Ok, my last Gyakuten Saiban post confused a lot of people. “Why did GS4 come out on the DS before GS3?” “Has 4 been released?” etc. That is my fault. I am such a huge fan of the series I often forget that not everyone keeps up with it like I do. Thus, I would like to give you a short overview of the series, and then a delicious morsel of brand new information. Read on for more.

Gyakuten Saiban in Japanese can be translated as (Turnabout Trial), the original Gyakuten Saiban game was released on October 11, 2001 and was one of the early games for the new Game Boy Advance. It sold quite well but it was believed that the game would not be popular outside of Japan so it was never translated to English. However,it was popular enough to be given a sequel.

Almost exactly 1 year later on October 22, 2002 Gyakuten Saiban 2 was released for anxious GBA owners. It also sold quite well and received god reviews. Gamers would have to wait a bit longer for the next installment, but after a lot of anticipation, Gyakuten Saiban 3 was released on January 23, 2004. This was the final chapter released on the Game Boy Advance platform.

Several years passed without a GS title but Capcom was hard at work on a fourth game to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the Nintendo DS. Possibly as a test of the new gameplay and mostly as a way to milk the franchise, Capcom ported the first game to the DS. The graphics and sounds of the original trials were mostly unchanged but coltrol of the game could now be done with the touch-screen. Also a brand new chapter, exclusive to the DS, was included. This extra case made better use of the stylus controls and added some visual effects that could not have been done on the GBA.

It was also announced that for the first time, the series was being released outside of Japan. One of the coolest things for import gamers was the fact that the September 15th, 2005 Japanese release also contained a full English translation. When the game finally shipped to America, Capcom was very surprised by it’s sales. They were not anticipating the game to do that well and under shipped. The DS version went on to sell very well in the United States and later in other Western countries.

Because of this, it was no surprise that when Capcom did a quick n’ dirty port of GS2 to the DS, it would get English localization as well. GS2: DS was released in Japan on October 26, 2006. Again the Japanese version contained a full English translation. This version did not contain any new chapters or content that was not in the GBA version other than touch-screen controls. Thus, the title was released with a budget price in Japan. Since it was new to English speakers, the game was full-priced when it came to the US a few months later.

All this time, Capcom had been preparing for the release of the next chapter of the series, Gyakuten Saiban 4. This was a big departure from the GBA games. It had a brand new cast and made use of the features of the DS system. The Phoenix Wright character (Naruhodō Ryūichi in the Japanese version) is no longer the main character and a new protagonist by the name of Housuke Odoroki was revealed. This game came out April 12, 2007. It was promoted heavily and has been the best selling GS game to date.

Unfortunately for many non-Japanese speaking fans, there was no English option. This was understandable since the 3rd game hadn’t been localized yet. But it was still disappointing for many people. Another problem with the English release is that most Western gamers call it the “Phoenix Wright Series” and GS4 shouldn’t be called “Phoenix Wright 4” as that character has only a minor role in the new game. Since the release of the second game in the West, you will notice that Capcom has been using a bigger font for “Ace Attorney” as they are trying to get gamers to recognize that as the title of the series.

Now that GS4 has been released and selling so well, Capcom announced, unsurprisingly, that they have begun work on Gyakuten Saiban 5. They also plan to port GS3 to the DS. This port will be released in Japan on August 23, 2007. About 1 month before the American version. Again, this game will be bilingual.

Now here is the new news/rumor. Kotaku reports that Capcom has applied for a trademark on the name “Apollo Justice”. This might become the name of the main character in Ace Attorney 4. I am not sure when the English version will be released, but my guess is that Capcom will continue its pattern of one game a year. And assuming GS5 is finished within 2 years, we can expect that pattern to continue.

So there is my testimony. Any objections?

Apollo Justice, The New Ace Attorney? [Kotaku]