They've done it again. Capcom has done it again! Only this time, they've done it better. Following on from the success of the Ace Attorney Trilogy, which brought the first three games in the beloved series to Switch, PC, and other consoles, Capcom has taken the next three games (Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies, and Spirit of Justice) and bundled them once more into a meaty trilogy – but with a focus on greenhorn lawyer Apollo Justice, rather than Phoenix Wright.
The story is incredible, of course. Apollo Justice, the first game in the series which debuted on DS in 2007, feels strange to begin with — a new main character and a seven-year time skip is daunting — but it quickly feels like an Ace Attorney game, with all the twists and shocking reveals that a player might want. The second case is a lot more boring and slow than the first, but, well, let's be honest, they usually are in these games, so we can forgive it.
2013's Dual Destinies for 3DS feels like the series really hitting its stride while still trying new things, although it's a lot of people's least favourite of the three. The story gets dark from the very first case – darker than ever before. New sidekick Athena Cykes introduces the new gimmick of reading emotions and psychology, alongside Apollo's twitch-sensing magic bracelet, and although prosecutor Simon Blackquill might start off feeling like an emo Edgeworth, you'll quickly warm up to the weirdo. Dual Destinies doesn't have as strong of an identity as most other Ace Attorney games, so it gets overlooked a lot... but it's still good.
Spirit of Justice, the final game in this trilogy, starts a little rough. Taking place in an entirely new (but made-up) country, Khura'in, this story begins with Phoenix as a foreigner in a distant land, telling them that their culture (which abhors lawyers and fair trials) is outdated and stupid. It gets better, but oof does that first case feel especially uncomfortable, as the Khura'inese are written as overly naive and short-sighted, relying on religious ceremonies and untrustworthy "visions" to conduct trials. It gets better. A lot better. But it takes a while.
But this is a preview, and we can't get too into the story weeds, so you probably want to know: does it look nice? In the opinions of this reviewer (and many diehard AA fans), the original trilogy's updated HD art was disappointing – especially compared to the pixel art in the DS versions, which was a large part of the reason many of us fell in love with the game in the first place. This "HD" art was traced over the pixel art, and it didn't look great. In fact, if you ask us, it was downright ugly. Good news: the Apollo Justice art is miles (edgeworth) better. The lines are thinner, the colours are subtler, and the muddy gradients of the HD art are replaced by bold, clean shadows. There's even a certain pixelated quality to the lineart that was jarring at first, but has grown on us as we played.
Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice are, as in the original 3DS versions, updated from 2D to 3D art, which is just as wild to see as it was back in 2013. The visual upgrade also comes with fully animated cutscenes, too, borrowing from the actual Ace Attorney anime series and rendering its famous cast as real, moving (albeit cartoony) people. Not only is all of that preserved in this Switch trilogy – there's also an extensive "Museum" section that lets you watch and rewatch those animations, all the music, and much more.
It's clear that the Ace Attorney team learned a lot from the Great Ace Attorney remaster on Switch. Where the original Ace Attorney Trilogy felt a little slapdash and underbaked at times, GAA felt glossy, new, and generous with its extras, and the Apollo Justice Trilogy follows confidently in those footsteps.
That Museum is just the beginning. Each game also lets you choose the background and the music for its selection screen, and play the games and episodes in any order. You can also choose from any of the in-game costumes that were previously 3DS eShop DLC, and unlock achievements (they're mostly just "complete episode 1/2/3" and so on, but still) as you go.
Then there's the strange but sweet addition of something called the Animation Studio, which lets you pose any character from any of the three games in any of their different emotions, and overlay any music or "Objection!" soundbite that you want. There's even an option to have a green or blue screen behind the characters. We can only imagine that this is supposed to be recorded and strung together to create objection.lol-style animations, which is... really quite cool, actually.
On top of all that, there are the accessibility options, which are even more robust than ever. Story Mode – which lets the game take the reins for you, presenting evidence and pressing all the buttons so you don't need to do anything at all – makes a return, and there's an additional helper mode called "Consultation", which will only nudge you in the right direction if you present the incorrect evidence multiple times, in the form of your companion.
This is really smart, if you ask us – it keeps the player immersed in the world while acknowledging that some cross-examinations are annoyingly picky. But it doesn't stop there! There's also a new feature in the Court Record that records all your actions during the investigation periods, and tells you what you need to do next. The gameplay options are plentiful, too, with the ability to turn off vibration and screenflashes, slow down or speed up the text, and change the text box transparency.
We already know that the Apollo Justice games are brilliant. Despite a few stumbles here and there, some slow or long cases, and some new characters that may not appeal to all players, it's a worthy successor to the original, beloved trilogy that goes further and deeper into the story set up by Phoenix Wright.
So it's a relief to see that the Trilogy has delivered unto us a trio of games that have been lovingly remastered and upgraded with so many extras, and it's such a relief to be able to play Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, two games previously locked away in the West on the now-dead 3DS eShop. We're looking forward to playing the rest of it over Christmas – what a treat!
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is scheduled for launch on 25th January 2024. It certainly seems like a promising package, but keep an eye out for our review closer to release.