#I adore ace attorney I promise😅

[northlight14]

Fixing Larry Butz’s character development

‼️spoilers for Phoenix Wright trilogy ahead‼️

I’m aware that what I’m about to say probably isn’t anything new in the ace attorney fandom but I wanted to give my thoughts on all this anyway. I know both myself and a lot of the people in the fandom fucking hate how Larry was characterised in the 3rd game. I got told by a friend before hand that they completely ruined his character but admittedly I still held out a bit of hope, only to be majorly disappointed. As much as I adore the 3rd game, it does honestly feel like they forgot about everything that made Larry likeable in the first game. So this is basically gonna be me talking about how I personally would have developed his character.

First things first, they should’ve kept his personality and bonds with the other characters the same. While he’s similar and I’m more than happy with Phoenix getting annoyed with Larry, in the 3rd game Larry’s likeable traits are all completely abandoned and what’s left is just a womanising idiot and it feels like Phoenix straight up hates him. Larry can be a bit of an idiot who pursues relationships with women that don’t work out, I’ve got no problem with that as long as he isn’t creepy about it. But let’s not forget this dude interrupted an entire murder trial just to defend his friend he hadn’t talked to in literal years! Larry is loyal as fuck and in the first game Phoenix notes that while he always seems to get into trouble, it’s hardly ever his fault and he just has bad luck. If he was gonna be shown in the third game that should’ve been shown more. I guess it kind of is in some instances but never properly and it’s really disappointing.

Secondly, have him either make an appearance or at least be mentioned in the second game. This pissed me off so much Larry wasn’t so much as mentioned in this game. We obviously talk about Phoenix’s mourning period after “Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death” but what about Larry? He was childhood friends with Miles too who lost touch and just got him back only to lose him again! Miles, who in school, despite them having their differences, never told anyone about how he suspected Larry of actually stealing his money. That might not sound like a big thing but Larry even notes that if Phoenix hadn’t been the one being accused, he would’ve been. Chances are Larry was accused of stuff all the time as a kid. Considering that, Miles was probably the first person in a long time who didn’t want to get him in trouble. Continuing with this, Phoenix would be the only person Larry knows how knew Miles like he did and would truly know what he’s going through since they both lost that same childhood friend after just getting him back. Phoenix, the only person who’d understand, who spends that entire time refusing to speak about it, to the point he tells Maya to not even say his name. Literally all I want is either a few scenes of Larry trying to talk to Phoenix about it, only for Phoenix to shut him down instantly and then later Larry either also getting mad at Miles on Phoenix’s behalf or trying to calm Phoenix down about his return, and then also getting to see Miles again after he’s back from the dead and them having their reunion. Or, if there truly wasn’t time for any added scenes, just have it be mentioned in passing when Maya tries to talk about it and Phoenix just tells her “I’ve already told Larry and the others to not even say his name”. Just something small like that to show that Larry is also mourning the loss of his childhood friend adds just another layer to his character that I think he deserves and makes the whole thing more interesting in my opinion.

Finally, actually address his issues and insecurities instead of just making it a joke🙄 I feel like they tried to do this somewhat in the third game but honestly it just fell really flat for me. This isn’t me saying that Larry suddenly has to be this really tragic character because I definitely don’t want that. In a series filled with dead loved ones, murder and trauma, I really like that Larry can offer a form of comic relief. But if they’re going to repeatedly acknowledge the fact that he’s super insecure in the third game, at least go into why rather than just saying it🤦. Since first school Larry has been blamed for things to the point that his school had a fucking saying for it. It’s no wonder he feels inadequate in comparison to the other characters and it wouldn’t surprise me if him persuing these relationships with women is a way for him to achieve a form of validation that he was deprived of as a kid. Now obviously the game doesn’t have to go that deep into it and can leave things open to interpretation but I think Larry would have benefited from having a moment of seriousness during one of the cases after he messed up, genuinely asking Phoenix “how can I help? I know I keep messing things up. I have all my life and I want to make it right.” Just a moment of genuine friendship and reassurance between the two of them so it doesn’t seem like Phoenix hates Larry’s very being (seriously they’re supposed to be childhood best friends and they’ve stayed friends all this time but the third game has me asking why that’s the case)

Those are just my thoughts tho and I’m down to hear other’s opinions!

