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 lawyer, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Double DestiniesAND Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice available now for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC and Xbox One (affiliate link). Capcom was kind enough to provide me with a review copy on PC, but all thoughts below are my own. If you want your own copy, you can head over to the digital store for your favorite platform right now (or the Humble Store for Switch or PC [affiliate link]) and purchase it or grab physical copies for 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 for console 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, all determined to prove their clients’ innocence and bring justice to the courtroom using their power . logical, deductive and investigative skills.

A couple of years ago, I dipped my toes into the world of Asso lawyer and I really enjoyed myself. I made sure to purchase the three games in the file Apollo Justice Trilogy on my 3DS before the eShop closed. Of course, I never got to play it, but then Capcom released this updated version of the games and I was excited to play it on Steam Deck. It’s been really fun playing these games on Steam Deck and the point of my review is that this collection is worth considering.

So what’s new in Apollo Justice Trilogy? It has been updated with 1080p graphics, smoother animations, 16:9 aspect ratio, updated UI, and some new features. New features include a backlog so you can review dialogue you may have missed, you can start from any game you want (though for beginners, I highly recommend starting with Apollo Justice), an animation studio where you can create your own legal drama with your favorite characters, an orchestra room where you can listen to game music and watch chibi characters play instruments, an art library to see tons of works of art for the game, including character designs and sketches, and all previous DLC are included for free. This is exactly the list.

First we’ll talk about updates. The 1080p graphics are definitely appreciated and the UI works really well. The backgauge is a very welcome feature. Sometimes I play when I’m tired and missing certain elements, so being able to revisit dialogue is key. It can also be helpful, if you’re a little stumped, to revisit the lines of dialogue for any clues. Definitely a win! The Orchestra Room and Art Library aren’t features that interest me, but they are easy to use for players who like them. The chibi characters are cute and it’s nice to have some songs available in an orchestral arrangement.

This brings us to Animation Studios. I felt this was not what I expected. I had the impression that essentially small movies could be created. You can select a background, music, character, action and voice line. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t create any real animation or sequence of scenes or even action. I feel like this is a little disappointing when I was promised that I would be able to “create 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 come this far and aren’t familiar with Asso lawyer series, I would like to highlight the gameplay. The games are visual novels that see you take on the role of a lawyer 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 the interactivity, so that you feel like you are playing the game. If you prefer to simply watch the game unfold rather than interact at all, you can activate Reading mode. I don’t understand the appeal of this feature as I imagine you could just watch a playback on YouTube for the same experience, but it’s there.

In terms of the story, I’m still working on completing it Apollo Justice, so I can’t speak for all of them. That said, I’m having a lot of fun with it. As in previous games, each case has a very fun story with a cast of wild characters who are very stereotypical anime characters, and I’m here for it! However, there is a larger mystery at play that unravels throughout. I really enjoy the stories in these games and this one seems to be no different.

If you like the Asso lawyer games, I would recommend the Apollo Justice Trilogy. If you like visual novels and are new to the franchise, I think you’d like this Apollo Justice Trilogybut I might recommend playing Phoenix Wright Trilogy First. Now, I want to address one more thing, the price. Apollo Justice Trilogy it’s about $50. I definitely think it’s worth it on sale and while I think I can say it’s a solid purchase for $50 (that’s three quality games) it gets harder to justify. In my opinion, Apollo Justice Trilogy it really shines on portable platforms like Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck.