#ace attorney joe darke

[cosplaying-memester]

"Tell me, are you afraid of the Darke?"

[exaltedfuzz]

Finally actually played RFTA again. Thinking about it, Gant's motive for killing Bruce ended up being the same as Darke's motive for half his victims. Same eyes too. Something in this, I think... The abyss staring back a little too long...

[sukisukidaysook]

Currently losing my shit. My sister is playing RFTA and became CONVINCED that Joe Darke and Damon Gant are the same person because they have similar eyes.

Now I will admit she has a point, I never noticed the eyes, but this IS the funniest and wildest theory I have heard. She’s figuring out trial shit in the most outlandish way on the basis of “I bet Gant is Darke”

[assasinationbycarscoveredinhamrs]

I love seeing artwork of Klavier having conflict with his appearence regarding how similar he is to his brother, Kristoph, and the fear he has about commiting his same mistakes (Shoutout to this art by @rentonotnerd).

I wish capcom would have the balls to explore this aspect of his character instead of keeping him in the basement capcom please...

(Continuing my rant in the tags)

[pyropsychiccollector]

Ace Attorney: IF (... Part 8)

February rolls around. Everything's relatively quiet, with no one getting any game-changing cases like the December one. Not the attorneys, not the police, not the prosecutors…

Until one day, Ema approaches the Fey and Co. Law Offices. Naturally, Mia remembers her. She's Lana's sister… And reminds her so much of Maya that she's a little overwhelmed. But Mia keeps composed and hears Ema out when she says that she needs help, Diego curiously tuning in as well. But before Ema can get too far in explaining the case, Lana barges in and accosts her sister, coming across rather harsh and weary. Way stressed out. Ema argues back, claiming they should just ask Mia for help. That's who Lana always said to go to, and she doesn't understand why Lana is so aggro.

… Lana understands her sister's intent, but that doesn't change the fact this case is far more delicate and complicated than Ema can possibly know. They can't just… disseminate information, let alone seek out representation when it isn't their decision to make. Of course Mia doesn't let it die here; she can tell Lana isn't behaving like her usual rational self. It has her worried for her longtime friend.

Lana crumples on one of the couches and reluctantly opens up. Last week, a series of bizarre murders began popping up, and investigations were very sluggish because they couldn't pick up any definitive clues pointing to any single culprit. No fingerprints, no unexplained bloodstains, no hairs or discarded items near the bodies… So far, three people have lost their lives. And no, they don't even have proof this is the same killer for all three; it's just a theory based off the lack of evidence…

But last night, a suspect was finally brought in. He was at the scene of the third victim, lingering long before the whole department was notified. A witness phoned him in, suspecting him of the deed because he was up to his elbows in blood as he hovered over the victim, on his knees. … It was Damon Gant. The Chief of Police was suspected of these possibly connected murders. Understandably, the department was in an uproar, and the prosecutor's office seemed full of people all too eager to get "payback" because of the case in December… Chief Byrne was in a rather delicate position of delegating who should prosecute this sticky affair. Franziska was out of the country, and he wasn't so sure he should assign Wright because of Calisto working under Tyrell… Not that the grizzled detective was out for blood, but he did harbor doubts about Gant's true nature. And that could lead to a biased investigation. The police were already sending out Jake Marshall and Angel Starr as initial investigators, and Detective Goodman was assigned to the two murders from last week so there was a chance he'd get involved as well. Byrne was wavering between assigning Lana and Neil Marshall, and he didn't particularly like either option for obvious reasons. Lana because she was partners with Gant before transferring, and Neil because his brother was currently one of the detectives in charge. Byrne couldn't prosecute because that'd drive a wedge between the police and prosecutors… Not that they weren't already on brittle terms.

The whole mess was a nightmare, and Damon hadn't requested for an attorney yet. He seemed to be waiting to see how the investigation unfolded. Which…aggravated Lana. He cooperated with questioning thus far, but Damon always gave off this air like he knew more than he was letting on… He would bounce between his grandfatherly routine and his ace detective routine like it was just two sides of the same coin. He CLAIMED to be innocent, that he was just the first on the scene… And yet he didn't call for backup or anything. No one even knew he'd stepped out of his office. Then again, nights were usually more lax anyway in terms of the number of people around the office. It was so vexing.

