RPGs: Court Cases

[Yassen]

LA Noire has been keeping my mind busy with crime and investigation stories but during the fleeting moments when I'm not gushing about it I remember times where court cases have been in other games. RPGs sometimes contain a mission where your character needs to get personally involved in a court case to find evidence, interview witnesses etc etc and there was something about that mechanic that I just love to this day.

A fine example of a court case in RPGs is from Knights of the Old Republic 1, where an old friend of Jolee Bindo (a companion) is being charged for murder and you have the choice to help him out. Normally in these situations there is a finite amount of evidence and once you gather all of it you pretty much smash the court case. Perhaps this speaks to my perfectionist side but doing this really made me feel accomplished. Going through all the effort to find the evidence, interogate and so on, pays off! And you get to see the consequences of your effort.

If the game has the mechanic it also allows me to show off my speech skills considering that in any RPG that is the skill I always want most. There is something subtle and superior about being able to sway someone to your side using only your words that I love being able to do and a court case is the perfect situation to do this.

But what are some other games with court cases that you enjoyed? Do you actually find these moments irratating or what are some ways future games can appropiately incorporate court cases into future RPGs?

 

[Alfador_VII]

The only court case I remember is in Chrono Trigger. There are certain things you can do before then to make or break your case; the outcome is the same either way but you do get some useful items if you do good. The sad part is unless you're using a guide or have been through the game before, you'll probably do just about everything in the negative side of the case.

Yes that one is quite well done, and it's amazing how hard it is to do things right beforehand. You've got to be very careful about the order in which you do things, and times even stand and wait rather than trying to press on

I forget what items you get for being good, but it's worth it at the time. Of course the system is so corrupt you end up in jail anyway...

 

[distortedreality]

Chrono Trigger is the best one from memory.

Tali's one in ME2 was interesting, in that the evidence didn't really matter, it was more based on what was said, and knowing the characters involved.

When I first played I'm like, "hmph what could I have done wrong"?

I almost quit and started a new game at that point before I realised what was going on lol.

 

[Hamish Durie]

deos the kingdom hearts "alice is guilty" case count

 

[The Wykydtron]

Come on guys, an entire 8 posts and no Phoenix Wright reference? Son i am disappoint...

OT: Hmm Tali's one from ME2 was good, even though the inner Ace Attorney fanboy in me wanted to show the evidence... Cuz you know the truth is good and all

[sub]Except when it ends up igniting an inter-species war right before a Reaper invasion, then it's just suicidal[/sub]

 

[distortedreality]

When that started I felt like I was in an episode of Law and Order.

I'm not sure if that's a compliment to the devs or not lol.

 

[Yassen]

A fine example of a court case in RPGs is from Knights of the Old Republic 1.

I loved that bit! That is one of the only times in a video game that I've been so immersed in a world and concerned for the characters and my own well-being.

Amazing stuff.

I agree completely. When that started I felt like I was in an episode of Law and Order. Also it took me so many tries to get it right. And Tali's trial from Mass Effect 2 was great though it was to short.

Tali's trial was more of a decision than a court case. It was a moral dilema, a good one, but not something you had to work to solve or prove. I did like though you could use charm or intimidate to get the best options but the speech system in ME2 was kind of bad. Didn't like depending on my renegade/paragon points to pull those off.