Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (Nintendo 3DS) Review

The gaming industry is guilty of being overwhelmed with first-person shooters, over-the-top action titles, and platformers. Whilst several games that belong to these genres are excellent experiences, it isn't often that a game allows the player to take on the role of a defence attorney; this is where the Ace Attorney series shines.

Phoenix Wright is the underling of Mia Fey, an experienced lawyer and part-time spirit medium. Wright's first case involves an old school friend known by the name of Larry Butz, who is accused of murdering his current girlfriend. Obviously Larry is innocent, but it's up to Phoenix Wright, rookie attorney to prove his innocence.

After his first court appearance, some unfortunate events occur and the Ace Attorney must defend Mia's younger sister, Maya, who has also been accused of murder. Upon receiving the "Not Guilty" verdict, Maya tags along as Wright's assistant and aids him with her spirit-channelling power.

All three of the games are based on the DS versions, meaning the additional episode for the first game that uses the touch screen and microphone features is also included. As well as containing three full games for a budget price, Ace Attorney Trilogy also has upgraded visuals that give the titles a more modern feel and make smaller details clearer to see.

This package is best fit into the visual novel category, with there being a lot of text involved - it is important to read conversations between characters as certain things that are said in these may crop up in the courtroom and can be used to prove contradictions.

Each case is split up into several investigation sequences and the court hearings themselves, in which Wright must face the chosen prosecutor and try to get his client proven innocent. The investigation scenes are similar to the gameplay found in many point-and-click games, examining static environments to gather evidence and also talking to characters about the crime at hand to learn more about what happened on the actual day of the misdeed.

Court hearings are the main meat of the package, though, in which witnesses' testimonies must be listened to, pressing them on contradictive points, presenting evidence where necessary to show the contradiction in their statement.

Starting from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, Phoenix is given the Magatama, which introduces the new gameplay element of Psyche Locks. These are the name of mental locks that must be broken in order for characters to reveal their darkest secrets.

Ace Attorney Trilogy has a fantastic story and wacky cast of characters, some of whom show their faces multiple times throughout the series. The overall story cleverly links the three games together, before reaching an equally impressive climax at the end of the third title, Trials and Tribulations.