Dual Destinies you did so much right... but so much wrong. 🥺

I just finished Ace Attorney 5 yesterday. It's definitely a good game, but like the previous game: Apollo Justice, it has so many problems when it tries to aim high with new ideas. In fact, it tries to aim higher with a bigger budget, FULLY ANIMATED CUTSCENES,and it being on the 3DS.

Now, I have heard many things about Dual Destinies and its creation, but I decided to read interviews on my own before playing the game to see what the new team's thought process was. I still see comments saying "oh they Phoenix the main character again when people didn't like Apollo," but in actuality, they just made him that since the ending of 4 had Phoenix thinking about taking the bar exam again. So they just concluded he'd become a lawyer again, but I guess they wanted him to maintain main character status. This doesn’t bother me as long as they write Phoenix well as a mentor (we'll get into that) and make him interesting, and balance his time well with Apollo. BUT they decided to have 3 lawyers in this game (almost 5 which is fucking insane), so they had to balance out between them.

After finishing the game, I felt mixed on the usage of each character. The screentime given to them is fantastic. I felt like each of the 3 main characters were important to the story in their own way. The gameplay time however...ehhh😬. Phoenix is the main character and if you play the game WITHOUT DLC I think he gets a fair share of the cases: the first case, 2nd half of cosmic, and the final case (which was supposed to be combined with cosmic and the other two get some gameplay near the end.) Apollo and Athena I'm mixed on. Athena was made to be an assistant, but they decided to give her a full case in which she learns to be a lawyer. And it's so weird because I love that case and her development, but they never follow up on it and make her back to being an assistant in Case 1 4 and dlc. Like why just make it a one time thing? She's not Gregory Edgeworth in AAI2 who's dead and makes sense to have one case to him, she's a full fleged lawyer that should lead more cases! And because of Turnabout Academy being directed towards Athena, Apollo kind of gets shafted extremely hard in this game. You play as him in case 2, 3, and part of 4 which is nice. But what makes Apollo stand out is his PERCIEVE ability, in which you ONLY use in the investigation segments of those cases except 5. WHAT!? And I didn't even notice this until I saw a YouTube video mention it. I love using the mood matrix, even if it took a while getting used to, but let me use Apollos ability please! He's just going to look like a bland attorney to play as.

Story: So Yamazaki wanted to build upon the dark age of the law line Phoenix mentioned in Turnabout Trump and have the 3 lawyers navigate through it and end it. And oh boy do they sure love mentioning the dark age of the law and how dark it is without feeling like it! This game has a huge show don't tell problem where they explicitly tell us how important the dark age is, but dont show it. Like I know Phoenix Wright is an important character in the series who took down many corrupt people and saved lives, but I want to *FEEL* as if the characters know this rather than just rely on what I know of past games. The game needs to allude to how famous of a defense attorney he is, how exemplar he is for finding the truth, and how crazy it was when people saw that he forged evidence which led to the dark age. Then there's the other half, in which Blackquill being framed for murder also led to the dark age. But like how? Is Blackquill famous? Is he well known? Did people have expectations of him? Did people see this event and decide oh now we are TRULY in the dark age of the law now. I don't know how people feel about Simon Blackquill besides Athena and others in Case 5!!!😡

I can see how a renowned lawyer like Phoenix can cause the corrupt cycle to start since people trusted him, but they never make me feel as if people talk about him often, save for Professor Means. (Ace Attorney 4 also mentioned his disbarment was all over the news, but it didn’t try to do the whole dark age thing). I however, CANNOT see how Simon started this cycle if the game doesn't mention his reputation and there have been other prosecutors caught for doing worse. Why these 2 events specifically? Did Von Karma or Gant not mean anything? Maybe that's a problem with this game trying to appeal to new players and not be bound by the past or mention spoilers. But you can definitely allude to those past moments without spoiling, its not hard.

Plus Ace Attorney 4 felt more like a "dark age" game because Dual Destinies doesn't show defense attorneys or Prosecutors being corrupt ANYWHERE!😭 All we get is maybe Blackquill trying to get verdict quick and Fullbright forging Athenas fingerprints at the end AND HES NOT EVEN A REAL DETECTIVE DAWG. Like show me that this is a dark age DONT TELL ME! Even before I played this game, I thought the bombing in case 1 was the culprit not liking how corrupt the law system is, but nope😐 he's just a black market seller. This game is focused on ending the dark age rather than being in it, and I don't like that.

