#he was the best in aa2

[mekatrio]

meanwhile phoenix to me is like errr yes hes a well written character but hes also not a character at all but also hes just a funny self-insert and its errr hmmmmm

[ethanhuntfemmefatale]

sometimes i think about an AA universe where Edgeworth didn't have to be shuffled off every 5 seconds so he could maintain credibility as a rival....where Phoenix didn't have to win every case...yes AA is a game yes i understand why it did that for the narrative. but when I look at those lonely scared 24 year olds from AA1 i can't help but think that their version of a happy ending would be to be able to get used to each other. to face each other over stupid cases and small things. Sometimes one winning, sometimes the other, until it hardly matters anymore, all that matters is finding the truth together. I want them to take each other for granted!!! i want them to look at the other across the courtroom and say "time to face this bitch for the hundredth time i guess!!" these poor bastards have never had anything approaching emotional stability before let them have each other damn it

[moon-song-and-star]

One of the most fun and interesting things about the ace attorney games is that all of the main characters are deeply flawed.

From Edgeworth's disappearing/reappearing act in aa2, not to mention literally quoting his own SUICIDE NOTE in COURT:

And then in aai, his acting above the law honestly all the time because his special interest is the truth and he's certain he's the best detective around, which is justifiable but kind of extreme,

To the absolute ASS Phoenix was to Apollo all throughout ajaa, which i don't have receipts for but you remember, and his consistent trend of caustically lying to grown people capable of making decisions because he doesn't want to upset them in the moment (eg, the apollo-trucy-thalassa relation that is still hidden),

To the absolutely horrendous SHIT Apollo pulled during Turnabout for Tomorrow, which includes but is not limited to assisting terrorism (encouraging Aura Blackquill to continue the trial), asking for his close friend and motiveless colleague Athena to be arrested for murder, and leaving his ACTUAL SISTER AT GUNPOINT BY A RADICAL TERRORIST, all because he couldn't handle not having trust for like a day. If he had waited literally a day, the trial would have continued (bc at that point Terrans murder hadn't been solved) AND the TWELVE random people and FUCKING TRUCY could have escaped the space station!!! But nooo, polly, do egg on the murderously radicalized Blackquill sibling who spent years hating an actual child SURE GREAT IDEA.

Even the secondary characters have no concept of normal, with simon blackquill being a convicted death row inmate for most of dual destinies, Athena having enough trauma to kill a horse, trucy and maya with abandonment issues, pearly dealing with everything morgan and dahlia did, and Lana and ema's whole thing, not to mention the von karma fiasco.

Honestly the most normal person in all the games is klavier, who is a world famous pop star with an insane and violent serial poisoner as a brother.

I love all the characters in this game, nick and miles are my blorbos, and I adore nearly everybody else, but damn if this game doesn't make some extremely flawed little guys. Ask my parents or friends, they'll tell you how angry I got at points, lmao.

And i haven't even played SOJ or TGAA yet. I should probably be worried.

[thepoggersdilemma]

I think my overall idea for odnr goes like this, but I'll probably just change it as I go, nothing is really settled and its just for fun:

First it's Wright accidentally figuring out Apollo is into brat-taming in AA4, so they do things with no strings attached (Wright of course is immediately attached but he lies about it, in AA6 it's implied he sent letters to Maya talking about Apollo a bunch around this time //obsessed denialist).

By AA5 they got into an unspoken relationship, where Apollo kind of breaks because of his own trust issues (he probably doesn't realize how much he means to Wright) and Wright kind of helplessly sits in a corner waiting for him to come back. 😭 // What impacted me the most was that once Apollo does come back, Wright kind of pretends he never left -and it reminded me to AA2, and "Edgeworth's death" like, he tells himself narratives to try and cope.

In AA6, I think the game tries to re-establish their dynamic- since it starts with Apollo being a lot more squibbly than in the previous games, and he has a developing arc on "out growing being a mentee". But i prefer their dynamic being muddier. So I will change it to Wright slowly losing it over how much Apollo is helping him and yet never acknowledges his wins. So Wright finds himself not really bratting anymore but just being the best boy for Apollo LMFAOO. Idk guys, he's a mess in the last case.

Maybe odnr was the taming of cat phoenix all along.

[shrinkthisviolet]

5 + headcanon au - what if Larry Butz hadn't been forgotten/flanderized by the writers and instead was in all three games in the Original Trilogy (and maybe even beyond?)

