#phoenix point spoilers

[untilteddocument]

So I've Been Thinking About: Phoenix Point

Welcome to the inaugural So I've Been Thinking About, a journal series where I talk about things I find interesting or appealing about various pieces of media, often video games. This time, I'm gonna talk about Phoenix Point, a very PC-style strategy/RPG (by that, I mean more X-COM than Fire Emblem) designed by none other than X-COM creator Julian Gollop himself.

The basic premise is, you're the last remnants of your organization, some of humanity's finest, navigating a post-apocalyptic world filled with monsters and untrusting people, fighting to survive and end the threat of the monsters. Not all that distinctive, right?

Well...

Has The Sweet Breeze Blown

The actual premise is that of a world still going through the throes of social, political, and environmental collapse. A climate-change-thawed mutagenic pathogen, dubbed the Pandoravirus (the game was released in 2019 with backstory elements written since 2017, so considering that and similar dynamics being observable since at least the Spanish Flu in the early 20th century, I don't believe that the comparison to SARS-CoV-2 being The Coronavirus was intentional), is in the process of rewriting every ecosystem on Earth, impeded in no way whatsoever by the now-crumbled world of neoliberal and neoconservative capitalism, who used it as yet another excuse for its endless rounds of power plays.

In the face of destruction, humanity retreated to havens, small settlements where they can exist without attracting too much attention from the eerily-conscious mist and the creatures it made out of family and fauna. Precarious though they are, enough havens hold. People make it through each day as best they can, slowly reaching out via long-distance communication and careful trade by aircraft, and they spend the next 25 years coming together into three relatively solid factions:

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The right-wing militarists of New Jericho, led by soldier-businessman-business, man-philosopher-king Tobias West. Hammered out of his pre-collapse PMC, Vanadium, Tobias West seeks to claw normality and humanity back from the jaws of the alien...at the very least, what he deems normal and human.

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The anarchist assemblies of Synedrion, who coalesced from refugees, revolutionaries, and independent scientific groups who were trying to share data on the mist that was being hoarded and used for saber-rattling by the governments of the world. At once insular and forward-thinking, they seek to realize their dreams of a world without hierarchies...if they can all agree on how.

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The mysterious and obscurantist Disciples of Anu, a radical transhumanist cult born from the shards of doomsday cults that had seen the world die, and, at long last, see an opportunity to birth a better one in its place. Led by an ecclesiastical hierarchy culminating in the enigmatic Exalted, they accept the vast waves of change enveloping the world while rejecting its more destructive effects...but secrets are ever present in their halls.

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Dealing with all, any, or none of them is the player's group, the Phoenix Project, the latest iteration of a long but often-broken chain of secret societies that had stumbled upon the same information and dared to know (their motto, in fact: Sapere Aude) and prepare for what was coming.

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It's The World I Know

Let's go over a few details there and how they change the tone of the story as a whole. In post-apocalyptic scenarios, there is, of course, the apocalypse to explain. What caused it, how people reacted, what replaced the old world, what the new environment makes possible and impossible.

Going through the in-game snippets as well as the short stories included with the game and on the official site, Phoenix Point is clear on what led things to where they are. Yes, the Pandoravirus mist, the people it took control of, the monsters it made of them and the ecosystem itself, those were all horrific force majeure that no ready-made solution would have easily solved.

However, no solution was ready at all, because nobody in power cared. This is one of two things that all factions agree on. The Powers That Were saw Tobias West as a dumb hick with soldiers they could use for their squabbles. The Powers That Were saw the Firebird Initiative and the people of their own countries as greater threats to their power than the mist. The Powers That Were ignored the sick and suffering who then, bereft of hope, sought to find it in cults and from anyone else who promised it. When The Powers That Were at last saw that the mist was an actual problem...they tried to leave the rest of the world to die.

I'm just going to...leave that there, and...let people chew on that for a bit.

