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

What a great package of games that I wasn't terribly interested in at their release but fell in love with nearly 20 years later. It's been long enough since I played the first two that I can't remember if either of those stood out to me, but I remember liking them about equally as the third, which I just recently finished.

I'm not much of a visual novel fan, but the writing and presentation are quirky and funny enough to make it worth reading lots of text. I do wish some of the puzzle-solving was more prevalent. I'd really love these if they made the investigations and in-court defense a tad more complex.

Lo termine hace relativamente poco I(medio año) pero creo que vale la pena escribir una review. La colección de juegos es increíble, cada uno tiene casos asombrosos acompañado de personajes carismáticos y banda sonoras legendarias.

Mi parte favorita sigue siendo el ultimo juego pero las 3 partes son dignas de jugar y estoy seguro de que no tendrás dramas.
La unica desventaja es que el juego no esta en español pero los panas de TraduSquare hicieron un parche
https://tradusquare.es/proyectos/aa-trilogy/
asi que no hay excusas, comprenlo y disfrutenlo!

I don’t always review game collections, normally I just do each game individually in a package. But, in what has been an over 3 year period, starting on March 13th 2021 and ending today on May 15th 2024, I’ve finished the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy with almost 90 hours of gameplay logged. I never would have imagined it would have taken this long, but I’m happy to finally have them under my belt. Eventually, I’ll be moving on to 4, 5 and 6. But as for these games, it’s easy to see why they are so iconic in the visual novel genre. When these game and your mind are not on the same wavelength, they can be kind of frustrating, because you dont know what the game wants of you. But when you are, its some of the most satisfying puzzle solving you can get out of a game. It makes you feel like your really interacting with a real person, not just a computer. (Also, insane music)

In 2023 I saw a bundle of this trilogy and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for crazy cheap on the eShop and thought those were a perfect fit to be played on the Switch. I had a hunch I’d enjoy these games, I’d always see memes and pics of its characters, but after playing the original trilogy, I didn’t really like it. No, I absolutely LOVED it!

[This review contains spoilers, so be sure to have played the games before reading!]

For a series that simply boils down to clicking on the screen and reading, it’s crazy just how riveting Ace Attorney is. I guess point and click appreciators and visual novel readers probably know how enrapturing games of those genres can be, but I had never played anything like that, so my experience with this series opened a brand new door for me.

What makes it so appealing are the characters and the narrative. The main cast is SO endearing and their dynamic is just a blast to see. Phoenix having to deal with Maya’s dumb remarks, Edgeworth being an absolute tsun, the Judge being the most malleable person in the world, Gumshoe being the most adorable AND trustworthy dork in the world (he’s THE BEST!!!)... I quickly got attached to all of them, and even to some recurring side characters and case-specific characters. There’s no shortage of personalities that will make you intrigued and get you laughing.

It’s because of all those characters that the cases become so gripping, along with the writing that rarely ever disappoints. The first game doesn’t get too crazy with the narrative, but starting from the second game they turn the supernatural elements up to eleven, with a huge focus on the mediums of the Fey Clan. The third game dives deep into the backstory of the main cast with its flashback cases, something that gives you an even greater appreciation for them and makes the finale incredibly gratifying.

Oh yeah, and the music! There are so many catchy tunes in these games, and their impact during the trial segments cannot be understated. As you’re cross-examining witnesses, a calm but intriguing theme plays, but as you get closer to uncovering their lies, the same tune gets faster and with more elements added to it, giving you an extra push to finish them once and for all. And nothing feels more empowering than presenting the right evidence, the music going completely silent, saying OBJECTION!!! and hearing the objection theme start. Same thing for when the pursuit theme starts as the culprit is about to break down. It’s an unrivaled rush of adrenaline and satisfaction.

If I were to rank each game individually, my order would be the first game, then Trials and Tribulations, then Justice for All. They’re all great, though! And yes, I’m aware 90% of Ace Attorney fans consider the third game to be the best in the whole series, which is totally deserved, given the strength of its cases, how they’re connected together and how nicely it wraps the trilogy up (and also the fact it has Godot, one of the best characters in the series), but my experience with the first one was truly special.

Of course, there’s the fact I was experiencing the thrill of trials and all the crazy plot twists of the narrative for the first time, which you start getting used to as you play the games, but the aspect that makes my time with the first game stand out is the fact I didn’t savescum. Every Ace Attorney veteran knows how it’s almost muscle memory to save right before an important decision, but I only found out about that strategy after I had finished the first game! So the trials were much more tense due to the fear of getting a game over, which did happen 3 or 4 times.

Something else that helps this game take the top spot is the fact it contains my favorite case out of all 3 games: Rise from the Ashes. I wasn’t prepared for how long this case would be - I started playing it early in the morning during a weekend and finished it by 1 AM, playing basically nonstop, because I was totally immersed in it! It has so many memorable elements to it, such as its cast of characters, from the quirky Ema to the smooth Marshall, and of course Damon Gant, my fav “villain” in the series so far; all the twists that kept surprising me constantly during its LONG trial sections, which you gotta remember I didn’t savescum; the slew of new mechanics it introduces, such as the forensics stuff and the video footage review... I kept thinking about this case for at least a month after finishing it.

There are several cases I would’ve loved to talk about, like the one you defend Edgeworth against the most despicable prosecutor in the world (and you expose him BY USING A METAL DETECTOR THAT WAS SITTING ON YOUR EVIDENCES AND YOU THOUGHT WAS WORTHLESS AND IT’S SO SATISFYING), or the one you gotta cross-examine a serial killer who’s talking through a walkie-talkie, or the one with a Phoenix impersonator who actually looks nothing like him, or the one where the defendant fucking kills himself by poisoning and drops dead on the stand... but then we’d be here all day.

I got into many new game series in 2023, such as Pikmin and Yakuza, but Ace Attorney is certainly one of the franchises I’m most grateful for getting into. I still didn't get around to play The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles and the new Apollo Justice Trilogy, but I'll definitely do so in the near future.

Ace Attorney trilogy is one of my favorite visual novel games. Even though the OG games are very old, I still really enjoyed a majority of the game. I love mysteries and the mysteries in this game are amazing. I enjoyed most cases even though there were a few I didn't like as much. But my favorite cases were 2-4 and 3-4 with 3-4 being my goat. Both of these cases have tons of great emotion and easily the best twists in this trilogy. A main reason this game works so well is the characters. If the characters weren't as interesting the game would be a lot more boring. Overall I love this game and it is one of my favorites visual novels rn. 9/10

Reviewing every game i've fully completed #55

First game: such a good game if solving mysteries and story is your thing.

Second game: Alright, starts introducing some ... interesting characters that I'm not too fond of

Third game: Has a great closer to the trilogy and is really rewarding to experience.