#i love bridge to the turnabout i love dahlia hawthorne as a villain but they did not have to make her so young.

[sapirserket]

Trials and Tribulations is weird because it's a masterpiece in storytelling but it's also the Worst game in the trilogy at handling its female characters

[beauzos]

omgg 6, 8, 9, 10, 25, 30, 46, 79 for that big ass AA meme :3

Ace Attorney: 100Q Ask Meme

WAA thank you Ruby!!

6. Favourite Antagonist (in the role of the antagonist! e.g Edgeworth in AA1 counts but only in AA1.)

Ohh, man. Good question. I don't think she's the best one, I just really like Ga'ran. I think she has a lot of potential as a villain and they did a pretty good job building her up throughout SOJ. I also like the personal connections she has to the main cast. It adds a lot of stakes and it is a great thing to flesh out. I especially like her dynamic with Nahyuta. It really grabs me, but I love her dynamic with her whole family, too. She's one of the worst prosecutors but she is a great villain lol.

In terms of best antagonist, I think maybe Dahlia Hawthorne. She's my favorite antagonist from the original trilogy, at least.

8. All time favorite character?

Nahyuta!!!!! Before I played SOJ it'd have been Fulbright, and before the AJ trilogy it would've been Ryunosuke. And before TGAA it would've been Edgeworth or Franziska lol. But at this point Nahyuta is my number one. I think he's such a great character. I actually don't think his writing is as bad as it seems either after replaying Magical Turnabout last night. It's definitely underbaked but man he is so fucking funny and likable. Yes, he's quieter and less of a stand out than some other prosecutors but I like how impersonal he is. It's kinda the point, innit? That nothing of his real self is left and he's got nothing but the sanitized version of himself that keeps him alive?

I could write about him forever. Obviously. The question is just if I manage to finish anything now lol.

9. Least favourite character?

Honestly? Klavier.

There's probably other characters that annoy me more but I just don't like this guy. He kinda just gets on my nerves and he didn't click with me at all during AJ-- though that entire game did not click with me, so that could also be it. He's kinda boring. His personality is really weak, his dynamic with all of the characters feel really weak too and I feel like it says a lot that most of the dynamics he has is just people being annoyed that he exists KRKFJ

Sorryyy not to be a hater I know a lot of people love him. He just ain't for me.

I also don't particularly like Larry but he's kinda easy to forget about. But any time he shows up I'm just like -deep sigh-. He's pretty funny in the first game though, so there's that.

10. Favourite trial from all the games?

KMS I FORGOT THIS ONE ORIGINALLY SORRY

Anyways that's a good question. I think it's gotta be The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo. It just goes so hard, it's so satisfying to play because you keep solving each layer of mystery and have to go deeper. I think the deus ex machina with the "and I was recording the whole time!!" thing is stupid as FUCK but the rest of the case is legit great. This also includes the previous case since it's just part 1 and 2.

Fave original trilogy case is probably Bridge to the Turnabout or Farewell, My Turnabout. fave AJ trilogy case is probably Turnabout Revolution.

25. Favourite rare pair?

Is Skye/madhi a rarepair. It's rare compared to more popular Yuta ships at least, and it's my fave AA ship overall. They're t4t and Ema makes Yuta want to be a better person and he admires her so much for everything she is and everything she is capable of. And she thinks he's hot KRKFJK

I also like them as a QPR, but them being a QPR and them dating basically is the exact same to me. Trust me I am an expert (<-- aroace). I originally headcanoned Nahyuta as being a bisexual aromantic (and same for Ema) and I'm not sure if I still do so if he is (because ultimately to me he is just queer. What he is is none of my business KRKFN), QPR, if not, bi4bi t4t couple. Well, that's them regardless, but you see how it is.

My issue with the rarepair term is I really don't know what necessarily counts as one in a fandom as big as this, so in this instance, I'm just going with "lesser popular ship" or "ship that isn't the most popular for a character." I'm used to being invested in ships where I am, quite literally, the only person who ships them, so it's hard coming to a fandom where I like ships other people like too KRKF

Otherwise, idk, Black/bright if that counts? I love them a lot. And if that doesn't count. I don't fucking know. Dhurke/Datz then KRKD

(don't want this winding up in ship tags so putting slashes lol)

30. Character you’d push off a cliff with no hesitation?

Inga. I don't think I need to explain this one KRKF

46. Character you thought you were gonna dislike but loved in the end?

NAHYUTA!!! I watched videos ranking the AA cases after I finished the original trilogy. I didn't mind the spoilers because I didn't know how to emulate DD or SOJ so I didn't know if or when I'd ever play them. I let them convince me he was a horrible boring prosecutor. I let them convince me that I was really going to hate SOJ and then I DIDN'T!!!! He's great!!!

79. How long have you been in the fandom?

It depends? I played the original trilogy early last summer after buying it for like 3 dollars on the 3DS shop before it closed. I was out of games to play and I'd had it for months so I said fuck it and played it and really liked it, but it didn't get me super invested in the fandom the way I got into it this year. I played TGAA that summer as well and that really compelled me. So I was def into the series last summer, but I only got insane about it after playing the AJ trilogy after the remaster came out.

So... in a normal sense? Last summer. In the "this is my special interest" sense? February of this year.

[loregoddess]

Since I'm finally on case 3-5 (Bridge to the Turnabout, second investigation day) I can now ask...

Do you have a favorite and least favorite case in the original Ace Attorney trilogy?

I do actually (though, I'm sure everyone probably does)

I know you said the whole trilogy, but I like going game-by-game as well, so...

AA1: My favorite case is Turnabout Goodbyes, and I don't dislike any of the other cases

AA2: Favorite case is Farewell, My Turnabout, and my least favorite case is Turnabout Big Top (which is fairly disliked by other fans I think, but it's not like, my most hated case in the entire series)

AA3: Literally every case except Recipe for Turnabout is my favorite case bc of how well the first, fourth, and fifth case come together narratively, and I love the DeLites a whole lot and everything about The Stolen Turnabout is hilarious to me; I don't strongly dislike Recipe for Turnabout, though I seem to recall something about it rubbing me the wrong way, just...not enough to be memorable I guess

Overall, my favorite case of the trilogy is probably Turnabout Goodbyes, mostly bc Edgeworth is my favorite character from the entire series, and while I think his spinoff games are where we get a lot of the best characterization for him, Turnabout Goodbyes is the catalyst for so, so much of his character arc, and it's just, a really good case overall.

I do really enjoy how the narrative comes together in the third game though, it's such an interesting way to weave all three games' events into a single, cohesive story. Also Dahlia Hawthorn is my favorite villain/antagonist from the game, like her writing is top-tier as far as villains go. I also loved how much insight AA3 gives us into Mia as a character too, like she really shines through as one of the coolest characters in the series overall. So, special shout-out to the narrative and characters of AA3.

And that leaves Turnabout Big Top as the least favorite case, mostly just bc it doesn't vibe for me (but I would like to note that even more than the entirety of Turnabout Big Top, I hate the creep from the Hotti Clinic with a burning passion, -100/10, worst character from the trilogy, nay, the entire series possibly, I do not like him at all).

[queergodot]

Honestly. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that Dahlia Hawthorne's demonization actively hurt the narrative.

There are three main antagonists in Bridge to the Turnabout: Godot, Morgan Fey, and Dahlia Hawthorne. Of the three of them, Godot is by far the most sympathetic, so much so that he can't even be called a 'villain', and Dahlia is the least sympathetic. In this post, to see what I mean when I say Dahlia's demonization hurts the narrative, I'll be examining their roles in the narrative.

Let's start with Godot.

One of the themes in at least the OG AA trilogy that I think is often overlooked is the importance of a support system. Isolation, either due to your own choices or due to circumstances, inevitably leads to disaster in this series. Miles Edgeworth, pulled from a downwards trajectory by friends who refused to give up on him; Mia Fey, killed because she went after Redd White alone; Franziska von Karma, whose loving relationship with Edgeworth stops her from sinking to her father's depths; Godot, who went down a self-destructive path because he had no-one to stop him; etc. Arguably, this is most obvious in Bridge to the Turnabout, where the three involved in the murder plan (Misty, Iris, Godot) all isolated themselves to everyone's detriment.

For Godot, this is especially true. Godot is in many ways a dark mirror to Phoenix (like Damon Gant was intended to be for Miles, and Manfred was for Franziska). As the case intended to wrap up a trilogy, a lot of emphasis is put on Phoenix's friends and loved ones in BttT. Phoenix's success during this trial was only possible due to the support of his friends.

