Ah, Phoeny, how we've missed you. The original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney came out of the blue, but quickly established itself as one of the most quirky, entertaining and downright hilarious titles on the DS. Capcom, clearly cautious about the potential for a courtroom drama game to bomb at retail, gave the title only a limited manufacturing run- though it wasn't long before the word spread, and more copies had to be rushed out. Phoenix Wright is a bit of a Marmite game- you'll either love it or hate it. Those who didn't fall for its charms bemoaned the GBA-quality graphics, the straight-jacket of linearity, and the occasionally incongruous logic that the courtroom scenes demanded. The rest of us fell in love with the great script, the humourous characters, and being able to shout 'Objection' into the DS' microphone.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, in the grand tradition of Capcom sequels, isn't so much a sequel as an expansion pack. The complex genealogy of the Phoenix Wright series is something better left to Wikipedia than my feeble mind, but suffice to say that this iteration of the series is a DS conversion of the second Game Boy Advance title. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that the Justice For All logo emphasises the Ace Attorney part rather than Phoenix Wright's name- this is because the fourth (brand-new, DS-specific) game in the series jettisons Phoenix from the series altogether, starting afresh with a brand new character.

But enough about that- because Justice For All places the titular Phoenix (W)right at the centre of the action once again. The game picks up the story where the last game left off (ignoring the events of the final, DS-exclusive case that the last game offered). In order to ease newbies into the Phoenix Wright mindset, the opening case of the game once again acts as a sort of tutorial. Once again, its far too short, and far too easy. Phoenix's new-found incompetence is caused by a bout of amnesia brought on by being hit on the head at the beginning of the game. Ingenious.

But it's the final three cases where it's really at. I say three, because unlike the first game, Justice For All is a straight conversion of the Japanese original, with no extra case included. This is a real shame, as the final case in the first game was an absolute corker, that had us salivating at the prospect of a full-on DS Phoenix Wright that used all the console's hardware features properly. But that's going to have to wait. As it is, Justice For All is a solid expansion- the three 'proper' cases contained within are meaty, long-lasting affairs that with proper pacing, should keep you entertained for some time.

Like the last game, each case is divided into several chapters, alternating between courtroom and investigation scenes. The cases are considerably more wacky than those in the first game- spirit channeling, mysticism, clowns and circus animals all feature prominently.

Of course, a Phoenix Wright game lives or dies on two things- the strength of the characters, and the quality of the writing. On both fronts, the game delivers in spades. Veterans of the first game will be delighted to see the return of old favourites like Gumshoe, Maya, Mia and others that you mightn't have expected to see again. It's like being re-united with old friends. The new characters are just as memorable, from the painfully unfunny circus clown Moe to to the utterly fabulous Max Galactica (his words, not mine). There's a new opposing prosecutor too- the unflinchingly evil Franziska Von Karma, protégé and 16 year old daughter of the villainous Manfred from the first game. She's smug, vain, pompous and desperate to preserve her 100% prosecution record. She's a great addition to the game.

If you're looking for innovation, though, you'll be disappointed. The ability to present character profiles as well as evidence to the court is one. The other is much more interesting- Maya's Magatama. It's an artifact that enables you to see when other characters are lying when interviewing them. When they have secrets to hide, 'psyche-locks' will appear on the screen, prompting you to cross-examine the witness, using evidence in order to break down their testimony- exactly like in the courtroom scenes. It's not a huge addition, but it does add a bit of spice to the investigation scenes, and as you're penalised heavily for making mistakes here too, you'll be that bit more careful about what you say.

Phoenix Wright: Justice For All is not a complete re-invention of the series. Those who didn't like the first game won't find anything new here to sway them, but those who enjoyed the first game will be in Phoenix Wright heaven.

Phoenix Wright is one of the reasons why I love the DS, and if you haven't yet sampled it's charms, perhaps now is the time. It's out here in March.