With the upcoming release of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney- the fourth in a series of lawyer-based adventures for the Nintendo DS- a very nice Ace Attorney fansite, Court Records, will be spending the month of February counting down to the game by going through each of Phoenix Wright’s cases. They’re encouraging others to go along with them, and I’m up for the challenge. I’m sure there’s a couple of fans out here, so join us and read my thoughts and post yours as well, whether you’re deciding to play again or just reliving Phoenix’s great career.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Case 1: The First Turnabout
August 3, 2016*
As Phoenix himself says, his first case is a simple one: its goal is to introduce the player to the game. It does that, and it also introduces them to the unusual, exciting, and often funny world the cases take place in. The contradictions are all fairly simple and can easily be figured out by looking at the Court Record. However, that doesn’t stop the case from being entertaining. If you have Phoenix tell the judge that the victim’s name was Cinder Block, he’ll reply that she wasn’t a victim of ill-concieved naming- rather ironic, seeing as many character names to come will be bad puns. Of the other characters who first appear, Winston Payne (one of those bad puns I was talking about) will only appear in tutorial cases in the other two games. Larry Butz will show up often, usually in a silly situation (as he is prone to do- after all, “if something smells, it’s usually the Butz”) and Mia Fey…well, we’ll just have to wait and see.
*Dates appear in the game. Years are as of the timeline at Court-Records.Net. Since during case 1-5 (first game, fifth case), it is mentioned that the DL-6 Incident took place both “in 2001” and “15 years ago,” we can assume that the first game takes place 15 years after 2001- 2016.
I remember reading somewhere the Phoenix Wright series takes place “in the future” but I don’t remember there being any actual dates mentioned. Is it just in the japanese version or are they there in the english version too, and I just missed it?
Although no year is specifically given, we can assume one from clues given in case 1-4 (not 1-5 as I claimed earlier- my mistake), in which an ocurrence from the past called DL-6 plays a major role. A character states DL-6 took place 15 years ago, and when Phoenix receives the DL-6 files, if you look at them, they say DL-6 occurred in 2001. 15 years from 2001 would be 2016.
I didn’t remember until now that Larry Butz is a key player in both Phoenix’s first case and his last.
Case 1-2: Turnabout Sisters
September 5-9, 2016
This case opens with an event which shows that everything in Phoenix’s world is not what it seems: the death of Phoenix’s biggest help in his first case, his mentor Mia Fey. We are then introduced to her sister, Maya, who will be one of Phoenix’s closest companions and accompany him on all but one of his cases. Phoenix must clear Maya’s name- something he’ll have to do one other time in his career. The two other characters who play major roles which reappear are two who will reappear a lot both as friends and foes- the clumsy detective Dick Gumshoe and the stern prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.
Marvin Grossberg, another character who appears in this case, will show up again later, but here he’s a very bizarre character with a very funny catchphrase: “Ah, the days of my youth, like the scent of fresh lemon…” (In some cases, Detective Gumshoe says “I’ve seen happier people at funerals!,” but his most constant catchphrase is “sorry, pal!”) We also hear of Misty Fey and DL-6 for the first time. The case comes to a climax with Maya channeling her sister’s spirit for the first time, and pointing something out to Phoenix that you yourself cannot discover until she tells you. This is rather annoying, but it does prove a point that will be important to Phoenix- always pore over evidence extensively…you never know what you will find.
Case 1-3: Turnabout Samurai
October 16-19, 2016
My favorite case of the first game, this one introduces the Steel Samurai, who is referenced in the previous case. The Global Studios output shows up in all but the third game, and is one of my favorite subplots, reminding me a bit of the Power Rangers and other Japanese action shows. In this case, the Steel Samurai is charged with murder…and as usual, Phoenix must figure out the truth.
The two most amusing characters who show up in this case are Sal Manella, the nerdy director who only talks in l33tsp33k, and Wendy Oldbag, the jabbery studio guard who reappears in the second game and is referenced in the third, always in positions of security. Will Powers will also show up again when another Global star is charged with murder…but things will turn out a little differently in that one.
Case 1-4: Turnabout Goodbyes
December 25-28, 2016
The original final case in the Japanese Game Boy Advance version, this case is one of Phoenix’s most complicated and most interesting, and involves a character who up to this point was only depicted as a villain: Miles Edgeworth. The “villainous” characters all have some good to them, and gives them a characteristic similar to people in real life: some people are not all good and all evil. The DL-6 Incident plays an important role. Manfred von Karma’s only appearance; his daughter will become a major character.
This case has a lot of what makes the series great: Gumshoe ineptitude, Larry Butz inepitude, strange supporting characters (the hobo), extremely bizarre circumstances which end up helping a lot (cross-examining a parrot), and a lot of drama. Perhaps one of the finest cases in the series’s history.
I can’t wait for them to get into Edgeworth’s emo backstory. And of course that lovely line…
“I had to rid myself of…unnecessary feelings.” 
