"Art is either so abstract that it means nothing, or it's as subtle as a sledgehammer" - Apollo Justice.

Before I had begun this game, I was excited to play the black sheep of the mainline ace attorney games, and to form my own opinion on it. Ironically this quote from the games third trial is an accidental commentary on the whole game. This game is not subtle at all about its' main messages, and that can get really exhausting. While there are things the game does well, they are largely overshadowed by the problems. Here are the things I think it does well.

Pros - The newly added characters Athena Cykes and Simon Blackquill are great, even with the seemingly lack of focus on their dynamic up until the final trial.
- The quality of life improvements are awesome, especially being able to teleport to whichever location without having to travel through a bunch of other rooms to get there.
- The soundtrack is non-shockingly good, with my standouts being the cross examination theme, investigate theme, Blackquill's theme, and Wandering Heart.

Here are things I don't like
Cons- The game feels too full of main characters, which is a big issue I have with this game. The game has to juggle 3 main protagonists, and their stories, but I don't think it does it well at all. Apollo gets absolutely shafted in this regard, as he gets little to no development from his previous game, and the characters associated with that game get no love either. Klavier shows up in the background of trial 3, Trucy is reduced to a babysitter at the office, and Ema makes no appearances whatsoever. This feeling of lack of balance even extends to Phoenix as well. Even though he gets more time in the spotlight, it feels like they just use him and characters from his game purely for fan service, like both Pearl and Edgeworth's appearances in the final trial. They didn't seem to make any huge efforts In really developing either Phoenix or Apollo as characters in this game.
I could make peace with this if I felt like they did Athena's stuff really well, but I don't think they really nailed it on that front either, mainly because all of her connections with Blackquill and the final trial all come out right at the end of the game. My main critique is that it feels like this game lacked focus, and I think a part of that is because the game is to cluttered with main leads, and intstead of developing the ideas and characters from the 4th game, they just abandoned it and made Athena's entire plot line.

Another big issue I have with the game, is the lack of subtlety and the kind of plot piece known as "The Dark Age of The Law". From trial 3 onwards this game constantly reminds you that you are in an age where nobody trusts the law, and both prosecutors and lawyers fake evidence to get the verdict that they want. The main issue I have with this is that this game would rather tell you over and over again that you are in this Dark Age, but the game does nothing to show that fact. Like the trials are just like normal, and throughout each trial we still uncover the truth, an even Blackquill as a prosecutor doesn't commit crimes to win cases. The whole stakes that this game is built upon just falls flat because nowhere in the game do I feel like I am truly in a dark age, where all members of judicial system are corrupt, and that the public distrusts and hates the system. No character represents this game better than Aristotle Mean. He lacks subtly, is shallow, and would rather yell at you "The Ends Justify the Means" over and over again than show you his convictions through action.

As a conclusion this game is really held together by the fact that it has the ace attorney formula. While it's still fun, it's just sad to see the wasted potential from result of in my opinion a bloated cast, and its' insistence to tell you the plot rather than show you. Unfortunately for me this game falls under the sledgehammer archetype of art.

When I first played Dual Destinies, I thought it was fine. That’s equal parts praise and condemnation. On one hand, a good game is a good game, and Dual Destinies is undeniably a good game. On the other hand, Ace Attorney is a series I tend to associate with a high bar of quality, and so when “fine” or “good” are the best words I have to describe it, it would be fair to say that in some regards it missed the mark. Having replayed it now within the context of the Apollo Justice Trilogy re-release though, I think that Dual Destinies actually has a lot going for it. It just takes a few missteps along the way that holds it back from reaching its true potential.

The best thing that Dual Destinies brings to the table is newcomer Athena Cykes. Despite the fact that she’s only properly playable in one case, she’s the narrative throughline that links all of the game’s cases together, and as such Dual Destinies can more or less be considered her game. Would I have preferred it if the game was called “Athena Cykes: Ace Attorney” and if Athena was the lead lawyer on every case? Yes, but even with things as they are, I would still argue that Athena gets more development than Apollo does in his own game—you can see how even in filler cases like Turnabout Academy, Athena has personal stakes that directly lead into her character growth—so I’m inclined to give the writers a pass on this one. Besides the fact that she’s the core focus of the plot and has a decent character arc, Athena also brings with her my favorite lawyer gimmick in the series, the Mood Matrix, and personality-wise provides a nice contrast to Phoenix and Apollo with her spunky can-do attitude.

That being said, this brings me to my first major complaint with Dual Destinies, which is that I think the writers underutilize Athena and Simon’s personal connection prior to the final case. Part of what makes the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney so compelling, in spite of the fact that it’s nowhere near my favorite entry in the series, is in how Shu Takumi uses Phoenix and Edgeworth to develop each other over the course of the narrative. Even though the details of their connection aren’t revealed until that game’s climax, you can still feel it through their heated interactions. Not so in Dual Destinies. Athena and Simon appear to be almost perfect strangers until the end of the game. You could argue that this is because Athena doesn’t take the lead on every case, but I don’t think it would’ve been that hard for them to drop in more personal taunts here and there earlier on in the game.

My other major complaint with Dual Destinies is that I think they should’ve shown Apollo’s side of the investigation during Turnabout for Tomorrow. We don’t get any major Apollo development until the end of the second game in the so-called Apollo Justice Trilogy, and even then, we only get to see the resolution of his arc in this game. Opting to develop Apollo’s suspicions in real time instead of having the set-up happen off-screen would have done wonders for his character arc. It’s the final case of the game, so it’s not like having things be a little more elaborate would be out-of-place, and they wouldn’t have to get rid of Phoenix’s section either—in fact, I think showing the contrast would only serve to further demonstrate Apollo’s inner turmoil. As it stands though, this replay of Dual Destinies has done little to shake my impression of Apollo as much more than a slightly grouchier, more cynical Phoenix Wright.