Series guide

All Ace Attorney games in order

Ace Attorney is Capcom’s courtroom series — Phoenix Wright, the “Objection!”, and cases that turn on one contradiction. Its release history is a tangle: three games started on the Game Boy Advance in Japan, two never got a Western cartridge, and two were not translated for years. Below are all ten games in release order, the four collections that repackage them, the play order, and buying notes — the DS cartridges are the copies we stock and test.

The short answer

Play in release order: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2005) → Justice for All → Trials and Tribulations → Apollo Justice (2008) → Investigations (2010) → Investigations 2 (2011, English since 2024) → Dual Destinies (2013) → Spirit of Justice (2016). The Great Ace Attorney (2015/2017, English since 2021) is a prequel you can play any time.

Every Ace Attorney game in order

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney · 2005 · Nintendo DS — the first case files, with the DS-only fifth episode; Japan had it on GBA in 2001
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Justice for All · 2007 · Nintendo DS — the second trilogy game, with Psyche-Locks
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations · 2007 · Nintendo DS — the end of the trilogy — Europe got it in October 2008
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney · 2008 · Nintendo DS — a new lead, seven years later in the story
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth · 2010 · Nintendo DS — the prosecutor’s spin-off — investigate, don’t litigate
Ace Attorney Investigations 2 · 2011 · Nintendo DS (Japan only) — reached the West only in 2024, as Prosecutor’s Gambit in the Investigations Collection
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Dual Destinies · 2013 · Nintendo 3DS — download-only in Europe and America — no Western cartridge exists
The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures · 2015 · Nintendo 3DS (Japan only) — the Meiji-era prequel; in English since 2021 in Chronicles
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Spirit of Justice · 2016 · Nintendo 3DS — the sixth mainline game, again download-only in the West
The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve · 2017 · Nintendo 3DS (Japan only) — the second half of the prequel; in English since 2021

The collections

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy · 2014 — the first three games — 3DS download in 2014, then Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2019
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles · 2021 — both Great Ace Attorney games in English for the first time — Switch, PS4 and PC
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy · 2024 — Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice in HD — Switch, PS4, Xbox and PC
Ace Attorney Investigations Collection · 2024 — both Investigations games, the second finally translated — Switch, PS4, Xbox and PC

Do you have to play them in order?

Yes, more than in most series. The trilogy builds one story across three games, Apollo Justice picks it up seven years later, and Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice assume you know both leads. The Investigations pair runs alongside the trilogy and Apollo Justice with Edgeworth as the lead; The Great Ace Attorney is set a century earlier with Phoenix’s ancestor and stands alone. If you only want one detour, make it Investigations 2.

Which Ace Attorney should you buy now?

The start, on a cartridge: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS) — plays on every DS, 2DS and 3DS.
The whole trilogy on a Switch: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy.
The games that never got a Western cartridge: the Apollo Justice Trilogy and the Investigations Collection.
For Layton fans: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright (3DS) — puzzles and trials in one cartridge.

Buying Ace Attorney second-hand

The five DS games are the cartridges to collect

Phoenix Wright 1–3, Apollo Justice and Investigations all exist as European DS cartridges, and the DS is region-free — an American copy plays on a European DS, DS Lite, DSi, 2DS or 3DS. These are the copies we stock and test.

Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice never came on a Western cartridge

Both 3DS games were download-only outside Japan, and the 3DS eShop closed in March 2023. The way to play them now is the Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy on Switch or PlayStation — which also plays on Switch 2.

Investigations 2 and the Great Ace Attorney games were Japan-only until the collections

Do not hunt for English cartridges of these: they do not exist. The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (2021) and the Investigations Collection (2024) are the first and only English releases.

The Layton crossover is a 3DS cartridge — region-locked

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (3DS, Europe 2014) is a physical European release and the only Ace Attorney with a Nintendo-made co-star. A European 3DS needs the European cartridge; our listings state the region.

Every copy tested before it is listed

Booting, gameplay, saving, label condition — checked on real hardware. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.

Browse tested Nintendo games

Questions we get asked

In what order should I play the Ace Attorney games?

Release order is the play order: Phoenix Wright 1, 2 and 3, then Apollo Justice, then Investigations 1 and 2, then Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. The Great Ace Attorney games are a prequel set in the 1890s and can be played at any point.

How many Ace Attorney games are there?

Ten: six mainline games (the Phoenix Wright trilogy, Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies, Spirit of Justice), two Investigations games and two Great Ace Attorney games — plus the Professor Layton crossover. The four collections repackage them.

Which Ace Attorney games are on the Nintendo DS?

Five: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Justice for All, Trials and Tribulations, Apollo Justice and Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Investigations 2 was released on DS in Japan only.

Is Ace Attorney Investigations part of the main story?

It runs alongside it. Both Investigations games star prosecutor Miles Edgeworth between the trilogy and Dual Destinies; they are optional, but the second is one of the best-regarded games in the series.

Which Ace Attorney should I start with?

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — on a DS cartridge, or in the Trilogy on Switch. It introduces the courtroom mechanics one at a time and the series builds on it from there.

Do you ship outside the Netherlands?

We ship to all 27 EU countries with track & trace. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU, and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.

Years given are the first release outside Japan; the Japanese originals came earlier. Onze Nintendo DS-collectie in het Nederlands.