#both to Ace Attorney players

[alynnl]

The last part of the trial and the credits were long, but I have fully experienced the finale The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles!

I finally know the truth behind The Professor case that took place ten years before the present day in-game.

Parts of it, I guessed correctly - that Genshin Asogi actually did take someone's life and Mael Stronghart was the true mastermind, but other parts really surprised me - Seishiro Jigoku was involved in the plot that ultimately killed Genshin, and Klint van Zieks was the mass murderer all along.

I also couldn't have predicted the extent of Stronghart's involvement - there was hardly a single person that he didn't blackmail or extort the whole time! Ryunosuke, Susato, Yujin, Sholmes and Iris were all very lucky in that respect.

But Genshin's incredible foresight to hide Klint's will (both a confession and his last words to his surviving family) - was truly what allowed the truth to come to light in the end.

And it was an emotionally devastating truth, both to Kazuma Asogi and Barok van Zieks.

Kazuma, who believed his father was completely blameless and convicted on forged evidence learned that Genshin actually did take Klint's life.

Barok, who idolized his brother and held him up as a paragon of justice found out that Klint took many lives (some under duress from Stronghart, who Barok trusted until now) - and he could only be stopped in a duel to the death with Genshin.

And all of this would have stayed hidden if Ryunosuke hadn't been in Great Britain, growing from an inexperienced nervous student of law to a true attorney who helps his client uncover the truth.

The truth is a guiding light, and that's demonstrated. It doesn't always lead to happiness, but it can lead to closure. And that's exactly what he brought to both Kazuma and Barok, who held onto resentment and darkness for ten long years. And those who stray from that guiding light remain in the darkness, like Stronghart, treating people as mere things to achieve their own version of "peace" and "justice" at so many others' expense.

And while the Herlock Sholmes Deus Ex Machina (the hologram broadcast to the Queen of England!) did happen out of nowhere to stop Stronghart from pulling a whole Karma Houdini, that doesn't take away from the fact that it was Ryunosuke who found the evidence.

Ryunosuke is the one who pieced together the truth that was covered up (or in Genshin Asogi's case, protected until the right time came long.) It was his effort that won the day, and all the characters acknowledge him for this. He grows and the narrative awards him for it! He knows what he's going to do with the rest of his life now - return back home to Japan as a defense lawyer.

And it's because of him that other characters have a future to think about.

Gina wants to keep the Inspector's spirit she saw in her old boss Gregson alive (but without the spying of course) after getting a final letter from him.

Van Zieks wants to publish the truth about The Professor Case, no matter what it might do to his reputation. He's almost resigned to leave London and the Prosecutor's Office presuming his name will be permanently disgraced, but it's Kazuma who encourages him to stay and continue fighting for the truth in the courtroom.

Kazuma begins to reconcile with Van Zieks, even if he can't truly forgive him for prosecuting his father. He chooses to remain a prosecutor, recognizing that he has to fight his own inner demons and do some personal growth of his own.

Iris has decided to give up the search on finding her "true" father and has acknowledged Sholmes as such, even calling him "The Greatest." But Sholmes has decided that eventually, Iris will know the truth about her parentage.

The minor one or two-case characters also reappear to give some giggles in the post-case credits scenes too.

(My little Benbaro/Harebaro heart was happy to see Albert Harebrayne return since Barok as invited him back to London to go sightseeing. Awww.)

Also the usual British Judge stepping up to declare Barok van Zieks Not Guilty was a nice touch. (I guess I did get my Turnabout Goodbyes parallel after all!)

Overall, I believe The Great Ace Attorney had a nice ending. Was it perfect? No. But did it stick to the overall themes of the story and deliver on those? Absolutely. Was I sold on the Ryunosuke - Kazuma dynamic at the very end? Certainly! Do I want Barok van Zieks to have some relief in what he believes to be a turbulent future ahead? Of course! Is Susato Mikotoba now my favorite assistant of all time? You bet!

I enjoyed the time I spent with this game as I unraveled the mystery of the main story, got to know the characters and really immersed myself in this world. I am glad I picked it up, and I know for sure I will play it again sometime in the future. The game mechanics (old and new) were enjoyable, the music was always on point and the sound effects just added to the bigger picture.

My blind play through was truly a remarkable experience. And one of my favorite Ace Attorney entries, maybe even one of my favorite Nintendo Switch games of all time.

I look forward to the Escapade chapters, which I will look into very soon!

