#i like this case this is the weird case i was missing in aa4 like yessss bird costume killer wheeeeeee funnnn

[pcktknife]

what do you mean by that 🤨

[box-dwelling]

OK so as someone who just genuinely loved Dual destinies and is keeping my theis length DD apologia in the drafts at least for now. I genuinely want to know why people don't like it.

I have seen this take from so many AA fans who I completely agree about everything else with. I need to understand why it sounds like we played completely different games.

I will put some I've seen but feel differently about under the cut

Critisms I find unfair:

-it doesn't tie up the loose ends AA4 left hanging. We don't hold any of the other games up to this standard because they all properly finish up the characters arcs. Aa5 cannot be blamed for the problems we want to overlook in AA4. I do also love AA4 but it does leave a lot of dangling plot threads that the others don't and that would be a fucking nightmare to tie up *staring directly at sibling reveal*

- Clay comes out if no where. He's very well established through the game. He just isn't mentioned in AA4 just like Fran isn't mentioned in AA1 and Dahlia isn't mentioned before AA3.

Critism I acknowledge is a reasonable opinion people can have but strongly disagree with

-Spilting the game between the protagonists stops them having proper arcs. Athena is our weird girl for this game. She is our maya. We get to play as her for 1.5 cases. For the majority of the game she's taking up the weird girl screen time and she's honestly still doing that in the ones you play as her. She's just a weird girl who happens to be a lawyer. In the main game Apollo and Phoenix have a roughly equal amount of screen time by chapter. They cut the bloated filler not the arcs (yes I will argue that 5-2 is needed for Apollos arc. Its there to set up his relationship with Athena that us a catalyst later on)

-Phoenix and Apollo are OOC. No. Phoenix is still a cryptic little bitch when you don't play as him and in AA4 he was so very clearly missing being a lawyer. It makes sense. Apollo very clearly in the last case of AA4 regains a lot of his respect for Phoenix. No, he doesn't do this on screen but again that is AA4s fault not dual destinies. That's how he acts the last time we see him so that's how he's acting now.

-The Phantom comes out of nowhere. Plot wise, maybe. But so do a lot of AA villians. Thematically, he's the perfect fit. DD is a game about trust. Very, very explicitly. A spy is someone who can't trust anyone. The phantom is a man who's shut himself off so much from emotions that he no longer recognises why trust is needed. And also has an ability that directly preys on people by making them think hes a trustworthy figure. He's not an incredible villian but he is thematically cohesive.

-almost a part 2 to the last point. The Fulbright reveal comes out of nowhere. First of all 5-2 has some very very choice sprite framing lol. But beyond that it also is a thematically smart choice. We as players are conditioned in AA games to trust the recurring detective. The villain should be someone that we trust. The guy was likeable but also fundamentally always kinda hollow and did in fact pull a shit ton of strings in 5-4 that we all ignored because we trusted him. The clues are there. You're just not ment to pick up on them because of the formula of these games.

-Edgeworth doesn't need to be there. Again game with a theme of trust. He doesn't necessarily need to be there but his dynamic with Phoenix does. They spent 3 fucking games setting up how important it is that those two trust each other and in a game about trust his absence would be felt.

-I don't see this a lot but I did see it a few times. Blackquill is a bad prosecutor. Honestly this is a taste thing and I love him. He is my little bastard man. Also thematically he embodies the two people you aren't supposed to trust in these games, a convict and a prosecutor but is actually a cool guy.

-I've never seen this but I can guess it's happened. Pearl comes out of nowhere. Again theme of trust. Phoenix has just lost the two people he's been relying on to trust the most and needed to be reminded that there were other people he loved and trusted so letter from Maya and visit from Pearl.

-mood matrix. I like the mini game I think it's fun. My brain likes to sit and logically think about what emotions it would make sense for someone to feel in situations.

Criticism I agree with but really don't bother me

-Trucy is side lined. Yeah. I love her to pieces and will never complain about getting more of her but it doesn't make sense for her to not be there plot wise and they clearly just didn't have room for her. I am happy with my Trucy scraps. I would visit her and present every piece of evidence to her to get as much dialogue as I could.

-Klavier is sidelined. Also yeah. But he did genuinely need to be there for 5-3 thematically for that case. (It is literally a showdown between his school of thought and the one he thought phoenix had) but they couldn't make him procecutor because he'd be too much on their side. It had to be someone who at that point seems at least a little morally dubious. I wish there was more but I will also happily take my Klavier scraps.

-the anime cutscenes. I don't love them but I do have a little switch in my brain marked "watching anime" that I can flip and enjoy them for what they are.

-the switch of the voiced sound effects. Yes they are worse but like, I can live with it.

Stuff I don't like and won't defend

-turnabout reclaimed racism and fatphobia (also blatant animal welfare ignorance). I'm not defending it or overlooking it but it's not the only game in this franchise to be problematic.

[bytedykes]

maya fey for the character ask thingy :3

Sexuality Headcanon: WOMEN!!!!!! maya likes women for SURE i dont have like, a specific label for her but she is into women

Gender Headcanon: honestly i dont really think abt it that much so i guess cis woman but i have seen some really good transfem maya stuff before!!! im not a transfem maya truther but i believe in their beliefs <3

A ship I have with said character: basic ass answer is franmaya... i do actually like them together, i think it could be a rlly fun dynamic to explore. also maya/regina was cute in case 2.3 (one of the only things i liked about it rip) i've seen some good maya/blackquill stuff before also but its not really something i ship just an interesting dynamic. in general though i dont really devote much time to shipping maya w anyone i think her canon platonic/familial relationships are already very interesting

