All Ace Attorney Games, Ranked

Highlights

• Each game in the
  Ace Attorney
  franchise offers a unique blend of legal drama, engaging characters, and stunning artwork.
• From solving cases to outwitting foes in court, the
  Ace Attorney
  games stand out as some of the best visual novels in the gaming world.
• Despite some rocky starts, like in
  Apollo Justice
  , the franchise’s immersive stories, iconic characters, and engaging gameplay continue to captivate fans.

The Ace Attorney franchise includes a selection of main entries and various spin-off titles, but each game revolves around a similar style of gameplay. Many love this iconic franchise, which merges legal dramas with video games in a hybrid of visual novels and adventure genres. Not only are the characters great, but the writing is spot on, and the artwork is stunning.

Phoenix Wright is the household name attached to the Ace Attorney franchise; however, the series features an array of fantastic characters from the likes of Miles Edgeworth to Mia Fey. From solving cases to diving into deep investigations and outwitting others in court, Ace Attorney is truly unlike any other franchise and includes some of the best visual novel-style games ever made.

Updated on July 8, 2024, by David Heath: There haven’t been any new standalone games in the Ace Attorney series, but there are plenty of new, cleaned-up compilations, like the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy (which is funny as not even Apollo Justice was about its titular character), The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, and the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, which will finally localize the previously Japan-only Ace Attorney Investigations 2. However, these are ultimately just collections, offering no new bells or whistles beyond some HD touch-ups and immediately available DLC. They’re not really suitable for individual entries, but they have been referenced in order to update the original entries with new details.

11 Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Metacritic Rating: 78

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney may be ranked higher than Justice for All by Metacritic, but fans generally place Phoenix Wright’s first outing above Apollo Justice’s debut. It should’ve been a slam dunk, as it was basically more of the classic AA gameplay with the new mechanics from PW1‘s DS-exclusive case ‘Rise from the Ashes,’ and the improved sprites aged astoundingly well over the years, which is no small feat. Still, zooming in on those sprites to search for their ‘tells’ wasn’t very fun, nor were the game’s cases.

The first case, ‘Turnabout Trump,’ is the peak as Apollo Justice defends the now-disbarred Phoenix Wright on a murder charge, while ‘Turnabout Serenade’ involves replaying the same scenes over and over and suffers from a poor conclusion and plot holes. It doesn’t help that Apollo’s backstory and motivations weren’t all that fleshed out in his debut game. He’s more of a tool everyone else uses for their own needs. Still, it did introduce fan favorite characters like Klavier Gavin and Trucy Wright, so there’s still fun to be had here.

10 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All

Metacritic Rating: 76

Serving as the second entry in the franchise, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All is a fine game if players disregard the third out of four total cases. ‘Turnabout Big Top’ features Phoenix and Maya trying to absolve magician Max Galactica of murdering the Big Berry Circus’ ringmaster, and the circus features some particularly annoying characters. Larry ‘Moe’ Curls tends to get most fans’ ire as he annoys the judge so much that he gives players only one shot to point out his contradictions during testimony. If they fail, they’ll have to reload the save.

The first two cases are fine, if nothing spectacular, with the final case, ‘Farewell, My Turnabout,’ being worth the price of the game alone, as Phoenix deals with a hitman and a conspiracy between rival actors. The game also introduced the “psyche-lock” mechanic, where players could press witnesses during the investigation stages to gain new info. There are some great puzzles featured throughout, and despite the third case being somewhat atrocious, it’s still a fine game.

9 Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

Metacritic Rating: 78

• Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC.
• Released: 28 May, 2009
• Developers: Capcom, Arc System Works

As the first entry in the Investigations spin-off series, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth had some big boots to fill, and to be fair, it did a decent job. As with Apollo Justice, it’s always hard introducing gamers to a new playable protagonist after they form a connection to a previous one. Miles Edgeworth had an advantage over his rival’s understudy, as he’d been an established fan favorite from the beginning. But this time, he offered players a new way to investigate crimes.

Players controlled him around an overworld setting like a top-down adventure game, going up to people to question/interrogate them. Then, on top of finding clues, he’d piece together bits of info via the new Logic system to get new deductions. However, it did remove taking the crims to court, which separated AA from other detective/point and click games. Still, it acts as a great first title for Miles Edgeworth and takes players across an engaging storyline with intriguing cases. It was just improved on for the sequel.

8 Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Metacritic Rating: 79

• Platform: Nintendo 3DS
• Released: 29 November 2012
• Developers: Level-5, Capcom

Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton became mainstays on the Nintendo DS, offering similarly quirky detective-style scales from different angles. But they were similar enough to make fans of both franchises wonder what a crossover between the two series would be like, and Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney delivered on the premise. The two end up in the medieval town of Labyrinthia, where they must exonerate their client for murder using their puzzle-solving skills and old-school court proceedings. No fingerprints, just pressing.

Given the massive ambition and sheer potential, many fans were slightly let down by the final product. Although it’s not a bad game, it’s unanimously agreed that it simply could have been better. For example, it could’ve done with a plot that let players suspend their disbelief AA-style instead of snapping it completely Layton-style. Still, the story has some powerful moments, and the puzzles are as brain-testing as ever, as are the new multi-witness cross-examinations. The game just falls short of its potential overall.

7 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies

Metacritic Rating: 81

After years of the franchise being in the wilderness, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies was considered a comeback in 2013. Phoenix himself was back in the legal game, but he also got to delegate cases to Apollo Justice, whose character finally got some much-needed fleshing out, and new character Athena Cykes, who introduced the game’s new Mood Matrix mechanic. Through her Widget, players can determine the witness’ emotional state to unlock new testimony.