[callonpeevesie]

I'm onto something I'm telling you

[235uranium]

okay... I've only got sojiro rank 10 left and futaba's at rank 7... let's just hope I don't get fucked up by turning down the romance route

[androdragynous]

as my own direct immediate list of game grievances i hate that stardew valley expects you to side against a wheelchair user who is upset that he was moved without his consent. i hate that the mass effect trilogy gives you visible scarring as a direct result of choosing mean dialogue and heals it if you're nice. i hate that the vampire the masquerade ttrpg has a monstrous player class that can appear as horrible vampiric monsters or as visibly disabled people and both of these appearances are mechanically the same. i hate that dark souls games have a difficulty level implemented in a way that cannot be adjusted for disability. i hate that i can play as a mermaid or a werewolf or a horse in the sims games but can't use a wheelchair. i hate that the ace attorney games have so much flashing and not all of the games can disable it. i hate that disability is constantly something that happens to teach a lesson, i hate that disability is something that happens as a punishment, i hate that disability is either compensated perfectly with no drawbacks or something that is endlessly sought to be cured. i hate that no character customization will ever include the mobility aids i use, that the player avatars that represent me will never look like me. i am so goddamn annoyed and so goddamn tired.

[regallibellbright]

[ID: A twitter post by Lebbertoxd @InsaneLetterbox reading: “You have an Avatar-sized budget to adapt ONE (capitalized) video game into a movie. What game are you adapting?” End ID]

yoinking this from twitter cause i want to hear yalls opinions!

[lili-is-an-artist-not]

AAI2 being an accidental (intentional? It’s hard to tell) masterclass in how people will write off or excuse abusive behavior if they think the recipient deserves it will never not make me wild

Blaise, from the moment he appears as a character, takes literally every opportunity to belittle and humiliate Sebastian that he can and NO ONE gives a Shit. Because they agree. Sebastian Is a useless idiot, almost everything he says Is worthless and can be ignored- all this time he’s been an arrogant, idiotic, spoilt brat that at best wastes your time and at worst could very easily get innocent people hurt. So yeah say it out loud, knock him down a peg, nothing wrong with Sebastian finally learning his lesson.

Never mind it’s his dad saying it (the person he doubtlessly spends the most time around), never mind being told you’re useless, worthless or a stupid idiot doesn’t teach you anything and isn’t criticism you can learn from, never mind that Sebastian Never Once tries to defend himself -a character we see consistently get upset at the slightest hint of reproach- he just quietly takes it.

It’s effective on both the meta and narrative levels too, since it’s not just the characters that don’t care, it’s also the players. You‘ve dealt with this idiot for the past two and a half cases, and watched him be coddled through his incompetence the whole time, seeing his dad walk in -someone it’s clear Sebastian looks up to- look his son in the eyes and go „Shut up, no one wants to listen to your nonsense“ is Funny! Until the ‚Oh shit‘ moment anyway.

This is in part due to the fact that this is an ace attorney game and it’s nearly impossible to tell when they’re going for something serious or playing something as a bit- which is why I’m unsure how intentional it was at least on the meta level. A non ace attorney game I think would have had players raising red flags about Sebastian‘s situation from the get go

Congrats AA on having such notoriously inconsistent writing that it accidentally worked to emphasize and underline the message of your narrative this one time I guess.

[n3felibata]

This is gonna be a hot take, but it bothers me when people say that Phoenix became an attorney JUST for Edgeworth.

Yes, Edgeworth is a big part of the reason he became a lawyer. Yes, Phoenix went to law school after finding out he's the "demon prosecutor" now. Hell, I'll even outright admit that Phoenix would not be an attorney if it weren't for Edgeworth.

But that's the only reason he stands in court. Goodness, no. It goes deeper than that, and it has a lot to do with Phoenix's depth and the overall message of Ace Attorney.

First of all, in the first few minutes of the very first game, Phoenix outright says that Larry is part of the reason he became a lawyer, too.

(Really, I feel like some of you are forgetting that Larry defended him that day as well...)

And second of all, there's the fact that he continues to be a lawyer in Justice for All despite thinking Edgeworth was dead for most of that game. And I have to admit it's been a while since I've played Justice For All, but I remember him defending his clients just as passionately as he does in any other game.

Edgeworth directly asks Phoenix in this same game why he stands in court, and Phoenix responds by saying this:

At least him saying in PWAA that he stood up for Maya because he "can't just abandon her" and "someone has to look out for people with no one on their side" is only one dialogue option out of three.

But telling Edgeworth he wants to save lives is the only answer the player can give to that question. Because it's the correct one. Phoenix Wright has a huge sense of justice, and it's a big part of his character.

This is why Phoenix hates prosecutors so much, or more specifically the ones that only stand in court to "win" rather than to actually seek the truth. And that's probably also why the writers continously make the antagonists of these games people who fit that exact description.

And yes, his backstory (or at least this specific part of it) may not be as traumatic as the other characters', but it doesn't need to be. This kind of stuff can seriously impact a child, especially when the teacher themselves in joining in on the bullying. His clients are going through worse, yes, but regardless, this experience taught him that people will assume the worst in you with little to no evidence and what it means to have someone believe in you when no one else will. He wants to be there for people going through worse than him, and that's valid. Not every character needs to be an orphan or rape victim or something to be an intriguing character with reasonable motivations and experiences that are meaningful to them.