This got a little away from me 😅 under the cut:

Phoenix isn’t the only one struggling with Edgeworth’s disappearance/faked death, Larry is too. It’s easy to forget, but Larry was Edgeworth’s best friend too, they cared about each other! Larry would be extra pissed because of the toll it’s taking on Phoenix—when they see Edgeworth again, it’s Larry who takes the first swing, surprising pretty much everyone. It’s one of the few times Larry loses his temper…and Edgeworth is surprisingly contrite because of it (he wasn’t contrite enough in 2-4 for my taste, and tbh I think being yelled at by Larry of all people would shock anyone into being apologetic)

Larry is pretty intuitive when he wants to be. While Phoenix dismisses Ini as airheaded, Larry would realize there’s something else underneath that (he knows what it’s like to be underestimated intellectually…and how someone might use that to hide something). He probably wouldn’t figure it all out, but Phoenix would still remember Larry’s words at a crucial point when he’s putting the pieces together about Ini and Mimi

On that note, I’m also intrigued as to his dynamic with Engarde—by all respects, Engarde’s front is very similar to how AA1 Larry acts. That could make for some very interesting situations when the two are forced to interact. Maybe Larry befriends him and is heartbroken to learn that Engarde was just faking. Maybe he was a Nickel Samurai fan too, extra sting (he and Maya would also bond over that because iirc she was a Nickel Samurai fan too. Idk if Edgeworth was). Maybe Engarde makes some jabs at Larry, and Phoenix furiously defends Larry’s honor, and it doesn’t feel like “oh great, I have to defend Larry again”, but rather, “how dare this guy insult my friend”—because yeah, I think Phoenix and Larry would’ve gotten closer and really bonded by this point. They were already besties, but Larry’s also showing how smart/intuitive he is lately

Larry would be able to help in the search for Maya! Granted, Shelly de Killer could still easily give them the slip, but it’s one more person, and Larry being involved would ease Phoenix’s nerves even more. Larry might be clumsy and awkward, but he cares fiercely about the people he loves, and lately, he’s been showing just how sharp he really is

Larry leaves post-AA2, much like Maya did post-AA1. This is because he got an internship with the mysterious Elise Deauxnim, and he really wants to take it, as much as he also wants to stay and help. Phoenix, Maya, and even Gumshoe and Edgeworth, convince him to go. Now that Edgeworth’s back, Larry feels better about leaving

AA3 would still happen the same, but uh. Without Larry in 3-2 at the KB Security job. Just make a new character for that one. He reappears in 3-5, he’s on the path to becoming an artist. He takes the “apprentice name” of Laurice Deauxnim because it makes him sound smart (Phoenix insists Larry doesn’t need that, but Larry just shrugs. Deep down, though, he’s touched). I think 3-5 would play out…mostly the same? Minus…all of the weird flirting. Seriously, writers, what was up with the weird flirting?? (Speaking of which, he did that in AA1 too. At some point in this rewrite, he’d apologize to Maya for that. But anyway, moving on)

He’d be such an amazing uncle to Trucy! And unlike Maya and Edgeworth, he lives pretty steadily in Japanifornia, so he drops by often. Trucy calls him “Uncle Larry” and he dotes on her (in between trying to convince Phoenix to get his badge back, which is a losing conversation, but Larry has to try. Seeing Phoenix like this is killing him—what happened to his overly hopeful best friend who now won’t even take Maya and Edgeworth’s calls?)

He and Kristoph can’t stand each other. Larry doesn’t trust him, and Kristoph doesn’t like him (Larry doesn’t like him either, but he especially doesn’t trust him). Kristoph reminds him of an old girlfriend—patronizing, rude, more interested in correcting his manners and appearing kind than actually being so

He grates on Apollo at first, when they meet, but he’s also the most forthcoming, which Apollo appreciates. He tells Apollo everything he can—Phoenix swore Larry to secrecy about his plan, and Larry relays that apologetically to Apollo with a wince. He doesn’t like all this secrecy, especially doesn’t like how Phoenix is treating Apollo so dismissively, but…hey, Larry’s loyal before anything else, and Phoenix is still his best friend

He might like Klavier, the showmanship performer type seems up his alley. Plus, they’re both artists, just different kinds. Much like with Ini, Larry would recognize that Klavier’s hiding some very deep vulnerability in there…and he’d feel for the kid when his best friend, Daryan, is found guilty of smuggling and of coercing a boy to go along with his plan. Pairing that with Klavier’s brother being Kristoph (who has, at this point, been arrested for Zak’s murder)…yeah Larry’s pretty sure the kid’s nearing his breaking point

He’s not super clear on the tech know-how of the MASON system, but hey, anything to put Kristoph away for good—that fake ace was a lucky bluff, but there’s always a chance of it being overturned. Phoenix being crafty is kinda unsettling to Larry…but with Kristoph arrested, the effect on Phoenix is clear—he’s committed to retaking the bar, he smiles more, he’s more hopeful

Larry…doesn’t want to think about what Phoenix’s improved mental state means about how Kristoph was affecting Phoenix, but he has his theories (listen, he’s been in his fair share of relationships, okay? So if he’s more insistent on Phoenix going to therapy and even drives him to his sessions and prays that he’s talking about Kristoph with those therapists, if he slips Phoenix some resources about recovering from an abusive relationship…sue him, he can pick up on things and he’s worried)

Skipping ahead to SOJ: he’d play co-counsel for Apollo with Trucy’s case, and he’s kinda pissed at the other guy for throwing veiled insults at his niece. Who does this foreign peacock think he is exactly? Larry’s got half a mind to give him a piece of his mind, but Apollo just gives him that exhausted “please, Larry, don’t cause a scene” look that Phoenix always got, and…yeah, okay. Maybe when Trucy’s free (Nahyuta receives a surprisingly detailed portrait of himself with devil horns speaking the words “I hate children and I’m no fun”, which he never finds out the meaning of)

(And ofc also in SOJ, he’s not a weird flirty creep in the bonus case. SERIOUSLY writers WHY)

Not totally sure how he’d fit into DD, but I’m sure there are ways

I…did not expect to get so invested in this omg 😅 can someone write this fic??

send me an au and i’ll share 5+ headcanons about it!

