#aa6 b tier

[jojolimons]

favorite part of tgaa2 was when ryunosuke told susato "That's why I've resolved to become a great ace attorney, ...too!"

[whats-a-reading]

Ace Attorney Prosecutor Tier list

Except I rate them based on themes. Note that some plot points may factor into my decisions, but I’m not going to be judging their arcs or anything. This is also completely subjective. (My rambling gets longer as we go up the tiers. Minor swearing, if you care about that sort of thing.)

The prosecutors that count are the ones we’ve seen prosecuting, and it’s only their main theme (no reminiscences or other themes they may have).

Spoilers for all ace attorney games except for the Layton crossover. You have been warned.

From worst to best, we have:

DQ

The Auchi/Payne clan gets no theme, so.

Manfred von Karma, get your own theme.

F

F is for Franziska because why does she not have her own theme? This is unfair, and I think that her journey isn’t a copy-paste of Edgeworth’s, so why is her theme Edgeworth’s with a different intro?

D

Now we have actual themes to judge. Whoop.

I haven’t played SOJ, but I did watch the 169Tom prosecutor theme compilation, which is why I know that Ga’ran eventually stands at the prosecutor’s bench. It’s a nice enough theme, and I’ll admit this one mostly suffered from the fact that I played DGS (and thus never finished AA5 nor started AA6) because... under-exposure.

Now, here’s something I might get crucified for, part one. I think I just like the anime theme for Edgeworth more, because that one is more like boss fight music. It encapsulates him without needing to be changed. Edgeworth doesn’t stop being a force to be reckoned with just because he’s on your side now. In fact, he’s better now. (Rip to AA1 Edgeworth, themeless behavior.) I’ll admit I just don’t care for Great Revival. It’s probably the melody. It has some nice percussion going for it, but if I hate the melody, that’s going to take it nowhere. (All of his other themes are so much better... like the DL-6 theme music, and his Objection/Pursuit themes, but alas.)

C

At the very least, I like the opening strains of Nayhuta’s theme, which is a step up from D tier (I can’t remember Ga’ran’s enough to still like it after I stop listening to it, and I don’t like Edgeworth’s). I think that the instrumentation’s good. Some choir thing going on there in some sections. It falls off the wagon because I can’t remember the B section.

B

I like Blackquill’s for the same reasons I like Nahyuta’s (good instruments and opener), but it made a bigger first impression on me, which means it was more memorable from the outset. Nahyuta’s theme had to grow on me. This one captured me. I also appreciate the punch of the very first note and the rising tension of the opening strains. It’s a contrast from Mr Klavier “My theme is my rock song” Gavin, with this one saying he’s all business. All in all, good theme for this sad weeb man.

(Where I get crucified part two.) Ah, Godot. Iconic. It fits him perfectly. It sounds like music a coffee shop would play, and it's kind of sad and wistful and bitter, like him and his favorite brews. Truth be told, the main reason he isn’t higher is because I like energy and complexity. It’s not bad, it’s personal preference. His theme can be summed up to the ringtone version, and I don’t see the B or C section as something that re-contextualizes or adds anything to the main melody/motif. He gets to stay here due to memorability.

A

Klavier is here due to the power of rock. It’s also here because it exists in-universe. I also find it funny how his name is piano but this is led by a guitar. (No, that has no bearing on this theme's ranking.) Anyway, the B section or the bridge or something shows off said guitar (and is also a frustrating part of Turnabout Serenade but anyway), and helps characterize him. I just think it’s neat.

Sebastian’s theme (First Class Farewell, not the other one) is a classy call-and-response between two different kinds of instruments. It also opens like a marching band, which I think is neat since that evokes graduation. I also like the way it’s stereo. Anyway, I like it as a demonstration of how far he’s come (First Class Reasoning is very good at its goal, which is to be annoying and juvenile), yet the call-and-response nature shows that he’s still following someone’s lead. However, the lower instrument is not always the dominant one, showing that he can think for himself. Also, it’s orchestral, which fits his gimmick of being a conductor. The fact that there are multiple elements in this theme also shows that he can handle more complexity now.

S

Yo, Asogi, why do you have a bajillion epic themes? A Prosecutor, Reborn is the absolute best for me though. (And it’s the only theme of Asogi as a prosecutor and so is the only one I can judge. Luckily I like it the most.) There’s so much shit going on, and it shows how intertwined “the old Asogi” and “the new Asogi” are. This is the same guy, he’s just in pain. It’s a fusion of East and West, it’s aggressive, it makes liberal use of good leitmotifs... what’s not to love? The Western theme is in a minor key and is carried by some fairly aggressive strings, with piano/harpsichord in the background, reminiscent of both his mentor and just... the general British setting. The steady beat and rhythm of the Western motif reminds me of a clock (Hi Stronghart). It goes back and forth repeatedly and smoothly, which I think adds to it as well. Also just... the introduction of that second leitmotif, it’s like it just asserted itself into what would otherwise have been Samurai on a Mission: TGAA2 Edition. The bridge (towards the end of the song where it's stripped down a bit before the final refrain), the emotional point of the song is from Samurai on a Mission, showing what truly drives him and who he is, but then the Western theme starts up again. This whole song shows how he started in Japan and ended up in Britain, in fact. It’s so good, I love it, I can’t believe it’s over when it ends.