Mia promises to give a good ol' college try, seeing how bothered her friend is with this sticky case. First Gant has to agree to representation, and that could go sourly if he's as reticent as Lana implies. Still, there's no harm in TRYING…

Damon easily enough accepts his visitors, though he gives the impression this arrest is no big deal. Damon seems to know Lana was behind Mia's arrival, and says the ol' girl should relax and take some time off with some swimming. (人◕ω◕) It's vexing to see a defendant so at peace with his circumstances. Damon isn't even a little bit peeved at his subordinates or trying to assert his innocence. Damon simply says there's no point in getting worked up; letting 'em see you sweat will only fuel the fires of suspicion even more. This isn't his first rodeo, and he's confident the investigation will inevitably reach the truth. So why should he panic or vent? (人◕ω◕)

Damon isn't that fussed about who his attorney winds up being. It's nice that Mia came out all this way for a lump of coal like him, but the Chief isn't in any rush, and there's probably worthier clients than him just waiting to pound down Mia's door. If Mia's so fussed, he can give her a letter of request to investigate the scene. Doesn't mean he accepts her defense, or that he'll tell her anything worthy of note just yet. But Damon does think it's sweet to see one of Lana's friends is such a go-getter. (人◕ω◕) He'll give Mia 'til the end of the day (or visiting hours rather) to have one last chat. He leaves it up to her to decide if his case is worth her attention.

Mia can see why her friend is so stressed. With a defendant like Gant, who needs prosecutors? (人◕ω◕) Is it his position as Chief that allows him to be so easygoing? Is it the lack of evidence they've been suffering that makes him think they won't be able to pronounce him Guilty? Whatever the case, he's brash, and all too smug. Mia doesn't understand why Lana respects this guy so much. (人◕ω◕)

Regardless, while Diego stays behind to watch the office, Mia heads out to the most recent crime scene with Ema and Lana... Or rather, the site where the body was discovered. Because in spite of the bloodstains around the body, investigators have their doubts about this being where the victim died. For one, it was behind a restaurant next to a dumpster area; the victim was never known to travel to this part of town, living farther north. Restaurant regulars have never seen the man before, at least as far as they've dug up so far.

There are other reasons, but sadly none that Lana are privy to. She's too close to Damon to be trusted with case information. And there's some really motivated investigators who have been suspicious of Gant for a while. Hence, Jake turns Lana away at the scene, and only through her recommendation is Mia (and Ema) allowed in. With his brother possibly on this case, Jake is determined to do this by the book and be ever watchful of the attorney.

... That said, Jake's easy to soften up because of two factors: One, his brother's alive and he's still a detective so he's not as lazy or bitter. Two, the fact that Mia is best friends with Lana means Jake puts a lot of stock in her as well. After all, he's still dating Lana. Mia and Jake have heard a lot about each other through Lana, they simply haven't had much time to properly be introduced. Conflicting schedules and all that. They have met before... Just don't know each other that well.

With Ema's forensic tools (luminol, fingerprinting powder, etc.), they determine the bloodstains around the body are rather one-sided (no stains were wiped or washed away). And Jake confirms the police have determined this as well; it's their theory these stains here are just from Gant kneeling down and...poking around the victim's body. For reasons he will not disclose. It's not a good look for him, but Mia's adamant that it's not... a noose around his neck. Not yet. Jake admires Mia for keeping it together under pressure, but he's pretty convinced of Gant's guilt. The old man's been up to something for a while, and the two of them aren't super fond of one another. Always quick to criticize one another... That's just how Jake's felt. And Angel is about the same; admired Lana and Damon as a pair of sleuthing legends, but the old man's been giving off weird vibes for the past couple years.

