Ace Attorney 4 Apollo Justice
The Ace Attorney series has always walked a fine line between charming whimsy and vexing wackiness and absurdity, and Apollo Justice doesn’t always toe this line with delicacy. The characters are wonderfully expressive with their varied poses and animations that bring them to life, but their wacky personalities can swing from comically entertaining to just plain irritating depending on the moment. (I’ve played all the Ace Attorney games, so I can say with confidence it’s a trademark of the series.)
The cases themselves are usually somewhat engaging, requiring you to piece together logical arguments over time; there’s some satisfaction in connecting the dots and building a compelling case, even if the games are a bit too easy (and become easier with every new instalment). However, the game sometimes undermines its own strengths with really frustrating design choices. The text crawls at a painfully slow pace with no option to adjust it, and the point-and-click examination mechanics become repetitive after a while (though I appreciate some people enjoy this).
Most aggravating is when the game halts your progress over tiny, inconsequential details you forgot to examine: petty items that don’t add much to the case but somehow block story advancement. The hand-holding can also feel excessive for players who’ve mastered the series’ mechanics. (Please, game developers, stop making games easier and easier.)
Apollo Justice himself proves to be an inconsistent protagonist, and the supporting cast occasionally ventures too far into whimsical territory for their own good. When the game hits its stride, it delivers compelling legal drama and shenanigans; when it doesn’t, you’re left wondering why you’re stuck examining every pixel of a room for no good reason.