By contrast, Godot is achingly alone. He had nobody to greet him when he woke up from his coma, nobody to support him when everything he knew had imploded around him, so in desperation, he clung to a nonsensical mission dedicated to the last person to love him. In flashbacks, we see Diego as a competent lawyer, a mentor figure and dear friend to Mia, driven by a desire to help. But he had no friends to help and support him, so when Mia fell away, so did his entire life. Godot's tragedy isn't that he was a bad person doomed from the start; it's that what he became could've been entirely avoided if he'd had anyone at all to help and support him. Godot's primary narrative function is to reinforce the importance of friends and loved ones.

Now, moving on to Morgan. Morgan Fey, despite being widely hated in the fandom, is actually not a one dimensional villain. You could even make a very compelling argument for her being, to some degree, a sympathetic villain.

Bridge to the Turnabout is the culmination of the series' examination of the Fey family, which started in Reunion, and Turnabout. Since that case, the series has built up the Fey clan to be an old, proud, and exceptionally dysfunctional family. The branch/main family schism is as old as the family itself, and Morgan is far from the first person to grow bitter because of it. Kurain Village is very hierarchical, and has little respect or interest for things that aren't on the top of that hierarchy. Everything in the village is centered around the women of the main family, and the Master in particular.

So it's really not strange to see how being robbed of that position embittered Morgan. As the firstborn child, it was supposed to be hers, but due to something entirely outside of her control (weak spiritual powers), it went to her sister instead. Then that sister vanished, but despite not being there for the village at all, was still the Master. Morgan, for all intents and purposes, ran Kurain Village and the Fey clan for years, and yet, her own daughter, with exceptionally strong spiritual power, had no chance of taking over the family. It really isn't strange that she grew bitter.

That said, Morgan is not simply a victim of circumstance, the way Diego was. Her personality seems to naturally be ambitious and ruthless, and she clearly uses the people around her as pawns to get what she wants. She is, at heart, a thoroughly selfish person.

Even so, that is not the point of her character. Morgan's primary function is worldbuilding of the Fey clan. While no, Morgan would never have been a paragon hero, and would have always been ambitious and selfish, there were still circumstances that drove her to her actions. Morgan is not unique; she is the representation of generations of bitterness caused by the main/branch family system. She is bigger than herself. She never would have been a hero, but the Fey family is what made her a murderer, like generations of branch family members before her.

Dahlia, on the other hand, is just a bad person. No two ways about it.

Dahlia's backstory has all the makings of a tragic one, and yet, at every turn, the game refuses to let you read it as such. Dahlia and Iris were seperated at a young age? Dahlia orchestrated it. Dahlia's mother and father were selfish pieces of trash? Dahlia one-ups them easy. Terry Fawles was 'in a relationship' with her at age 14? She wasn't taken advantage of; she took advantage of him. At multiple points, the game looks you straight in the eye and says "You thought she was a victim of circumstance? Lmao think again." The most blatant of this was probably when 'Iris' tearfully confessed she helped Dahlia because she felt sorry for her, growing up without any love and warmth, whereas Iris had Sister Bikini. Only for it to be revealed that this wasn't Iris, it was Dahlia trying to manipulate Phoenix, and thus, this was almost certainly complete and utter nonsense. If Godot was a victim of circumstance, and Morgan was a mixture of nature and nurture, Dahlia was the bad seed. She has no redeeming qualities, nothing made her become a murderer; she was a born a monster, died a monster, and then, for good measure, was still a monster from the afterlife.

But what does any of that actually. You know. Do? Like, what is the purpose behind her character, other than 'villain'? What does her character say?

Dahlia is not the only black and white monster in the series. Manfred von Karma and Matt Engarde are in the same boat. But both of them had a narrative purpose beyond being fundamentally evil. Manfred von Karma was the prosecutor's system at its worst; a personification of all of Edgeworth's worst parts, and all the bad parts of the justice system as portrayed in Ace Attorney. Matt Engarde was foil to Phoenix; a living challenge to his idea of what a defense attorney should be. The whole point of Engarde was that there was no moral way to defend him; that was his purpose.

Dahlia, though? Maybe I'm just stupid, or too biased in her favor to see it, but I simply do not get what making her be pure evil accomplished, beyond creating a fantastically victim-blaming narrative of CSA.