A BROTP I have with said character: PHOENIX!!! nick and maya 4EVER they are so good. !!!!! i loveee their dynamic, they work so well together and really bounce off each other well. i also like the more serious aspect of how mia's death connected them and how they both share this grief even in very different ways. i like how even if mia hadn't died they still would've probably been friends when she introduced them :) anyway phoenix and maya are very fond of each other and i think it's really sweet - bridge to turnabout is one of my favorite cases in part bc of the very present bond between them and how much phoenix cares about maya (same w the engarde case, but that one is almost better in this regard bc of how maya's care for phoenix is also heavily present). also big fan of the silly part of their dynamic where maya steals his wallet and hits him over the head with evidence <3

another really interesting relationship that's less canonically present is maya & godot. what we see of them in bridge to turn about is soooo compelling, and i would have loved to see more of them. i think in a world where godot eventually gets out of prison he and maya could work to have some kind of relationship to both their benefit. <- its interesting how mia and mia's death is kind of a driving force for maya's connections to people, maya & mia is also deeply interesting and compelling but i could write an essay about them so i will just say that i love them a lot as well lol

A NOTP I have with said character: phoenix... dislike the age gap + i just think they're better as a platonic relationship lol. maya/phoenix is like the one aa tag i actually have filtered kjaskd

A random headcanon: if u assume that in aaverse lawyers are famous and there is law twitter fan spaces . maya 100% has an account where she posts "lawyer spotting" pics of phoenix (and also edgeworth). neither of them know abt it . maya is lawtwt famous

General Opinion over said character: I LOVE HERRRR she's the og aa weirdgirl !!! maya is very dear to me, she's definitely one of my favorite characters and i love seeing her. currently my friend and i are playing aa4 and i miss her so bad :'( maya in general is a very endearing character, and she + her family is a big driving force in the trilogy which i find very compelling. she's also just cool! i love it when teenage girls have weird superpowers! i think maya is a very caring character who is silly but has really impactful serious aspects to her which are so awesome to see <3 anyway i did draw maya every day for months last year so like yeah u could say i like her a normal amount lol

TY FOR THE ASK CHEREN <3 mayaaaaa maya fey i love her sooo much. girl ever<3

[oodlyenough]

aa4-1 turnabout trump

alright i finished the first case of aa4 last night!

despite my efforts i think i'm more spoiled for aa4 than i realized, or at least most of the hanging mysteries from the first case are ones i think i already know the answer to. kind of a shame but i don't think there was any way to avoid it. oh well, this case was fun anyway. i think 3-1 is my fave tutorial case still but this one was great even if i embarrassed myself by hitting the wrong button. also after banging my head against the wall through aai for five months it was nice to play a case where i could just use my brain and solve it because all the logic made sense and clues progressed naturally lmfao. i know first case are usually the easiest, but still.

apollo seems fun enough but the real draw of this case for me was FINALLY getting to meet beanix, whose characterization i know to be somewhat controversial lol. i've enjoyed him so far although fandom primed me to expect a weird secretive asshole -- will see if that changes as the game goes on. i missed phoenix a lot playing AAI so i am clinging to his ankles. was very exciting when his musical cue started in court. get his ass nick

the forgery ace stuff is... hm. i'm reserving judgment until i finish the game. also, lmao not to reference AAI for the thousandth time, but the conclusion of its grand finale was "illegal evidence is good sometimes" so i guess we already crossed this moral event horizon.

i've also been eager to meet trucy, who didn't do much in this case but have a bug-eyed stare. one thing i'm glad to be spoiled for actually is trucy and her approximate providence because the game trying to tease that as a mystery would've bugged me so much LOL and it's very funny to play when everyone is like "you have a DAUGHTER?!" and phoenix is just like :) yeah and as the player i am probably meant to be asking all kinds of questions about what happened there when i know the truth is just

i think the biggest hurdle this game is going to have with me personally is the level of suspending disbelief i have to do that maya and edgeworth are just totally uninvolved and unhelpful while phoenix is embroiled in whatever kind of conspiracy plot is going on. on a real-world level this is almost certainly the result of the franchise wanting to pivot to new characters, so there's not much explanation beyond that. but it's a bit hard to rationalize in-universe, especially because i also know the franchise immediately goes "lol lmao nvm" in 5&6 anyway. phoenix said something in this case about needing a lawyer he could trust, in reference to apollo, and i was like yeah if only we... knew one of those....

but whatever i guess. the true gift aa4 will give me is finally being able to read all the 7yg fics i have marked for later on ao3. onwards to 4-2!

[eleccy]

been thinking so much about how apollo and trucy together act as one unit in aa4. so many of the turnabouts in aa4 come from trucy’s logic directly and i love that. in fact there is quite a bit of time there in the 4-2 and 4-3 trials where it’s basically just trucy debating klavier on a point and apollo just kind of stands there. it’s really in 4-4 that apollo comes into his own i feel. but overall, it’s apollo and trucy working together equally on the cases.

it’s especially cute when you consider how like everyone in aa4 treats apollo and trucy like kids. just a couple kids investigating murders and shit. but they have special perceivin eyes and they’ll stare up at you and they’re creepy and weird

i have many feelings on this...

but getting back to the whole one unit thing, even in the early aa4 marketing i felt they made it very clear that trucy and apollo are a team. note that trucy is often pictured next to apollo in the early marketing and art, even more so than maya was with phoenix. maya’s no slouch herself in the cases, but i think trucy’s interactions in court are interesting especially because it’s clear that she’s bringing phoenix’s logic and intellect with her as well as her own. it’s pretty clear that apollo would be in big trouble without her there, getting back to the fact that she’s really the one cracking these cases wide open.

even in the end, the final picture that vera draws is apollo and trucy together. when phoenix is talking with thalassa, he mentions not just trucy but apollo as well as the ones he’ll look after. i love that the game gives both of them equal attention when it would’ve been very easy to just focus on apollo and minimize trucy’s role. this is especially highlighted in aa5 and aa6 when the writers chose to do just that, and it’s rough. and i also think that one of the bigger reasons that apollo doesn’t feel like himself in those games is that he’s not hanging with trucy on investigations and in court.

the most out-of-character moment i can think of happens during turnabout for tomorrow when apollo forces the trial to continue by asking aura to give her blessing while she still has trucy and the other hostages at her disposal. what the fuck? no matter how distraught apollo was over clay’s death, this is something aa4 apollo would never do! think back to how upset he was in corner when he thought trucy had been kidnapped! he would never, ever, use hostages, much less trucy, to get things to go his way. it wouldn’t happen. i was rewatching that case recently and my jaw dropped at how phenomenally they missed apollo’s character. i know it’s meant to be shocking and show how apollo would go to any lengths to find the truth, but come on. there’s a point where a character’s actions can only be so shocking before it’s not even the same character anymore, and this was a very striking misunderstanding and very telling of the lack of understanding of apollo and trucy as one sibling unit.

aa6 did slightly better with the magic turnabout but unfortunately has awkward writing again and casts trucy in a pretty solidly damsel-in-distress role which doesn’t suit her very well, i think. magic turnabout has its moments but it does not reconstruct the dynamic of apollo and trucy working together as in aa4.

in short i just want these two siblings to be able to work together again and i want trucy restored to her former glory. please capcom im begging you. 