Again, I'm not denying that Edgeworth is a huge part of why he went to law school (and thank goodness he did because I can't imagine what would've happened to Edgeworth if he never became an attorney...), but saying that Edgeworth is the ONLY factor feels like it's not only disacknowledging Phoenix's depth and reducing his character to just his relationship with Edgeworth, but also feels like it's disacknowledging the themes of justice in the writing of the game itself. Like no offense, but how did y'all manage to take what's clearly meant to be a satirical call out to Japan's flawed justice system and reduce it to just "yaoi"?

I LOVE wrightworth, but sometimes it feels like some people are so fixated on it that they forget that both Wright and Edgeworth are still their own complex individuals with depth outside of their relationship with each other.

[inbarfink]

One of the major themes of ‘Ace Attorney’ has always been trust, obviously. Like, this is the most important creed that Mia Fey passed down to Phoenix and from there to anyone he has touched.

As well as just generally being one of Phoenix’s most important positive qualities.

The entire arc of the first game hinges on the idea of the Power of Trust, with it being a core pillar of Phoenix's relationships with both Miles and Maya.

And even the main gameplay themes of ‘turnabout’ and ‘turning your thinking around’ are linked to this theme of Trust. The whole idea around the narrative of a ‘turnabout’ is that the Defendant seems obviously totally guilty, but the defense attorney proves them innocent by Trusting in their innocence. 

And ‘turning your thinking around’ is generally framed as - rather than the general mystery-solver mindset of trying to deduce what has happened from the evidence given - trusting in your client’s innocence and looking for evidence that should be there if they are innocent/that other person is the culprit. Using the Trust in the client as the foundation to build your logic from.

And being such a core theme of the franchise, the games started reiterating on and deconstructing it almost immediately. “Farewell, My Turnabout'' having a Guilty Client feels like the most obvious example, maybe. But actually the game starts casting suspicions on Engarde pretty early on, and most of the emotional turmoil related to him is more of the, like “will Phoenix sacrifice the truth for Maya’s sake” hostage situation stuff. 

I think the more important stuff in that case is more about the Phoenix-Edgeworth drama. How Phoenix’ sense of trust, which seems like such an unwavering and unbreakable virtue in the first game, does actually have limits. Phoenix feels that Miles has betrayed his trust by, y’know, running off to Europe and making him think he was dead - and it takes him time to learn how to regain this sense of trust in him.

Meanwhile, Matt Engarde, he considers himself strong because he trusts in no one. In contrast to Adrian, who both he and she herself see as ‘weak’ because of her tendency to blindly trust the person she is dependent on. But at the end, it’s Matt’s distrust in everyone around him that brings on his own downfall. 

And the game after that adds in Dahlia Hawthorne who is, as Mia Fey’s nemesis, a sort of representation of the dangers of trust. A character who uses and manipulates those who put their trust in her.

“Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney” establishes its more cynical and deconstructivist tone compared to the original trilogy in part by always putting some sort of element of distrust between the Lawyer and the Defendant. With Apollo basically unable to really have a decent conversation with any of his clients, many of them being antagonistic towards him or hiding things from him. Phoenix Wright was basically the only defendant Apollo went into court actually 100% putting his trust in him… and we all know how that worked out.

And this moment is especially effective because… if you’re playing this game unspoiled after finishing the Phoenix Wright Trilogy, you probably trust Phoenix as well! The emotions Apollo feels as he sees who Phoenix had become are meant to mirror the emotions the Player probably feels at this very moment. And the hints and questions about what Phoenix did in the trial seven years ago are a challenge to the trust of both Apollo and the Player. Both of them are stuck between what they knew of Phoenix before and the revelation of what Phoenix confessed to in “Turnabout Trump”. Apollo’s uncertainty is the player’s uncertainty as well. 

And even if Apollo’s image of Phoenix is somewhat improved by “Turnabout Successions” and it’s clearly established that, no, Phoenix never knowingly used forged evidence as an attorney… There’s no big reconciliation that fixes everything like with Phoenix and Miles. It’s clear that Apollo’s sense of trust, in Phoenix Wright and in general, never quite recovered from the events of AJAA. Later games do still reiterate that he’s a lot more distrustful than other playable attorneys.

(And that’s also a point where the Player-Player Character Synergy from ‘Turnabout Trump’ kinda diverges, since I think most Players do regain their trust in Phoenix by the end of AA4 at least. Especially as unlike Apollo, we actually got to be inside his head again - that’s not exactly an experience Apollo will ever get to have. )

But, well, maybe it’s because it’s just really fresh in my mind, but I just think what ‘The Great Ace Attorney’ Duology does with this theme is just… really cool!

