As the fourth in the series, Apollo Justice has a lot to live up to in terms of providing memorable characters, brilliantly devised music and cases with as many twists and turns as the A57. Apollo Justice is the first incarnation of the Phoenix Wright games made exclusively for the DS, not counting the extra case on the original re-issue. As such, it has new features and a new protagonist in Apollo Justice and his side-kick Trucy.

Despite the game being called Apollo Justice as opposed to Phoenix Wright, Phoenix features quite heavily in all four cases, especially the fourth, which delves into his past. The older Phoenix lacks any sort of charisma at first and you often find yourself resenting his appearances and wondering why Capcom didn’t just do away with him altogether. However, as the game progresses you find that he has links with many of the cases which all come together in the fourth and final case. This case sees the player taken back in time ‘seven years earlier’ and you become Phoenix Wright in all his youthful glory. To add to the nostalgia here, the graphical syle changes back to a more simple look, and the music from the original game makes a comeback. I found myself a bit too happy to hear it, as Apollo Justice doesn’t really deliver on the musical front the same as the first three games have done. The fact that the addition of the older music seems to show up the new music as being lacklustre, seems to be a failing on Capcom’s side.

Speaking of music though, the third case features a singer called Lamiroir whose song is quite well composed, albeit without any vocals. The graphical capabilities of the DS are also utilised here in the form of a video of the concert you have to watch for clues. Each of the cases are preceded by a more complex FMV which is quite nice and a welcome addition to the Phoenix Wright franchise. The character animations have stayed much the same but this is no bad thing as even the few expressions and actions each character has, are enough to convey their personality and feelings.

The characters and their personalities have always been something that has stood out about Phoenix Wright. In Apollo Justice, there are nowhere near as many great characters, apart from the main protagonists of Apollo and Trucy and the recurring character from the first game on the DS, Ema Skye. Some of the characters in particular were downright annoying. This does seem to be a trend from the previous games though, as the characters can be very hit and miss. Unfortunately, Apollo Justice seems more ‘miss’ than ‘hit’ in terms of original characters.

The unique capabilities of the DS are utilised well in the new investigation techniques which appear in Apollo Justice. You can dust for fingerprints, take casts of footprints and examine evidence more closely with the touchscreen. However, as great as all this is, it features very little in the game and it could have been so much better if it was used more frequently.

Apollo Justice is no doubt a good game, but perhaps one for die hard fans of the series only. The DS exclusive features are definitely a step in the right direction, and I wold hope that if Capcom carry on the story of Apollo, these features will be utilised more frequently and more fully. The game almost feels like a test run on the DS, rather than a full blown touch screen experience of the game.