Parents' Guide to

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

By David Chapman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Courtroom drama is more than a guilty pleasure.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (10):

Designed from the ground up for the Nintendo 3DS, this court drama boasts impressive audio quality and crisper graphics to draw you into the legal drama. You can now explore crime scenes in 3D, rotate and zoom in on pieces of evidence, lift fingerprints and boot prints, and use Apollo's special powers of perception in court to tell if a person is lying through body language. It's best to think of the Ace Attorney games as serialized novels, so if you haven't played the first three games, chances are you'll be rather lost among all the in-jokes and references to past characters and events. Even so, there's enough exposition in the game to help explain things while still providing a fresh start for newcomers to the franchise.

The game's updated 3DS release adds some new improvements to the classic experience. For starters, the visuals and audio have been remastered to stunning levels, making the game look and sound more polished than the series has ever been. Capcom also tweaked the controls a bit on the 3DS, with evidence examination feeling a bit more intuitive and detailed. It also includes the full Japanese release of the game, to which players can switch back and forth. This is more than just a change in dialogue, though, as minor tweaks were made to bring the adventure stateside due to cultural differences. Keen-eyed players and hardcore fans of the series will enjoy picking apart the two versions to find their unique differences. No matter which version you play, though, the final verdict leaves Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney even more polished, intriguing, and entertaining than any of its predecessors, and one of the best games in the franchise.

Game Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate