Every case in the Ace Attorney Trilogy ranked from worst to best

The original three Ace Attorney games have some of the best cases in the series, so we've ranked all of them

Ace Attorney Trilogy / Capcom

If you’ve only ever played one Ace Attorney game in your life, chances are it was one of the games from the original trilogy. The fanbase can rage with debate all day and night about what other games in the series are great, but you’ll find most people agree that these first three games showcase the very best of what it has to offer.

While it’s true that they have far and away some of the best cases the series has ever seen, they’re far from perfect, and each game has at least one case that most people would rather skip when they replay them. We’ve sorted through each one to rank every case in the Ace Attorney Trilogy from worst to best. There will be spoilers for every case, as you probably expected.

AA2: JFA Case 3 – Turnabout Big Top

Turnabout Big Top / Capcom

This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s played it, as it is frequently derided as the lowest point of the trilogy. As we’ll discuss more as we go on, the third case in each game can suffer from being largely irrelevant to the overall plot of these games, and Big Top is the worst offender in that category. If this case were removed from the game, it would make no difference to the plot whatsoever.

Even if that wasn’t the case though, this would still be an awful story. All of the characters are annoying and unlikable – whether they’re supposed to be or not – and it makes for some utterly insufferable investigation sequences and painful trials with some of the most nonsensical logic jumps in the whole series. Plus, that’s not even mentioning the uncomfortable nature of the central romance.

AA2: JFA Case 1 – The Lost Turnabout

The Lost Turnabout / Capcom

Tutorial cases are never especially interesting. By their very nature, they keep things very simple to introduce you to the flow of the gameplay, not even having any investigation sections. It means that even though there’s rarely anything wrong with them, they fail to stand out among the many, much better cases the series offers.

AA2’s first case is definitely the worst of the trilogy though, using a lazy amnesia plot to temporarily reset Phoenix back to zero so people can explain to him – and thus the player – what to do. Aside from that, there’s nothing especially bad about the story, it just isn’t memorable.

AA1: PW Case 3 – Turnabout Samurai

Turnabout Samurai / Capcom

Returning to third cases, Turnabout Samurai is simply too long. This story does have some decent moments, and I like the way it twists from a celebrity drama into something more serious, but dragging it out to a third day was the wrong decision. It leaves the whole thing feeling bloated to the point where even the good moments don’t shine as brightly as they could’ve in a much tighter narrative. The characters aren’t as enjoyable either, Will Powers is a bit bland, and while Wendy Oldbag is funny in small doses, she gets too much screen time here.

AA1: PW Case 1 – The First Turnabout

The First Turnabout / Capcom

You might be starting to notice a pattern in this list, and that’s not going to stop as we carry on. All of these games were deliberately designed with similar structures, and as such have very similar peaks and troughs in quality. The First Turnabout gets a little extra credit than JFA’s first case though as it introduced the world to the entire concept of Ace Attorney for the first time, and it’s a much more memorable case as a result.

It’s not a challenging puzzle to solve, but Frank Sahwit is a good first villain, very obviously being a manipulative jerk that you get to slowly pick apart until he breaks. It’s a very pure distillation of the formula, and it works because of that. Still, it’s only a simple tutorial case, so I can’t give it too much credit.

AA3: T&T Case 3 – Recipe for Turnabout

Recipe for Turnabout / Capcom

The final third case of the trilogy and while it is the best, it’s still not that amazing. There are some elements of this that really push the boundaries of believability, even in this universe – notably how Don Tigre is somehow a master of disguise despite being the most easily recognizable person I’ve ever seen.

I do enjoy the central mystery though, it twists a couple of times in ways that I didn’t see coming but also don’t seem ridiculous, and by the third game in the series, the team knows just how to pace a courtroom scene to keep it engaging. You just have to deal with some of the series’ worst habits here and there, along with having the one character that everyone in the story makes transphobic jokes about.

