Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney



The fourth game of the Ace Attorney series, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney shifts the focus from Phoenix Wright to Apollo Justice, a lawyer with his own quirks and an obsession with following in Phoenix's footsteps. The setting also moved ahead roughly seven years, dumping the previous cast members and introducing new ones such as Trucy Wright, Phoenix's adopted daughter and Apollo's assistant. It proved to be as critically and commercially successful as the earlier games, which are now unofficially dubbed the "Phoenix Arc" by series' fans.

A character sheet for the whole series can be found here.

"Apollo: It's a swaying, spiraling stack of DVD cases. Better stay away or it'll become a crashing, cascading cavalcade of DVD cases."
 * Affectionate Parody: Apollo Justice often pokes fun at the very series it belongs to, most noticeably when Apollo spends the start of his first trial gearing himself up to bellow the series Catch Phrase ("Objection!") and then gets reprimanded when he finally does so for yelling in court.
 * Air Guitar: Klavier's gimmick; it even sounds like a real guitar when he does it.
 * "For a second, I could SEE the guitar!"
 * Alliteration: During the second case, when Apollo can examine the DVD cases stacked around Phoenix's hospital bed.

"Apollo: ...And that's pretty much the end of my story. For now, anyway. I've still got a long way to go. And this power of mine... well, it needs some work. But... there's hope now. We'd lost it, but somehow, we found it again. That's why people are smiling again... Hope. Yeah, I think I'll keep at this lawyer thing for a while. Oops, training time. Gotta go. Chords of Steel... here comes Justice!"
 * Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: During Perceive segments.
 * Amoral Attorney: . Given the series tradition for them, it was a surprise when Klavier Gavin appeared and he actually didn't follow this trope.
 * Anachronic Order: The last case
 * And the Adventure Continues...:

