OST of the Day #6: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - Objection!

Hey Steemians!

If you're unfamiliar with this series of mine, basically I share a soundtrack and my thoughts about it, and I highly recommend listening to the song while reading! 😊

I've recently gotten into the Phoenix Wright series and I fell in love with it immediately. How have I not seen this before! I have heard about it but I've never seen it or played it before and now I wished I had! I'm currently watching a Blind Let's Play of the first game by one of my favourite YouTubers so please no spoilers!

Here's the song for today!

If you know this game/series, you know I had to start with this song, c'mon. This song is SO EPIC, how could I not use this one first!

In case you're like me and you've been out of the loop about this series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a visual novel adventure video game developed by Capcom. It was originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001 in Japan, and has since been ported to multiple platforms. The Nintendo DS version, titled Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten in Japan, was released in 2005 in Japan and North America, and in 2006 in Europe. This game is the first entry in the Ace Attorney series, and has received several sequels and spin-offs. Other forms of media based on game have also been released; a manga series in 2006, a live action film adaptation (Gyakuten Saiban 逆転裁判) and an anime series in 2016.

The only thing I knew about this game before I started watching an LP of it was that you play as a guy called Phoenix Wright who is a lawyer and his catchphrase is OBJECTION!

This game was directed and written by Shu Takumi, and was originally planned to be a Game Boy Color game about a private investigator. The game was designed to be simple, as Takumi wanted it to be easy enough for even his mother to play.

From what I've watched so far (the first 3 cases), it starts off pretty simple but it gets fairly challenging as you progress through the game. Nevertheless, even the relatively simple cases are interesting and really gets your invested in the story. There are also quite a few twists and turns as you go around gathering information and evidence and when you cross-examine witnesses in their so-called iron-clad testimonies.

Anyway, we're here to talk about the song of the day!
This song plays immediately following Phoenix's iconic finger point and OBJECTION! and is when you find a contradiction in the witness' testimony and present a piece of decisive evidence to show the contradiction (while Phoenix taps papers with the back of his hand).

The soundtrack was composed by Masakazu Sugimori and Akemi Kimura, former Capcom sound staff members and famous video game composers. I read reviews saying they [the reviewers] were disappointed by the lack of an orchestral soundtrack but I think they missed the point a little. After all, this game was released in 2001 for the GBA. Considering system limitations even in successive ports, an orchestral soundtrack wouldn't fit in with the game's graphics.

In this piece, I think the 8-bit beats coupled with the synthesised tri-note sequence matched very well with the light piano and trumpets in the background, as well as the supporting hi-hat and drums. The tri-note harmony comes out strong in the beginning but relents just a little bit, giving way to the drums and "8-beats" (heh) shortly after.

I chose this song in particular mainly because of how awesomely epic it sounds, but also because I saw this particular comment on the video.

I totally agree with DJ Meowth on his interpretation and he definitely nailed it. The 8-bit beats and the tri-note sequence totally represent Phoenix's confidence in his Eureka moment in finding out the contradiction, while the softer piano and synthesised notes (or chime) demonstrates Phoenix's belief in his client.
This comment also made me think back to the end of the first case, when Mia (Phoenix's chief/mentor) says

Throughout the game, Phoenix definitely experiences some occasions when he wasn't sure if his client was really innocent or not, and I think that self-doubt is conveyed in the song, by the light hums from the trumpets, seemingly like they're saying "mmm... 😟", like Phoenix is doubting his own client, and maybe even himself. Since he always prides himself on standing on the side of justice, if his client was in fact guilty, he would be aiding a criminal in getting away. Because he doesn't know for sure, all he can do is believe in himself and his client, just like Mia said.

Who knew a simple 1 minute-ish song could be so deep! Anyway, I'm loving this game and this soundtrack and I hope you do too. In hindsight, I think it's good that I didn't play these games before because it's always more fun when you're experiencing it with someone else (even if it's on Youtube). If you've never checked out the Phoenix Wright games before, you definitely shouldn't OBJECT to them now that you've read this (ok that was pretty bad, I'll go now).

Thank for reading!

To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!

Check out my previous post in this series!
OST of the Day #5: Jazz Jackrabbit 2 - Lab Rat