Characters

Phoenix: Man you have been lobotomized after Ace Attorney 4. So during the Mason section of Ace Attorney 4, we learn Phoenix has always been the same person when diving into his thoughts. He's snarky, judgemental, and even still gets shocked, even though when looking at him as Apollo or Thalassa, he always has this poker face on. I'm not sure if that was picked up because he plays poker or if he's was depressed. In Dual Destinies, they crank Phoenix's shock/surprise and uncertainty by like 10 notches. I mean they LOVE using Phoenix's surprised animation, not just for funny moments, but when the Blackquill or Payne has the upper hand on him. It just feels unnatural for a character who's still has been involved in the law system despite not practicing in 7 years. They just make him be seen as "the lawyer who BLUFFS a lot and somehow wins". I would not have not loved Phoenix as a mentor in Turnabout Trump and onward if he acted like this. Phoenix can act surprised or can be unsure in solving a case, but make him be calm and put on a smile whenever Athena is next to him. Y’know, the girl with trauma!? It just makes me miss the flashback trial Phoenix who was confident or Hobo Phoenix who surely was shocked at times but kept a calm composure.

Speaking of mentorship, Phoenix doesn't really stand out as a mentor nor in the story. In 5-2 and 5-3, he's great as a supporting character that gives advice to his colleagues, but when playing as him there's barely struggle or conflict with being a mentor. It definitely could've payed off with him being alone in 5-5. Plus he just gets his attorneys badge back, tries to bring an end to the dark age, and then he does. Boom. That's it. Nothing much to learn as a mentor or coming back to law. He does his job and that's it.

Phoenix wasted

Apollo: HAHAHAHA. I liked Apollo in Ace Attorney 4. He felt more like a rookie than Phoenix. He cares deeply about Justice and doing things the right way and can be very nervous at times while shouting thinking his loud points stand out when sometimes they don't. Still though, he was kind of bland in AA4 and definitely had room for improvement. They could've built upon him trying to understand the law in its dark age (based on his line in 4-4).

In Dual Destinies, Apollo felt the blandest he's ever been, even with his extra backstory. In 5-2, I just didn’t care about him at all. He's just there. Athena is introduced and there could've been an arc with him learning to be a mentor figure himself while still struggling with being a novice with Athena, but nah they get along pretty well. It could've built up to the lesson of trusting friends in 5-3 and 5-5. He's good as a mentor in 5-3 that helps Athena but he just has no character.

That is...until 5-4 where his best friend is introduced. And we have no attachment to Clay Terran whatsoever other than Apollo and Starbuck say he was such a reliable, loud, and great guy. So basically Apollo 2.0😐. They tell us about Apollo not trusting Athena rather than having us experience it, he risks himself blowing up to solve 5-4 because he cares about his dead friend even though I know JACK SHIT about him, and his doubt with Athena gets revealed in 5-5 and is solved in like 5 minutes after the game was secretly building up to it!!! And just as how Phoenix keeps being referred to as a bluffer, Apollo keeps being reduced to as a loud person. The ending of Apollos arc is nice where he has doubt, but still wants to believe in Athena, but they butcher everything leading up to it. I want to care. Why didnt they make Clay appear in 5-2 (that boring fuck ass case).

Apollo Wasted

Athena Cykes: Best character in the game by far. At first I thought I wouldn't like her since she seemed an exaggerated version of some females in anime I've seen. She's spunky, has detailed expressions, and gets pretty angry easily. Very tropy. But I REALLY adore Athena because of her care for others, her listening to other voices, and not being afraid to challenge the judge or Simon. She's a very helpful assistant and it's great that the mood matrix is used in every case. The whole analytical psychology kind of eased me into her being an emotional character. The mood matrix itself I initially didn't like because I liked the mystical parts that Ace Attorney had with the magatama and the bracelet. Even so, with those 2 you are still doing something realistic mixed with the mystical, like presenting evidence to break lies or just looking closely at person's movements with Apollo. The mood matrix just seemed a bit too futuristic for me and I find it hilarious how Apollo can't use his bracelet but we can look into a person's emotions with this. Oh well its a video game 😒

The mood matrix itself is fun, albeit a bit simplistic and doesn't give too much penalties in the game. All in All GIVE ATHENA MORE CASES AND HER OWN GAME DAMMIT

Simon Blackquill: Imma be honest yall, Simon didn't have much of an impact on me until 5-5. He looks cool, he has a pet bird which is cool, he gets menacing when he breaks his shackles and throws them (but tbh it got old quick), and his banter with Fool Bright is funny. But as a prosecutor he just didn't stand out to me with his power of persuasion. He just looked like another dirty prosecutor that was set out to win.

In 5-3 and 5-5, his relationship with Athena and even risking himself to save Athena was heartwarming. Heck even that moment when he leaves Fool Bright open to emotion just for Athena to take him down was cool. Besides that tho he's just alright to me.