"Trucy: A lot of people come just to see my panties, you know! Apollo: You... might not want to advertise it like that."
 * Anime Hair: Daryan has a 'do that's oddly suggestive (Fan Nickname: Dickhead), Drew Misham's looks like half of its hair was frozen at an angle from its head in the shape of a painting brush, and the Gavin brothers' hair forms a G at the side while the lower part forms a drill. This trope also gets subverted in the case of Apollo's hairstyle: Apollo himself actually said that he used hair gel when Olga refused to testify due to being scared by his 'demonic horns'.
 * Apron Matron: Plum Kitaki
 * Arc Words: Any variation on "seven years ago". Apollo even lampshades how often it comes up.
 * Asshole Victim: Pal Meraktis from 4-2.
 * -- see Jerkass, below.
 * Back for the Finale:
 * Batman Gambit:.
 * Big Bad:.
 * Big Screwed-Up Family: The Gramarye family.
 * Blond Guys Are Evil:, period.
 * Klavier Gavin.
 * Born Lucky: Completely averted in 4-4:
 * Bottomless Magazines: Ema Skye also seems to have a bottomless bag of snacks. Humorously subverted at one point, when Apollo tries questioning her. An annoyed Ema threatens to bean him with more snacks, but he reminds her that she'd eventually run out. Ema concedes the point and answers his questions.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: During the introduction of the, Kristoph objects, wanting to keep the "riff-raff" out. After a pull back to behind the witness stand, everybody looks at the camera. Justified as Apollo says it's actually
 * Brick Joke: In the first case, any time you expose a contradiction in Olga Orly's testimony, the bowl she holds flies up in the air and she moves to catch each individual piece, including the lobster it contains. The last time you do this, they all fall to the ground. Later that case, you finally corner inescapably, and his freakout animation is so powerful it summons the bowl and lobster back upwards momentarily.
 * Character Tics: Actually a gameplay element, as Apollo has the ability to "Perceive" character tics that reveal when a witness is obfuscating the truth.
 * Chekhov's Boomerang: The object that finally proved who the real murderer was at the end of the second case was . This is suitably lampshaded:
 * The Chessmaster: Phoenix Wright, of all people. The increase in his competence and intelligence when free from the control of the player is staggering.
 * It's not necessarily an increase in competence, but gives him incredible insight into what actually happened. He just can't do anything about it, and has to pass it over to Apollo without simply giving him the answer.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Arguably Edgeworth and Pearl.
 * Maya also fits here for the same reason, though it does hint at her in the second case when Phoenix mentions that this "kid" he knows keeps sending him children's action hero shows.
 * Chunky Updraft: Part of the first Freak-Out sequence, but with a lobster instead of the usual chunks of rock.
 * Comically Missing the Point: When Spark Brushel uses his journalistic lingo to say a "Star falls", Trucy interprets it literally by pointing out that there's no gravity in space, and she finds it hard to believe that a star could fall. Apollo lampshades this by asking if that's really the point here.
 * Completely Unnecessary Translator:
 * Continuity Nod: Look closely at every scene. You'll see subtle references to old characters. In Case 2 you can see Wendy Oldbag trying to climb over the fence to get into the closed park. It's never said but it so something she would do. Also in Nick's hospital room you see a bunch of Steel Samurai DVDs sent to him by a 'kid' - almost certainly Maya.
 * In the cases where you can see the outside of the Sunshine Stadium, you can see Larry in the background. In one scene, he's on a picnic blanket with what appears to be another girlfriend. In another scene, he's in his "Laurice Deauxnim" attire. His sprite's very small, being in the background, but it's almost unmistakable.
 * Dandere: Vera Misham is very shy and quiet until.
 * Department of Redundancy Department: The "incuritis" article has a headline and sub-headline. They are identical.
 * Disproportionate Retribution:
 * The Don: "Big Wins" Kitaki --he even looks like Don Corleone.
 * Don't Explain the Joke: The "Oh really, Ms. Orly?" joke was milked for all its worth.
 * Eccentric Mentor: Phoenix Wright, of all people. His level upped competence after the Phoenix Trilogy Arc and the track of things he has is freaking astounding. The same could be said for his eccentric nature, however.
 * Expressive Hair:
 * Apollo Justice's hair sags if he's feeling annoyed or depressed.
 * 's hairdo does quite a spectacular number (specifically, OVER NINE THOOOOUUUUUUSAAAAAAAND! when ).
 * Daryan Crescend wears his hair in a long, torpedo-like (described in other ways among more dirty-minded fans) pompadour that bounces when he laughs, droops when he's nervous,, and.
 * Expy: Klavier is basically Dante if he took up law and rock music instead of demon hunting and was German. He even admits to the party getting crazy at one point.
 * Friendly Enemy: Klavier, who takes this to the point where he's almost more friend than enemy.
 * Full Motion Video: The first game in the series to have FMV cutscenes, due to not being ported from the Game Boy Advance. Also, there's an extended regular sprite, fully animated, of Klavier playing the air guitar for no logical reason.
 * Funny Background Event: The Guitar's Serenade has Klavier desperately trying to put out his burning guitar and seems to throw up his hands in despair before fading out.
 * Gambit Roulette: Subverted:.
 * Harsher in Hindsight: In-universe example during Turnabout Succession. May also crossover with Foreshadowing.
 * Hikikomori: Drew Misham and his daughter Vera.
 * Hot Mom:.
 * It Makes Sense in Context: A significant portion of the second case of the fourth game requires you to search for a 15-year old girl's panties.
 * Jerkass: Zak Gramarye Is A Jerk.
 * Jive Turkey: Wocky Kitaki.
 * Lamarck Was Right:.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: If you select "Refresher course, please!" when Kristoph Gavin asks if you want a refresher on cross-examinations, Justice will think "Better safe than sorry, especially this early in the game!"
 * Like Brother and Sister: Apollo and Trucy.
 * Lamarck Was Right:.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: If you select "Refresher course, please!" when Kristoph Gavin asks if you want a refresher on cross-examinations, Justice will think "Better safe than sorry, especially this early in the game!"
 * Like Brother and Sister: Apollo and Trucy.

