It's the end of another year, and that can only mean one thing: it's list season. Inevitably, you're going to see top ten lists by the thousands; and, as an official member of the enthusiast press, I'm afraid I can't violate my directive. But, to make things a little more interesting, I've decided to assemble my 10 favorite games of this year in non-hierarchical form because--let's face facts--it's hard to pick a favorite. And unlike other top 10 lists, this one will be doled out to you in piecemeal over the next several excruciating days! Please enjoy.

Back in early 2006, when I picked up the first DS Phoenix Wright, I really didn't know what I was getting into. Sure, the novelty of the whole "lawyer sim" thing would've been enough to carry me through at least one game, but thankfully, Phoenix Wright was more than just a gimmick. For nearly two years, I found myself wrapped up in the epic trilogy of Phoenix Wright (at around 15-20 hours' worth of reading in each one, they'd make J.K. Rowling balk) until its inevitable end in late 2007's Trials and Tribulations. But after the wrapping up of Capcom's convoluted tale, I still wanted more--and after staring at the same dated sprites for three whole games, it was about time for a DS-developed lawyer quest, as Capcom had teased with the substantial bonus mission at the end of Ace Attorney. Capcom eventually promised to grant nearly all of my wishes with a brand-new installment in their created genre, but I was a little skeptical that the replacement of protagonist Phoenix Wright with some new, young pup would sour me on the sequel.
To be honest, Apollo Justice is almost exactly like the young naive Phoenix we saw in the first game--which is why it makes sense that the latter acts as his makeshift mentor. But the developers realized that the Wright archetypes of harried lawyer and ditzy assistant worked well for three installments, and this is true in Apollo as well. Tying in the history of the Phoenix series to Apollo was also a brilliant move, even though I wish a few more of the Phoenix characters would have popped up here and there; still, this technique worked well to bridge the two stories and start Apollo off on an epic quest of his own that the game promises by leaving so many plot threads hanging by the end. I'm really hoping we see a sequel announced soon; at the moment, Capcom's next game in the series is drastically different and stars Miles Edgeworth from the Phoenix trilogy. I fear that without any real conclusion to Apollo's story, I may have to turn to... fan fiction.
...Pray for me.
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