First off, I would like to apologize for being late with this review, school and other things have kept me going around in circles, nonetheless, let's actually get on with the review! Greetings ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to the Ace Attorney Marathon! Today, we'll be looking at the next game in the Ace Attorney franchise, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. What's interesting to note about this game is that Phoenix Wright isn't the main character. There's a new attorney on the scene named Apollo Justice, a young, newbie attorney trying his best to help his clients. This game has been received with very mixed reception among fans, with some loving the game and the character, and others absolutely despising both. What do I think? Well, let's jump in and find out. This is my review of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.

Graphics
     The graphics in this game are really good and definitely a step up from the original trilogy. There are a few more frames per animation which can make for some pretty awesome scenes and breakdowns. The investigation areas in this game also look very detailed, but just a little more so than the previous games, which is actually a good thing because, in my opinion, if they were to add any more detail, the scenes would become cluttered and just a giant mess overall. The courtroom also looks somewhat different, sporting a darker wood than the previous games'. I honestly can't tell which courtroom setting I prefer, but both work just as well. Again, great graphics, but how does the rest of the game do?

Sound
     The soundtrack in this game is pretty good. There are several tunes in it that I can remember like Apollo's Objection theme, the Pursuit theme, and of course, Klavier Gavin's theme. (The prosecutors in this series get awesome theme songs!) However, I can't say the same for the soundtrack as a whole. Sure, a lot of the songs are pretty good, but not very many are very memorable to me. I would end up forgetting some of the songs mere minutes after hearing them. The sound quality is really good, though. Seeing as how this game was made specifically for the DS and not originally for the GBA like the previous games, there was definitely a great improvement in terms of instruments and sound quality in general. To sum it up, great sound quality, o.k. soundtrack.

Addictiveness
     I haven't picked up this game again since I've beaten it. I honestly don't find much to back to in this game. If you were to go back to this game, I personally think it would be for either the first or last case, but I'll discuss that more in the Story section of this review. Like the previous games, the story is going to be what brings you back if you go back at all.

Story
     Well, let's get this started! Just like my previous Ace Attorney reviews, I'll be giving you the beginning of each case and telling you what important characters, if any, are introduced in those cases. In the first case, your client is...Phoenix Wright?! Yeah, so apparently, Mr. Wright has gotten himself into some trouble since the previous game. He's also no longer an attorney, hence the new main character. Anyway, Phoenix has gotten himself accused of murdering a man named Shadi Smith, who will become important later on in the game. Guided by your boss, Kristoph Gavin, it's your job to defend this ex-lawyer and find the real culprit. Now in order to explain the next cases, I'm going to need to give away a minor spoiler from this case. It is the first case however, and it's rather easy, so I don't feel like I'm giving too much away here. You eventually find out that it was indeed Kristoph Gavin who murdered Mr. Smith and Phoenix Wright invites you to work at his place, seeing as your boss is now in jail. In the second case, you're defending the son of a gangster leader name Wocky Kitaki who has been accused of murdering his family's doctor, Pal Meraktis. In this case, we meet several important characters. First off, the new detective Ema Skye. (Yes the same girl from the first game's extra case) We also meet Phoenix Wright's, adopted, daughter Trucy Wright, who absolutely loves magic and is apparently a really good young magician. The last character we meet in this case is the new prosecutor, Klavier Gavin, who is a member of a rock band and Kristoph's younger brother. In the third case, you defend a young boy named Machi Tobaye, the assistant of the only character introduced in this case that's important at all, Lamiroir, a musician with a very mysterious past. Machi has been accused of murdering Lamiroir's manager and could also potentially be in a lot of trouble with his home country for something you'll find out about by playing through the rest of the case. The fourth and final case (Yes, they went back to four cases) has you defending a young girl name Vera Misham who has been accused of murdering her father. No one really important is introduced in this case, but I will say that the ending is quite good. In this case, there's also a flashback case where you take control of Phoenix Wright and learn how he lost his attorney's badge. The overall story is okay, but not too memorable in my opinion. My biggest problem, though, is that Apollo just seemed like a new version of Phoenix Wright to me. Nothing about him was too drastically different from Phoenix in the first 3 games. I just wish there was a little more character development for him.

Depth
     There is a lot to do in this game. From the investigations to the courtroom, you won't be getting bored anytime soon in the game. There's as much to do here as there was in previous games. The investigation scenes have tons of stuff to look at and the dialogue can be pretty interesting at times. There are a lot of characters, but to be honest, I don't remember nearly as many of them as I did from the previous games.

Gameplay
     The gameplay remains largely the same as the previous games, but this time, there are a few more features due to this game being built specifically for the DS. You can investigate certain items on a 3D plane, use fingerprint dust, and the newest feature, Apollo's bracelet. It allows him to tell when people have an unusual habit, in other words: when they're lying. When you get to a part in a witness's testimony that you think the could lying about, simply activate the bracelet and look around for an unusual habit at certain phrases. Once spotted, Apollo can then use this against the witness and turn the case around. Again, the gameplay is mostly the same, just with a few tweaks for the sake of the DS.

Overall, I don't find this game to be bad, but I also don't find it to be as good as previous games. In fact, I would argue that this has the weakest story and characters out of all the games in the series. However, the new gameplay elements bump my score for this game up a little bit. With a decent soundtrack, decent story, and new gameplay elements, I give this game an 8.5 out of 10. Join me next time as we look at an entirely new game in the franchise, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Until then, Peace out!