The game takes place in an urban city set in 2016 and later; for the Japanese versions, this city is somewhere in Japan, while the English localization places the games in Los Angeles, California. The fictional future justice system is such that when a person is accused of a crime, they are immediately given a bench trial presided by a judge, a prosecuting attorney from the state, and a defense attorney that must completely prove the accused innocent of the crime. Trials last 3 days at most, due to the large number of cases that the courts must deal with; if the accused cannot be found innocent after this time, their case is consigned to a higher court. The majority of the work during a trial is on the shoulders of the defense attorney who must cross-examine the witnesses brought forth by the prosecution to find contradictions in testimony to clear their client. The playable character is Phoenix Wright. He is a rookie lawyer fresh out of law school in the first game, taking a position at Fey & Co. Law Offices run by Mia Fey, a defense attorney that helped to acquit Wright of murder several years prior to the events of the first game. When Mia is murdered, Wright takes over the offices with the assistance of Maya Fey, Mia's younger sister, and renames the office "Wright & Co. Law Offices". The Fey family have the ability to channel spirits, which sometimes allows Maya to channel Mia's spirit for Wright to help in court. Wright develops a rivalry with prosecuting attorney Miles Edgeworth as they oppose each other in court... [Edited from [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ace_Attorney#Setting]Wikipedia[/url]]

「なんて嫌なヤツ」 出会いは最悪。顔を合わせば険悪。話せば最悪。 アナタとワタシ。 お互いに何も知らなければ、何も変わらなかったのに。 けれども、私達は知ってしまった。 一人よりも二人のほうが楽しいということを。 唄が、人と人でない存在の垣根を越えられることを。 交わるはずの無かった二人が一つになって、生まれた新しい音を。 知れば知るほど、私達が深い場所でつながることができることを。 私達二人で奏でる新しい『歌』は、心と心をつなぎ、 優しく響いて世界へと拡がっていく。 きっと、いつかあなたの元へにも――