[skijjiki]

at some point in time i have to rewatch aa6/soj because i only.. remember.. the last case.

aa5/aa6 rambling under the cut-- I have SOOO many incoherent thoughts about these 2 games.

starting off with AA6/SoJ... I only remember the last case, which sucks bc you had Trucy's case and Athena/Simon team up!! i remember NOTHING about the latter and only remember the former because Trucy's brave face cracks and it hurts so bad!!

soj did a good job of FINALLY giving Apollo some solid recognition. even when Phoenix is there, he isn't blasted forward into the spotlight like dd and aa4 did. this is the element they were missing in aa4 and aa5, and it's so satisfying to see that they could make it happen. it's just unfortunate that it happens so late.

I definitely have a lot of critiques about soj and dd-- they both performed well in some aspects but fell thru in others. aa5/dd did a MUCH better job of story telling and memorable cases, in my opinion. not to say they were all good cases, but i recall them more easily than aa6/soj, a game i just finished 2 days ago.

aa6/soj did a great job with giving their characters (ok, mostly Apollo, Phoenix, Rayfa and Dhurke) their own time to shine and find a good balance of when to use which characters. it was fresh perspective. but when they fell flat with this (obvious example being Nahyuta; could argue Athena as well, despite her having her own case without the two) it was suuuper disappointing and frustrating.

I'm honestly really upset at how empty they made Nahyuta's character. Even with his motives later revealed and how the game ended, I don't feel like I understand him at all. Him finally standing up for himself falls flat; Rayfa's is definitely way more rewarding to watch. They did great with her storytelling and greatly neglected utilizing Nahyuta.

Aa6's ending makes sense but it doesn't necessarily feel... completely satisfying? It does a good job of "ending" Apollo's story but it feels really... weird. Nahyuta asking Apollo to stay just feels like it comes completely outta nowhere and it doesn't hit like it should. It also feels rushed, kind of like a last minute decision? Sure, it makes you interested, but coming from Nahyuta... I don't know. Like I said, how Nahyuta's character was executed is really disappointing. I want to like him-- his design is cool (aside from the blatant whitewashing) and his base backstory IS interesting! They just... don't do shit with him until the very end. Even when it's revealed him and Apollo have past ties in the 3rd case, it?? Again, sure it's interesting, but with how Nahyuta is hard to connect with, it just... is a surprise but you move on pretty fine from it. Sure, I wanted to know their backstory-- that's the point of the game, one of them at least-- but I wasn't as anxious to know as I should have been.

Another thing about the ending-- I respect Apollo's decision but I really wonder if he had known about Trucy, if it would have been a bigger struggle to make a decision, especially by the next day. You can feel that he thought over the decision almost all night, which is good. Nevertheless, I think his decision would have hit much harder if he knew about Trucy. In my mind, it was like he was 'leaving' (using that very lightly; he would keep in contact) one family for another that we didn't get the greatest chance to connect with. If anything, you get intrigued on how Apollo and Rayfa will evolve, but Nahyuta and Apollo-- the ones who HAVE the prior history? I didn't feel any interest at all. This is a roundabout way of saying, if he and Trucy knew when he made his decision, it would have hit a lot harder. I think it was a missed opportunity.

I'm surprised they were still able to make Apollo's ending still feel satisfying enough; he's off on his own, he's going to take what he's learned and pass down his teachings onto others while he STILL learns himself! It's great! He's come so far to where he can hold his own ground and it's satisfying to witness, especially through the blunders he had to endure from aa4-aa6.

aa5/dd.. imo, had more interesting cases than aa6. the overall plot they held was GREAT! learning about Athena and Simon's backstories is SOOO interesting and the reveals have real IMPACT. SO GOOD. And when you find out who the real antagonist is!! I've heard that people have gripes about it, but I personally think it's FUN! IT FUCKS WITH YOU!! IT'S A MEMORABLE REVEAL!! Not to mention that dd broke the terrible 3rd case curse with Turnabout Academy! That is SUCH a fun case!!

Its major flaw is struggling to balance the defense team (especially with Apollo-- he also had backstory in this game, but they shove him away in the background of his own backstory reveal. We should have been able to investigate as Apollo when he went on leave!!)

Side tangent-- I haven't watched an aai2 playthru yet but I know generally that Edgeworth gives up his badge because being a prosecutor restricts him from getting information, despite the advantage it should give him. He quits the legal system to be able to FREELY investigate what he wasn't able to before, and I think that's a very INTERESTING plot. With that being said, they could have EASILY done the same for Apollo, and I think it woukd have been doubly fun! Apollo and Edgeworth operate differently, which is why this plot point being used a second time wouldn't have gotten old or felt overused!

Tangent done-- but yeah, "balancing" (aka shoving Phoenix in the front yet again, despite Athena's debut) the defense team was poorly executed. To give credit, Athena is given enough time for us to learn her personality and become connected with her! (Even if you put aside learning about her backstory, you still get to know her well!) She's fun, her motives for getting into law are interesting, her mechanic is an interesting take, and her backstory HITS. Her AND Simon's! They had a great debut.