[cornertheculprit]

okay. another idea for the seven month gap between aa2 and aa3 when maya was staying with phoenix. i think it would be fun if phoenix knew the basics of how to style long hair because maybe iris taught him back when they were dating and maybe one day pearl comes down to to visit phoenix and maya in the city and pearl starts talking about how she wants to try styling her hair a little differently (it's already canon that she wants to grow her hair out anyway) and phoenix being the total pushover he is just goes well i don't know much but i can braid it for you if you like and you can see how it looks? and pearl agrees and because phoenix isn't THAT good with hair (his spiky ass hair is canonically natural and he doesn't do shit with it) he automatically falls into the pattern of the style he learned best while he was dating iris: the twin braids. and you know when you're doing hair and you sort of just get into it and forget what you're doing? yeah that's what happens. anyway he finished the look and then Realizes which hairstyle he did and just sort of sits there like "..." until pearl asks him if he's done and turns around and phoenix just sort of looks at her for a second and thinks (you know, now that i think about it...i know she's only nine, but...she kind of reminds me of—) and that's as far as he gets with his thoughts because maya walks in from where she'd been taking a nap in the other room and goes YOU DID PEARLY'S HAIR, NICK? YOU CAN DO HAIR AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME??? DO ME NEXT!!! and of course since it's maya and phoenix loves to fuck with her he goes absolutely buckwild on messing her hair up and it turns into playfighting that pearl gets dragged into and it messes up the braids so she doesn't look like iris anymore and so the thought completely leaves phoenix's mind until bridge to the turnabout where he finds out that pearl and iris (and dahlia) are half-sisters and he's just like. Oh.

[fermentingheart]

Ace Attorney 4 Ramble

I just finished AA4 today (like 2 hours ago as I am writing this) and I have a whole world of complex feelings on it that I desperately need to get out.

Spoilers Ahead for all of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.

ALSO this ramble is like. Super long. (sorry....................). ALSO ALSO. I def have grammar and spelling errors in here.. forgive and forget </3

I've been a fan of Ace Attorney since my 9th grade year of high school, when I first started the Phoenix Wright trilogy. I completed it over my entire school-career there, so I have a soft spot for the games. When I beat AA3 I was super emotional, but excited (and worried) to know there were 3 more mainline games waiting for me.

My initial anxieties came from the way the fandom talks about the Apollo Justice trilogy. To my understanding, the same writer that made the first 3 games is not responsible for these one, and it has kinda led itself to be a bit of a stepdown from its predecessors. That was disappointing to hear, but I don't try to let others opinions influence me too deeply without experiencing something myself.

Overall, I though AA4 was good! It didn't wow me, not left me with deep sentiments like AA1 or AA3, but it is definitely better than my least favorite game so far, AA2. It does have its faults, which, as far as I can see, are mirrored by most AA fans.

My biggest complaints is that the game feels like it bit off more than it can chew, and that it is sometimes pretty tedious to play.

The writers had to juggle a big task of explaining the backstories of Phoenix, Apollo, Trucy, and Klavier. Unfortunately, I do think Apollo and Klavier get the short-end of the stick, and I largely sum that up to that being the fault of the hook of the game.

Our former player character, my most beloved guy, Phoenix Wright, lost his attorney badge due to forged evidence, and hasn't been a lawyer for 7 years !? I'll admit, I was sucked in at this premise. I knew it wasn't as it seemed. It would be widely out of character for Wright to ever do such a thing, but, the Phoenix we meet seems so foreign and distant to who we once knew. I wanted to know answers, and luckily or unluckily, the game explains everything.

It spends so much of its time talking about Phoenix, and later down the line, Trucy, that I do agree with the common sentiment that Apollo feels a bit shelved in his own game. Phoenix is enveloped in the mystery of the whole game, that I never really bothered to question what Apollo's deal was. He is great character, but not distinctive enough from Phoenix that it made question his motives as a defense attorney, or how he even grew up (I mean, we don't know much about Phoenix's prior life besides tidbits from his time in primary school). It wasn't until the twist with Apollo, that he is Trucy's older, half-brother, who inherited the Gramayare special ability, did I stop to think about how this game could have benefitted from shifting its focus onto Apollo.

I don't think that it would have been impossible for the game to balance Phoenix and Apollo's backstories, seeing as they both connect to Zak Gramayare's trial. If the reversed the chronology of how they presented their information even a little bit, I think they could have gotten away with this balancing act they were going for.

Ultimately, I do believe the game would have done best with another case that could help set the story up (or like. Change Turnabout Corner to something else. I thought that case was fun but if you think about it, it is painfully out of place with the other three...), because I still think that in a magical world where my suggestions were implemented, Klavier Gavin still would have been sidelined.