Case 1-5: Rise from the Ashes
February 2017
This case, one of Phoenix’s most complicated, was added to the first game in Japan when it was re-released on the DS. Doing so messes up the continuity quite a bit, since in the original timeline, Phoenix is to have never seen Edgeworth again from the time he proved him innocent in the DL-6 Incident to the time it was believed that he committed suicide. Other than Edgeworth and Gumshoe, all of the supporting characters are new. Despite the fact they do not reappear in any of Phoenix’s other cases, many- including the cowboy-esque Jake Marshall, the incompetent Mike Meekins, and the imposing Damon Gant- are among the series most memorable. And Gumshoe continues to show his incompetence- in one of the most risqué yet hilarious moments in the game, at one point, if you show him the luminol fluid, Gumshoe points out that he purchased his own- except, being Gumshoe, he somehow confused it with a penis enlargement cream called Loomin’ Tall. And then there’s the Dancing Blue Badger…
Justice for All Case 1: The Lost Turnabout
September 8, 2017
Another simple case to open up the second game. All of the contradictions can be found in the evidence already on hand, since there is no detective work. The amnesia idea is a silly old cliche, but it works here, since this is a “tutorial” case to reintroduce the physics of the game to veterans and introduce them to new players- since Phoenix is now a seasoned attorney, temporary amnesia is the best way to get him to forget these.
Whoa, thanks for this thread, I didn’t know Apollo Justice was coming out Tuesday. I confess I’m a bit skeptical, I’m not sure how I’ll do without my Feenie, but I guess I’ll give this Apollo guy a shot.
I like these games way, way too much.
Case 2-2: Reunion, and Turnabout
June 19-22, 2017
Maya’s return, and her second time accused of murder. The adorable Pearl Fey makes her debut, as do Psyche-Locks*, secret locks only those with psychic powers can see which hold deep secrets. The horny Dr. Hotti is perhaps the series’s most disturbing character.
*I assume that the “Psyche” in “Psyche-Lock” is pronounced like the psyche (sigh-key) and not like “psyching someone out” (syche), since Edgeworth later refers to them as “Psycho-Locks.” With that prononciation, it would assume he confused “sigh-key” with “psycho.”
Case 2-3: Turnabout Big Top
December 28-30, 2017
One of the more amusing cases of the second game, as is befitting for a case involving a circus. At first, when I started going toward the path of who the real murderer is, I had no inkling that it would be the correct outcome- it seemed to ridiculous to be true. But, as Sherlock Holmes (and Godot) says, once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains- however improbable- must be the truth. Moe the clown is one of the more amusing characters- his jokes may be corny, but they’re good corny (at least when they get past the censors- “weapons of bowel destruction?”), and his habit of reciting clown-themed TV show intros to himself when nervous is rather amusing.
Case 2-4: Farewell, My Turnabout
March 20-23, 2018
One of Phoenix’s deepest cases, the last to involve the Samurai shows, and the only one in which Phoenix’s client is…well, guilty, which makes things rather interesting. Poor Phoenix has to put the blame on someone else until a hitman terminates his contract, and Maya has to escape that hitman. The final image of the case- and the game- never fails to make me smile.
Trials and Tribulations Case 1: Turnabout Memories
April 11, 2013
Another tutorial case, but this has an interesting premise: this is Mia’s first successful case (we’ll see the outcome of her first-ever case later), so not having won a case before, she’s obviously as nervous as Phoenix would be…and Phoenix happens to be the one she’s defending. Another simple case to start out the game, this one sets up a story arc that goes throughout the game, and has a lot of funny dialogue (“I guess we know whose milkshake brings all the boys to the yard,” “I’m guessing the ‘P’ stands for something other than Phoenix”) and how Winston Payne lost his hair!
Case 3-2: The Stolen Turnabout
October 11-13, 2018
Mask*DeMasque is on the loose! An entertaining case which brings back the Sacred Urn and also introduces the Statue of Ami Fey, which will play an important role in the overall story arc. Godot’s first appearance- not only does he have the best music cue in the entire series, but he’s such a funny and mysterious character. (Phoenix has a funny feeling he knows Godot from somewhere- he does, as we’ll find out. For some reason, when I first saw him, my theory was that Godot was Edgeworth, which makes absolutely no sense, of course.) A minor character, The Canadian Judge, is introduced. He only has one joke- he’s Canadian- but for some reason, this is entertaining enough to make him a memorable character, just like his brother.
Case 3-3: Recipe for Turnabout
January 6-8, 2018
The only case in the third game that doesn’t belong to the large story arc, this is the funniest case in the game, especially due to its premise: Phoenix must catch a not-too-convincing impostor who claimed to be him in a recent case. All of the supporting characters are as goofy as this fake Phoenix (or Xin Eohp, as Maya calls him), with the exception of the wonderfully creepy Violetta. This case also features the most disturbing psychic channeling of Mia (in order to appease a horny old man), and what may be the worst yet still entertaining pun in the game. Unfortunately, that pun is protected under SuPer-Admin Restricted Desktop Access. Madness? No…that is SPARDA.
How does this game work?
-FrL-
It’s similar to the adventure games of lore, like Monkey Island. There are two parts to the game: the investigation, and the trial. During the investigation, you move around to various locales, talking to people and poking around. You spend this time gathering information and various bits of evidence.
Once the game decides you have enough, you go to trial. The witness will give their testimony, and you can press their statements to get more information out of them, or object to one of their statements by presenting a piece of evidence. As the game makes clear, your goal is to point out contradictions, and their testimonies will always have one, unintentionally or not. Oftentimes things get heated and Phoenix will make outlandish claims, and be asked to present additional evidence to back it up. If you screw up and present the wrong thing, you get penalized, and if you get penalized too much, the judge gets fed up and declares a guilty verdict (game over).