Top 30 Ace Attorney Characters (2024)

I recently did a ranking of Great Ace Attorney main characters, and that got me thinking – what are my favourite characters across the WHOLE series?

A couple of things to look out for – the spinoff series will be fair game this time around, and there might be major SPOILERS ahead. I did a list similar to this a while ago, but that didn’t have Great Ace Attorney characters (and also excluded minor characters completely) so I thought it was time for a refresh.

With all of that out of the way, what are my top 30 favourite Ace Attorney characters?

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30 – Pearl Fey

The youngest of the Fey clan, Pearls is just about the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen in your life.

Her child-like innocence is a nice juxtaposition to the brutal murder cases, and some of her interactions with Phoenix are particularly amusing.

29 – Gregory Edgeworth

If we were just counting his appearance as a corpse in the DL6 incident, I’m not sure Gregory Edgeworth would’ve even made my top 100 – luckily, he made a triumphant return in a flashback in “Investigations 2”.

He’s one of the most respectable and intelligent defence attorneys we’ve seen in the series, and his professional attitude was a joy to play as (even if it was only just for parts of one case).

28 – Mia Fey

From one respectable defence attorney to another, Mia Fey is the classic mentor character that meets an unfortunate end.

She already makes a decent impression before her death, but when we get to play as her in “Trials &Tribulations” it cemented her as one of my favourite characters.

If she didn’t keep coming back again and again for some Channelling Ex Machina, she could have ranked even higher.

27 – Inspector Gregson

The Gumshoe equivalent for the “Great Ace Attorney” duology, Inspector Gregson is forgettable at first but morphed into one of the best characters in the game.

He especially comes into his own in the second game, and once you start to learn more about his motivations you see him in an entirely different light.

26 – Professor Mikotoba

A little bit like with Gregson, Professor Mikotoba fails to make an impression at first but skyrocketed in my rankings as the duology went on.

Once it’s revealed that he was the Watson equivalent in this universe all along I practically fell in love with the man, and the dance of deduction segment between him and Sholmes is a top five Ace Attorney moment for me.

25 – Sebastian Debeste

One of the highlights of “Investigations 2”, Sebastian Debeste started off as an unremarkable dummy but ended up being one of the best characters in the game.

He genuinely wanted to be a good prosecutor, and the treatment that his father gave him is sickening. I’m glad the writers delved into serious subject matters like this.

24 – Kay Faraday

It took me a while to warm to Investigations’ Maya equivalent, but I loved the infectious enthusiam that Kay brought.

Her backstory is easily the most intriguing out of any Ace Attorney assistant, and her Little Thief proved invaluable during cases.

23 – The Judge

Ah … Judge. The man I hate so much that I actually love him. Hate to love?

I have a very turbulent relationship with this man, as on the one hand he’s a loveable goofball and on the other he’s the dumbest man to ever preside over a court of law. Never change, Judge.

22 – Kazuma Asogi

Whilst I don’t like what the writers ended up doing to his character, Kazuma Asogi will always be that friend and mentor that I loved to look up to.

His stint as a prosecutor left me with mixed feelings, but his time as a defence attorney and best friend is what I’ll remember from these games.

21 – Raymond “Ray” Shields

A wonderful burst of positivity and life, Ray Shields was a breath of fresh air in “Investigations 2”.

He’s just a cool guy through and through, and his connection to both generations of Edgeworths made for some brilliant writing.

20 – Gina Lestrade

Gina was a little annoying in the first “Great Ace Attorney” game, but by the second game I could appreciate her for the burst of fun that she was.

She was much more tolerable once she became Inspector Lestrade, and the situation that the game threw her in allows for some great character moments.

Bonus points for bringing Toby the dog along to every investigation.

19 – Luke Atmey

One of only two one-off characters to make my list, Luke Atmey is one of the most ridiculous people the Ace Attorney series has ever seen.

While I have some gripes about how he’s used within his case, there’s no denying how captivating this eccentric dude is.

18 – Lord Stronghart

From the moment you meet Lord Stronghart in “The Great Ace Attorney”, you can tell this guy is going to end up being the main villain.

He’s extremely austere and severe, and I like how he wasn’t quite the over-the-top baddie that I was expecting – it was the subtlety of his power that made him truly terrifying.

17 – Shelly de Killer

I’m kinda shocked that they haven’t used Shelly de Killer more in the series.

Both times he appeared (“Justice For All” and “Investigations 2”) he made quite the impression, and I can’t help but love whenever this cool assassin is on screen.

16 – Simon Blackquill

Prosecutors have always been antagonistic rivals, but having an actual murderer on the opposing bench was something that shouldn’t have worked as much as it did.

The writers used his backstory and motivations brilliantly near the end of “Dual Destinies”, and Simon Blackquill ended up being one of the more memorable prosecutors in the series.

