Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is the fourth game in the Ace Attorney series and features a new protagonist called Apollo Justice. It is set seven years after the events of the previous game, at which point Phoenix Wright has been disbarred. Although several hints are given during the course of the game, it is not until the final case that the events surrounding his disbarment are revealed.

Aside from some reused artwork, it was the first game in the series to be specifically built from the ground up for the Nintendo DS, since the previous titles were remakes of Game Boy Advance games.

Episodes

 * 1) Turnabout Trump: For his first trial, Apollo Justice (assisted by Kristoph Gavin) must defend the disbarred Phoenix Wright on the charge of murdering a drifter called Shadi Smith in a poker game.
 * 2) Turnabout Corner: After joining the Wright Anything Agency, Justice is soon put to work investigating three seemingly unconnected petty crimes that are soon revealed to be tied together by a murder. When Justice takes the defendant's case, he faces Klavier Gavin at the prosecutor's bench.
 * 3) Turnabout Serenade: After a murder at a Gavinners concert, Justice finds himself defending the Borginian pianist Machi Tobaye for the crime.
 * 4) Turnabout Succession: The case that caused Phoenix Wright's disbarment and another case involving a murdered artist must be solved to reveal the truth behind them both.

Main characters

 * Apollo Justice is the protagonist and has been described as having "a passionate heart burning red" and "chords of steel".


 * Kristoph Gavin is Justice's mentor up until Turnabout Trump, when it is revealed that he hides a dark secret behind his pleasant demeanor.


 * Phoenix Wright, now disbarred from law, has taken up a job at the Borscht Bowl Club as its (awful) piano player and undefeated poker player. He becomes Justice's on-again-off-again mentor after the events of Turnabout Trump.


 * Trucy Wright is Wright's adoptive daughter. She acts as Justice's assistant/co-counsel.


 * Klavier Gavin is a prosecutor who faces off against Justice in the latter three episodes and Phoenix Wright in the flashback of his last trial in Turnabout Succession. He became a prosecutor at 17, and unlike previous prosecutors in the series, he is honest and friendly when first introduced. Klavier is also Kristoph Gavin's younger brother and the lead singer of the rock band, the Gavinners.


 * Ema Skye returns as the detective in charge of the latter three cases in the game and is Apollo Justice's main contact in the police department. She is much moodier and less friendly than she was in Rise from the Ashes, disappointed that she was not assigned to the forensics department. However, the prospect of conducting a forensic investigation excites her just as it did in her younger days. She plays a similar role to Dick Gumshoe from the first three Ace Attorney games.


 * The unnamed judge who presides over all the cases in the game.

Characters by episode
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney features the lowest number of returning characters in the Ace Attorney series to date, with only seven characters from previous games making a reappearance.

Turnabout Trump

 * The judge
 * Winston Payne
 * Phoenix Wright
 * Kristoph Gavin (début)
 * Apollo Justice (début)
 * Shadi Smith (début)
 * Trucy Wright (début)
 * Olga Orly (début)

Turnabout Corner

 * The judge
 * Apollo Justice
 * "Hickfield"
 * Ema Skye
 * Phoenix Wright
 * Trucy Wright
 * Klavier Gavin (début)
 * Guy Eldoon (exclusive)
 * Plum Kitaki (exclusive)
 * Winfred Kitaki (exclusive)
 * Wocky Kitaki (exclusive)
 * Pal Meraktis (exclusive)
 * Wesley Stickler (exclusive)
 * Alita Tiala (exclusive)

Turnabout Serenade

 * Klavier Gavin
 * The judge
 * Apollo Justice
 * Ema Skye
 * Phoenix Wright
 * Trucy Wright
 * Valant Gramarye (début)
 * Lamiroir (début)
 * Daryan Crescend (exclusive)
 * Romein LeTouse (exclusive)
 * Machi Tobaye (exclusive)

Turnabout Succession

 * Klavier Gavin
 * Kristoph Gavin
 * Dick Gumshoe
 * Valant Gramarye
 * The judge
 * Apollo Justice
 * Lamiroir
 * Mike Meekins
 * Olga Orly
 * Ema Skye
 * Phoenix Wright
 * Trucy Wright
 * Spark Brushel (exclusive)
 * Drew Misham (exclusive)
 * Vera Misham (exclusive)
 * Magnifi Gramarye (exclusive)
 * Thalassa Gramarye (exclusive)
 * Zak Gramarye (exclusive)

New gameplay elements
This game features the bracelet, which has the ability to "zoom in on witnesses to gather information regarding them". This is denoted as the perceive function in the game. The bracelet is used in court to spot actions made by the witness that show nervousness. Apollo Justice shouts "Gotcha!" once the player spots such an action.

Demo
A demo was briefly downloadable from Nintendo Wii to Nintendo DS using the Wii's Nintendo Channel or playable from a website. The demo covers a short section of Turnabout Trump (specifically Phoenix Wright's cross examination segment). When the player progresses beyond the content in the demo (after the player first successfully presents evidence), Apollo Justice strains his vocal cords from yelling and loses his voice. After this point the demo ends with Justice being assured that it was only a mock trial, and the player being told to buy the full game to solve the mystery.

Reception
After release in Japan, Gyakuten Saiban 4 has been highly praised, with Famitsu giving it a 9/9/9/9 score (36/40), and selling around 250,000 copies during the first retail week, according to Media-Create. Six weeks after its release, Capcom announced that they had shipped 500,000 copies, accounting for 25% of the series' two million units worldwide.

Staff

 * Design: Kazuya Nuri (塗 和也 Nuri Kazuya)
 * Series Director / Creator: Shu Takumi (巧 舟 Takumi Shuu)
 * Executive Producer: Keiji Inafune
 * Game Director: Mitsuru Endo
 * Game Planner / Script: Takeshi Yamazaki
 * Game Planner / Script: Keisuke Yamakawa
 * Music: Toshihiko Horiyama (堀山 俊彦 Horiyama Toshihiko)
 * Music: Hideki Okugawa
 * Producer: Minae Matsukawa (松川 美苗 Matsukawa Minae)