Every faction is a response to this last severing of ties. Tobias West let his customers throw their bought-and-paid-for rocks at each other while he focused on solidifying his holdings, crafting Vanadium into a force that could weather the collapse. The Firebird Initiative and the various refugees and revolutionaries that would become Synedrion didn't even have to change their strategy; they defied the governments of the world and worked on technologies to save others outside the grip of monetization and weaponization. The Disciples of Anu reached out to the infected, those abandoned by everyone else as lost causes, and gave them a way to live.

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And I Laughed At Myself While The Tears Rolled Down

I do mean live, by the way. Distinct from mere existence. The mood of the game is so powerful in part because of the care it takes to be so deftly unambiguous about what people are looking for, even staring out at a wasteland. People need to have fun.

People need humor.

People need lives outside of survival.

The factions feel so much more real because the writers understood how to make them feel like they're populated with characters rather than plot devices. It goes into the factions' overall characterization as well. The leadership of New Jericho and the Disciples, despite their moments, often seem reluctant to accept the frivolous (in the former's case) or the unsanctioned (in the latter's case) as part of what they are. By contrast, Synedrion is full of jokes and memes, though in turn the other two factions would probably say that this and their tendency to argue distracts them from important work. That factional interplay is a big part of what helps me care about the world, because I can imagine these people being the ones to inherit it.

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Has All Kindness Gone

The big uniting concept that gets me about Phoenix Point is that despite being a horror story and a war story, it never ends on the more unsavory conclusions that often arise in those stories. It is true that times are grim, and trust is scarce, but Phoenix Point reinforces that people have to care. Fiercely, bravely, people have to care.

Care about our memories.

Care about each other, even if it's not safe.

It's a bit of a read, but "The Interrogation" is one of my favorite short stories for the insight it offers.

Quick note: Spoilers ahead

Despite it being the "wrong decision," I don't think Lt. Petyaeva was wrong for reaching out to Amanda whether by my standard or the narrative's. Despite being unable to countermand the Pandoravirus's orders, interrogating her while denying her personhood would not only have been outright useless, it would have been a denial of Lt. Petyaeva's humanity as well. In a way, both of them were denied personhood. "Subject 16 is not a person." "We don't get to choose our fate anymore. We all have to do our part." What's more tragic is, considering the short story "Harbinger," which is likely about "that woman in Greenville," if Amanda had been picked up by the Disciples of Anu rather than New Jericho, she would have had a chance to live.

End spoilers

It's not just that story either. Hell, Citizen Zhara of Synedrion outright voices her thoughts on the matter in-game.

This sort of sentiment isn't unheard of in other stories, of course, but oftentimes, it's presented as foolish naivete that will only get them killed, or at best a tragic dream that is chosen in the place of survival.

What does Phoenix Point have to say about it?

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Hope Still Lingers On

Quick note: Spoilers ahead

In the end, Zhara's hopes are proven not only well-founded, but reachable, and the game lets you do so. In her specific ending scenario (Synedrion has two subfactions you can support; hers is the Polyphonic tendency, which refuses all hierarchies, including man vs. nature), Synedrion is able to break the mind control on the Pandorans, freeing them as well as humanity and allowing for true coexistence. They do gloss over the method somewhat, but what we are given seems plausible enough, certainly no less believable than New Jericho's idea that nuking the final boss will be a permanent solution. Either way, rather than promoting detached cynicism disguised as stoic realism, the devs emphasize the importance of the player caring enough to take a side. The absolute worst ending you can get comes when you don't make a choice, just hedge your bets until the end. You end up resolving to commit a genocidal atrocity, the factions put their differences aside to try and stop you, you wipe out 90% of the population of the world, and end up taking authoritarian control over everyone left because no other option exists at that point. Even the New Jericho ending, which results in a war of extermination even in the face of evidence that the Pandorans aren't essentially hostile but enslaved and mind-controlled, at least leaves more people alive. (The same consideration for the enemy is present in some measure in XCOM 2, where the Elders are shown as having to put their entire faction, ranging from their vat-grown ADVENT soldiers to their elite alien troops, under constant mind control or else many of them would surrender or turn on their masters. It was a nice touch, and part of why I also hold XCOM 2's story in high regard.)

