A Brief Overview of Ace Attorney

Ace Attorney is one of my favorite video game sagas, a series of investigative courtroom drama visual novels. It was first developed in 2001 by Capcom and imported to the West from Japan in 2005. There are a slew of spin-offs and remasters, but the most notable games are 6 mainline releases. The first 3 follow Phoenix Wright, and the last 3 follow his protégé Apollo Justice. However, as you can see from the names below, Phoenix Wright is a main character in every game.

The Original Trilogy

  1. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2001)
  2. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All (2002)
  3. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations (2004)
The Apollo Justice Trilogy
  1. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (2007)
  2. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies (2013)
  3. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice (2016)

Phoenix Wright in court.

You play as titular character Phoenix Wright (pictured above), bleeding heart and expert bluffing defense attorney, dubbed the Turnabout Terror for his ability to solve hopeless cases. He starts out as a bumbling and earnest rookie, but is always determined to stick by his client's side. He constantly ends up in dangerous situations for the sake of others, inspired to stand in the corner of the defenseless. He investigates crime scenes with his spirit medium assistant Maya Fey, the younger sister of his mentor Mia Fey. In a corrupt legal system of guilty until proven innocent, he must not only defend his client, but find the true culprit in court.


Despite its serious themes, Ace Attorney is set in an inherently silly world. A rich CEO named Redd White works for Bluecorp, for example, and victims have unfortunate names from Carmine Accidenti (guess how he died?) to Deid Mann.
The director of the original trilogy, Shu Takumi talked about his vision for Ace Attorney in a 2019 interview:

When I first presented the game’s concept to the higher ups in the company, I received a lot of negative comments like, “This game seems hard and unforgiving. Are you sure players will take to this?” and “Won’t players need some legal knowledge just to play?” But the point of the game wasn’t “the law” or even “reality”. Instead, I imagined a game where the point was to have fun solving puzzles and enjoy the excitement of calling witnesses out in their lies with evidence. I imagined the courtroom to be like a huge colosseum where the crowds above would loudly cheer on the verbal gladiators below.

Each case, Phoenix Wright faces off against a prosecutor who, nearly to a fault, is hostile -- if not physically violent -- towards him. Being whipped and having scalding coffee thrown at his face are but a few of his courtroom dilemmas. The prosecution is a kooky cast and each has their own over-the-top personality, but there's a fan-favorite worth mentioning.

Miles Edgeworth in court.

Shown above is Miles Edgeworth: notorious as the Demon Prosecutor, Phoenix Wright's main courtroom rival, and my favorite character. Edgeworth is the definition of intimidating. He's ruthless in court, logical, and stoic compared to Phoenix Wright's flair. Behind Edgeworth's professional demeanor, however, is a socially constipated, nerdy workaholic. His history with Phoenix Wright goes beyond their heated showdowns in court...they're complicated. For more on their relationship and Edgeworth's backstory, you can read about him here.

Ace Attorney is ridiculous, fun, and easy to get emotionally invested in. I highly recommend it for anyone who appreciates drama and good storytelling.
You can also shoot me an email if you have any questions or want to talk about it!