Lurker > LeonhartFour

however T&T was the only one that followed up a great intro case with a better case now that I think about it
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E2-1 told you right away that AAI2 wasn't messing around, kinda like 3-1 and 4-1 did, and it let you know you were in for something better after the first game. You had a right to be skeptical of AAI2 after AAI1! Plus, it finally managed to do a cameo really well and gave us a good villain, two things the first game struggled to do!
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Well, I think E1-4 probably does get a bit overrated because AAI1 is a flawed game that doesn't do anything exceptionally well, and it's definitely the standout case due to its nature and the fact that E1-5 climaxed way too soon.
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Speaking of people whose design looks completely out of place, Cammy is about as mediocre as Lance, really. She's not great before or after the reveal. The bubbles thing is a pretty bizarre gimmick, too.
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E1-4 Beginning and End are mostly fine. E1-4 Middle is where its ranking sinks down super low to me. The Gumshoe stuff is awful because it makes no sense and the case becomes super predictable.
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E1-4 Beginning complete! I really like the intro here in court, with Mack Rell (ugliest guy in the entire series, right? That nose) accusing Faraday of being the Yatagarasu and telling him to kill Deid Mann (best victim name in the series, right?). I like the idea of setting an investigation in the courthouse. It's a neat concept. Then you've got the double murder with Faraday and Rell, and you've got a pretty great setup for a case right here.

Too bad they botch it with bad characterizations of Edgeworth and especially Gumshoe. I've harped on that enough in the past, so I'll just leave it at that since everyone is aware of my feelings on the subject. Seeing von Karma again is kind of neat, but at the same time, I do wonder if it'd have been better for his mystique to never see him again (that issue is magnified even more in E2-3). It makes sense for him to be here though, so whatever.

Investigating the courthouse is a lot of fun because they load the place with Easter Eggs. There's a lady who talks about someone who gave her a cup of coffee the last time she was here, and Edgeworth makes a 2-1 reference when you examine the fire extinguisher. Just seeing a full view of the courtroom is a cool experience, too.

Anyway, in terms of stats, there are four testimonies in this segment: Two by Franziska and two by Yew (the first one requires you to press a statement and pick the right option, which immediately triggers the next one). The only thing you really learn here is that it's very likely that there was a third person and it wasn't a double murder, but it ends with Gumshoe being arrested on suspicion of murder. Not really looking forward to the next part!

Yew makes a couple of interesting statements when she's not busy being annoying. If you bring up the victim of KG-8 to her, she flatly says they're not related, which is the truth, although she follows it up by saying she was kidding. There's a little truth in every joke though! If you present the gun to her, she says she's always wanted to try firing one just once, which is exactly what she did!

Getting back to E1-3 for a minute, that reminds me of a couple of interesting foreshadowing hints you get from Shih-na. If you talk to her during the Haunted House recreation, she seems to show a bit of interest and knowledge about Little Thief. At one point, Lang tries to shut down Edgeworth's logic, and Shih-na chimes in that it was so absurd that it was all she could do not to burst out laughing.

To go on to another non sequitur that I forgot to bring up, I've sometimes wondered if Lang is illiterate because if you present him anything with writing on it, he almost always has Shih-na read what it says. However, he does read those scrolls with the Lang Zi quotes on it, so maybe it's just that he can't read English, which makes sense.
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transience posted...

- the worst culprit in the series
- four badgers
- mike meekins
- the worst case-specific cast in the series

Lance is pretty bad, yeah, although I had five ranked worse than him. He at least has a few halfway decent moments.

I don't have a problem with the Badger stuff. I think solving which Badger was which person is kind of fun, actually.

Meekins is a definite negative against any case, but this is probably his least offensive appearance, for what it's worth. At least I don't have a case with Mike Meekins in it ranked in the top ten...!

Well, we'll agree to disagree because I'll take Lauren over anyone from E1-2. I might take Ernest Amano over anyone from E1-2, too, although it'd be close!

