4.5/5 ★ – DarkDrawer's review of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Spirit of Justice.

Among the mainline titles for Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney that I've played, this is among the most consistent titles in terms of case quality I've seen. There isn't a bad case in this game (aside from maybe the dlc case). What makes this game so great and possibly an upgrade over the previous entry, Dual Destinies, is that it is a lot better character wise in terms of giving each character a good role to work with while also bringing back some other characters to use effectively. This game effectively separates Phoenix from his protégés for the majority of the game as he embarks into another country to be roped into practicing law out of necessity. This helps to keep the distinction between cases as Phoenix can't take cases he's not there for. It also elevates the importance of Apollo as he practices law. Unfortunately, Athena gets very little in this game, but she's still charming all the same. Maya makes her return in this game and she's just as lovely as we last saw her! I was especially happy with her return. Ema Skye is largely featured in this game and she's an absolute delight as well. This game wraps up the discombobulated "Apollo's trilogy" of games and while I think it closes it well, this game's ending is a bit abrupt when it comes to leading up to his end decision. I wish this was built up more but I'm quite happy with the conclusion as it should shine some light on Athena in perhaps a future game. Investigating can still be some of highest gameplay drop from case to case, but it definitely improved as the game went along. The new gimmick of being able to see the victim's last moment was fairly unsatisfactory, but did create some neat connections to the case. Rayfa was a highlight as the new character along with the Defiant Dragon's leader. This game served its new characters well and I think that's an important feat some of the other games can miss out on. Cases themselves had pretty interesting buildup and highly satisfying conclusions. I'd rank them as such: 6-3>6-5>6-4>6-1>6-2. Unfortunately, the Trucy case was the weakest to me, but was pretty fun to conclude. The presentation of this game really pushed the limit of what Ace Attorney can accomplish with choreographed dances for models and scenes sometimes using the in game models. The cutscenes were perhaps not as flashy as Dual Destinies' but were fun all the same. This might be controversial to say, but Nick has been the best as a mentor figure with maturity that I think is necessary as he guides his protégés and sometimes the victims and witnesses. Prosecutor Sahdmadhi is not as good as Blackquill but is certainly a highlight. Also, Edgeworth needs to not show up so many times if I'm supposed to be pleasantly surprised by his continued appearance. The DLC case although harmless, does drop some of its initial charms sooner than I would've liked, but the ending was satisyfying. Like some of the earlier games though, Larry Butz's inclusion drops a lot of interesting aspects of the case down. Overall, I highly recommend this game.