The story itself, however, is a somewhat different story. As is the standard, Apollo Justice consists of four cases; one of the cases is introductory, two are mostly unrelated to the main story with a couple tie-ins, and the final case arches over the entire game and wraps it up. As far as individual cases go, most of the game is about equal to the original Phoenix Wright games, and as far as the whole overarching structure of the game goes, Apollo Justice takes some great strides in the right direction. Unfortunately, the story for the entire game, taken as a whole, does not have the same impact as PW3, or maybe even the original PW depending on your tastes. This is expected of the first game of the Apollo Justice storyline, however, and if innovation like this continues into future games, I have every reason to expect fantastic things of future Ace Attorney games. Gyakuten Saiban 5 is confirmed to be in the works already, and the ending of Apollo Justice leaves it wide open for an epic sequel.

 That said, the core gameplay has still changed very little from the previous games; you’ll spend some time in an adventure game-style investigation gathering evidence and talking to people, then argue your case, find logical fallacies, and duke it out in court. Traditionally, the court sections of the Ace Attorney series are easily the strongest point, while the investigation is left lacking in interest. Capcom seems to have realized this for Apollo Justice, and they’ve used the DS’s capabilities to their advantage. While the investigation portion of the game is still mostly the same, they’ve spiced it up with some touch-screen-utilizing additions. As you investigate your cases, you’ll also use your stylus to analyze fingerprints, split a song into parts with a mixing board, or use an x-ray thingamajig to read inside letters; the mere presence of these elements makes the investigation portion much more tolerable. Additionally, later in the game it takes on a rather large twist, which players are sure to appreciate.

As far as the court gameplay goes, there is one major new addition, as well. The Psyche-Lock system from previous games has been done away with, in favor of a new "Perceive" system. Occasionally, during a witness’s testimony, you’ll get the opportunity to focus in on the witness and study them carefully as they testify, looking for subtle changes in their behavior that give away the truth they are hiding. Personally, I find this element far more entertaining than Psyche-Locks, which just feel like an extension of the court gameplay into the investigation portion; Perceiving is real innovation, and real fun.