We can import, though.

Apollo Justice was a let down? Imo, it was the best in the series story wise.

Eh... the story itself, like the setup and the things going on behind the scenes, was interesting. However, the writing - that is, the way it all played out and was revealed - wasn't as fun as the previous games.
For one thing, I didn't like how things were left completely unexplained (either with a smug "ha-ha you don't get to find out 'till later" or just acting like they never will) for most of the game. Most of the game I was thinking the "concentrate on the bracelet" thing was just completely nonsensical BS that they just weren't bothering to explain. Even though they eventually did, it was still confusing and frustrating until then (especially when I just want to get on with the case, and they're pulling me out of it right when it's getting good to yammer on about his magic bracelet power), and annoying to find out there really was an explanation and they just left it out that whole time.
I guess my main point is that I prefer the cases to be self-contained, if connected stories. I like having hints and foreshadowing dropped, but when vital information for one case is completely and purposefully left out until three cases later, the first one feels incomplete.

The other problem is that the ending was hardly dramatic at all. At least, not the big, in-court revelation. In the past games, you got into a heated debate with the prosecution, or the witness, or both, until you found one shining piece of evidence, or some other way to prove your point, which is completely obscure and unobvious but ties everything together and blows your opponent away.

*SLIGHT SPOILERS*
In 4-4, Phoenix does all the work, and everything is revealed in what basically is a fancy investigation phase. Then he hands it to Apollo on a silver platter, so you can go "Uh... yeah, what he said!" And instead of going "A-ha! But I CAN prove you did it, in an entirely unexpected way!" Apollo stands there while Klavier says "A-ha! But he doesn't have to prove it at all!"

I could go into more detail, but I don't want to have too specific spoilers. I didn't mean to go into a whole rant, but I just wanted to explain my view.

PS: Oh, and no-one you talk to will say anything about evidence unless you're specifically supposed to show it to them. There's almost no evidence conversations that are just there for fun.

PPS: Time paradox! You can't go changing the past like that, Phoenix!

I agree that the 1st case left some explaining to do (like the 1st case of T&T), but the story itself was just too amazing.
*****MAJOR SPOILERS*****
Things like the MASON system, the flashback case with Phoenix losing his badge, the whole idea of Phoenix spending 7 years just to take Kristoph down and the jury system were just too awesome; some of the best AA moments ever. And when you find out who Larmoir really is pretty much explains the bracelet and everything.

Yeah, like I said, the underlying story was neat... but if I was going to solve the whole mystery as Phoenix Wright, I'd rather just play a Phoenix Wright game. In half the cases, Phoenix does all the work (more than half, if you count the flashback case as a fifth one). And unlike Trials and Tribulations, where Mia clearly knows what's going on and it's just the player that is unaware (which has at least some subtlety that it's foreshadowing), Apollo is clearly just as confused as we are about what just happened (especially since Phoenix did all the work) and asks Phoenix - who smugly grins and says "you'll find out later in your career in law." (which is about as subtle as writing "MYSTERIOUS FORESHADOWING" on a trout and slapping you in the face with it). Of course, even though there is clearly something very important about his mentor's past, and he openly wonders about Phoenix and Trucy's pasts, he never bothers to look anything up, he just goes "Hmm... I wonder. Oh well." until everything is explained to him.
And in the end, like I said, even if it were Apollo that managed to decode everything and solve the mystery, the way things are revealed through extensive investigation and then simply layed out on the table once you're in court is just... really boring. In the Phoenix Wright games, the end-game revelations would have me sitting there, going "HOLY F***ING A**CRACKERS!" In Apollo Justice, there were revelations that turned the story on its head... but they were "Oh, I see. Yeah, I guess that makes sense" revelations, not "HOLY F***ING A**CRACKERS!" revelations.
For that matter, the final court scene is supposed be nerve-wracking and mind-bending complex and difficult. Instead, you know everything that happened, and how you're going to use every piece of evidence at the moment you walk in.

Mind you... I don't think it was a bad game. It just didn't live up to my expectations. I played Phoenix Wright games because I just had to see what was going to happen, and I couldn't concentrate on anything else until I could play some more. I played Apollo justice when I had nothing better to do.

Im guessing that the reason Apollo was introduced was to add a Raiden to AA. As everyone knows, Raiden was introduced to MGS2 so that they could see Snake through a 3rd person point of view. With AA4, you see Phoenix through Apollo in order to flesh him out as a character. And while Case 1 and 4 was mostly Phoenix+Apollo, it was still amusing to see the turn of events unravel between Phoenix and Kristoph. I found the ending to be "HOLY F***ING A**CRACKERS!" worthy.