Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy Is More Brilliantly Bonkers Courtroom Drama | Push Square

pushsquare.com:

The Ace Attorney series is a relatively new one for us on Planet PlayStation (can we bring that back?), with the original three games launching on PS4 in 2019 — long after they first arrived on western shores. We're now fully acquainted with the Phoenix Wright trilogy, but what happened next? While there have been a fair few spin-offs and side stories, a second trio of main titles introduced new characters and plot lines. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy brings those to PS4 in another collection, and after going hands on, it seems we're in for more of the same batty, and brilliant, legal drama nonsense.

Apollo Justice is the player protagonist in the first title of this trilogy, and having played the opening case, it's great to have a fresh perspective. He's a rookie defence lawyer, unsure of himself and charmingly earnest. In a surprising contrast, Phoenix Wright, the accused in this first chapter, has spent seven years away from the courtroom, and appears disinterested and cocky. This evolves a little as the case continues, but his characterisation at this early point is an interesting development.

In terms of gameplay, the court proceedings are extremely similar to the first trilogy. The Ace Attorney games are visual novels, by and large, albeit with interactive elements and puzzle-solving. You listen to what witnesses have to say, then look for holes in their story using evidence, eventually discovering the real truth. In Apollo Justice, you're able to inspect the court record as usual, but certain evidence can be explored fully in 3D for the first time, giving you a little more insight. Aside from that, the opening case introduces Apollo's innate ability to spot «tells»; a witness touching her neck when she's