Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (which takes place chronologically seven years after Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations) is the first game in the series that does not feature Phoenix Wright as the main protagonist, though it isn’t the first time a different attorney has been playable. The game takes place in what seems to be a mock of Los Angeles.

New gameplay elements

The bracelet on Apollo’s left arm can be used to “zoom in on witnesses to gather information about them”, and is called the Perceive System. It is used primarily in court to look for motions or actions made by witnesses that show nervousness, like playing with one’s fingers. The move even comes with a new phrase, “Gotcha!”. The game also includes a “Crime Recreation Mode” that “allows players to reveal hidden clues by re-creating the scene of the crime.

From VNDB

This is the fourth game and the last one released on the DS (also DS exclusive, the previous 3 games were actually ports of the GBA games).

I’d heard a lot about how the game didn’t feature Phoenix as the main character and they brought in a new character. It’s only obvious after my thoughts on the third game why they did so. They couldn’t have progressed from there, so they jumped years into the future and brought back characters from the past games as adults and fully formed.

They also added new ones that were cute and entertaining and never reached the second game’s problems, thank the visual novel overlords!

One new and huge improvement is the gameplay. Between the trilogy there was only tidbits added, but this one showcased how much more they could do with the DS hardware backing them up.

It was very fun pointing and figuring out the witnesses ticks that meant they were lying or hiding things. There were two or three times I got stumped and looked a guide because in a way it’s a bit of a pixel hunt, but those asides with was fun.

I couldn’t be happier that they did such a good game while staying true to the games roots. There’s just one thing:

It’s strongest case which is the last one and involves Phoenix Wright…is very strong and made me feel a bunch but it also…made Apollo kinda…into a side character.

Apollo gets the show stolen by adult Phoenix each time he appears, and more so on the last case where we discover the truth of why is Phoenix no longer an attorney for the last 10 years (I don’t remember the actual time passage actually xD; ).

This meant Apollo simply became the viewfinder to which we reconnect with past characters and new ones, getting to the bottom of the past character’s problems.

Not going to lie, thanks to that last chapter, it became my favorite alongside Trials and Tribulations, trumping Justice for All and Phoenix Wright.

Happy gaming everyone! (ノ^o^)ノ

Have you heard about this game before? Have you played it? If so, I’d love to know what you think of it!