The Ace Attorney series switched to 3D graphics after Professor Layton helped to convince its developers

The developer of the Ace Attorney series decided to switch the visual novel’s graphics to 3D after it was influenced by the success of the Professor Layton crossover game. 

In the latest issue of Play Magazine (Issue 36), Kenichi Hashimoto, producer of the upcoming Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy, discussed the series’ pivot to 3D graphics after several years of staying with the widely recognized 2D visuals. Despite a blog post from 2007 suggesting that the team behind the game experimented with 3D graphics almost 20 years ago, the producer remembers the history differently. 

Talking about the original Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney’s development, Hashimoto recalls: “We had no plans to shift to 3D with Apollo Justice,” that is until the release of the crossover title Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney back in 2012. “During the development of the fifth game, Dual Destinies, we saw how successful the 3D visuals were in Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney,” the developer continues. 

“Combined with the capabilities of the ten-current Nintendo 3DS hardware, we felt that we couldn’t ignore the 3D possibilities,” Hashimoto adds. “So we tried out a visual style of 3D models which looked like 2D art, and it turned out even better than we expected.” If you’re a little behind on your Ace Attorney/Professor Layton knowledge, the first Ace Attorney game with 3D visuals wouldn’t come around until 2013’s Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies.

As for Layton, like Ace Attorney, the 3D graphics started after the crossover title. Following this, Professor Layton’s developer, Level-5, opted to use 3D animation on all of the Nintendo 3DS games. Now, seven years after the last edition in the series, we’re getting a brand-new 3D Layton and Luke adventure called Professor Layton and the New World of Steam for Nintendo Switch – which is set to release sometime in 2025. 

The new Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy is set to release on January 25, 2024, and will be available on Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. 

While we wait for both Ace Attorney and Professor Layton, find out what else you could be playing with our best visual novels list. 

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