Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
The fourth entry in the acclaimed Ace Attorney series, Apollo Justice does a bang-up job of continuing the Phoenix Wright legacy. While old fan-favorite characters have made themselves scarce seven years after the end of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations, the new cast is nearly (but not quite) as charming and funny as Gumshoe, Edgeworth, and Maya were. A few new gameplay elements and an interesting storyline keep the formula fresh as well.
Some things never change, and Apollo Justice, like the Ace Attorney games before it, is a point-and-click adventure title at heart. Each case introduces you to a crime of some kind (now with upgraded visuals for the DS!) and places the defense of the supposed-perpetrator in your hands. Scour scenes for evidence and interview involved parties to get enough background information to go to court, then cross-examine witnesses and present evidence to get to the truth!
Apollo Justice mixes up the traditional formula a bit with some new additions. Forensic evidence plays a larger role in this game than in the previous ones in the series, and you’ll be able to examine evidence in full 3D. Psych-locks have been removed, replaced with a new “Perceive” system where Apollo can catch people in the act of lying by noticing their nervous habits. In addition, Emma Skye from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney’s extra fifth case fills in for Detective Gumshoe in Apollo Justice, allowing you to dust evidence for fingerprints, take shoeprints, and conduct other nifty forensic analysis.
While I’m not a huge fan of the new soundtrack, Apollo Justice’s graphical presentation has been upgraded substantially. Character sprites and environments are substantially more detailed than in previous Ace Attorney titles (which were all ported from the Game Boy Advance to the Nintendo DS for their North American release). The transition from GBA ports to a native DS title might seem subtle at first, but once you see the old 2D diagrams transform into 3D scenes, you know something’s changed for the better.
In the end, Apollo Justice is full of what makes the Ace Attorney series great: hysterical writing (Capcom’s English localization team is fantastic), interesting cases, and entertaining characters. The new additions do a great job at freshening up the series’ forumula, but don’t expect anything drastically different here. If you didn’t like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney or the other games in the series, Apollo Justice won’t change your opinion. That being said, adventure lovers and fans of the series will have a grand time with Ace Attorney’s latest rookie lawyer.
Plus, you get to yell “OBJECTION!” and point your finger in a menacing fashion at people. How awesome is that?
Yet again, another reason why I regret selling my DS. ;3 I’m surprised though, I thought it was only the first game which was originally on the GBA and later got ported to the DS; I had no idea that the whole series was on the GBA to begin with.
Gravecat
4 Mar 08 at 4:13 pm