Despite this, though, Phoenix (who I love dearly) gets the lead way too much. In this game, they failed to place him more in a mentor role (I know the game didn't really intend for him to take the backseat, but I think it should have). As a result, sometimes, Athena and Apollo's presences don't get to hit as much or get completely drowned out. It was the first time I REALLY wanted Phoenix to just. Not. be in the game. Getting annoyed of the series' titular character is very disheartening to experience. But that's just how bad the balancing act was handled! You don't get to feel the full impact of Apollo pulling away and being distant towards Athena; you don't get to fully grasp how important Clay was to Apollo (dgmw, you understand he was important to Apollo, but their backstory is explained too quickly and what you do learn about them somehow doesn't feel like enough. I think how they handled the conflict between Apollo and Dhurke is what they should have aimed for with Apollo and Clay's backstory). Despite him having stakes in the plot, Apollo was poorly utilized. It's fun to see his angsty side though! Hard but fun.

Also... Phoenix being underwhelmed when Trucy gets taken hostage??? What was that? That was really disappointing, especially since he had so much focus on him. You get a general "Oh no! Trucy! I hope she's okay..." But?? That's your DAUGHTER! Some of the writing choices make you feel a disconnect with the characters, especially in moments like this.

Anyways! Now I'm too sleepy and lost my train of thought. It's 5am after all! Gnight!

[spock-smokes-weed]

Okay so can’t fall asleep, mostly cus I can’t stop thinking about how Apollo was absolutely ROBBED out of his own trilogy.

Im only on the second case of AA4 but man I’m so sad they gave the franchise back to pheonix when Apollo is such a fun protagonist, and pheonix being like his Mia is great cinematic parallels. Listen I love Phoenix, he’s my favorite character, but Apollo should have been allowed to carry the torch a little longer.

There are so many great parallels so far with the og Trilogy, and I can’t help but feel like Apollo was meant to have more than just one game dedicated to him. Like the game is called Apollo Justice, much like how Phoenix’s first game was just called Phoenix Wright, and both games are about how they’re both green horn lawyers who are suddenly getting thrusted into this deeper mystery that with every case you get closer to solving. The first games is about setting the stage and showing who these people are and what they’re capable of. Phoenix from the first game is different from how he is in the third game, and I can’t help but feel like Apollo was robbed out of a lot of his own extended story and character growth.

Like Apollo is the straight man having to deal with all of this weird bullshit, much like Phoenix was, and now that Phoenix is the mentor roll, I feel like their dynamic and relationship growing over the course of several Apollo games is a missed opportunity.

What is the point of passing the torch to Apollo just to yank it right back to Phoenix. Phoenix was amazing as a cryptic weird old man. That’s honestly what an older Phoenix should be like, jaded and kinda cynical about the world, and Apollo should be the new shining star that brings the light of justice. Like why make a whole ass game, setting up a new status quo, with new characters, just to sideline the main character in the next game and just make it about pheonix again.

Like maybe I’ll feel differently once I play 5 and 6, but I can’t help but feel like after the decision to make Phoenix the main character again they didn’t know what to do with Apollo and that’s how we got the whole thing of Apollo having ten million backstories.

Give my boy Apollo his two games he was owed g-d dammit

[goodboypolly]

Just finished the main story of AA:SOJ and honestly I really loved it?? I definitely understand the slack it got and I agree on almost all accounts. However since I saw so much negativity towards the game my expectations were so low…I actually really enjoyed it.

In depth thoughts and spoilers under the cut:

I loved Rayfa the most out of the new characters, though Nahyuta was also wonderful. And my girl Maya coming back only to be falsely accused of murder and kidnapped was kinda hilarious. I missed her a lot.

The unexpected Wrightworth/Narumitsu content will fuel me for the rest of time. I didn’t even know Miles was in the main game! And the shot of Trucy falling asleep on Miles’ shoulder in the flight was so cute 😭😭. Miles having his daughter Ema being his number one forensic expert makes me very happy, though I would like his other children to be released from the void please, as well as his sister and Gumshoe.

Speaking of being released from the void, capcom, is Klavier okay? I need to see him please. Anyone could have sent Trucy those flowers. Where is he, Capcom?

I was genuinely surprised to have Apollo and Trucy being related brought up at all, let alone Phoenix trying to convince their mum to tell them. At first, I was really mad that Nick didn’t say anything when Apollo was trying to figure out whether he should stay in Kurain, but then I realised how much that would have sucked for Apollo considering everything else going on. Also, it wasn’t Nick’s secret to tell. In a perfect world, they would have told them sometime between AA4-5 but fuck everything I guess.

The fourth case was really out of place and felt janky in comparison to the rest of the game. Which was a shame cause I really love Athena, and Simon’s weird older cousin vibes are always hilarious.

But overall I had a lot of fun, and the story genuinely kept me on my toes with really interesting reveals. I loved the return of the spirit channeling and the séances were an interesting addition to the court proceedings.

I’m hesitant for the DLC case as I see that Larry is there. Hopefully Miles and Maya make up for his presence. I see myself replaying the series after this tbh but I am yet to finish investigations 2 or even start the great ace attorneys.

If anyone wants to talk about any of the above things or any ace attorney content please feel free to slide into my DMs. I can’t believe I’m back on my AA content after so long.

[ashenberry]

hey i dont know why but you seem to subtly imply you dont exactly appreciate whatever the magical turnabout had to offer.

