If you were to ask anyone whether they preferred the original Ace Attorney trilogy or the Apollo Justice trilogy, there’s a very good chance they would say the former. The first 3 games were so amazing that they were extremely hard to follow up.
However, the Apollo Justice games (which consist of Ace Attorney 4,5, and 6) are still very good games, and I would encourage anyone who hasn’t played them yet to stop reading this article immediately and play them this instant.
They’re filled to the brim with interesting cases, villains, and brand-new protagonists such as Athena Cykes and, of course, Apollo Justice himself. So today, I’m doing the near-impossible and choosing the top 5 Apollo Justice cases.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead.
The 5 Best Cases From the Apollo Justice Trilogy
5. Turnabout for Tomorrow 5-5
4. Turnabout Revolution 6-5
3. Turnabout Trump 4-1
2. Turnabout Succession 4-4
1. Turnabout Storyteller 6-4
5. Turnabout for Tomorrow 5-5
Throughout the fifth game, Dual Destinies, we know that something traumatic happened to newcomer Athena Cykes. She was keeping a big secret, and in Turnabout for Tomorrow, everything gets revealed. Cykes’ past, prosecutor Simon Blackquill’s connection to all of it, and the mysterious murderer of 2 people all come to light.
Turnabout for Tomorrow is the final case of Dual Destinies, and it serves as a fitting end that ties up all the loose ends in a neat bow. The case also has an incredibly shocking twist that I did not see coming.
4. Turnabout Revolution 6-5
Speaking of wrapping things up and shocking twists, the last case in Spirit of Justice brings that in spades. The final case in every Ace Attorney game always goes hard, but probably none so than Turnabout Revolution.
It’s long with twist after twist that you don’t see coming, and just when you think you have it figured out, they throw another twist at you. But apart from the craziness of the case, another reason why Turnabout Revolution is great is because it provides closure for Apollo Justice. The once very nervous rookie defense attorney is finally allowed to spread his wings and become a new and improved man.
3. Turnabout Trump 4-1
Shocking twists are usually reserved for the end of the game, but in Apollo Justice, they come out swinging with them. Apollo and his mentor, Kristoph Gavin, have to defend this strange, disheveled man who is accused of murder. Little does Apollo know that their client is the former Ace Attorney himself, Phoenix Wright.
And if that wasn’t crazy enough, it turns out that the real murderer was helping us all along. That’s right, in the end, our friend and mentor Gavin is revealed to be the mastermind behind the murder. Apollo Justice has one of the strongest starts in the history of the series, and that’s why it’s one of the best cases in the Apollo Justice trilogy.
2. Turnabout Succession 4-4
When we meet Phoenix Wright at the beginning of the game, we know that he’s not the same man that we last saw in Trials and Tribulations. He lost his reputation, and most importantly, he lost his job as a defense attorney; he was disbarred. But we didn’t really know what happened until Turnabout Succession when everything was revealed.
But not only do we see what happened, we experience it ourselves. We play as Phoenix Wright during his last trial when he’s framed for forging evidence, we find out who was behind it all, and we see Apollo Justice rise to the occasion in the present day.
And events that we had no idea were important finally make their connections known. For example, the events and characters in cases 4-1 and 4-2 are revealed to actually be a huge part of the story, and it retroactively makes those cases that much better.
1. Turnabout Storyteller 6-4
I love the final cases in Ace Attorney games because it is the culmination of the overall story that they plant from the very beginning. However, I love Turnabout Storyteller for the exact opposite reason. This case has Athena Cykes defending a young man with the help of prosecutor Simon Blackquill.
Case 6-4 has nothing to do with the overarching story, none of these characters will probably appear again in future installments, and in the grand scheme of things that were currently going on in the Ace Attorney world, it didn’t seem that big or urgent. But that’s what’s so great about it.
The judicial system didn’t ride on the outcome of the case, nor did an entire kingdom’s future hang in the balance.
It’s a simple story about young up-and-comer Athena trying to clear somebody of murder, without the help of Phoenix Wright or Apollo Justice. It’s just her, Widget, and Blackquill. And it turned out to be amazing.
It’s relatively obvious who the killer is from the get-go, but I didn’t care. The story and the characters were intriguing, and best of all, the chemistry between Athena and Blackquill was amazing. Athena, the ambitious and eager student vs Blackquill as the reluctant but helpful mentor.
This case is so good that it’s by far my favorite in the Apollo Justice trilogy, and I think this single case proves that Athena Cykes is an interesting character enough to warrant her being the star of her own game.
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