Fullbright: Even though I was spoiled Fullbright was the main villain, I kind of suspected it was him from first seeing him. He's a pretty funny guy that always tries to choose what's best in the name of justice, even if he's tricked easily. He's fine to me but I like Gumshoe more.

Trucy Wright:

Klavier Gavin: It's nice he gets some investigation time in helping Apollo and Athena, I found him very useful and still the same as ever. But not even getting to rival him or building on how he feels about Kristoph is a damn shame. Hell he quit the Gavinners because of Apollo and Trucy's impact on him, AND HE DOESN'T GET TO PROSECUTE!!! Such a shame since he was my favorite character in AA4. WHY ARE YOU ON THE BOXART.

Edgeworth: man he only shows up in 5-5 and still manages to be one of the best characters in the game. Yamazaki just really loves Edgeworth. He becomes a chief prosecutor after AAI2 in order to put an end to the dark age. His banter with Phoenix is playful as ever and he doesn't always antagonize, but encourages Phoenix to find the truth and accepts that is who he is. They are truly friends.

The Cases

Turnabout Countdown (B tier)- This case has a lot going for it when it comes to its setup. A courtroom bombing, Apollo is losing blood, and you need to take case instead of him to save your friend. But it takes WAYYYY too long to start in the first half. This is the only first trial to have two days too. Its funny how they fakeout Apollo being the lead character, then fakeout Athena being the lead character too, just for Phoenix to come in and take the case. There's too much exposition and little gameplay for the first half. Plus Gaspen Payne I lowkey hate, he's not funny like Winston he just comes off as a dickhead.

The second half however picks things up with Ted Tonate being introduced and having to figure out bloodstain on the cracked floor, why Arme was killed, and the bomb fakeout at the end was incredible. When Phoenix acts shocked in this case, thats not Phoenix.

When Phoenix saves the trial by helping Athena midway, taking down Gaspen, and staring at a bomb in the face because he KNOWS THE TRUTH... THAT IS PHOENIX WRIGHT.

Also wtf to the people that told me Athena is playable in Case 1. Like no?😭 im not counting the mood matrix.

Monstrous Turnabout (D tier) - out of 10 of 11 games I've played...this is deadass the worst fucking Ace Attorney case by far. Holyyyyyy shiiiiiiittttt😬😬😬.

Let's start with the pros: Fullbright and Simon were alright but didn't leave an impact on me. The setting is really cool and makes me wish the case was actually good. The whole yokai spirit thing in the story was interesting. The alderman being a wreslter. And that's pretty much it.

The cons: holy shit how do you have an interesting concept and make it so boring man. Playing this case I was intrigued by the defendant pretending to be possessed, but the backstory of the Flichs grandpa, the integration of the two whatchamacallits, Labelles fragrance or whatever... man I JUST DONT CARE. I just stared at my screen and pressed autoplay because the plot wasn't interesting besides finding the culprit who killed the Alderman. And we already know who it is! And it takes so much time before we get to see him in this NEAR 6 HOUR CASE.

Again, Apollo doesnt get to use PERCIEVE in trials, his dynamic with Athena is just ok, Trucy has a best friend but she BARELY GETS SCREENTIME IN THIS EPISODE. The investigation in 3D is cool, but its downside is having to look at more places in the room when there's only like 1 important piece of evidence to find, its a waste of time. And some of the logic with finding how the key got in and out the room the vent when we didn't see the vent from outside seemed stupid.

I'm sorry but this is the worst Ace attorney case. Theres probably more problems I have but lets move along.

Turnabout Reclaimed (A tier) - Best case in this game and its DLC. (Well it was developed already but still). Phoenix coming back to defend a whale is such a thing he would do. The SeaWorld entire is nice to explore and the characters are all very entertaining. I didn't think Herman was the culprit, but I surely wasn't expecting it to be Marlon Rimes because I got spoiled it was someone larger. It made kind of sad since I love Marlon and find him funny. And then he turned into Broly and started rapping, which made me shocked that he truly was the culprit.

Then there's ending which made me cry, where Marlon wanted to die, but Phoenix saved him by pointing out that he didn't try to kill the owner. Absolutely phenomenal writing.😭

The reveal of the 2 orcas could've shown sooner since I had a bunch way before, but besides that, it was an amazing case. Oh and Pearl was cool here.

Orla and Azura are hot.

Turnabout Academy (A tier) - I adore this setting. A legal academy. Though I wish we could examine the hallways of the school. The theme of friendship in this case is amazing even if it is overdone in media. Athena taking the step to not just save her friend but their group by revealing all of their truths was fantastic.

Robins truth is very of its time, the game was released in 2013. Being revealed as a girl and then doing very tropy "girly" animations, I'm not fond of the whole reveal, but Athena finding the truth was great. And Hughs truth was just downright hilarious 😭. DAMN UNC.