I really wanted to love Klavier Gavin. He was like a hair away of itching my brain just right that he would become all I talk about for the next 6 months. Unfortunately, he was given to little to late. I think the game believes it gave Klavier a bigger character arc than he actually had. His confrontation with Kristoph, is good, but no where near as satisfying as it could have been if anything about his relationship with his brother was established before. In a series that rides on sibling relationships, I was looking forward to potential Dahlia and Iris, or even Edgeworth and Franziska. We can piece together what their relationship must have been like by their few interactions and how Kristoph was 100% fine with screwing Klavier over to win a case, but ughhh. I wanted more, and I feel so sorely disappointed with what I got.

AA4 is also tedious to an extent. Although I don't hate Turnabout Serenade as much as everyone else seems to, it does amplify some of the issues the game has. I think the logic of this game in particular was pushing it, even for Ace Attorney standards (how could Tobey of ever been the killer...) and some of the things we have to prove to pull different cases back on our side was. Absurd. Ace Attorney rides on the fact that its legal system is only vaguely defined so we can't really complain too much about it (and the story's constant theme of corruption also absolves it from too much criticism about how nonsensical the court in sometimes). I love this as much as I hate this. I might have not cared as much if they weren't setting up this "big change" in the legal system that would seemingly improve upon these court issues. I'll keep it simple. I think the jury system in application to the game was underwhelming, and shouldn't of just been a plot beat.

I know this long rant may make it seem like I don't like the game, but that's not true at all! I think I'm critical on AA4 because I know how good the series can be. Still, there is so much I loved about the game.

The art and animation is the first thing I noticed as a huge improvement from the prior games, which is already incredible since I think the Ace Attorney series is one of them best when it comes to its visuals. All the sprites are more vibrant than before, but the character seem all the more harmonious with their setting. The court especially looks gorgeous. I love the beautiful browns they use. Also? All the character designs are bangers. So are their reactions. Ace Attorney is known for their character "breakdowns" and AA4 did no disappoint (my favorites are Ogla when she is still pretending to be a random Russian woman, Alita, and Kristoph).

The new mechanics brought into the game have got to be my favorite aspects of it. The "perceive" ability has to be my favorite. I think its very concept is such a good progression from the prior games, I was disappointed it was implemented more. Speaking of, Ema's forensic sciences! I always felt that not bringing back her mechanics after AA1 was such a shame, so I was thrilled that not only were most of the evidence we got observable in 3D, but also that she had little mini-games to make the investigations that more engaging.

Another place where AA4 succeeds for me is its character directions. I think I could go on about all the characters besides a handful of them, truly, but as to not make my ramble any longer, I'll focus on a select few!

Apollo is a fun protagonist. I do think he stands in Phoenix's shoes for a little too long, but the more I played as him, the better I was at finding where he diverges from our previous protagonist. I think he is so silly, and I hope we get to spend more time in his head.

I hold similarly sentiments about Trucy. I'll be honest, I was getting tired of the quirky side-character/assistant trope, and was hoping for someone different when I got into the game. Even though Trucy still fits the outline, she is adorable in her own ways. Her magician bit surprisingly didn't get old to me. She's super loveable and stands out from Maya in her own way.

I adored Ema! Her backstory is honestly so realistic (and depressing??). Seeing her loose some of her spark after life didn't go out as planned for her is devastating, but it makes her all the more relatable, honestly. It was satisfying to see her progressively become more amicable throughout the game, however subtle that was, and even experience her warming up Apollo and Trucy. By Case 4, I really feel that some of "old Ema" has finally returned to her, and I couldn't be more happy.

Oh and finally... my evilest of guys.... the worst ever... my most beloved loathed....

Kristoph..... Gavin.................

I don't think Kristoph is an extremely complex character. He is petty, pompous, and vindicative, but I think his simplicity allows him to shine in that manner. He makes such an impression in the few moments we see him. He's genuinely menacing and pretty intelligent to boot? I think his plan was a bit contrived, but it was so fun and again, extremely petty that I can forgive him of all he has ever done wrong. He said it himself, he is an evil, horrible man, and I love that it is as simple as that. He felt wronged because he couldn't get notoriety off of a sure to be famous case, and so he killed 2 people, attempted to kill 1 other person, and committed like several other crimes on top of that. He sucks and I think that's beautiful.

AA4 doesn't live up to the hype that AA3 left me with, but I am satisfied with the game overall! Despite my complaints, it was such a fun time, and I am thrilled to get to the next games and see how they build upon it. Now if you excuse me I'm going to look at Kristoph for a prolonged period of time.

[oodlyenough]

fic: expiration date

“We gotta go out tonight. Have a toast. In memorandum.” Larry sweeps his free arm through the air, painting a picture of the most miserable night Phoenix can imagine. “We gotta pour one out…” He makes a fist and presses it to his heart. “For Edgey.”

Phoenix has never wanted to do anything less.

Sometime between AA1 and AA2, Phoenix breaks the news to Larry. Rookie mistake. ~3k, mostly angst, please read the author's note for content warnings.

It takes Phoenix five days to break the news to Larry: three figuring out what the hell he’s going to say in the first place, and a fourth working up the nerve to actually say it.

