History VisualNovel / ApolloJusticeAceAttorney

After a turbulent début at court, Apollo ends up working at Phoenix's law office/talent agency alongside aspiring magician Trucy Wright, Phoenix's adopted daughter. To Apollo's mounting exasperation he is coerced into accepting a series of increasingly-bizarre cases, and finds a new courtroom rival in cunning prosecutor (and best-selling rock star) Klavier Gavin.

The fourth game of the ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' 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 [[FanNickname "Phoenix Arc"]] by series' fans.

After this game the series forked. Two DS games focusing on Miles Edgeworth (working outside of the courtroom) were produced, titled the ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' series (or ''Gyakuten Kenji'', "Turnabout Prosecutor", in Japan). You can see tropes related to those titles [[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth here]]. The main series will continue on the 3DS with the fifth game, entitled ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', which features both Phoenix and Apollo as the playable protagonists.

* TimeyWimeyBall: [[spoiler: The investigation as shown in the Mason System segment would be impossible unless Phoenix Wright could ''actually travel through time'', rather than this just being a convenience for the Jurists. He uses items and information he gained in the present in the past... and items and information from events that were later in the same time period in earlier events.]]

* LamarckWasRight: [[spoiler: Apollo and Trucy's Perceive ability]].

* IHaveManyNames: Trucy: her last name is Wright because Phoenix adopted her, but [[spoiler:her last name is also Gramarye, because her real father is Zak Gramarye. However, her last name is also Enigmar, because her father took on the alias of Shadi Enigmar.]]

* TheChessmaster: Phoenix Wright, of all people. The increase in his competence and intelligence when free from the control of the player is staggering.

** 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.

* ContinuityNod: In Nick's hospital room you see a bunch of Steel Samurai [=DVDs=] sent to him by a 'kid' - almost certainly Maya.

* [[spoiler: TheIshmael]]: [[spoiler: Apollo was just a pawn during the first trial so that Phoenix could put Kristoph behind bars. While the next two trials predominantly feature Apollo and his growth as a lawyer, the fourth trial actually puts the player into Phoenix's shoes for a good portion of the game. It also discusses Phoenix's attempts at bringing Kristoph to justice even during Apollo's POV.]]

After this game the series forked. Two games focusing on Miles Edgeworth (working outside of the courtroom) were produced, titled the ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' series (or ''Gyakuten Kenji'', "Turnabout Prosecutor", in Japan). You can see tropes related to those titles [[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth here]]. The main series will continue on with the fifth game, entitled ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', which features both Phoenix and Apollo as the playable protagonists.

After this game the series forked. Two games focusing on Miles Edgeworth (working outside of the courtroom) were produced, titled the ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' series (or ''Gyakuten Kenji'', "Turnabout Prosecutor", in Japan). You can see tropes related to those titles [[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth here]]. The main series will continue on with the fifth game, entitled ''VisualNovel/PhoneixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', which features both Phoenix and Apollo as the playable protagonists.

After this game the series forked. Two games focusing on Miles Edgeworth (working outside of the courtroom) were produced, titled the ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' series (or ''Gyakuten Kenji'', "Turnabout Prosecutor", in Japan). You can see tropes related to those titles [[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth here]]. The main series will continue on with the fifth game, entitled ''[[VisualNovel/PhoneixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies]]'', which features both Phoenix and Apollo as the playable protagonists.

*** Moreover, the MASON System itself (the interface by which the jurors participate in the trial) also skews favor towards the desired outcome by introducing facts and evidence that is presented only within the MASON System, meaning it was hand-chosen by the individual who designed it. The MASON System presents situations and information that aren't a part of the trial but still crucial towards coming to the verdict. Everything contained within it is true, yes, but it's unquestionably partial in nature.

*** Moreover, the MASON System itself (the interface by which the jurors participate in the trial) skews favor towards the desired outcome by introducing facts and evidence that is presented only within the MASON System itself, meaning it was hand-chosen by the individual who designed it. The MASON System presents situations and information that aren't a part of the trial but still crucial towards coming to the verdict. Everything contained within it is true, yes, but it's unquestionably partial in nature.

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: There is a disease called "incuritis". It's not clear what part of the body is the "incur" or how it gets inflamed.

** I believe it's supposed to be pronounced "in-cure-itis", as in it can't be cured.

* JerkAss: [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Zak Gramarye]] [[http://forums.court-records.net/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7846&sid=8f5d0a71354b125e1e8d685792ec150d Is A Jerk]].

** When Ema explains how to use the fingerprinting powder by dusting it on and blowing the rest away, she says: "It's like whistling. [[LaurenBacall You know how to whistle, don't you? Just put your lips together..."]]

** 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.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Case 4 as a whole. [[spoiler:Vera had put her special stamp into a frame to keep it as a souvenir of her favorite magician group. So despite Kristoph's intentions in sending her the stamp, his plan was basically put on hold by her inability to part with it. Fast forward seven years later, where not only has this stamp remained in its frame but Kristoph now sits in prison on a murder conviction. Then one day, Drew Misham has to contact Kristoph and can't find a stamp...so he takes Vera's special stamp, licks it, and winds up dead. By this random event that even Kristoph himself admits to being unable to plan, Phoenix Wright's plot to finally get back at Kristoph once and for all comes to fruition, despite the fact that he already manipulated one trial to put him in prison in the first place.]] The entire ''justice system'' had been rewritten in an effort to deliver just desserts and it all rested on an occurrence that began when Drew Misham forgot to buy a stamp. The critical trial that Phoenix had been played out for the past seven years winds up happening only because of something that no one could possibly have predicted.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Case 4 as a whole. [[spoiler:Vera had put her special stamp into a frame to keep it as a souvenir of her favorite magician group. So despite Kristoph's intentions in sending her the stamp, his plan was basically put on hold by her inability to part with it. Fast forward seven years later, where not only has this stamp remained in its frame but Kristoph now sits in prison on a murder conviction. Then one day, Drew Misham has to contact Kristoph and can't find a stamp...so he takes Vera's special stamp, licks it, and winds up dead. By this random event that even Kristoph himself admits to being unable to plan, Phoenix Wright's plot to finally get back at Kristoph once and for all comes to fruition, despite the fact that he already manipulated one trial to put him in prison in the first place.]] The entire ''justice system'' had been rewritten in an effort to deliver just desserts and it all rested on an occurrence that began when Drew Misham forgot to buy a stamp.

* DramaticIrony: Phoenix [[spoiler:must screw up the flashback segment of case 4]]. He's actually got a pretty clear grip on things but then [[spoiler:the diary shows up and it all goes to pieces. You're even thrust into a StupidityIsTheOnlyOption situation to ensure this happens because Klavier says you're not able to reuse the diary to help your case despite the fact there ''is'' something you could say about it without having to resort to "that" piece of evidence.]]