The Music of Ace Attorney

Ace Attorney is a series almost entirely based on reading, as most visual novels are. Its main selling points are its fantastic cast of characters and brilliant stories and twists. Yet it can't be understated just how important the music is in a game such as this. I haven't played an Ace Attorney game since Spirit of Justice was released almost a year ago, yet I still listen to the series' soundtrack on an almost daily basis.

For a series about solving murders, you'd perhaps expect a subdued soundtrack with sombre tones; yet that's not the case at all. Ace Attorney's music is amazingly powerful; it does have darker sounding tracks for tense moments, but the main pieces, the ones you hear the most, are instead filled with hope. The objection and pursuit themes especially are perfect; they fit the mood perfectly and reflect the lawyer's unwavering eye - constantly searching for the truth despite all hardships. Of course, the soundtrack still has its fair share of sombre tracks for those moments when characters are reminiscing about tragic past events. All in all, it seems there's a perfect track for every moment.

Every piece of music manages to capture the mood expertly, from the court begins music to finding that contradiction and hearing Objection! 2001 blast from the speakers, and from Larry's familiar-yet-groan-inducing theme to hearing the allegro cross examination theme and knowing you've almost caught the criminal. The music might not be the main focus of Ace Attorney, but without it it would be almost unrecognisable.

Naturally, there are some weaker tracks and some that the majority love more than others, but I think it's safe to say Ace Attorney's music is spectacular. And plenty of people seem to agree with me; Japan seems to get new Ace Attorney music CDs on a regular basis. Some of them contain old tracks whilst others are re-imagined and occasionally orchestrated, each one a celebration of a series of memorable tunes and melodies, despite beginning its life on Game Boy Advance.

And the best part about the music in a series like this being so good is if a game doesn't get localised (I'm looking at you, Dai Gyakuten Saiban 1 + 2), at least we can still enjoy the music. When a new game gets announced, the music is one of the first things I think about. Will the new cross examination theme still fit? How good will Apollo's objection theme sound this time around? How amazing will it feel to have caught the criminal in the final case whilst the new pursuit theme is playing?

Every time, I'm blown away by just how good the music is, despite thinking that they'll never be able to top the previous game. I can't wait to hear how well the next game's music fits its characters and locations. I think the composers deserve more credit than they perhaps get and I hope they keep up the fantastic work in the future, because Ace Attorney wouldn't be Ace Attorney without its music.

To end with, I'm leaving a link to one of my favourite pieces of music in the series. It's not particularly powerful compared to some objection or pursuit themes, but it's one of my personal favourites and I think is perfect in its own right. I think it's a track a lot of people have come to appreciate over the two games it has appeared in, particularly after Spirit of Justice. TAKE THAT!