When Capcom finally released the third installment of the Ace Attorney series, Trials & Tribulations, several fans were disappointed as it was the third of the series to be re-released and still bought nothing new to the platform as the first game...
When Capcom finally released the third installment of the Ace Attorney series, Trials & Tribulations, several fans were disappointed as it was the third of the series to be re-released and still bought nothing new to the platform as the first game did. That being said, Trials & Tribulations was no doubt one of the best games in the series for the sole reason that it went further into the story than any of the other titles in the series. With the release of Apollo Justice, Capcom have gone all out to create a brand new game specifically for the DS, as well as giving birth to a brand new story arc with several fresh and familiar faces joining the fray. Does it work? Is it worthwhile? The short answer is yes.
Apollo Justice places players in the newly buffed shoes of Apollo Justice, a recently appointed defense attorney who is undergoing his first case and several more to come. The first thing youll notice is that Apollo has a notably different personality to the previously featured Phoenix Wright. Where Phoenix Wright opposed anything subjectively out of place in his world, Apollo seems to think its all normal due to his novice nature and willingness to accept. The personality change of the playable character is definitely a change in tone over the previous games.
To go with Apollo, is a fresh cast of characters. Trucy, a young female magician is essentially the replacement for Maya Fey. Ema Skye, who fans may recognise in the DS exclusive case of the original game, also replaces fan favourite Dick Gumshoe. There are several brand new characters too – specifically the Gavin brothers. Klavier Gavin is the new prosecutor in the game, and although he looks menacing he is no where near as threatening as previous prosecutors. His older and much more mature brother, Kristoph, acts as Apollos mentor, just as Mia Fey did for Phoenix in the original game. All the characters in Apollo Justice that arent part of the regular cast, however, dont feel as “alive” as other characters found throughout the series, and apart from a few, they lack the charm that previous titles had.
Apollo Justices biggest and most notable upgrade over its predecessors is the graphical system. All the backgrounds and most of the sprites have been redrawn, updated and made to look a lot more modern as well as allowing the game to break free of its Game Boy Advance roots and move into Nintendo DS territory. Sprites of the characters look much better than previous titles, and the animations are notably improved down to the most minute of details (such an example comes in Klaviers air guitar rocking, where each of his fingers move independently to the music played). On top of that, the music in Apollo Justice is without a doubt the best in the series – once again seeing a major upgrade from simple tunes to complex digital beats. The music is intense, theres a huge variety involved and it all contributes to the overall atmosphere of the story. Theres also several character specific tracks which really add to the vast diversity of the game.
On top of that, and without spoiling anything, theres a lot of familiar tracks that will bring smiles to the fans faces, no doubt. Just like the previous games, Apollo Justice is segmented into two different phases. The first, the investigation phase, is the phase in which Apollo and Trucy gang up to find as much information about the case as possible, in order to gather evidence to use in defence of their clients in a trial. During these parts of the game, players are able to move between locations, speak to suspects and witnesses and present evidence to clients in order to garner more information. Something missing from a large majority of the game is the Psyche-Lock system, which may see fans of the previous games see Apollo Justice as a “less complete” version of the game, as its missing such a feature, but the game doesnt falter due to its exclusion and even appeases such criticisms towards the later levels of the game. Without spoiling it – well just say that it simply wasnt possible to be performed in its current form early on in the game, from a narrative point of view.
The second phase is the courtroom phase, where the players present evidence and listen to testimonies from would be suspects and witnesses of the case. Players are able to examine each part of each testimony and present evidence that would otherwise contradict what has been said. Utilising the DSs touchscreen, the evidence can be perused at any time using the touch screen, in order to re-read any information that may have been missed in order to pinpoint lies and deceit in the opponents statement. As said in previous reviews of the series, the courtroom phase is without a doubt the most exciting part of the game.
What sets Apollo Justice apart from its predecessors is the implementation of three key new features. The first is the ability to actively examine evidence, by examining it in real time 3D space. When doing so, players can encounter, for example, a vital piece of evidence stuck to the bottom of a shoe. This feature is somewhat useful and should greatly appeal to fans of the unique features in the fifth case of the original game. The second feature is the expansion of the investigation segments – namely of the implementation of the crime scene investigation tools. From Luminol to fingerprint powder, Apollo can utilise such tools in order to gather important evidence such as footprints, fingerprints, blood stains and several other items which would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. Although all these features being implemented are great, its becoming more like Apollo Justice: Crime Scene Investigation rather than Ace Attorney.
However, the new features definitely make the game much more enjoyable and add some more variety to the previously dull investigation segments. Lastly is the improvements made to the courtroom mechanics of the game. Although Apollo cant Psyche-Lock like Phoenix, he too can use a special power in order to ascertain the truth. Apollos “Perceive” trick is one which proves extremely useful in detecting nervous notions made by those being questioned on the stand. When using the Perceive system, Apollo focuses closely on the witness. It is then up to the player to detect a motion undertaken by the witness while they are saying their testimony and show nervousness. For example, when a specific witness is lying, and says something that he knows is a lie, he plays with his ring. Using the perceive system, Apollo can pinpoint this nervous habit and expose the truth to the public. Although it does seem farfetched, the Perceive system adds another dimension to the courtroom battles and definitely spruces things up a bit.
All in all the gameplay in Apollo Justice is really the same mechanics as previous titles with a fresh new snazzy coat of DS paint applied. Thats not a bad thing at all, mind you. The cases in Apollo Justice are extremely well written, and the translation is top notch, a great step over the somewhat disconcerting translations of Justice for All and Trials. The charm, humour and top notch personality of the original game are succesfully transposed into this new environment with little to no bumps along the way. The story of each case will have players guessing from start to finish, and the games opening case alone is worth the price of entry. Though the rest of the game itself will have you spending in excess of 15 hours at least. Capcom have proven that they can once again revamp a popular series without losing its initial charm. Apollo Justice is a shining example of how a new iteration in a series can retain the charm of the originals changing all but the sole mechanics. Apollo Justice is definitely the most exciting and interesting in the series, though fans of the original characters may want to stay with their copy of Trials & Tribulations – though, without spoiling, fans of the original may not be so disappointed after all.
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