Yet as the years have gone by, the game has become slightly less well-regarded than others due to its shorter length and simpler game mechanics. The point and click investigations feel more railroaded compared to previous (and subsequent) titles. The ‘Dark Age of the Law’ plotline that runs through all the cases felt a little forced, too. Nonetheless, it features some of the darkest and most interesting cases in the franchise, and the 3D graphics made the culprits’ freak-outs particularly dramatic compared to what came before.

6 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit Of Justice

Metacritic Rating: 81

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice carries on where Dual Destinies left off, where Phoenix heads off to the mystical kingdom of Khura’in, where his old assistant Maya Fey’s ancestors came from. When she gets in trouble, Phoenix heads over there only to be pulled into multiple court cases, where he discovers the nation hates defense attorneys and puts their lives on the line alongside their clients during trials, which is just the tip of the plot’s iceberg as its conspiracies come to light.

The game brings back some old favorites in 3D, like the aforementioned Maya Fey and Wright’s best frenemies Larry Butz and Miles Edgeworth. Apollo also comes back and learns more about his (convoluted) past, but Athena Cykes only gets one playable case, as she didn’t fit into its more fantastical plot, mixing legality, religion, and divination via seances. It might all sound a bit far-fetched and weird, but Spirit of Justice is a strong game that combines the graphical upgrade of Dual Destinies with the classic AA games’ pacing and investigations.

5 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials And Tribulations

Metacritic Rating: 81

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations was the third entry in the franchise and concluded the original Phoenix Wright trilogy. If Apollo Justice hadn’t disbarred the iconic lawyer, this game would’ve been his perfect send-off. It showcases how he got involved with his old mentor, Mia Fey, how she became determined to stop the vile Dahlia Hawthorne, and how this past affects Phoenix in the present as he defends his clients against the mysterious coffee-loving prosecutor Godot.

Gameplay-wise, little changed from Justice for All, as Wright and co. could still break psyche-locks and shout objections. But it was an improvement story-wise, as Trials and Tribulations features greater emotional depth in comparison to earlier entries. Mia’s quest to stop Dahlia and why she dedicated herself to her work and her connection to Godot really hooked players, leading to some of the most memorable cases in the series. But as beloved as the game is, there are some games that fans rank higher than it.

4 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Metacritic Rating: 81

The title that started it all is still one of the best in the entire franchise, and it’s not just because of nostalgia. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a genuinely captivating game that perfectly introduces the titular defense lawyer and sets up the staple gameplay format that fans have come to know and love. It’s quite incredible to think that this game was originally released back in 2001 on the GBA (though Westerners wouldn’t get it until it appeared on the DS in 2005), yet it still holds up by today’s standards and remains one of the best visual novels ever.

The original Ace Attorney title created a perfect blend of mystery, humor, and drama, all mixed into a legal setting. The courtrooms, characters, and plotlines are all iconic in their own right, and the artwork still looks great even now. It features a completely immersive story that sweeps away players as they uncover various twists and turns, alongside one of the most iconic soundtracks in gaming. It also features its strongest villains, with the Perfect Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, his fearsome mentor Manfred Von Karma, and a certain strange boat rental operator.

3 Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit

GameFAQs Rating: 4.23/5 (356 Ratings)

• Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC.
• Released: 3 February, 2011
• Developers: Capcom

For years, Gyakuten Kenji 2 was a Japan-only title. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth just hadn’t sold enough copies to make porting it westwards worth it, or so the story went. So, fans had to use fan translations (notably a patch by Auryn) just to see what it was about. But thanks to the success of the AA Collections, it’ll finally receive an official localization as Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit and will be included in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection.

It’ll be worth picking up too, as it’s generally considered to be one of the strongest entries in the franchise, consisting of five utterly gripping cases that could easily each qualify for some of the best in the whole series. Miles Edgeworth returns and is fleshed out further with cases that go into his past, particularly with his late father, Gregory. The puzzles featured throughout the cases are also top-notch, as Miles can now open witnesses up with Mind Chess, using chess pieces to break through their defenses.

2 The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures

Metacritic Rating: 86

• Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PC.
• Released: 9 July, 2015
• Developers: Capcom

Like Ace Attorney Investigations 2, The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures and its sequel were Japan-only entries for years. The sales weren’t strong enough to consider localization, and the 3DS was on the wane at the time of release. Once the development team split, it seemed like it’d be stuck in the land of fan translations. Instead, they were both released as part of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, where they gave the AA franchise a new burst of life.

It follows Phoenix Wright’s ancestor, Ryunosuke Naruhodo, as he learns to solve crimes and defend clients in 19th century Japan and England in the stead of his friend, Kazuma Asogi. Directed by series creator Shu Takumi, it had that nice mixture of zany humor (particularly through Herlock Sholmes) and grounded drama that felt imbalanced during the non-Takumi games. It also spiced up the gameplay with the Dance of Deduction, where the player corrects conclusions with new observations, giving the series a breath of fresh air.

1 The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve

Metacritic Rating: 86

• Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo 3DS
• Released: 3 August 2017
• Developers: Capcom

While the first Great Ace Attorney title was great, The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve is nothing short of excellent, building and expanding upon the already strong foundations of its predecessor, and releasing to critical acclaim. It still retains the Dance of Deduction and the Summation Examinations, where players convince the jury to keep a trial going. But like Trials & Tribulations and other sequels, the game shines brightest in its story.

Ryunosuke comes back to continue his legal travels between England and Japan. Only they now explore themes of justice, grief, redemption, and sacrifice, as he learns more about his old nemesis, Baron van Zieks. There’s great emotional depth that helps players form an attachment with the new characters at a snappy pace. If players hadn’t already gotten into the series via the original trilogy, The Great Ace Attorney series would make fans out of them with just two games, with the sequel being the strongest of the two.