Hinamizawa, a small rural village in Japan, circa 1983. The village is known for its annual Watanagashi Festival, which honors the local deity, Oyashiro-sama. The story follows Maebara Keiichi, a teenage boy who has recently moved to Hinamizawa with his family. He quickly becomes friends with a group of local girls: Ryuuguu Rena, Sonozaki Mion, Houjou Satoko, and Furude Rika. On the surface, Hinamizawa is a peaceful, tight-knit community. However, Keiichi soon discovers that the village harbors dark secrets and a history of mysterious disappearances and gruesome murders that occur each year around the time of the Watanagashi Festival. [Based on [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni]Wikipedia[/url]] Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is the first set of stories, the "Question" arcs, comprising: -Onikakushi -Watanagashi -Tatarigoroshi -Himatsubushi

The game takes place in an urban city set in 2016 and later; for the Japanese versions, this city is somewhere in Japan, while the English localization places the games in Los Angeles, California. The fictional future justice system is such that when a person is accused of a crime, they are immediately given a bench trial presided by a judge, a prosecuting attorney from the state, and a defense attorney that must completely prove the accused innocent of the crime. Trials last 3 days at most, due to the large number of cases that the courts must deal with; if the accused cannot be found innocent after this time, their case is consigned to a higher court. The majority of the work during a trial is on the shoulders of the defense attorney who must cross-examine the witnesses brought forth by the prosecution to find contradictions in testimony to clear their client. The playable character is Phoenix Wright. He is a rookie lawyer fresh out of law school in the first game, taking a position at Fey & Co. Law Offices run by Mia Fey, a defense attorney that helped to acquit Wright of murder several years prior to the events of the first game. When Mia is murdered, Wright takes over the offices with the assistance of Maya Fey, Mia's younger sister, and renames the office "Wright & Co. Law Offices". The Fey family have the ability to channel spirits, which sometimes allows Maya to channel Mia's spirit for Wright to help in court. Wright develops a rivalry with prosecuting attorney Miles Edgeworth as they oppose each other in court... [Edited from [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_Attorney#Setting]Wikipedia[/url]]