These games really play on the idea of challenging the trust… not just of the Player Character Ryunosuke, but also of the Player themselves. Because Ryunosuke also gets to have a Guilty Client… as his very-first actual client who is not himself. And since the game doesn’t lay on the suspicion quite as thick as with Matt Engarde, and since there’s no hostage situation of course… This plotline can have emotional synergy between the Player and the Player Character and focus a lot more about the emotional repercussion of putting your trust in someone totally absolutely unworthy of trust. 

And how this betrayal of trust haunts the characters moving forwards. How Ryunosuke now finds himself being held back by his doubts due to the memories of this terrible trial, and... not necessarily a lack of trust in others as much as a lack of trust in himself. How Susato is driven to do something she considers unforgivable - tempering with the Crime Scene behind the police’s back - because that trial had made her lose trust in the entire British Justice System.

The entire climax of the first game is thus a reaffirmation of the power of trust. By unwaveringly defending Gina - a girl they have bonded with, but has also been extremely uncooperative, shady, dishonest and literally involved in what went down in the McGilded Trial, in a very grueling and seemingly unbeatable trial  - Ryunosuke and Susato rediscover their ability to trust their defendant. Because, yeah, trust is a leap of faith - you never know when you’re gonna meet a McGilded or a Dahlia Hawthorne - but it’s also absolutely worth it.

And then with the themes of conspiracy strawn throughout the games and especially ramping up in the second game, that’s really kinda a thing that’s bound to sow seeds of paranoia and distrust in the Players about… all sorts of characters. Like, okay, I am fairly sure that pretty much every player who first walked into the Lord Chief Justice’s office and saw Mael Stronghart was like “Oh look! That’s the Final Boss!”. But with the hints for there being some sort of web of intrigue being hidden in the shadows, there’s plenty of other characters that skirt the line between feeling suspicious and trustworthy. The reveal that Seishiro Jigoku is actually a culprit was one of the best-done reveals in the whole franchise. And on the other hand, there are many reasons to be suspicious of Yujin due to the amount of secrets he clearly keeps, and yet he turns out to be a very straightforwardly heroic character. 

And then there’s Kazuma. And Mael Stronghart might be the Obvious Final Boss to the Conspiracy and Murder Mystery parts of the game, but within this thematic throughline of the challenges of trust, Kazuma is pretty much that part’s Final Boss. 

Initially designed to be someone both the characters and the players intently trust, both in terms of the meta-perspective of how he’s set up to be a kinda Mia-Miles hybrid and any Player with knowledge of the previous games will know that’s a kind of person you can rely on. And in general, even to newcomers, everything he says and does in the first two chapters of the game make him feel like just a very upstanding guy you can trust.

Then, when he comes back in the second games, he comes back with a new attitude that feels colder towards Ryunosuke (and thus the Player) and that’s also coupled with a whole bunch of mysteries about him that were hinted in the previous game, but are now coming to the forefront. 

And as the Trial of Barok Van Zieks progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that Karuma has, theoretically, all the possible motivation to kill Greyson and frame Barok for it, that he was one of the last people to see Gregson before his death and that he literally brandished a sword at him. And despite how cagey and shady he acts, he still insists he never killed anyone.

And the reveal that he has knowingly participated in an assassination plot behind the backs of both Ryunosuke and Susato is bound to cause a feeling of shock, confusion and betrayal not just in these characters - but also in the Player. The Player and Player Characters are in a lot of emotional synergy through this entire Kazuma storyline. These feelings of conflict between wanting to trust Kazuma after seeing him in his best and all the mounting suspicions due to all the revelations about him are really felt by all three of us.

And in the end the challenge for Ryunosuke and Susato is not to abandon Kazuma completely, and it’s not to continue blindly trusting their old idealized view of Kazuma - it’s to face the fact that he has kinda lost his way for single-minded revenge, while also still trusting that he is deep-down the same good not-murdery man they have known him as before.

[badaceattorney]

Did you know that in the Ace Attorney Series, Dick Gumshoe was originally supposed to be female?

This was proposed during the early stages of the game, but was shot down because the writers were having a hard time coming up with a feminine name for her, and because because Shu Takumi thought players might interpret Gumshoe’s relationship with Edgeworth as romantic. (little did he know…) Takumi wasn’t necessarily opposed to having a female detective, but didn’t feel that it was the right fit for Gumshoe specifically.

After this happened, Shu Takumi proposed a long set of rules and guidelines to help character designers come up with better fitting names, designs and genders for the game. These rules eventually led to elements of Gumshoe’s original design being split up and repurposed for both Ema and Lana Skye’s designs in Rise From the Ashes. You can look up “dick gumshoe rule 34” for more information.

[tossawary]

I think it was a good idea to save Edgeworth as an "enemy" for the second case in "Ace Attorney", because players are going to be distracted in the first case by just trying to figure out how the game works, and players are also going to be focused on other important characters like Mia and Larry. Larry's case is a fun tutorial level and slow story setup before the game throws you into the deep end of "Turnabout Sisters".

