Ladders have played a surprisingly pivotal role in all sorts of different video games, from AAA shooters and action-adventure titles to visual novels and cosy life sims.

In our Ladders in Video Games series, we spotlight some of our favourite video game ladders – and today we're looking at the ladders (or should that be *step* ladders?) that pop up in just about every instalment of Capcom's Ace Attorney series.

In the Ace Attorney games, you play as a defence lawyer (normally the hedgehog-haired Phoenix Wright, although other characters get to share his spotlight later on) who is fighting to clear his client's name. Virtually every case involves a murder and a wrongly-accused individual, and it's on you to spot the flaws in the prosecution's seemingly airtight case.

Nowadays, ladders come in all shapes and sizes to suit a huge range of jobs and environments. While all ladder types are useful, it’s important to know which one is best suited to the job at hand. Using the wrong type of ladder could put your safety at risk.

To help you understand the difference between them, we’ve put together this handy list of ladder types and how to use them…