Einspruch!

Hold it! What does einspruch mean?

It's German for 'objection'!

Maybe now that I've said hold it and objection you may know which game series I'm talking about: The Phoenix Wright series, where bluffing and last-minute evidences are your power! This review is about Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. This game takes place about 7 years since Phoenix had his last trial... wait, last trial? What's going on?

Basically, the game comes with a big new set of characters and a few returning ones from the original trilogy. Oh, and why is the title of this review einspruch? Simply because I played the game in German, because I couldn't find a working English rom. Luckily my German is good enough to understand it and things I didn't understand I googled afterwards, but the fact that I played it in German doesn't mean that I experienced the game in a different way. I’ve also played Trials and Tribulations so in case you’re wondering ‘How does he know this, he only played this game right?’.


Stories: 8

Like I said in the intro, this game takes place 7 years after Phoenix Wright, famous defense attorney, had his last trial. From then on, Phoenix became a piano player, although he has a doublelife as a poker champ, and he has never been beat since he started.

The game starts with the first trial of our protagonist and newbie defense attorney Apollo Justice. Apollo is quite nervous but he has a trusty mentor on his side: Kristoph Gavin, at this moment known as one of the best defense attorneys. It turns out that the defendant of the first case is a friend of Kristoph who is being suspected of murdering a poker opponent, so Kristoph will help you through the trial and you have to win at all costs. Then the defendant comes in, and it turns out that it's Phoenix Wright! Phoenix doesn't say much
about what happened but he tries to cheer up Apollo though.

And that's how our first case starts. We immediately get to see two other old friends as well, the ever-present judge and prosecuting rookie killer Winston Payne. They may have aged, but their personalities haven't. Throughout the game, we will meet more old characters like Ema Sky for example, the sister of Lana Skye (an old defendant from Phoenix) who has become a police investigator now. As for the new important characters, we get Trucy Wright, an up and coming magician and adopted daughter from Phoenix and Klavier Gavin (known as Kantilen in German), the younger brother of Kristoph and not only leader of a rockband but also a well known prosecutor and of course the usual new victims, defendants and witnesses.

The game has 4 cases. While they are all very good, the fourth one is so weird and complicated that it takes the top spot, although case 1 is very interesting because of its returning characters and case 3 is about a murder that occured when the rockband of Klavier, the Gavinners, was performing, while case 2 is your usual case with some new characters but that's it. The stories of each case are really difficult and strange at first, but they are really smart. At first it may look like you have nothing to begin with, but one picture can turn the whole case around. What makes the cases better though is to hear some backstory, like MINOR SPOILER ALERT  and when vague things get cleared up later in the game. Even though it’s not really part of the story (although it adds to the fun and depth of the story), I think the only thing that's a bit lacking is that I like investigating with Phoenix more than Apollo, because Apollo has less character build than Phoenix, although many people said he is more interesting in Dual
Destinies (the sequel). Some things are still a bit vague afterwards too, although sometimes that's done on purpose.


Graphics: 10

The Phoenix trilogy was originally a set of three GBA games, so for GBA games they looked pretty good but on the DS the quality was a little bit low. This game however, comes with some great new and bright character and background sprites. Phoenix looks new, some characters have amazing tiny details, backgrounds get more and more realistic. In the prologue of the first case a part is shown like it’s a canvas drawing, which is impressive. The third case has an animation video that is also very good looking. There are also times where you help Ema to investigate objects and look for fingerprints and shoeprints. The old characters still have their old sprites though, so the judge for example will look like he hasn’t aged a bit, Winston Payne however wears a yellow suit this time and has weird hair which he will swing if he’s confident, which is a nice addition I think. The courtrooms also got a new design, making the wood look better and the judge his place also looks very impressive.

There is a moment in the fourth case however when you play a case from the past and you will get to see the old sprites from Phoenix and the old courtroom back, which is pretty cool. Klavier will also be there although he has a different design (especially his hair is different) so
you will get a little bit of a mix-up, so unlike most of the game you get old backgrounds with new characters (instead of the other way around). This is one of the best looking Nintendo DS games I can think of and I think they have tried everything to make the game look as good as possible and that paid off, I don’t think they could have made it look better.


