Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy producer talks about remastering Apollo's story

Phoenix Wright is the face of the Ace Attorney series, but over the years, the series has introduced some memorable characters and beloved staples. One of them is Apollo Justice, who started out as Phoenix Wright's apprentice and has since grown to become an accomplished lawyer in his own right. For Capcom's next Ace Attorney compilation, players will get to play out Apollo's career from the beginning all the way through the cases that cemented him as a lawyer on the level of Phoenix Wright himself.

To learn more about Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy and what players can expect to see, Shacknews spoke with Producer Kenichi Hashimoto to learn more about the game's characters, the differences between Apollo and his mentor, and translating the game's original dual-screen format to traditional one-screen setups.

Shacknews: I would like to ask about the main character himself. What makes Apollo Justice so different from Phoenix Wright as a character and an attorney?

Kenichi Hashimoto, Producer: Unlike Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice is a young, hot-blooded, and straightforward protagonist. He's prone to making repeated mistakes, but for all intents and purposes, he's a "cute" and charming guy. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy depicts the narrative of Apollo's growth over the three games, which I hope you'll enjoy as well.

Shacknews: What makes Apollo's cases unique from the ones players experienced with the original Ace Attorney trilogy?

Hashimoto: The essence of each episode -- helping a troubled defendant and uncovering the truth -- hasn't changed from previous Ace Attorney entries. However, this trilogy of games features a variety of elements that enable players to enjoy cases even more deeply. These include 3D gameplay in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice, a rich and exciting narrative detailing Apollo Justice's growth as a lawyer navigating the Dark Age of the Law, and several additions to gameplay -- Apollo's ability to "Perceive," Athena's "Mood Matrix," Rayfa's "Divination Seance", and Ema's "Forensic Investigations" just to name a few.

Shacknews: This new Ace Attorney Trilogy covers Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and goes through Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. In what ways would you say Apollo has grown as a character over the course if those three titles?

Hashimoto: When Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney released, Apollo didn't quite have the same level of popularity as Phoenix Wright. With the releases of Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, players were given a deeper glimpse into Apollo's personality and character traits, causing his popularity to grow. With this collection, we hope you get to witness and experience Apollo's growth for yourself.

Shacknews: We also meet some new characters over the course of these games. How would you describe characters like Trucy Wright, Athena Cykes, and Klavier Gavin to players about to meet them for the first time?

Hashimoto: Each of these three characters is unique in their own right. Even simple descriptions such as "beautiful young magician," "rookie lawyer with the ability to hear people's emotions," and "vocalist for a popular rock band/rival prosecutor" speak volumes about just how unique these characters are. Besides Trucy, Athena, and Klavier, players will encounter a wide array of unique individuals in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy. We look forward to audiences getting to know each and every one of them throughout the collection.

Shacknews: What are some of your favorite cases from this new Ace Attorney Trilogy? Are there any cases in particular that you're excited for players to experience in a remastered format?

Hashimoto: I like several cases in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, but the two cases that drive Dual Destinies to its climax -- "The Cosmic Turnabout" (Episode 4) and "Turnabout for Tomorrow" (Episode 5) -- have really left a lasting impression. This trilogy also includes the two Special Episodes from Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice that were previously released as paid DLC. I hope you'll play through both of these exciting cases once you've completed the others in the collection!

Shacknews: Was it an enormous challenge to bring these games from a dual-screen touch format over to modern platforms, which utilize a single screen?

Hashimoto: Yes, the process presented its challenges. In order for players across all platforms to be able to enjoy each in-game scenario using controllers, as well as touch-screen features unique to Nintendo Switch and keyboard and mouse functionality on Steam, we completely revamped the UI and programming for these games.

Shacknews: Lastly, with Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy rounding out the remasters of the main series to modern consoles, what does the team pursue next? Could we see spinoffs like Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney make their way to modern platforms?

Hashimoto: There are no announcements about the future of the Ace Attorney series at this time. For now, we hope everyone enjoys playing through Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy will release on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch on Wednesday, January 24. For more, check out our preview from earlier this year.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?