AA1: PW Case 5 – Rise from the Ashes

Rise from the Ashes / Capcom

This is a unique case in two ways. One, it doesn’t have the word “turnabout” in the title, and two, it wasn’t originally part of the first Ace Attorney game. Instead, it was added when that game was ported to the Nintendo DS and makes use of the more advanced technology compared to the GBA version.

The result is a case that is pretty good but feels entirely disconnected from the rest of the trilogy. In fact, given that it has Ema Skye, it feels more like an Apollo Justice case than anything else. Damon Gant is a really good villain though, and taking him down feels like a huge deal in a mystery that keeps developing in unexpected directions. That said, it suffers from the final segment being unnecessarily dragged out. You have to “beat” Gant about 3 times before he actually accepts defeat, which I find to be one of the series’ most irritating tropes.

AA3: T&T Case 1 – Turnabout Memories

Turnabout Memories / Capcom

This is a tutorial case that has most of the same problems as all of the others, but by the third game in the series, the team is pushing the boat out a bit. By playing as Mia and defending Phoenix in the past we get to see right out of the gate just how strong Trials & Tribulations’ plotting is.

In a pretty short case, we get to know a lot about Dahlia, her relationship with Phoenix, her grudge against Mia, and plenty of foreshadowing as to how these threads will pull together in the finale. It’s no more complex than any other opening case, but the story is so much stronger that it stands tall in comparison.

AA1: PW Case 2 – Turnabout Sisters

Turnabout Sisters / Capcom

I don’t know about you, but I was really shocked when Mia died in the second case of this game. When you’re not yet familiar with the series, the idea that this seemingly very important character is axed almost immediately came as a big surprise. It makes for an intense-feeling case too. Even though you haven’t had a lot of time to get to know her, the way she guides Phoenix through his first case makes her feel like a strong authority in this world which is suddenly ripped away.

For the most part, this case is pretty good, forcing Phoenix to really think on his feet alone for the first time as he navigates the constant attempts by Edgeworth and his clients to obscure the truth. Plus, it establishes Maya as our fun sidekick in a surprisingly cheery fashion given her sister just died. The ending is a little lackluster given that Mia quite literally swoops in and saves the day for Phoenix, but given how that thread would develop over the trilogy, it’s arguably a necessary evil.

AA3: T&T Case 4 – Turnabout Beginnings

Turnabout Beginnings / Capcom

This is another fairly short case where we play as Mia, but it’s the perfect ramp-up to the finale that comes right after. We get the tease of Phoenix sitting in a hospital bed, the mystery as to why he’s looking up this case, and it leaves us with so many questions about how Dahlia’s schemes will come to fruition.

On top of that, we get a look at a younger and more arrogant Edgeworth, which feeds into his story all the more, while we learn more about Dahlia’s past and how Mia has been a constant thorn in her side. The courtroom scenes are very good throughout this case too, offering engaging puzzles with reasonable solutions that feel fun to solve, something Trials & Tribulations does very well on the whole.

AA3: T&T Case 2 – The Stolen Turnabout

The Stolen Turnabout / Capcom

We’ve talked a lot about how, in Ace Attorney games, cases in certain positions always fulfill the same roles. First cases are usually tutorials, third cases are usually unrelated to the main story, and so on. Second cases come off much more favorably than the other archetypes, as they tend to be extremely meaty cases that have great relevance to the overall story.

Turnabout Sisters kills off Mia and introduces us to Maya, JFA’s second case (which we’ll get to in a minute) greatly develops the inner struggles of the Fey clan, and The Stolen Turnabout brings the Fey legacy back to the forefront while introducing us to Godot as our main antagonist.

Even putting all that to the side though, this is an excellently-written case with a compelling mystery at its center and a client who simply won’t stop confessing to the crime we’re supposed to be getting him off the hook for. The twists this takes along the way are simply brilliant, having us fall into a perfect trap by the end of day one, making the pressure immense from the very start of day 2.