But, in hindsight, Edgeworth being utterly absent from the first case has the potential to be both incredibly angsty and incredibly funny. Like, Edgeworth is obviously not the only prosecutor available and probably just wasn't assigned to this particular case, but let's read into it anyway!

He's probably capable of calling in a favor to hand off a case if he really doesn't want to take it, and he's apparently been dodging all of Phoenix's attempts at reaching out to him, so it's possible that Edgeworth intentionally avoided this first case. But why then show up for the second if he didn't want to see Phoenix again? Why break radio silence? One interpretation (beyond just being assigned to this case and cynically doing his job) is that Edgeworth genuinely thinks that he's helping Phoenix and pursuing justice in the second case. Mia Fey is compared a couple times to Gregory Edgeworth. I think that Miles Edgeworth must have at least an unconscious desire not to have Phoenix Wright go through what he went through: seeing his idol's murderer walk free, whether or not it was an accident, whether or not the young defendant cannot be "fairly" tried.

(Miles was prepared to wholly blame himself for his father's murder despite, from his initial perspective, it being an accident when he was only 9 years old. If he's that brutal with himself, then he's not going to go easy on Maya.)

Another possibility is that Miles had already resigned himself to facing off against Phoenix Wright eventually and had decided to let fate happen when it happened, but then the first AA case was assigned to him and he saw that LARRY BUTZ was the defendant. I like to imagine that Miles handed that shit off to Payne immediately, like, "I'm not touching this case with a ten-foot pole."

[gamequoteshowdown]

Quote 1: "Almost Christmas means it wasn't Christmas!" - Phoenix Wright, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Quote 2: ""Trust your partner"... And I do. I can't forgive you, but I trust you." - Neku Sakuraba, The World Ends With You/Subarashiki Kono Sekai

Propaganda

Quote 1: Top tier line. There is a reason why AA fans reblog this each year - Submitter/Mod Chaos, parts taken from the propaganda submitted

Quote 2: This isn't the LAST line of the game, but it's close, and it's a key line of the closing monologue. Neku has gone from one of the most insufferable misanthropic edgelord 15-year-olds in human history to a caring person looking at his home and the people in it in a new light. He has done so as a direct result of a three-week series of brutal death games played in the afterlife for the chance to come back to life. He's been forced to team up with three different people, partners who challenged his view point and forced him to grow. The second one, Joshua, was an EVEN MORE INSUFFERABLE misanthrope who nonetheless seemed to get Neku better than anyone else... and was also incredibly suspicious to the point where Neku accused him of being his killer... and sacrificed himself for Neku at the end of their week, along with Neku discovering Joshua apparently DIDN'T kill him after all. Emphasis on "apparently". At the end of the third week, Joshua comes back, completely unharmed, and drops a series of reveals where "I never said I DIDN'T kill you, tee hee" is arguably not the worst part of the murder alone. (He's also planning on destroying the city. Oh, and he's directly responsible for the brutal death games.) Then he challenges Neku to a shootout for the fate of the city, where Neku finds he can't shoot the guy. Joshua doesn't have the same problem... But then Neku wakes up on the street, alive for the first time in weeks, and the city hasn't been destroyed. We cut to a week later, where Neku addresses Joshua, pointing out how incredibly traumatizing the whole experience was, but also admitting that even so, he's grateful to have met his partners. He can't forgive Joshua for putting him through this shit, but he still trusts him. He closes the monologue by telling Joshua that he's meeting up with his new friends for the first time in a week, and asking to see him there. And then those friends call over to him, and the credits roll, and the player SOBS. - Submitter (Shout out to this person. Not only did they write these GIANT paragraphs for both of their submissions but they told me how to tag them. Thank you so much <3)

[caq1e]

i've been trying to rationalize why clay terran's death hits me more than pretty much any other victim, even though the exact intricacies of his character are not the most plot relevant, and i think i finally got it. some of it's that he's the series' first new science freak in a while, yeah, but i think above that it's the emphasis on his ambition.

ace attorney does not like to kill real characters. it doesn't. referring to the main series for the rest of this post, we very rarely get to see a character for one section of one case before they die, with a few notable exceptions. as a result, because we don't get to know the characters very well, we as players are left to pick up the remnants based on the reactions of those still alive. ace attorney creates tragedy and emotional impact through the emotions of those who knew the victims. the victims' personas, therefore, are shaped by others' experiences with them: were they nice or mean, compassionate or abusive, nurturing or strict? while their relationships to others are crucial to their selves, they aren't everything about them.

clay is an astronaut. and unlike pretty much every victim in this series, that's not just his job, it's his life's purpose. the majority of clay's character is shaped through apollo's perception of him, sure, but what's also emphasized is his dream of being an astronaut. he wanted to be an astronaut since he was a child. he went to cosmos, became acquaintances and friends with the employees, surrounded himself with space. and he got the job. i know ace attorney ages can be taken with a grain of salt, but he was going to go into space at twenty-three, where the youngest astronaut in real life was twenty-five. any sizable gap in age below the norm tends to get lawyers deemed prodigies, excluding most themis students, so clay could probably be considered one as well. he was brilliant and remarkably hardworking and dedicated his entire life to reaching this goal, and he... didn't. he died with his dream ten steps in front of him.