Sound: 9

It is known that the Nintendo DS has some really good music in many games and it’s the same with this game. If you know some tunes from the trilogy, you may know that many themes had a mix of 8-bit sounds and some other sounds, giving the music a strange but interesting vibe. Apollo changed that however, coming with music with all kinds of sounds and instruments. Klavier Gavin has his own electric guitar theme called Guilty Love for example and the theme that plays before the trial begins has some piano in it.


I think this decision fits the game well although I think that the tracks got less catchy, they fit the atmosphere better however. There are also many moments where the game has some of the old sounds, like the kind of ‘swish’ sound when a character is shocked or yells. And don’t
forget the characters yelling ‘Ojection!’. I listened at Youtube how the English characters sound like compared to the German version, and I think that the differences are small. Apollo sounds pretty good in both games, in German he sounds younger but in English he sounds more confident and it also fits with him doing his ‘chords of steel training’, Klavier sounds better in German to me and Kristoph as well, they sound fluent and compared to how they sound in other languages they really have the most different voices, Kristoph is very calm and
Klavier is really confident. Phoenix however, sounds way different than in English, like he’s more yelling for attention and his voice totally doesn’t fit him, so I prefer his English voice. And Winston? Well, just like in any language you can’t take him seriously


Depth: 7

In my opinion the weakest point in the series overall is the depth. While the cases itself take really long (prepare for cases that will take more than three hours of your hands and brains) there isn’t anything besides the cases, no kind of post-game or unlockable stuff like artwork or a musicbox. This is very disappointing, I would love to see more effort to put extra stuff in. The game is also very linear so unlike many other games where you can completely focus on something else before doing something else this game holds your hand the whole time it seems.  

Is 4 or 5 cases a good amount for the game? Yes. The games may be short, the cases are not. You will have to talk a lot and look for evidence everywhere so it will definitely take a long time to find everything, not to mention you have to think a long time before presenting
evidence as well in court. But because the games are so linear you might get stuck because you have to present your badge to Ema or look in a garbage can or something weird like that, which has impact on the flow of the game. The parts where the depth is at its best is when you press witnesses during trials as they will make funny jokes and sometimes they will mention new things, like telling about a poker pack and how the cards resemble the year or something similar. When investigating things on your own Apollo and Trucy also say random stuff all the time and that’s how you can find out small things about your characters.


Addictiveness: 8

Without over the top characters and weird cases, I think this game would be less popular. The most addictive thing for me is searching for contradictions, as they cause turnabouts to happen and the best part of doing this is seeing the breakdowns from characters, where they
will do things like choking themselves, screaming, laughing maniacially or moving their hair super fast. The characters add a lot to the addictiveness, because although some characters are pretty weird, you can recognize certain traits and think ‘Hey, my friend does that!’ for example.  What also is really interesting is that there are a lot of references if you’re keen. Popular shows, movies, books, so many
stuff is referenced! They also add a bit to the depth although some are not as clear as others.

Whether you like it or not, investigating is also part of the game and it’s the most boring part in the game, it also feels more like you’re a police investigator or detective. You have to talk, look for evidence and do some small kind of mini-games now and then but these parts take very long and often you can be clueless what you haven’t done yet. You also have to check literally everything, otherwise you might miss a small brooch on the ground or something like that. However, in the courtroom you may be surprised how much you point out with maybe three papers as all your evidence that you have gathered, so it’s somewhat addicting to look for evidence though.


Difficulty: 8

Shu Takumi, the main director from the original trilogy, wanted to make the games easy enough for non-gamers like his mother to play (proof: http://www.capcom-unity.com/zeroobjections/blog/2014/10/31/ace-attorney-trilogy---surprising-tidbits-you-never-knew).
This makes it sound like this game as well might be ridiculously easy, but that is not the case. In the beginning of the case, other people or Apollo will mention things like ‘Wait, that sounds strange.’, so they will give you a hint or something like that. Later on in the game, you have to press characters more and more for stranger facts, or you have to examine your evidence to find out some facts that you will need to point out contradictions. But most of the time, the characters will tell you a little or you will have strange thoughts about certain parts of the testimony.

Another part for this game which is new is Apollo his ‘perceiving ability’, which allows him to look at a witness from really nearby to see if they have a kind of nervous tic. When characters have a testimony that has no contradictions they will show their nervous tics when they say certain things. In the beginning they will be pointed out or they’re pretty obvious. Later on, you’ll get some more difficult ones, although the most difficult maybe take two minutes to find.  