Kay is mostly fine here because she and Edgeworth are still feeling each other out and he doesn't remember who she is yet. Para's right that she doesn't really contribute anything meaningful other than Little Thief though. She has one semi-insightful statement in one of the last testimonies, although what she said is escaping me at the moment. I do remember it standing out to me because of what Para had said though!

actually I might take E1-3's cast over E1-4's if Badd didn't exist because you get the worst incarnation of several important characters in it (but surprisingly perhaps Franziska's best other than maybe 3-5) and E1-4 Calisto Yew is a bottom tier character until she pulls out the gun
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Oh, E1-3 is definitely one of the most "pure filler" cases in the series, but I like the constant change of scenery because the amusement park setting is cool and I want to see more of it.

also there were two references to La-La Land in E1-3

Edgeworth accusing Lance like you would make a guess in Clue was fantastic too

You killed Oliver Deacon in the Haunted House with the revolver!
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SSBM_Guy posted...

I....don't even remember the Little Thief at the end of E1-5.

You have to recreate the scene of the murder in the office to figure out how the killer escaped before Kay got there.

also I'm glad you all mostly agree with my E1-3 assessment

because I doubt that will be the case with E1-4
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consider yourself lucky

I'm already dreading that sequence now that I'm thinking about having to replay it soon
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SeabassDebeste posted...

I think we can all agree that the worst and least memorable one is the one from the end of E1-5, though.

Least memorable, maybe.

E2-2's is the worst though.
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I'm not a huge fan of AAI1 overall, but I do like E1-3 quite a bit. It's complete filler, but it's just good fun.

I think I'm the weird one for thinking it's the second best case in the game. If E1-5 Middle didn't exist, I might even try to argue it's the best!
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I guess so, but the Haunted House is always what my mind goes straight to whenever Little Thief is brought up. It's probably a bit of "they did it first" there though.
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Eh, I am not a fan of the one I'm sure you're thinking of because I hate the flipping back and forth between multiple simulations mechanic. It's not fun.
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E1-3 complete! That might be the second most fun segment of the game (behind E1-5 Middle). Actually, I'm not sure it's that close! This is one situation where they take advantage of the fact that investigations are different from court, I think. There are six testimonies here in this order: One by Lauren, one by Lang, one by Lance, two by Lauren, and one by Lance. It's pretty cool how they rapidly rotate between the three of them here, and they make for some fun testimonies. They can be tricky, too. There's one in particular that's tripped me up in the past, and that's Lang's testimony about how Lauren knew the victim was her dad and they planned the kidnapping together. However, the contradiction isn't about how she couldn't have known he was her dad (which almost feels like what they're suggesting you have to disprove), but rather that it was the work of three people, not two. It's an odd bit of misdirection. Edgeworth accusing Lance of planning his own kidnapping is a cool moment, too, again partially because of the use of "Announce the Truth." Everyone's reaction to it is good, too.

Like E1-2, the final testimony is far from the end of the case (although you do get the Presto theme this time around to further confuse you) because there's the entire Haunted House Little Thief recreation afterward. This is the definitive Little Thief simulation, I think. It's really cool. It's a fun setting, and it's neat putting everything together to prove Lance did it. Speaking of which, the final piece of evidence is the victim's costume (which you have to use to show what was at the end of the hallway after the gunshot broke the mirror). The only two things you don't present as evidence are the Badger Photo Rally thing and the murder weapon.

Ernest Amano is a fun minor villain here, how he undermines the investigation as much as possible to try to bail out Lance and pin the blame on Lauren, including literally using his own ransom money to purchase the Haunted House because he somehow foresaw the investigation would eventually turn in that direction. I also love his little "calm down" animation where he goes, "There, there, now." Then when Lang tries to arrest Ernest, he doesn't hesitate to say his son is the one they're after, which traumatizes Lance so much that he faints. It's a great moment. As for Lance himself, well, he's obviously not great. He has a few good moments here and there, like when he's trying to sound deep and look like a bishounen when he's clearly neither of those things. While manipulating Lauren may not require a lot of hard work to do, his cover-up plot to make her think she killed her own dad was actually fairly clever, I think, so I'll give him a little credit for that, too.

As B8's preeminent (and perhaps only) Lauren Paups fan, I like her a lot here. Her animations are great, and I love how she has no sense of inner monologue when it comes to Edgeworth. Those moments when she feels herself swooning over him and she's trying to talk herself out of it are hilarious, I think. Of course, the fact that she's easily influenced and swayed is what made her so easy to manipulate, and for that, I feel a little sorry for her. Lauren really did seem to love Lance, and he took advantage of her and her father. There's also a really bittersweet moment when you talk to her about her pendant with the wings on it, and she says, "I believe that one day my father will come back to me riding on the wings of Pegasus." That one cut a little deep for me this time around.

Anyway, I'm running out of space, so let's end this. I couldn't get an exact end time because the last timestamp you get is at the beginning of the Haunted House sim.

E1-3 Beginning playtime: 1:23:35
E1-3 Middle playtime: 1:06:43
E1-3 End playtime: 1:32:58
E1-3 in-game time: >6 hours, 16 minutes
E1-3 total playtime: 4:03:16
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I don't miss Lopen.
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Paratroopa1 posted...

Although Gumshoe really does seem to just steadily get flanderized here.

Didn't catch this before when I was scrolling through, but I sort of agree with it and sort of don't. I think I agree with you regarding AAI1, but he's surprisingly helpful and competent in AAI2, although it's mostly offscreen (it's the only game Gumshoe is in where he never testifies). The dude totally earns that raise by the end!
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E1-3 Middle Complete! Three total testimonies here: One by Oldbag that's split up by a Little Thief sequence and thus you have to do it twice, and two by Lang. The autopsy report is proving to be a rather common piece of evidence here. I think I've used it three times already. Speaking of Little Thief, my feelings on it are kind of mixed. I mostly like how it's used in AAI1, but I think when AAI2 started adding wrinkles to it, I got tired of it and I'm kind of glad it's no longer a thing.

Lang is a bit better here because you get back-to-back testimonies with him, and you get to see him adjust on the fly. Also, unlike Franziska, he has no problems admitting when he's wrong or when he doesn't know something. I love it when Edgeworth asks him what Meekins's motive was, Lang just goes, "Who cares. That's not my concern. You can figure it out when you talk to him in jail." You also get the cool dual animation of Lang and Shih-na removing their shades at the same time, aw yeah.

You get a couple of quick cameos by Ema and Oldbag here, the latter of whom wasn't as bad as I remembered because she's not here that long (It's E1-5 that's the nightmare). I do like how in all of her appearances, her name is never listed in her profile. It's always something along the lines of "Security Guard" and in the description, it reads, "I think her name is Wendy Oldbag." Edgeworth reserves some pretty good snark just for Oldbag, too, it seems, because even in his inner monologue, he doesn't hold back what he really thinks of her. The only thing Ema does here is help you find some footprints and hold a pink DS. I guess this is just their way of forcing 1-5's canon-ness down your throat by reminding you that she's here, just like AJ. Although unlike AJ, at least AAI acknowledges the existence of cases other than 1-5! Speaking of which, there's a stage with the Gavinners' logo on it, as well as a sign that mentions Troupe Gramarye. Considering how close this is to 4-0, I wonder if this was their last show...!

Investigating the kidnappers' hideout is pretty neat, too. It's short but sweet, and you discover the existence of the third kidnapper, as well as the appearance of the Proto Badger, who is ab-SO-lutely the Bellboy, sir!

We're not doing too bad on time here either, but I think the last segment will wind up being pretty long because you have several testimonies with Lauren, Lance, and Lang, as well as the Little Thief recreation of the Haunted House. It's a really great segment though, so I'll be looking forward to it!
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Well, Kay is the least helpful sidekick primarily because Edgeworth is by far the most competent protagonist. He doesn't need her. Kay is there because the series needs a spunky female assistant, but part of the problem is that type of character doesn't work with Edgeworth. Like, I imagine if you paired up Edgeworth with Maya, it wouldn't work that well either. Edgeworth doesn't sell Kay's jokes at all because that's not his style. Most of their comedic interactions are him warning her not to steal something or her stealing his lines. Kay is the least necessary assistant in the series. She gets in trouble at least once per game as just about every assistant does as well.

But I like her anyway. She's good with characters who aren't Edgeworth and Gumshoe, and when things get serious, she brings out a side of Edgeworth you rarely see in him elsewhere.

I like Lang overall, too. He is a good foil for Edgeworth, but the fact that he's instantly antagonizing him and tries to arrest Meekins for a really flimsy reason isn't a good start for him. He gets better though.
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I'm kind of surprised a company hasn't decided to make stuff exclusively for flights, what with all the different groups that have gotten into making their own shows and movies, like Amazon! Well, not too surprised because such a business practice could hardly be profitable.

Anyway, I've been out and about almost all day, so I'm just getting around to it, but E1-3 Beginning is in the books! I like the intro to this case. It's pretty cool. I love the fact that Edgeworth uses Rhoda's hideous suitcase to carry the ransom money. The real shame is the fact that the intro is the only place to hear the Blue Badger March theme, which is a fun song. I mentioned this before, but I love the theme park setting for here, especially the Haunted House. The end of the intro where the Proto Badger sneaks up on Edgeworth and clubs him is well done, I think.

Of course, E1-3 is mostly about introducing you to most of AAI's major players. First is Kay, and I like her introduction here, jumping down from the window, only to realize the door is locked and now they can't get out. You realize pretty quickly that she's not quite the Great Thief she purports to be. I like how she takes the time to deliver her grandiose introduction as the Yatagarasu before untying Edgeworth and then casually just tells him her name is Kay Faraday. It's ironic that the one assistant who openly claims to be a thief is the worst thief of them all, because Maya and Trucy both occasionally display kleptomaniac tendencies! Trying to find a way out of the locked room is kinda fun, actually. There's some pretty good dialogue during this sequence as you investigate everything.

The next major player is Lang (and Shih-na, although you have no idea how big she is at this stage, of course). I don't think his impression is quite as strong as Kay's because you quickly discover the "secret" to having the highest successful arrest rate is just to arrest the guy who seems most suspicious at first glance. Edgeworth rightfully points out that there's a really good chance that such a philosophy would lead to a lot of false convictions, especially considering we've seen how screwed up the judicial systems in AA can be! Lang doesn't seem to care though because that's not his problem. They try to make him out to be a guy who cares about his men, and they also try to make him pseudo-Godot by having him spout seemingly deep one-liners, but both of those gimmicks don't become effective until later on. I guess you've gotta set them up here first though.

You get two testimonies in this sequence, one from Lang and one from (ugh) Meekins. I think one of Lang's strengths is that he's able to plug the holes in his arguments and still sound convincing, but it's hard for him to play to that strength when he only gets one testimony here. The first one is easy, and they get progressively tougher later in the case when you have to debunk multiple theories in a row.

Also, I gotta admit, I don't like Gumshoe acting all petulant and stomping his feet and saying he refuses to help "Wolf boy," so they have to drag him off kicking and screaming. I get that he's loyal to Edgeworth, but it doesn't really feel like something he'd normally do. I also think he and Kay fighting over who gets to be Edgeworth's assistant is kind of a dumb running gag. He and Kay's relationship in general is kind of weird. Same with Kay and Edgeworth. I feel like Kay is fine on her own, but she struggles to interact with other characters well, at least on a comedic level.
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I'd be okay with it if someone paid me one million cents to play it
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M-M-My boy, please!
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More art book stuff:

They've got the full 3-D model shots for the characters in here from the front, side, and back, which is pretty neat, because you don't get to see some of these angles in-game. They've also got a collection of all the different animations. There's a section with all the characters lined up next to each other drawn to scale, too, which is cool. Means is indeed very tall and Apollo is barely taller than Athena.

They've got art of all the various backgrounds from the game in here. It's cool to be able to see some large pictures without a character standing in the way for some of them so you can notice the details. They've also got some concept art for some of them that they didn't use, including some awesome images of Nine-Tales Vale. They show a full view of Themis Legal Academy, and the building is shaped to resemble the scales of justice. I'm reminded of how awesome 5-6's backgrounds are looking at them again here.

They've got all the special event cutscene pictures in here, too, as well as all the character profile pics and evidence pics. They've got all the Mood Matrix images, as well as some concept art of the interface.
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I guess it's just so the other prosecutors, security, etc. know the room is vacant.
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The fact that E1-1 is the only time we're allowed to investigate Edgeworth's office in either game is a downright shame. Could've been great if they'd made it like the office in the OT.

SSBM_Guy posted...

Makes me interested in getting the book myself tbh.

If you can find a well made art book, they're really neat! I wholly recommend all the Persona ones if you're a fan!

Paratroopa1 posted...

Why did Portsman still have the video tape on him instead of hiding it somewhere? He got caught by the whole 'two/three pieces of evidence' thing really stupidly. Everything up to that point was pretty good. Although why are the number plates on the door swappable? That doesn't make any sense because they don't have names on them (do they in Japan or something?)

Perhaps he was actually telling the truth about not having the key to his office, so he wouldn't have actually been able to hide it in there! Feels like a poor lack of foresight on his part if he did though! Either that, or he was too arrogant to believe anyone would catch him. Edgeworth coming back to his office in the middle of the night and Badd showing up put a major wrench in his plan.

If Edgeworth didn't actually show him the contents of what Buddy Faith's note said (He only mentions the part where it says, "But you're out," if I'm not mistaken), then he wouldn't know the note mentions three pieces. I can't remember if the part about the three pieces was discussed or not.

They mention this in the game, but the number plates are removable because they take the plate off the door when an office is unoccupied. I imagine numbers are easier than names in Japanese because of the complexity of characters in the language, and that way they don't have to make new plates for everyone. They can just reuse the number.
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nobody cares about E1-2 huh

mostly for good reason but still
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E1-2 complete! That last segment was kind of weird but still pretty neat. Best part of the case (and one of the most memorable parts of the game, quite frankly) is when Lablanc falls over the railing and Edgeworth starts putting everything together as he falls in slow motion and black and white as "Announce the Truth" plays in the background. It's a super well done moment.

As for why it's a little weird (maybe "unconventional" would be the better word), let's look at the stats: There are three testimonies here, one by Franziska (where you have to press a certain statement and pick the right answer to progress, so I was a little disappointed by this because I didn't get to press every statement to get all the dialogue) and two by Cammy. However, there's a very long stretch after that final testimony before she finally confesses. There's no penultimate testimony where Presto plays. It actually plays after you find Hicks's photo and you have to point out the evidence that incriminates Cammy.

The final piece of evidence you present is the bloody cloth because it indicates whoever used it could speak Borginian. The entire case against Cammy is circumstantial, really, but there are enough commonalities that point to her to remove reasonable doubt, I think. I believe the only piece of evidence that doesn't get used by Edgeworth is Cammy's statement that Hicks was in his seat when they landed in Zheng Fa, which was obviously a lie. Edgeworth brings it up when you point out a contradiction at one point, but you never have to present the statement as evidence.

