Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

"Objection! I perceive a winner!"

Objection! I perceive a winner!

I was originally going to post this review after the first case in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney for the DS because I realized it starts just as every other Phoenix Wright game did, so that must mean the entire game is the same. Although, because of a last-minute decision to wait until I actually finished the game, I'm glad I did, because I really enjoyed Apollo Justice. It had a little more comical relief than the previous games did, and they changed enough were you could keep coming back to it.

Anyway, Apollo Justice is a semi-sequel to Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations. There's a seven year span between the events of PW: TT and Apollo Justice, and apparently some stuff happened: Phoenix Wright was stripped of his attorney's badge. So since he can't practice law anymore, you play as fledgling defense attorney Apollo Justice. And here's where the repetition comes in. You fight (with evidence, of course) through trials and investigations. More on those later.

The trial system is exactly how it was in the previous games, with one new feature. People who have played through Phoenix Wright know about his Magatama, which brings out these locks (called Psyche-Locks), which, when unlocked, allow Phoenix to probe the inner thoughts of the target. In Apollo Justice, however, this feature is replaced with the Perceive System. Apollo has a bracelet that allows him to see a person's nervous habits while they're up on the stand, testifying. I didn't really like this system at all, because you don't even need to know what they're talking about and you don't present anything until you prove why their breathing funny or something: you just say “Gotcha! You swallowed!” and then they say “Darn, you're right.”

The cast of characters, I have to say, is still as unique as it was in most games. Tell me how awesome a prosecutor that plays in a major, record-selling rock band is. Every character has their own little quirks, and you can almost guarantee that nearly every single detail of their lives leading up to the trial will become involved. In this way, nearly every character is fully developed and that puts Apollo Justice ahead of the pack in adventure games.

However, there's only one thing that I've hated continuously throughout every Phoenix Wright game. Maybe this is me being ignorant, but I didn't know that attorneys did investigations upon discovering a weapon or something. I thought that they had people called “detectives” who did that. And in any case, investigations are code for “errands” anyway, and that's what it feels like: a chore. I know that I wouldn't have too much faith in a detective who asks you to do things for her and with her, like a little kid at an amusement park. The one part about this whole “evidence” deal is the new 3D evidence checking function. This lets you view the evidence in 3D fashion, spin it, flip it, and zoom in and out. This also comes in handy for finding fingerprints later on.

Although, now that I've gotten all the things I hated out of the way, I can say that the story is actually pretty good. Once you finish the first case, you take a little break with the next case story wise, and then you're back to unraveling every mystery in the entire game. Most of the cases connect into a neat web relatively well. I also enjoyed being able to see all the back-story towards the end of the game. Speaking of the end of the game, the fourth case is definitely an improvement over most of the other Phoenix Wrights. It has ties to most of the other cases in the game, and all loose ends are tied up after the trial. And also, not to spoil the end of the game, but you are able to choose the verdict.

I have to say, however, that for a DS game, the soundtrack and the graphics of Apollo Justice are particularly good. A character's theme is characteristic of them, for example, the new prosecutor has a theme song that consists of a guitar, possibly of the electric variety. Anyway, it's pretty hardcore.

So, since I've usually been attracted to the Phoenix Wright series, I can't really say too much in the way of bad for it. Although, there were some things that I didn't like, for instance, the perceive system and those continuingly boring chore-like investigations. However, the score is pretty impressive for a DS game, and the same can be said for the graphics.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/08

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