Apollo Justice

Apollo Justice
Ace Attorney character
First appearanceApollo Justice: Ace Attorney (2007)
Created byShu Takumi
Designed byKazuya Nuri
Voiced by
  • JP Kellams (Apollo Justice)
  • Orion Acaba (Dual Destinies, Spirit of Justice)
  • Kōjirō Ogiwara (Apollo Justice)
  • KENN (Dual Destinies, Spirit of Justice)

Apollo Justice, known in Japanese as Hōsuke Odoroki (Japanese: 王泥喜 法介, Hepburn: Odoroki Hōsuke) is a character in the 2007 video game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney as its protagonist, replacing Phoenix Wright, who was the protagonist of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy, which takes place seven years prior. Like Phoenix, he is a defense attorney, whose first case, under mentor Kristoph Gavin, is to defend Phoenix for murder. He subsequently appeared in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, where he is one of three playable protagonists, alongside Phoenix Wright and Athena Cykes. He has the power to detect tells using a special bracelet, and during Apollo Justice, he faces off against prosecutor Klavier Gavin. Apollo was created by Shu Takumi as a new protagonist, meant to be "aggressive, passionate, and youthful" in contrast to Phoenix, and he was designed by Kazuya Nuri. His design in Dual Destinies was meant to make players question what happened to him between Apollo Justice and this. His English name comes from the god Apollo and his belief in justice.

Apollo received generally mixed reception, with multiple critics feeling that Apollo was overshadowed by Phoenix in his own game and that it prevented him from having time to develop his own character. Phoenix's return as a playable character in Dual Destinies was believed to be due to fan response by a writer from Waypoint. Apollo's role in the subsequent entries was met with more positive reception, with multiple critics feeling that he was given more time to shine, though some critics still felt that he should have had more time to develop.