VisualNovel Flawed, but has some good points
Apollo Justice is understandably controversial. Not only does it focus on a new protagonist, rookie lawyer Apollo Justice, but it turns out that Phoenix Wright was disbarred seven years ago and has become a changed man, which can be turn-offs to long-time Ace Attorney fans.
One problem is that it feels rather disconnected from the previous games. Apart from Phoenix himself, the Judge, Ema Skye(from the bonus case of the DS re-release of the first game) and a couple cameos late in the series, no one from the main series returns, which makes one wonder what Phoenix's friends were doing when he was disbarred, and why the creators didn't simply go for an entirely original cast.
That said, the new characters are fairly well-written. Apollo effectively comes off as a decent character who isn't too much of a copy of Phoenix, although most of his Character Development comes in later games. Klavier effectively contrasts with the other prosecutors due to being one of the most honest and friendly of the lot.
The graphics are significantly better than the previous installments, which makes finding small bits of evidence a bit easier during investigations. There are also a few investigation mechanics that take advantage of the touchscreen and 3D graphics, which is nice.
This game has a nice Perceive mechanic, in which Apollo examines witnesses in order to find a specific "tell" and a suspicious bit of testimony to prove they are lying. Unfortunately Perceiving is always required to advance the trial whenever it's available(you don't even need to press statements), which removes some of the challenge.
Now for a spoiler-free review of the cases.
The first case is not only the best case in the game, but probably the best first case in the series, and a good example of how to subvert expectations in a sequel (unlike Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony). Unfortunately, it's all downhill from there.
The second case is mediocre, with a client who's unlikable for much of the trial and a lackluster killer, and is not very relevant to the overall storyline.
The third case has many glaring logical holes, particularly the defendant being accused of a murder that's practically impossible for him. That said, the case effectively sets up the last one, so I don't think it's as bad as people say.
The last case is by far the least traditional one in the series, alternating between the events surrounding Phoenix being disbarred and a related murder case in the present day. Unfortunately, it ends rather anticlimactically, and is overall disappointing.
Overall, while most of the cases are relatively weak, it had a more coherent plot than Justice For All, and it was easier to see how the events affected the narrative.
Apollo Justice is perhaps the weakest entry in the main series(although I haven't played Spirit of Justice), but it's still worth open-minded Ace Attorney fans' time.
VisualNovel Not a catastrophe... but definitely a dramatic misfire.
I've been going on a nostalgia quest through the Ace Attorney series lately, with the benefit of emulators, and out of all the games in the series I've played, this is the one I remember being the least hot on upon release (though even at the time I still thought it was more of the same good thing I loved), and have grown the coldest about with time.
Just on a case-by-case basis, it's not great. The first case enjoys a fairly clever major twist and raises the question of what exactly happened to our beloved previous protagonist to reduce him to his present state, yet suffers from said protagonist crossing such a major line that later games would trip over themselves pretending it never happened. The second case had better bless its lucky stars that it's in the same game as the third case, suffering as it does from an unlikable client and a borderline-nonsensical villain whose confusing actions in the summation defy logic. The third case is infamously one of the most poorly-written in the series and one of the least fun by virtue of being more focused on showing off the technology of the new 3D video sequences than actually being an enjoyable adventure interface. And the final case tries to implement an ambitious new set of ideas that don't work out well in practice, completely fails to tie together the saga tragic, doomed Gramarye family in a satisfying way, and ends on one of the most bizarre artistic choices in the franchise.
And the returning characters are mired in malaise. Ema Skye completely failed at her dreams and is left a Jaded Washout and a shell of a woman. Phoenix is infamously stripped of every good thing in his life and so drastically changed as to almost be a completely different character. Even the unseen noodle merchant is miserably unsatisfied with his lot in life. I don't want to read too much into it, but a fella can't help but pick up on a theme. It spreads a miasma of negative energy over the entire game.
Plus, if the succeeding two titles proved anything, it's that having the titular attorney's young, jovial assistant placed in peril and accused of murder is an excellent way to raise stakes, and while I get the sense they really wanted to do something new from the... everything in this game, without it Trucy just doesn't quite measure up to her predecessor.
So, did I hate it completely? No.
Apollo himself is a bit bland in his first outing, and struggles to get out from under Phoenix's shadow, but between his Chords of Steel and businesslike approach to his work, the localization still infuses him with a bit of the same bumbling charisma. His "Perception" ability is a clever evolution of Phoenix's famous magatama, which adds a new element to trials that only really got me stuck once. (Stupid sweaty armpits.) Klavier Gavin is one of their new ideas that works brilliantly, reinventing the prosecutorial rival from the focus of the story to a colleague and even a genial ally. And I don't care if I'm the only person in the world who feels this way; I loved the scientific investigation sequences and wish more of them were in later installments.
Plus, while many of them don't quite hit home (some, like Wesley, give the creepiest and least-funny characters from Justice for All a run for their money, and every male member of the Gramarye family is some combination of inconsistently and horribly written) the series' trademark colorful characters and spirited localization script are still there. I also appreciate the spins on the series' dumb running gags, like Charlie still being around, or Trucy knowing the difference between a ladder and a stepladder.
More than anything, the sense I get from Apollo Justice is frustration with the status quo; a desire to change, to evolve, to move away from the familiar same ol' same ol', but a deep uncertainty in how and where to do so. And I am pleased to say that all subsequent titles do indeed represent that evolution, both in the Investigations sub-series and in the later two iterations of the main one. But while it's not utter trash, it definitely deserves its reputation as the absolute weakest game in the series.
VisualNovel A different, interesting take on Ace Attorney
I've seen tons of people complain about this game being the worst of the franchise. Mainly because Phoenix isn't the Player Character and because he got a laid-back Character Derailment. Others point out that the game has a lot of plot holes they aren't willing to ignore.
To them I say: not a big deal.
Let's talk about Phoenix first. He certainly Took a Level in Cynic and is more carefree. He doesn't seem to care about anything much... save for the change in the legal system. It makes sense that being tricked into presenting false evidence and getting disbarred would make anyone sour, and it gets better when you learn what Phoenix is doing to get revenge on the man responsible for the Dark Age of the Law. Simply put, a brilliant Batman Gambit spanning seven years. What Phoenix lost in likability, he made up for with magnificence.
Now the plot holes. What plot holes are we talking about? I can only think of Cases 3 and 4.
- Case 3 features Klavier indicting a blind child of firing a large gun that would break his arm by recoil and of carrying a man much bigger than him all the way to the top of a tower on stage. Sure enough, it sounds stupid. It makes you hate the legal system... Wait, what? You're telling me it's the whole point of the franchise? Exposing how bad the legal system is? Well, then they did a good job at it! The only bad thing you can point out here is that the game's creators didn't leave clear enough that the court was bought by Borginia's authorities so the trial would go smoothly.
- Case 4 features Time Travel. You have to show evidence from the present to a person 7 years ago. And the game says explicitly it's not Time Travel, but a fun recreation of someone's findings in that span of time. I agree here, but it doesn't make the game any less fun.
I'll be honest here: I like Apollo. He's my favorite lawyer to this day. Granted, he didn't get a lot of Character Development or backstory in this game, but the creators had to explain why on earth Phoenix is like this all of a sudden, after the happy ending of Trials and Tribulations. Given what was told about Apollo in Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, I don't think they could have thrown in anything in this game. They would need like 6 or 7 cases total to include Clay Terran and Dhurke that far ahead. Though I guess they could've come up with something else.
I liked the thing about the jurist system, and I wasn't happy when that was dropped in Dual Destinies. It would've given room to interesting possibilities. I guess Status Quo Is God.
So overall, not nearly as bad an experience as people say, though I admit they could've handled some things better. If you like Ace Attorney, give it a chance.
VisualNovel An Ambitious, Well-Meaning Failure
Like JFA, I don't have as much to say about the individual cases of this game. So I'm packaging it into one review again.
