Review: APOLLO JUSTICE: ACE ATTORNEY TRILOGY Brings More Justice to Modern Platforms
Last month, Capcom released Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy. This is a collection of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice available now for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC, and Xbox One (affiliate link). Capcom was kind enough to provide me with a review copy on PC, but all the thoughts below are my own. If you want your own copy, you can head over to the digital storefront for your preferred platform now (or the Humble Store for Switch or PC [affiliate link]) and purchase it or grab physical copies for the Nintendo Switch from retailers like GameStop (affiliate link).
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is a must-have collection that delivers Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice in one package to consoles and PC. In these visual novel-style Ace Attorney cases, players take on the role of fan-favorite defense attorneys Apollo Justice, Phoenix Wright, and Athena Cykes, who are all determined to prove their clients’ innocence and bring justice to the court by using their logic, deduction, and sleuthing skills.
A couple of years ago, I dipped my feet into the world of Ace Attorney and I had a lot of fun. I made sure to buy the three games in the Apollo Justice Trilogy on my 3DS before that eShop shut down. Naturally, I never got around to playing them, but then Capcom released this updated version of the games and I was stoked to play them on Steam Deck. It’s been really fun to play these games on Steam Deck and the tldr of my review is that this collection is one to consider.
So, what’s new in the Apollo Justice Trilogy? It’s upgraded with 1080p visuals, smoother animations, a 16:9 aspect ratio, updated UI, and some brand new features. The new features include a Back Log so that you can review dialogue that you possibly missed, you can start from any game you wish (although for first timers, I definitely recommend starting with Apollo Justice), an Animation Studios so you can create your own legal drama with your favorite characters, Orchestra Hall where you can listen to the music from the games and watch chibi characters play instruments, Art Library to see tons of art for the game including character designs and sketches, and all the past DLC is included for free. That’s quite the list.
First, we’ll talk about the upgrades. The 1080p visuals are definitely appreciated and the UI works really well. The Back Log is a very welcome feature. I sometimes play when I’m tired and miss some items, so being able to revisit dialogue is paramount. It can also be helpful if you’re a little stumped to revisit lines of dialogue for any clues. Definitely a win! The Orchestra Hall and Art Library are not really features that I care about, but they are easy to use for gamers who do like them. The chibi characters are cute and it is nice to have some of the songs available in an orchestral arrangement.
That brings us to the Animation Studios. I felt like this was not what I was expecting. I was under the impression that one would be able to essentially create small cutscenes. You can select a background, music, a character, an action, and a voice line. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anyway to really create any actual animation or chain scenes or even actions. I feel like this is a bit of a letdown when promised that I’d be able to “Craft your own legal drama” but maybe I’m not doing it right? In my opinion, this is a loss for the Apollo Justice Trilogy.
In case you’ve made it this far and are not familiar with the Ace Attorney series, let me highlight gameplay. The games are visual novels that see you take the role of an attorney who must defend various clients in court, investigate crime scenes, and more. In my opinion, these games have a fantastic balance between the typical lack of gameplay elements that many visual novels have and interactivity so that you feel as though you are playing a game. If you’d rather just watch the game play out instead of interacting at all, you can activate Read Mode. I don’t understand the appeal of this feature since I imagine you could just watch a playthrough on YouTube for the same experience, but it’s there.
In terms of story, I am still working on playing through Apollo Justice, so I can’t speak for all of them. That said, I am enjoying it quite a bit. As with prior games, each case has a very fun story with a cast of wild characters who are very stereotypical anime characters, and I am here for it! However, there’s a bigger mystery at play that unfolds throughout. I really enjoy the stories in these games and this appears to be no different.
If you like the Ace Attorney games, I would recommend the Apollo Justice Trilogy. If you enjoy visual novels and are new to the franchise, I think you would enjoy the Apollo Justice Trilogy, but I might recommend playing the Phoenix Wright Trilogy first. Now, I do want to address one more thing, the price. Apollo Justice Trilogy runs for about $50. I definitely think it’s worth it on a sale and while I think I can say it’s a solid purchase for $50 (it is three quality games) it does get harder to justify. In my opinion, Apollo Justice Trilogy really shines on portable platforms such as the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck.
