Real Women of Gaming

Get ready to exercise those Chords of Steel, Ace Attorney fans! 

Capcom has finally announced a port of Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies, and Spirit of Justice, also known as Games 4, 5, and 6 in the Ace Attorney franchise. An exact release date has not been announced, but it is expected to come in early 2024. For the first time, all of the “mainline” titles in the series will be available to play on PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. The collection will be known as Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy. And I, for one, am HYPED.

Now, plenty of longtime fans have been reacting to the news with snarky comments about the trilogy’s name. And they’re not wrong. Apollo Justice is an important character in the sequel trilogy. He acts as the playable protagonist for most of Game 4 and several cases in 5 and 6. However, there is no hiding from the fact that he gets sidelined just as often by Phoenix Wright, the protagonist of the original trilogy.

I wrote a review for Game 4, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, after I played it for the first time. (Don’t click if you don’t want any spoilers!) By and large, my opinions are still the same, except that I’ve grown to love Apollo and Trucy more. (My opinion on Klavier Gavin has not changed. He is perfection. I will fight anyone in Ace Attorney court who says otherwise.)

For those who haven’t kept up with the Ace Attorney franchise since Trials & Tribulations, the Apollo games start seven years after the events of the original trilogy. Game 4 introduces Apollo as he begins his journey as a lawyer. He meets Phoenix Wright and Phoenix’ daughter, Trucy, who becomes Apollo’s quirky girl assistant. Together, they defend innocent people accused of murder against KLAVIER GAVIN, MY BELOVED a new prosecutor and delve into the mystery of what happened to Phoenix during that seven-year gap.

The fifth game, Dual Destinies, takes place a year later. Apollo still works under Phoenix, but it isn’t long before a new face joins the agency: Athena Cykes. This time, they’re up against Simon Blackquill, a prosecutor who happens to be a convicted murderer on death row. Even serving a jail sentence doesn’t stop these lawyers. Phoenix, Apollo, and Athena alternate as playable characters in their own cases, with an overarching mystery around Athena’s mysterious past and the murder that Prosecutor Blackquill allegedly committed.

Finally, there’s Game 6, titled Spirit of Justice. Phoenix travels to the Kingdom of Khura’in to catch up with his former assistant and close friend, Maya Fey, who’s wrapping up her training as a spirit medium. He quickly discovers that the legal system in Khura’in is a mess. Defense attorneys are practically extinct thanks to a law that punishes them in equal measure if their clients are found guilty. While Phoenix deals with the situation in Khura’in, Apollo and Athena handle cases at home. Eventually, the two stories intertwine.

So, for those who have only played the games in the original trilogy…is this a collection worth pursuing?

Overall, I’d say, “yes.” 

The games have their flaws and they lack a lot of the continuity that the original trilogy had. Some fantastic characters get underutilized. Unlike the Phoenix games or the Great Ace Attorney duology, the Apollo “trilogy” has a frustrating tendency to introduce interesting characters and concepts and then drop them in the very next game. Game 4 ends with a huge bombshell about Apollo and his connection to the Wrights that never, ever gets resolved. If you’ve played it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Apollo, unfortunately, does not. This is likely due to the fact that Apollo Justice had a different creative team than Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice.

That being said, I do enjoy these games whenever I play them. If you’re looking for a fun time in court with some wacky, lovable characters and engaging mysteries, you should find plenty here to keep you satisfied. The soundtracks are wonderful, as always, and the anime cutscenes in 5 & 6 are fun to watch. I am beyond excited that more people will become acquainted with the likes of Apollo, Trucy, Athena, Klavier, Simon, Nahyuta, and Rayfa.

See you in court in 2024!