So he stands in Larry’s apartment lobby on day five, finger on the buzzer, and runs through the script in his head until the words blend into emotionless mush. Simple, factual. An undesirable task delegated to Phoenix because there isn’t anyone else who would. Edgeworth himself certainly wouldn’t bother, and right now doing exactly the opposite of Miles Edgeworth seems like the best guiding principle Phoenix can imagine.

Besides, Larry deserves to know.

Phoenix presses the buzzer.

“Julia?” Larry’s hopeful voice crackles over the cheap lobby speaker. “Aw, I knew you’d change your mind. Listen—”

Phoenix gets his groan out of the way before he finds the button to reply. “It’s me, Larry. I need to talk to you.”

Read on AO3

[rayclubs]

Who’s been your favorite character from the AA/AA2 trials? Like from the people you defend/interrogate/etc?

I really loved Will Powers, he's such a perfect himbo, it's endearing. I was hyped to see him come back in AA2, and I love that this time around he's just a goofy guy who genuinely wants to help out but doesn't know all that much. Also the concept of an actor who wants to be a role model for children but has a tough time on account of his physical appearance is very compelling to me.

I also liked Jake Marshall, I thought his story was heart-wrenchingly tragic. His entire life sucked but he still seemed very... Together, y'know? He might've had a silly gimmick but there was still an air integrity about him.

My favorite villain was Damon Gant. Hands down the best one so far, I wish they could bring him back but alas, the death penalty. Gay sex couldn't have fixed him but I wish he'd given it a try anyway.

[trlvsn]

ok id didn't have any coherent thought either just. jfa is such a game yknow. so many complicated emotions just underneath the surface... and they're so strong too. they control the flow of the narrative even. i'm gonna try my best to put some of phoenix and franziska into words (and fail miserably)

after edgeworth chose death... they were both "betrayed" by him (recall the poisoning and betrayal line). they're just... they're both in court to prove a point to themself. they're both trying to get closure.

and they very clearly both look down on each other. phoenix is just very aggressive in jfa in general... but something that makes me feel some way is the way they both criticize each other for running from their past

phoenix thinks she's running from the fact that her father is dead and franziska thinks he's running from edgeworth's "death" (and they're not wrong... although one is more obvious than the other)

i think it boils down to what point they're trying to prove to themself... and idk how much this goes into speculation territory cuz i'm not exactly coherent rn sorry

with franziska i'm pretty sure she's trying to convince herself that she's worthy of being a von karma/a prosecutor by being perfect aka winning against phoenix wright. the ending of jfa is evidence

with phoenix though... a running theme of jfa is suspicion. in the first case phoenix is so skeptical about maggey (yeah he's lost his memories but still) and in the second one yeah he will always defend maya, but mia had to give him that final puch to believe in her fully. big top is just... idk how to interpret that cuz i didnt trust anyone in that case while playing it. farewell my turnabout? speaks for itself

and maya's case being the first one he took on after edgeworth choose death (im pretty sure) even the gap between aa1-4 and aa1-5 says a lot

what im saying is... i think he was trying to prove to himself that there was a point in being a defence attorney even though the guy he became a defense attorney for was dead. and that the point was to "defend those who had no one on their side/innocent people" like maya. having said that... the last case suddenly looks kinda different

a lot of people tend to ignore that a significant part of his crisis in the last case was him having to defend someone guilty. he WAS having a crisis on what the point of being a defense attorney was (edgeworth wasnt just ignoring the main issue he was addressing another one) cuz he'd spent the first half of the game telling himself it was something that was crumbling down around him

i think if he had been in franziska's place in jfa, by which i mean that if he had lost those two cases against her, he would have lost faith in himself as a defense attorney like she did. which is what i mean. theyre so similar, it's just that one of them won and the other one lost

also jfa is a good game

(i know this is long but i would love to hear your thoughts even if theyre really just in general. i need to organise my brain.)

anon i'm so sorry it took me this long to answer you asks. in my defense i was reading umineko and couldn't think about any characters from outside that universe

but yeah, i still very much agree with a lot of points?? phoenix and franziska aren't really obvious mirrors of each other like edgeworth and gant or franziska and adrian but they do still share some similarities and end up teaching each other huge lessons. I really need to talk about the significance of phoenix giving edgeworth the whip by the end of aa2-4 in a separate post, but other than that, some things i can point out are:

- anger as a coping mechanism and a method to keep going, in both cases directed outward when in fact they are more angry at themselves

- expanding on the point you made about phoenix trying to understand how to be a defense attorney and franziska finding her way as a prosecutor - edgeworth coming back does end up teaching a lesson to both of them

- they both have a very... wrong understanding of each other. phoenix immediately assumes franziska is there to get revenge for manfred and franziska villianizes phoenix for the completely wrong thing too

- also they kind of get angry at each other as a substitute for getting angry at edgeworth?? phoenix loooves to win against the prideful von karma child and franziska loves to whip the man who's the reason her father is in prison. you know

- ugh it's mainly about the whip and i don't want to talk about the whip without relaying aa2-4 first. no one say anything about the whip i will say it myself later pls

also the dynamic they have in aa3 is like balm for my soul. top ten things that heal you

