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Miami Law

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For the law school in Miami, see University of Miami School of Law.
Miami Law
Developer(s)Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Makoto Kawaguchi
Programmer(s)Yusume Takumi
Artist(s)Susumu Kuribayashi
Composer(s)Hironobu Yahata
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • NA: June 9, 2009
  • JP: August 6, 2009[1]
  • EU: September 25, 2009[2]
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Miami Law, known in Japan and Europe as Miami Crisis (マイアミクライシス, Maiami Kuraishisu), is an adventure video game developed by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo DS handheld system. Though produced by a Japanese company, the title was initially released in North America on June 9, 2009 and it was released in Europe on September 25, with the English localization being the first project by Gaijinworks since its establishment in 2006. Hudson Soft worked closely with Gaijinworks founder and head translator Victor Ireland on the project, who sent a research team to Miami, Florida to aid in development of the title. The game features music by hip hop group Miami Beat Wave, who were licensed by Ireland to give the game's location an authentic feel.

Inspired by prime-time crime drama television series, Miami Law follows the exploits of Miami Police Department Officer Law Martin and FBI agent Sara Starling as they attempt to bring down a domestic terrorist organization. Gameplay for the title varies depending on which character a player chooses, with largely action sequences for Martin and puzzle-based scenarios for Starling.

Gameplay

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Sara and Law track down a suspect's car on the freeway.

Miami Law is a point-and-click adventure game where players must gather clues, read text, and become involved in the story in order to solve mysteries and move the plot forward.[3] The game uses a mixture of three-dimensional computer graphics for action sequences and two-dimensional character images for story scenes. Players are given the choice of assuming the role of either Law Martin, whose scenarios largely involve action scenes such as car chases and shoot-outs, or Sara Starling, who primarily uses puzzle-based gameplay such as analyzing clues and compiling evidence.[4] A player is given the opportunity to switch between characters at certain points in the game's story, with the plot being affected by which character is used at different points in the narrative.[4] In addition to normal gameplay elements, Miami Law also includes minigames such as Sudoku and Texas hold 'em that can be accessed after the player has fulfilled certain requirements during the main game.[4]

Development

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Miami Law was first announced in a February 2009 press release by Nintendo of America outlining several games that were to be released for Nintendo consoles such as the Nintendo DS.[5] The game was developed by Hudson Soft and was largely based on American crime dramas, and would contain "all of the ingredients of a prime-time TV show".[4] Despite being developed by a Japanese company, Victor Ireland, founder of Gaijinworks, announced the following March that the title's first release would be in North America and that his company would be publishing it as their first project.[6] During development, Hudson Soft sent a research team to Miami, Florida, where they were taken on a tour of the city by Ireland himself in order to give the developers a better idea of the game's setting.[7] Ireland would also serve as the game's head writer, which he likened to his involvement as former head translator for his first company Working Designs, stating that "the philosophy is very similar, but the tone of the game demanded a much harder edge."[7] While his work at Working Designs was noted for its light-hearted and comical approach, Ireland remarked that Miami Law would require a more serious approach to storytelling, remarking that "there's definitely comedy and some fun wordplay, but it's a police drama so the localization reflects that... the tone of the game would be similar to something like what we did for Arc the Lad."[7] For the game's music, Ireland enlisted the help of Miami-based hip hop duo Miami Beat Wave in order to give the game's setting a more authentic feel, who composed fifteen original songs for the title.[8]

In April 2009, a European release of the game was officially announced by Hudson Soft to be published by Konami under the title Miami Crisis, and released on September 25.[2]

Reception

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The game received "mixed" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[9] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of two eights, one six, and one seven, for a total of 29 out of 40.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "マイアミクライシス". Hudson Soft (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Purchese, Robert (April 14, 2009). "Miami Crisis on the way for DS". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  3. ^ Hatfield, Daemon (March 26, 2009). "GDC 09: Miami Law Hands-on". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Miami Law". Hudson Soft. Archived from the original on June 11, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  5. ^ McElroy, Justin (February 26, 2009). "Nintendo unveils tons of dates and a few new games". Engadget (Joystiq). Yahoo! Inc. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Fletcher, JC (March 4, 2009). "Miami Law is first project from Working Designs founder's 'Gaijinworks'". Engadget (Joystiq). Yahoo! Inc. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Found in Translation - Miami Law Preview". Nintendo Power. Vol. 241. Future US. May 2009. p. 14.
  8. ^ "Miami Beat Wave: Hudson Entertainment Announces Release of Miami law". Miami Beat Wave OFFICIAL SITE. March 16, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2009. [dead link]
  9. ^ a b "Miami Law". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Morganti, Emily (July 27, 2009). "Miami Law review". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Valay, Brian (July 28, 2009). "Famitsu review scores". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  12. ^ Herring, Will (June 16, 2009). "Miami Law". GamePro. GamePro Media. Archived from the original on June 20, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  13. ^ "Miami Crisis". GamesMaster. Future plc. October 2009. p. 80.
  14. ^ Anderson, Lark (July 7, 2009). "Miami Law Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on June 6, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  15. ^ Shearer, Stewart (June 18, 2009). "Miami Law review". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  16. ^ DeLia, Joseph (June 21, 2009). "Miami Law - NDS - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on July 14, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  17. ^ "Miami Law". Nintendo Power. Vol. 243. Future US. July 2009. p. 89.
  18. ^ "Miami Crisis". Official Nintendo Magazine. Future plc. October 2009. p. 84.
  19. ^ McCarroll, John (October 13, 2009). "Miami Law". RPGFan. Emerald Shield Media LLC. Archived from the original on September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
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