Ace Attorney Trilogy HD Mobile Getting Replaced (in Japan)

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Good. Or, may I be so bold as to say... TAKE THAT!?

I have a really long history on earlier-days KoopaTV of ranting about mobile trash and the release of Ace Attorney ports on mobile ecosystems like Apple and Google's Android.

But Ace Attorney Trilogy HD on mobile predates KoopaTV's existence, so I don't think I've gone into any level of detail into it. Now's my chance, since today CAPCOM has put out a notice (only in Japan) that it's going to be taken down this June, on the 9th. (I suspect the only reason anyone noticed is because it was mentioned on the Gyakuten Saiban social media.) There is no equivalent notice outside of Japan... so it's unclear if this impacts anyone outside of Japan. Some media outlets are outright implying this is worldwide with no evidence. My friend Samantha Lienhard has an assumption that it'll happen globally.

I'm quite sure this is coincidental to the pending removal of several Ace Attorney games from the Nintendo eShop happening a year from now.

Anyway, the important part to me is the bit where they say that sometime in the summer of 2022 they will port Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy 2019 to mobile devices. Suckers who have the current version won't be able to get the new version for free and there won't be any links or connections or data transfers from the old to the new. This is good because the current mobile title is riddled with bugs (and never even came out on Android in English). Here are some examples of what the reviews say:

“The games are AMAZING, but play a different version of the trilogy.”
“Better off playing the 3 games elsewhere”

They report lots of bugs, such as disappearing sound effects and music. Some of the evidence is even ported wrong. It's not pretty.

If you (...as a Japanese person?) happen to have the old versions after distribution ends, you'll still be able to play them, as well as re-download them after they're gone. Just like when the 3DS closes next year. That said, keep in mind the mobile monetisation model is that the three Ace Attorney games in the Trilogy are able to be sold separately, so if you never got Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All, for example, you'll never be able to on the crappy mobile version that currently exists.

Of course, if you're a serious Ace Attorney fan, you should hopefully already own the Ace Attorney Trilogy by respectable means, such as on the DS, the 3DS, or the Switch. (Or WiiWare...? Or Steam.) ...Perhaps in MORE THAN ONE WAY. You could've gotten it on sale as ridiculously low prices as recently as yesterday. That was even more discounted than the deflated pricing scheme prevalent on the mobile trash ecosystem. Even on the Switch!


If there is a similar announcement outside of Japan, KoopaTV might bring it to you as a comment on this article or as its own article, depending on if it's a slow news day or not. There is some universe out there where these mobile games were good at introducing new people to the franchise (since the first two episodes were free) and so they served a useful purpose. Maybe CAPCOM should consider bringing back demos of the Ace Attorney games like they had on the 3DS.


A week later comes the outside-of-Japan announcement. The replacement is coming to Android too.
The summer replacement was June 10, 2022.