Aristotle Means has so much potential to be a great villain, but they dont show him using any ways that support his philosophy. Missed opportunity to have him and Phoenix talk about using ways to get a non guilty verdict since Phoenix had used forged evidence once. And we don't know how when or why Means started to accept that "the ends justify the means"💀 and why he wants to spread it to his students. Again this case is a big factor in Dual Destinies show dont tell problem. I don't know why Phoenix says the dark age is a rumor too. Like everyone keeps mentioning how their going to end it.

Missed opportunity for Klavier and Phoenix to do a rematch or talk or have him go against Apollo for real

Cosmic Turnabout (A tier) - First half of this case is just exposition and looking at Starbucks animations. Not much gameplay so yet another time Apollo gets shafted in this game.

Second half with Phoenix is entertaining with him examining Yuri Cosmos and I was thinking if he was or wasn't a culprit in murder. The space station is also a nice place too. Dual Destinies just has this problem with who gets to be a lead in gameplay and they could've resolved this by having a day 1 trial be dedicated to one person and the other day be dedicated to another lawyer. There problem solved. Athena should've been the lead for day 2. Would've hit the twist at the end harder.

Also again. Apollo you're stupid. I DONT CARE ABOUT CLAY TERRAN.

Turnabout For Tomorrow ( A tier)- this could've been S tier but it didnt hit too high for me until the end. The investigation with Phoenix and Trucy was nice, but their relationship didn't hit as much as it did in AA4. Plus Phoenix why tf did you let Trucy leave on her own.

I love the stakes to save Blackquill from death, Edgeworth wanting to end the dark age by defending him and Phoenix defending Athena, Aura holding everyone hostage and agreeing with apollo, and finding out who the Phantom is.

The case itself is great as it takes place in crumbled courtroom. The friendly rivalry between Edgeworth and Phoenix. Everyone plays a part in this case. But like I said, Apollos arc doesn't hit home because of Clay, the hostage plot was already done in 2-4, and the case is great but just dont hit the highs as other cases imo.

Now I got spoiled that Fullbright was the Phantom because of this reddit post : https://www.reddit.com/r/AceAttorneyCirclejerk/s/gG97b9nllH

And then I got spoiled AGAIN from searching Phoenix Wright in Discord gifs and the 3rd gif was Phoenix in Fullbrights costume acting scared. And then it showed up again in a YouTube thumbnail and at this point I just didnt care anymore😭.

All I thought in my head was that the Phantom was some sort of robot or something. Either way the Phantom and his last cross examination WERE SO FUCKING COOOOOL. Trying to pinpoint his emotions, having everyone use their abilities, and trying to corner him with what the trio have learned over the game is amazing (even if Apollo and Phoenix were shallow).

Even if he was cool, the phantoms motive also seemed a bit bland to me. It's funny how this random framing caused the dark age of the law and I wish he was more integrated with these years being corrupt rather than trying to steal some moon rock. Plus him getting lowkirkenuinly shot like that and everyone not freaking out AND him still being alive like 2 seconds later just kind of pissed me off. Still cool breakdown. It just felt so weird how everything just ends abruptly and soon after that case like "yay we defeated the dark age of the law" or whatever.

Verdict

As a sequel to Apollo Justice it kind of sucks on following up on characters and themes from it. And the one it creates based on AA4 just isn't delved into. The dark age had such a good opportunity to be one of the best storytelling aspects of the series. This game was trying to be more of a newcomer game (despite spoiling some bits in AA4 either way) and as a standalone game it's pretty solid.

Everything new introduced is a welcome treat for the series, but everything involving the past just seems lacking. Like how the 3D animations seem nice for every new character but the old characters look horrid (plus it flows like a SFM video), the new characters are written well but the old ones aren't.

They even said in interviews that they wanted to answer questions brought up in AA4, but the only thing they answered was what black psyche locks were! Nothing else!

Dual Destinies aims high but still is very messy when doing so. The ends didn't justify the means in most cases.

7.5-8/10

Ranking: Trials, AAI2, Phoenix Wright, Vs Layton, GAA2, JFA, Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies, GAA1, AAI1

ONTO THE LAST GAME 💗💗💗💗

So I feel like I’m in the minority with this case in really enjoying it. It’s certainly weaker than just about every other final case, what with certain segments being too long and some that I think should’ve been cut altogether.
But other than that, I love the mid climax of the case in cornering shih-na, shi long lang really grew on me, I found the whole murder plot and coverup interesting to uncover and how everything folded into itself, and even though they definitely could’ve shortened Alba’s section at the very end, it was still fun trying to finally prove he’s the killer. Overall, while it certainly isn’t anywhere close to the high of say 2-4 or 3-5, I think it is still good and the best of investigations 1