when a character is an exception in one way, they tend to be in many, and they also tend to be defense attorneys, for some reason. the two victims with the most ambition at time of death, from my perspective, also have the most pre-death screen time: mia fey and dhurke sahdmadhi. their ambition may be on different scales, but they both died with tasks unfinished. mia had yet to reveal the corruption of redd white and the truth to dl-6, and dhurke had yet to restore stability to his country's legal system. they were both incredibly committed to fulfilling these goals and died while actively pursuing them.

the contrast between these two and clay is the individualism factor. dhurke wanted to see his revolution through, but he wanted a better future regardless of whether he was its leader or not. mia's connection was due to her familial involvement, but she also just wanted to uncover the truth behind redd white's obscurations and reduce corruption in the legal system. these goals are personal, but they aren't limited to them. they are goals that these two aspire to achieve, but they themselves don't need to be the ones to achieve them; in fact, they aren't. phoenix apprehends white, exposes manfred von karma, and discovers misty fey's disappearance for mia, while nahyuta and apollo work to reform khura'in's courts for dhurke. clay wanted to go to space. while a less noble goal than those i'm comparing him to, it's also more intrinsic to himself. he was supposed to be the one in space. there's no one to take over his dream because it's his alone. when he dies, that's it. it'll never be done. while his compassion definitely implies that he would be proud as long as sol starbuck touched the stars again, that isn't his dream. it's not the same as him doing it himself.

another similarity between mia and dhurke is that they are also the victims with the most post-death screen time. mia is channeled constantly through the first trilogy, to the point where she's almost as constant as any living character. dhurke lives for days, concealing his death while being channeled and not revealing the secret until almost the end of 6-5. as a result, these two get front row seats to their goals being fulfilled by their successors. mia's there to help phoenix take down white in 1-2, is certainly made aware of the results in 1-4, and even reunites with diego and re-defeats dahlia in 3-5. dhurke assists apollo leading up to the final court case, and his presence sticks with apollo as he develops his defense office.

clay does not get post-death screen time. he's only mentioned, like any other victim, after his death, and the large bulk of it is regarding the minutes before he's killed. not only is his dream unable to be fulfilled, but he wouldn't get the chance to see anything come of it, if that was even possible. he's not aura, staring out of a prison cell as part of her life's work flies off without her input. he's dead. no seeing the future, no willing on a successor to continue for him, no closure. dead and gone.

i'm not going to go crazy in depth right now, but, considering all major victims, the final truth of clay's death is done pretty poorly. as the successor to investigations, a duology that deals with international affairs in incredible detail, dual destinies is notably lacking. the organization behind the phantom isn't explored in the slightest; what was the point in making them a part of something bigger in the first place? there's no inciting event, no motive, not even a name, and from my point of view it just makes dual destinies feel unfinished, like there were plans that couldn't be made reality. there aren't any hints towards what the organization is doing, no legs to theorize on besides real life events, and it's not portrayed in a way that leaves it as a clever mystery. some international organization wants to sabotage the rocket launches for an unknown reason, so people die. that's all. clay dies due to reasons completely unknown to players, which is just so unsatisfying. not only does he not get closure, but we don't either. it makes me desperate for any new information to justify his death, to make his murder mean something, just like others who are integral to plot. this isn't entirely the point i was trying to make, but i think it's significant enough to mention. or maybe i just wanted to talk about it. not too sure.

clay terran suffers the awful fate of too much ambition and too little closure. this alone made his death have the greatest lasting impact on me. i'm not sure how it is for others, but the sadness of those left behind didn't usually trigger a large emotional reaction in me. however, the way clay's extraordinary dedication, implied intelligence, and nigh inevitable success were ripped from him right at the very end, with no possibility of a successor due to his own personal stake in the goal, made his death hit me through the heart like no other ace attorney victim. and also, just a little bit, because he's a new science freak.

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

What are the gangs favorite type of video games to play? Weather it’s Mario, Pokémon, sports, rhythm games, horror games, etc etc.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. YOU ACTIVATED MY TRAP CARD!!!! Now...

Poppy prefers tabletop games more, but she can be often caught playing or seeing someone else playing The Sims. She LOVES that game - Angel has The Sims 2 installed on their computer, and when they all move to a bigger house Poppy gets her own PC so she can play TS2 as much as she wants.

Kissy doesn't play much on her own, but she really loves 3D platformers and adventure games. Her favorites are the og Spyro the Dragon trilogy! I think she loves watching others play pokémon as well.

Huggy loves racing games. Get anything with a car and he's instantly in love with it.