The in-game time is a bit weird here, as I said, because of the time zone switch. I'm not really sure how to calculate it, because of the time zone switch and because there was a large span of time where Edgeworth wasn't investigating because they shut it down until the plane landed. The initial in-game time is March 12, 6:13 A.M. (which would be March 11, 9:13 P.M. local time), and the final in-game time is March 12, 5:47 P.M. I might just freeze the timer from where the Beginning segment ends and pick it back up where Middle begins at 1:00 P.M. I mean, it's not necessary to get it "perfect" or anything, but it'd make E1-2 nearly a 21-hour case just going by straight time! Yeah, sounds good enough to me, so let's roll with that.

E1-2 Beginning playtime: 1:21:00
E1-2 Middle playtime: 0:47:48
E1-2 End playtime: 1:07:01
E1-2 in-game time: 7 hours, 6 minutes
E1-2 total playtime: 3:15:49

3-5 - 9:35:46
2-4 - 9:05:21
1-5 - 8:46:43
4-4 - 6:38:01
3-2 - 6:02:56
4-3 - 5:58:33
3-3 - 5:48:31
2-3 - 5:06:33
1-4 - 4:59:52
4-2 - 4:58:35
2-2 - 4:47:40
1-3 - 3:49:35
E1-2 - 3:15:49
1-2 - 2:40:40
4-1 - 2:11:44
3-4 - 1:54:15
E1-1 - 1:44:51
3-1 - 1:43:09
2-1 - 1:15:57
4-0 - 1:09:44
1-1 - 0:33:35

First full-length case to come in under a full-length non-epic PW1 case!
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Pretty sure it's time to just let this one go, man. He hasn't posted here in a month.
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More artbook stuff. I'll just hit some highlights:

--They went through a bunch of different designs for Robin before they settled on the final version.

--Hugh was originally conceived as a "ronin" (someone who keeps failing entrance/final exams), and he had coke-bottle glasses and "a 70/30 hair part" (Their words, not mine). He favors using his right hand for everything, even before he injured his left hand, which is why he can do insane things like wield a bow with one hand.

--Not much on Myriam, but they comment that she's "not much of a photographer" since she uses a disposable camera.

--Means is meant to resemble a marble statue, which is why he was designed to be massive. He was originally going to have a snake coiled around his shoulder. His hair and beard are very stiff, which is why he can tug on them and reshape them so easily.

--They had a good idea of what Starbuck was going to be from the start, so it didn't take long to finalize his design. He was originally going to wear his helmet, but since it obscured his unique hairdo, they decided against it. Also, he makes the rocket liftoff noise with his mouth during his liftoff animation.

--Cosmos's head was originally going to resemble a rocket ship, with a cone-shaped hairdo and a mustache that flares out like the wings. He has ten stars on his collar, five on each shoulder, six as coat buttons, and one on each sleeve for a total of 28, if you were curious.

--Aura was always going to be a mad scientist, so it didn't take long to finalize her design either. They thought about giving her short hair, but they eventually decided on her horn-like hair protrusions (although they have a sketch of her with her hair down, too).

--Sasha was designed to have a punk rocker motif to contrast with Rimes as a rapper.

--They went through a lot of different designs for Norma before they decided to go with a "black-and-white era mega starlet from Hollywood" style. They even have a rough sketch of the headshot she uses in her books instead of what she actually looks like!

--Since Clay is Apollo's best friend, it was decided right away that he would be just as hot-blooded as Apollo, although he was originally frail and lacked confidence before meeting him. Apparently, he always wears a hat. One of the notations by his design says, "Would die before taking off his hat."

--Metis was meant to be a Japanese-style beauty to contrast with Aura's design. Also, apparently the Cykes and Blackquill families have a long-standing relationship that predates these characters.
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E1-2 Middle complete! This was a relatively short section. Not a ton happened here and there were no formal "investigation" segments. The two main things you do here are have a showdown with Franziska and talk with Rhoda. There are some fun conversations with Gumshoe here though, like if you investigate Edgeworth's law book and Gumshoe finds the Steel Samurai manga hidden inside. Edgeworth also has a chessboard akin to the one in 1-5 where it's a bunch of red knights surrounding a blue pawn, and even Gumshoe recognizes this isn't how a chessboard is normally set up.