Dahlia's role in the narrative was, primarily, to be foil for Mia. Dahlia is, in many ways, a strange parallel to Mia. Dahlia, too, is technically part of the Fey clan, but an outsider in many ways, choosing to forgo its traditions in favor of pursuing her own goals. Like Mia, she has a sister, and the two of them are one too many; Iris and Dahlia because Mr. Hawthorne only needed one daughter, and Morgan had no use for either; Mia because two siblings meant that one would inevitably become a branch family member when the other became the Master. But where Dahlia solved her problem by sending Iris away, Mia solved hers by leaving herself. And like Mia, Dahlia is a ghost haunting the narrative beyond the grave. Dahlia is Mia's dark mirror.

But I do not see what being pure evil adds to that. In Von Karma's case, the fact that he's the personification of everything bad with the system meant that being pure evil was pretty much part of the package. Von Karma is more a personification than he ever was a character. And as stated, Engarde being complety indefensable was the point.

But you can make a dark mirror just fine without making them pure evil. Godot proved just that, mirroring Phoenix's saviour complex without ever being unsympathetic. The dark mirror I haven't touched on, Damon Gant to Edgeworth, is actually held back by being mostly pure evil; the few hints we get that he might've been good once upon a time are not sufficient to establish true parallels that would've made his status as Edgeworth's dark mirror actually believable.

The other dark mirrors in the series (Godot for Phoenix, Manfred for Franziska, Gant for Edgeworth) are all warnings. Specifically, they are warnings of what could happen if the character didn't have a support system. Godot's saviour complex went out of control because he had nothing else left, whereas Phoenix's was kept in check by his friends; Franziska's ruthless streak and love of winning was kept in check by Edgeworth's love and support of her; Edgeworth's building corruption was cut short by Phoenix's interference.

But what is the difference between Mia and Dahlia? What stops Mia from becoming like Dahlia? That Dahlia's just fundamentally evil, whereas Mia is not. That's.... deeply unsatisfying.

What else is there? Her mother is an important worldbuilding element of the Fey clan. Is she? Not really. Iris does far more on that front than Dahlia, with Hazakura Temple elaborating on the workings of the Fey clan. But Dahlia herself has little to do with them, worldbuilding wise. Her father reinforces the idea that the Fey family was once powerful, and that Kurain Village is female-centric, but we already knew that. Dahlia herself is largely severed from the Fey clan. Yes, her connection to them allowed her to be the villain beyond death, but that's a means to an end more than anything. Dahlia's actions were not intertwined with the Fey family's history, the way Morgan's were; in fact, they are purposefully disconnected from them. She does not add much to the Fey family worldbuilding.

Dahlia is a good villain on a surface level; she is easy to hate, hard to catch, and satisfying to take down. But beyond that, she's horrifically shallow. Her ties to the themes of the story are flimsy at best, and easily discarded because of her pure evil nature. Sure, she's connected to the Fey family, but what does that matter? Unlike Morgan, whose motivations were driven by that connection, Dahlia's actions would've stayed the fundamentally same if her dad had divorced some rando. She has parallels to Mia, but those parallels say nothing about Mia, beyond the fact that she's a good person, which we already knew. Thematically, what else does she do? What is her purpose?

It's easy to see why the choice was made to make her pure evil: trope subversion. A seemingly sweet, beautiful young woman with all the makings of a tragic backstory is just flat out evil, no ifs or buts about it. It subverts expectations, especially in a series that's given a lot of its antagonists complex motivations. But like, Phoenix murdering a guy would've also subverted expectations. That wouldn't have made it good.

If they'd instead played Dahlia's tragic backstory straight, they would've had a character with much stronger ties to the themes of the series. A girl who became the villain because she had no-one to stop her; a much stronger parallel to Mia, and a much more thematically sound villain.

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

If I had to rank the Ace Attorney games (minus the spin-offs since I haven’t played them), from least favorite to best:

6) Justice for All  

This was an easy pick. Least favorite tutorial level, least favorite turnabout in the entire series (Turnabout Big Top), and the writing just felt rushed, which makes sense when you consider the game’s production. 

Also, this might be a controversial opinion but I’m not a huge fan of Farewell My Turnabout. The case would’ve been great but they just had to push Franziska von Karma aside in order to force Miles Edgeworth into the story. Not only did that ruin Franziska’s character arc, it was also not a good use of Edgeworth’s character. Since I have 5 other games to cover and I’ve written a whole post about this before, I won’t repeat my points. 

5) Spirit of Justice

I hate to put this here but after going through all six games again, SoJ definitely did not age well. Out of the five cases in the game, the only case I really liked was “The Magical Turnabout”. The other cases weren’t bad but the overall story was just okay. 