I can Mommy Long Legs making super over-the-top stories on The Sims 2 as well, so she and Poppy often share news of what their sims are doing. They are both active in forums and are trying to make their own custom content for the game!

Bunzo is a pokémon guy.

PJ Pug-a-Pillar doesn't like playing games in general but he LOVES watching others play, esp if there's lots of cutscenes. It's like watching a movie!

Miss Delight falls in love with Portal 2 when it's released, but I think she's really picky with her puzzle games. She likes being a bit creative on her solutions! She's also really into RPGs. I think the Fallout franchise is her comfort game.

Catnap and Craftycorn are walking Silent Hill encyclopedias, but they LOOOOVE survival horror. Catnap's fav is the original SH1, while Craftycorn loves Haunting Ground (PS2) and SH3.

Bobby on the other hand prefers Resident Evil and Clock Tower 3, but when it's not horror it's definitely a more experimental game. She cries everytime she plays Shadow of the Colossus but she loves it.

Bubba, much like Miss Delight, is SUPER into RPGs and puzzle games, but pokémon and Ace Attorney have conquered his heart. He LOOOVES gushing about it!

Picky's favorite is Animal Crossing! It makes her feel safe and she loves just walking around her town. She made a really impressive one and everyone wants updates from her villagers, Picky loves giving them.

Kickin can't get enough of any FPS or action-adventure game, and he can and WILL ragequit if he's playing online and his teammates start being rude to him or each other. Thankfully he learned really quick how to deal with the more toxic players so now he can truly relax. Unfortunately doomed to become a League of Legends player when it comes out.

Hoppy also loves FPS, but 3D platformers and open-world games are her favorites. Anything that gives her plenty of freedom to move around or just be silly immediately catches her attention! I think she becomes a Team Fortress 2 player.

Dogday prefers to watch rather than play and he gets SO invested. I think Miss Delight likes playing puzzle games with him because they figure out solutions together, but if Dogday were to chose a game for himself to play it would probably be a rythimn game. It gives him the zoomies.

The other smaller toys all have their own individual preferences, so talking about them is more complicated!

Everyone becomes obsessed with Minecraft when it's released. Catch Catnap pranking everyone on their shared beta server by pretending to be Herobrine.

When Angel gets them an Xbox 360 they have many game nights where they play on the Kinect.

Speaking of which, Angel is down to play literally everything, but all the toys know they aren't very keen on anything horror-related. Not because it's scary, it's just that Angel finds them boring after surviving Playtime Co. They probably have an encyclopedia-level knowledge of pokémon, tho.

Prototype doesn't play videogames, but enjoyes watching the others play. Just don't put ANY war games in front of him and we're all good, otherwise he stops watching.

[aerithium]

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Review!

*Spoilers Ahead*

★ Score: 8/10 ★ Date Finished: October 13th, 2024 ★ Final Thoughts: At a little over the half way point of this game, I found it leaving so much to be desired. The first case starts off so strong, with a really gripping twist of Apollo's current mentor being the culprit and creating a jarring change in Phoenix Wright since we last saw him. But the following two cases don't keep up that intrigue and energy. They are no means bad and are still vital to the game by the time you reach its finale but on the surface and in the moment of playing both cases, they don't seem to offer anything to an overarching plot besides the aforementioned "case that occurred seven years ago". I think I was expecting these cases each to deliver more than they did. But I was by no means disappointed with them as they each have interesting aspects nonetheless (setups, characters, trials, etc). The reason this game actually shines is what it does in its final case. Ace Attorney's tried and true moment to find out what this "x amount of years ago" has meant all this time, and I will be excited for it every time. It starts as something that seems rather uninvolved (a shut in painter has been murdered and they think his daughter did it) but over time it becomes clear that this case is intertwined with the one from seven years ago. The slow realization as the player begins to put pieces together and realize everything before them has been intertwined, or even tangled together, is a feeling that really sticks. From Zak being the first victim, the reveal of Trucy and Apollo's mother, and Wright's obvious pulling of the strings, it is all so fun to uncover. Watching Wright best Kristoph from behind the scenes is what makes it all the more satisfying. The characters in this game are a real treat too, as well as their interactions with one another. Finally getting a prosecutor that isn't at our throats and is also just interested in revealing the truth is refreshing (and Klavier and Apollo's slight flirting makes it all the better ;3). I really enjoyed the gimmick in this game, Apollo's bracelet can add a little extra challenge to the trials and I enjoyed that it as thoroughly explained eventually because I had my doubts. Also getting to break open some psyche-locks for a little was super fun. The music does not disappoint in this game either, Klavier's theme is probably up there in some of my favorite tracks from the franchise.

[cryptidwithacopiccollection]

I would LOVE to see Klapollo! Is Klavier a different species from his brother? Less sharp teeth? The player of some sort of underwater instrument? A mer who spends all his time sitting on a rock in the air playing his guitar?

