#and to a lesser extent apollo/nahyuta

[notmoreflippingelves]

Obsessed with the dynamic (not romantic, not platonic, but a secret third thing--both and yet neither) between two characters who knew and cared about each deeply years ago when they were both younger and life was much less complicated.

But then, tragic, transformative circumstances separated them. Assuming that this separation was certainly permanent, because how could it not be?

And yet, somehow finding each other again years later, and sometimes they aren't sure whether the reunion that they once longed for with every fiber of their beings is a blessing, a curse, a joke, or a punishment.

Because they've both changed in the intervening years--largely because of the hellish circumstances that caused their separation. They've both changed completely and irrevocably, even if one of them has changed much more noticeably and dramatically than the other to the point of seeming a complete stranger. It is about leaning to see and appreciate all the things that have changed about the other and all the things that have not changed. It's about learning to reconcile beloved, often rose-tinted memories with the complex, yet-equally-compelling reality of the person those memories are about.

[vonlipvig]

[sighs peacefully] the great ace attorney........

this could be recency bias, but people weren't kidding when they said tgaa chronicles were the best games in the aa series. cases 3, 4, and 5 in the second game managed to completely leave me in awe at several moments. even with the first kokoro case being my least favorite, there are still things i like about it. i believe the cases being inspired by (if not explicitly adapting) holmes stories is a point in its favor. like the first game, i still felt some pacing issues, but i don't mind them as much this time because there were less of them And the story was more than engaging enough that i can ignore them 🙂‍↕️

alongside apollo, ryunosuke is now definitely my favorite defense attorney, and one of my favorite aa characters overall. he is so earnestly human, it hurts. i also really like that unlike most other characters we play as, the reason why he wants to even be a lawyer starts to shift after kazuma's return as a prosecutor. even without the shipping lens, the asoryu dynamic makes go insane (compliment). however, i find how ryunosuke interacts with other character like susato and his internal monologues to be equally interesting. truly the guy of all time

now with case 5 specifically, i kinda got gant vibes from stronghart for a while, but of all the things that made it 100% click, it was stronghart's freakyass clapping animation. even though i feel that gant has the stronger personality of the two, i also like stronghart not because of his actual character, but of what he represents: the general idea of going way too far to achieve a goal made in good faith. stronghart imo was already pretty out there with him wanting to be attorney general that bad, but i don't think the whole "assassin exchange" and "framing an innocent japanese man for several murders to protect a british noble" things were day 1 plans. though, it says a lot about him that he didn't just. consider Not Doing All That, but at least it made his downfall all the more satisfying

uuuh, i've talked about just about every other major character before except for barok, so let's end it here. i was expecting not to care about him at first. i held that opinion throughout the first game i think because he gets explored more thoroughly in the second. for me, a token tragic prosecutor backstory(tm) hasn't felt more Real to me besides edgeworth, franziska, and nahyuta's (and maybe godot's to a lesser extent). with van zieks, it obviously doesn't excuse his racism of course, but i at least Get why he is the way he is. as wild as aa plots are, i really like that his whole ordeal is depressingly realistic. i also like that he doesn't magically become antiracist at the end. if there's ever a 3rd gaa game in the same timeline, i would kill to see how he and ryunosuke act together outside of court. would be really interesting, i think 👀

and yeah, that's it! bittersweet feeling of not having another game to react to now. fortunately, with the franchise being almost as old as i am, there's still a lot of other aa media to look forward to in the downtime. i'd be so excited if we get a new game within the next few years, though. i'm content without one, but professor layton has a new game releasing this year, so really, anything is possible :D

welcome to the club, erlande. tgaa [sighs wistfully].

i totally agree with you, the same thing pretty much happened to me once i finished the game. those last three cases were exciting and surprising and truly managed to tug at my heartstrings as well, just an incredible game all around. and true, tgaa2 flows a lot better than tgaa1--which by itself is a bit clunky--but once you see it all as a whole, it very much shines. and absolutely, the holmes inspo worked incredibly well with the ace attorney universe!

GREAT taste, ryuno was such an amazing character! i always tend to love the protags, and he's no exception. and you're so right, i love me some shipping, but that's like, just one facet of all the incredible relationships he develops with the characters around him. him and susato have such a sweet bond as well, i love their friendship too!

personally, i think stronghart might be my least favorite part of the game, but like......i still think he's such a fun character, and as you said, his motivations and faults make him super interesting. this game is just woking on such a high level overall lmao. but yeah, loveeee an ends justifies the means kinda guy :)

BAROK--btw did you see that moment in case 3 were ryuno and iris are in barok's office and they're kinda just roasting his ass, all while he's there like.......guys. very funny--WHAT A GUY. agreed, i wouldn't say he's my fave prosecutor (miles and franziska to me are just MWAH my faves), but once you hit game 2 he really starts to feel like a real person and less like an evil vampire prosecutor (well, there's still a bit of that lmao). honestly, i kinda love that they don't shy away from racism in this game, just like they don't shy away from suicide and other difficult topics. it feels real, makes him seem more like a flawed human than a mere character, and the fact that it doesn't just magically disappear and will likely take some time for him to unlearn is a pretty good choice. would loveeeee an investigations sort of game with the london crew post tgaa2, it would be soooo cool.

but yeah, you're all caught up now! you're ready to join us all with the clown makeup and the fake clown titties for the next nintendo direct for the annual aa7 manifestation lmao.

