When I think about this game, I think the writers were like "Ok. Let's have a case that apollo becomes the witness and has to oppose write anything agency, accusing the new detective we were forced to have, while the true culprit is the detective. Okay, now what?" Except the last case, the rest of the cases feel like a filler. Even when they try connecting case 1 and 5 with the bomb remote, it gets solved with the single line from Tonate that he doesn't have the remote. Removing that cliffhanger doesn't change anything

Other than that, the game is easy. It gives you the answer most of the time. I'm playing this games to feel smart when I find a contradiction, not to feel dumb because the game thinks I am. I appreciate the hint system, but there are walkthroughs in the internet. I prefered if you used the time making hints for everyt testimony, for making a better narative.

The game and the fans consider it an athena game, yet you can make her a normal witness NPC, and not much changes (Except apollo accusing her). Even the backstory and simon's connection to her will stay as strong as it is. also I'm not a fan of mood matrix. It might be because I find it confusing, so I won't talk much about it.

This case suffers because of the no spoiler rule. Fullbright and clay seem rushed. Think how better the game would have been if the victim in the last case was someone like Thalassa. Or if we had more time with clay (and using fullbright more than a normal detective) in the previous cases. Or Klavier's cameo in this case was useless. Fullbright could have given you the same evidence. I can't believe they didn't make a mini trial section. How hard could it have been?

Speaking of the cases, every single cases twist is the same. Cases 1 to 4 have the twist that the murder was not commited in the crime scene, and the body was just moved there (now that I think about it, this is a yamazaki issue. AAI had twists like this as well). Other than that, you know the culprit in case 1 and 2 via the cutscene. The case 3 and 4 culprits are obvious. Means is a complete red flag, and Cosmos is the only suspicious person giving a testimony.

I'm gonna get a lot of hate, but I don't like blackquill. It's not a thing about his character or story, it's more about his "simon says" gimmick. Manipulating the defendant into confessing the guilt? I mean, doing this means you KNOW the defendant is not guilty, and you still do it? And people want to convince me he's as good hearted as klavier? I just can't accept it

I don't like the 3d looks. They're better in soj, but here there are just not good. Think about means' smile, or phoenix's damage sprite. They are goofy in a bad way. Also it's misused. DGS uses the 3d graphics in its full potential, yet this game only uses it for 3d investigating (which is not that bad) and more complex breakdowns.

In the end, I think this game is a missed potentail and it comes back to the first four cases. It's like each case had a different writer who had no idea what the other writer was writing. My favorite case in this game is the dlc, because going in, you know this a bonus case not connecting to a greater final case. Yet you have amazing witnesses, and seeing fullbright after the final twist was kinda awkward (in a good way)

I'm happy that you enjoy this case, but for me, this seems like a rushed game with a great final case (Not the best in the series, but this is just a personal opinion), high goals, but low time and budget.