The “Ace Attorney” courtroom adventure-game franchise hasn’t been the same since the original Phoenix Wright trilogy ended in 2007.

It took backward steps with the subsequent arrival of characters such as Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes and Trucy Wright, who couldn’t hold a candle to Phoenix and his assistant, Maya Fey.

The two previous adventures felt like episodes of “The Transformers” with Rodimus Prime at the helm, instead of Optimus, or of the “X-Files” with John Doggett and Monica Reyes at the center, instead of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

The series became a shadow of its former self, with uneven storylines and courtroom scenarios that recycled tricks from earlier versions. “Apollo Justice,” “Dual Destinies” and other spinoffs came off as halfhearted attempts to recapture the qualities that made the original so satisfying.

Fortunately, the new “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — Spirit of Justice,” revitalizes the franchise, reintroduces Phoenix and Maya and presents them in an even better light. And the new cases demand that players rely on logic and strategy to turn the tide in courtroom battles.

As the game opens, Phoenix is reuniting with spirit medium Maya, just as she completes her ascetic training in the Kingdom of Khura’in, a religious nation ruled by a queen. Khura’in’s legal system has two unusual features — the Divination Seance and the Defense Culpability Act.

Rayfa, the princess of Khura’in, possesses an ability to witness the last moments of a murder victim’s life through the Divination Seance and so identify culprits.

The Defense of Culpability Act decrees that the lawyer representing the accused be subject to the same fate as the client. So Phoenix must risk his own life whenever defending a client he believes to be innocent of a capital crime.

Even Apollo and Athena face potential peril as they defend the Wright Anything Agency from a shady TV producer who’s suing for $3 million. They also must prove that Phoenix’s daughter, Trucy, is not guilty of a murder.

Four of the five new “Spirit of Justice” cases will put players on edge, and the developers at Capcom methodically ratchet up the tension by creating increasingly difficult situations for the attorneys.

A client’s fingerprints, for example will show up on a murder weapon, or a seance will indicate the defendant was the killer.

As in the original trilogy, players must find the contradictions in a piece of evidence or a witness’s testimony. And each attorney has a special way of unlocking the truth.

Phoenix can detect “Psych-Locks” — mental barriers that protect a person’s secrets from others. Apollo has a knack for reading the tics that signal a witness is lying. Athena specializes in analytical psychology, with the help of her Mood Matrix. Though these powers popped up occasionally in earlier games, with “Spirit of Justice” they play roles in each and every case.

The most significant gameplay addition in “Spirit of Justice” is the Divination Seance, which challenges players to figure out the discrepancies between a victim’s last memory and the interpretation of it given by Princess Rayfa.

The developers also permit refreshing new ways to gather evidence — dusting for fingerprints, analyzing videos and using luminol to detect traces of blood that has been wiped away.

But though the new game gets a lot of things right, players will still experience some frustrations — leaps of logic in the Magical Turnabout case or the lack of a key piece of evidence that the game will accept. When such problems arise, the only path forward involves trial and error.

Thankfully, “Spirit of Justice” allows a player to save the game at any stage, so he or she can return to it later. There’s also a “Consult” button that provides hints. But use it sparingly; sometimes a hint spoils the fun.

Contact Gieson Cacho at 510-735-7076 or gcacho@bayareanewsgroup.com. Read his blog at http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei.