Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Justice for all is a pretty interesting title to talk about, the “black sheep” of the trilogy as it were, the game at large has a really interesting general consensus, where most folks would agree that while the majority of the game isn’t good, the final case is one of the series’ absolute finest, and makes the whole thing worth going through just to get to that point. I feel that that viewpoint does a lot of JFA a bit of a disservice, though admittedly I do have some somewhat spicy takes about this one. There’s some general gameplay improvements here like being able to present character profiles as evidence and having a more flexible health system, but the main new addition here is the Psyche Locks, which I’m a tad conflicted on, while they do make investigation segments more interesting, their actual in-universe presence is pretty contrived and annoyingly glanced upon, like Phoenix is basically given a magical lie detector, but not only does it not work in court for reasons literally never touched on, but Wright doesn’t just have the bright idea to go up to everyone and ask whether they’re the culprit or not, know I know that sounds silly, but the game literally establishes in case 4 that Phoenix is ALLOWED to use it that way, it just never happens for the sake of the story, which kinda bothers me a lot, but overall it’s whatever, I can suspend my suspension of disbelief.

As for some more hot takes, I actually really like the soundtrack here and prefer it to that of the first game’s even, the OST isn’t quite as catchy and doesn’t have as many “banger” tracks per-se, but it makes up for it with some truly gut-wrenching emotional and dramatic pieces, from Announce the Truth to core to the credits theme and to ALL the Reminiscence themes-GOD these Reminiscence fucking HIT. The first game had some good emotional pisces, but the stuff in JFA just genuinely gets to my heart, and I can’t get enough of it.

On to the cases though! The Lost Turnabout kinda faces a dilemma where it needs to explain the game’s mechanics in case the player hasn’t picked up the first game yet, but that wouldn’t make much sense in-universe seeing as Wright already knows how to lawyer, so the solution is was using a somewhat generic amnesia plot line giving the characters an excuse to go over everything again. Yeah it’s kinda annoying, but it doesn’t really bother me too much. I know some people who HATE this case, like consider it the literal worst in the series even, but honestly I don’t really get that, like yeah it’s really simple and the tutorial stuff is annoying, but the characters are mostly pretty fun, and there’s some fun contradictions, really I think it’s mostly just inoffensive, and being a tutorial case I don’t think there’s really much reason to get too up in arms about it.

Reunion and Turnabout is an interesting one, cause honestly I’m not even sure what the general consensus on it even is, like It’s considered the second best case in the game by most, but at the same time people still push the narrative that everything pre case 4 is pretty bad, and when it comes to this case, I honestly don’t really see it. It relies a lot on the supernatural aspects of the series which I don’t enjoy much, but it subverts your expectations and ends up being a really clever murder plan using no channeling whatsoever. It seems hopeless at first, but is really satisfying to nail down. It introduces us to series staple characters like Pearl Fey and Franziska Von Karma, both of which I personally find to be really enjoyable, and the culprit here is a definite highlight, Ini Miney isn’t the series’ first “tragic villain”, that title goes to Yanni Yogi, but I think she’s the first one I ended up actually feeling really bad for, she has a really unique tragic backstory, and it does a similar thing to turnabout Samurai where it’s not completely clear whether the victim Turner Grey actually drugged her or not, you get why she’d want to kill him, but like it’s still fucked up and tragic. Honestly I think my biggest issue here is that I don’t like Maya needing to be the defendant again, this on top of her being kidnapped in case 4 is really frustrating, she’s a fun character and has great synergy with wright, but she spends most of the game being a damsel in distress which is just really disappointing, making the only full case in the game where she gets to really shine is…

