Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations

"The Final Trial of the Trilogy"

PROS: Extremely epic cases; best PW cast yet; playing as Mia; some new curveballs

OBJECTIONS: None, really.

This is it. This is the end of what is probably the best trilogy in the history of gaming, and probably the most underrated outside of GameFAQs.

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations is everything you expected it to be, only better. It's essentially the third part of the same story, yet it outdoes its predecessors. Although all of the gameplay is essentially the same, this game is even more addictive than the last two.

The core gameplay hasn't changed at all – if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You're still a hotshot defense attorney by the name of Phoenix Wright and you have to prove your clients innocent, although in this game, there are two cases where you play as Phoenix's mentor, the late Mia Fey. These two cases, set in the past, play a major role in this game's storyline. Unlike its predecessors, four out of the five cases are relevant to the plot in one way or another. However, the plot is harder to understand without having played the previous two games. Although the game explains the events of the earlier games to the best of its ability, it's a lot easier to understand if you know the whole story.

Like always, there are two phases – investigation and trial. During the investigation phase, you talk to witnesses and the lovable, yet clueless, Detective Dick Gumshoe, who provides you with information on the scene of the crime and the victim. You collect evidence for the next day's trial during these phases, so you can have the upper hand in court. The prosecutor - a mysterious masked man obsessed with coffee who goes by the name ‘Godot' – does the exact same thing. He will present evidence during the trial as well. You need to use this evidence on the witnesses that are testifying to expose their lies, or press them so they babble even more details, which could be lies themselves. It all goes in the strategy of what to do. However, there are no alternate routes to take during the trials – you have to do them exactly when the game planned it (although there are some instances where two pieces of evidence are interchangeable in the order you present them). You need to use your head and keep track of details.

The first Phoenix Wright game, Ace Attorney, lacked the Psyche-lock system that was introduced in the second game, Justice for All. The Psyche-locks, done presenting evidence during the investigation phases to get witnesses to spill the beans, are still in Trials and Tribulations and some of them are even tougher to unlock than those in the previous game. However, the number has not increased by much, if at all (like I'm supposed to keep track). This is effective in making the investigation phases more interesting.

The cast is exactly what you'd expect from Phoenix Wright. A lot of different personalities – there's a gay chef and even a cyborg.- collide here. Although there is very little interaction between any number of characters at once (other than whoever you – and your lovely assistant, Maya Fey [<3] are interrogating), there are a lot of different people to talk to in this one. They cut back on the annoying people this time, so you're not going to have to put up with Wendy Oldbag ranting about her childhood or anything like that.

What sets this apart from the previous two games is its plot. There are two truly incredible cases in this game, one of which is the climactic finale – the best case in the series. You will not want to put this game down out of curiosity of what's going to happen. In the previous games, it was harder to care at certain points because of how uneventful things were. This one has a plethora of plot twists and it never stops being interesting. This is truly the best game in the series. Nothing seems dragged out, nothing seems too convoluted (although there is arguably one thing, but for the sake of spoilers…), everything is just done perfectly here. The series evolved into this, and it's very sad that it has to end. The good news is that I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico. Oh wait…

The game does have randomly-inserted pop culture references and humor like that, which makes it even more awesome. In addition to all of the unexpected plot twists, they certainly didn't drop the ball on the writing. This one will keep you guessing, as it's less predictable than the first two games as a whole.

In the end, Phoenix Wright ended on a high note. Trials and Tribulations set the bar very high for the upcoming Apollo Justice, and based on what I've heard, Apollo can't even come close to this game. Phoenix Wright is my favorite trilogy in gaming ever – and most likely the best, most entertaining one out there. Don't just buy PW3, get all three games, and save the best for last. Writing-wise, this is perfection. Gameplay-wise, this is perfection. Replay-value wise… who the hell cares? Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations gets a 10 out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/16/07

Game Release: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations (US, 10/23/07)