Anyway, in terms of stats: There are only two testimonies here, both from Franziska. We were talking the other day about how infrequently the first statement holds the contradiction, but that was the case with one of Franziska's testimonies here. I think it's a more common occurrence in the AAI games. I still have no idea if Franziska seriously believed Edgeworth was a potential suspect or if she's just trolling him. She keeps herself so guarded most of the time that it's hard to tell how she feels about a lot of things.

I also realized that it's going to be difficult to ascertain an in-game time because there's a time zone switch after the first segment. In the first segment, the time corresponds to the time zone of the departure location, but then it switches to local time once the plane lands (It even says "Local time" on the timestamp to begin the Middle segment). One of Lablanc's contradictions is about that discrepancy, and I think they mentioned the exact difference in time zones being nine hours, although I can't remember if it's nine hours fast or nine hours slow. I'd guess nine hours slow if the departure time zone is Borginia, and the local time is "California." It also means they took the long way to get from Europe to California if they went through Asia to get there, but hey...! You can chalk it up to needing to lay over in Zheng Fa, I guess.

The case has been fairly brisk up to this point, but I imagine this last section will take a while because the file labeled it as "End, Part 1" and the other two have just been "Beginning" and "Middle."
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Flipping through the art book some more.

They seemed to have a pretty good idea of what they wanted Fulbright to be from the start, so he didn't have a lot of different designs. One of the descriptions for his character is "Not hot-blooded. More 'justice'-oriented. Don't mistake toughness for being overbearing. Hero of justice. Aim for 'tough yet invigorating.'"

They show a bunch of different ideas for Edgeworth's new design. They say that his cravat is kind of his trademark, so they were careful not to mess with it too much. They do have one design where it's long and fluttery instead of being bunched up though. There's a few different types of suits and hairstyles they fiddled with, too. There's one where his hair is slicked straight back and doesn't fit him at all. There's even one of Edgeworth with a mustache and goatee. It doesn't suit him, but it's not bad. They have one design where he actually wears his Prosecutor's Badge like a medal, too.

Oh man, they experimented with a bunch of different hairstyles for Gaspen. They have sketches of him with his hair spiked up in devil horns, him as a skinhead, with a fauxhawk, a Colonial style gray wig, golden blond hair, and my personal favorite: A perm.

Ted Tonate's original design was more like a mad scientist. He has a really long braid extending from the top of his head that was supposed to resemble a bomb fuse. During his breakdown animation, he breaks his goggles and you can see two small beady black eyes underneath. Didn't realize this, but they're supposed to look like little bombs!

There were a few different design possibilities for Juniper. There are a few where she resembles an elf or a fairy. I didn't notice this either, but apparently the big balls at the end of her braids are supposed to resemble yarn balls, since she knits so much.

One of Jinxie's early designs showed they thought about making her a bright and flashy character at first. The reason her eyes are so swollen and black is because she cries a lot because of how scared she gets (I forgot that detail with Blackquill, too. Those long black streaks under his eyes are from where he refused to wipe his tears away after he was imprisoned).

Not too many designs here for Damian Tenma. There's a weird one where he has a handlebar mustache and his hair is coiffed a bit, but that's about it. Lots of different ones for L'Belle though. They apparently toyed with the idea of making him female for a little while. There was one design where he would supposedly rip off his suit, only to reveal...the same suit in a different color underneath. I guess they transferred that gimmick to his hair.

They had a lot of designs for Filch, too. They were deliberately trying to invoke a retro look with him. He was originally supposed to have buckteeth and that bandit five o'clock shadow beard, but they got rid of it when they decided to make him look like a tanuki.
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Espella is fine as long as she's not in "woe is me" mode.
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let me bust out my tiers real quick

The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over.

