Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies Has An M Rating

Earlier today, Capcom released a brief gameplay trailer for their upcoming Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies for the Nintendo 3DS, showing new details for the series' classic investigative gameplay. The changes are mostly cosmetic, though still interesting for a longtime fan such as myself: a stylized 3D model instead of a sprite is interesting to see, and greater detail in the actual investigating is good. What stuck with me for the whole video, though, was what you see when it first starts.

An M rating. It was hard to believe.

The Ace Attorney series has always featured blood, murder, kidnapping, assassinations and more, but it was always handled with a tone that dwelled upon the events emotionally and intellectually instead of putting gore front and center. I wondered whether or not this was the result of the game's 3D models presenting violence more realistically, and in released screenshots came upon this:

Oh my. I will say this: that's a fair argument for an M rating.

The Japanese release also received a stricter rating than the other games in the series, with a CERO rating of C (15+) as opposed to the traditional ratings of A or B (12+).

I don't consider this a mark against the game, of course, as murder scenes being violent is understandable, and up until now the series' serious moments were at times actually hurt by its desire to not push the content too far. As an example: it is difficult to take seriously how hard a life Phoenix had circa Apollo Justice when we're told the alcohol-looking substance he has consumed too much of is grape juice.

Capcom, you had my curiosity. Now you have my attention.

Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies releases for the Nintendo 3DS this fall on the Nintendo eShop only.