The player takes the roles of various defense attorneys, including Phoenix Wright, his mentor Mia Fey, as well as his understudies Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes who investigate cases and defend their clients in court.

The cases last a maximum of three days; the judge determines the outcome based on evidence presented by the defense attorney and the prosecutor.

He wanted the series to end after the third game, but it continued with Takeshi Yamazaki taking over as writer and director starting with Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (2009).

The series has been well received, with reviewers liking the characters, story, and the finding of contradictions; it has also performed well commercially, with Capcom regarding it as one of their strongest intellectual properties.

[58][59] During the investigations, the player searches the environments, gathers information and evidence, and talks to characters such as their client, witnesses, and the police.

[66][67][68] If all exclamation marks or lawyer badges are lost, or the health bar reaches zero, the player loses the game and their client is found guilty.

The number of psyche-locks depends on how deep the secret is; when all locks are broken, the topic becomes available, giving the player access to new information.

[69][70] Apollo Justice introduces the "perceive" system, where the player looks for motions or actions made by witnesses that show nervousness, similar to a tell in poker.

[71] Dual Destinies introduces the "mood matrix", through which the player can gauge the emotions of a witness, such as tones of anger when mentioning certain topics;[72][73] if the player notices a contradictory emotional response during testimony, they can point out the discrepancy and press the witness for more information.

[74] Dual Destinies also introduces "revisualization",[75][76] where the player reviews vital facts and forms links between evidence to reach new conclusions.

[93] The spin-off The Great Ace Attorney is set in England near the end of the 19th century, and follows Phoenix's ancestor Ryunosuke Naruhodo.

[101] Most of the prosecutor characters are portrayed as powerful and arrogant characters of high social status and who care about keeping perfect-win records in court, and even may favor convictions over finding the truth, although most have secret motivations and sympathetic backstories and typically help the protagonist at the game's climax.

[107] Takumi cited Japanese mystery author Edogawa Ranpo as being an inspiration, particularly The Psychological Test, a short story which involves a crime that "unravels due to the criminal's contradictory testimony."

"[108] Takumi felt that the best way to write a mystery with a good climax is to reveal various clues, and then pull them together into one conclusion, and not have multiple possible endings.

The goal was to make the player feel like they have driven the story forward themselves, with their own choices, even though the game is linear.

[39] He said that he has mixed feelings about the series being developed by other Capcom staff, comparing it to a parent sending their child to their first day in school.

[117] Yamazaki and Eshiro directed and produced the main series entries Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice.

[122] The localization of the first game was outsourced to Bowne Global; it was handled by the writer Alexander O. Smith and the editor Steve Anderson.

[123] The Japanese justice system of the original still remained intact in the localization, as changing it would have altered the entire game structure.

That particular change was mocked by players as the dish later became more well known in the West, and was lampshaded in the English release of Spirit of Justice, where Maya is described as liking both ramen and burgers.

Phoenix's English surname, "Wright", was chosen as his Japanese name, "Naruhodō"—meaning "I see" or "I understand"—is frequently used as a joke in the script.

[142] In the United States, the first game became surprisingly successful, forcing Capcom to prepare at least three additional runs to meet the demand.

[145] Thomas Whitehead at Nintendo Life also liked the writing, praising its balance between "light-hearted nonsense" and darker, more serious scenarios.

[155] A stage play based on the series, titled Gyakuten no Spotlight, ran in 2013, and was written by Eisaku Saito.

[157][158] A 2016 TV anime adaptation of the series, Ace Attorney, was produced at A-1 Pictures and directed by Ayumu Watanabe.

[178] In 2017, Famitsu readers voted Gyakuten Saiban the third-best adventure game of all time, behind only Steins;Gate and 428: Shibuya Scramble.

[179] The Ace Attorney series has been credited with helping to popularise visual novels in the Western world.

[186][187] The 2016 video game Detective Pikachu, which received a 2019 film adaptation, has also drawn comparisons to the Ace Attorney series.

[188][189] The 2023 visual novel Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane also parodies the franchise, following a lawyer who defends clients in a supernatural setting.

In a murder mystery arc of the 2006 anime series Haruhi Suzumiya, the show's titular character mimics Phoenix Wright during an episode.