After the success of the original three Ace Attorney games, series creator Shu Takumi was ready to bring Phoenix Wright’s story to an end. But the world didn’t end with these surprisingly intriguing lawyer games, so he had to figure out how to make a new game without retreading old ground. Thus was born Apollo Justice, the spiky greenback lawyer – and Phoenix was unceremoniously kicked out of the bar. The next three games, now serialized as the Apollo Justice Trilogy, serve as Apollo’s version of Phoenix’s story – but because of this tension between Takumi’s wishes and the player’s needs, Apollo never Enough turns the spotlight on itself.
We begin with Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, set seven years after Trials and Tribulations. A lot has happened in that time, and the familiar angles of Wright’s face are buried behind stubble, dirt and a deep sense of sadness after losing his bar badge. But Apollo Justice, our new main character, won’t give up so easily and joins the Wright Anything Agency (formerly known as Wright & Co. Law Offices) in hopes of making a real difference in the legal profession. Unfortunately for him, he entered his career during the Dark Ages of the law, where cowboy prosecutors and manipulative killers will stop at nothing to get the results they want.
Like Phoenix’s Magatama, Apollo has his own secret power, and it’s much more closely related to his background: a magical bracelet that allows you to slow down time and pick up on other people’s ‘stories’ – subconscious muscle twitches and movements that highlight their lies. Unlike Magatama, this is used almost entirely in court to trip people up during their testimony, adding a new element to the well-established feature of Ace Attorney games.
In our first case, Phoenix is accused of murder, and the intentions of this new game are portrayed as a darker, sadder version of what came before, as well as a somewhat harsh spin on our old friend Bad Boy Phoenix. Another slow-moving case, Turnabout Corner, cleverly combines three separate mysteries – theft, hit-and-run and murder. But Turnabout Serenade and Turnabout Succession, our third and final case, are expertly crafted stories with strong gimmicks—viewing concert footage and time travel (of sorts)—while shifting the tone to something much more sinister.
But with only four cases and no DLC, Apollo Justice is over pretty quickly, and then we’re on to Dual Destinies, our second game. The biggest and most welcome change here is the art, moving from the 2D sprites of the last four games to detailed 3D characters and backgrounds, with some truly impressive animations to go along with the fantastic writing and localization, as well as fully animated and voice cutscenes just in case. The cases themselves are more bombastic than ever, including multiple ones real bombings, killer whale defense and a two-part murder case that will truly blow your mind.
However, the story of Dual Destinies suffers from a rather severe identity crisis, as it cannot find as compelling a main character as Phoenix and his sidekick, Maya. The result is that Apollo and Trucy are largely dropped and left in the plot’s lane, but Phoenix never is Enough he also feels like the main character – more like a substitute teacher.
New assistant Athena Cykes is young, but that’s not a unique quality in a world where passing the bar is something most people do before they start driving. She’s likable enough, but unfortunately she’s also the source of most of Dual Destinies’ over-teaching, making you feel a little less warm to her as she re-explains how to be a lawyer to you for the eighth time. Yes, thank you, Athena, but we were getting cases while you were still eating pasta.
Athena’s trick – because every lawyer has to have it – is psychological analysis using a talking robot collar. It is uncertain at best and confusing at worst, asking you to find emotional inconsistencies in witness statements by pointing out a feeling they should not have, or you should
After getting through five cases of Dual Destinies and its meaty DLC, we have Spirit of Justice. After Dual Destinies raised the stakes to the ceiling, it was hard to see where Ace Attorney would go next, so it only made sense for Spirit of Justice to take place in a brand new (and completely fictional) land called Khura’in, where the legal system is in scattered, and the lawyers are sentenced to death if they lose the case. Phoenix’s simple vacation to support Maya on her final spiritual journey—as Khura’in is home to channeling spirits—quickly turns into a nightmare of murder, revolution, and more murder. And just like that, the stakes are raised once again, tackling deeper and darker topics like religion, politics and foreign diplomacy.
Meanwhile, back home, Apollo and Athena face their own separate but related problems – namely a new prosecutor who happens to be from Khura’in. And here, finally, we get the backstory for Apollo, which was first teased in Apollo Justice and then mostly dropped for Dual Destinies. By setting the story in two places at the same time, both Apollo and Phoenix finally feel like they’re in the spotlight, and it’s great to see the grown-up versions of Trucy and Pearl Fey on screen as well.
Just like Dual Destinies before it, Spirit of Justice also steps up the visual quality, with even more detailed animations and anime cutscenes. The character designs are as diverse and creative as their names are groan-worthy quips. “Pees’lubn Andistan’dhin”? Really? It’s a good thing you’re beautiful, because otherwise we’d be very angry with you, Spirit of Justice.
All together, this trilogy is a worthy sequel to the original Ace Attorney. There’s a slight dip in the middle, and your mileage may vary depending on whether or not you enjoy the cheesier instances, but the wealth of beautiful art, unparalleled writing, and sheer volume of story make this well worth the price of admission. Throw in the DLC cases (but be prepared for the funniest murders of all) and the small but powerful upgrades of the remaster – a “note” system that allows you to track your progress so far, “advice” and “story” mode options that allow you to understand more difficult parts, plus additional art and achievements – and you will see that this remaster has done justice to these excellent games.
Conclusion
We honestly can’t believe how lucky we are that these games exist, let alone lovingly tweaked for the Switch. This is one of the best texts you’ll find on the console, and it’s a steal for all three games plus the extras. A few bugs here and there are to be expected with such a wealth of content (three games, DLC and extras), but they hardly leave a stain on the brilliance of this well-written and beautifully illustrated trilogy.