The investigation and subsequent trial days are... slow. They only have three days under the current system, so there's a lot of pressure to find anything that strongly implicates Gant... Double jeopardy and all that. Hence Chief Byrne's executive decision to have Phoenix and Calisto help on the investigation end of things, while Neil handles the courtroom. This turns out for the best as two more victims are found throughout those days... A total of five victims, and they can't even say the two latest discoveries were killed while Damon was in custody. The autopsies are tricky due to the people being reported as missing months ago... They seem fresh, but there's a chance they were kept in a refrigerated area.

Three days, a lot of pressure and a lot of tension... A number of witnesses are called in, investigators are questioned at length, Damon keeps getting pressed for his side of the story... Eventually, Mia homes in on Joe Darke. Not because he particularly stood out in his witness accounts, but because he didn't stand out... There was this mysterious air about him, how calm and collected he was on the stand despite the scenes he purportedly bore witness to and despite being questioned at length. Oh, he seemed caught off-guard with some of the inquiries, but it was always more of a...very casual surprise. Like if someone told you it was raining, and you looked out the window to check before returning to what you were doing. That sort of nonchalance.

Joe never went hard on Damon with his testimonies. That was why it took until the last day of the trial for Mia to home in on him. Joe's alibi for the murders was never ironclad, and he did get jumpy when they talked about the times of death being thrown off... The switchblade knife he carried with him had its tip broken off, and he had no ready answer for where it went.

... Damon does. At long last, he reveals just what he was up to with that third victim he found. The reason he inspected the body himself, without letting forensics take care of it... was that he wanted to ensure there was no foul play with the investigation. The M.O. with these murders is that not a single clue is left behind, ever - this got Damon thinking it might be an inside job, but overall he couldn't be too sure. But when he found the knife tip in the body that he very luckily came across... Damon knew he had something to blow the case wide open.

All he needed to do was lure out the perp by becoming a suspect. Joe Darke had never come forward until this trial, yet he was so intimately aware with some of the details... A broken switchblade knife was just what Damon needed to compare the knife tip with. Sure, he'll take the rap for concealing evidence, but it's a pittance compared to what Darke will receive if the tip matches the blade, and if the weapon matches with the victim's wound.

This is enough to send Joe into wild hysterics and try assaulting the defendant... But Neil steps in and restrains Joe before he can do any real harm. Once subdued and in police custody, all they have to do is wait and hear back from the lab about the evidence that Damon produced. To everyone's relief, it all checks out. It's not phony, there's little room for doubt that Joe's knife was the murder weapon for that victim... And what's more, Damon never knew the locations they found the fourth and fifth bodies in. He knew nothing about them. But Joe seemed to, and that's a lead to follow up on. With nothing incriminating Damon in any of these five serial killings, they have no choice but to declare him innocent as the day draws to a close. Joe Darke will be seized as a new suspect.

It's not, precisely, the happiest victory. Damon did perform a dirty trick to lure the culprit in... And there are those in the department who still don't trust him completely. But the fact remains, Damon didn't kill anyone, and he wasn't twisting people to do his bidding... Damon allowed them to reach this verdict on their own merits. All he did was produce the knife tip that he...preserved.

In the end, Damon liked what he saw from this new generation of lawyers and investigators. He never begrudged them suspecting him - after all, he couldn't be sure of who to trust either. It bothered him the murders were so meticulously handled... He really just wanted this culprit caught. The law seemed so... powerless. Against one anonymous man.

But in this trial, Damon saw hope. Lawyers, prosecutors, and police were working hand-in-hand. Sure, they butted heads at times... But they held out for those three days. Never gave up no matter how bleak things got... It was nowhere near like Manny or Blaise pulling their "miracles" back in the day. This was legit, and Damon only wished he didn't complicate matters with his actions.

Damon would let the prosecutors be. See where Chief Byrne steered that ship. He'd ease up the the department's stances against attorneys, at least the ones who earned their trust... Couldn't share everything prior to trials, but they didn't have to stonewall people legitimately trying to prove others' innocence.

They were entering a new age of the law. (人◕ω◕) There wasn't a need for Damon to interfere. Let the kiddos stumble and learn their way.

