We're not sure if Capcom's new trailer for The Great Ace Attorney is an April Fool's prank or not, but it's delightful all the same.
In the new video, a cast of characters, all dogs in human clothing, gets introduced by the sound of barking. The game, set in London, seems to be about a Sherlock Holmes-like hound. A Sherlock Hound, if you will.
Which is interesting because there's already a Sherlock Hound cartoon series, co-directed by one Hayao Miyazaki. You may remember him as the director of such anime classics like Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Wait, Is That Really How It Ends? - among many others.
If this is a crossover, then this is a fantastic reveal of something that would probably generate a lot of buzz because nobody's seen hair nor tail of Sherlock Hound in ages, so to bring the canine version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation back now would make perfect sense. With roughly 500 versions of the character presently dominating the cultural mindscape, including NBC's Elementary, Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes x Watson slash-fic series and BBC's Sherlock (due to throw Benedict "John Harrison" Cumberbatch back in time to Victorian London), what's one more flea-ridden flatfoot?
But if this is an April Fool's prank - and let's face, it most likely is - then Capcom has driven a stake through our hearts yet again, just as it did when it cancelled four Mega Man games in a row, released DmC: Devil May Cry twice (once was enough thanks), and insisted "Darkstalkers Are Not Dead" despite it actually being dead.
Doggone it, let's just call it: Given the timing of the trailer (it's been April 1st in Japan for a while now) it is most likely a prank. Thus Capcom has trampled on us all once more. Oh well. What's one more trampling at this point? You can set your watch to it.
However, there is an actual game behind this fake and furry reveal called The Great Ace Attorney, the latest game in Capcom's litigious detective Ace Attorney series, which usually stars blue-clad goofball lawyer Phoenix Wright. This new game is to start a fresh sub-series starring his ancestor Ryunosuke Naruhodo, and since it's set in Meiji-era Japan and Victorian London Sherlock Holmes himself is a supporting character.
Whether or not he'll be a dog is up in the air (he probably won't be a dog).
The Great Ace Attourney comes out July 9 on Nintendo 3DS in Japan. You can watch the puppy-filled April Fool's trailer below.
(Translator's note: "Wan!" means "Bark!")
And for extra cuteness, the opening credits to Sherlock Hound:
