Trials and Tribulations is the closure of the classic trilogy of Ace Attorney, and if it was by me, I´d have preffered to end it right here, because it´s such a great conclusion to everything the franchise did establish since the first game, but it is what it is. Trials and Tribulations holds everything that did the first and second AA games to be cool, it doesn´t add up anything new to the formula, not like Justice for All did with the psyche-locks mechanic, what I´m trying to say is that Trials and Tribulations doesn´t bring anything new to the table gameplaywise, but don´t get me wrong, that´s not a bad thing at all.
I have a issue with this game, it´s related with the pacing, which is weird. The first AA game had only one filler turnabout, just one, same goes with the second game, just one filler turnabout, but Trials and Tribulations in particular, has two filler turnabouts, keep in mind that when I say filler, I don´t say they are bad turnabouts, nothing like that, what I´m trying to say with filler is that they are not important to the main story at all, you can remove them from the game and nothing will happens.
The second turnabout, Sisters Turnabout is the second turnabout of the first AA game, not my favorite by anymeans but there is interesting stuff going on related to the main story, next we have Reunion and Turnabout, and let me tell you, not only is important to the main story, it´s pretty great as well. In Reunion and Turnabout, Maya is accused or murder, but maybe a spirit possessed her in order to make the crime, so the case does a great job of Maya didn´t kill the man but maybe a spirit did it, so, whose is to blame this time? Also, if it was a self defense murder, that would ruin her life, see my point? These cases are great.
The Stolen Turnabout is the second case of Trials and Tribulations, what do we have here this time? A filler case, a case about a proffesional thief who steals expensive jewelry, is it important to the main story? No, you could remove it from the game and nothing would happen. Now, don´t get me wrong, it´s a cool turnabout really, the mystery is interesting, all of the characters are cool and funny and it´s even kind of refreshing, you are able to see GODot for the first time, yet, it´s really unecessary. Luke Atmey is a pretty interesting detective but at the end of the day, he´s just one of those forgotten characters that will never return. I love Adian Andrews, I absolutely love she is doing fine and she´s a better person now, was it necessary to see her? No
Recipe for Turnabout is the third case of the Trials and Tribulations, I personally think this is a really good case, but again, it´s filler, nothing more than that, it´s irrelevant to the main story, if you remove it, nothing happens. I actually liked this case very much, I love Maggey, the mystery is also interesting, decent difficulty and charming characters, this is actually my favorite filler turnabout on the trilogy, still, way too unnecesary. I don´t know if you see my point, but two filler turnabouts were kind of a downgrade, more if you take into acctount Turnabout Memories.
If there is a reason why people over the world says that Trials and Tribulations is the preak of the francise, it´s because of certain case, which is Bridge To Turnabout, and I can´t argue that, because that´s a great case, easily top turnabouts of the whole franchise, if not the best. It´s great to see how the case is actually connected with previous games and you see how the game connects everything until the ending and it´s mindblowing, the mystery is way too great and the characters are amazing. Hands down Godot, steals the show and easily the best character on the franchise.
As I said, Trials and Tribulations doesn´t bring anything new to the table, it´s the same gameplay already seen on the first and second game, you have an entire section for investigation and finding clues for your clients, then you defend them agains´t a prosecutor in a whole trial, the game uses a the 2-days system per case so they don´t feel exaggeratedly long. As always, finding the contradictions within the witnesses is incredibly satisfying, but the real deal is on the courtrooms, where all of the games shine.
Is Trial and Tribulations the peak of the franchise? I´m not sure about that, but I can´t deny it´s better than Justice For All, despite everything I said about the filler turnabouts, I had a great time with the game, I think is on the same level as the first AA game, which is a lot to say about the quality of this installment.
Let´s talk about a little bit about the collection itself, that´s the way I played this trilogy, through the HD collection brought by Capcom a few years ago, and let me say one thing, this is one of the worst collections I´ve ever played. The interface of the whole trilogy looks pretty ugly and weird, this is because this collection is just a port of the 3ds trilogy, the only difference is the HD. There is no incentive to even buy it as a fan of the series, there is no library, there is no soundtrack, no backlog, no concept arts, it sucks, it´s just a cash-grab. I understand Ace Atorney is not as important as Resident Evil o Street Fighter, but one would think they would put more love into a collection like this, it looks as a mobile game you could play with a smartphone. I personally don´t have anything agains´t these HD sprites but it´d be cool if the game could let you choose if you want to play with pixelated sprites or HD sprites.
All of the screenshots were taken by me