No one gets fired or laid off. Lana and Neil can continue prosecuting, Jake, Angel, and Goodman can all still be detectives... Damon's just here in a grandfatherly capacity now (still the Chief of Police), being tough on 'em at times but overall wishing them the best with their respective careers. (人◕ω◕)

It's gonna be different with all these new colorful faces sprinkled into the mix... But overall, it'll be great for fleshing out Mia and all the usual cast. There is more than one attorney in Japan. ... More than one detective. ... More than one prosecutor. (人◕ω◕) This is what we call fun~... \(人◕ω◕)/

[ace-attorney-smash-or-pass]

[bwbaceattorney]

[askaceattorney]

Dear Anonymous,

I didn't care when the Police Department used it as their mascot. Why would I care if anyone else did, let alone the Glimmerous Fop?

- Ema Skye

[aa-ensemble-smackdown]

Left: Glen Elg, poisoned by Furio Tigre (3-3) Right: Joe Darke, executed for serial killing (1-5)

[inbarfink]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Concept Art - Joe Darke/Joe Aokage

Skull tie.....

lik the knife

[lawyer-in-law]

The story of Joe Darke started off kinda dark and then the more information you got the funnier and more absurd it became.

I think what really gets me about Joe Darke is when you first hear he's a serial killer you expect him to have done typical serial killer things like stalking victims and doing calculated killings. They make him sound and look really sinister. Heck just look at his game art:

And then you find what really happened was he accidently kills a man while driving, and then instead of waiting for the police or even doing a classic hit-and-run, he kills the witness who saw the accident, then kills the witness who witnessed that, then kills another witness who witnessed all of this. And then later a guy who saw him bury the bodies.

It's so absurd its funny. This is less of a serial killer, and more of a man who just had a really bad day

[bagelbun333]

The death penalty in Ace Attorney | The fandom’s biggest misconception

Capital punishment is something we all know is a real consequence when it comes to murder in Ace Attorney, but do all culprits who commit these crimes actually get the death penalty? That’s what I’m going to go through in depth within this post!

CW and TW: mentions of death, execution, murder, suicide etc.

Also major spoilers for basically all the mainline ace attorney games!

To start off with, what exactly warrants a death penalty in Japanifornia? Murder has been referred to as a capital crime that deserves a capital punishment, which in turn led people to believe that all murder convicts get the death sentence. However, there is a slight mistranslation within that statement and it should say “murder is a charge that risks the death penalty.” “Risk” is the keyword here. While yes, it is possible murder charges can warrant the death penalty, that doesn’t mean every culprit will get executed. Like, this isn’t Danganronpa 😭 What people don’t think about is the different kinds of murder charges there are, and the differences in sentencing this can create.

Murder charges can go from:

1st Degree Murder - Premeditated/long time planning

2nd Degree Murder - Not premeditated but the intent is there within the moment/deliberate killing

3rd Degree Murder - Deliberate reckless behaviour resulting in death

Aggravated Murder - Murder when an aggravating circumstance is proven (such as kidnapping or torture)

Voluntary Manslaughter - Intention to kill but is not guilty of murder due to provocation or mental incapacity

Involuntary Manslaughter - Killing without intention within the heat of the moment

Self Defence - Killing for defence of oneself

Consensual Homicide - Assisting a suicide

Attempted Murder - Planning and failing to kill

In Japan (the country this series is initially based on) these charges have different kinds of sentences depending on circumstances. So naturally, Japanifornia must have punishments very similar to this. These are the sentences for these crimes in Japan according to my research:

1st Degree - 5 years to life imprisonment

2nd Degree - 5 years to life imprisonment

3rd Degree - 3 to 5 years imprisonment

Aggravated Murder - Death penalty or life imprisonment

Voluntary Manslaughter - 1 to 15 years imprisonment

Involuntary Manslaughter - 1 to 15 years imprisonment

Consensual Homicide - 6 months to 7 years imprisonment

Self Defence - No imprisonment

Attempted Murder - 5 years to life imprisonment

Death penalties are usually passed in cases of multiple murders, although there are exceptions where individuals have committed a single murder that have been executed because it involved torture, extreme brutality or kidnapping with a demand for ransom. It is punishable by five years to life in prison, and with the death penalty if aggravating circumstances are proven. The only exception is for juvenile offenders since the minimum age for capital punishment in Japan is 18.