,,care indulge me in these anti 6-2 feelings

ehehe

spoilers for 6-2 and probably aa4 under da cut

this case is like a culmination of almost everything I dislike about soj But I’m gonna start with THE POSITIVES the PLUSES the PROS

•the investigation is super fun actually

•anytime we get to see the show ^-^ you go girl

•I like the twins

alright. Now that we got that out of the way

The Trucy

augh. It flattered her character to like a generic performers anxiety. I had a friend point this out to me but aa4 Trucy has a deep love and respect for professionals. it’s something unique to her! it gives her an interesting depth and in magical all she has is perfectionism and sHE SHOULDNT HAVE BEEN THE PERCIEVE TUTORIAL i DO think she should have had a breakdown given. fuckin everything but I think it should have been later I think she should of held it together a little more cause as it there is not enough buildup to give it the weight it deserves. Trucy is aa assistant archetype a she is very good at hiding her emotions I think it would have worked better either during a recess or the end of the trial but as is she cries once and is over it and. aug. For comparison at the end of the game when Apollos leaving she hardly gets a line to talk to him so it REALLY feels. artificial igues. Trucy u deserved so much better

Setup

should have mentioned set up earlier tee hee anyways it’s very clear they wanted an Apollo defending Trucy senario and like. Fair good call but I hate the way it’s done. They have Phoenix miss his daughters (who he loves very much) first televised magical show over a false alarm because if they did have Phoenix in the country no way in hell was he gonna let Apollo take the case and oops! They already gave him his job back last game so they can’t use that excuse! Honestly this doesn’t annoy me as much as it did when I was playing the case but I do think something ala monsterous would have been way more interesting with Phoenix trying to take the fall for Trucy and that becoming a whole thing

(but ashen! You say, what about ahlbi‘s trial? first of all. story contrivance it can happens whenever second of all you can have Maya take his defense without moving when it takes place and then I don’t have to watch Phoenix be cringe and blantsntly disrespect other cultures (another one of sojs major issues))

Mr Reus

this is a really blatant retcon that annoys the hell out of me because aa4 had a whole ass case about how there wasn’t another gramarye cmon guys. Easy fix just make him a syndrome type he has never actually talked to a gramarye he just thinks he’s sick and HATES Trucy for being cooler. Manov Mistree you will be missed

Really Really bad pacing

this case feels long as fuck and that’s because of two (2) reasons. First off, it’s a near perfect murder. Honestly feels like your running in place until the end i sucks to get through and aa’s most egresious example of this type of case. This is compounded by the fact that honest to god gameplay wise Nahyuta is the worst prosecutor. Unlike the trilogy prosecutors who suffer from chronic hubris or klav/Simon/Zieks who do want to discover the truth behind the crime and will help you get there, Nahyuta does fuckin nothing and feels like he doesn’t want to be there. Tells you to find the holy mother in your heart and then tries to end the trial every other line. It is a battle to get this guy to talk about the case and i Wanna say magical is where it’s the worst but I didn’t even truly finish rite of the turnabout so

Other Grevinces I can think of right now

• sojs creep quota I don’t know why it has one but this case has the cameraman

• Start of sojs building up Apollo for 6-5B and honestly. not his most impressive win for them to by hyping up

•I think these are general soj grievances oops. I think trucys face looks weird in this one compared to dd

• valant should’ve been mentioned I miss that fuck. I think he’s in jail but it’s never mentioned in the english versions of the games so I choose to believe he’s trapped in borginia

•he might’ve been mentioned honestly it’s been a year and I don’t want to revisit this case. Poor Trucy chose the weekend when everyone was out of town

•no way was that contract legally binding Trucy is not a legal adult get fucked reus

[moonchopsticks-old]

just finished aa4 and really liked it! quick thoughts:

-apollo has quickly become one of my favorite characters in aa! he really struck that sweet spot between admirable and endearing for me--a hardworking, quick-thinking young man, who grew up as an orphan and clawed his way up to success and a new family in the wrights, and who’s also unrelentingly snarky, can’t whisper for his life, is terrified of heights, and cries over people that he hardly knows. what a dork, i love him. i think they leaned a little heavily on the ‘greenhorn’ aspect of his personality-- quite a few moments where there were things i had figured out but wasn’t allowed to do anything with until another character jumped in and was like “apollo u sweet summer child THIS is the answer”. also i spoiled myself a little and i know that the next two games have “traumatize apollo” as a running theme so a little apprehensive and hoping they at least develop his character well or smth

-mixed feelings about the ‘perceive’ mechanic bc narratively it’s cool as hell but  it was frustrating to crawl through the text looking around for a very slight change in the zoomed-in sprite, especially if it wasn’t clear what they’re fibbing about which is very often. had to use a guide on those parts pretty often. also it’s just like “hey you were twitching! you’re obviously hiding something!” “oh gee you caught me i’ll spill the beans” like i feel like it could’ve been a little more subtle or gradual, idk.

- love apollo and trucy’s relationship so much!! their banter is so cute and funny and they pull off the straight man/funny man routine really well. ik nick and maya have a similar thing but the vibes were just different, for some reason. they had very strong sibling vibes (even before the reveal), which i loved. them being half-siblings was pretty contrived (like a lot of things in this game and this series lmao) but i dont really mind too much

-on a related note, why can’t they know that they’re siblings. when’s the “right time” to tell them. why can’t they just reunite with their mother who has her memories back and loves them. phoenix wh

-on another related note i can understand how jaded and disillusioned phoenix got after he got disbarred but i honestly didn’t like the whole “mysterious cryptic mentor playing 4d chess” schtick that the game pulled. it feels ooc, especially considering you briefly play as present-day him in the final case and his internal monologue doesn’t seem too different from original trilogy phoenix, or at least the phoenix you see before disbarment in the final case (although i was rly invested in finishing up the case and wasn’t paying that much attention to phoenix’s characterization specifically, so i might’ve missed stuff). phoenix’s arc of growth was great and complete in t&t and it feels like they just...gave him a whole new personality. also phoenix goes back to being a lawyer in the next two games...does he just revert back to being regular ol phoenix? idk, maybe i’m missing some stuff right after my first playthrough but it just felt weird.

-plot was really convoluted and contrived even for ace attorney (havent played aa5 or 6 yet, so idk if it gets worse). lamiroir just happened to be apollo and trucy’s mom, if zak had just been frank with phoenix and given the original diary page to him OR valant hadn’t tampered with the crime scene this whole thing could’ve been avoided. why did zak want to take down phoenix in poker to the extent of planting cards on him to make it look like he cheated when phoenix was the one who defended him in court and he’s the one taking care of his daughter??