This theme just refused to let me go, send help. Reaper of the Bailey’s my favorite because it sets up the... everything of van Zieks. From the bang that hits your ears as hard as his boot hits the desk, to the oppressive, gothic tone of this waltz, what you hear from his theme is what you get out of the guy: he’s a noble, he’s graceful, he has the vampire aesthetic, and he’s scary. This song takes Blackquill’s “start with a bang” technique and takes it even further by regularly using a singular heavy percussive note for transition and repetition of sections. The harpsichord adds to it because honestly, I think his theme could and should be played on a church organ. (Also haha his name is Barok, Baroque.) The prolonged notes and pedal usage in some instances just add to the atmosphere, adding even more weight to everything. All of these elements make the theme heavy with no reprieve, which fits perfectly.

Also, the strings-led section shows up when he stoically watches a man burn to death. Buckwild. (I am not over that cut scene by the way.) It’s the best. The part near the ending with the high pitched refrain that sounds kind of like a music box is just tragic. His theme is a dance with death. It’s a steady thing that doesn’t lose energy even as it becomes miserable. If that was it, it would already be in B tier. And then everything gets re-contextualized. The plot and the music make you rethink what the hell was he thinking during that scene where he watched a man burn to death when you were pretty convinced the guy was involved in his death. It’s about the layers. You thought it was you who was dancing with death and the peril of everything being over. Nope. It’s him. He’s the one having a bad time here. He’s the one being dragged along by the steady Reaper. Epic. My favorite.

[avirams]

for the aa game, questions number 16, 19, 20, and 21? im kinda curious about your thoughts on those

yeyyyses aa asks thank you nonnie :DD

(somehow, these answers are even longer than last time. proceed with caution)

16. If there was anything you could change about the series, what would it be?

ohhh man there is SO much to discuss on this one. for starters, id probably keep shu takumi as the director for aa5 and aa6 because yeah. yep. while the characters were written really awesomely in those games imo, the plots execution kinda,,, ruined all that potential. soo many holes, and nothing made sense DLJLDK

next, id actually like!! keep the focus on whatever new characters are supposed to star in the games!! i talked about this too on my meta blog. phoenix is great and all, but bringing him back as a protag in everything just for the Brand(tm) was,,, a really bad choice. so give apollo the spotlight, athena her own game, and keep phoenix off to the side plEase. 

same with edgeworth!! we need more focus on the other rivals (klavier, franziska, etc etc). love him and all, but his arc ended ages ago back in the triology. and it really bugs me when they use him for everything, because like, we know capcom has the ability to write great character arcs!! edgeworth is a great sign on that!! but they just forgot about SO many other people for his sake!! 

oh oh also, they just need to bring back other characters in general. gumshoe, lana, klavier, yknow like. give other characters CRUMBS of what phoenix and edgeworth get pl

and finally, i just want them to talk about what happened in previous games. in the og triology, it was good cuz YES it was annoying when we got a flashback of dl6 every time but ALSO. also!!! dl6 is like, a crucial part of edgeworth and mayas and a couple other peoples development!!! the issue in aa5 and aa6 mostly, is that theyre SO scared of spoiling previous games, which reallllyyy hindered any possible development we couldve gotten :(

19. Favorite character design?

i talked about this more in emas opinion thingy, but definitely hers. everyone else kinda goes bloo blah on keeping the same outfit for literal decades,,, but hers actually changed a lot, while still keeping the lab coat and goggles!! theres also a lot of easter eggs in her design? like the pink princess pin? and the badge thingy as well, b/c those appeared on other peoples outfits and plot and that was just a really nice detail imo

20. Worst motive?

hoo boy. okay. i cant reeeally think of anything off the top of my head, because most of them were pretty cool, but yknow whos really sucked? ambassador albas!!!!! aai was SUPER fun and i loved a lot of the reveals!!! but the drug dealing subplot was,,,, really boring and gave me a headache. it took me an actual week of gameplay to finally convict him, all because he didnt want to be found out as the leader of the smuggling ring. really stupid

21. Favorite backstory?

hmhmhmhm,,, tbh, a lot of the main people have super fascinating backstories? i wont say edgeworth for this because it does get kinda tiring hearing it, apollo has 50, klavier has none and phoenix just gets like. 3 big things that happened in the past and we dont know anything else

after all that,,, probably lanas. i know she only appears for ONE case, but since i already answered ema, i really liked hers. because shes a strong person!! but even after all that, she couldnt do what she really wanted,,, and when she became a prosecutor it was gants fault,,, and everything was getting corrupted right in front of her,,, but she couldnt do anything cuz ema,,, yep. top tier stuff. itd be even better if we could get some context on intellectual attraction tho,,, :(

oh my GOSH i can fit so much rambling into these i apologize <//3 but thank you thank you thank you for wanting to hear these!! it means so much that people  dont mind me talking this much dfkmgkfdm