It's been a journey of give and take: whenever I was really in the flow, it always managed to find a way to snap me out; and whenever I was losing my grip, it always found a way to yank me back in. Every great aspect of the game had its evil antagonistic clone that wasn't *equally* bad, but powerful enough to hurt the game's stronger points. Each great and charming character obscured by a slurry of aggravating witnesses, with humour that at a moment's notice can swing between genuinely funny and aggravating to even mash through. The great drama, spectable and flow of the trials broken by how abruptly they can grind to a halt when they demand the use of details from earlier conversations that have absolutely no record in the moment. And the compelling stories, themes and character arcs numbed by all my problems dragging me out of the experience as they grew harder to ignore.

I'm happy to concede that some of this stems from my own personal problems. I'm not incredibly attentive and my memory isn't very good, so a lot of the details I forgot might have been easier to keep track of for others. For similar reasons I felt like I had to push through most of the cases in one day, which naturally led to a lot of fatigue especially in the longer cases. Problems that started out feeling small but only got larger and more gnashing as I pushed through, to the point where even as I was watching the (probably really good) climax to the trilogy, I couldn't shake my resulting lack of investment and the feeling that I only finished it up out of obligation more than anything else. All that said, I did have more fun with the games than I'm probably letting on - I think the fact that I cleared three of them despite my brain's impressive resistance to everything these games expect from you speaks for itself.

I was a bit hesistant to post this considering most of it is dedicated to me talking about how challenging I found the silly lawyer games on a highly personal level but I don't think it holds any less 'merit' just because of that. We can try to ignore and talk around it but ultimately our own personalities and preferences are going to affect how we view and engage with anything, and that goes as much for my highly-personal musings as much as somebody else's ostensibly 'objective' review. Besides, I think stupid people deserve a voice as well <3

One of the best trilogies in the medium. I went into Ace Attorney expecting pretty much nothing, and came out the other end stunned by the journey I completed that I put 60-70 hours into. The first game is a wonderful introduction that sets its tone immediately and draws you in with its amazing cast of characters. Justice for All trips and falls flat on its face for a majority of the runtime and with its prosecutor, but eventually redeems itself at certain moments with my favourite perpetrator and the ending case which is my second favourite in the trilogy. Everything from the past games culminates in Trials & Tribulations though, a surreal experience that climaxes in its final case, bringing a superb ending that makes you realize everything was thought out. Ace Attorney is (surprisingly!) some of the most fun I’ve ever had with a game and I think this is owed to its endearing and fantastically written cast of characters, an epic soundtrack that pushes you to break down contradictions in the moment, and some of the most thought-provoking cases and statements you’ll ever see that heavily criticise the justice system, and incisively examine the obscure nature of the “truth”. For me, a once in a lifetime experience that will most likely stay unrivalled for a long time.
9/10

I started this game 5 years ago. Since then, a lot has happened in my life, and during those years, this game has been my cross to bear. It just never ends. It keeps going and going, with no end in sight. For five long years, I've played this game, pressing the spacebar over and over.. pressing Tab sometimes.. But it never ends. Until today. Today, is that fateful day. Today, February 5th 2024, is the day I finally finished Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy for PC. Today, I roam the streets as a free man. I am crying tears of joy as the credits roll, illuminating my weeping face in the darkness of my bedroom. God bless our Lord in Heaven, for He has granted me true bliss on this day. At last: this court is adjourned.

Ace Attorney is not the kind of visual novel a lot of people see themselves playing; trust me, I didn't anticipate it either. But something about the colorful characters and

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(For humour's sake I'm keeping the original review but obviously I want to expand upon it because this series means a lot to me)

Something about the colorful characters and hijinks really draws me in. It has a lot of charm as a series and really has some standout moments for a visual novel. It has its lows, and when it does, they're pretty low, but it creates a story that wraps itself in a neat bow which not a lot of visual novel series can do. Some of the ways one has to get to the conclusions of the case are stupid, like, I know the answer but put the case together in the wrong order. But I think this game is worth a look if you're into visual novels. Very charming and quirky and I really enjoy the mechanics introduced in Rise From the Ashes, wish they came back in the 3DS games more prominently.

The average ace attorney case goes something like this:

Wright hadn't seen a case much like this one. He had only a day to prepare for the defense of one Caul Pable, who was seen covered in the victims blood at the crime scene. The victim, Catt Phish, was brutalised in a fast food joint, all of his digits severed. A truly morbid sight.

Phoenix enters the courtroom with a baby dressed in traditional American kimono-spirit-medium garb, nothing in his court record but an (updated) autopsy report and three fish sticks.

Nick approaches the stand, with Edgeworth at the table opposite.

"You're not going to win this time, wright." Edgeworth grins. " Your pathetic attempts at defending this paltry man will only lead to your inevitable defeat."

His glare glides towards the accused, Caul Pable. Caul shivers.

Phoenix brushes off the prosecutors taunts, and the judge promptly orders the first witness to the stand.

The witness, bart tocks, grins from ear to ear.

"You see, all I did on Friday, the day of the murder, was fry some seafood sir, I'm not guilty by any me-"

"OBJECTION!!"

his shout is loud, reverberating throughout the courtroom.

"You see, Mr Bart... That's where you're wrong... You actually ARE guilty because, referring to this autopsy report, the murder didn't happen on Friday... IT HAPPENED ON THURSDAY!!!"

the crowd gasps, and the judge's mouth is agape.

The gavel strikes the table three times. "Wow this is looking really bad for you dude" the bearded man exclaims.

Bart breaks out in cold sweat, and starts break dancing nervously in the courtroom.

"B-but you don't have any evidence!! How could I have killed the man, I was frying fish!" Tocks stammers.