Turnabout Big Top, from the very early days of the Ace Attorney fandom, this case was the very commonly agreed upon “worst case in the series”, and through all the changes in opinion this freaking fandom has gone through over the years, this title has impressively remained pretty intact, people REALLY don’t like this one, and alright… I’d like to make clear that I do get why people hate this one. The subplot with a bunch of the characters wanting to marry a 16 year old is bad and creepy, some of the characters can be kinda annoying, and there are some pretty ridiculous leaps in logic. All of that is true, yes, but here’s my take on it, this is one of the most subversive cases in the original trilogy in a lot of ways, and I think the general circus setting makes the tragedy here really fascinating. Firstly the defendant Max Galactica is barely even likable, which is kind of a series first, the dude is a total self loving jerk, with the quote on quote “nice humble guy” here being, of all people, the culprit. The entire circus gang here is really interesting to see in this time of crisis, the headmaster loved by everyone has passed away, but most of the crew seems not all too bothered, and I feel the game uses this to display the way many try and cope with grief, from Moe trying to just laugh it off and hide his depression, to Regina dismissing the notion entirely. By the end the circus crew is forced to accept everything that’s happened, including that one of their own is responsible, and Phoenix’s take down of him is raw and unfiltered, a depressing reality check for everyone involved. It was an extremely bold choice to make the culprit literally disabled, and while Acro’s want to murder a kid, but here’s the thing, Acro is a disabled man literally doomed to the circus for the rest of his life, him existence being made into an endless comedy being stuck only knowing these annoying over the top clowns, I honestly think it’s reasonable that he’s somewhat go insane, regardless of how good he hides it. The tragedy here isn’t quite as compelling as the one from case 2, but dammit this shit is still really heartbreaking, at the end the circus crew is forced to face the brutal reality of everything that’s happened, but come to know that they have each other, and can move forward to a brighter tomorrow.

But finally, we’ve got the big one, Farewell, my Turnabout. In all honesty, I don’t really have much to say about this case that hasn’t already been repeated by many others over the years, but needless to say, yeah this shit’s amazing. I feel like most people coming into this series had a feeling that they were gonna play the “guilty defendant” card at SOME point, and DAMN did they play this card well. Matt Engarde is such a great villain, he’s a complete contrast to the culprits of cases 2 and 3, just being this insanely evil celebrity hiding his facade behind the mask of an oblivious airhead. The whole dynamic between him, Juan Corrida, and Adrian Andrews is so compelling and provides a fascinating critique of celebrity culture, with them being prived upon for pretty much their whole lives, leading to Matt and Juan slowly becoming hyper-obsessed rivals getting to the point of driving their former loved ones to suicide, all just for the ability to get back at one another, to be more beloved and more popular, it’s an exaggerated display of the most disgusting areas of celebrity culture that’s fascinating to see broken down here. One of my favorite details the game never really touches upon is that the woman driven to suicide by Matt and Juan’s rivalry, Celeste Inpax, was long assumed to have left a suicide note due to remains of ink on her corpses’ finger, but near the cases end it’s revealed that there never end was a suicide note, meaning that after Juan found her hanged body, he literally dipped her fingers in ink so that the public would assume that a note was left, all JUST so that he could get back at Engrade, absolutely depraved… Andrews then is the one left with bearing the consequences of the two’s maddening hate, and her character is arguably one of the most complex in the series, she’s heavily implied to be somewhat mentally ill with needing to always be heavily dependent on someone, along with being a survivor of a failed suicide, she’s not entierly “inocent” what with being the one to further frame the crime on Engarde, but still goddamn throughout this case her worst fears and anxieties are constantly being brought to the forefront, and it is truly saddening to see. Cases like these serve as an example for the main conceit of Justice for All, why the legal system NEEDS prosecutors. For most of the first games, prosecutors were portrayed pretty heavily as the “bad guys” with Edgeworth kinda being the face of them for Wright. And while Wright was the one to teach Edgeworth his wrongs back then, in JFA, after coming back from his self discovery and finding his reason to live, Edgeworth comes back, and manages to show wright the true meaning of the courts, it’s not just about needing to trust in a client, or get a client found guilty, it’s about both sides coming together to find the truth. Without a prosecutor, there would be nothing stopping Wright from just accusing Andrews and leaving it at that, but Edgeworth, despite giving Andrews some choice words and quite a hard time, was ultimately there to defend her, only when the shields and the swords are crossed, is when the light can be made bare to see. It is through Franziska Von Karma’s warped views that Edgeworth is able to confront his past, while Franziska is obsessed with victory and being perfect, Edgeworth has come to realize that you shouldn’t be perfect, that’s not what makes you a good prosecutor, a good human. It’s all about coming together, and using everyone’s opposed viewpoints and perspectives, that is the only way for the courts to prosper… And GOD there’s so much other great stuff I haven’t even gotten to yet, like how great Gumshoe is here as an ally to Wright, or how cool Shelly the killer is as a terrifying presence, with the final choice with him being so powerful, possibly leading to that absolutely GUT WRENCHING bad ending that never fails to hit me in the feels, but I feel like I’ve said most of what I needed to, Farewell, My Turnabout is just as good, if not even BETTER than most make it out to be, and even if the rest of JFA really WAS garbage, it STILL would’ve made going through the whole thing 100% worth it.