With this, we can work out what kinds of charges each of the ace attorney culprits will be given. (Mostly for the Phoenix Wright trilogy since I can’t recall much beyond aa4.)

(For clarification’s sake: a “/” is used when a crime could be one or the other or both, while the “,” is used to separate different crimes.)

Frank Sahwit: 2nd Degree Murder

Redd White: 1st Degree Murder

April May: 1st Degree Murder (Accomplice)

Dee Vasquez: Self Defence/Voluntary Manslaughter

Yanni Yogi: 1st Degree Murder

Manfred von Karma: 2nd Degree Murder, 1st Degree Murder (accomplice, planned out)

Joe Darke: Serial Murders (technically spree murder, guilty on five counts)

Damon Gant: 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Murder (Serial Murders)

Lana Skye: 1st Degree Murder, 2nd Degree Murder (Unwilling Accomplice in both)

Richard Wellington: 2nd Degree Murder/Involuntary Manslaughter

Mimi Miney: 1st Degree Murder

Morgan Fey: 1st Degree Murder, Attempted Murder (Accomplice in both, planned out the crime)

Acro: Attempted Murder, Involuntary Manslaughter

Matt Engarde: 1st Degree Murder (Hired a hitman), Consensual Homicide (driven a woman to kill herself)

Dahlia Hawthorne: 1st Degree Murder, Consensual Homicide, 3 counts of Attempted Murder, and 2nd Degree Murder (Serial Murders)

Luke Atmey: 1st Degree Murder

Furio Tigre: Either 1st or 2nd Degree Murder

Godot: Voluntary Manslaughter/Self Defence (defending someone else)

Iris: Voluntary Manslaughter (accomplice)

Kristoph Gavin: 2 counts of 1st Degree Murder, Attempted Murder (Serial Murders)

Those who canonically got the death penalty:

- Joe Darke

- Dahlia Hawthorne

- Terry Fawles

- Simon Blackquill

Those who canonically got the death penalty but didn’t get executed:

- Terry Fawles (he died anyway rip)

- Simon Blackquill

Those who are most likely to get the death penalty but never canonically stated:

- Manfred von Karma (not explicitly stated but heavily implied)

- Damon Gant

- Matt Engarde

- Morgan Fey (vaguely implied)

- Kristoph Gavin

- The Phantom

Those who don’t get the death penalty:

- Frank Sahwit

- Redd White (he would if his blackmail victims got leaked)

- April May

- Dee Vasquez

- Yanni Yogi

- Lana Skye

- Richard Wellington (could be a chance that he would considering his victim was a police officer)

- Mimi Miney (unsure considering her accomplice is implied to be on death row)

- Acro

- Luke Atmey

- Furio Tigre

- Godot

- Iris

To recap, the death penalty in Japanifornia is reserved for the criminals with absolutely no hope for rehabilitation, and for those who have aggravated murder charges/serial murder charges. Even people like Redd White will not receive the death penalty.

After all, Redd White did plead guilty to Mia’s murder specifically because getting arrested for one murder would be safer than having his list of blackmail victims get leaked to the press. It would be strange to confess for his own safety if he was just going to get executed anyway.

In the later games it is shown that the law is changing, and the death penalty is even less involved when culprits are convicted of murder. (Not counting charges in Khura’in, that’s different.) So it is very possible that the punishments can change overtime for those who were already convicted; meaning there’s a chance that they can be given a lighter sentence later on. There’s even a culprit in aa5 who was planning a murder but ended up killing someone else accidentally, and they were released from prison mere months after the trial. If they can released for that then surely a lot of the other culprits deserve the same treatment.

Speaking of Khura’in, that is actually more of a parody of what the fandom thought Japanifornia’s death penalty worked like. Even then, after the ending aa6, it looks like that judicial system will change for the better too.

