1/10 to 10/10 – Ace Attorney Cases

I recently watched a video of a man naming animes from 1/10 through to 10/10 in quality, and I enjoyed the format so much that I decided to steal it for my blog.

I wouldn’t call myself an expert on many things, but Ace Attorney would be one of them. I love this series and it’s constantly on my mind – so much so that I’ve formed lots of opinions about it over the years.

So, as the format would suggest, I’ll name some Ace Attorney cases that I think are the definitive 1/10 (Terrible) all the way to the definitive 10/10 (Perfect). And for the added challenge, I limited myself to one case per game (there are ten games, not including the Professor Leighton crossover, so it seemed a match made in heaven). Let’s get to it!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Every Ace Attorney Culprit Ranked

Every Ace Attorney Defendant Ranked

EVERY Ace Attorney Case Ranked

Every Major Ace Attorney Character Ranked

1/10: Turnabout Big Top (Justice For All)

For me, the definitive 1/10 Ace Attorney case is easy … because it’s the only case I’d give the lowest score to.

“Turnabout Big Top” is a mistake of a case. It has an underwhelming murder plot, some of the worst characters in the series, a cape-bust trick that doesn’t make any sense … and even the MUSIC is bad. Do you know how hard it is to make a bad Ace Attorney soundtrack? Well, they somehow managed it.

The highlight is the twist outro that reveals Miles Edgeworth is returning for “Farewell, My Turnabout”. In other words, the best part about this case is when it ends.

2/10: The Monstrous Turnabout (Dual Destinies)

Again, I think there’s only one Ace Attorney case I’d give a 2/10 score to. That makes it the definitive 2/10 case by default.

“The Monstrous Turnabout” isn’t a trainwreck, but my god is it dull. The characters aren’t as terrible as in “Turnabout Big Top” but none of them are engaging in the slightest. The murder mystery with the wrestlers and the yokai doesn’t do it for me either.

There’s nothing about this case I like. But, on the whole, it’s not abysmal. It’s clearly an Ace Attorney case and at the very least it introduces us to Bobby Fulbright and Simon Blackquill.

3/10: The Kidnapped Turnabout (Investigations)

I think I defend “The Kidnapped Turnabout” more than most. A lot of fans would say it’s a 1/10 case, like “Turnabout Big Top”, but I don’t hate it that much. That being said, it’s still objectively bad.

It’s one of the worst Ace Attorney plots ever written for sure. Nobody was asking for the Blue Badgers to return, and the kidnapping fiasco is such a terrible murder mystery – it might be the worst motivation and culprit combo in the series.

There are some saving graces, however, as fleeting as they are. Miles and Kay have great chemistry straight off the bat, and the theme park / whimsical vibe is quite charming. And Shi-Long Lang is a badass right off the rip.

4/10: Turnabout Serenade (Apollo Justice)

It was only when replaying “Turnabout Serenade” for my recent Ace Attorney Deep Dive that I finally understood why so many fans dislike it.

This is a bad case. Its defendant is nonsensical (how could a small, supposedly blind boy fire a huge gun and move an enormous dead body?), the culprit is underwhelming, and they play that goddamn orange Klavier concert video so many goddamn times.

… But I like the music concert angle they go down – it’s something we hadn’t seen in Ace Attorney before. Call it my guilty pleasure murder mystery. “Apollo Justice” may have its flaws as a game, but the chemistry between him, Trucy and Klavier can lighten even the dullest of courtroom segments.

5/10: Turnabout Storyteller (Spirit Of Justice)

If there was ever a case that didn’t matter – a filler, passable case which fits the bill of 5/10 – it would be “Turnabout Storyteller”.

Simon Blackquill does all the heavy lifting in this one. It’s a case I don’t care about with side characters I don’t care about and a resolution I don’t care about. You can skip this case and miss absolutely nothing.

More so than most other cases in the series (excluding “Turnabout Big Top”), this is a case that didn’t need to exist. And I wish it didn’t.

6/10: The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro (The Great Ace Attorney)

When planning my “one per game” rule, I wasn’t sure where the first Great Ace Attorney game’s case would place. None of its cases are the definitive anything – they’re either forgettable or great with no in between.

One of its most prominent cases is sadly quite boring. “The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro” is the first real taste of an Investigation-Trial gameplay loop, but it’s a narrative I don’t love.

This might be a hot take, but Soseki is a really annoying defendant. And I know for a fact it’s NOT a hot take to call husband-abuser Joan Garrideb and her accidental knife-out-the-window stabbing one of the worst culprits in the series.

If it wasn’t for Sholmes’s amazing antics and this game’s natural charm, this would have been a bad case.

7/10: The Captive Turnabout (Investigations 2)

The best example of a classic “good” Ace Attorney case comes from “Investigations 2”, a game of exceedingly consistent quality. Its second case “The Captive Turnabout” is probably its worst, and yet it’s still completely serviceable and enjoyable.

Miles investigates the murder of the previous case’s culprit, and all the characters you befriend and interrogate along the way are really fun. Even the prison setting and the murder itself end up being surprisingly memorable.

I guess the problem with “The Captive Turnabout” is that is suffers from being the least consequential case in a game full of super-important plot developments.

8/10: Rise from the Ashes (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)

For me, an 8/10 case is one that is incredible aside from a few glaring errors. Nowhere is that exemplified more than “Rise from the Ashes”.

In terms of its highs, few cases are better than this. The final courtroom confrontation with Gant in particular is extremely cathartic and one of Ace Attorney’s finest hours. It takes a long time to get there and it ends up being worth it.

But my god does it take its sweet time getting to the good bit. This case is bum-numbingly long, and the three-day formula of the original game really hurts the pacing. On top of that, this case has one of the most infamous courtroom segments in the whole series with the evidence locker room video. I still shudder thinking about all the times I had to watch that …

9/10: The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo (The Great Ace Attorney 2)

I have so many fond memories of “The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo”. It closes the “Great Ace Attorney” duology in style, and many of its twists were mind-boggling. The Sholmes-Mikotoba investigation, the Professor reveal and Iris’s conversation about her father are three of the greatest Ace Attorney moments of all time.

I would comfortably give it a 10/10 … if it wasn’t for one little thing. I thought Sholmes coming in to save the day was a bit cheap. Not only is him being a hologram ridiculous, but it undermined Ryunosuke’s efforts in court. I’m never a fan of “deus ex machina” solutions in narratives, like when Mia kept saving the day in the original trilogy.

Basically, this is the ultimate 9/10 case – a story I adore with one aspect that I don’t.

10/10: Bridge to the Turnabout (Trials & Tribulations)

There are a few Ace Attorney cases I would call perfect. “Farewell, My Turnabout” is a flawless final case in “Justice For All”. “The Return of the Great Departed Soul” from “The Great Ace Attorney 2” is as good a non-finale case as we’re ever likely to get. But there was only ever going to be one definitive 10/10 case in my books.

We couldn’t have asked for a better finale to the original trilogy than “Bridge to the Turnabout”. It’s an incredible murder mystery filled to the brim with set-pieces, twists, fan-service and fist-pumping moments, and the culprit – and their cornering – is my favourite in the whole series.

There’s not a single wasted second or line here. Every character gets their moment in the spotlight, and I either had my jaw on the floor or my hands in the air every minute or so. “Bridge to the Turnabout” is one of my most cherished gaming memories, and it’ll always be my favourite Ace Attorney case.

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