Professor Layton and Ace Attorney

... WHAT?! O:

Now I HAVE to play the Phoenix Wright games to understand the story.

Not saying I dislike Phoenix Wright, I just never played them.

You can pick up any game in the series and play, whether you're new to the series or not (with the exception of the last case in Trials and Tribulations), sort of like all the Professor Layton games (with the exception of Flora and Don Paolo but they don't really spoil any story). I mean, maybe you'd want to to learn about the characters but you're not obligated to. On the other hand, you should play the games anyways cause they're awesome.