Capcom's ever-popular Ace Attorney series is no stranger to bombastic characters and over-the-top plot twists in its anime-esque courtroom drama. From discovering Miles Edgeworth's mentor killed his father to discovering the ghostly Dahlia Hawthorne's long-running revenge plan against the late Mia Fey, Ace Attorney is always looking to top the previous plot twist with an even zanier one. Fans have found that the soap opera-level reveals continue past the adventures of long-running protagonist Phoenix Wright into the equally wacky journeys of his protege, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, taking place seven years after the original trilogy.
Apollo's debut game has the ongoing mystery of both his heritage and Trucy's parentage. The game intermittently foreshadows the meaning behind Apollo's bracelet as well as cases related to Trucy's origins and how she came to be adopted by Phoenix. It wouldn't be until close to the last case that Trucy would be revealed to be the daughter of Thalassa Gramarye of the Gramarye troupe of magicians. However, the twist comes in that not only had an amnesiac Thalassa taken the identity of a previous client, the blind Borginian singer Lamiroir, but Thalassa's bracelet matching Apollo's reveals Apollo to be her son, making Apollo and Trucy long-lost half-siblings.
The game ends in dramatic irony, with the audience knowing of Apollo and Trucy's blood relationship to each other and Thalassa Gramarye, but Apollo and Trucy are kept in the dark, completely unaware. Phoenix had been aware of the truth from the very beginning, with Lamiroir eventually gaining her eyesight and memories as Thalassa back, then contacting Phoenix about her children. Phoenix asks Thalassa if she would finally reveal herself to her children, only for Thalassa to remark that she'll only return and reveal the truth at the right moment -- a moment that, in the 15 years since Apollo Justice's release on the Nintendo DS, has never arrived.
Apollo Justice was meant to be a new beginning for the series with Apollo as Phoenix's successor and protagonist for future games in the series, but the game's mixed reception and underwhelming sales led Capcom to halt physical releases of the Ace Attorney games and focus efforts on Phoenix's name with digital re-releases of the Phoenix Wright trilogy. The next two mainline entries would star Phoenix as the protagonist once again, with a new cast of supporting characters that take focus away from Apollo, alongside the lingering plot thread regarding his biological connections to Trucy and their mother.
The games Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice gloss over the events of Apollo Justice somewhat egregiously, with Apollo infamously given "too many backstories" that mount on top of his established relationship with Trucy and Thalassa. The absurdity of Apollo receiving more elements to his backstory (with extensive supporting characters like his friend Clay Terran and his father Jove Justice) becomes even more annoying with the continued lack of closure to Thalassa's story, especially as he and Trucy act more and more like the half-siblings they actually are. Only at the very end of Spirit of Justice does Thalassa return, with Phoenix giving her a photo of Jove and her only then agreeing to tell Apollo and Trucy the truth.
The popularity and strong sales of the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles starring Phoenix's ancestor, Ryunosuke Naruhodo, ensure that the Ace Attorney franchise is still going strong. While fans of Phoenix and Miles are clamoring for full HD re-releases of the 3DS duology and the Investigations spin-off games, Apollo and Trucy fans are still waiting for a proper resolution to their story and for Thalassa Gramarye to make a full re-appearance. Hopefully Capcom will listen to fans' frustration and bring a new installment to the series that not only resolves this constantly dangling plot thread, but also brings the series forward in a new direction.