# *Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney* Notes A new generation of *Ace Attorney* being the first, truly exclusive Nintendo DS iteration of the franchise. Phoenix Wright has been disbarred and now Apollo Justice arrives on the scene with his uncanny ability to perceive a witness' tension and tells. There is a heavy emphasis on forensics and utilizing the touch screen for testing evidence. > [!warning] > Spoilers below! ![[Apollo Justice - Ace Attorney Notes.pdf]] ## Stats - Started Playing: 7/28/2025 - Beat: 8/25/2025 - Total Playtime: 20~ hours ## Legacy - Well, it gave us a cool slate of new characters and, of course, poker beanie-wearing Phoenix Wright! - It has a messy overall plot that feels crammed in the end with an out-of-place setting. There’s a much better version of those plot somewhere in here. - I suppose the fact that the series goes back to Phoenix as the main protagonist says something about this game’s legacy too. But I’ll need to play *Dual Destinies* and *Spirit of Justice* to find out... ## Overall - You cannot beat the feeling of solving everything, the evidence flowing, and the music building. It’s unmatched in gaming. - I do love when Apollo and Gavin work together to reveal the truth. ## Story ### Overall - Interesting that the whole legal system and reliance on evidence seems to be a key factor. Explains Phoenix falsifying evidence in case 1 ### Turnabout Trump - ❗ - Banger opening scenario with a gambling, slick, cool Phoenix convicted of murder. - They really come out swinging with Apollo’s mentor being the criminal and Phoenix being this beanie wearing, poker playing, disbarred lawyer man. - The defense attorney has to testify. Amazing. Packed drama right up front - Love the ground work for a trial seven years ago that caused Phoenix to leave, implications of forged evidence. Wonder if and when it pays off. ### Turnabout Corner - Phoenix was in a hit and run, a noodle stand was stolen, and Trucy’s panties were stolen. Good start. - Gavin’s brother is the new rival prosecutor? - Klavier Gavin, rock star and prosecutor. Not sure how I feel about his potential arc. We’ll see! - But the rock gimmick with the German accent is amazing. - My client is the son of a prominent mob boss. The kid seemingly wants to prove he is mobster enough and so he is owning up to the crime! - Well, the first witness turned out to be a panty snatcher in a very satisfying, comedic twist. - The second investigation concludes with the player figuring out the guilty party. Now to just put the evidence all together in court. - My memories are coming back and I remember the how. A good twist, to be sure. I don’t recall the why though. ### Turnabout Serenade - The fancy musician/siren’s manager was shot at a concert where Apollo and Trucy were. Feels cool to be on the ground floor. - *ka-tonk!* - They really try to fake you out with the witness is “Siren.” But clearly, he means the boy. This case feels a bit wishy washy. - The structure and pacing of the testimonies is off too. A strange case, especially if this is 3 of 4. - Now the victim is an Interpol agent? - And NOW there is a secret object that cures an incurable disease? - The second trial is all me just proving everything left and right. Great flow. - They play this unskippable bad 3D video waaaaayyyy too much - A fun end to s sloppy, rushly built case ### Turnabout Succession - Phoenix is in charge of a committee to test out a jury system. Hot new case decided that occurred yesterday and Apollo is on deck. I have to learn all about it myself, no help. - Seems like it is intricately tied to Trucy’s real dad’s disappearance. - A shut-in artist is murdered and his daughter is the suspect. He seems to have been painting forgeries and making bank. But his raw sketches underneath are of Apollo’s trials so far. Impossibly weird? - So Vera is the forger and she forged evidence in the case that disbarred Phoenix it seems! The web grows thicker. - But it feels like I am just along for the ride to all these revelations. There hasn’t been enough groundwork to seed the big twists. - The fact that cross-examining Vera is basically a bridge to a flashback trial kinda proves this. Feels like the Trials and Tribulations approach would have been better. Interstitial trial chapters could have helped tremendously. - And now we flashback to that case. Phoenix and Gumshoe were sorely missed - I like the twist that Valant is a bad guy. Wish there was a bit more build up, but it just barely works. - Phoenix using false evidence, unbeknownst to him, doesn’t hit quite as hard, since we know he was disbarred because of falsified evidence. - Man, imagine if there were interstitial chapters that built up this Zak, magician murder case. The layers, characters, and betrayals would have worked so much better. I suppose that lesson was learned and executed in The Great Ace Attorney games. - What on earth is this random, computer MASON system being introduced in the final act of the final case? - Why put the “investigation” in this computer sim setting? - It feels so strange even though mechanically it is just the investigation phase. I suppose it was their method to tie past and present tighter together... - In the past, I already know Vera is the forger. So that “puzzle” is easy. Feels like this sim was the only way they could justify using knowledge/evidence from both timelines. - As I get to the final chunks of MASON, I get the approach more so. But this could have been laid out better, seeded earlier, cultivated. - But the dragging of evidence across time is only possible i this computer simulation software thing. So the responses would technically be fake, not real memories, especially when evidence from the present is used in the past. - Shadi Smith is Zak! Shadi is Trucy’s dad. It just dawned on me! - I mean, just dawned on me not long before they wanted me to remember. A good twist. - Are Apollo and Trucy related? - Half siblings indeed - Phoenix’s beanie has a camera? Good grief. - Vera bit her nails! That’s how she was poisoned. - Okay. Having Lamiroir be the missing magician and their mother. Good stuff - How could Valant work closely with Lamiroir on the magic trick in Turnabout Serenade and *not* recognize her? - Kristoph’s motives are pretty flimsy being “evil” and upset he was passed over for a “second rate” attorney. ## Gameplay - I forgot that we delve into tells and nervous poses in this one. Olga Orly touching her neck in case one for example. Interesting how the devs have to keep coming up with mechanics to delve deeper into picking up on lies. Reminds me of LA Noire. - Perceive! Gotcha! - Using the bracelet is very Ace Attorney - Feels like we don’t use perception enough throughout the game. - The 3D diagrams are *so* DS-era. Love it. - And even more DS era is using the touch screen and microphone to dust for prints. Super smart use of hardware to make interactive mechanics. Lost in the remake. A worthy trade for accessibility and 4K though. - Feels like Chapter 2, Trial 2 throws out all the key/power evidence right away. Is it stealing thunder? - It is still very much a struggle when you know the answers, but not the current question. An annoying hurdle. Like being asked to show work in math. - The Magatama returns... - It’s return shines a light on how little we use perception though... ## Music/Sound Design - Nothing beats the way the music weaves and builds in presenting contradicting evidence. - This Pursuit theme is 🔥🔥🔥 - Why does it feel like the typewriter clicks come in and out? - Okay. Throwback Phoenix music feels so good ## Graphics/Performance - In handheld mode, the lines on the character art didn’t look so smooth. Handheld mode issue or game? Find out next time! - Yeah. Chalk it up to handheld mode. Looks so good on the TV. - Animations for evidence entering the Court Record are slick. - I like this lightly transparent, icon-driven UI! Ooooooo. - The 3D was not there when this was originally made. ## World - I wish I could bounce to any location from anywhere, but I get why they force you through certain rooms. Makes sure you hit critical interactions.