After a long hiatus, Phoenix Wright is finally making his grand return to the courtroom.
The latest issue of Famitsu has revealed that Gyakuten Saiban 5, a.k.a. Ace Attorney 5, will finally be released on the Nintendo 3DS on July 25th. Ace Attorney 5 is the first game in the “main” Ace Attorney series since 2007, and features the return of Phoenix Wright as the game’s central protagonist. Ace Attorney’s 4 unloved and underrated hero, Apollo Justice, returns as a playable character as well, and the two veteran defense attorneys are also joined by a third, female lawyer, who hasn’t received a localized English name yet.
The game’s antagonist is a prosecutor who has actually been convicted of murder: he’s been let out of prison temporarily in order to battle Phoenix in the courtroom. Does it make sense? Not really. Does he sound like an awesome character? Yes.
Capcom has also announced a special bonus for early adopters of the game: anyone who purchases the game before August 15th will get exclusive access to free DLC that dresses up Phoenix, Apollo, and the new lawyer up in alternate costumes.
Capcom has yet to announce a Western release date for Ace Attorney 5, but the company did confirm several months ago that the game will be localized and released in America and Europe at some point. Meanwhile, the fate of Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney remains uncertain: the crossover title, which was co-developed with the Prof. Layton/Ni No Kuni developers Level 5, has yet to be confirmed for a Western release, despite numerous petitions from fans. Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney was released in Japan last November.
While it seems like Level 5’s crossover is stuck in limbo, Phoenix Wright fans can at least be happy that we’re getting Ace Attorney 5 soon, hopefully before the end of the year.