Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy Review - Doing Ace Attorney Justice

Reviewed on: Switch
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Rating: Teen

Outsiders of the Ace Attorney series might not be familiar with the name Apollo Justice, but fans know the character is a big deal. He's second only to Phoenix Wright in terms of playable appearances, and his new collection, the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, gathers all of those outings in one convenient package. While there's not much new content in this package, quality-of-life improvements and a visual overhaul do a lot to modernize Apollo's courtroom saga, making it a worthwhile journey for fans new and old.

The package includes three games: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice. While Apollo's name is only in one of these three titles, he's a crucial character in all three games, so the name is a fitting one. The package also includes DLC trials and outfits from the 3DS games, so if you want to rock Phoenix's classic suit in Dual Destinies or dress Athena as a maid in Spirit of Justice, you're free to do so. The DLC trials vary in quality (the second is great, the first is not), but they're meaty pieces of content that I'm glad made it into the final collection.

Apollo Justice prepares for his first trial in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Besides the obvious convenience of being available on modern platforms, there are two main reasons to play the Apollo Justice Ace Attorney Trilogy instead of the original games. The first is the improved graphics; the Trilogy looks excellent. I'll miss the pixel art of the DS days, but I quickly got used to the updated art style in Apollo Justice's first outing. The animations translate exceptionally well – the series hasn't lost an ounce of charm. The real improvement, however, comes in the latter two games in the Trilogy, which were originally released on the 3DS. While the first game is a good translation of the old art style into a new form, the 3D games look much better, and I often had to remind myself they weren't released on the Switch from the get-go. It's also great to view their anime cutscenes on a full-sized TV.

The other reason to play the Trilogy over old versions is its wonderful suite of quality-of-life improvements. I especially love Auto Advance, which moves the dialogue forward without forcing me to mash buttons, and the History button, which allows you to scroll back through dialogue you might've accidentally skipped. This game also includes a story setting, which automatically advances the game through trials and investigations if you don't feel like solving any puzzles. While they're mostly returning features from other modern Ace Attorney collections, the quality of life improvements return for a reason – they make these games significantly smoother to play, and I am extremely grateful to have them here.

Athena Cykes in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy also includes a Museum section that allows players to look at concept art, listen to music, rewatch cutscenes, and look at character animations from each game in the Trilogy. It's a nice touch, and I had some fun glancing at some of the art and animations, but it's more of a novelty than anything else. 

Outside of quality-of-life improvements, the games are unchanged and still worth your time. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney is a relatively faithful continuation of the original Trilogy that stars Apollo Justice, a plucky new protagonist. With 2D art and game direction by series creator Shu Takumi, it's essentially an epilogue to the original Phoenix Wright games, giving players a glimpse into its world seven years after Ace Attorney 3. Today, its trials hold up as an exciting exploration of the failings of the court system and why it's important to let a new generation take the reins.

Where Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney honors the older games, Dual Destinies seeks to forge a separate path with a new game director, three protagonists, and a new 3D art style. It's the weakest game of the series, especially at the start, but the last few trials tie everything together with a genuinely satisfying conclusion. Its ambitions don't always pay off, but now that a decade has passed, I can appreciate those ambitions more, especially how they paved the road for the next game.

Phoenix Wright in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice

Spirit of Justice is the final game in the Trilogy and my favorite. It primarily occurs in the fictional country of Kura'in, where defense attorneys are sentenced to the same fates as those they defend. To complicate things even further, the royal family can conduct séances to play back the memories of the dead as evidence. The new location and heightened stakes do a lot to make this entry feel distinct from the others. In fact, Spirit of Justice is the first game in the Trilogy that doesn't feel like it's struggling to match the tone of the older games, fully setting itself apart by putting its trials in a new context. It's not just the best in this collection; it's one of my favorites in the entire series.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy succeeds with everything it sets out to do, bringing three great games to modern consoles in their most approachable forms to date. I was fully immersed in its classic courtroom battles in the 80 or so hours it took me to get through all three titles. Even though not every trial is a winner, the majority are, and with a new suite of quality-of-life improvements, it's never been easier or more enjoyable to experience Apollo Justice's journey.

