Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney – Justice Always Prevails

When Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney was first announced I wasn’t certain if I’d enjoy an Ace Attorney game with a new protagonist. Not after playing through three (mostly) fantastic games featuring Phoenix Wright. In the original Ace Attorney we saw Phoenix, a rookie lawyer take the stage. In Justice for All the spiky-haired attorney learned what it meant to really be a lawyer, and in Trials and Tribulations he put his and his mentor’s past to rest. What could have possibly been left for the Ace Attorney series after such a plot heavy trilogy? Like a well prepared response to an open-ended question Apollo Justice’s answer is the future. Not just the future of Apollo Justice and his predecessor Phoenix Wright, but the series as a whole.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney takes place seven years after the end of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations. Apollo is a young rookie defense attorney who nervously takes on his first case defending Phoenix Wright against charges of murder. At 22-years-old the boyish Apollo is fresh out of college and an understudy to Kristoph Gavin, a famous defense attorney and friend to Phoenix. Despite being friends with a seasoned defense attorney Wright insists that Apollo lead his defense. Phoenix won’t defend himself because he’s no longer a lawyer. The last seven years have not been kind to him as he was forced to leave law during one disastrous trial shortly after the events of T&T. As a client the former attorney is mellow and even a little devious. After getting the former defense attorney a “not guilty” verdict Apollo’s career as a rookie attorney continues. While he spends much of the game coming into his own Apollo also delves into the past to discover why Phoenix no longer practices law.

A strong story and compelling characters are the crux of every Ace Attorney game and Apollo Justice upholds the tradition quite well. The first case of the game starts off with a bang and the last case has its share of shocking plot twists. The filler cases in between deliver intriguing, over-the-top stories that fall into the “so crazy it works” category. Sharp writing and clever humor ensure the story stays on track. As for the characters, their personalities really help drive the game’s narrative along.

On the surface Apollo seems like a younger version of Phoenix but a closer look reveals a different personality. Despite being young and still inexperienced Apollo is brash and feisty at times. Where Phoenix often kept his sarcastic remarks to himself Apollo isn’t afraid to share his cynical opinions. Trucy (I’m withholding her last name to avoid spoilers) takes the role of assistant this time around. Her witty and cheerful nature works well with Apollo’s sarcastic personality. On the prosecution side Klavier Gavin, the younger brother of the defense attorney Kristoph Gavin, plays the rival role. As a prosecutor Klavier is cunning but surprisingly fair. Unlike many of the series’ prosecutors he seeks the truth rather than a guilty verdict. As an added cool factor by night he’s the lead singer and guitarist of a renowned rock band. Phoenix is one of many recurring characters but has changed significantly over the last seven years.

At the end of Trials and Tribulations Phoenix’s success as a defense attorney seemed all but assured– until he was forced to leave law. The experience understandably left him jaded but thankfully not unkind. Most of the time he appears to be quite mellow (even a bit stoned), a change from his former high-strung self but under the surface he’s surprisingly sly. Ema Syke is another reoccurring character who now takes Gumshoe’s place as the detective. When Ema’s not dealing with forensic science she’s often moody and dismissive. The only other reoccurring characters are the Judge, Prosecutor Winston Payne and a brief cameo by Detective Gumshoe.

Apollo Justice’s gameplay is largely unchanged from previous Ace Attorney games. And if you’re familiar with the forensics in the DS-only bonus case in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the forensics aspects of Apollo Justice is more of the same. Fortunately, in the courtroom segments of the game Apollo has a few new tricks his sleeve– or rather around his wrist.

The perceive system is unique to Apollo. When a witness’s testimony is less than truthful the golden bracelet around the young attorney’s wrist activates. During cross-examination he has the ability to focus on a witness and the nervous habits they produce while lying. Pointing out a witness’s nervous habits and backing it up with solid evidence usually forces a more truthful testimony. The perceive system is somewhat of a replacement to the previous games’ psyche locks. Unfortunately, using the perceive system eases the overall difficulty of the game when compared to the psyche locks. I personally found it much more difficult to know when to find and present to evidence to witnesses during investigations using the magatama, rather than already having the correct evidence present in the courtroom.

Graphically Apollo Justice is an improvement over its predecessors. Unlike the previous games which were mildly enhanced GBA ports the newest Ace Attorney installment was created from scratch for the DS. All of the backgrounds, sprites, and animations are cleaner and more vivid. Furthermore, the game makes use of 3D graphics in terms of animation and the ability to manipulate evidence on the touchscreen. Clearly the design team took graphical cues from the fifth bonus case in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

In terms of sound many of the sound effects are recycled from previous Ace Attorney games. Naturally, new voices were recorded for Apollo and Klavier’s “Objection!” shouts. Apollo’s cry of “Gotcha!” is also new to the series during the game’s perceive segments. The game’s music and its composer are new. Toshihiko Horiyama is best known for his work on some of the Mega Man games, but contributed his talent to this game. Musically, Apollo Justice is on par with any game in the series. As always the music almost always fits the mood, whether it’s light and cheerful or dark and ominous.

Praise aside, I did have a few issues with game. The exploration and investigation segments of the game are still lackluster at times. I know the Ace Attorney series is more or less a visual novel, but I can’t help bu
t feel as if Capcom played it a little too conservatively at times. The game also upholds the tradition of having plot holes big enough to fly a space shuttle through. A hearty suspension of disbelief is a pre-requisite to playing these games; leave your logic at the door. Finally, I’m disappointed at the lack of a back story and motivations for many of the main characters. Why did Klavier become a prosecutor instead of following in Kristoph Gavin’s footsteps as a defense attorney? Why even bother with law at all when he’s such a big rock star? Why did Apollo become a defense attorney, given how passionate he is about the law? At the end of the first Ace Attorney we already knew what motivated Phoenix and Edgeworth. Also, the last case in the game raised as many questions as it answered. Granted there may not have been enough time to delve into everything for this game, but I can only hope that Capcom has a sequel planned.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney represents something of a fresh start for the Ace Attorney series. It lowers the curtain on Phoenix Wright’s career as an attorney while passing on the beacon to Apollo Justice. While the game makes use of the DS in new ways, Capcom ultimately plays it safe and reuses the same formula. Nothing is inherently bad about it, as tight writing and compelling characters are the real draw of the series, but the new game brings little in terms of gameplay innovation. As of this writing, the next game in the Ace Attorney series will focus on Miles Edgeworth, and there is no word on an Apollo Justice sequel. Because Apollo Justice closes on an open note with lots of unanswered questions a sequel isn’t a matter of “if” but “when,” knowing Capcom. Still, the future of the Ace Attorney series looks bright. After all, Justice always prevails.

Images courtesy of Court Records and GameSpot.