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6. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations (Team Rocket Elite)


The first Ace Attorney deals with why Phoenix Wright became a lawyer and him achieving what he set out to do there. The second game focuses on why he should continue to be a lawyer and what being a defense attorney means to him. By the time Trials & Tribulations rolls around, he's a fully developed character, so what else is there left for him to do? Naturally, they just put him in some of the most insane situations imaginable to see how he gets out of them! This is the game where he becomes as good as any defense attorney could ever hope to be, and he's earned that designation by the end. Trials & Tribulation also sets out to resolve the overarching Fey plotline that the first game laid the foundation for and the second game put into motion. That is partially accomplished by making Mia Fey the playable attorney for two of the game's five cases. She's probably the original trilogy's most divisive main character, but I've always loved her. People complain about the "Deus Ex Mia" and how she always manages to show up just in the nick of time (pun intended) to help salvage Phoenix's floundering case. I never minded that though, because whenever Mia shows up, great things happen without exception. I knew something big was about to go down if she was there. Both of her cases in Trials & Tribulations are really good, especially 3-4, which is a top ten case for the entire series.

The most important new character the game introduces is Godot, the mysterious new prosecutor who wears a glowing mask, spouts nonsensical aphorisms, and drinks no more (and no less) than seventeen cups of coffee during any given trial. In terms of skill, he might be the weakest prosecutor in the series (although it actually makes sense why that is so in the game). In terms of pretty much everything else, this dude is cool. He's definitely my favorite Ace Attorney character who only appears in one game, and he's probably top five overall. His role in the finale in particular is outstanding. The game also might have the best set of culprits in the series, although it kind of has an unfair advantage because the main villain shows up in multiple cases, and she's really effective in that role. Trials & Tribulations was the first game in the series to have interconnected cases and a recurring villain, which added to the impact of the epic case because the previous cases slowly built up to it. It was such a good formula that every subsequent Ace Attorney game has used it to some extent.

Trials & Tribulations is also the only game in the series where every case is above average, and keep in mind that "average" for this series is still very good by most standards. It speaks to the quality of Ace Attorney as a whole and to this game in particular that it can put out five strong cases. I've already talked about how great 3-4 is (and it has perhaps the most shocking conclusion to a case in the series), but 3-2 is also a top ten caliber case for me. It's got a solid combination of defendant, culprit, and prosecutor, and the last testimony is just so good. 3-3 is one of the more unique cases in the series with perhaps the most colorful cast of one-off characters, which is quite a statement for Ace Attorney. While 3-5 isn't my favorite case, it's absolutely the perfect ending for the original trilogy. They could've ended the series right there, and I think everyone would've been fine with it because you weren't going to top that. Of course, I'm glad Ace Attorney is still around, even though it took them a little bit to get things back on track, but I don't know if they'll ever be able to create anything that will beat out Trials & Tribulations for best in the series.

Bonus Question: What is your favorite Ace Attorney game?

Lots of exact hits here (Roba, Shonen, Axem, and SaveEstelle), although everyone had it in the top 10
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