End spoilers

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Why Am I Even Using Collective Soul Lyrics For This

This has been meandering and probably incoherent, and believe me, I could go on, but I think that's enough for now. There's plenty of words out there about the gameplay, but not many about these aspects of the story and general mood, as far as I've found. This game had so much I've been looking for, and I hope I've managed to explain why.

[wildfey]

Ages ago I had a discord discussion about a theoretical athena-godot team-up, and i haven’t stopped thinking about it since. So have the art I drew last year.

[bitterseaproduction]

AA7 game idea? Playing AS Eustace Winner. As a prosecutor. With a new face/Athena as your main rival, Edgeworth as your main mentor, and Phoenix Wright as your final prosec- I mean defense lawyer.

Give me back Phoenix Wright, but as my Red in Pokémon: The final boss you have to take on. Make me prove to Phoenix Wright himself that his client is guilty against all his bluffs & efforts, without dismissing or disrespecting his faith in his clients. Make a tale of struggling to reach justice and truth from the other bench, with all the conflict of Case 2-4 but without a kidnapping motivation or an early villain reveal. Make us tear apart the lies and fight to make everyone, including Phoenix, face the truth, only to underline how it was never that he should have doubted his client, but that he should trust US. Trust the prosecution even when their name isn’t Miles Edgeworth to help him find the truth.

Give me back Phoenix Wright, show him at his strongest, but also show that, even at your peak, there are still new lessons to learn from new perspectives.

[trlvsn]

phoenix wright's bisexuality is actually not about the male-female attraction spectrum but about the "how innocent will the defendant turn out to be by the end of the trial" spectrum. the colors match perfectly. has this been said before it must have been

[velvees-archive]

Dual Destinies spoilers! (5-5)

can they stop relegating the fey clan to an audience in their “who’s the bigger yearner “ competition, or should i expect mia fey’s channeled spirit in aa7?

[relicsongmel]

Something I've always found fascinating about Raymond Shields is that despite seemingly having altruistic reasons for being a defense attorney, his reasons for trying to convince Miles to be one are anything but.

It seems understandable enough on the surface. After Ray comes around and agrees to work with Miles in The Imprisoned Turnabout, he sees remnants of Gregory shining through him despite von Karma's influence. Whether or not he recognizes that Miles' decision to become a prosecutor wasn't just born from that alone—that it was in tandem with wanting to distance himself from anything that reminded him of his father to alleviate the burden on his heart—is up for debate, but regardless: he acknowledges Miles as Gregory's son through and through and wants to capitalize on his dedication for pursuing justice in a way that he knows would make his father proud. He wants to let Miles in on the life he was robbed of at 9 years old—the life he once dreamed of living, where he follows in the footsteps of his father by giving everything he has to save people, by fighting like hell for the vulnerable and the condemned.

That said, as much as Ray dresses up his proposition by making it out to be as if he's looking out for Miles' best interests (and the best interests of society, even)...his motives for trying to get Miles to switch sides are almost entirely selfish. Ray's efforts (and most of his actions in general, really) are ultimately a product of his desperate attempt to cling on to anything related to Gregory out of an inability to move on from his death. Wearing his hat and coat, leaving the name of his office unchanged...and now, requesting that his son literally change jobs just because he can't bear the weight of his own loneliness anymore. Because he can't bear to think that the damage done by DL-6 is irreversible and Miles has moved on while he has stagnated for the past 17 years. Because he has an idealized vision of what he thinks Gregory would want and fails to realize that his son's occupation wouldn't matter to him as long as it brings him happiness and fulfillment. In his mind, letting Miles go means accepting the circumstances that brought him where he is and allowing both of them to move on. And that terrifies him.

