo's ambitions the moment he starts his law career in earnest. Making McGilded Irish wasn't something I expected but I suppose an official localisation will more readily introduce national/regional interpretations than a fan translation (which may be accused of taking liberties with the characters). Knowing how van Zieks comes across in later cases I'm a bigger fan of him first time around, this time.
Case 4: I was pretty disappointed with the case coming off the first 3 cases when I played the fan translation, so maybe the reason I'm fonder of this one is because I knew what to expect. I like Soseki as a defendent more than most I suspect, and it seems like half the game's animation budget went to his fidgeting and wild gesticulation. If there's an extremely specific complaint I have it's that in the original Soseki asks Narohodo to describe something in the form of a haiku (rather than in 16 words in the official translation) and he comes up with a perfect haiku on the spot, which I found impressive and pretty funny. It's also our first proper introduction to Iris who I still don't like, but again I know what to expect with her so that's probably why I'm not as bothered this time.
Case 5: This is probably the case my opinion has improved most with, partly because I didn't get stuck with the investigation for too long (specifically, presenting the ticket to Gregson) and knowing in advance that Susato, who I had grown to like a lot by this point, was getting benched for Iris of all people. The logic puzzles throughout the trial section remained challenging and compelling, and figuring out the whole deal with the music disks was as rewarding as the first time around. Obviously it ends with too many unanswered questions and loose plot threads, which I knew about prior to my first playthrough but had no idea how many there were. But again having known about this in advance I was focused on the questions that I knew would be answered.
Partway through the GAA2-2 which has been pretty wild so far, I'm looking forward to pushing forward with that.
Last edited:
