The best Ace Attorney trilogy is finally here.
What They Say:
Join rookie attorney Apollo Justice and his mentor, the legendary Phoenix Wright, in this collection of 3 games!
Content:
I played the first four Ace Attorney games in quick succession, back in the day before becoming a hardcore fan and reviewing the next two titles. I remember the fourth game, Apollo Justice, sticking out to me as a stark departure for the series with its tone, style, music, and new protagonist.
Apollo Justice was and still remains to this day my favorite game in the series (barring The Great Ace Attorney titles), so I knew I had to check out this trilogy of the latter three titles in the franchise, which all rank among my favorites. Apollo Justice is still the top tier title of the bunch with its compelling young new hero, memorable music, villain, and deconstruction of Phoenix Wright’s character.
The other two games in the series are no slouches, either. The middle game, Dual Destinies, has some awkward pacing compared to the other two but it comes together in the end with the best and most surprising villain the series, and one of the wildest finale cases.
Then there is Spirit of Justice, the most recent game. It is an all-around competent and solid title in the series. It gets everything right from start to finish, though it doesn’t stand out in any one area. I would consider it the jack-of-all-trades of the series with a decent finale and solid emotional payoff for all three playable protagonists.
With this collection, players have well over a dozen cases to go through, including essentially all of the DLC court cases and episodes from the three games. It truly feels so jam-packed full of content, even more so than the initial Phoenix Wright trilogy.
There are neat inclusions like the Orchestra Hall, Animation Studio, and Art Library. The studio isn’t my thing, but it is a nice addition for those who want to play around with their favorite characters, change their facial expressions, and recreate their own little scenes from the series.
The Art Library is excellent for its plethora of illustrations and behind-the-scenes art of the various characters, which gives some great insight into the development behind the game. Plus, it has the Spirit of Justice prologue anime, which as you know, we love anime here.
But my favorite of the new additions is the Orchestra Hall, which is the very first feature I checked out when I booted up the game. I didn’t even play one of the three games first; I went instantly here and I appreciate that you can do that.
Music is always my favorite part of the Ace Attorney franchise and the sheer variety of tracks from across all three games and the different variants on the Apollo Justice Objection theme—my favorite song in the series—had me smiling right from the moment I started this title.
But when it comes to playing the games themselves, this is absolutely the definitive way to check them out. Though the latter two 3DS titles didn’t change too much visually outside of some sharpening and higher resolutions, they didn’t need to. However, I appreciate the adherence to the original style of Apollo Justice while still brushing it up for the Nintendo Switch and other moderne platforms.
It is also great how free the trilogy is, where players can start with whatever case they want, so you can relive iconic moments or play in any order. Players can even turn on a story mode that lets players just enjoy the phenomenal writing, twists, and characters without need to worry about puzzles, interrogating witnesses, and the like.
These little quality-of-life features go a long way to make this trilogy feel like a must-have for fans of Ace Attorney and this latter trilogy of games. Whether you are a newcomer to the series or a long-time fan like myself, this is a trilogy players need to check out with some of the most engaging, emotional, and hilarious moments for a visual novel-like experience.
In Summary:
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is the definitive way to play three of the most impactful, well-written, and memorable visual novel stories in gaming history. All three games have their selling points, from the music in Apollo Justice to the villain in Dual Destinies to the rich lore-filled setting in Spirit of Justice.
The neat additions and quality-of-life features like the story mode, Orchestra Hall, and Art Library go the extra mile to make this collection a must-have for Ace Attorney and visual novel fans, beyond the expected visual and resolution improvements. It also feels right at home on the Nintendo Switch, so here’s hoping this beloved franchise continues soon.
Grade: B
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Age Rating: 13+
Release Date: January 25, 2024
MSRP: $49.99
Platform: Switch (reviewed), PS4, Xbox One, and PC
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
