It's the contention of a couple of us around the office that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney's Miles Edgeworth is one of the best video game characters ever. We've always dreamed of a game featuring just him, but like our imaginary Lost spin-off that featured Christian Shepard trekking around the globe, hiring Mexican girls and drinking, we figured it was never going to happen. So imagine our shock when we saw these scans from an upcoming issue of Famitsu.

That, friends, is reportedly Gyakuten Saiban: Perfect Prosecutor, if the Weekly Game Journal is to be believed. The site also says you'll play as Edgey, "searching for overlooked evidence and inconsistencies at the crime scene." Also, expect some new methods of searching and deduction. ... Oh, and a guaranteed purchase from us, you can expect that too.

[Thanks, Beau]

Usually, we don't often partake in "the mangas." Sometimes you have to read them backwards, which makes our heads hurt, and frankly, we don't think our black jeans are comically baggy enough to pull the whole "manga reader" look off. That said, we think we'll be forced to make an exception for a Legend of Zelda manga that's reportedly coming stateside.

In an effort to make no more than one manga-related post per month, we also wanted to let you know that GoNintendo got its hands on the cover for the Phoenix Wright manga headed our way. It's totally uninspiring, save for the presence of Godot, the coolest prosecutor since Sam Waterston. ... Crap, are we going to have to buy two mangas? We're going to have to go get our jeans let out.

Tuesday afternoon four well-known games industry writers and designers got together to discuss the best storytelling gaming has to offer in a panel entitled "Stories Best Played: Deconstructing the Best Interactive Storytelling." Each of the authors brought a pair of games that they viewed as some of the narratively strongest yet made. Prior to the panel all four men played the ten titles, and came prepared to talk about the strengths and merits of each. Panelists Richard Rouse (Paranoid Productions), Steve Meretzky (Blue Fang), Marc Laidlaw (Valve Software), and Ken Rolston (Big Huge Games) offered up, in essence, a 'top eight' list for gamers looking to get more from exposition than explosions.

Read on for views from a panel of expert opinions on the likes of Loom, BioShock, Phoenix Wright and the legendary Planescape: Torment.

Though you'll be assuming the role of attor-n00b Apollo Justice in Capcom's fourth venture into the comical court, it's still your job to help the chronically unprepared Phoenix Wright out of a bind in the opening case. If you've been hesitant to ease yourself into this pun-infested round of laughable legalese, you'll be pleased to find a playable trial version of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney embedded after the break (you'll find the code at the official site).

Once you've gotten acquainted with the new cast in this first installment built specifically for the DS, you can look forward to bailing the game out of stores on February 19th.

We already knew that Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, the first batch of cases for Capcom's new lawyer, was coming in early 2008, and Capcom let us know exactly how early today. Phoenix's successor is going to make his debut on February 12 February 19. If you haven't been keeping up with series, you might be interested to learn that this is the first edition of the game built from the ground up for the DS.

If you want to get a sampling of the new gameplay, you'll be able to find a web demo at this site at some point this month. If you're the impatient sort, you can just check out this fan-made version here.

[Updated: Capcom's original press release mistakenly had the game releasing on the 12th and not the 19th.]

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)

Though its puzzles may occasionally infuriate, the real source of frustration regarding Zack & Wiki stems from the fact that nobody bought it. Every year has its share of titles that deserve an audience yet never find one, and in this regard, Zack & Wiki is easily one of the most tragic games to put an uncontrollable smile on your face. Relentlessly charming and beautifully presented, the debut of Capcom's choc-chomping pirate and his simian sidekick challenges the mind and warms that cynical, meh-spouting lump in your chest. How refreshing it was to overcome obstacles and bosses by choosing the power of the mind over an impossibly large bazooka.

Objection! This Phoenix Wright Munny doll is guaranteed to represent you in court should someone decide to sue you over its existence. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
DS Fanboy Lite: Nov. 3 - Nov. 9
Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 29 - Nov. 4: Once in a life cycle edition
Joystiq Podcast 024 - Hobo edition
Last week in Warcraft: November 4th - November 10th
Today's IP-never-dies video: Lucy and Honeymooners
Today's bone-crushing video: Pain
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: I can has webcomic?

News
The Simpsons Game: Glancing a mainstream review
Wireless Guitar Hero 3 controller functions with PC version
New Burnout trailer welcomes us to 'Paradise'
Xbox 360 outsold PS3 in Japan last week
Mark Wahlberg to play Max Payne
PAL Uncharted demo coming Nov. 22; US region lock a mistake
40GB PS3s have 65nm Cell chips, 90nm GPUs
Sony, MS downplay high-def movie war
Nine things you may not know about Rock Band
Assassin's Creed ad perfects macho slo-mo walk
Japanese Wii Fit trailers show snowboarding, jogging, more
New 'No More Heroes' spots show off coconut, garbage collecting
Edge: Animal Crossing Wii is a social networking MMO
Mass Effect ad talks choice, we choose Oprah
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney gets 'early 2008' release
Beat Portal's final challenge in one minute
Updates for Bungie.net, Halo 3 Matchmaking, DLC on their way
Uncharted demo fixed for European PS3s
NGamer rounds up first WiiWare titles
Mass Effect launch trailer elevates excitement to critical mass
Take Two chairman clarifies statement on GTA IV release date
Wii Guitar Hero III outputs only mono sound
Check out Wii's "Check Mii Out" Channel

Rumors & Speculation
Rein: UT3 PS3 likely for this year (in America)
Devs think Fox could get back into gaming
Rumor: BioShock on PS3, new Metal Gear on PSP
Kmart reportedly breaks Mass Effect street date
Rumor: Rock Band delayed in Canada until Dec. 19

Culture & Community
Anatomy of a disaster: Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
Gamer nabs his Mistress Chief with Halo 3 proposal
Nominees for Spike TV's 'Video Game Awards 2007' revealed
Gary Coleman's GameCube for sale on eBay
President Bush plays video games with injured soldiers
God destroys young man's PS3 with dust
Issue #0 of World of Warcraft comic online
Control the Wii with your fingertips
Make your own Blu-ray phaser

Well, it seems both EA and Capcom have gotten this crazy idea that people still purchase games once the holiday season is over. Joining Army of Two in the November bail-out is catastrophic courtroom comedy, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. Posting on Capcom's community forums, senior director of strategic planning and research, Christian Svensson, validated his professional title with the following (under)statement: "The game is and has been finished, submitted and approved, however we felt releasing the game on the same day 112 other SKUs released was not ideal for its chances. Retail buyers agreed."

Based on the television show of the same name, Harvey Birdman follows the eponymous attorney at lawl as he bungles his way through unusual cases and awkward silences. If you're thinking gameplay amounts to Phoenix Wright with an extra dose of non sequitur oddity, you're not too far from the truth. Luckily, you have this week's superb Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations to keep you occupied until the Birdman gets on your case. Retailers currently say they'll get the thing Capcom sent them in January.

[Via Wii Fanboy]