[mekatrio]

i get the sentiment that franziska has a less complete arc than other prosecutors bc she got sidelined in 2-4 like Trust i shared that belief too at first, but i very much disagree with it now cuz like, even tho shes not prosecuting in 2-4, her presence is very much felt throughout the entire case. like she's there in the day 1 investigation, we see her telling smth to andrews (her witness). her sudden absence in the trial takes us all by complete surprise, and even without being there, shes seen affecting andrews, with how shes keeping her lips sealed as franziska had advised her to. but it backfires, and she nearly gets convicted bc of it. then we meet her at the hospital on day 2 where we tell her that she nearly incriminated her witness by adopting tactics tht her father used, but she keeps up a prideful front. then finally in the last trial she quite literally saves the day and brings about a miracle by bringing the evidence that turns everything around. although shes physically absent from most of the case, her character development has taken strides. the girl who whipped us unconscious bc of a loss is now bursting into the courtroom to help us win the trial.

and trust me i understand the dissatisfaction of her not being around, but like.. if she had prosecuted, she wouldve just lost again. and worst yet, adrian wouldve gone to prison. and like, edgeworth didnt prosecute in 1-4, but that was still a narratively satisfying case for him. and yeah ok he has more screentime in 1-4 than franziska does in 2-4, but the game makes up for it with the post-credit scene that delves into her motivations, traumas, and narrative conclusion. which btw, is the only instance in the Entire trilogy where we're given a character moment that doesnt relate to a case. cuz like we never see phoenix grieving for mia, or maya or pearl meaningfully reconciling w their traumas, etc, bc its never been relevant to any case. but here at the end of the game, once all the cases have been dealt with, the game went out of its way to conclude franziska's character arc, and with some specifically tailored sprites too 🥺

so yeah she doesnt need to be a proactive participant in her final case to have a narratively satisfying character arc, cuz sometimes less is more! would it hv been nice tho if she was more proactive? yes, of course. but like what aa2 achieved is fine in itself... franziska is arguably one of the best developed characters of the trilogy, right next to edgeworth. aa3 even builds up on her more with how she has fully abandoned the von karma's legacy;

and graciously helps the others out from her own goodwill. like her character writing is fineeeee. i think ppl who downplay her character writing are ppl who vastly overhype aa's overall character writing, when in reality aa's character writing... leaves a lot to be desired. but franziska is an outlier in this regard. and shes definitely way better written than godot who shes often compared to cuz fuckinf gehehwhehhehdhdhshd ok bye. I'LL DEFEND 2-4 FOREVER ⚔️

[soup-for-ghosts]

Until I can play AA2 then I will spend my time playing with AA characters in my head like they are mlp dolls and I am making them be best friends with the weird teddy bear I for some reason have

I'm gonna write some crossover fics. Osvald's trial handled by Phoenix.

phoenix would’ve proved osvald innocent probably, he’s only lost. like. 3 times in his career and all of them are on technicalities and one of which only counts if you count the civil case portion of turnabout revolution (aa6) which. no one does really

[sholmeser]

i was thinking a little more abt why i consider aa4 to be the best aa game ,….putting ramble under cut bc its kinda long orz

it basically just comes down to the fact that aa4 takes the classic, more basic structure of aa1 and improves upon it. u have the first case to introduce the protagonist’s mentor (mia and kristoph); this person is gone by the second case, which focuses on the relationship between the protagonist and his new assistant and fleshes out their dynamic (even if 4-2 isn’t focused on trucy like turnabout sisters is on maya); the third case sheds more light on the rival prosecutor (on the flip side, turnabout serenade revolves around klavier while 1-3 does not on edgeworth); and the fourth case is, of course, the Big One that centers on lore and character stories. the games are structured almost exactly the same, if you exclude rise from the ashes (which is dlc content anyways).

however, what makes aj different from jfa (which also does something similar) is that aj showcases phoenix’s story from an outsider’s perspective; though aa4 is, obviously, about apollo, phoenix is still arguably the protagonist of the entirety of ace attorney (through aa4 at least) and aa4’s story hinges almost entirely on his history with kristoph and zak. jfa, however—which follows this same structure—takes all of the characters that we knew from aa1 and does relatively little new with them. sure, edgeworth’s disappearance puts phoenix in a state of turmoil, and phoenix and maya’s relationship grows stronger when he has to save her, but this all happens in 2-4; 2-2 and 2-3 are basically irrelevant (besides the introduction of pearl and kurain village, which aren’t even that significant until t&t) and just largely feel like something you have to sit through to get to the grand finale. this structure works better in aa1 and aa4 because we’re still getting to know the characters, who have just been introduced, by aa2 simply can’t do this because the only new major characters are franziska and pearl; though pearl’s relationship with her family does shed more light on mia and maya’s past relationship, franziska is very, very distanced from phoenix and isn’t properly expanded on throughout the game aside from small moments in trials and her post-credits scene with edgeworth. aa4 works so great because it’s able to take that classic formula of “introduction case > dynamic exploration case > dynamic exploration case > huge loredrop finale” and do something completely new with it through the utilization of its fresh set of characters and creative storyline choice (they absolutely didnt HAVE to disbar phoenix and choose the route of a new protag in aa4—they totally could’ve just kept telling phoenix’s story as they had previously—but they did what they did and it went so fucking hard), as well as stronger writing due to the amount of time for which the series had existed, which allowed for the writers to get more comfortable and more unique.