[fraeuleintaka]

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Checkmate Set!

This is the 3rd post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 78 days left until release!

Today's topic: the Special Edition aka the AAIC Checkmate Set! So excited! (And I love the name, fits perfectly to Miles' love for chess.) This was probably officially announced in Japan in some way (because it's Japan-exclusive, sadly) but I only learned of it today by happening upon a post about it. As announced in my initial post in this countdown I'm going to preorder this instantly (Japan import of course, I just need to find an online store that lists it and delivers internationally) but for now I'm gonna spend some time fangirling about the goodies you get with this Special Edition!

First we have this wonderful set of acrylic stands/figurines of 8 characters from both games! They're in the new chibi sprite artstyle which means I adore them already. I love figurines in general, especially if they're from two of my favourite games, especially if they look so pretty. The 8 characters chosen are Miles, Gumshoe, Kay, Franziska, Shi-Long, Gregory, Sebastian and Justine (fan translation names) - that pretty much covers all my most favourites from both games! I think the only character really missing would be Ray (fan translation name) but honestly, while I like him I've never been the biggest fan of him so I'm more than fine with this selection. They also picked nicely dynamic poses for each character which makes it look even better! And you get two different backdrops to put them in front of, Miles' office from I1-1 and the top of the Grand Tower from I2-4. I really have to think about how I'm gonna arrange them but I know it's going to look amazing!

The second extra is this Mini-Album CD with 5 additional newly arranged songs, so song arrangements you (as of right now) can't get any other way than this Special Edition. According to the Capcom website the titles of the songs are as follows:

Objections of Different Eras (which seems to be a remix of both Objection themes in one which sounds awesome)

Raven That Pursues the Truth (seems to be Kay's theme)

It's Time for Action! (seems to be Gumshoe's theme)

Howling Echoes (seems to be Shi-Long's theme)

Unveiling the Truth (seems to be either a Truth or Pursuit theme)

I'm really looking forward to hearing these new arrangements! The song selection sounds really promising. There's also the beautiful cover art! The CD itself has image cuts of Miles, Gumshoe, Kay and Shi-Long from the official Investigations Collection cover art which I love but the cover has entirely new artwork and it's amazing!

So many wonderful details! I love the composition idea, Miles is large in the background, drinking tea and seems to be contemplating his next move in a game of chess while all the others are in the new chibi sprite style and arranged on a chessboard - as if they were the actual pieces he was playing with! (I2 mastermind metaphor says hi!) And there's so much stuff going on! Kay seems to be dropping down from a height onto the board and Gumshoe watches her shocked; Patricia Roland points with her finger to them, maybe admonishing them (you can also barely see something large behind her, I think it's a book); behind them are Gregory and Ray (younger self) looking towards Miles or discussing something; in front of them is Shi-Long laughing and apparently talking to Shih-na who's mostly covered by the title; directly in front of Gumshoe is Missile sniffing at Buddy Faith's corpse (poor guy, he was probably a pawn who got sacrificed already 😅); going further to the right we have Oldbag in Pink Badger costume at the back looking longingly at Miles; Franziska and Justine in an aggressive discussion; Horace Knightley being mostly covered by the CD (there's probably some more going on there); Cammy Meele yawning; Shelly de Killer selling ice cream to the Steel Samurai holding the Iron Infant's hand (never thought I'd type that sentence 😂) and last but certainly not least 😉 there's Sebastian at the very front (de-beste spot?) reacting to something in a very Sebastian-like way. I would probably buy this CD for the artwork alone but the songs are great to have as well 😄

So happy that we even get a Special Edition with this collection! I know there's also been Japan-exclusive ones for the original DS games but this one's the first one I'll actually be able to get! I love these extras, they're amazing and I can't wait to have them!