>>900883>Are they like visual novels?Yes, but with puzzle solving and point and click elements. There are two main gameplay loops, the first being the investigation phase where you're talking to people, exploring areas for clues and presenting items to people to see their opinion/reaction, then to the trial phase where you cross examine witnesses to try and find lies in their testimony, pressing them for more information and eventually objecting to their accidental/intentional lie.
>Any good or do they drag on a bit?There are filler cases that don't really do much for the overall plot or character development, and some cases are just outright bad and awful to play through. Overall, 1 case in every 7/8 cases would be bad (there are 4-5 cases per game so you'll have 1 "bad" case every 2 games). Some good cases can be "too" long as well.
However, when the cases are good, THEY'RE VERY GOOD. Seriously, when you finally start to prove who the killer is and the music hits you, it sends chills down your spine every fucking time. It also keeps on getting bigger since the prosecution will ask you to prove your theory and when you find the right evidence and turn the fucking case around, it's fucking amazing.
>What happens if you get a case completely wrong?Depends on the type of case you're playing but nothing beyond a game over. In the first game if you present evidence incorrectly 5 times, it's game over and you start again from your last save. In later games it's a health bar that can have different amounts taken away for different kind of answers. You can save scum this as much as you want. In certain important cases, showing the wrong evidence will have a bad end but you can just go back to your old save and do it again anyhow.
Play the first game anyhow and see yourself, if you don't really like it by the end of the 4th case (a long ride but I find the 4th case to be very good and hits the best part of ace attorney) then the series just won't be for you.