And is Apollo the same species as Trucy? Differently coloured? Or is he a human who becomes entranced by Klavier's singing?

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PROVIDING THE ACE ATTORNEY MERMAY CONTENT THAT WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR!

THANK YOU!! It makes me so happy to see other people enjoy these sillies as much as I enjoy making em! The renders weren't rendering but here's a pile of klapollo sketches

(below the cut is the infodump)

First up: Klavier Gavin. The guess about him being a different species from Kristoph (with less teeth) is very accurate.

The reason we chose a lizardfish for Kristoph is the similarities and contrasts with Klavier's assigned species. Both are mostly sedentary, resting on the bottom of the seafloor to wait for food. They also bear a superficial resemblance to each other, and while their hunting styles are similar, one is armed with massive fangs and strikes quickly, violently, and with nearly no warning, and one is just chilling until a small enough piece of plankton floats in front of it's mouth- similar to how the two brothers behave.

Apollo, who has a full color drawing here, is a thorny whiplash squid-a different species than Trucy, but, as with the Gavins, bearing certain simiarities. Most obviously, they're both red cephalopods, as well as their little ear/head fins.

How did Klav end up with his rockstar status? To put it simply, he's very pretty and social. Most deep sea mers (and animals in general) aren't a huge fan of ROV's, much less submersibles, but Klavier enjoys the attention and company. It helps that his eyes work about to the extent a human's would, making him essentially blind in the deep ocean, but comfortable under floodlights, whereas specialized, deep-sea eyes would not fare so well.

His friendly and outgoing demeanor has essentially made him an ambassador for deepsea merfolk. His first encounter with people was via an ROV, which tracked him through his singing vocalizations, which can be heard and felt for miles underwater. Tripodfish, or abyssal spiderfish, also have relatively weak swimming muscles, meaning they're equipped to snatch prey in sudden movements, but they can't swim very well in open water. On the other hand, thorny whiplash squid are built for open water, so Apollo has to carry Klav if they want to move up the water column. There's probably going to be more but that is all I can think of rn. Thank you so much for asking, again, and I hope you have a wonderful month<3

[demifiendrsa]

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection - Reveal Trailer

Ace Attorney Investigations Collection will launch for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) on September 6, 2024 worldwide for $39.99.

Key visuals

Screenshots

Overview

About

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit finally come together for a highly anticipated collection! Both titles were originally released on the Nintendo DS, and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit was previously only available in Japan. Now, both Ace Attorney spin-off titles will be remastered, localized, and available worldwide with the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection.

In Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, players embark on a legal journey as the esteemed prosecutor and navigate through a collection of puzzling crime scenes and challenging witnesses. In the series’ second installment, Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit, players prepare for bigger challenges and confront new nemeses as Edgeworth fights to keep his job. In this newly available title, players will learn to interrogate witnesses, find incriminating evidence, and use the power of logic to solve mysteries.

Key Features

Experience Ace Attorney Like Never Before – Unlike the mainline Ace Attorney games, these titles focus more on point-and-click puzzle and adventure gameplay, offering a fresh perspective within the Ace Attorney universe. Players will explore crime scenes, interact with diverse environments, and solve puzzles to uncover the truth, providing a more hands-on investigative experience.

Crime Scenes and Witness Confrontations Optimized for Newer Consoles – Ace Attorney Investigations Collection will be available on modern platforms including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, and Steam for the first time ever. The highly anticipated release also features improved resolution with more fluid character animations, as well as richer expressions for both classic and new sprites—all created by the Investigations series’ original character designer. Players will have the ability to change between classic sprites and the new character sprites. Each game will also have text and voice-overs available in English, Japanese, French, German, Korean, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese (Mandarin).

Newly Added Features for a More In-Depth Gameplay Experience – The collection allows new and veteran players to experience both titles in an exciting and more in-depth way. With the History functionality, players can review any dialogue they may have missed and can freely choose which game, chapter, or section they want to start from or revisit. With the Story Mode feature, players can immerse themselves in the twisting tales of each case with a story and puzzles that progress automatically. Mind Chess is another new feature players can explore from Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit, where they engage in mental battles to pull important information from witnesses.

A Collection of Special Items for Passionate Prosecutors – Players can delve deeper into the world of Ace Attorney Investigations with the Gallery, which features a catalog of illustrations, sketches, character animations, promotional art, and accolades, as well as all 106 in-game background music tracks, 23 orchestral tracks, one completely new song, and five arranged tracks from the original Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.

**Arranged Tracks from Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth include:

“[AAI Collection] Confrontation – Allegro 2009”

“[AAI Collection] Confrontation – Presto 2009”

“[AAI Collection] Miles Edgeworth – Objection! 2009”

“[AAI Collection] Pursuit – Chase Down the Truth”

“[AAI Collection] Pursuit – Chase Down the Truth (No Intro)”