-way too many flashbacks to things that happened 5 real life minutes ago

-g u i t a r ‘ s  s e r e n a d e

-kind of wish they had done more with trucy. i liked her but i feel like there was potential, especially since the game implies that she’s putting on a brave front for apollo, and i wish they had expanded on that a little more. like....her birth father who had been presumed dead for years ends up being alive right up until mere months before the reveal. she’s the one that ends up delivering the forged evidence into phoenix’s hands as a child, even though she was completely unaware of it at the time. she and phoenix latch onto each other pretty quickly, which was very cute, but we get little insight to how she thinks of her biological father, who we can tell she loved and misses but not much else. maybe i’m just digging for angst, idk, but it still felt like there could’ve been more. (also i really wanted more phoenix-being-a-dad content!! be a dad to ur daughter sir!!)

-klavier was pretty good! it was refreshing to have a prosecutor that wasn’t after ‘perfection’ or had a vendetta against defense attorneys/the protag, but he still managed to come off as a competent opponent. his whole rockstar persona was very cheesy but i liked it lol. (also really hilarious to me that the third case starts with him giving discounted tickets to trucy and apollo, his opponents in actual legal court) also i knew people shipped him and apollo but i wasn’t expected the game to be so forthright with it. like how else are you supposed to interpret klavier saying “i’m used to being inspected by the ladies but this is the first time ive felt like this with a man”????

-ema skye!!! loved her and glad to see her in a spotlight role but it was just kind of sad seeing her perpetually grumpy. ik people didn’t like that there were so many forensic touchpad/mic minigames but i didn’t really mind it, they were kinda fun if sometimes a little tedious

-i for sure thought that valant had been directly involved with the murder in turnabout serenade (my initial theory was that valant was masquerading as daryan during set 3 while daryan shot letouse, which was why 2nd guitar was off during the recording). also i hated daryan’s hair, why does he have a military grade skunk torpedo on his head,

-wright anything agency adopt vera challenge

-this has already gone on long enough so tl;dr solid 7.5/10 would play again once i forget what happens a little bit

[hihoneyimdead]

ANWAY i finished dual destinies today and tbh? Great last trial, annoying third trial (except the last bit with means’ little mohawk freakout section), okay second trial (went on way too long but i liked filch and jinxie was PERFECT FUCK), great first trial (tonate was beautiful. i love this terrible goggles man), and fourth trial was meh (fuck you yuri cosmos but i love your segway to the stars). 

Simon is literally my favorite prosecutor for a reason, even before I played the game, because he’s goth and british and thus hot as hell. And he’s funny!??? I wasn’t expecting him to be funny! Hey Edgeworth why can’t you be funny? And his relationship with Athena? UUUUUGH it reminds me of me and my sister so MUCH GOD. Simon! You beautiful fuck! You’re an asshole and too rude but you love your bird and you love your annoying little sister cousin so you’re off the hook.

I’m gay for Athena. And Aura. And Robin. And Athena. And Aura. And Robin. Listen, I’m bi, I have Simon and he’s fine as hell, and then there’s fucking KLAVIER???? GOD 3d klavier is good klavier (v upset he isn’t german though i gave him an accent and forgot he wasn’t actually german until his anime cutscene where he sang lamiroir’s song with junie and i cried). I have those two motherfuckers and then the game DARES show me Aura herself? Oh lord! Oh LORD!

Also Ponco and Clonco. My children. My lovely robot moon children. May you come back safely and happy. I love you both. And Ponco, I hope the judge takes you to the zoo. You would like it. And Clonco, i hope you get visiting hours with Aura. You miss her. I’m sure she missed you.

Also? Canon wlw Aura Blackquill? I stan. All of turnabout for tomorrow just kept hitting me over the head. Her and Metis, and then Simon ruining his own life just to protect Athena, and then Athena spending her life working to save him? And Aura doing anything to save him? And Ponco being baby? And Edgeworth showing up in glasses and a vest like “yes i’m here now”. And bobby no bobby honey you were my favorite detective and still are but bobby nooooo. That whole bit with the phantom was honestly chilling. I hope aa7, whenever it deigns grace us with its existence, has a scene like that. It was so awkward it was terrifying in the right ways. It means that Simon doesn’t have any friends besides his hawk, but he’s going to get there! Athena is going to help him! He and Phoenix are going to be friends, I can tell. 

did you know i love simon blackquill? because i do.

On a more serious note, I knew vague spoilers going in because I went through the aa ao3 tag like a year ago and saw some shit. Despite that, I had a genuinely good time! I’m glad the judge learned what perjury was, I’m glad we had a prosecutor with another badass design, theme, aesthetic, and everything, and I’m glad we got character development from everyone! 

Clay, though, made me feel... weird. Why was he there? I get he was important to Apollo’s story, but where did he come from? I wish he was there in aa4! Him and Trucy meeting would be Apollo’s nightmare. Add in Klavier, and Apollo is moving to another city and changing his name. I think that Clay’s case would’ve been better if the roles were reversed, with Solomon being killed and Clay being suspected. More character growth, and Clay would get to be here for aa6, which I hear is apollo-centric.

I’m getting aa6 in a week or two, maybe. Need to decide whether to get that or aa4, but I’m leaning more towards 6 just for the clown case. Why does the clown girl have balloon tits? I need to know.

Anyway i stan canon wlw aura blackquill, her edgy brother, her edgy brother’s child the hawk, and her edgy brother’s hyper yellow sister. I love this game and can’t wait to play the fucking. Orca trial tomorrow.

[box-dwelling]

So i finished aa3. I cried. I took photos but there's not much to say about them beyond just fucking weeping. But now I'm on aa4 and I have thoughts.

First the sound design is worse by kinda a lot. Maybe I'm just spoiled and maybe it will grow on me but the mix is way way lower and the music is much less of a banger.

I think I like the graphic improvements though. They aren't better, just different but it's a different I like (note im playing on the 3ds port. I think they are better than the remastered of trilogy that I'm playing through on the PS4 with my partner)

The whole game feels a lot darker and seedier. Might just be the first case but I like it. It's a different tone but it works with both Phoenix's mental state and also the dark age of law thing. Again not better just different in a way I like equally as much

I love Apollo. He's great. I really don't have much to say, I just genuinely like him and find him endering as fuck.