So to wrap it up, the difficulty is just right I think. It could have been more difficult, but then the games should have been longer. That brings me to the end of my review! Maybe I’ll review other games in the series later and I’m thinking about playing the sequel as well now that I’ve played this game. I hope you enjoyed my review and maybe learnt something from it and until my next review, TAKE THAT!

Summon post is now in session!

Zlinqx :
Boxia :
sonicthehedgehog57 :
A user of this :
imamonster :
greenluigi :
TornadoMudkip :
Sword legion :
gamerforlifeforever2 :
Laian :
DylanMcKaig :
ghostfishy :
Gamin'Gal :
supernerd117 :
Barathemos :
kramer4077 :
TheReaper7290 :
latias900 :
MysteryMan007 :
rebelyell :

And two new summoners!

F.Starr: You replied to my last review, so maybe you would like to see this one as well?
Singelli : You used to look at my reviews before you left for a while. Now that you're back I thought I'd better summon you

Very nice job, Juul! I've actually not played this game yet. I've only played the very first Ace Attorney, and Dual Destinies (A whole 10-15 year timeskip. Woo~). If you liked this one, I recommend Dual Destinies. It's a nice sort of continuation of this game. Anyway, I'm REALLY wanting to try this game out now after your review.

Well done, Herr Forehead.

Furret : You like this game. Tell us your thoughts.

I indeed love this game, as well as all the others in the series. I liked a lot of the dialog, such as the conversations about Trucy's panties (it's a magic trick, not something weird, I promise). The first case was pretty hard compared to the first cases of the other games, and it wasn't that easy to figure out contradictions. I wasn't a big fan of the second case, though I was really glad with the return of Ema. I loved the third and fourth cases though. Definitely worth trying out.

I liked your review, you explained everything quite well. Good job!

A user of this : Thanks! I have tried the demo of Dual Destinies and I really like it, the game sounds a lot darker and more complex than all the other games. Also, Klavier/Kantilen calls Apollo 'Stirni' in German, as stirn means forehead

Furret : Yeah, the first time she mentioned that I was like 'You wear that?!' but when she explained it is for a trick I found it very funny
The first case was certainly more difficult than the first cases of other games but I liked it. Thanks for your commentary!

juuldude : Achtung, baby! Nice review!

To answer a question you have, Dual Destinies explores darker themes. However, I would not necessarily go so far as to call it a darker game overall. It is pretty hopeful in its message, although perhaps (as every good Ace Attorney game is) over-dramatic in its presentation. And in the third case, it brings back Klavier Gavin! He assists with the investigation, although does not take the prosecution stand officially.

I've always been curious about this Attorney video game. You've presented it so well that I might want to try it one day! You provide a lot of details, you make links with other games from the series and you even put the game in context (Game Boy Advanced rather than PS3). An easy 5 in my book.

juuldude : Ahhh how I loveeed doing my review of this game < 3 such a great time <3 almost as much the time with a Gaviner band concert.

You did a great job here and showed a very nice growth in your writing excellent job, I'll be sure to have the reviewing committee look at your salary ;P 

supernerd117 : It was as rocking as the Guitar Serenade
I've seen some parts from the game on Youtube and I've seen that under all its darkness there is a lot of brightness as well. And hell yeah they brought back him! It was good to see Edgeworth as well, but since he was absent for 7 years he looks like he's about 5 years older than Phoenix in my opinion.

janus : You really should give one of the games a try, they're unique and very funny and there are not many games that have this kind of system. What do you mean with GBA rather than PS3?

sonicthehedgehog57 : I have seen and read your review sonic, it was as good as Phoenix his logic as he would have said himself!
Hey, there's a reviewing committee and I can get salary? Niiiiice

juuldude : Yeah the game and your review rocked like that serenade ;P < 3 haha I love it too It's one of my favorites to look back on because of how dark it is :3. Really growing alot in your writing and I love it and of courssssse we just don't know where they are ;P a hidden "legal" secret.

juuldude : Yeah the game and your review rocked like that serenade ;P < 3 haha I love it too It's one of my favorites to look back on because of how dark it is :3. Really growing alot in your writing and I love it and of courssssse we just don't know where they are ;P a hidden "legal" secret.

juuldude : I meant that you compared the games with others from the same console. It would be like comparing Game Gear graphs with Sega Genesis.

