Ace Attorney belongs in the same kind of silly pantheon of excellence as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (though with sadly not quite as many talking dogs with human faces). Both are extravagant, often sardonic, and, most importantly, just a bit daft. As a big JoJo fan, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy may not be the best onboarding for the series for those who’ve never played it before, but I had very few objections during my time with it.
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy remasters three of the more recent games in the series (Apollo Justice: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice) under one, very loosely-themed banner. You don’t need to have played any of the preceding games to pick things up (you’re usually the guy with great hair), or even what’s come before it. As a visual novel series, Ace Attorney has long been recognised as an acquired taste — but once you get a taste for it, you instantly realise why it has its dedicated fans.
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is the sensible starting point, as, well, it’s where Apollo’s journey starts (don’t need an attorney to figure out that one). You take on the sweaty mantle of the titular Apollo, who finds himself defending the legendary Phoenix Wright in a startlingly uncool beanie after he’s accused of murder. It has easily the biggest hook of the three games here, with just the introductory case alone having more twists and turns than a breakdancer playing a game of Bulldog on the waltzers. The game gets wilder from there, as you’re quickly dealing with noodle violence, a murder on the dancefloor and more.
The second game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, puts you back in Phoenix’s shoes (spoiler?), who immediately has to deal with the aftermath of a bombing in a courtroom. The big twist here is the ability to sense people’s true emotions with the help of Athena Cykes, who was probably a Stand user in another timeline. Dual Destines changes the art style up to be more 3D in a move that honestly takes away some of the charm, though does introduce some absolutely beautiful anime cutscenes to make up for it.
The third game in the collection, and easily my least favourite, is Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, which takes Phoenix to a Himalayan stand-in location called Khura’in, where lawyers are despised and sentenced to the same fate as their clients if they’re found guilty. Meanwhile, Apollo and Athena must deal with trouble at home at the Wright Anything Agency. While the jeopardy in Khura’in adds a bit of excitement, the game overall just doesn’t really move the needle enough overall, with the more exotic location just feeling like a fresh coat of paint on top of some familiar framework. It’s still good, granted, but it’s probably the least essential of the bunch with a very, very messy flow.
While each game has its unique gimmicks, they all largely play the same: press witnesses for testimony, find inconsistences, and use evidence to pick holes in the opposition until you eventually get the right verdict. In a sense, Ace Attorney is one of the most straightforward puzzle series around, with just a basic amount of sleuthing from usually a very small pool of objects before you find the one you’re looking for. Even though you can fail if you present the wrong piece of evidence one too many times, the ability to quickly reset to the start of the scene makes success a bit of an inevitability.
That doesn’t mean success doesn’t feel super rewarding, though. Finally figuring it all out is immensely satisfying; the “click” of everything sliding into place never gets old. Each case is long, complex, and layered, with some really fantastic writing that keeps you engaged and often laughing. Ace Attorney is very goofy for a series all about people constantly getting murdered, though the relationship between Phoenix, Apollo, and Athena is what will keep you invested. There’s a lot of sincerity to be applauded beneath all the robots and rockstar monks.
As far as remasters go, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is likely everything fans who are after something more up to date than the DS and 3DS originals would be looking for. Visuals are clean with zero of those “crystallised” edges often seen in DS games, and it all ran absolutely perfectly for me with no issues. I played the majority of it on my Steam Deck, and while accidental use of touch controls meant the game sometimes got confused with its inputs, it still felt the ideal way of enjoying the series. Put something on in the background and vibe while you figure out what the hell is going on in the DLC, which is also bundled in for one complete package. Chuck in the ability to check out concept art, music, and more from across all three games and you have an Ace Attorney mini-museum that’s bound to delight long-time fans.
Ultimately, your enjoyment of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy will come down to how much you enjoy reading in your games, as visual novels are really just not for everyone and never will be. If you’re after razor sharp writing, some unique gimmicks to keep things fresh, and more plot twists than a Gillian Flynn book made out of Quavers, you have well over 60 hours of sleuthing to enjoy here.
A Steam key was provided by PR for this review
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