For a series that's defined by its trials and elaborate murder cases, the greatest crime in Ace Attorney history is arguably one we never get to see or take part in. Okay, maybe crime is too strong a word. Miscarriage of justice is perhaps more appropriate, and specifically that of Apollo Justice, the cover star of this latest trilogy in Capcom's beloved lawyer 'em up. Except poor old Apollo isn't really what holds this collection of Ace Attorneys 4, 5 and 6 together at all. Sure, he features in all of them, but at the end of the day, it's still the series' original bluffer supreme Phoenix Wright who heads up most of the casework here, relegating his new protegee back to bench-warming duties almost as soon as Apollo's debut game rolls its credits. What's more, he quickly has to share that space with Athena Cykes, another new hotshot lawyer that enters the firm in Dual Destinies and continues the scrappy defence trifecta in Spirit Of Justice.
The result is a set of games that feel considerably wobblier than Capcom's first and more robust Ace Attorney trilogy, and quite a bit more unfocused than the more recent Victorian-era spin-off, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. But despite a slightly unsure start, there are still plenty of career highs to be found here for Wright, Cykes and Justice, and Spirit Of Justice in particular remains one of the series' best entries to date. Those new to Ace Attorney should absolutely begin their journey elsewhere, but for series completionists, the Apollo Justice Trilogy is quite the welcome development.