Your reviews are always fantastic, and this one's no exception. I still haven't played a game in the series, but reading this review makes me think that I should try the series out. Even though I haven't played this game, I think you did a great job with every category of the review and you did great with explaining why you think this game is so good. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with next.

HOLD IT! What is this that I see? I see a Ace Attorney game.

I didn't know that this game series originally started in the Game Boy Advance since I thought they were hacks or something along that line.. Whoops my bad!

You are still doing great with your game reviews, my foreign friend! It's been quite a long time since I read your game reviews and actually replied to them. I wish school wasn't dragging me away from all of this. I like how you talk about the game's history, the past and new characters that come into this game, and comparing this game in German and English. I didn't know that this game had a German version which is something that I learned after reading this. I am no lawyer but yet I love to see people play this game while I watch.

Keep up with the great game reviews!

juuldude : Pfft rookie killer. Can't beat Athena, Apollo, Phoenix or Mia Fey when they were rookies. Yeah Apollo justice was made with the DS in mind hence why it looks better than the original trilogy. Though case 5 of the first game had touch screen controls and was only released for the DS and Wii (though for the wii you had to pay extra for the 5th case sigh stupid Capcom). This is my least favorite game in the series especially since I didn't think case 2 was anything special and case 3 was ok but it is worth a shot just to see case 1 and 4. You should try the Ace Attorney Investigations were you play as Edgeworth instead of Phoenix but there is no court scenes just saying. Also if you have a 3DS the Phoenix Wright trilogy is out on the E-shop. I have it and wow does the character sprites look great.

juuldude : What? I got summoned? Sweet!

Great review. I love how your reviews have your one unique flavor, and they aren't just about game stats. Nice.

I love the Ace Attorney series. I've played the original 3 and this game. I loved the music in the first game, the best. I wish they had more scenes where you had to dust and blow on the screen for fingerprints. Those were so fun, but you only did it, like, two times and at the end credits. At first, I thought they were messing with me, I never had to blow on my DS screen before. XD

sonicthehedgehog57 : I think Athena is a cool addition to the game. And thanks for the heads-up! That "legal" sounds suspicious but whatevery

janus : Ah, I see. Well, the DS and the GBA almost have the same quality graphics-wise, when I looked up sprites from the GBA version they looked identical.

gamerforlifeforever2 : It's up to you if you want to try it out, but prepare to talk a lot and be patient with cases. My brother likes the idea but can't stand the talking so he didn't play it for more than 5 minutes. I'm not sure yet about which game my next review will be, I have many things in mind but not something concrete yet.

ghostfishy : Gotcha! You found it! Haha, did you seriously think they were hacks? XD
Well, there is not only a German-French version but also an Italian-Spanian version for the Europeans like me
Thanks, and I'm happy you liked my review!

DylanMcKaig : Well, he's said to have beat many other lawyers. Also, the Payne prosecutor I'm talking about is Winston, not Gaspen from Dual Destinies. Yeah, case 2 and 3 are a bit meh and it's case 1 and 4 taking all the attention I think. I've seen the trilogy on the E-shop but it's somewhat expensive so I doubt if I'll every get it. I loved to play as Edgeworth in Trials and Tribulations, so who knows?

F. Starr : Haha, you're welcome! 
Have you played all of them except Dual Destinies? Impressive. Yeah, looking for fingerprints was quite fun, although you didn't have to blow on the screen but in the mic you know

juuldude : I should have said the Payne brothers (capcom make that a thing pls). Both are as useless as each other.

Did you have enough evidences to prove that this game deserves such an amazing review? Well, I don't think anyone will see an objection about that. This game is really good, like that review. Good job as always, man

DylanMcKaig : They're useless but they're funny characters. And that hair they have is fantabulous...

Laian : I sure do! TAKE THAT!
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/939946-phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-dual-destinies/67681616
He didn't deserve enough love as you can see!
Thanks, I know you want me to make an Inazuma Eleven review, and I think I'll do that once I buy the Inazuma Eleven Go game.