This is probably just personal preferences but for me, the Khura’in revolution stuff felt half-baked and underwhelming. Maybe if they built up that storyline in the previous two games, like how the original trilogy developed the Fey clan family dispute storyline through all three games, maybe the revolution storyline would’ve landed better. 

In addition, I hated how SoJ was trying too hard to capitalize on nostalgia for the original trilogy. They brought back Maya Fey but didn’t do anything substantial with her character. Her appearance was more of a wink to the audience. Then there’s Apollo and Nahyuta, whose shared past subplot was written too closely to resemble Phoenix and Miles’ relationship in the first game. And then, they just copied the plot of Farewell My Turnabout for Phoenix and Apollo’s “showdown”. 

So yeah, I don’t think SoJ was a terrible game but it’s definitely one of the weaker Ace Attorney games in my honest opinion. 

4) Apollo Justice

I don’t have much to say about this game. It’s a good game but the overall storyline was just...bland? I feel like, out of the six games in the main series, Apollo Justice was the least engaging. There really isn’t that much for me to say, Apollo Justice was just...okay. 

Kristoph Gavin was a good antagonist but not my personal favorite. Klavier Gavin was a cool prosecutor but he would be somewhere in the middle of my prosecutors list (at least above Nahyuta but below Simon and Godot). Then there are the cases, which are all sort of in the middle of my list if I had to rank them with all the other cases in the series. 

I will say, the aspect of Apollo Justice that stands out for me is the music. Apollo Justice has the best music in the entire series and has my favorite pressing pursuit theme. 

3) Dual Destinies

I was honestly surprised by how much I liked Dual Destinies after going through it again. When I first went through the game, I had it placed below Apollo Justice. But after a second run-through, the game left a better impression on me. 

What really made the game for me were Simon and Athena. Simon Blackquill is easily my second favorite prosecutor in the series and I really liked Athena Cykes’ storyline in the game. You can argue that Dual Destinies was really Athena’s game, which is why I feel that Turnabout Storyteller should’ve been in this game rather than Spirit of Justice. 

As for the rest of the game, I really loved all the new characters introduced. Juniper Woods is easily my favorite minor character introduced in this game and I’m still disappointed that she wasn’t included in Spirit of Justice. Aura Blackquill was a great minor “villain”. Then, there’s Bobby Fulbright and the Phantom. Personally, I liked the twist that Bobby was the Phantom the whole time. The Phantom isn’t one of my favorite villains but I did like the switch, as well as having Phoenix, Apollo, and Athena team up to take the Phantom down.

2) Phoenix Wright

The game that started it all. If it weren’t for this game, the whole series wouldn’t exist, so by default it has to be high up on this list. Now I actually love all four cases (technically five because of Rise from the Ashes), even Turnabout Samurai which suffers from the dreaded 3rd case syndrome. 

The only reason why the first game isn’t my favorite in the series is that my favorite cases are in the third game. If my favorite cases were in the first game, then this would definitely be in the number one spot. 

Now, if I HAD to nitpick, I’d say that Turnabout Sisters had some of the weaker writing in the game. Although it was nice to have Mia Fey be the one to ultimately take Redd White down, it felt more like a way-too-convenient deus ex machina for me. In addition, Redd White was a bit underwhelming as the main villain, especially when compared to the other killers in the series. Also, I just couldn’t get into Rise from the Ashes. It’s not a bad case but it’s just way too long and takes forever to get you invested in the story.   

1) Trials and Tribulations

Yeah, this was a pretty easy pick. As I previously wrote, my all-time favorite cases are in this game (Turnabout Memories / Bridge to the Turnabout). In addition, Godot is my favorite prosecutor, Dahlia Hawthorne is my favorite Ace Attorney antagonist, and I loved how the game was a culmination of the entire original trilogy. 

This game was a great send-off to the series and it really did feel like a decisive conclusion to Phoenix’s story. In fact, just going through this game again really highlighted how the Apollo Justice era games need to break off and be their own thing. Sorry to bring this back up but the new games really didn’t need to bring Maya, Miles, and Phoenix back into the story. T&T wrapped everything up.  

Now, if I HAD to nitpick, all my criticisms go towards Recipe for Turnabout. That case was just...not good. Still, that’s one case out of five, that’s forgivable. 

[guilty-love]

Manfred von Karma, Matt Engarde & Dahlia Hawthorne

I will put this under read more because I don’t want to post a wall of text…

Manfred von Karma

I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

Favorite thing about them: His daughter.

