#Stuff like this is so ema skye core

[hooked-on-hightide]

has this been done yet

[fraeuleintaka]

Character Introduction (Investigations 1): Ema Skye

This is the 49th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 32 days left until release!

Today's topic: Ema Skye Character Introduction!

The 1st Investigations gets another additional character introduction, namely for Ema Skye. Interesting since she's anything but a main character in the game. She's only relevant in one case and even there not central to the narrative. But she is a known character from other games in the series so it does make sense to highlight her presence a little.

Ema's introduction spends some time talking about her current status in life, how she studies abroad in Europe to become a forensic investigator, her dream, and how she's back home only temporarily because she's on holiday. Since we see her at various different stages in life it's very useful to recap a little. Next we get an impression of one of Ema's core personality traits, her love for science and forensics, with the statement that she still has test kits with her just in case even though she's on vacation. She's the kind of person who sprays stuff with Luminol just for fun and I love her for it. That's also important because her forensic utensils are the reason Ema brings so much to investigations she's a part of and isn't just there for the sake of it. Her appearance almost always means some kind of forensics mini game and gathering evidence the scientific way and I always have fun doing that, in Investigations just the same. Lastly, Ema's introduction mentions her past connection to Miles in a different case (referencing 1-5, Rise from the Ashes) and how much she admires him, which shapes their relationship and is also the given reason for Ema's appearance as she heard Miles was investigating a case and wanted to help him, like the adorable fangirl she is. I really like their relationship, Miles appreciates her input so much and gets so wonderfully awkward when Ema's admiration for him comes through.

Sadly, Ema's full character artwork is pretty lackluster. It's just her neutral pose from the game in large and with all the details. I love the way they styled her, a nice mixture of her younger and older selves and very fitting to her current age, but I wish they'd done a little more with the artwork. Her chosen chibi sprite animation, in contrast, is wonderful! It's a comparatively long animation of her putting on her pink forensic glasses and looking for footprints by spraying some stuff and shining a hand-held light on the area. It looks beautiful in the new HD graphics! I especially love the reflections in the glasses, the detail in how the aerosols of the spray move and the subtle change in her facial expression where you see that she's excited and having fun. Even with her hat and glasses on you can see it clearly. Amazing!

[attorneyologies]

AA7 Scenario: Turnabout Algorithm

Premise: In a world where artificial intelligence can successfully predict crime before it happens, defense attorney Athena Cykes must prove her clients’ innocence - past, present, and future.

Background: In AA5, we saw how technology could be used to detect hidden emotions, with the help of Athena’s Mood Matrix. Now, in AA7, technology has developed to the point where it’s actually possible to predict the future. Using a sophisticated data-mining AI algorithm, Japanifornia’s police departments can accurately predict criminal behavior up to three days in advance. Potential killers are arrested and detained before they ever commit a crime. (If you’ve seen the film Minority Report, you know how this works.)

Athena and the Wright Anything Agency have been hired to defend those accused of murders they haven’t committed yet. Their mission is to prove the algorithm wrong, by thinking outside the box and believing in their clients’ innocence, no matter what the data says.

Defense: Athena Cykes, junior attorney at the Wright Anything Agency. Her ability to hear complex emotions, combined with her training in psychology, give her a unique insight into human nature which no computer can ever hope to match.

Assistant: Cody Hackins, tech genius and Steel Samurai fanboy. He’s about the same age as Athena. Phoenix Wright (a known technophobe) once hired Cody to fix his office computer and was so impressed with Cody’s work that he immediately offered him a job at the Agency. Athena can’t stand Cody at first, but soon comes to rely upon his help. He’s especially good at explaining complicated technical stuff in simple words that even the Judge can understand.

Prosecution: Eliza Bott, an AI prosecutor android recently acquired by the District Attorney’s office. Her quantum computing core allows her to predict the defense’s objections and respond with 99.4% accuracy.

Detective: Ema Skye, forensic investigator. She acts as Eliza’s handler and occasional interpreter when her language processor glitches out.

Courtroom Mechanic: "Instant Pre-Play," featuring holographic depictions of future crimes as predicted by the AI. (Basically a re-engineered version of Kay Faraday’s “Little Thief”)

Surprise Witness: Aura Blackquill, robotics engineer and convicted felon. Aura makes a special appearance as an expert witness, courtesy of her brother Simon.

Final Boss: Lisa Basil, CEO of Blue Screens Inc.