And that’s pretty much it! The reason I wanted to go through this topic is because the whole murder = death penalty ideology is taken way out of proportion, and has been treated as a fact for far too long when it’s actually not completely true. This is just what I’ve managed to research and you can feel free to believe it or not, but I really wanted to share a new perspective on this subject. I, for one, wanted to share some hope for people; especially because I know a lot of these culprits have a lot of fans, and they deserve to have a brighter perspective on these characters. I definitely want some of these characters to return and this research really helped me feel confident that some of them have the potential to make a comeback.

Plus with the HD release of, not only the Apollo trilogy, but the Edgeworth collection in the same year, it’s more than likely that aa7 will bring back old characters! The reason a lot of these old characters didn’t make a reappearance sooner is because Capcom stood by this “no spoiler” rule for the players who may have missed out on certain games in this series. But now that we have all the mainline games in the series getting a HD release on all modern platforms, this “no spoiler” rule will most likely not be necessary anymore!

No more of this “if they’re guilty they’re never coming back” bs, let’s be more hopeful! It’s actually less likely that all culprits would get executed than the majority not getting executed. Let’s bffr!

And even if they don’t come back in aa7, we now have a more clear understanding on this messy topic, and you can feel free to use my analysis as a way to explain ace attorney culprits being able to leave prison in fanfictions, roleplays, fanarts etc. Don’t let the fandom tell you what to do >:3

Unrelated but I think this has been my first analysis post I put on tumblr and it was very fun to delve into! I may make more if anyone is interested :3c

[demonadelem]

My most fun Ace Attorney headcanon is that Joe Darke was completely innocent and the real killer got away and never re-offended, the reevaluated evidence to his innocence was handed in shortly before Edgeworth's suicide note appeared.

[shrinkthisviolet]

So obviously in the updated AA canon we know that it was the events of 1-5 that led Edgeworth to fake his suicide (or more likely seriously consider it before backing out) and go dark for a year...but what about in the original canon? Because 1-5 didn't exist then and 1-4 ended on a somewhat good note...what do you think Edgeworth's reasoning was in that 'verse?

YESSSS omg I’m so glad someone asked me this, because I’m delighted to talk about it! This got long, so more under the cut:

So one of the benefits of watching an Ace Attorney playthrough of JFA is getting to hear the players’ and commenters thoughts about Edgeworth’s disappearance…especially since a good chunk of them played the original DS version of the trilogy that did not include RFTA (1-5), while others played the new version (or a ported version, like me) that did include RFTA. And it changes a few things about Edgeworth.

For one thing, a change that I don’t really like is that it takes away Edgeworth knowingly forging evidence. It’s not technically contradictory because only Phoenix states it as fact and bases it on rumors he’s heard/read about and rumors can exaggerate…but it does diminish his arc a bit. I won’t go on and on about it (I could definitely do that another time), but I’ll say this to put it concisely: the arc still sorta works, it’s just weaker.

But anyway, on to the second change, and the topic of your ask: in the original version, we jump from 1-4 to 2-4 in regards to Edgeworth appearances, whereas in the new version, it’s 1-5 to 2-4. And this…is a point of contention for some.

I think in both situations, Edgeworth “choosing death” makes sense. In both cases, his entire worldview is upended. In 1-4, his mentor who he thought he could trust and greatly respected turned out to be evil and hateful enough to prosecute him for two murders, one of which von Karma committed himself (granted, von Karma wasn’t a great father himself, emotionally abusing both Edgeworth and Franziska, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t love him, strive for his love, and respect him highly as a prosecutor). And in 1-5, Lana revealed that she forged evidence during the Joe Darke trial, which Edgeworth presented believing it was legitimate, while Gant undermined and manipulated Edgeworth throughout the entire trial (and also for years before that) and directly compared them, which surely would’ve shaken Edgeworth to his core.

So to put it simply, I think in either case, the explanation is more or less the same: Edgeworth is pushed so far that his mental health suffers for it, he questions his entire career as a prosecutor, so he leaves that note and disappears. I think with either case as the final tipping point, it works…however, I think 1-5 explains it much stronger.