Score: 8.5

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Asgard's Wrath 2 Review - Worthy Of The Gods

Reviewed on: Quest 3
Platform: Quest 3, Quest 2
Publisher: Oculus Studios
Developer: Sanzaru Games
Rating: Mature

Asgard’s Wrath 2 stands out in a sea of virtual reality titles available on the market today. As the showcase piece for the Meta Quest 3, this sequel offers an experience rarely seen in the category, weaving together an exciting blend of action, intricate puzzle design, and semi-open-world environments. With the clever use of VR mechanics, you discover new surprises even after playing for dozens of hours. Asgard’s Wrath 2 is a VR game that’s difficult to put down, even as the Quest 3’s battery life often requires you to. However, while it does start out strong, it hits a few stumbling blocks along the way.

Asgard’s Wrath 2 immediately follows the events of the first game. The god of mischief, Loki, has managed to escape, and it's up to you to track him down. The big difference now is that your journey takes you to the vast sand seas of Egypt, where you meet other deities willing to help you in your search.

There’s an immense world just waiting to be explored, which gave me a sense of awe as I looked at my surroundings and the sheer scope of what Sanzaru Games crafted. Moreover, the game’s visual flair, powered solely by a standalone headset like the Quest 3, remained impressive from a technical standpoint as I ventured through the picturesque landscape in this lengthy action RPG.

As you play through Asgard’s Wrath 2, you control distinct heroes with their respective narrative arcs. For example, you encounter the warrior Abraxas as he’s robbing a tomb. Later on, you control the river nymph Cyrene in her own chapter. You also meet various animal companions, such as a boar that can wade through lava and a panther that can cause illusory blocks to solidify. These concepts, in terms of traversal and puzzle-solving, make each companion’s functions quite unique, though the A.I. noticeably fumbles during battles. In some cases, they won’t even attack an enemy right next to them until you manually target that foe.

Combat mechanics push the boundaries of what VR gameplay can be, thanks to each hero’s assortment of weapons. This arsenal creates genuinely unique and refreshing playstyles. For instance, I’d get into the thick of the fray as Abraxas, slashing with a whip-sword in my right hand while tossing axes with my left. Meanwhile, the ranger Alvilda required me to perform rapid flicking motions to shoot different magic arrows. Surprisingly enough, the most mechanically complex character was an undead scribe named Djehuty; I had to place both hands in front of my headset and make a pulling motion to decapitate the character; then, I could use the head to possess foes.

Regrettably, I had a few issues with the controls, especially when grabbing weapons, since the controller has difficulty detecting the action unless I sit upright. Likewise, throwing weapons or firing projectiles, even with aim assist options enabled, became frustrating and tiring.

 

Still, the most fascinating feature of Asgard’s Wrath 2 is its puzzles, which show what can truly be achieved by VR games in terms of immersion, creativity, and engagement. Since you’re playing as a god, you can use your divine form to take control of larger structures, often switching to your hero character, who then traverses the area with the help of animal companions. The highest praise I can give Asgard’s Wrath 2 is that, at times, it feels like the Zelda VR game enthusiasts have been waiting for. Major puzzles are presented as grand set pieces – moments that filled me with wonder upon reaching these sections and a sense of satisfaction upon coming up with a solution.

Sadly, the sheer abundance of puzzles leads to poor pacing during specific segments, such as escaping a dungeon’s traps, only to realize that another brain teaser awaited instead of a climactic boss battle. The game’s last few chapters also feel rushed compared to the arcs of the first two heroes. 

Asgard’s Wrath 2 still boasts an epic campaign that can take upwards of 70 hours to complete, chockful of numerous locales, lairs, and secrets to discover. Likewise, an infinitely replayable roguelike mode is waiting for you well after you're done with the campaign and the overworld areas. In spite of a few qualms, Asgard’s Wrath 2 remains an offering worthy of the gods.

