Genres: Comedy

Rating: Teens

Price: $14.95

There’re a few things immediately apparent by Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Official Casebook Vol. 1: It’s long (nearly 300 pages) and it’s based on a video game character. And while I had heard of the video game, I had never played it. And, unfortunately, that made this offering extremely hard to like.

Make no mistake about it: This volume is for only people who are already familiar with Phoenix Wright. If, like me, you aren’t, much of this volume will lead to confusion and incomprehension.

And what accentuates that is the fact that the volume is comprised of a series of short stories penned and drawn by different artists. Some of the stories were very good, entertaining and fun to read. Others were mediocre. The worst were the ones that just didn’t make sense to a first-time Phoenix Wright reader.

The first story, which often serves to hook the readers in, has a good hook: Phoenix Wright questions why he became a defense attorney. Unfortunately, the execution fails for someone who isn’t already familiar with the characters.

Other stories also seem a bit boring and don't seem to add much to the volume.

Even so, there are a few stories that are fun and light and can be appreciated for the humor, even if all the characters’ intricate personalities are not understood to the reader. And the different art style interpretations also are interesting things to keep track of and compare and contrast.

Another thing going for the volume is the price. Although it’s more expensive at $14.95 than the regular Del Ray offerings, it also offers about 300 pages of stories and extras.

The volume can be entertaining for first-time Phoenix Wright readers, but this volume is really going to appease only those already familiar with him.

6.5