I know that I’ve kinda neglected to go over and dwell on a lot of JFA’s shortcomings, but honestly, I just really love this game at the end of the day, and I feel that despite everything, it makes for a fantastic followup that helped fully define with the series is, with deeper, more complex plots and characters that I still find myself thinking about to this day. Honestly, the fact that this game was somehow fully written by 1 person over the course of only FOUR MONTHS is insane, even if you hate JFA, you can’t deny that for the amount of time given, this script absolutely hit it out of the park, a true testament to the sheer power of love, dedication, and a WHOLE lot of alcohol.

Hot take: I like Justice for All a little better than the first game. Not by a ton; it has a lot of issues with the writing, which I'll get to in a bit, but I think the pacing is greatly improved and the magatama adds a lot to investigations.

The Lost Turnabout: A better first case than The First Turnabout, imo. Nick having amnesia is a pretty cool twist that also justifies re-tutorializing the mechanics. Maggie and The Drift King are really fun characters and Gumshoe is also there which is good.

Reunion and Turnabout: A very good second case. I like how it build's on the backgrounds of Maya, Kurain Village, and the Fey family. Pearl and Morgan are also great characters and it was fun getting to see Lotta again. The central mystery surrounding Ini Miney and how it plays out are also pretty neat. Franzy's my least favorite main prosecutor of the trilogy, but she's still got a lot going for her (even if it doesn't get fully resolved until Trials and Tribulations).

Turnabout Big Top: Hoo boy, this one's rough. You've probably heard before about how badly it handles the love triangle, and the defendant, and certain leaps in logic in the deduction, and certain parts of the trial, and all of those are true. With that said, I don't hate it, even if I think it's the weakest case in the trilogy. Moe the Clown is actually a pretty good character when he's not being so unfunny it gets a man convicted of murder, Acro's a really interesting killer, and I like the conversation between Franziska and Phoenix.

Farewell, My Turnabout: My second-favorite case in the trilogy. It has everything you could possibly ask for from an Ace Attorney case: High stakes, great characters, an intriguing mystery, Edgeworth catching the phone, and so much more. Edgeworth's return is absolutely glorious and really highlights how he's grown since the end of the first game, with him simultaneously being a rival and an ally. I love how the game tricks you into thinking it's just another Turnabout Samurai before immediately placing Maya's life on the line. And holy shit, Matt Engarde is a fantastic villain. Forcing Phoenix to defend a guilty man is probably the most interesting thing you could possibly do for his character, and it's fully explored here. All of this culminates in an insanely satisfying conclusion and an enticing set-up for the next game. This case deserves every bit of praise it gets.

There is a lot to say about this game and it feels wrong giving it the equivalent of a 7 but I think that it's accurate.

