Please note that the following post DOES contain some spoilers for the game (nothing major), so read on at your risk.




Having just finished Apollo Justice, I have to say, I am somewhat disappointed. Remember Case 5 from the original Ace Attorney, with its use of the touch screen and examination of objects in 3D? It is the same system here, but the opportunities are used so conservatively that it really is very wasteful (probably only two to four times a case was the touch screen or mic really required). The new Perception system, in which you perceive a witness during a cross-examination and observe any nervous habits that they do that identifies a lie, is a nifty concept, but it is also only very rarely used, and in fact makes the game less intense to a degree - instead of finding evidence to prove a contradiction, you only have to look for a person's nervous habit and force them into spilling something that is easily followed up on.

Story-wise, the actual plot is decent, with Case 1 being very intense, a humorous filler Case 2, a reasonable Case 3, and a good Case 4, although the plot details get a bit too out of hand by the end of 4-4. Unfortunately, the character personalities just do not click. Everybody makes fun of the titular character, Apollo Justice (which, by the way, is still a stupid name) over anything from having a large forehead to being one of "Phoenix's boys" (as he works in Phoenix's agency). Klavier Gavin, the new prosecutor, is a fairly good guy and follows the vein of Edgeworth in wanting to "know the truth" in every trial, but his gimmick of being a rock guitarist by night and prosecutor by day gets old. Ema Skye, who makes a return as the new Gumshoe, is just annoying. The main villain of the game also needed some more development.

And do not get me started on Phoenix. I admire that the storywriters had the balls to do what they did to Phoenix, but Phoenix's story overshadows Apollo's story by far too much. At the end, I was left with the feeling that Apollo was suffering from Vaan syndrome, and for trying to start what would seem to be a new Ace Attorney trilogy, that definitely was not the way to go.

~Darkstar Ripclaw

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	Xcarvenger - March 01, 2008 (12:03 PM) Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney? More like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, featuring Apollo Justice, m i rite? <_< Oh, Klavier is cool and very likable (at least for me). He's my second favorite prosecutor after Edgeworth; and Ema isn't that bad IMHO. MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH
	shotgunnova - March 04, 2008 (12:11 PM) I've never played the game, but I did play Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law PS2, so at least we can both complain about playing crappy attorney games. :p
	darkstarripclaw - November 26, 2009 (02:27 PM) Daniel Engel wrote an FAQ for Harvey Birdman and I wrote for Apollo Justice so we have more cause than you :P