It's even more deceitful when you realize that Ray's pitch comes at a very opportune time for Miles given his circumstances at that point: that is, he's under threat of investigation for prosecutorial misconduct and at risk of being stripped of his badge. Ray might fake incompetence, but he's not stupid—and he takes full advantage of Justine's warnings to try to sway Miles when he's in a more vulnerable position in terms of his job. Which is...pretty fucked up, to put it lightly. Despite having a better idea of where he came from compared to most people, through this Ray shows a lack of understanding of who Miles truly is and a lack of respect for what he's come to value, even if his path toward obtaining those values had some bumps along the road. But he's so blinded by his grief that he doesn't even stop to consider how much he's really asking of him, or what Miles is really searching for.

Ray was moved by Gregory. He values saving people. Defending the weak is an undeniably noble endeavor. But to ask that of someone else without consideration for their best interests is decidedly less so.

For all his occupation requires a certain selflessness, Raymond Shields is far more selfish than he lets on. And I for one find that contradiction fascinating to unpack.

[pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong]

ruby's mum naming her newborn daughter

[hanakoifish]

AA7 this. AA7 that. YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT?? I WANT A PROPER APOLLO JUSTICE SEQUEL. I WANT A GAME THAT TAKES PLACE IN BETWEEN AJ AND DD. I WANT A GAME THAT CLEARS UP THE LOOSE ENDS. I WANT A GAME THAT TALKS AND EXPLORES THE SO VERY FASCINATING DYNAMIC APOLLO AND PHOENIX HAVE. I WANT A GAME THAT SHOWS US PHOENIX HEALING AND APOLOGIZING AND ADDRESSING HIM USING TRUCY AND APOLLO.

i mean i would also really like an AA7.. twirls hair. (Please tell Trucy and Apollo they’re siblings I beg of you.)

And well. Y’know. An Investigations style game with Mikotoba and Herlock Sholmes would be cool..

Sorry I’ll shut the fuck up I’m asking for too much uhm. AA7 YEAHHHHHH GIVE ME SOMETHING PLEASE CAPCOM I’M DESPERATE I WILL GIVE YOU MY LIFE

[karuma-meii]

umineko.png

[mostlyihyperfixate]

So I'm watching the Ace Attorney anime and I can't believe Manfred's still making Miles call him "Mr. Von Karma." This has been your son for fifteen years at this point; that's just cold.

[h0peful-gh0stt]

starting turnabout trump wish me luck gamers

[ageofzero]

You have a choice to make.

After the pieces are cut from you, after the silence has fallen and you're tasked with the protection and continued survival of a child you are wholly unprepared to raise, you have a choice to make.

It is a choice that you've been backed into.

You have a support system, you have a family. You have old friends and lifelong partners. One of them is struggling to keep his pieces in place, the other is struggling to rebuild the cracked foundation of a cursed home. You can't reach out to either of them, not because of their own struggles.

The choice you have to make is going to dirty your name further, and already people are going to be dragged down by the filth the world now sees you covered in.

You weren't dirty by choice before. The choice is going to make the difference.

You choose your words carefully, you choose who you contact even more so. You choose patience and surveillance. You choose a mask and wear it in place to meet with another masked man. You choose the friend who is a viper in human skin.

You choose to look as if you've fallen on impossibly hard times, as if your friends have abandoned you, as if you struggle to support the needs of a child. It makes you look like prey to a predator. You are a wolf in the clothes of a wounded sheep. The blood attracts the predator you hunt, and you let him get close.

You let him twist himself into you, as he looks for any threat you may carry. You let him open your rib cage to look for danger and poison and he finds none but the poison he's left there himself. You live with that poison for as long as it takes to gather your information. You pretend you've forgotten the law you worked so hard to represent. You pretend you've forgotten those you befriended.

You make a choice, and the viper comes into the trap.

You make the choice for seven years, and the trap finds its bait. The trap snaps shut on the viper's throat.

