Have you played... Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney?

The whole Ace Attorney Trilogy looks better than ever on PC, and if you somehow missed it in the last couple decades, here’s your chance. It’s a story-driven game about two lovers forced to battle it out on opposite sides of the courtroom. They're fighting for their own version of justice whilst also attempting to fight their feelings for one another. 

Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth are my favourite couple. The dynamics are beautiful, going back and forth from their time as classmates to the present day, getting through challenges and each establishing a begrudging understanding for the other. They go to war in the courtroom over their conflicting ideas of justice, but when it all comes down to it, they both have the same goals. At the end of it all, they come together in a loving union, which I assume is consummated off-screen. 

Look, I’m not saying Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth are the pinnacle of LGBT+ representation. Far from it, and some dialogue, particularly early on in the series, does betray sensibilities from the time of its initial release in 2001. But describing Wright and Edgeworth’s interactions as queerbaiting is equally valid, and I’d expect better were these characters being written in the present day. 

Regardless though, having these two interact in the way they do, and having it placed in an accessible, cute, courtroom game in the early 2000s was pretty huge back then, at least for me. It’s easy to translate rivals to lovers, but Ace Attorney combines their animosity with genuine moments of connection. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but constantly strive to understand more, and for a kid who didn’t even know the word ‘closeted’, that was an important milestone.

If you want a visual novel with a ludicrous number of unique, memorable characters, overall hilarious writing, and a surprisingly compelling story throughout the original trilogy, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a game I can’t believe you’ve missed so far.