Gyakuten Kenji 2

Unreleased

Gyakuten Kenji 2 (逆転検事 2 Gyakuten Kenji 2, lit. Turnabout Prosecutor 2) is the sequel to Gyakuten Kenji and the sixth game in the Ace Attorney series of text adventure video games. Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, detective Dick Gumshoe and self-proclaimed "Great Thief" Kay Faraday reprise their roles as main characters in the game. Motohide Eshiro, Takeshi Yamazaki, Minae Matsukawa and Noriyuki Iwadare also reprise their roles as producer, director, art director and soundtrack composer, respectively. The game was announced on the September 2010 issue of Famitsu, with a scan of the announcement page revealed on the internet on September 7, 2010.

Pre-announcement
After the release of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, an interview with its producer Motohide Eshiro revealed that he had contacted core series producer Minae Matsukawa offering his services in developing a new Ace Attorney game, in response to the positive fan reaction to Ace Attorney Investigations. Development started on September 2009; the developers went to a "training camp" to talk about the game all day for this purpose.



Post-announcement
Gyakuten Kenji 2 was revealed in the September 2010 issue of Famitsu, showing Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe and Kay Faraday along with some gameplay pictures and a new gameplay feature with a chess-based theme. Shelly de Killer and a new character with thick red hair and beard were also seen. The article also stated that the game would focus more on Edgeworth himself than on other characters and past events, revealing a more "human", conflicted side that has never been seen before. The official website launched around the same time.

At Tokyo Game Show 2010, three new characters were officially revealed and named. The character from the Famitsu article was revealed to be Outeikun, the president of Zheng Fa, and Hakari Mikagami and Mikiko Hayami were revealed as well. Additionally, the TGS trailer of the game was revealed, featuring returning gameplay elements like Logic and Little Thief as well as the new gameplay feature, "Logic Chess". As well, a demo of the first case was available at the event.

On November 2, the official website revealed the game's box art and a release date of February 3, 2011. The box art features Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday, Hakari Mikagami and a male character who had previously been seen only as a brief silhouette in the trailer.

On November 18, the December issue of Famitsu featured an article on the game, mostly about the first case, introducing a new character named Umanosuke Naitō (内藤 馬乃介), the president's bodyguard, as well as revealing more about Logic Chess. The Japanese CERO rating was revealed as B, like the other Ace Attorney titles. Soon afterward, the official website was updated, and a Nintendo Dream issue featured an article about Gyakuten Kenji 2 and Layton-kyōju VS Gyakuten Saiban, both mostly repeating the same information about Gyakuten Kenji 2.

At the beginning of December, the demo from TGS became playable on the official website, and some details of the second case were revealed as well, including a prison location and Hakari Mikagami's role in evaluating Edgeworth as a prosecutor. Yumihiko Ichiyanagi, another previously silhouetted character, was also revealed to be a prosecutor to whom Mikagami is attempting to hand Edgeworth's case.

Gyakuten Kenji 2 was featured again on Famitsu on December 16, introducing the second case as well as previously unnamed major character Tateyuki Shigaraki, the more recently revealed Yumihito Ichiyanagi, and some new characters. A second trailer was also released featuring all of the known major characters as well as the return of the metal detector and Missile.

Gameplay
All of the main features seen in the previous game have returned for this game, including the investigation/argument structure, the Logic gameplay mechanic and Little Thief. As well, the metal detector seen in Turnabout Goodbyes and Bridge to the Turnabout has returned for at least one of the cases. The police dog Missile is also back.

Logic Chess
Gyakuten Kenji 2 features a new gameplay element called "Logic Chess". When interrogating a person who refuses to testify, the background changes to a chessboard with chess pieces, as if Miles Edgeworth and the other person were in a mental chess match. Similarly to the magatama feature in Phoenix Wright's games, this feature is used to pry secret information from various people. However, instead of just presenting evidence, the player is presented with two options at each decision prompt.

There is a time limit to this mental exchange; when it expires, the opponent will change his or her mind and not entertain Edgeworth further. This emphasizes the need to analyze the situation quickly and adapt to each opponent's personality. For example, against a cautious opponent, one may want to ask a question that she is guaranteed to answer. Through this, Edgeworth can slowly gain information needed to "win".

When the opponent makes a suspicious statement, a chess piece icon appears next to one of the choices, marking it as the critical "move" to make to knock out one of the opponent's pieces. Edgeworth can either choose to pursue this or choose to wait to get into a better "position" in the "game". By choosing incorrectly (i.e. waiting for too long or striking too soon), Edgeworth risks incurring a penalty to his time limit.

Story
In the opening case, Edgeworth is summoned to Gourd Lake, the scene of one of his darkest moments to date, to investigate the assassination of the president of Zheng Fa, Oteikun. As time passes, the president's bodyguard, Umanosuke Naitō, tries to stop Edgeworth's investigation. In later cases, Edgeworth becomes the next target of a so-called "Prosecutor Purge", a judicial program designed to weed out and replace incompetent prosecutors. Judge Hakari Mikagami is sent to observe Edgeworth during his investigations and attempt to replace him with another prosecutor, Yumihito Ichiyanagi. Edgeworth risks his badge to continue his quest for the truth. Meanwhile, Edgeworth faces a personal conflict when he meets Tateyuki Shigaraki, a defense attorney who knew his father Gregory Edgeworth. Shigaraki offers Edgeworth the chance to change sides, to become a defense attorney like his father.

Episodes

 * 逆転の標的 Turnabout Target

Turnabout Target is the opening case and is meant to feel very large and important, like a final case.


 * 獄中の逆転 The Imprisoned Turnabout

The Imprisoned Turnabout is set inside a prison and introduces Judge Hakari Mikagami, prosecutor Yumihito Ichiyanagi and defense attorney Tateyuki Shigaraki.

Timeline

 * Main article: Timeline

Dick Gumshoe's age is given as 32 in the Tokyo Game Show demo, and the demo case occurs on March 25, which puts the full date of the first case at March 25, 2019, ten days after Turnabout Ablaze.

Major characters

 * Miles Edgeworth (protagonist, prosecutor)
 * Kay Faraday (self-proclaimed Great Thief Yatagarasu)
 * Dick Gumshoe (detective)
 * 水鏡 秤 Hakari Mikagami (rival judge)
 * Yumihito Ichiyanagi (rival prosecutor)
 * Tateyuki Shigaraki (defense attorney)

Returning characters

 * Shelly de Killer (suspect)
 * Winston Payne (cameo)

New characters

 * 王帝君 (president of Zheng Fa, first victim)


 * 内藤 馬乃介 Umanosuke Naitō (president's bodyguard, likes to play chess; "Naitō" is a literal pronunciation of "Knight")


 * 速水ミキコ Mikiko Hayami (reporter)

Extra content
The extended edition of Gyakuten Kenji 2 includes a Miles Edgeworth figurine. The limited edition adds to the extended edition a promotional DVD and an orchestral soundtrack.