See, in either case, Edgeworth’s worldview is shattered in 1-4, right? It has to be. No doubt he starts to question his path after 1-4, but his responses are different.

In the original version, the von Karma case (1-4) breaks him (understandably) and he disappears, leaving his note behind, with everyone else none the wiser that he was struggling at all.

However, in the new version, in 1-5, we see him attempting to push down his emotions and keep going. This is very consistent for him because he’s been doing it for years (he repressed the events of his father’s murder so hard that he didn’t entirely remember what happened that night—his memory became a nightmare that twisted Edgeworth up and made him think he killed his own father, after all), it’s all he knows how to do, and he’d lean on it even harder after losing the man who raised and trained him for years. And it works…but then something else breaks him, because even someone as repressed as Miles Edgeworth has a breaking point.

The stuff with Damon Gant and Lana Skye, the revelations about the Darke forged evidence, Gant saying he and Edgeworth are the same after patronizing and manipulating him all trial (and for years prior), on top of everything else…yeah, that being the final impetus to break Edgeworth once and for all and make him flee absolutely makes sense and hits so much harder.

I will say, the only thing that doesn’t really make sense is Phoenix attributing Edgeworth’s disappearance to him being upset that he lost his perfect win record. Considering he worked with Phoenix in RFTA, considering Phoenix saw Edgeworth being patronized and manipulated by Damon Gant (and was there for the forgery revelation), it’s strange that Phoenix would then conclude “oh yeah he left because he got mad that his perfect streak was broken, and definitely for no other reason that merits my sympathy.” It doesn’t entirely make sense that he says that in the original version either, though (dude, you just watched Edgeworth’s mentor and guardian be convicted of murdering his dad, you think maybe that had something to do with it??), so I can let that go.

Phoenix was emotionally fraught at the time, and hurt about Edgeworth leaving without saying a word to him, so I can believe he was just venting and being unfair in his anger. Edgeworth does say that Phoenix sealing him off from a perfect win record caused him to start to change, and he acts in such a way that seems to suggest it did inform his decision to leave, but again…whether it’s 1-4 or 1-5, Phoenix’s actions were never the sole reason for Edgeworth leaving. So this isn’t necessarily changed.

You can argue Edgeworth in 1-5 is kinda OOC in that he feels like post-trilogy Edgeworth, and you’re not wrong (that’s another change I dislike), but…strictly in terms of explaining his disappearance and its circumstances, I prefer 1-5.

(sidenote: I know a lot of people consider that he contemplated suicide, and I don’t necessarily disagree with that reading, I think it’s very reasonable and possible.

However, I’ve also heard the interpretation that Edgeworth wasn’t suicidal, he just couldn’t continue to prosecute, and couldn’t stay in America with all its bad memories, so he left to go elsewhere and find himself again…hoping that when he returned, the prosecutor he once had been, the “Demon Prosecutor,” would be dead—and that’s an explanation I consider possible too, especially since his return is never really treated with the gravitas of “oh, I was suicidal, and I went to therapy while I was away, and I’m doing better now.”

Still, it wouldn’t be the first time Ace Attorney was flippant about something serious, so I find either explanation to be plausible.)

This was a looong one lol but hopefully I addressed your question to the extent you wanted!

TL;DR: I prefer RFTA’s version of events preceding Edgeworth’s disappearance because I feel it fits better with his characterization, but I also understand people who prefer the original, and I don’t think they’re as different as people might claim.

[justobuy]

He’s a meme yet he supposedly murdered a fucking child just because that said child walked by witnessing other murders. 

one of the most heartless murders in AA and it's coming from him.

Joe Darke is such a meme to me.

He has no mugshot. The portrait we do see of him looks like a scrawny Gant. He was pinned for the single most ridiculous series of murders I've ever seen in Ace Attorney. He went to confess, but got spooked and ran into the office of the guy interrogating him. He got folded by a cowboy and a teenage girl. He got framed for a crime that was, in itself, faked to frame said teenager for killing said cowboy. He was canonically executed at the end all of this nonsense. Everyone thinks he's a bastard and 100% deserved it.