[boydykedevo]

Some misc thoughts from the end (spoilers ofc)

I know it was wildly late to spring it on you but I kinda loved Apollo’s ending??? I’m so obsessed with this family drama I was fully engrossed lol. Ga’ran’s prosecutor outfit fucking sucks tho. For the record.

THE DHURKE REVEAL HIT SO INSANELY HARD. I knew he was gonna die already but HOKY FUCK. That was yesterday I played through that but. Goddamn dude . And then all the Nahyuta and Apollo stuff was so. GODDDD.

NAHYUTA oh my god they’re such a compelling character maybe this is the fact they’re connected so intimately to my current favorite guy ever but they’re like . Instant blorbo tier. Dhurke too to a lesser extent. And I have been obsessed with Rayfa from minute one ofc. I love that they are taking over the job of bullying Apollo in Khura’in. Sacred duty. Someone HAS to do it.

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking but SOO much of that epilogue felt like it could be such a good set up for an aa7… you can’t just close the book on Apollo’s story and then go “wowww haha Athena sure has a long way to go before she’s a confident lawyer… wink wink” and not expect me to crave a proper Athena game. PLEASE there’s been like five cases total with a female pov character in ALL these games. GENEROUS estimate

Also Pearly honey I will give you the makeover you want. Come here. Kisses her.

OFFICIALLY DONE WITH SPIRIT OF JUSTICEEEE

[boltgsr]

Who the Hell is Apollo Justice? - an AA5/AA6 critique

A twitter thread reminded me that during NaNoWriMo last year, I wrote 1,600 words on why Apollo in AA5/AA6 frustrates me so much.  Be warned, this is only very lightly edited, so it’s more of a ramble than a full essay. 

So, Apollo! Lemme start off by saying that character-wise, e.g. personality and dialogue and whatever, I don’t really have any objections to how Apollo’s portrayed in AA6 or AA5 (give or take some of his DarkMode angst in AA5-5.) People go on and on about how AA5 and AA6 “totally redeemed” him but he honestly doesn’t feel that different from AA4.

The trouble with Apollo is basically everything surrounding him, and how it was handled.

I’ll be really direct: AA5 and AA6 should have been Apollo-only or Apollo-main games. I recognize that Phoenix’s return was not entirely a creative decision, and I’m guessing that for AA6 in particular there was probably a time when going full Apollo was on the table before they settled on splitting screen time with Phoenix.

The thing is that for all people grumble about Phoenix stealing the spotlight from Apollo in AA4 (which he does), Phoenix at least felt like he had a purpose in the story in AA4. He might have been awkwardly handled and inexplicably missing his entire supporting cast, but he had personal stakes and ties to what was going on. So while it was strange for him to get so much focus in what was ostensibly a game with a new protagonist, it didn’t feel like he was taking away from the game’s overall story, just Apollo’s. And while Apollo kind of got sidelined in the last case of AA4, it at least laid the groundwork/put in the time to create a network of people and histories around Apollo.

Apollo’s handling in AA5 is kind of ridiculous. Let’s be real: Clay Terran is not a character. He’s a plot device for Apollo to leave the agency and have a crisis of faith. Giving character to victims is easier said than done, but taking the POV and moving it to Phoenix really makes it clear how little the writers actually cared about Apollo and Clay’s past.  If the entire game was played from Apollo and Athena’s perspective, there would have been more opportunities for Clay to be introduced and examined, which would have given his death more meaning, and which would have made Apollo’s development in the final cases feel more natural.  Instead, Phoenix Fixes Everything, Hooray.

It’s also extremely noticeable how AA5 pretty much jettisons all of AA4.  Trucy is pretty much background noise, and Klavier is a cameo (not even in a case Apollo handles!) which adds to the sense that Apollo is kind of just a character floating detached from any actual history or motivation beyond what the current game’s plot requires.

It’s that particular trend of defining Apollo in terms of the current game’s overarching plot that really gets me about AA6.  Again, let’s be real: Apollo’s backstory in AA6 is completely ridiculous.  So he’s not only secretly a member of Troupe Gramarye and working with his half-sister by chance, but he’s also… the adoptive son of the exiled king of the country of Khura’in, which is also where Maya’s channeling technique has its roots? ???? One of the issues I have with Yamazaki’s writing is that he favors big stakes where they’re not really necessary, and AA6 pretty much twists that dial as far as it can go by actually having the plot involve a country-wide revolution.  Not even the AAI series, which aimed for “bigger” cases, went that far.  

But in AA6, The Stakes Are High, and that means Apollo gets jammed into yet another new backstory.  It’s true AA6 doesn’t explicitly contradict anything in AA4, but it’s harder to swallow Apollo’s “I was raised by a revolutionary leader in a foreign country, sorry I never mentioned it” than something like Phoenix never mentioning he met Mia when she got him off the hook for murder.  At this point Apollo isn’t a character with his own history - he’s a character whose history is explicitly defined by whatever game he’s in at the time.

In other words, each game feels like you’re playing a different Apollo, even if his characterization and backstory remains the same.  I think part of the reason this sticks out is that the game has to push him aside to make room for Phoenix (and Athena to a lesser extent.)  If Apollo was given a majority of the cases in AA5/AA6, it would have been easier for the games to work in connections for his arc between each game.  I’m not looking for AAI-style cameo parades, but bringing back at least one non-main character from his arcs would go a long way to making it feel like there was a consistent world around him.

Instead, AA6 gives Apollo exactly as much screentime as the plot demands.  To give credit where it’s due: I liked 6-2 a lot, and I’m really glad they gave Trucy some spotlight and revisited the Gramarye plotline.  But even there, it feels disconnected.  Reus’ presence as part of Troupe Gramarye is a retcon unto itself, and nothing from the Gramarye plot of AA4 actually has any relevance in the case.  Valant, Thalassa, and Zak aren’t even mentioned by name.  “This is Apollo’s history,” the game wants to say, but never backs it up.

6-5 takes the problem and really twists the dial up to 11.  The thesis of 6-5 is basically: “the characters of AA6 are the truly important ones in Apollo’s story”.  Trucy gets left behind in Japanifornia.  Athena sits out the final trial (and doesn’t do much of anything in the investigation.)  Klavier just straight-up isn’t in the game.  The lone exceptions are Phoenix, who’s maintained in order to give Apollo a “you’ve finally surpassed me” moment, and Ema, who’s mostly been running her AAI personality for the entire game.  (To be clear, Phoenix and Ema being around is certainly better than nothing.)

But all the emotional stakes of 6-5 for Apollo come from characters we’ve never met before AA6, and in the most direct example, not even before 6-5 itself.  For what it’s worth, I think they did as good a job with Dhurke as they could.  Having him be the investigation partner for the first day was the right move for the story they wanted to tell, and letting him act on his own and interact with Apollo so much meant he was a real character, not just a plot device like Clay.

And yet… that doesn’t change the fact that all of Apollo’s arc is suddenly focused on these characters we’ve never seen before.  Nahyuta is a friend even closer than Clay (fun fact, by the way: Clay is never mentioned in AA6), Dhurke is the reason Apollo became a lawyer, Datz is an old buddy, Ga’ran is the architect for Apollo’s life.  Even Rayfa winds up having her final development spurred on by Apollo in the trial, which is particularly odd given up until that point it was Phoenix and Maya helping her.  At this point, there’s little reason for us to be playing as Apollo Justice - we could just as easily be playing as any Khura’inese attorney.

To really drive the point home, consider the ending of AA6-5.  Here more than ever, the game tries to bring Apollo’s arc full circle.  The moment the photo of Jove was added to the court record, it was clear the final step of the case would be investigating Apollo’s father’s death.  But who is Jove? We never hear a word from the man himself; we never get any real sense of his life with Thalassa.  The game acknowledges this by having Apollo reiterate that Dhurke is just as much (if not more) his father, but it leaves Jove as another character-as-plot-device.

So Apollo solves his father’s murder (carried out by Ga’ran), supported by Rayfa, and in order to help Nahyuta and Dhurke.  It’s a plot point from AA4, but once again, it’s effectively absorbed as part of AA6’s plot.  Thalassa, the other character who would have been a vital part of this story, is absent until a credits cameo (and there reduced to an anonymous voice.)  Trucy, who was before AA6 Apollo’s sole family member, is absent entirely.  While the plot and setting of AA6 means it would have been nonsensical for Trucy to take part in the trial, it would have been thematic mirroring for her to help Apollo solve his father’s death, as he did hers.

But that’s just it - Trucy, and the rest of Apollo’s entourage, doesn’t belong in the world of AA6.  In the world of AA6, Apollo is defined by his childhood in Khura’in, by the Defense Culpability Act and his promises to Nahyuta, by the struggle between Dhurke and Ga’ran, and by Phoenix throwing up a giant sign saying “WOW APOLLO YOU’VE REALLY SURPASSED ME” every few minutes for the players.  

And to be honest? It sort of works, especially given AA6’s overarching themes of legacy and inheritance.  But the Apollo Justice of AA6 is not the Apollo Justice of AA4.  He’s probably not even the Apollo Justice of AA5.  He’s a character defined by the plot around him, and even if that works within AA6, it makes it hard to feel like he’s truly a part of the Ace Attorney series as a whole.