"OBJECTION!!"

"Wh-what?"

"You see Bart... You may have been deep frying... But you have also been... DEEP LYING!! May I present to the court... THESE FISH STICKS!!"

Phoenix tosses the fish in the air, and the day old golden brown snacks land on the table, its oily surface spreading grease on the autopsy report.

Miles grins, a dimple appearing on his cheek. With his palms to the sky, he shrugs and shakes his head. "Phoenix, my nemo-sis... you're making a mockery of this courtroom providing such fishy evidence. You better explain yourself- or you're fin-ished."

Phoenix chuckles.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, may I present to you the evidence of this man's guilt."

Phoenix peels open the fish sticks, revealing... the victims severed thumb.

"Looks like we found it. The fingers... Or should I say... Phish's fingers."

Edgeworth, taken aback, stumbles, reeling from shock. He grabs his chair to regain his bearings. As he sees phoenix grin at him, his grip tightens, turning his palms white.

"You see, the crumbs that led to me finding this out were all laid out by this witness... who was actually concealing evidence in these very same breadcrumbs... Panko breadcrumbs to be exact."

"GRRR.... I LEFT THOSE OILY THINGS OUTSIDE!!! I KNEW I SHOULDN'T HAVE WAITED FOR IT TO RAIN!!!" The defendant wails. His cries are met with furrowed brows and shaking heads.

Phoenix lifts his index finger and points it in the air triumphantly. "The only fingering you'll get... WILL BE IN PRISON!!"

Bart Tocks entire body convulses, his eyeballs repeatedly pop out of his head and snap back into their sockets, steam pouring out of his ears. Then his head explodes.

"Well looks like we've seen enough! I'm going to take a nap! Not guilty!" The judge jubilantly exclaims.

Gumshoe celebrates by throwing confetti in the air, and then is promptly escorted out of the premises. Maya is seen outside the courtroom eating a burger. Fatty.

Edgeworth slams his fists on the mahogany table with a thunderous BANG!.

"Im..impossible!!"

His head snaps toward phoenix, his eyes bloodshot, veins popping out of his temple. They lock eyes.

Then they take off their clothes and start making out in front of the judge.

-


The closest thing to ace attorney I can think of off the top of my head would be the Sam Raimi Spiderman movies. Campy, but with alot of heart.

Technically speaking, there's nothing to laud about. Other than the brilliant soundtrack, the art is average, the puzzles vary in quality, and there are massive plotholes.

But what it lacks in quality of its individual elements, it makes up for in said heart.

It's hard to describe, but this game oozes passion and style from every orifice. The creators of this game, from the writers to the localisers clearly have put in so much care into this story, producing something so utterly charming. This game expertly whisks you away in it's ridiculous yet fleshed out world full of perjury and lovable characters.

It's so easy to become engrossed in each mystery, each puzzle ranging from bafflingly simple to a complex mental rube Goldberg machine of a million moving parts that somehow all click together and make sense in the end. But this range is what keeps you guessing, and what makes it so fun.

And that's not to mention, taking each individual element on it's own is doing this game a disservice. This game, this trilogy as a whole needs to be evaluated as one single continuous story. Despite the noticably weaker second entry, each game heavily references the events of previous entries. Elements from the first and second game become retroactively improved once the final game is completed, and yet the final game wouldn't feel as gratifying and memorable without having played the first two.

The soundtrack is probably the best part of the game. The fragrance of dark coffee in particular was my favourite.

In ace attorney, throughout each case, you're fed these passive tunes during the investigations, calming soft music that mirror the scenario that the characters are in. As the case speeds up in pace, so does the ost. You enter the courtroom, and you're assaulted with tense tunes that keep you on the edge of your seat. Then, at the very climax, the moment that hours of gameplay has led up to.

The pursuit theme plays.

And there's this release. Release of all the tension and excitement that's been building up the entire time, and your ears are blessed with the best fucking music in video games.

The greatest compliment I can give ace attorney is that if I played this ten years ago I would have become insufferable and would base my entire personality off of Edgeworth. And playing it now, it fills me with this sense of whimsy that reminds me of when I played Pokémon when I was a kid. A strange sense of nostalgia that I guess comes with games made during the early 2000s.

This trilogy goes on sale on steam pretty frequently together with TGAAC, so I highly reccomend buying it when theyre bundled.

Ace Attorney is a lot of things.

It's a really experimental title, who takes a bizzarre premise and turns into one of Capcom's most recognizable franchises.

It's a collection of trials that are also murder misteries, all unnecessarily intricates that lead to some of the most unexpected twists in the history of mistery games.

It's a comedy, full of wacky character that keeps on jumping and screaming on top of each other while also making valid points in a case.

It's a tragedy, which talks about families and friends that add to go throught though life decisions for either their personal gain, or the life of others.

It's also the realization of a dream from the former creator, director Shu Takumi, who used its literal life as an inspiration for some of these character.

But Ace Attorney is also another thing: it's a classic. An entertaining and amusing classic in the Videogame industry that stands the test of time despite the technological advancements of the modern times. A title that even people that don't play videogames will be able to enjoy to the fullest.

Just a lovely low-key time with good art, nonsense stories, and over-the-top characters. It's just a pleasure to play.

I did find that the penalty system was superfluous and only wasted time rather than being meaningful in any way. The solutions to the contradictions were sometimes obscure or counterintuitive. I ended up treating it almost as a visual novel although I did have fun teasing out the solutions or presenting OBJECTION!! the key piece of evidence.

I played this again now because I picked up the other Ace Attorney games on the 3DS when the store was closing down and I thought I may as well do it right. I don't regret spending the time here.