furthermore, i feel like people generally cite t&t or dgs as being the best-executed ace attorney games, but i don’t think that’s necessarily the case. first off, while i think that t&t is definitely a very strong choice (because it deviates so sharply and so well from the aa norm with its first, fourth, and fifth cases) 3-2 and 3-3 (as much as i love the stolen turnabout…) unfortunately fall victim to not being incredibly significant and feeling like a bit of a waste of time, ESPECIALLY recipe for turnabout. where 2-2 at least let us know more about maya and her family and, in the long run, set up for dahlia and iris’ narrative, 3-2 and 3-3 do basically. nothing, despite being pretty fun play-throughs. and, as i’ve mentioned, this is different in the case of aa4 because entirely new characters and dynamics are being explored for the very first time, just like they were in aa1; however, as i’ve also said, 4-2 and 4-3 simply have better quality of writing than 1-2 and 1-3 because ace attorney was such a more solidified series at this point in time.

and second, the reason why i feel very hesitant to label dgs (both combined) as “the best” is because, while dgs2 is executed to near-perfection in my opinion, the entirety of dgs1 is very much so just setting up for it. dgs2 is very unique in that EVERY SINGLE ONE of its cases is part of an overarching storyline (even 2-2, albeit more loosely), and the reason why it’s so enthralling to play is that every case leaves you wanting more and more due to the sheer amount of unanswered questions that are dropped, which all culminate in 2-5. however, the game as a whole is ABSOLUTELY riding on the coattails of dgs1, because it hinges on the first game to introduce its characters, relationships, and important plot elements. dgs1 is essential to dgs2’s existence, but it’s just SO boring to play through on its own because it’s essentially one huge setup for 2-3 through 2-5, and the cases feel rather bland because of that. you have to sit through 15-20 hours of dgs1–which in my opinion does not expand NEARLY enough on the stories of its characters, especially susato and van zieks (herlock and iris are kind of different cases so they don’t really suffer from this in my opinion)—before u can reach the absolute brainexplosion (for lack of a better term) that is dgs2. dgs2 cannot exist without the setup that dgs1 provides for it, but dgs1 is uninteresting to play through because it’s unnecessarily long and its Big Case doesn’t have a any sort of significant, emotional meaning to any of the main characters like…every single other one before it did. which i don’t think is INHERENTLY a bad thing, but that makes it harder to appreciate the case for what it is and make a connection to it. i think that dgs is absolutely amazing, but its problem is that it needs two entire games—both of which are weak individually—to tell one story. D

tldr: aa4 good bc it repurposes the classic ace attorney formula into something new and exiting + its better than dgs and t&t because its more cohesive and does not fall victim to Useless Second And Third Case Syndrome. idrk what the point of this was sorry i was just thinking because i reeeeeallym really really like aa4 and also dgs and t&t but like i like aa4 more. anyways. Bye

[moon-song-and-star]

One of the really fun and interesting things about ace attorney is that actually none of the mcs are normal functioning human beings and they're all deeply flawed. I kid you not, I have spent at least a solid minute DESPISING nearly every main character.

From Edgeworth's disappearing/reappearing act, not to mention literally quoting his own SUICIDE NOTE in COURT in aa2:

And then for a lot of the aai games he actually acts above the law a lot because he's the best detective around and he values the truth more than anything, which while justifiable is a very extreme take,

To the absolute ass Nick was to Apollo during ajaa, which i don't have receipts for but you remember, and also not telling apollo and trucy they're siblings, which actually continues a trend where he tells caustic lies to people to avoid hurting them in the moment,

To that absolutely horrendous SHIT Apollo pulled during turnabout for tomorrow, which includes but is not limited to assisting terrorism (encouraging aura blackquill to continue the trial), asking his close friend and colleague athena be arrested for murder, and ACTUAL SISTER be held at GUNPOINT by a murderous terrorist, all because he couldn't cope with not having trust for like a day. If he had waited for literally a day, the trial would have continued AND the TWELVE random people and FUCKING TRUCY could have escaped the space station, but no, please polly, do egg on the ACTUALLY murderous and radicalized Blackquill sibling who spent 7 years hating an actual child SURE GREAT IDEA.

Even the side characters have absolute no concept of normal, with simon blackquill being a convicted death row inmate for most of dual destinies, Athena having enough trauma to kill a horse, trucy and maya with abandonment issues, pearly dealing with everything morgan and dahlia did, and Lana and ema's whole thing, not to mention the von karma fiasco.

Honestly the most normal person in the games is Klavier, who is a world famous pop star with an insane and violent serial poisoner as a brother.

I love these characters to death, nick and miles are my blorbos and I adore pretty much everybody, but damn if these games aren't great at making flawed characters. Ask my parents or friends, they'll tell you how angry ive gotten, lmao.

