Additionally, they wanted to retain Apollo Justice as an important character, and not steal the spotlight from him, as he had already been established as a new main character. Feeling that Apollo's story had not been explored enough in the previous game, they focused on developing his character further in Dual Destinies, and added the character Athena Cykes as his junior. Yamazaki created Athena to be an active partner for Phoenix, rather than a "supporter in the background".
In addition, they sought to preserve Apollo Justice as a central figure, ensuring he didn't steal the spotlight, given his established role as a new main character. Building upon this, they delved deeper into developing Apollo's character in Dual Destinies and introduced Athena Cykes as his junior counterpart.