AA2: JFA Case 2 – Reunion, and Turnabout

Reunion, and Turnabout / Capcom

Justice For All’s second case manages to top the trio bringing us a brilliant story that strikes on two fronts. First is how it introduces us to the inner struggles of the Fey clan. While still just a kid Maya is thrown into a world that is out to get her, with Morgan Fey desperately trying to take power for herself. Pearls is the perfect character to bring into this conflict, as she’s just a simple child who isn’t even aware of all the plotting happening around her, yet we have to watch the tragedy unfold as she gets caught up in it and her world torn apart.

On the second front, the mystery between the Mini twins is great too, and the writing is so well-paced to mix this unfolding mystery with all of the unanswered questions surrounding the Fey clan. It’s just classic Ace Attorney stuff really, we have someone who we know is guilty and have to methodically wipe away all doubt to prove it in courtroom scenes that perfectly build in tension and intensity.

AA1: PW Case 4 – Turnabout Goodbyes

Turnabout Goodbyes / Capcom

After discussing all of these archetypes, we now come to the last one, the finale cases. As you may have guessed by the fact that this is the first one we’re discussing, all of them are excellent, and most certainly the best case in each game (Rise from the Ashes doesn’t count).

After doing battle with him for two cases, it’s a shock to realize that Edgeworth is the man you’ll be defending this time, and I have no doubt that it’s how his story unfolds in this case that solidifies him as the most beloved character in the series.

The way this story twists and turns is extremely satisfying. Von Karma immediately strikes you as a far more intimidating opponent than Edgeworth and it makes it all the more satisfying when you eventually get the dots and realize who the true culprit is. DL-6 is the inciting incident for pretty much everything that happens in the entire trilogy, so having us solve it at the end of the first game sets all of the threads up nicely for the sequels to pull on.

AA2: JFA Case 4 – Farewell, my Turnabout

Farewell, My Turnabout / Capcom

After two games where you’re forced to face evil prosecutors who deliberately obfuscate the truth, forge evidence, and generally try to cheat their way to victory, this case pulls the genius move of forcing you to do exactly that.

Matt Engarde is a fantastic character. When you first meet him he seems like any other defendant, but the more you talk to him the more obvious it becomes that he is hiding something huge, which is the fact that he is actually super-duper guilty. This case twists around as you at first defend him for legitimate reasons, but once he reveals his ruse on day two, everything changes.

By using Maya’s life as leverage you’re now forced to resort to all the same scummy tactics you’ve been fighting against across both games, and even some of Phoenix’s usual tactics like bluffing until a thread emerges seem quite underhanded when put through this lens. The resolution is incredibly satisfying too, Phoenix gets a little help as always, but ultimately he comes through to both save Maya and make Engarde confess his guilt in one move. 

When people say Phoenix is too much of a hapless goof, I wonder if they were paying attention during this case.

AA3: T&T Case 5 – Bridge to the Turnabout

Bridge to the Turnabout / Capcom

This case is the climax to the entire trilogy and it’s about as close to perfect as any case in this series has ever gotten. The stakes of the Fey clan make it feel like a huge event of a case, and all of the various players from the series come back to play a role in this finale. 

Thanks to earlier cases we already know Dahlia very well, which makes us instinctively distrust Iris despite the fact we have the defend her, but it’s clear there’s something more at play in Phoenix’s mind. What’s more, is that we don’t get Phoenix’s thoughts for the first day of the trial because instead, we get to play as Edgeworth – which was no doubt a dream of everyone playing the series for the first time.

It makes for a perfectly-paced mystery with each revelation dramatically altering your view of the case. The final courtroom sequence is easily the most hype in the entire franchise, not only defeating Dahlia so hard you literally banish her spirit to eternal damnation but topping things off with the final argument against Godot, allowing Phoenix to truly become the epic lawyer the series treats him as, capping off his arch by being able to solve the mystery and save the day without Mia basically handing him the answer.

It gets the most emotion out of every character, and had it been the final game ever in the series, it would’ve been the most spectacular finish possible.