294: The Case of Dad vs. Phoenix Wright

[Brendan Main]

The Case of Dad vs. Phoenix Wright

Brendan Main takes an unlikely route to convince his father that videogames aren't a waste of time.

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[Onyx Oblivion]

"Hey, dad, I know you're working through the sequel (And Justice For All) to that stupid lawyer game. Well, did you know that it has a sequel? (Trails and Tribulations) And that that game has a sequel? (Apollo Justice) And that that game has a sequel?" (Investigations: Miles Edgeworth)

And then there is going to be another sequel after that, too!

Yes. I did count the number of times you mentioned the sequels.

I, sadly, can't get my dad to play anything but Bejeweled 3. Best Christmas present I even bought him, though. He can't stop playing Butterflies mode.

 

[Tiswas]

Not to mention Layton vs Wright

I'm still waiting on Franziska Von Karma: Perfect Whipping.

A game that plays half PW half Beat-Em-Up in which you use her whip to abuse, attack and get the truth out of witnesses.


Seriously however. The Ace Attorney series of games are some of the best out there. Whenever people buy a DS or a Wii I make sure to put the series down as games to play. It literally has became much like Okami and Little King's Story as games you MUST play (or really shouldn't be playing games.)

 

[Susan Arendt]

"Hey, dad, I know you're working through the sequel (And Justice For All) to that stupid lawyer game. Well, did you know that it has a sequel? (Trails and Tribulations) And that that game has a sequel? (Apollo Justice) And that that game has a sequel?" (Investigations: Miles Edgeworth)

And then there is going to be another sequel after that, too!

Yes. I did count the number of times you mentioned the sequels.

I, sadly, can't get my dad to play anything but Bejeweled 3. Best Christmas present I even bought him, though. He can't stop playing Butterflies mode.

That's because Butterflies mode is awesome.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

"Hey, dad, I know you're working through the sequel (And Justice For All) to that stupid lawyer game. Well, did you know that it has a sequel? (Trails and Tribulations) And that that game has a sequel? (Apollo Justice) And that that game has a sequel?" (Investigations: Miles Edgeworth)

And then there is going to be another sequel after that, too!

Yes. I did count the number of times you mentioned the sequels.

I, sadly, can't get my dad to play anything but Bejeweled 3. Best Christmas present I even bought him, though. He can't stop playing Butterflies mode.

That's because Butterflies mode is awesome.

I know.

I love it, too. He was originally playing Zen mode. And then I was like "Try this!" against his grumpy wishes...And now he's got the house-hold high score of about 300.

 

[HentMas]

hehe, cant say i really relate to this, my dad has always being a gamer, he loves FPS´s, and he has finished all the Turok games... up untill the PC one that he never understood (its the QTE´s)

of all the Turok games, his favourite was the third one, he would go from lvl to lvl memorizing everything, where was this enemy, where was that life point, the part of the weapon, EVERYTHING

i remember sitting one day to play with him, he was starting Turok 3, he would get in, finish one level and restart the game, again finish the same level, and restart the game over and over and over, untill he knew by heart every nook and cranny

then he would go and advance up to lvl 3, and restart the game, play all the way to lvl 3 over and over

i dont know if that was enjoyablr, i just remember that roughly 4 months after he bought it, he came to me, proud and happy, to tell me "want to see how i finish the game?"

he did, with relative ease, i was astounded!, and he told me with a smug smile (yes, he is kind of a show off), "i had already finished the game 3 times before, i just wanted to show you the ending, because i know you will never get it right"

hehe, he was right, i never did finished the game, but he did, and after finishing it with the girl, he went and played it with the guy, thats when he came all exited to tell me "ITS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT GAME"

my dad doesnt know any english, so he never did put attention to the story, even though i agree that Turok 3 was the most boring and awfull game of the franchize, i have to say, my dad enjoyed the game not because story, animations, mechanics, but because he was able to master it from zero, he loved that game.

 

[JonnWood]

The one where you cross-examine a parrot.

Spoilers.

Also, d'aww.

 

[GiantRaven]

I've never been exposed to the Phoenix Wright games before. They sound pretty convoluted and silly, which is definitely my kind of silly. I might have to check them out at some point, although I imagine my general ineptitude with puzzles might prove infuriating (god knows how I manage to get through an entire Professor Layton game without going insane).

 

[Galaktia]

This was a suprisingly touching story.

And I certainly understand the odd position, I have experienced a similar experience with the Tekken games and street fighter games, as a dedicated martial artist, with a decent amoutn of knowledge I find the games, veritably painful and yet at the same time I play them. I complain about them certainly, but I play, and enjoy them, and I think part of the enjoyment is getting to complain about them, and getting too... I dunno, enjoy the idiocy.

I hope your dads ok mate.

 

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

Excellent article. The Phoenix Wright games are well worth playing (at least the first three, I don't know about the rest of them, I haven't played them).

Sadly, I can't really get my dad to play anything these days. He used to game a little bit when he was younger. Stuff like Diablo, Starcraft, Command and Conquer and Half-Life are games he used to enjoy when he was younger. But not so much these days. He was briefly interested in Starcraft II, and I let him play it for a while. That didn't last long either. But it never occured to me to recommend some of the more intersting visual novel style games on the DS. I'll certainly be on the lookout.

I've never been exposed to the Phoenix Wright games before. They sound pretty convoluted and silly, which is definitely my kind of silly. I might have to check them out at some point, although I imagine my general ineptitude with puzzles might prove infuriating (god knows how I manage to get through an entire Professor Layton game without going insane).

There aren't many puzzles in Phoenix Wright. Definitely not in the style of Prof. Layton. Most of the stuff in PW is pretty straightforward.

 

[Brainstrain]

Surprising I'd find something on the Escapist that was genuinely sweet. My dad's been videogaming for a long time (there's a copy of Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sale in the attic on floppy discs). The only thing we really played together though was Beatles Rock Band and Avatar Drop.

 

[Electrogecko]

This article hurt my brain. I love the Phoenix Wright games, and I love trying to expose my friends and family to things that I love in hopes that they'll understand my passion and share my experience, but never have I come accross a reaction to a game that was at all similar to that of your father's. I still don't understand whether or not he enjoyed the games or appreciates you imposing them on him.

 

[dls182]

That was a really great story. I'm glad to hear that your Dad's OK. I was a bit shocked when you said his heart stopped...

This also reminded me that I REALLY need to get around to playing the Phoenix Wright games

 

[alandavidson]

Hands down, Brendan Main is the best writer to have ever been published on the Escapist.

 

[Space Jawa]

I had no interest in following my dad's footsteps, and never wanted to be a judge. Instead, I write about videogames for the internet.

Sounds like my life (Well, aside from the part where my dad's a pastor instead of a judge).

 

[flyingviking]

Hands down, Brendan Main is the best writer to have ever been published on the Escapist.

Agreed.

 

[Garfy]

My dad wouldn't know a video game if it ran up and bit him on the bum

I tell a lie, he vaguely remembers space invaders on the Atari 2600

 

[Aedes]

It was a lovely read.
My dad isn't into games but hey, doesn't matter. We both like computers.

 

[Covarr]

I gave up on the Ace Attorney games after the second one. Rife with poor characterization and illogical puzzles (you know the ones, this item proves what I need, but the game wants me to choose THAT item), AA2 just wasn't a pleasant experience for me. None of the characters were relatable, and it seemed like they were trying too hard to focus on quirks rather than personality. Maya's behavior was based solely on her stupidity and like of cheeseburgers; Franziska's behavior was based entirely on her whip, etc. Backstories to explain characters' personalities felt like afterthoughts, ways of explaining after the fact why they are the way they are, and mostly interchangeable.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the first game, but the second one seemed like a pale imitation. One was charmingly campy, the other was ludicrously stupid. The fact that this man who didn't even like the first game was able to play through the second simply astounds me.

P.S. Thanks

 

[therandombear]

I did something like this with my dad. Brokensword 1 and 2, we've both played through Brokensword 2 and either me or he have been taking turns to boast who solved different puzzles the fastest. However I can hold it over his head atm, that I have beat Brokensword 1, and he has not :3

He got a spare physical copy, discs, from me a few weeks ago though, since I re-bought a copy from GoG. So just waiting for the moment when he got time to sit down and get done with it, he's always stuck in some area