Score: 9

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Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review – A Royal Resurgence

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Rating: Teen

The Prince of Persia series has a long and storied history going back decades, and I know none of it. The latest, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, from developer Ubisoft Montpellier, has me regretting that because if this game indicates what else awaits me in the franchise, I’ve clearly been missing out. The Lost Crown uses exhilarating platforming, a deep combat loop, and more to create a new Metroidvania classic. While I would like a more compelling story and a few tweaks to its systems, I struggled to put The Lost Crown down, taking my gameplay sessions into the late hours of the night. The Lost Crown is a fascinating and highly successful reemergence for the beloved series. 

Notably, you do not play as the Prince of Persia in The Lost Crown; instead, you control Sargon, one of the seven Immortals, elite warriors who protect Persia, its Queen Thomyris, and the titular Prince Ghassan. However, Ghassan is kidnapped, sending the Immortals to Mount Qaf, where a labyrinthian adventure awaits Sargon and friends. The entire game takes place here, and by the end of my 21-hour adventure, I intimately knew its various biomes, secrets, shortcuts, and safe havens. One of my favorite parts of The Lost Crown was watching the foggy map of Mount Qaf reveal itself as a series of connected hallways, hidden chambers, and platforming puzzle playgrounds, in part because exploring all of it was an absolute treat. However, I would have liked a better fast-travel system, and sometimes there’s too much backtracking.

On current-gen consoles, The Lost Crown runs at a smooth-as-butter 120 frames per second, with a 4K resolution to boot. I’m not the biggest fan of its art style, which features gorgeous backdrops and painterly environments but playdough-esque characters, but it’s hard to deny how good it all looks in motion. 

 

The Lost Crown stands tall, if not above in most instances, to some of the genre’s best. Combat starts simple, with a heavy emphasis on parrying, but grows into a deep system of extended ground attacks, air combos, projectile combo extenders, fast dash-kicks, and more. Amulets with special properties, like increased melee damage or frost resistance, for example, are hidden throughout, further adding to the customization of your Sargon. Athra Surges use special energy built up through combat and they can shift the weight of an encounter in an instant. And to round out the toolkit, Sargon collects time powers throughout the journey, which grant him powerful abilities for use in combat and exploration. 

Like the various puzzles of Mount Qaf, every encounter presents its own predicament; I had to think fast and attack faster to take down new enemies with moves I hadn’t seen. And bosses are the combat’s crème de la crème. Each boss capped off the learning experience The Lost Crown put me through in the preceding hours, requiring the use of every tool in my arsenal (and every healing flask, too). I welcomed new boss fights, even after the fifth attempt on some of its most challenging. 

 

The same can be said for its platforming. Quick respawning and instant resets carve out the worst parts of platformers, leaving a trial-and-error experience that remains highly rewarding throughout the game. A tough-as-nails platforming section that requires perfect precision might lead you to a rare currency that helps you strengthen Sargon’s swords, a special petal that increases his total health, or even a miniboss; I was never disappointed with what awaited me, a critical component to an enriching Metroidvania experience. 

With a robust suite of accessibility options, like the ability to adjust the parry window timing, increase or decrease how much health you take on hits (and how much enemies take from yours, too), and portals that let you skip platforming sections, you can fine-tune The Lost Crown to be the experience you want. It’s a commendable effort and speaks to Ubisoft’s Montpellier’s innovation in this ever-growing genre. Being able to quickly attach a Memory Shard, which acts like an in-universe screenshot, to the massive map makes keeping track of what you can and can’t do at any moment a breeze. Coupled with various pins you can attach to the map, it’s a feature set I want in every game like this moving forward. 

The story, despite some twists and turns that genuinely surprised me, fell into the background too often, and I struggled to understand why I was going here or there beyond the objective marker on my screen. But this and its few other issues did little to hamper my enjoyment.

The Lost Crown makes it hard to put the controller down, constantly urging players to follow its paths just a little further. Following its persistent pull to explore more of Mount Qaf is easy, though, thanks to how good it feels to do so. Between its first-rate platforming and engaging combat and progression, The Lost Crown’s various parts coalesce into a sublime loop. Gameplay is king, and this Prince of Persia understands that. 

Score: 9.5

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