There’s never been a better time to visit Ace Attorney. Developer-publisher Capcom has spent the past few years remastering and re-releasing every game in the series, and with the Apollo Justice trilogy, you can now play every mainline game on modern consoles. And even though the three games in this collection haven’t changed story-wise, we can still safely say they’ve never felt better.
The collection consists of three games: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice – along with their respective DLC. The games don’t really feel like a cohesive trilogy the way the first three in the series do, but you still need to play them in order. And while Apollo is only named in one title, he’s a central, playable character in every game.
As mentioned above, these games are remasters, not remakes, so if you’ve played them in their previous forms, you more or less know what to expect. The collection’s main audience is either people who haven’t had a chance to play these games on other platforms or people who want to revisit them with new graphics and quality-of-life features. In addition to a redesigned UI, the game features an auto-advance setting, which automatically scrolls through text, no button mashing required. Personally, this is a big deal for me, and since you can use the history button to catch any misses by mistake, it’s my playstyle – especially if I’m using my hands. Eating or doing something else. For those who want even less input, there’s also a story mode, which automatically progresses throughout the story, even solving puzzles and investigating.
The trilogy also comes with a new museum mode. In addition to the Orchestra Hall that lets you listen to songs on demand and a gallery of concept art, there’s an Animation Studio feature that lets you cycle through every character animation in the game. I don’t see people spending that much time in the animation studio, seeing as there isn’t really much to do, but it’s fun to be able to revisit some over-the-top animations from your favorite characters. It’s certainly not a game changer, but it’s a nice touch for those with a deep appreciation for the series, and it’s exactly the kind of thing I’d hope to see included in a remaster like this. will
Finally, for those unfamiliar with the trilogy’s games (or just rusty in the years since their release), here’s a refresher course on the games themselves and my impressions after spending time with them.
The first game, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, takes place seven years after the events of Ace Attorney 3 and introduces Apollo Justice, a young rookie attorney mentored by Phoenix Wright and his daughter, Trucy. While the general structure of all three games in this remastered trilogy is the same (50% investigation and 50% trials), Apollo’s debut will feel the most familiar to fans of the original trilogy. I first played this game on mobile a few years ago, and from what I’ve played of the remaster it holds up well. Apart from the main character, the main difference between this and previous games is Apollo’s ability to “sense” signs that witnesses are lying and to see most evidence in 3D space – something only specific to past games. Available in examples.
Speaking of 3D, Dual Fate and Spirit of Justice marked a huge visual leap for the series. Originally released on the 3DS, they were the first games in the franchise to be set almost entirely in 3D, with new, animated models for the characters and environments. While I’ll always bemoan the loss of the previous pixelated style (in particular, Trucy, always looks weird in 3D), it’s a very smooth transition, and in the remastered trilogy, the art looks better than ever. Comes. The games reintroduces Phoenix as a playable character while also adding new attorney Athena Cykes, who can use her new Mood Matrix mechanic to analyze emotions mid-trial. . Athena is a fun character that rounds out the group nicely, but Mood Matrixes is generally my least favorite of the minigames. Meanwhile, Spirit of Justice introduces the Séances system, which allows you to replay the moments leading up to the death of a murder victim.
From what I’ve played of these games, both in their original and remastered forms, all three games are great but not the pinnacle of the series. I’m excited to revisit this opinion when the full game comes out on January 25th next year.