The series has grown by a considerable margin since its release to the DS.  Even Capcom employees on their official site have remarked on the unusual amount of word-of-mouth advertising that has spurred Ace Attorney to sell out in the USA again and again.  What started as a small adventure series is turning into a cult hit with a small, but steadily growing and very passionate fan base.

PW:AA is an adventure game where you play the part of Phoenix Wright, a novice defense attorney on his first case.  It consists of investigation and courtroom sections, in which you gather evidence, speak to witnesses, and then take your findings to court where you "battle" opposing council to get an acquittal for your client.  The fifth case takes advantage of the DS features by allowing you to view evidence and character profiles on the bottom screen, along with 3D evidence manipulation and voice recognition. 

Gameplay is focused almost entirely on investigation and reasoning, and it's lack of traditional "action" and huge amount of text is off-putting to some gamers.  It is often described and marketed as an "interactive novel".  The game's strengths are almost entirely in its story and characters, which are brilliantly done with in depth cases and colorful, stylized animations.   Those that have compared it to the Sega CD cult hit "Snatcher" are not far off.  Phoenix Wright is a charming and unique gaming experience and a must have for any fan of the genre.

The order of the games is as follows:

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Very recently it was announced that AA would be getting a spin off game where you play as a prosecutor from the first game, Miles Edgeworth.  Known as "Turnabout Prosecutor" in Japan (Gyakuten Kenji) it does not follow the same gameplay as the main Ace Attorney games, and is instead a point and click style adventure where you assist Detective Gumshoe in investigating crime scenes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Gyakuten Saiban games are there?
-There are 4 different games, 3 of which were ported from GBA to various systems and languages, one that's DS only, for a total of 17 different carts.  GS5 has been announced to be in development.

-A spin off game, Turnabout Prosecutor, is being developed in Japan.

Japanese Language:

-Gyakuten Saiban 1, 2, and 3, each released for the GBA, only in Japan.

-Gyakuten Saiban 1, 2, and 3, released for Japanese PCs (straight port).

-Gyakuten Saiban: Yomigaeru Gyakuten (aka "Turnabout Revival"), a remake of GS1 for the NDS, released in Japan with dual language support (Japanese and English).

-Gyakuten Saiban 2 remake, released for the NDS in Japan, with dual language support (Japanese and English).

-Gyakuten Saiban 3 remake, released for the NDS in Japan, with dual language support (Japanese and English).

-Gyakuten Saiban 4, released for the NDS in Japan, Japanese language only, April 12th, 2007.

-Gyakuten Saiban 5.  Nothing is known other than that there will be one.

-Gyakuten Kenji (Turnabout Prosecutor).  No release date given yet.

English Language:

-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the translation of Yomigaeru Gyakuten which was released for the NDS in the USA.  It only contains English.

-Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice For All, the English translation of Gyakuten Saiban 2 for the NDS released in the USA.

-Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, the English translation of Gyakuten Saiban 3 for the NDS, released in the USA October 23rd 2007.

-Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, the English translation of Gyakuten Saiban 4, released February 19th, 2008.

-Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney for Cell Phones, which you can play if you have Verizon.  Details at Capcom Mobile.

European:

-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (European), released for the NDS with English and French language.

-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (European 2), released for the NDS with German, Italian, and Spanish language.

-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All (European), released for the NDS with English, French, and German language.

-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All (European 2), released for the NDS with Italian and Spanish language.

-Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations (European), release date to be announced.

-Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (European).  Tentative release date of May 9th, 2008.

Is there any difference between Japanese and American  NDS games?
-Not that I know of.  The English games are faithful translations of their Japanese counterparts, with no added features or content.  The Japanese versions, however, contain a dual language function that lets you play the games in Japanese or English.  This does NOT apply for GS4.

What was remade from the GBA versions to the NDS ones?
-Phoenix Wright retells the first four cases of the original game, changing nothing of the story.  The only addition to the first four cases were the NDS features such as second screen evidence management, using the stylus to investigate rooms, and using the voice recognition command when calling objections.

-The fifth case of PW:AA is a new case added specifically for the remake, and did not exist in the original.  Though integrated (mostly) into the GS timeline, none of the new characters from case 5 appear anywhere else in the original trilogy.

Does Justice For All have any NDS exclusive content, such as an extra case or evidence manipulation?
-No, it does not.  Nor does T&T

Does GS4 have dual language?
-No, it is  Japanese only.

Where does the game take place?
-In the Japanese version, the game takes place in a city in Japan (possibly Tokyo?).  In the English version, the game takes place in Los Angeles, according to producer Matsukawa.

How can I play the other games now if I don't know Japanese?
-At the moment every Japanese Phoenix Wright game is also available in English.

How can I join the GS IRC channel?
-We have a semi-official irc channel for Phoenix Wright chat:

Server: DynastyNet (irc.dynastynet.net)
Channel: #gyakusai

And also: #gs4spoilers, for spoiler talk.

To get in you can either use mIRC, a free program for windows, trillian, or even this handy java chat:

http://www.croik.com/PW/applet/SimpleApplet.html

Phoenix Wright Reviews
Hear what other gamers had to say:

Gamespot's PW Review (8.8/10)
IGN's PW Review (7.8/10)
Gamespy's PW Review (4/5)
Chris Layton's review at Total Games
John Walker's review at Eurogamer (8/10)
Dan Dormer's review at Modojo (4/5)
La Adventura's review (Spanish) 91%

Gamespot's JFA Review (7.7/10)
IGN's JFA Review (7.8)
Gamespy's JFA Review (3.5/5)

Gamespot's T&T Review (7.5/10)
IGN's T&T Review (7.7/10)
Gamespy's T&T Review (4/5)

Gamespot's AJ Review (7.0/10)
IGN's AJ Review (8.3/10)
Gamespy's AJ Review (4/5)

If you have any questions or additional information concerning PW:AA or GS, contact the web master, Croik, at courtrecord @ gmail.com.