History VisualNovel / ApolloJusticeAceAttorney

After this game the series continued on the DS with two spinoff games; ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' and its sequel. The core series would not continue for another six years, finally resuming in 2013 with ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' on the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS.

* ArtEvolution: With the Platform/NintendoDS's improved graphics hardware and larger cartridge side compared to the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, the quality of the in-game graphics and animation improves noticeably, and also makes it possible to include full-motion video sequences.

* ChekhovsBoomerang: The object that [[spoiler:proved a man guilty of theft a thirdway through and]] finally proved who the real murderer was at the end of the second case was [[spoiler:a pair of panties. Your 15-year old sidekick's panties, no less. (For the record, these are oversized prop bloomers from which she pulls random items in her magic act)]]. This is suitably lampshaded: [[spoiler: "Panties! Again?!"]]

--> '''Klavier:''' Cars, motorbikes, they're all the same. [[spoiler:Just clog up the exhaust]] and they won't run.

* DisabilityAlibi: [[Main/DefiedTrope Defied]] in the third case, where a young boy is charged with shooting a man. The gun in question had a strong recoil, and usually only heavily trained police officers are capable of using it without breaking something, so it was unlikely the defendant (who was a pianist and likely never held a gun in his life) could shoot it properly. However, when Apollo brings this up, the prosecution points out that the recoil could be why the gun was fired twice, and the argument isn't brought up again.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Being the first entry in the "Apollo Justice" trilogy, this game does a number of things differently compared to its followups:

** Phoenix, Apollo, and Klavier's voice clips are done by different actors here than in the next two games, with Phoenix's in particular being reused from the his own trilogy. The '' Apollo Justice Trilogy'' release backports Phoenix's English voicework from the 3DS games into ''Apollo Justice'', but Apollo's and Klavier's lines are still reused from the DS version.
** Apollo's perception ability is regularly used in court, to catch the subconscious habits of witnesses when they don't tell the whole truth when simple contradictions can't be found in their testimonies via evidence. The next two games have most of their Perceive segments taking place during the investigations of each case, with Simon Blackquill explicitly forbidding Apollo from trying to use his power in court.

** In the final case it turns out that [[spoiler: the jurors are watching the trial from the same cameras you are.]]

* MistakenForName: The titular protagonist is already nervous about his first trial, and introductions get off on the wrong foot when Apollo meets his client, [[spoiler:Phoenix Wright, who has been accused of murder]].
-->'''Phoenix:''' So, you're...
-->'''Apollo:''' Fine! I-I'm fine!
-->'''Phoenix:''' Ah... Mr. Fine, is it?
-->'''Apollo:''' Uh...
-->'''Phoenix:''' I did remember you having an odd name.
-->'''Apollo:''' ([[FirstPersonSmartass Well, we're off to a great start.]])

* MythologyGag: In Case 4, you can examine the defendant lobby. Phoenix realizes he never really paid attention to how the place looked. This is a reference to the fact that, in no prior game (or future game except for ''Investigations''), the defendant lobbies cannot be examined.

* PreRenderedGraphics: The first game in the series to have fully animated cutscenes, due to not being ported from the Game Boy Advance and working off of the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS' specs. There are also some moments and recreations of the crime scenes that are pre-rendered in 3-D as well.

-->'''Phoenix:''' Mr. Fine, is it?

* 13IsUnlucky: [[spoiler: Phoenix's thirteenth murder trial is the one that ends with him disbarred]].