I will start with the bad first. A lot of the new characters introduced in this game are not super enjoyable. For example, Franziska von Karma is very annoying for most of her screen time, which is kind of a problem when she is the main prosecutor you go up against in this game. She'll constantly whip everyone in the court and keep repeating that Phoenix is a "foolishly foolish fool" over and over again. Her base personality is so annoying that even though they started to give her some more depth near the end it doesn't mean a lot (although she has potential to become a better character). Pearl is a character that is cute and sweet but there are somethings about her that are just somewhat annoying. The constant shipping of Phoenix and Maya for example is just weird, and there are times where she says things that are impressive for any child her age to know, and then others where she doesn't even know the most basic words and concepts. She is basically just very inconsistent and half of her dialogue feels like it's her whining, but I don't necessarily dislike her. I still enjoy her cute childlike innocence for the most part, it's just that I think she is a weaker character than some of the original characters such as her cousin Maya. Other than weaker recurring characters than the first game, the cases are much less consistent as well. The first tutorial case is mostly forgettable, I don't really have any strong feelings about it. I also don't have super strong feelings about the first real case. It doesn't stand out as anything special but it definitely wasn't anything bad and it introduced a lot of things that I'm sure could come back in a more major way in the third game. The third case, however, is genuinely the worst case of the series so far. All of the characters introduced during this case are unbearable. The annoying clown, the asshole puppet and his creepy ventriloquist, the extremely annoying and stupid daughter of the victim, and then to top it all off the defendant in this case is just an arrogant asshole magician. A lot of these characters are into the underage daughter that I mentioned as well and are trying to pursue her in a romantic way which is really weird. Phoenix and even the judge will also make comments every once in a while that come across as creepy and really weird, and the game doesn't really acknowledge how weird it is. Even Maya will cheer for her to get with the puppet for example. But anyways, these characters that you have to constantly interact with throughout this case just made it kind of hard to sit through sometimes, but I don't actually dislike it as much as others just because I think the core gameplay of Ace Attorney is still quite enjoyable. It is still bad though.

Now that I've mostly got the negatives out of the way, I want to go into detail about what I think this game does really well. I will start with general gameplay improvements before moving on to the more interesting stuff. To start, they introduce a new mechanic called "psyche-locks" that add a whole new level of engagement in the investigation process. In the first game all you do is gather the evidence and that's it, but in this game you have to do that while also breaking through the characters' lies and get them to tell you the truth so you can have a better understanding of the situation to use in court. I didn't like this addition at first, but it really grew on me as, like I said, I think it made the gameplay more engaging. Other than this I don't think the game play changed in any major way, but it has been a while since I played the first game now so there could be things I am forgetting. Anyways though now I want to get into what really stands out about this game, and that is the final case.

Right off the bat this case hits you with a twist when Maya is kidnapped and Phoenix is forced to take the defendant as his client or else the kidnapper will not let Maya go. It introduces the question very early of "Would you fight to get a not guilty for a murderer if it meant saving Maya?" which is a question that stays prominent throughout the case. At first you think that he is really innocent and there is nothing to worry about, but as time passes the truth starts to reveal itself and spoiler alert: the defendant is a guilty party. This dilemma and what it does for Phoenix's character is by far the best part about the game. It explores his character in a way that I would have never expected from Ace Attorney and it made me appreciate him and the game a lot more. It really makes you question your own morality and what you would do if you were in that situation, and what it really means to be a lawyer. Another thing that makes this case better is that Edgeworth is back and he is actually the lead prosecutor for the case, which means no more whipping and shit from franziska. He also has a lot going on as well as he has changed since the last time we saw him in the first game. No longer is he just the enemy but throughout most of this case he kind of works as your ally and he also heavily contributes to the main theme of "what does it mean to be a lawyer." Gone are the times where he would forge evidence and do anything to get a guilty verdict, he has come to realize that his true job is discovering the truth, and he uses his experience and growth to help Phoenix better understand himself and grow as well. There's a level of character depth to this case that was never present in the series before and I really appreciated that. I could go into a lot more detail about this case and what I love about it, but I struggle to even find the best way to start explaining my thoughts and I think what I have said does a good job at generally giving what makes it so great. I believe it to be the best case in the series so far and I think they will have trouble ever topping it. It is genuinely a 10/10 experience, however, since the rest of the game doesn't really match up to that quality, the overall game gets more of a 7-7.5/10. Not as consistent as the first game and has much lower lows, but the highs are much higher as well. Definitely worth playing if you liked the first game for the last case alone.