Motive for Murder: After undergoing major financial losses in 2019, following the death of Glen Elg and the failure of the HMD product launch, Lisa has been determined to reboot her company. Over the past decade, she’s channeled all of Blue Screens’ resources into developing AI bots (like Eliza) for law enforcement, and has finally secured a contract with the state’s Justice Department. However, Lisa is still deep in debt, and so she’ll use any means necessary to keep receiving public funding - even if it means altering the AI for political ends, to falsely accuse peaceful protesters and other so-called enemies of the state. When Athena and her team prove decisively that the AI can no longer be trusted, Lisa panics and fears that she’ll lose everything. She ends up hiring a hitman to carry out the “perfect murder” that will prove her algorithm correct once and for all. But after an extended therapy session with Athena in court, Lisa breaks down and confesses everything.

Epilogue: Blue Screens Inc. is permanently shut down, along with the AI law enforcement program. Eliza finds her new purpose as a therapy bot, to help Aura rehabilitate herself in prison. Athena, Phoenix, Cody and Simon celebrate their victory over a bowl of noodles, and Athena announces she’s leaving the Agency to start her own law practice.

[ncyrocks]

Thoughts on Ace Attorney’s Music Part 4: Spirit of Justice

I finished Spirit of Justice last year before I finished posting, but I didn’t complete this post in time. So, I’m making another one of these Ace Attorney soundtrack blog posts, because listening to Ace Attorney music is pretty much a habit of mine now.

So here are my top 5 songs again.

SPIRIT OF JUSTICE SPOILERS IN CASE THAT’S STILL RELEVANT

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi ~ The Last Rites Prosecutor

Possibly my favourite rival theme in the series. It uses the Khura’inese instruments found throughout the soundtrack extremely well, and then gives it some background sound (something other Khura’inese songs lack enough of) in the form of the mystical synth instruments that Noriyuki Iwadare used so well in Trials and Tribulations. And THEN, just to make it sound really majestic and authoritative, he chucks on some dope choral vocals. It just sounds cool.

Athena Cykes ~ Courtroom Révolutionnaire 2016

I named this last year as one of my favourites from Dual Destinies, knowing full well that there was a better version in Spirit of Justice. They took the most danceable song in the series, make it twice as danceable as it already was, and added electric guitars to the mix. They lost a tiny bit of the melody along the way, but this is easily my favourite Objection theme of all. In fact, I think it’s so grandiose that you could just change the drums a bit and turn it into a Pursuit theme.

Investigation ~ Core 2016

Core themes have varied wildly between Ace Attorney games, in my opinion. The original one was top-notch, JFA’s was better as a song but didn’t suit the mood as well, Apollo’s was pretty good, T&T didn’t even have one, and the rest have been adequate.

But I think this one was finally as good as the original (as I was hoping it would be). The quick, low strings combined with the synths makes it just the right amount of mysterious, tense, and exciting.

Detention Center ~ Iron-Bar Elegy

After I played the first Ace Attorney and fell in love with the original Detention Center theme, I paid special attention to the corresponding theme in each game that followed.

They were all okay, except this one.

This one has a similar feel to the first one, making you feel sorry for the defendant who’s been left totally helpless. That was part of what made this theme about as good as the first one for me, but another part of it was just that it sounded good.

What? Can’t a guy just enjoy a song without having to write an essay about it? The ambient noise combined with the Khura’inese instruments sounded good, and sad, and stuff. Like a good detention center theme. It’s not that hard.

And this one.

This track is so obscure that it doesn’t have a name, and I had to link to it via a different channel. It’s left off the OST completely, and it plays once, over 5 textboxes (about 30 seconds), in the entire game. But I think it packed an incredible emotional punch.

Okay, serious spoiler time. So serious I’m going to hide it behind a “Keep reading” link (with the honourable mentions and conclusion).

This is the track that plays just as Apollo figures out that the second victim of the final case was Dhurke, and that he’s been dead for 3 days or so.

This track represents that moment when time slows down, and Apollo knows the truth but hasn’t processed what it means yet. He’s realised that Dhurke Sahdmadhi is dead, but not that his adoptive father who he cared so much about is dead.

This track is quite similar to the Suspense theme, but slowed way down, which is pretty suited to the situation - it’s not fast-paced, or sudden, but it is tense, mysterious, and suspenseful in a different kind of way to the usual courtroom antics.

The drum beats become more like slow heartbeats as if everything has gone quiet and Apollo can’t hear anything else. What used to be the bass becomes a slow organ, which are associated with death and much less intrusive.

It's a very well crafted piece, if very short and simple.

Honourable mentions:

Phoenix Wright ~ Objection! 2016, Troupe Gramarye 2016, Ema Skye ~ The Scientific Detective 2016, Apollo Justice ~ A New Chapter of Trials! 2016, A Cornered Heart, Andistan'dhin ~ Head-Banging

Unfortunately, I’ve now run out of Ace Attorney soundtracks to analyse, unless I play the Layton crossover or Capcom localises Dai Gyakuten Saiban, neither of which are probably happening soon.

I might analyse Ace Attorney for itself in the future, but this will probably be the last I post about their music. Which you’ll be very sad to hear, I’m sure.