And I haven't even played SOJ or TGAA yet.

[bronanlynch]

so instead of finishing aa5 I started dgs so here is my dgs1 rankings of all of the lawyers based on whose file clerk I would rather be (sorry aa5 I’ll go back to you someday but unfortunately now that I’ve met kazuma it’s hard to play games that don’t have kazuma in them)

kazuma: perfect man. love of my life. whenever he talks abt corruption & injustice in the police, government, military, and courts I am swooning. like wow he’s competent and not a complete asshole and he doesn’t trust cops? he’s meeting all of my standards. like sure he might send me out to do a last-minute records request and I would have to run there in person because fax machines haven’t been invented yet but he wouldn’t be a dick abt it if it took me a minute and also it would be worth it. 9.75/10, my roommate wanted me to dock him half a point because we’ve technically never seen him act as a lawyer in his own right so this is the compromise

ryunosuke: the main thing abt ryunosuke is that he has susato, the best judicial assistant in the world, and therefore does not need another file clerk, though susato would be a delightful coworker. however hypothetically in the future once he has a bigger firm and more cases he might need more employees, in which case I would love to work for him. he’s always looking at his notes during court which probably means there would be lots of copying stuff for him, but he also tends to be very appreciative of people who help him which is a great quality in a boss, I love when people are appreciative of the work I do. might occasionally forget that he still has something that I’m trying to file away for an old case but would give it to be if I asked. 8/10, keep my resume in mind when you need an assistant judicial assistant

auchi: look I get that the geopolitical situation is very complicated but there’s only so much I ever want to hear abt how great the british empire is. also he kind of just doesn’t seem to know what is going on in the trial ever which is not a great quality in a boss like. you try to ask him what he needs you to copy or if he’ll need x or y document and he does not know and just says “get me the documents” like sir please. which documents do you need. not that it matters because he’s going to get his ass kicked in court anyway. 3/10, could be worse

van zieks: I mean. the racism. and there isn’t even an hr department to report him to, you just have to be like “sir you can’t say that. sir that’s a really shitty thing to say and also you’re lucky that the foreign representative you keep microaggressing is too focused on getting justice for his client to make an international incident out of it” and then he’ll ignore you and pretend you’re not there until the next time he needs someone to draft a subpoena. also oh my god can you imagine trying to do his filing when he keeps getting wine stains and broken glass on everything. no I will not forgive the discourtesy, either stop smashing your hallowed chalices or do your own paperwork. 1/10, he gets a point because I want to study him like a bug

(previous games here: aa1 | aa2 | aa3 | aa4 | aai )

[cornertheculprit]

Mia: ...Phoenix.

Phoenix: Mia...! Umm... H-How is Maya doing!?

Mia: Physically, I'm not worried. She'll recover completely. But emotionally, she's been hurt very badly by this case.

Phoenix: I-I see... ...! You don't mean...! She's learned who Elise Deauxnim really was?

Mia: ...Yes. I went to the medical office and talked with her. I told her everything I knew.

Phoenix: ...But why?

Mia: Maya is stronger than you think... I knew she could take it... All of it.

i was thinking about this exchange and specifically mia's line of "maya is stronger than you think" and it kind of got me wondering if it was a moment where mia actually kind of misjudged phoenix's feelings on the matter. because phoenix DOES think maya is strong! even if he doesn't admit it out loud (because he's a moron):

Maya: ...And then you look at me, and, well... I'm the daughter of the Master, but I'm still just a little girl. And on top of that, I'm the suspect in a murder trial.

Phoenix: (Um... But I think you're really strong too, Maya, for all you've gone through...)

it may just be how i was reading it but phoenix asking "but why?" was not a question of whether maya was strong enough to take it but rather a question of "she's physically and mentally exhausted and we just saw her collapse on the ground from channeling dahlia's spirit for so long. why would you tell her that the person she saw get murdered right in front of her was her mother NOW." and yes i do think part of it was because phoenix wanted to hide it from her for a little while longer because he wants to protect her and hiding things is his go-to for pretty much everything but it was never a matter of him not thinking she's strong enough to take in the information. and yknow i think something else to factor into this is that in recent years phoenix has spent much much more time around maya than mia has. because mia's dead obviously i know that but also even before that...at the beginning of turnabout sisters one of the things maya mentions right off the bat is that mia hadn't called in a while. she was getting more and more distant. and meanwhile maya has been hanging around phoenix for almost three years now and spent the seven months between aa2 and aa3 staying with him instead of living in kurain village. even all the way back in aa1 it was to phoenix that maya admitted the heartbreaking thought that she wished she'd never woken up from being tased at all. and it's interesting to me how it seems like in this instance mia looks at maya and sees the strong little sister she left behind who can take anything the world throws at her and phoenix looks at maya and sees his best friend who CAN take anything the world throws at her but who has already been through so much and who he doesn't want to see suffer anymore. because he saw her crying in the detention center more than once he saw her admit she never wanted to see a knife again after 2-2 he saw her in the aftermath of morgan's betrayal and in the aftermath of the engarde trial and everything else. and the different perspectives they seem to have really do affect how they treat her.