5 Things I Love & Hate About The Ace Attorney Franchise

The Ace Attorney franchise contain some of my favourite games. Loosely based on the Japanese court system, you become a finger-pointing, semi-bluffing, turnabout lawyer. The majority of the games focus on Phoenix Wright with other spin-offs including his ancestors and his childhood friend, Miles Edgeworth. I think it’s a wonderful series because it’s gone on to do so much. Normally visual novels don’t make much impact outside of Japan, but Ace Attorney opened the doors to many mystery and visual novel games to me.

On top of that, I don’t know many video games that have their own film, anime series and a series of musicals. I don’t know what’s next in line for this series, but it’s always certain to surprise and shock.

I have fond memories of this franchise as it was one helped me when I was struggling with mental health problems and bullying. To this day, I believe this game stopped me from committing suicide.

First dislike: First Cases

I know the first cases in most of the games serves as a tutorial, but sometimes I think they’re too easy and too obvious. It would help people play the game to the end if they made the first cases more exciting and fun. I’m always enthusiastic about this series, but I’ve know people not being able to get through it just because the first cases tend to be boring.

There are exceptions to this though like Turnabout Trump in Apollo Justice which has an excellent plot twist. The First Turnabout is probably my least favourite case out of the entire game because whilst it’s good, it dosen’t have that oomph. I didn’t play the games in order, and I think if I had played the first game first, I don’t know if I would have continued it.

First like: Characters

Ace Attorney is full of colourful characters with a variety of tropes. Some of these characters that are attorneys would not be allowed one foot in an actual courtroom like Franziska on Karma with her whip and Godot throwing coffee at the main protagonist. Even the villains are likable like Dahlia Hawthorne who looks like an angel, but she’s plotting to kill you. And then there’s Maya Fey, the precious cinnamon roll of the fandom.

Second dislike: Lack of localisation

I’m really sad that a lot of the newer Ace Attorney games are either only released in Japan, or are digital exclusive outside of Japan. I really loved the first Miles Edgeworth spin-off, it expanded the investigation arcs and did a wonderful job at world building. I was excited for the sequel, but it was never released outside of Japan. Then there was the game which had Phoenix’s ancestor and it featured Sherlock Holmes and for some reason, Watson is a little girl with pink hair. I would have loved to have played these games in English and it’s frustating. I need to learn Japanese to play them.

Second like: Community

The community is great. They came together to translate the Japanese exclusive games and made sites for people to create their own fan games with their own original characters that want to defend their innocent clients. I’ve written a lot of Ace Attorney fics and a lot of the feedback I’ve received has been helpful.

I remember one time on an Ace Attorney forum where people got together and raised money for a user that worked at a farm that was damaged by one of the hurracaines. Seeing everyone get together to help that person was something I could never forget. I don’t remember how much was raised, but I remember an anonymous donation of $400 dollars. I was unable to give any money that time, but it was a moment that stayed with me for a long time.

Third dislike: Overemphasis on the original trilogy

The original trilogy is an amazing collection of stories with wonderful characters, but the other games are also great too. Trials & Tribulations and Justice For All are my favourite games from the series but I think the other games, especially Apollo Justice are worth trying too.

Third like: Soundtrack

The soundtrack is fantastic. Especially the allegros and remind everyone themes. I also love how they have their own name as opposed to x character’s theme. Distant Traces of Beauty is enchanting and is almost unfitting. How can a song so beautiful be attached to one of the biggest Ace Attorney villains of all time.

Fourth dislike: difficulty

Some parts of the game can be difficult to get through. The investigation scenes are a breathe of fresh air when the game is really heavy on the text. Having to remember every single little detail when it comes to the trials is a challenge. Sometimes you have to fully focus to get through it without a play through guide.

Fouth like: final cases

Where the first cases lack a gripping storyline, the final cases always make up for it. These cases always tell you more about the characters.

Final dislike: lack of affordable merchandise

I don’t own as much Ace Attorney merchandise sadly. I try to get all the official artwork books, when I can. The problem is that a lot of it is either rare or Japanese exclusive which means they are very expensive. I own a few badges featuring the characters and plushies of two of the characters and keyrings. I really want to get the anime box set and the live action film on DVD, but yeah, it’s expensive. The anime is available to steam on Crunchyroll, but I’m not on that site, plus shows can be taken off at any time.

Final like: the stories

The stories in the game are my favourite part of the games. So many of the characters have powerful backstories and arcs that shape them for who they are. The games don’t shy away from darkness, but they always show glimmers of hope which moved me. This is a reason why Maya Fey is one of my favourite characters. She gets framed for her sister’s death. Her aunt plots to kill her. She gets kidnapped. Maya goes on to be the fandom’s damsel-in-distress, but she still knows how to smile and spread joy. There must be a lot of trauma going on, and on top of that, she’s a spirit medium.