Interview: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy Producer Discusses Its Localization

With the release of the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy on the horizon, fans will be able to revisit beloved cases and newcomers will have the chance to experience these adventures for the first time. To learn more about the bonus features that will be included with the trilogy and get a better look at the prospects of the future of the Ace Attorney series, Siliconera spoke with Producer Kenichi Hashimoto.

Lauren Palmer: When did the development of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy begin? How did the releases of the past collections affect it?

Kenichi Hashimoto: Development began in 2021. Since Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy brings the last of the series’ mainline games to modern consoles, we took steps to ensure the collection’s offerings — including playability, visual fidelity, and content volume — were on par with previous Ace Attorney collections.

Can you talk about one or two specific steps the development team took during development to appeal to both newcomers and longtime fans?

Hashimoto: The development team aimed to create a valuable gameplay experience for anyone who picks up Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy. For newcomers, we added certain features to enhance playability, including the freedom to select specific chapters within an episode and a “backlog” system for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Meanwhile, for veteran players and longtime fans, we strived to maintain a similar gameplay feel to their first time playing through the original games.

These games will be playable in other languages. Which languages received all-new voice dubs and how did the recording sessions for them go?

Hashimoto: New voice dubs were recorded in French, German, Korean, and Chinese. Prior to recording, we held discussions with native speakers of each language to determine what type of voice suited each character. Based on these discussions, we then selected voice actors and proceeded with recording.

There are new chibi character illustrations drawn for the Orchestra Hall. How were the instruments played by Athena, Phoenix, Apollo, and Trucy and their designs chosen?

Hashimoto: We selected instruments for each character based on their personality, hobbies, and respective stories in the series.

Can you talk about how you determined which bonuses to include in the collection and how you feel they affect the collection?

Hashimoto: When deciding upon additional features for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, we wanted to make sure both longtime series fans and first-time players would be able to enjoy them. With these inclusions, we hope players feel that this collection is the fulfilling way to experience this trilogy of games.

Which artists were commissioned for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy and how did the process for the pieces of character artwork?

Hashimoto: The game’s main visual was created by Takuro Fuse, the Art Director for Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. I asked him to create a piece that focused on the trilogy’s protagonists with rival prosecutors and other beloved characters from all three games as part of the larger design. Fuse-san’s final piece ended up far exceeding my original vision in terms of scale, and I think it looks fantastic.

What will the sharing process look like for the new Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy Animation Studio feature?

Hashimoto: There will not be any functionality implemented into the game system for players to share their creations with others.

With so many Ace Attorney collections out now and games released, how would you feel about an Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth collection that includes localization of the second game?

Hashimoto: The development team is aware that fans are hoping for this. Unfortunately, we have no announcements at this time.

What would you like to see happen with the future of the Ace Attorney series and its characters?

Hashimoto: Each of the characters in the Ace Attorney series are charming, unique, and loved by many fans around the world. I, too, would love to see a future for the series where these beloved characters continue to flourish.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy will be released on January 25, 2024 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PCs via Steam.