Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy Review

Outsiders of the Ace Attorney series might not be familiar with the name Apollo Justice, but fans know the character is a big deal. He's second only to Phoenix Wright in terms of playable appearances, and his new collection, the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, gathers all of those outings in one convenient package. While there's not much new content, quality-of-life improvements and a visual overhaul do a lot to modernize Apollo's courtroom saga, making it a worthwhile journey for fans new and old.

The collection includes three games: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Dual Destinies, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Spirit of Justice. While Apollo's name is only in one of these three titles, he's a crucial character in all three games, so the name is a fitting one. The package also includes DLC trials and outfits from the 3DS games, so if you want to rock Phoenix's classic suit in Dual Destinies or dress Athena as a maid in Spirit of Justice, you're free to do so. The DLC trials vary in quality (the second is great, the first is not), but they're meaty pieces of content that I'm glad made it into the final collection.

Besides the obvious convenience of being available on modern platforms, there are two main reasons to play the Apollo Justice Ace Attorney Trilogy instead of the original games. The first is the improved graphics; the Trilogy looks excellent. I'll miss the pixel art of the DS days, but I quickly got used to the updated art style in Apollo Justice's first outing. The animations translate exceptionally well – the series hasn't lost an ounce of charm. The real improvement, however, comes in the latter two games in the Trilogy, which were originally released on the 3DS. While the first game is a good translation of the old art style into a new form, the 3D games look much better, and I often had to remind myself they weren't released on the Switch from the get-go. It's also great to view their anime cutscenes on a