He is a fucking disaster, your Honour. In the most literal terms imaginable. His life was a god damn Darke comedy.

[vonlipvig]

Causes of death in the Ace Attorney franchise

Because I'm bored, and what do we do when we get bored? We MAKE LISTS! I went through every character dead character in the canon game universe (so AA1-6, AAI1-2, and TGAA1-2, sorry PWvsPL) and jotted it all down below, so let's see what the most common (specified) cause of death in Ace Attorney is:

Stabbed (x15)

Shot (x15)

Hit by a blunt object (x14)

Impaled (x5)

Poisoned (x4)

Fell to their death (x3)

Hanged (x3)

Car crash (x2)

Strangled (x1)

Electrocuted (x1)

Crushed (x1)

Suffocated (x1)

Asphyxiated (x1)

Heart Failure (x1)

Burned (x1)

Full list with character names all color-coded by game and more specific data below! (Beware of SPOILERS for the whole series!)

COLOR CODE: OG Trilogy - AJ - DD & SOJ - AAI1 - AA12 - TGAA 1 & 2

(AAI gets two different colors since a lot of people probably haven't played AAI2 yet. Sorry, DD and SoJ, you have to share. 'Why don't you do one color for the whole Apollo Trilo-' No <3)

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Stabbed (x15)

(Bruce Goodman, Misty Fey, Rex Kyubi, Constance Courte, Clay Terran, Metis Cykes, Inga Karkhuul Khura'in, Byrne Faraday, Manny Coachen, Horace Knightley, Di-Jun Huang, Mason Milverton, Jezaille Brettª, Odie Asman, Klint van Zieks)

Shot (x15)

(Gregory Edgeworth, Robert Hammond, Turner Grey, Pal Meraktis, Romein LeTouse, Magnifi Gramarye¨, Dhurke Sahdmadhi, Buddy Faith, Oliver Deacon, Deid Mann, Mack Rell, Ethan Rooke, Pop Windibank, Genshin Asogi, Tobias Gregson)

Hit by a blunt object (x14)

(Cindy Stone, Mia Fey, Russell Berry, Kane Bullard, Zak Gramarye, Candice Arme, Paht Rohl, Archie Buff, Jove Justice, Dumas Gloomsbury, Ka-Shi Nou, Isaac Dover, Jill Crane, Jack Cameron)

Impaled (x5)

(Jack Hammer, Neil Marshall, Manov Mistree, Puhray Zeh'lot, Tahrust Inmee¨)

Poisoned (x4)

(Glen Elg, Terry Fawles¨, Drew Misham, John H. Wilson)

Fell to their death (x3)

(Dustin Prince, Jack Shipley*, Akbey Hicks)

Hanged (x3)

(Joe Darke°, Celeste Inpax¨, Dahlia Hawthorne°)

Car crash (x2)

(Ini Miney*, Selena Sprocket*)

Strangled (x1)

(Juan Corrida)

Electrocuted (x1)

(Doug Swallow)

Crushed (x1)

('Di-Jun Huang')

Suffocated (x1)

(Taifu Toneido)

Asphyxiated (x1)

(Duncan Ross)

Heart Failure (x1)

(Azura Summers^)

Burned (x1)

(Magnus McGilded)

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ª: She was stabbed, right? Like, she was poisoned first, but she died from the stab wound first, if I'm correct. Do tell if I'm wrong, lmao.

*: Accidental deaths

^: Natural death

¨: Deaths by suicide

°: Executed (Joe Darke's method of execution isn't mentioned, but if we assume Japanifornia goes by Japan laws, then hanging is the only method of execution used. Probably a higher number of deaths by hanging then, whether you believe some people got executed or not. Also, a lot of the killers in TGAA probably got executed, too? I just jotted down the confirmed cases, but yeah.)

(Also, von Karma died of 'Something'. Who knows. Of being too ashamed, maybe. Sucks to be him).

I probably missed some characters/omitted them, because who knows, it's my list I guess. If I forgot someone important do let me know!