15 – Detective Gumshoe

Who doesn’t love a bit of Dick Gumshoe?

The goofball detective is a little antagonistic / clumsy when you first meet him, but it doesn’t take long at all for you to appreciate him for the top bloke he is.

14 – Iris Wilson

Maybe this is just me, but I found it absolutely hilarious that a ten year old was the most competent character in the “Great Ace Attorney” games.

Iris Wilson was a breath of fresh air, both with her intellect and child-like perspective, and her story had some incredibly satisfying payoffs later on.

13 – Susato Mikotoba

I never thought an assistant after Maya would make any sort of impression, but Susato Mikotoba is one of the most reliable friends the main character has ever had.

While I wish her character could have gotten to do more at times, what we did get was a fantastic accomplice that helped through thick and thin.

12 – Apollo Justice

It feels strange to say this considering he’s been one of the primary characters in the past three Ace Attorney mainline games, but I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Apollo yet.

He brings a whole new energy to the mix that I love, but he’s been side-lined for Phoenix far too often. If the next game does him “Justice”, he could quite easily crack my top 10.

11 – Klavier Gavin

For all the faults that “Apollo Justice” has, its prosecutor is most certainly not one of them.

Klavier is a phenomenally cool character, and just an all-round top guy. He was the first prosecutor who I felt actually had his heart in the right place straight from the beginning.

10 – Damon Gant

The other one-off character in this list, there haven’t been many better villains in the Ace Attorney series than the Chief of Police himself Damon Gant.

His involvement in the SL-9 Incident is truly despicable, and the over-the-top energy he brings was so much fun to experience.

9 – Manfred von Karma

The most clear-cut “final boss” we’re ever likely to get in the Ace Attorney series, Manfred von Karma felt like the ultimate challenge at the end of the original game.

He’s a monstrous prosecutor, both in ability and morals, and the final scenes where you crack the case and corner him are some of the best moments in gaming history.

8 – Dahlia Hawthorne

My favourite pure villain in the series, Dahlia Hawthorne was a character that I loved to hate.

She seems so innocent, and yet there’s a demonic evil within her that made for an incredibly complex villain. She’s a big reason why “Trials & Tribulations” is my favourite Ace Attorney game.

7 – Maya Fey

The O.G. plucky assistant, Maya is just about as iconic to the Ace Attorney universe as Wright and Edgeworth are.

She always has something funny or insightful to say, and (this might be an unpopular opinion) I really liked how she was regularly the defendant accused of the crime – it added some drama to an already intense situation.

6 – Ryunosuke Naruhodo

I didn’t think any Ace Attorney main character would ever get to Phoenix’s level, but the depth of Ryunosuke’s character and arc blew me away.

His determination to enact fair justice was truly admirable, and the things he had to do in the story made him one of the most compelling protagonists of the last few years.

5 – Godot

Godot is the character that blew my mind the most, and his involvement in the “Trials & Tribulations” story is legendary.

At first he’s just a really cool dude, but once the Diego Armando backstory is explained he became the most tragic character in the whole series. Plus he’s got a bitchin’ theme, too.

4 – Phoenix Wright

The main character of the series, the lens for which the audience can look into this story, and a pretty funny guy too.

Phoenix Wright is an extremely fun character, with lots of good lines and writing to flesh him out. While he’s not quite as in-depth as my top 3, I still love him. An icon of modern gaming.

3 – Barok van Zieks

A character that just got better and better across the ten cases of “Great Ace Attorney”, Barok van Zieks quickly became one of my favourite prosecutors in the series – and one of the best villains in recent memory.

He had a hatred of the defence that was unrivalled across the series, and his incredible intellect actually made him a force to be reckoned with. You genuinely believed he was the best prosecutor in the world, and not many other antagonists in the series felt that way.

2 – Herlock Sholmes

Sherlock Holmes is one of my favourite fictional characters of all time, so I was a bit disappointed at first when Herlock Sholmes was portrayed as a sort of bumbling idiot.

It soon became apparent that his eccentricity wasn’t stupidity, though, and his characterisation is way up there are one of my favourites ever for the great detective. I really hope we get to see more of him in future spin-offs – if we do, he may just creep up to that number one spot.

1 – Miles Edgeworth

The main antagonist from the first game, and yet Miles Edgeworth hasn’t been topped as a character since.

All of his appearances, from fearsome prosecutor to captivating investigator, lead to some fantastic dialogue and character moments – it’s no surprise the developers realised he could carry his own spin-off series.

The thing that puts him in first place, though, is his character arc – he wrestles with morality and what it means to serve the law, and no other character in the series has gone as in-depth as him. I doubt any other Ace Attorney character will come close to topping him.

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