HOLD IT!
Let me make something very very clear, I am a gamer first and journalist second. as such I know that some parts of games shouldn’t be spoiled such as the storyline and twists that come with it. This is especially true when regarding a story driven game as the story is by far its main component (but I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure that out!). So please rest assured I’ve tried my very hardest not to reveal anything major and let you experience that for yourself. Enjoy the review, then enjoy the game.

Now this game is called Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Many of you (as I did when i first saw that) are weeping because Apollo Justice is sitting exactly where Phoenix Wright should be, in the main character chair. Now HOLD IT (okay I promise ill try and stop doing that) fans of the series are probably worried that Apollo wont be as good as Phoenix, well let me ease your worries- he can handle himself.

For those who have no idea what I’m on about so far (WHY are you reading this? go buy the older games!) Apollo Justice is the 4th in the Ace Attorney series following on over 7 years after the end of the previous game in which Phoenix Wright puts his demons to rest. Now you control Apollo Justice, a rookie attorney on his first ever case defending a hero of the past who has asked specifically for him- Phoenix Wright. The washed up Phoenix Wright hasn’t practiced law in quite some time and now is by day a pianist and by night a in-house poker player with the stakes being pride and a 7 year winning streak working at a small restaurant finds himself on the defendant chair once again after his last opponent in a game of poker dies at the table.

The story stays in tradition with the Ace Attorney franchise and is simply sublime, the team of writers who have created this masterpiece (and the localization team who worked hard to get it to make sense in English) should really take a stab at some UK soaps, they might be able to make them worthy of my time as well. Each of the cases (4 in all) flow so well and have amazing stories which intertwine to make a fuller, more convincing plot which is all revealed just at the right time so that at 11pm just after you think ‘I should get some sleep’ you instead keep playing to find out more about the mystery just revealed. As always, the story is the reason you will love this game.

Unfortunately the character list is not a reason to love this game, especially if you’re fond of the older games. Most of the main characters from the previous Ace Attorney games do not appear in this game in any way, make note of this now to save yourself the disappointment that myself and so many other Apollo Justice players felt. For fan boys and fan girls who haven’t played yet I wont give out a list of who is and isn’t in this installment but I will however say this NO MAYA, NO EDGEWORTH. Taking over from Maya is Trucy, who is a magician in training and Phoenix’s …urm… I’ll let you find out about that bit. Trucy and Apollo’s relationship just screams Phoenix and Maya, no doubt players will feel comfortable with the duo but I prefer Maya over Trucy personally. Taking the prosecutors bench is Klavier Gavin (yes, I know its a dumb name) lead singer for the ‘Gavineers’ and twin brother to your boss, Kristoph Gavin. Both of Gavins have a less prickly demeanor to previous mentors and oppositions in the series.

In the place of the other older main characters are a gaggle of new characters all ready to fill their shoes (..wait that didn’t sound right) each doing an adequate job of keeping up the comedy but there is a distinct lack of identity that all the characters suffer from. Some of them you will come to remember, others you just wont and that’s part of the problem in Apollo Justice, I do feel this will be addressed in the next games which will build on the characters already in place in a similar way to its predecessor but in this title its a definite problem.

Graphically the game has had an overhaul, all characters, animations and backgrounds have had a spit shine and high-res versions made which look crispy and vibrant. Some older fans of the series may not like the new look for characters as its lost part of that ‘anime’ look it previously pulled off so well, but it really isn’t a huge issue, the game still looks great, just a little more grown up. I will say I’m happy with the pixel increase to the environments as they look nice and clear.

Another helpful graphical change is the ability to look at items in 3D via the court record, something the final case of 1st game did and we haven’t seen since. Unfortunately this isn’t used as much as it should in the game and when it is used it’s usually for a pointless gag which will make you go ‘heh’. I really wished they had put this idea to better use in cases.

It’s a shame, but Capcom not only dropped the ball with the 3D item feature, but several others including finger print scanners, luminol (blood detection), sound mixer and an assortment of other gadgets. These are all used in the game, and their use isn’t boring or pointless in fact they are a lot of fun to use each time and they really do add to a case or can help in making vital evidence. The problem is they aren’t used enough and usually only used once in the entire game. A simple piece of kit like the finger print scanner should be used throughout the game and simply isn’t. I hope in the next game they spend a little more time trying to get the most out of the DS and its features rather than doing it once and leaving it.

Now that Phoenix is no longer the main character the previous ability with the Magatama players are used to during investigation have now gone. Luckily Apollo has a ‘gift’ of sorts with the ability to ‘perceive’ peoples nervous twitches during testimony periods. This like many others features of the game only gets used a small amount in each case (usually once). It’s a pretty nice feature and using it is definitely fun, but it lacks the freedom that should go with the ability. The game chooses which testimony it should be used on, making it a lot easier to know what your suppose to do. I’m happy to report the ‘Objection’ and ‘Hold it’ buttons are still there as is the rest of the familiar menu people are custom to.

Sound wise everything sounds similar to previous but has a new funky feel to it. For the first few hours of play I really didn’t like the soundtrack very much but it slowly grew on me. There is however one point in the game which I feel the sound team was being lazy, however, at one point in the game a song is played by a band and rather than have lyrics it’s just noise. On the GBA these kind of things are ignored as its all the GBA could handle but the DS is a full MP3 compatible machine, it can and will handle more complex sound, so why didn’t they go the full hog?

Closing Comments
Whenever a new Ace Attorney game was available to me, I live and breathe it until the credits. Apollo Justice made me do the same thing, but on a much smaller scale. The game is fantastically written and the new characters work well, but fans of the series may find themselves wishing for the characters of past games.

Apollo Justice is a damn good addition to the Ace Attorney franchise, but unlike previous games, this DS only game could of used a lot more features than it eventually did and while the story will keep you involved until the end, a few days after you’ll sit and wonder why the team didn’t add in more DS functions. until then, its one hell of a ride.

Score 8.8

+ More fantastic story
+ Improved graphics and sound
+ New characters breathe life into the series
+ No fan girls screaming about Edgeworth

- Some new characters are just plain boring
- DS functions not used enough
- Some sound and graphics seem to be from the GBA days
- No fan boys screaming about Maya