I know beanix is polorising but I genuinely really like him. He still feels like phoenix just older and more jaded. You can see he's absolutely delighted to be back in court even if he's the defendant. He clearly missed it. I think if you only see him as dumb Himbo underdog it probably feels weird but that was never him to me. He's bitchy, he's quick witted, he's genuinely smart even if he's the underdog. In 3-5 law prodigy genius Edgeworth ends up doing some of the more Himbo stuff and it's commented on that that's just what the position of defense attorney puts you in in this system. It's not that phoenix wasn't smart. He always was. Hobo phoenix feel like a very natural evolution to me

Edit: the song that just started that might be the new chase theme is indeed a banger. I may just need headphones to fully vibe with the mix

Second edit: that song wasn't the chase theme. I've found the chase theme and it is an INSANE banger. Mix is also growing on me. I don't mind it as much now. Just a change. I'm learning a lot about poker damn. I tried playing once in highschool. We did it before school and beg on pens. I was bad. But yeah this teaching a lot

[farafeys]

2, 9, 20, 27, 36, 48 for the aa asks?

:3c thank u..

2. Favourite case?

oh i’m probably gonna say several bc i’m indecisive lol the first few that jump directly to mind are turnabout goodbyes (bc it’s The Case), bridge (bc it’s got p much the entire main trilogy cast and has fantastic character moments for… all of them), the grand turnabout (for sebastian content lol), and turnabout corner (my favorite not-a-final-case case bc it’s complicated in a really satisfying way and just. all over the place in a very Ace Attorney way and bc i love the kitakis)

9. Favourite witness?

mmmm my first instinct is mr. palaeno from turnabout ablaze just bc he’s so pleasant ha just look at him. what a swell guy

20. Least favourite memory of Ace Attorney?

i dont feel like i can say the copout Very Important Conference that revealed the switch ports bc i didn’t actually stay up for it so instead probably every time i think of franziska’s interactions with godot bc they still make me angry lol

27. Apollo’s perceive, Phoenix’s magatama or Athena’s Mood Matrix?

MOOD MATRIX it’s such a fun mechanic i wish the 3d games had you play as athena more.. the other two are kinda tedious to me but mood matrix is both rlly cool in concept and more Fun fo rme 2 actually do

36. Do you like where the franchise is heading or did you prefer the atmosphere in the original trilogy?

hmm i didn’t dislike aa6 but tbh i do miss the older games.. i think the dgs duology really hit all the points that made the trilogy (and aa4+investigations) excellent in a way that the 3d ones didn’t and i feel like it has a lot to do with them being self-contained and not doing.. weird stuff wrt trying to be like the older games while also trying to outdo them (with new tragic prosecutors and ridiculously high stakes and adding more and more main cast members instead of relying on the already sizable established one). this was a long answer ha

48. If there could be an Ace Attorney crossover with whatever franchise you’d like, which one would you choose? (Does not need to be a video-game franchise)

oh man idk… ive seen a bunch of mp100 crossovers which i think are charming (even if the in-universe concepts of Psychics don’t really mesh).. in general i like crossovers that are like [insert character from another franchise] is a defendant and phoenix reacts to their quirks! haha!

[earthdeep]

ok this is really starting to get on ludicrous levels but... can we quit with the aa5 hate a bit? like srsly? y’all are gettin waaaaay too aggressive abt ppl liking this game. half the time it’s shit over nothing! it’s not like ppl are out here praising this as a masterpiece of writing. srsly the only times I’ve seen what y’all are insisting stans are doing is for aa4 (usually guessing at what was intended for future sequels that actually continued on from it) and shipping (especially narumitsu shippers? some of u are REALLY invested in subtext like wow). 99% of the praise I’ve seen for aa5 is for the characters. which is more than fair! in case u forgot, aa5 introduced us to the entire blackquill/cykes group, in all their lovable glory! and fleshed out the universe with the wonder that is lawyer highschool (which, listen, if ur accepting 13 year olds are allowed to prosecute, this isn’t actually incompatible with the depths this fictional justice system will sink) that also managed to connect parts of aai2 into the timeline as well! ffs apollo’s single friend only exists in canon bc of aa5!

and u can say everything’s clumsily implemented all u like. but, uh, in case u hadn’t noticed, aa5 isn’t the first time it’s gone weird. have u seen t&t lately? dahlia and godot were soooo clumsily integrated. I’ve ranted on godot’s mary sue qualities before, but ugh. both have the same problem of “oh by the way did I ever mention that INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT ex of mine who is totally irrelevant btw haha oh wow they’re suddenly relevant how about that”. fucking jfa has the same issue with franziska aka “woah now there’s ANOTHER von karma? and she’s even MORE challenging than the last one?!” srsly let’s not pretend her sudden arrival made sense for a prodigy who is also next of kin to the most infamous prosecutor around. nick not knowing who manfred was was clumsy too. what I’m getting at is that the aa series does not in fact have the smoothest writing, to the point where nick and later apollo appear to live under rocks in order to lose out on what should be common knowledge in their situation. srsly apollo how did u never notice that there’s some frontman in a rock group pushed by the literal police who looks scarily like ur boss, has the same last name as ur boss, said band is literally called the GAVINners. like christ I’m not into music but I at least recognise the names of 1d members. in all honesty I am so glad athena did not end up like those two pebble-dwellers and had actually p good reasons for either not knowing shit (hello l’belle and his private company) or keeping quiet (hello the entire space station situation). athena is good at this. 

and u know the biggest plus that kinda ties into the character situation? NO STOCK FUCKING PERVERT CHARACTERS. WE ALL HATE THEM. BUT CAN WE NOT OVERLOOK THE FACT AA4 HAD TWO. BOTH STICKLER AND HOTTI/HICKFIELD BOTH APPEARED IN THE SAME CASE. BOTH INVOLVING A FIFTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL. I HAVE THE SCRIPT. DO NOT FUCKING TEST ME.