You use other hands, other claws and teeth, to accomplish your hunt. You and the viper are no longer so separate. It takes a delicate hand to keep from being snared in the same trap, but you still cause collateral damage.

You made that choice.

And even when the work is done and the viper is removed, there is still the poison he left behind. In you, in the system, in the damage. Your choices cannot be taken back. You can be given the clothes you once wore, the badge you once upheld, the job you were removed from, but the person who wore all those is gone. The choice was a sacrifice of that person, and what's left has to pick up the pieces.

The choice was made, and you don't know who you are anymore.

[divinish-comedy]

maybe I'm reading too much into it but I do like how Aura's logic behind choosing Miles as prosecutor changes with the revelation that you're actually defending Athena, not Simon. when you think you're defending Simon, Aura deciding that Miles should be the prosecutor makes sense because she knows that he's on Simon's side and wants him to be innocent. when the twist that Athena is actually the one on trial happens, it becomes much more sinister. of course the justification of "she was just a little kid" means nothing to Edgeworth, and you should know why, Phoenix. Aura has to know this too. Edgeworth doesn't hesitate and he doesn't sugarcoat because it was hesitation- and a desire to hide from the truth- that messed him up so badly in the first place. He's probably genuinely trying to help Athena, in a messed up way, but he's failing to recognize how their circumstances are different. Aura chooses Miles because she knows he can empathize with Athena and she knows that, because of that empathy, he will show her no mercy.

[local-soda-can]

I JUST SAW ELF THE MUSICAL WITH MY THEATRE GROUP AND WIEJAHEHGEHSNEKEORIRIRJ

BUDDY IS JUST LIKE ME FR‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

i loved it so much the actor who played buddy was just so delightful and amazing

if y’all ever have the time go to the phoenix theatre and watch elf the musical it was so wonderful

[hechiima]

I am Constantly Thinking about the fact that aa4 Phoenix and Sholmes are so similar.

They share a bunch of basic characteristics; single weird dad raising a brilliant but insane daughter he acquired through great personal tragedy while his partner is literally an ocean away. Like Capcom really said "oh you thought 7yg nrmt was painful wait till you see 10yg hmmk and no, they do NOT have phones or airplanes." What the fuck!

And then Sholmes and Beanix both play similar roles in the games. They're the mentor figure that "adopts" the MC but don't seem entirely there. And it makes sense - at the start of their respective games they're way too OP so the writers have to nuke them somehow. Phoenix (while disbarred) is still established to be legendary in the legal community and Sholmes is literally anime Sherlock Holmes. So they both obscure the fact that they're actually brilliant by being either weird/cryptic (Phoenix) or as stupid as humanly possible (Sholmes). With Phoenix I think this facade's a bit more obvious b/c you know him but when you see the mask starting to chip away with Sholmes it is SO good. And ofc, it's revealed at the end that they actually spent the last respective 7 or 10 years working to bring the main villain down and intervene at the end of the case in a wildly dramatic way, bringing their story to an end.

Phoenix is a lot sharper and more openly bitter than Sholmes, but they're both clearly willing to do whatever it takes, even if it hurts the MC, to achieve their goal. Phoenix obviously hurts Apollo when they first meet with the bloody ace. Sholmes, meanwhile, is much kinder to Ryu and their relationship doesn't splinter almost immediately upon meeting but the whole "lying about your best friend dying this whole time" thing is remarkably fucked up. And yet Sholmes/Phoenix's actions are arguably justified given what's at stake! But also I think that speaks a lot to their characters and the lengths that they're willing to go to achieve their goals.

Idk. I think they're both insane and I'm obsessed with them. Capcom said we're gonna remake this dilf twice and I fell for it both times.

[pinapultra]

HUH?????????

HE’S FINE AND...HAS A JOB AGAIN?

BOTH MY FAVOURITE MONSTERS ARE ALIVE AND LIVING AMONG HUMANS?

I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW NICE ONE IS TO ME HAHA