Ace Attorney

Sazama felt happy as he held the cartridge, and at the same time, he talked with Shin and Mira, asking if they're doing well, and so on.

Meanwhile, Kumiko was still playing with the young Shinichi. The old woman seemed quite happy playing with Shinichi, who was running around the hall, with Kumiko chasing after him.

The sound of Shinichi's cute laughter and Kumiko's old voice seemingly playfully scaring Shinichi filled the air as he ran away from the old woman.

---

After a few days since Shin visited Sazama's residence, the video game "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney" was released for Gameboy Advance.

Few Japanese gamers didn't really think much after buying the video game; they just casually bought it when they saw it as the latest Gameboy Advance game in the posters of video game stores.

From the looks of the posters advertisement, the video game seemed to be about a lawyer, as indicated in the name of the video game. Currently, in Japan, lawyer novels and dramas were popular genres alongside detective novels.

Japanese readers developed a preference for books with a mystery element, influenced by the popular detective book called "Sherlock Holmes."

That's why Japanese people who recently bought a Gameboy Advance and occasionally read books bought the video game "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney." According to the posters displayed in video game stores, the video game seemed to be in the "Visual Novel" genre—a new and refreshing term that obviously attracted the attention of Japanese readers who occasionally read.

Although the video game was produced by KiShin, it didn't garner much attention from most gamers. Even being from KiShin, gamers wouldn't buy it if it didn't align with their preferences. The genre being a new term didn't excite them, but when they read the example of the so-called new genre on the poster, stating "Focuses on a strong narrative, comparable to a book or TV show, but with interactive elements," those who preferred controlling game characters in action immediately lost interest. Only a minority with the means to afford it showed interest.

Tamaki Masayuki, one of the few gamers able to try "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney," purchased it and sat at a nearby café, inserting the video game cartridge into his Gameboy Advance.

This portability aspect of the Gameboy Advance was what Masayuki truly appreciated. He could play anywhere and anytime, as long as there was enough battery in his Gameboy Advance. When Masayuki opened the flippable Gameboy Advance, it attracted attention from a few people in the café.

Especially a young man with his girlfriend; the young man turned his eyes to Masayuki's Gameboy Advance, causing a frown from his girlfriend. She asked, "What's the matter?"

The young man, momentarily captivated by the beauty of the "Gameboy Advance," replied, "Nothing, nothing." He had momentarily forgotten he was with his girlfriend.

She redirected her attention to where her boyfriend had been looking, only to see a man sitting alone holding something. When she realized it was a man, she shot a strange look at her boyfriend.

Upon noticing his girlfriend's peculiar gaze, the young man innocently asked, "What?"

Unaware that his girlfriend harbored suspicions about his "True Identity," he remained clueless.

Meanwhile, Masayuki, oblivious to the fact that he had sparked suspicion in a young woman about her boyfriend, focused on the Gameboy Advance's bright and colorful screen.

After the familiar introduction of Gameboy Advance and KiShin, the title and menu of "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney" loaded up, and Masayuki began the game by selecting "New Game."

As the music played, scenes of red scarlet liquid flowing and dropping in black background cutscenes unfolded. On the text box below, text rolled out. [*Gasp*... *Gasp*...]

Then the camera gradually rose upwards, revealing a miniature statue adorned with red scarlet liquid on top – to be precise, on the head of the "Thinker" miniature statue. It was cradled by a hand wearing a black glove.

Afterward, the scene transitioned to a young woman lying on the floor, blood flowing from her head. From these scenes alone, Masayuki deduced that the red liquid from the miniature statue was blood.

The camera shook as text below in the text box rolled out [Dammit! ...why me?]

Subsequently, the screen turned to a black background, with the text box continuing to roll out [I can't get caught... Not like this!]

The scene shifted, and the camera precisely captured the woman lying down, with a maroon-suited man standing nearby. The camera gradually rose upwards, revealing the face of the killer.

Accompanied by intense music of a stick lightly hitting the cymbal and light beats, the killer still clutched the "Thinker" statue. Panic was evident on his face as text on the box rolled out, [I- I've gotta find someone else to pin this on...]

The scene transitioned with the camera up close to the middle-aged man against a black background. As the camera flashed closer to the man's face, a gunshot sound accompanied the sinister expression on the middle-aged man's face, now bearing a vicious smile. The text box rolled out, [Someone like... him!]

The scene flashed to the middle-aged man seemingly observing another person's back, then returned to his sinister expression and vicious smile. The text on the box continued to roll out, [I'll make it look like HE did it!]

As Masayuki watched the cutscenes, he felt increasingly intrigued. He wondered how the gameplay would unfold.