Trials and Tribulations has its share of classroom facts. It is based loosely on the American judicial system, though loosely here is key; it’s a heavily simplified version of it, and the game’s rules are not as strict as the rules we live by. However it is a simulation of it nonetheless, teaching players about defense attorneys, prosecutors, evidence and testimony. It teaches a vocabulary that would be considered basic within an actual courtroom but is still outside that of many gamers. The game tests players’ logic and memory regularly, and is extremely text-heavy as well.

By the Gamer:

There is extremely little room for player creativity in Trials and Tribulations. Each of the game’s "problems" has precisely one solution, and it is up to the player to find that solution. Usually any choices outside the right one result in penalties.

By the Developer:

Gameplay remains virtually unchanged from previous games in the series, consisting of courtroom segments and crime scene investigations. Players interrogate witnesses and suspects and search through testimonies for lies, presenting contradicting evidence at appropriate points. There are plenty of new twists, though, that help keep things fresh. The links between each of the game’s five cases here are much stronger than in past games, resulting in easily the most satisfying conclusion the series has yet offered, and it even introduces a few unexpected twists such as the segments during which players control characters other than Phoenix Wright. The game features the intense original soundtrack that fans expect and storylines that are more twisted than ever, making it the best Ace Attorney yet.

Trials and Tribulations does not feature business skills.

The relationships between characters are of the utmost importance to the game, but the player doesn’t really get to affect any of these conversations directly. The player sees all sorts of characters interact with each other, get hurt by each other and help each other and the player controls Phoenix who does all of these things as well, but the player is never given any options regarding what specifically happens.

Problems in Trials and Tribulations are tests of logic and memorization. Players will need to investigate crime scenes and speak to witnesses, asking the right questions in order to get information necessary to proceed. In court players analyze pieces of testimony and must present contradicting pieces of evidence at the correct points in order to proceed. Players will need to search through evidence and have a solid knowledge of the events of each case in order to proceed. Many of these problems are challenging, but for most of the game the stay within reason, requiring real logic and critical thinking to succeed and relying more on clever puzzles than minute details.

Trials and Tribulations could be called a simulation of the judicial system, but that’s a bit of a stretch. Many of the rules used in reality are stretched extremely thin, and when you add in the supernatural elements of the story that come in near the end it all becomes a bit farfetched. Entertaining, but not particularly realistic.

Trials and Tribulations received similar scores to the rest of the games of the series, averaging somewhere near 80%. The games sell quite well and have a considerable cult following: Phoenix’s courtroom cry of "Objection!" is referenced all over the Internet.

After completing the game players can choose to play through any previous case in any order.

Trials and Tribulations received a T from the ESRB with descriptors for Mild Violence and Mild Blood.