Great end to the original Phoenix Wright trilogy, but goddamn the filler cases man. Fucking hated The Stolen Turnabout and its main characters, Ron DeLite and Luke Atmey. Recipe for Turnabout had its annoying parts too, but I can't get over how silly of a concept on why that case even needed to happen the first place. On that note, Godot was a great antagonist. First and foremost, he was funny. But he also had a well-written backstory and motivation to him, though his actions were a bit far-fetched in the final case.

Now that I think about it, didn't really like Turnabout Memories either. IDK why T&T gets all the praise as the best PW...

It is both surprising to me and uplifting that the Ace Attorney trilogy found its way on its ending mark, a game that neatly ties all of its threads and themes set up and brings home the real deal on the nature of humanity, why we put ourselves on the line in the pursuit of truth. Not just the truth about others but also our own mindsets, biases, and understandings.

Trials and Tribulations threads the needle perfectly both in terms of characterization for all its major characters including new ones brought up, as well as general writing. The prose and charm is still at its top notch here, and it makes most sentences a delight to read, even at the game's lowest point. The casewriting is at its best, with good logical points to follow, and investigations that are well paced and make sense this time around. Breaking down testimony is still immensely satisfying as the solid music plays in the background.

There's really only one fumble to mention, that despite everything being set up so well and executed on with a perfect fashion, it still puts two mostly throw-away filler cases I can do without. 3-2 is tolerable, but 3-3 is so stupid that I go back and forth whether it was the stupidest shit to be added to this game in particular, or if it's just funny and self aware enough to be excused. Either way, there's a whole middle point that needs to be passed.

Even still, 3-1, 3-4, and 3-5 are where the bulk of the storytelling is and it's all a delight to read, managing to get me teary-eyed near the end as the case writing wrapped up. It was an amazing journey, a complete far cry from how I felt about the first two games. (9/10)

Have you ever spent a long time hyping yourself up for the next entry in a series that's out in a different language, only to hype it up so much that you're inevitably disappointed when it actually comes out? Yeah... that's what happened to me with this game after playing through Justice for All and going through the wait for Trials and Tribulations to come out in English. It doesn't help that I really wanted to like Godot because look at him, he's so hot, but I ended up being really irritated with him by the end. Maybe it's just that I stuck to the guide instead of trying to figure it out for myself, so everything felt more like going through the motions. I don't know.

Anyway, despite my grumbling, this actually is a pretty great sendoff to the original trilogy. "Original trilogy," christ, I'm making it sound like Star Wars. I feel like this is a game I definitely need to replay at some point so I can reevaluate my opinion of it.

It's almost impossible for me to say anything about Trials and Tribulations that even vaguely resembles objectivity. I played it at the perfect age. I was "smart" enough (lol, imagine using these games as an actual measure of intelligence) and "dumb" enough to figure out the twists exactly on pace, and have my mind annihilated by the more major turns of the final case based on my preconceptions from earlier games in the franchise. The truth is, your mileage will vary wildly with any of these games, but Trials and Tribulations was the best experience I've ever had with the end of a trilogy, and I cannot overlook that.

Trials and Tribulations is the ending of the original Ace Attorney trilogy - and it gives a sound, satisfying finish. The game introduces Godot, a fan favorite, as well as expanding on the past of Phoenix Wright through the eyes of his mentor. Trials and Tribulations is a fabulous send-off for the original cast of characters, filled with tear-jerkers and laughs. I do think it's the weakest of the trilogy, lacking the stronger theming of the first two games, but it makes up for it by wrapping everything up in a satisfying way.