there’s other stuff I’ve seen too specifically abt the satire that started the series. yes, gyakuten saiban was created to satirise the unbalanced nature and unbelievably high prosecution rates of the japanese courts. gyakuten saiban 4 was written in reaction to the real life introduction of the jury. (srsly if u have time, go on a research trip. there’s a lot of interesting stuff surrounding the background of the series.) but, forgive me if I’m missing something, what the FUCK were 2 and 3 satirising? as far as I’m aware, takumi was asked to continue the series bc ppl liked it. and it made capcom money. takumi eventually got totally sick of it and left the main series but please don’t act like this is something new from capcom. not everything in the series is pure political commentary. some of it is just regular stories. this is true for almost any satirical series ever. it doesn’t make them unenjoyable. besides y’all are content to shit on soj anyway for being a cheesy take on of a corrupt government system so maybe u just don’t care and just have a hate on for anything tangentially related to aa5.

and on whether it’s unenjoyable? nah man aa5 is fun. monstrous turnabout was a bit slow I reckon, but everything else moved at a nice pace, had fun characters, had those good good friendship moments. it was a bit wobbly in places, but we sat through turnabout serenade and turnabout succession! would u like my list of plot holes in serenade alone? bc I have one. I had to make one to break down the damn thing enough to write an au version of it. and with aa5 and the phantom? apparently that’s largely on the localisation team deciding western audiences wouldn’t accept ‘yokai’ as the answer and then just... not... putting anything else in? literally could’ve been solved with one word being swapped out or jinxie mentioning said yokai in one of her lists which... yeah that one’s on the game. idk maybe in the distant future when the games are all remastered for the new new new nintendo 3dsi that’ll be fixed too. or maybe the miracle never happen. who knows.

like probably the only other thing I can’t argue with on criticism is the art style. yeah, I’m not keen on fuse’s faces. nuri suffers with a certain level of same face too, but (as shown in dgs) the other parts of his design are pretty and managed to shine through in 3d. but the colours are way better come soj now the main team is getting into the swing of it, and anyone who doesn’t think khura’in is pretty as hell can fight me.

but srsly there are actually a lot of good points to aa5. it is not the antichrist. personally it is far from my favourite game (with my own fave as aa4 bc dem characters tho... barring the perverts) but many of its flaws are not new to the series. and while it has lost potential in various parts such as several important characters being dead on arrival, let’s not forget it left behind some especially nasty parts of the series and appears to be CONTINUING to leave those behind. mmm just look at that lack of literal canon pedophiles we’re supposed to feel sorry for... sorry every time I remember aa3 I like it less and less. which is a shame, bc young!mia is still the most relatable protag ever.

anyway, let’s not become the dicks who shat on anyone who liked aa4 back in the day, yeah?

[frogadir]

aa4 phoenix is an interesting character because its like hm i feel like calling him morally gray is weird because he does always have good intentions but like hes kind of gray he forged the card to catch kristoph which was like good because kristoph was rightfully convicted but by doing that he just bought into what everyone saw him as—corrupt cheating etc when his reputation was falsely ruined in the first place so like he does the exact thing that ruined his life but this time its to get it back and trucy was the one who brought him the forged journal page but she was so little she didnt know what was happening and phoenix easily could have distanced himself from the whole gramarye case after that because of what it did to him but he couldnt leave trucy alone because she like heralded his downfall but it wasnt her fault and then she got screwed over by everything too and the two of them were very lost and alone until they found each other so then like seven years later having been affected by those events its like phoenix is embracing a trickier more devious amoral side of himself but like for the right reasons? hm and like yeah so him having been through all that then he finds apollo whos the other missing piece to this story and he knows apollo wont believe him if he just tells the whole story immediately so phoenix has to like lead apollo through this weird elaborate game of self discovery

apollos cynicism next to phoenixs is interesting like in the trilogy phoenix is pretty disbelieving of a lot of the situations hes presented with but hes like whatever ill go with it but apollo is like uniquely stubborn and he gets annoyed by phoenixs openmindedness when it comes to the bizarre which is an attitude phoenix only really cultivated when everything bad happened to him and he went fringe but like hes very mysterious and pleased with himself hes like trying to get apollo to see things from his perspective so he can grow and i think this all boils down to phoenix wright is fucking crazy but he is free and apollo is not free if only because of the restrictions he places on his own heart as a result of past stresses

[box-dwelling]

And so I begin the 3d games. I want it acknowledged that I actively want to like these. I have headed the warning that they're rough but I have chosen to ignore it. I am going to love them. I have decided. If I do not love them then let it not be said I didn't try very hard.

So far erm, I like the interfaced less but having a dialogue scroll back feature is appreciated. I can't think how many lines I missed in the others by accidently clicking too quick. I like? The anime cutscenes. It's weird because I can flick the anime enjoying switch in my head and like it but I didn't go in with that switch flipped so it took a second. The models are... Mixed. I like Apollo, Juniper, and Payne's but Athena's... I've seen her design illustrated and liked it a lot but something about the animations and polygons feels really off to me. I think it's maybe her expressions. The cartoony look of them just look weird in 3d. I wonder if Apollo and Phoenix will have the same issues behind the bench. Same with Edgeworth actually. Idk we'll see. They really didn't need to update the series to 3d honestly. I would kill to see Athena's design in the original sprites. But this is a nitpick. I'm sure it will grow on me just like the changes in AA4 did.

Then there's characterisation and l like it so far. Juniper is just your sweet innocent defendant, Athenas cute and funny, I like her enthusiasm a lot I'm glad to be playing her, Payne is a dick, the judge is an idiot and Apollo is pushing himself to work even though he is actively recovering from and explosion but you know what that tracks with his behaviour tbh. I think dangerously workoholic is a pre reasonable conclusion to make from AA4. The man was writing a diary about a case he worked 3 months ago because he was desperate to feel the feeling of solving a case again and actively worked at the WAA when Phoenix was being a cryptic ass to him because it was the only place he could get clients. It tracks. It sounds like Phoenix was on the phone at the start with Edgeworth and if he was that's cute. I love them being partners together when they're instated and Edgeworth is back in the country. They deserve to be.