Surpasses its predecessor in every regard. All loose ends concerning the story and main cast are tied up in a satisfying way, practically no unsolved questions remain and the pacing is improved tremendously. The best example of this is the third case in this game, which is nearly as long as the final case in TGAA1, yet its almost 10h duration is never felt. Both plot twists and the perfectly timed switch between trials and investigation sections manage to keep players engaged for longer time periods effortlessly and maintain that pace until the very end. It also somehow manages to balance its humor and darker moments perfectly without creating tonal issues, which has always been an important trait of the series, and anyone will be happy to see that it's been maintained that way.
As noted by others, TGAA2 does approach Deus Ex Machina territory, especially in the latter half of the game, alongside some standard "you've shown the evidence but you forgot this one small step, so it doesn't count" moments, which are responsible for the 9/10 rating. But, don't make the mistake of assuming these things are enough to hinder TGAA2 from being one of the best experiences the Ace Attorney franchise has to offer, because they're not. Others may also feel like the 2h of new music aren't noticeable enough to make trials feel fresh, or that the lack of new gameplay mechanics (minus one investigation segment) does the game a huge disservice. Regardless of whether or not one agrees with these sentiments, TGAA2 is an undeniably grand achievement not just for the Ace Attorney series, but for VN Adventure games as a whole, and worthy of all the praise it's gotten ever since its release.
As noted by others, TGAA2 does approach Deus Ex Machina territory, especially in the latter half of the game, alongside some standard "you've shown the evidence but you forgot this one small step, so it doesn't count" moments, which are responsible for the 9/10 rating. But, don't make the mistake of assuming these things are enough to hinder TGAA2 from being one of the best experiences the Ace Attorney franchise has to offer, because they're not. Others may also feel like the 2h of new music aren't noticeable enough to make trials feel fresh, or that the lack of new gameplay mechanics (minus one investigation segment) does the game a huge disservice. Regardless of whether or not one agrees with these sentiments, TGAA2 is an undeniably grand achievement not just for the Ace Attorney series, but for VN Adventure games as a whole, and worthy of all the praise it's gotten ever since its release.