After T&T you'd be forgiven for thinking there was nowhere left to take Phoenix's story. Supposedly series creator Shu Takumi did too. But the order from Capcom came down that he had to be in here, along with a lay judge system that Japan was trying out at the time IRL. Takumi decided to tie these two requirements together, and this decision would ultimately lead to the most polarizing game of the series.
I won't beat around the bush: I don't like this game. There's only one case I actually enjoyed in this game. Two of them were mediocre, and one was just awful. It's not that this game didn't have potential. It's not that this game made a single mistake that ruined everything. There's just a lot of factors that really bring this game down for me.
The biggest one is the overall tone of this game. The series had been turning more exaggerated and silly as time went on, but this one tries to go the opposite direction. Unfortunately it over-corrects, taking on a more somber and generally depressing tone than the series is known for. Even leaving aside Phoenix's circumstances, a lot of characters in this story just aren't happy with their life. Trucy and Klavier are admittedly major exceptions, but they just aren't enough. There's a sense of bitterness and malaise hanging over this game that makes playing it uncomfortable, and not in a good way.
Nowhere is this embodied more than in the changes made to Ema Skye. Originally introduced as a bright, cheerful character filled with determination, she returns here as a dour, unhappy character who's resigned to her lot in life. Is this realistic? Yes. Is it enjoyable? Well, not to me.
To compound this issue, most of the mysteries just aren't very interesting. 4-2 is listless and its killer bland, 4-3 is moronic, and 4-4 is just too little, too late. There’s some appeal to uncovering the full story of why Phoenix was disbarred and what he’s doing to catch the man responsible, but by the time it comes up I’m thoroughly checked out thanks to the slog to get there. It doesn’t help that the answers are patently obvious by the time you reach the MASON System segment.
I will briefly break to say that I don’t mind the MASON segment. I like the more abstract nature of its investigation puzzles. It’s the same reason I like the Fade segment in Dragon Age: Origins.
Back to the story, one of its biggest flaws is that Apollo has no reason to be in this story. He does not grow or change from this experience, and he has no personal connection to Phoenix. He’s basically there as a proxy for Phoenix since the latter was disbarred. In the game that bears his name, Apollo feels like an afterthought. It’s disappointing because I felt his introduction in the first case was well-handled. I wanted to see Apollo take on a life of his own, but instead he spends most of the game led around by the nose. It doesn’t feel like he’s the one who scores the final victory of the game, it feels like Phoenix is.
So let’s get into Phoenix’s depiction in this game. The concept of his story is legitimately interesting. Solving the mystery of our original hero's disbarment and helping him take down the man responsible is a neat idea. The problem is that Phoenix is the one doing all the legwork and manipulating events behind the scenes while Apollo works unrelated cases. It definitely doesn’t help that some of the steps he takes, such as forging evidence during the first trial, are reckless and immoral. He could’ve gotten Apollo disbarred with that stunt, and Apollo was absolutely right to call him out on that one. It’s a dark take on the character that I personally just don’t like. And unfortunately it’s here because Shu Takumi decided to tie Capcom’s two requirements for the game together in a way that didn’t work.
That ultimately is the game’s fundamental misstep. I acknowledge that Takumi was trying to make lemonade out of the lemons he was handed, but he didn’t succeed. A better option would’ve been to simply cast Phoenix in the role of a more traditional mentor, like Mia from the original trilogy. Then have him introduce the new lay judge system to Apollo towards the end. This allows the focus of the game to stay on Apollo while still allowing Phoenix to be there and contribute. Apollo should’ve been Phoenix’s successor, not his pawn.
I’ll end this by saying that I do respect the effort the creative team put into this game. I don’t believe this is a bad game simply because they didn’t care. On the contrary, I believe they cared very much. Unfortunately a good heart does not always lead to a good game. It’s certainly more likely to than a soulless cash-grab, but it doesn’t succeed every time. I’m not angry with anyone for how this turned out, I’m just disappointed. I know they can do better because they have before. Thankfully, the next AA game Takumi worked on would be a drastic improvement, although one he would receive help with from an exciting new source. But I’ll get to that another time.