Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy

i dont recommend this game for: - people new to the franchise - people who want to play a detective/mystery - people who are achievement hunters It feels outdated now playing in 2026, and it was much heavier on comedy than actual msytery solving. Sometimes i feel there was frustrating redirects for comedic factor but it made me feel like i was solving it wrong. There is also just SOOO much dialogue, it got very tiring clicking through it all.

The same like, 5 sounds on loop for 40+ hours. Nonsensical "puzzles" which have no basis in reality and are just trial and error until you find out the solution. Constantly repeating the plot, if you think modern Netflix treats the audience as stupid then you will hate this. The constant flashing to a white screen during every single conversation, it is actually aids. Each character has like, one or two animations that completely halt the text while they perform it, which no joke, probably totals up to an hour across all three games. The complete lack of surprise, every single case I was able to tell who the "real killer" was from literally their first introduction. Obviously the evil looking police chief did it. Obviously the evil looking prosecutor did it. Obviously the evil looking student did it. The story wouldn't be so annoying if it wasn't so tedious, if you could consume this in actual book form I might recommend it. Sometimes a really good story can break past awful gameplay mechanics (see Pathologic), but this is not that good of a story, and arguably worse gameplay. Characters constantly repeating the plot, literally explaining word for word what happened no less than 5 minutes ago, CONSTANTLY. I cannot stress how much this "game" babies the player. Genuinely unplayable imo. I also have such major problems with how this court system actually works (people on the stand constantly lying, prosecution and defense hiding evidence from each other, the judge, physical abuse, etc.) and I get that you know, suspension of disbelief. But none of it makes any sense whatsoever. All of these lawyers and cops should be fired, have their permissions revoked, and we need to fix this actual kangaroo court

*** WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! *** Summary review: This game is very much high-fantasy when it comes to accurately depicting court room proceedings, lawyers- and how criminal cases are handled IRL, but that's not really my main complaint with it (even though a lot of plot holes tie into that). Some of the frustrating, repetitive mini-games- the boring / stale, NPC-esque dialogues- the outlandish characters- and the fact that Phoenix Wright can't seem to exist on his own in this universe without having needy, (temporarily or permanently) orphaned, vulnerable jail-bait-aged teenage girls at his side... is what made me really uncomfortable. The few good things that came from this game- were the internet memes and the fact you can create your own custom court cases and episodes... I guess (though, I haven't really dabbled in that feature much). Generally speaking, I feel like CAPCOM really did string together a weird one with this trilogy. --- More in depth review and negative sides: The narration seems to wrap itself around really annoying, over-the-top characters- that keep trying to desperately draw your attention. In my experience, this has taken away from the story- or any intrigue the cases may have had, as their presence is constantly disruptive and makes you question the sanity of the people who wrote them (or whether or not said people were on drugs while writing the stories for each episode you play). Many times, these characters seem to inexplicably be able to temporarily manipulate / bend the literal law and court proceedings around them, espetially if they are designated as charismatic or seductive, which is... I don't really know what to say to that. The stories themselves have featured plot holes on more than one occasion. I haven't played the game all in one sitting, but the most recent ones that come to mind are: - How perjury / lying under oath in court,—something that has real-life repercussions / consequences- and can sometimes lead to years of prison time, if it's bad enough!—seems to only exist as a plot convenience once (or twice) when the story calls for the character to actually face some repercussions. More often than not, however, people have lied under oath and were let go without issue... or their final statements believed- when, clearly, they have shown to be an unreliable witness / their lying would have called into question their credibility and if the eye-witness account could even be used as evidence in court, due to their unpredictable or malicious nature. April May should have been 100% convicted of several years in prison, for trying to cover up her boss's crimes. - The first time Phoenix Wright enters the world of court proceedings as a defendant, he would not have been able to participate / partake in the case- because of personal involvement and this thing called "conflict of interest" (google it). Similar story for when Miles Edgeworth gets wrapped up in- or finds himself directly or indirectly connected to- some of the cases that go to trial with him as a prosecutor (his car was used to conceal and transport the corpse of someone who was murdered, for crying out loud! And he is still able to somehow be a prosecutor on the case too). - Phoenix Wright gives the impression that a defendant's job is to be a secret undercover PI (Private Investigator), who is above the law and can magically bypass all logic that would get him locked up for: trespassing, crime scene contamination, tampering with evidence... and much, much more. Hell, the list goes on. - One of the most glaring plot holes I remember from finishing the game just now- is that the holier-than-thou Police Chief (Gant, I believe was his name), is said to have been the first person at the scene, discovering the at the time 14 year old Ema (unconscious) and the other two men involved in the scuffle of that case (also unconscious), but, somehow, he has also magically witnessed Ema pressing her hand against the would-be-murdered guy's vest with his magical x-ray vision when she pushed him (presumably Gant had just reached the door that very moment) and (somehow) knows exactly which part of the vest her hand made contact with... to then cut it out- all before impaling the poor man on a suit of armor to create the whole "insurance" evidence to blackmail Ema's sister, Lana... ... Yeah... sure thing, Jan. I guess if you turn off your brain during the game, it might be a better experience. Then again, the game wants you to make leaps in logic (and conjectures) that sometimes require you to look things up via a walkthrough... or you can score a stupid number of "game over"s by trying to brute-force every single option and piece of evidence. For the mini-games, the 3D rotating of the vase to make it look like that ugly, creepy police station mascot- is by far the worst. The angle needs to be perfect in one specific spot that the game doesn't hint at in any way whatsoever. You have to watch a video of another player doing it, if you want to get it just right. Probably one of the most popular complaints with the last (extra) case that comes with this bundle. ...and now, onto the most uncomfortable part: what the hell is up with CAPCOM (and Japan in general) thinking that having vulnerable, orphaned, traumatized 16 to 17 year olds get emotionally attached to an older guy, who promised to help them out on a whim, is a healthy and normal thing to do...?!? Like- It was concerning enough that I had to put up with this one 17 year old, who is channeling the ghost of her dead sister, Mia... as if that wasn't creepy enough on its own (both from a narration POV and due to personal experiences involving creepy AF coincidences- same as Nyx(l) in "Love Curse". *sigh* ... no. Can't even do that anymore... without feeling like the universe is driving me nuts. FML), constantly following me around everywhere I go, because she literally has no one else. Man, it's soooo unhealthy. Where are CPS when you need them? It literally creates a precedent for emotional dependency (and potential gr**ming). Phoenix Wright is not someone who seems to have a concept of safety either... If it weren't for the fact that they aged her character up by a year (possibly to make it more appropriate) by the time the episode where this happens rolls around... Phoenix Wright could potentially be charged with child endangerment- as the formerly 17 year old girl and his own arse are held at gunpoint and would have been murdered if it weren't for the intervention of detective ♥♥♥♥ Gumshoe (what a name...) saving them last minute from a mafia execution. I was so glad to get rid of the 17 year old, when she took a train to go away- ... only to later be saddled with (wait for it) the 16 year old girl from the additional game (Ema) shortly thereafter. ... The urge to jump off a bridge and gauge my eyes out beforehand increased tenfold. So yeah, you are stuck babysitting the next vulnerable teen-aged girl that starts depending on you and looking up to you for everything... I almost gave up on finishing the game right then and there. Nah man- it's weird, it's creepy. It's inappropriate. This guy is 24 years old (and even older as the other cases take place. Probably 26-27 by the time you have to babysit the 16 year old). Talking from (a set of) past personal experiences I won't disclose here, I also didn't know any better for a long time- but looking back at all the trauma... This stuff needs to be talked about more. Fictional setting or not- I do believe that games need to understand age appropriateness and the fact that minors shouldn't be put in situations that are dangerous- where they can become emotionally dependent on someone with bad intentions... or worse. I hope CAPCOM and Japan take this notion to heart in the future. I don't think I'll be playing this game again, but yeah, uh... If you're okay with all of the above- or want to make your own court trial memes, go ahead I guess.