"*Headset attached to Trucy.* Trucy: "Attached?" I'm not some kind of robot, Apollo!"
 * Living Lie Detector: Apollo.
 * Lost Him in a Card Game: This is apparently how.
 * However, it is somewhat odd that states this fact as though he'd needed an attorney multiple times beforehand...
 * Luke, I Am Your Father:.
 * Played for Laughs after Apollo  Ema asks if Drew is Apollo's father, which he immediately writes off.
 * Luxury Prison Suite: 's provides the page picture.
 * Made of Iron: !
 * Magic Realism: Apollo and Trucy have pretty much what could be described as a "mutant power".
 * Meanwhile in the Future: Part of the final case.
 * Medium Awareness: Happens in Case 3 when an item is added to the inventory, and Trucy notices the message being told to the player.
 * Medium Awareness: Happens in Case 3 when an item is added to the inventory, and Trucy notices the message being told to the player.

"Phoenix: Good job. But as a father, I have to wonder why you're still carrying around Trucy's panties in your pocket."
 * Motor Mouth: Wesley Stickler.
 * Never Suicide: Averted with.
 * Nonstandard Game Over: In case 4,.
 * Not as You Know Them: Phoenix Wright. And to a lesser extent, the much more bitter and grouchy Ema Skye, compared to the bright eyed schoolgirl in her first appearance. With her, though, it's just a case of being stuck in a job she hates... the bright eyed schoolgirl is still under there if you manage to get her talking about something she likes.
 * Not Proven: Apollo Justice has this, but it was close before.
 * Off with His Head:  frustrates Apollo so much that he wishes for his head on a stick.
 * Out-Gambitted: gets out-gambitted by.
 * Panty Thief: Apollo's not the thief, actually.


 * When the real panty thief is caught, he claims he did it For Science!
 * Repetitive Name: In Japanese, Wocky Kitaki and Alita Tiala were named Kitaki Takita and Minami Namina, respectively. Put the first and last names together, and you get Kitakitakita and Minaminamina. Incidentally, "Kita" is the Japanese word for 'north' and "Minami" is 'south'.
 * Rockers Smash Guitars: Discussed Trope.
 * She's All Grown Up: Ema returns in this game, but the events during the ten year gap between her appearances have given her a really bad attitude. She is very crabby about her job and Klavier Gavin unless you ask her about forensics stuff.
 * Ship Sinking: Before the game was released, many of the series' fans were shipping Apollo & Trucy. But considering the plot, that ship is unfortunately doomed, as they
 * Although this hasn't discouraged some fans from shipping the two regardless. Ew.
 * Shout-Out: In the case where you encounter Valant for the first time he goes to you before entering court for the last time. Apollo thinks to himself that Valant used the door like an average muggle.
 * Trucy tells Apollo that her magic cabinet (and panties) is bigger on the inside than the outside. Which reminds Apollo of a science-fiction show he used to watch.
 * Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Vera Misham.
 * "Silly Me" Gesture: One of Trucy Wright's trademark gestures.
 * Sink or Swim Mentor: Phoenix apparently decided to follow this approach when it comes to Apollo: he only offers real aid when things are truly hopeless, and even then it's usually just a vague piece of advice (though an extremely useful one).
 * Springtime for Hitler: tried to
 * The Tell: When a witness is nervous while testifying they'll perform some sort of habitual action that you have to zoom in on.
 * Took a Level in Badass: Phoenix himself, in the seven years between this game and Trials and Tribulations. He goes from "object first, then think" to an infuriating (could anyone be less helpful?!), manipulative (AJ case 1) near-genius who.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: Ema Skye, who went from being Maya 2.0 in case 1-5 to now randomly throwing Snackoos at your face. Failing an exam after years of study for can make someone a tad bitter. Word of God states it's because they needed another Gumshoe, and Maya 3.0 is already filled in by Trucy.
 * Timey-Wimey Ball:
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Ema Skye and her Snackoos.
 * You Keep Using That Word: There is a disease called "incuritis". It's not clear what part of the body is the "incur" or how it gets inflamed.
 * Even better, a newspaper describes it as being a syndrome. A syndrome is not a disease, but rather the group of symptoms indicative of a particular disease or disorder.
 * You Keep Using That Word: There is a disease called "incuritis". It's not clear what part of the body is the "incur" or how it gets inflamed.
 * Even better, a newspaper describes it as being a syndrome. A syndrome is not a disease, but rather the group of symptoms indicative of a particular disease or disorder.