"Justice is a dish best served... High! My God, that score is HIGH!"

There's a new Ace Attorney in town and his name's Apollo Justice.

The brand name may be familiar to many DS aficionados, but the absence of "Phoenix Wright" (and any pun-ny justice subtitles) should be a dead giveaway that things have now changed. Seven years have passed since the famous case that sent Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright to an early retirement. His professional downfall - brought on by a flaw in the current judicial system - is what drives this new arc in the Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban in Japan) series. A new cast of supporting characters has been introduced to freshen things up with the overall progression now being driven by the titular Apollo Justice.

The series' trademark formula hasn't changed much, though. Young Apollo and his new assistant, the adorable Maya-esque Trucy Wright (Phoenix Wright's daughter...) take centre-stage, duking it out with the most flamboyant prosecutor the world has ever seen, dreamy rock guitarist Klavier Gavin. Witnesses and defendants deliver their "honest" testimonies and it is the job of both parties to sort the sweet and innocent from the scum of society. It would seem that the world is full of liars, and by pressing shaky statements and presenting decisive evidence, the truth is uncovered.

Apollo Justice has dealt with a couple of issues that I, personally, frowned upon in the Phoenix Wright trilogy. Psyche-locks have been removed making the point-and-click investigation sequences more straightforward than before; there is much less poring over inconspicuous details just to push the story forwards. As such, the courtroom:investigation ratio has been vastly improved upon. We spend more time in court where the real action occurs, and less out in the open playing Where's Waldo?

To make up for the absence of psyche-locks* (because Capcom knew that fans would complain otherwise) we now have a new Perceive system. There are times when pressing statements gets you nowhere and decisive evidence is nowhere to be found; such circumstances call for the use of Apollo's ability to perceive a witness' discomfort - you essentially zoom in on the witness in question as they slowly recite their testimony, hitting them with a "Gotcha!" as soon as you see them struggling with a particular passage, whether they be twiddling their thumbs or taking a nervous swallow. It's a nice little mini-game that fits in well with the rest of the courtroom mechanics, but it is a tad too far-fetched (admonishing a witness for being... nervous - borders on badgering, doesn't it?) and both underdeveloped and underutilised.

I guess I can't fault it for that, though. Apollo Justice attempts to rework things, but too much change would have alienated fans. Capcom already removed the bumbling Gumshoe*, top prosecutor Edgeworth and the entire Fey clan from the proceedings (the Butz is still there if you examine the Sunshine Coliseum carefully...) I love the new characters - they each impart their own unique charisma to make each of the four cases even more interesting than they are already. But many fans have become too attached the old gang, and seeing Mr Phoenix Wright as a hobo may be just too much for them.

Still, the cases are what matters most in this writer's opinion and here the devious plots and witty dialogue still shine supremely. A few touch screen elements involving fingerprint/shoeprint analysis and manipulation of a mixing board spice things up a bit (although they aren't really necessary additions), and more 3D effects are used - of noteworthy mention are the crime scene re-enactments and the pre-rendered concert video. As usual, the BGM is fantastic - the new Suspense theme, Guilty Love and Start of a New Trial! serve as powerful audio adjuncts to the fast-paced courtroom capers. The sound effects may still sound like 2001 GBA quality, but I, and many others, wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, slamming the wall doesn't sound much different to slamming the desk, right?

What can I say? Apollo Justice features a couple of interesting new quirks amidst a myriad of new faces, but in reality it's the same Ace Attorney game we've been nurtured on since Phoenix Wright's introduction alongside the DS's debut. I would highly advise you to seek out the previous games before tackling this one, just so you can appreciate all the little references scattered throughout, but it isn't a prerequisite to enjoy this new episode; Apollo Justice is actually the easiest of the four games thus far. So it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel. But hey, it didn't need to.

Case Round-up
1. Turnabout Trump: a pleasant introduction with a HUGE twist! [A]
2. Turnabout Corner: perspective is everything [B]
3. Turnabout Serenade: subterfuge, a fleeting melody and crazy hair [A]
4. Turnabout Succession: Rise of the Phoenix * I'll leave it at that! [A]

VERDICT - 8.5/10 Back to Basics

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/24/08, Updated 03/28/08

Game Release: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (US, 02/19/08)