Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Reviewed by Andrew Clark
May 1, 2008

Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Website: Click Here Consoles Available: Nintendo DS Numbers of Players: 1 ESRB Rating: Teen

Since “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” was released in October of 2005, the series has picked up momentum and has finally caught up to the Japanese counterparts. “Apollo Justice_ Ace Attorney” is the fourth installment of the series from Capcom. The game follows a new up and coming defense attorney, Apollo. That’s right, the series no longer focuses on Phoenix and has moved on (the reason is explained in the game). Not only do we have our new defense attorney but also we get to meet a new prosecutor by the name of Klavier Gavin.

The new installment still uses the same gameplay as the first three, in that you investigate crime scenes, talk to witnesses, gather evidence, and then take it to the courtroom to battle it out. One of the new things that they added was the Perceive System. This allows you to watch witnesses more closely in order to spot nervous habits that let you know they are lying about something. The game still supports the microphone; letting you yell “Objection”, “Hold It”, and “Take That” at certain times throughout the game. Capcom gave this new DS feature a few 3-D cut-scenes throughout the game.  The game has the standard 5 cases that increase in difficulty as you progress, but they seemed overall longer than most cases in the past. Overall it’s more of the great stuff fans have come to expect from the Ace Attorney series.

Like all the previous games in the series, this one doesn’t offer much in the form of replay value. After beating each case you unlock it and are allowed to go back and play it at any time, but that’s about it. I still strongly recommend this game to anyone who owns a DS. The series still has a relatively small fan base, but they are loyal fans who keep demanding more. Capcom has already announced that there will be a fifth game in the series, as well as a new spin off game where you get to play as prosecutor Miles Edgeworth from the first 3 games. Now is indeed a great time to be a fan of the series with more games on the way and no signs that point toward the series ending any time soon.

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