Least favorite thing about them: He’s one of the worst characters, seriously.

Ship(s): Gant/Manfred

BROTP(s): none

NOTP(s): Manfred/Miles, Manfred/Franziska

Game/case where I like them more: Ace Attorney “Turnabout Goodbyes”

Random Headcanon: He only ate Pizza once in his life when he was on a holiday in Italy with his fiancée (when he was younger) and it was the last time he ate something like that.

Unpopular opinion: I am very angry with him for putting those stupid frills on Miles.

Matt Engarde

I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

Favorite thing about them: He’s hot. Especially with his hair pulled back.

Least favorite thing about them: That the Magatama failed to work on him.

Ship(s): Matt/Juan, Matt/Celeste

BROTP(s): Matt & Adrien

NOTP(s): Matt/Miles

Game/case where I like them more: Justice for All “Farewell, My Turnabout”

Random Headcanon: He’s not just playing being schizophrenic, he has a diagnosis.

Unpopular opinion: His scars are fucking hot.

Dahlia Hawthorne

I hate them / I don’t like them / I’m neutral / I’m ok with them / I like them / I love them / I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

Favorite thing about them: Best villain ever!

Least favorite thing about them: That she’s dead and despite that still fucking around with people.

Ship(s): Kristoph/Dahlia

BROTP(s): Dahlia & Iris

NOTP(s): Larry/Dahlia

Game/case where I like them more: Trials & Tribulations “Bridge to the Turnabout”

Random Headcanon: She envies Iris for being better liked by people but she would never admit that.

Unpopular opinion: I love the stunt she pulled in “Bridge to the Turnabout” - committing murder while being dead is pretty rad! 

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

To add to my other post about completing the original Ace Attorney trilogy:

1) Phoenix learning that the “Dahlia” he was dating was actually Iris and that what they had was real melted my cold heart. I know that Maya and Miles are the more popular characters to ship with Phoenix but T&T really made me feel for Iris. 

2) Dahlia Hawthorne is now one of my favorite villains ever. 

3) Turnabout Memories and Bridge to the Turnabout are my favorite episodes. Turnabout Big Top is probably my least favorite. It’s either that or Recipe for Turnabout.

4) My rankings: Trials and Tribulations > Ace Attorney 1 > Justice for All

5) Franziska von Karma is still my favorite character but Godot / Diego Armando was my favorite prosecutor. He had a cool design, his personality was cool, his backstory was tragic, and he had the best music theme. I hated having to take him down, it was like MGS3 Big Boss versus The Boss all over again. Such a cool dude, I’ll miss him. That said, by default, Miles is my least favorite prosecutor. Sorry, he’s just not as fun to me as his successors. 

6) I’m guessing Capcom really loves doing the “actually, this is her twin sister” twist since they did it twice. 

7) Who is the 3rd Von Karma sibling? Manfred mentioned having a 7-year-old granddaughter and neither Miles or Franziska could be the parent. Unless Miles is keeping his daughter secret or Franziska had a kid when she was around 12-13. 

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Ace Attorney original trilogy review

Side note: Yes, I know I’m several years late, I just finished the original trilogy recently.

Ace Attorney

Compared to the other two games, I have the least to say about this one. Not because I hated it or anything like that but because I can sum up my thoughts in one sentence:

I liked it.

It’s a solid game and all the cases were relatively strong, even the filler one (Turnabout Samurai). The only case that I felt had any hiccups in writing was Turnabout Sisters due to the deus ex machina at the end of the episode but other than that, the first Ace Attorney game was solid. 

I give this game a letter grade of A. 

Ace Attorney: Justice for All

I read that the second game was a rush job and that the writers were on a strict deadline to finish it. Honestly, I believe it since that’s how this game felt. While I still liked the overall game, it was still a disappointment compared to the first one.

First off, the quality of the cases this time around paled in comparison to the first game. The first two cases were relatively fine, it’s really the last two that bugged me. First off, Turnabout Big Top was not a good episode and it’s still my least favorite Ace Attorney case (even counting the sequel trilogy).

Second, Farewell My Turnabout was disappointing. Now, don’t get me wrong, the episode was still action-packed and full of good twists and turns. However, there’s still a lot I didn’t like and as the “finale” of Justice for All, I didn’t think it was as good as it should’ve been. I’ll break down my points:

1) I know people will hate me for saying this but I really hated how Miles Edgeworth was used in this game. In the first and third games, the writers wrote a complete arc for the lead prosecutor. But it didn’t feel like Franziska von Karma got a proper arc in this game and it’s mainly to do with Edgeworth. He gets shoehorned into the final episode and then ends up replacing Franziska as the lead prosecutor. 

Now, yes, Miles wasn’t the lead prosecutor of the last case in the first game either. However, he was still the main focus of Turnabout Goodbyes. In Farewell My Turnabout, Franziska was reduced to a minor supporting role. Even Gumshoe and Pearl Fey had a bigger role than her. For the record, Franziska von Karma is my personal favorite Ace Attorney character. However, I’m not saying all this just because I love this character. I’m saying this because Justice for All didn’t write a proper character arc for her.

Had the roles been switched, if Franziska got shoehorned into another Ace Attorney game and robbed Miles Edgeworth of a proper character arc, I’d write the same thing.  

This might also be a controversial statement but I would’ve preferred if Miles and Franziska’s roles were switched around for the final episode. When you consider how Franziska was introduced in the game, I feel like the story would have had more impact if it was Franziska who decided to work with Phoenix instead of against him once she found out what happened to Maya Fey. 

Meanwhile, Miles could be the semi-friendly side character who shows up with the crucial evidence for Phoenix and Franziska at the end of the trial. Instead of being the lead prosecutor, his role would be leading the police in their search for Maya Fey. Sort of like Gumshoe’s role but more serious. He would still be important to the story but he doesn’t overshadow the lead prosecutor.  

2) Matt Engarde was a bit disappointing as the game’s main villain. Now, I liked the character and I thought he was a thoroughly detestable villain. It’s mainly how he was used in the game that I thought was disappointing. 

Compare Matt to Dahlia Hawthorne and Manfred Von Karma. Although Manfred only shows up in the final case of the first game, he’s still a major presence in the other cases. It’s because of him that Miles behaved the way he did in the first game and Turnabout Sisters directly tied in with Turnabout Goodbyes. Meanwhile, Dahlia Hawthorne tied all of Trials and Tribulations together. She was present in three different cases and was responsible for why Godot behaved the way he did. 

You can’t really say the same for Matt. Matt is only the main villain for the last case and he doesn’t have a connection to the lead prosecutor. On his own, he’s not as interesting or menacing as Manfred or Dahlia either. I feel like his character should’ve been more present throughout the whole game instead of just the final case. Matt just feels like a character with a lot of wasted potential. 

Also, the fact that you don’t get a chance to cross-examine him (not counting the magatama portion where you expose his evil side) is a big negative to this character. 

Overall, I give Justice for All a letter grade of C+ / B-. 

Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

This is my personal favorite of the trilogy. It’s hands down the best written of the three and the most engaging. My two favorite original trilogy episodes, Turnabout Memories and Bridge to the Turnabout, are in this game. Also, while Franziska is my favorite character, Godot is my favorite prosecutor.

For me, what really made Trials and Tribulations work was its two lead villains; Dahlia Hawthorne and Godot (side note: Yes, I know it’s controversial to call Godot a villain but he is the final character that Phoenix has to defeat). The reason why is because the overall story revolves around Dahlia and Godot and they are strong enough characters to carry the whole game.

First off, Dahlia. Dahlia is one of the greatest video game villains of all time (at least, in my opinion). She is the most evil, detestable antagonist in the original trilogy and the fact that she’s ruined so many lives with her actions, even after her death, really made her a villain to hate. That said, she’s an incredibly fun, engaging villain who was the perfect nemesis for Mia Fey and Phoenix Wright.

Second, Godot. Godot is one smooth badass but it’s his backstory that really sold this character for me. His past with Mia Fey and the reasoning behind his actions definitely made him a lovable anti-villain (or anti-hero). Godot was a character that you can’t really hate, he was too cool to root against. Because of that, having him be the game’s final boss was a bit of a downer. It was like the Big Boss versus The Boss sequence in MGS3, you don’t want to take Godot down but you have to for the story. 

In general, the writing for Trials and Tribulations is miles above Justice for All and the story was more engaging than the first game’s story. Honestly, if I had to pick a weak point, it’d be Recipe for Turnabout. I wasn’t too fond of this case. However, that’s one bad case against four superb ones. 

Overall, I give Trials and Tribulations a letter grade of A. Not an A+ due to Recipe for Turnabout.