1. Farewell, My Turnabout (2-4)
2. Turnabout Goodbyes (1-4)
3. Bridge to the Turnabout (3-5)
4. Turnabout Revolution (6-5)
5. Turnabout for Tomorrow (5-5)

TELL. THE. TRUTH.

6. The Inherited Turnabout (E2-3)
7. The Stolen Turnabout (3-2)
8. Turnabout Samurai (1-3)
9. Turnabout Beginnings (3-4)
10. The Rite of Turnabout (6-3)
11. Turnabout Academy (5-3)
12. The Grand Turnabout (E2-5)
The Golden Court (L-3)
13. Turnabout Reclaimed (5-6)
14. Rise from the Ashes (1-5)

Zvarri! The truth has once again been elegantly revealed to me!

15. The Monstrous Turnabout (5-2)
16. The Forgotten Turnabout (E2-4)
17. Turnabout Ablaze (E1-5)
18. Recipe for Turnabout (3-3)
19. Turnabout Target (E2-1)
20. Reunion, and Turnabout (2-2)
21. Turnabout Trump (4-1)
22. Turnabout Memories (3-1)
23. Turnabout Time Traveler (6-6)

The Phoenix Wright Wax Philosophical Power Hour

24. The Magical Turnabout (6-2)
25. The Kidnapped Turnabout (E1-3)
26. The Cosmic Turnabout (5-4)
27. The Imprisoned Turnabout (E2-2)
28. Turnabout Sisters (1-2)
29. Turnabout Reminiscence (E1-4)
30. Turnabout Succession (4-4)
31. Turnabout Big Top (2-3)
The Last Witch Trial (L-4)
32. Turnabout Storyteller (6-4)

Wait a minute! That testimony stinks!

The Fire Witch (L-2)
33. Turnabout Airlines (E1-2)
34. The First Turnabout (1-1)
35. The Foreign Turnabout (6-1)
36. Turnabout Countdown (5-1)
37. Turnabout Visitor (E1-1)
The English Turnabout (L-1)

I believe the proper phrase here is, "You fail."

38. Turnabout Corner (4-2)
39. The Lost Turnabout (2-1)
40. Turnabout Serenade (4-3)


...Maybe something like that.
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They're pretty short, and I think they're fun. There's a lot of self-deprecating humor. Might be the best non-L-3 part of the game!
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Well, it's probably not even canon, so yeah. There's really nowhere for it to fit in the Ace Attorney timeline, at least.

Did you ever do the Special Episodes?
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Well, the fact that you have all the multi-witness testimonies definitely means it's harder for the NPCs to distinguish themselves. The Vigilantes in particular are just a bunch of interchangeable mooks and a girl.
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Well, once you get past the ones who matter, Layton/AA's NPCs are bland and forgettable, but that's pretty typical for a Layton game because they require a bunch of glorified puzzle-givers.
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SSBM_Guy posted...

AAI cast vs PLvPW cast, who you got

Some Guy, Jean, Darklaw, and Barnham are all pretty solid. If we're not counting the ones who show up in AAI2 (Kay, Lang, Badd), Layton/AA's got it beat with those four alone...!
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Yeah, the AAI exclusive cast is definitely the weakest bunch in the series, and that's why it's down there near the bottom with AJ.

also I like Ernest Amano

dude's got some fantastic animations if nothing else
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I like Lauren Paups probably more than I should, but she's better to me than anyone from E1-2. Plus, you get Shih-na, Lang, and Kay (although they're not exclusives, of course). Also, I love the amusement park as a setting. It's probably a large reason why E1-3 is my second favorite AAI1 case.
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E1-2 Beginning complete! I think the airplane is a pretty neat investigation location. There's some pretty good optional dialogue, like the conversation about the international band the "Rocker Pals." Edgeworth contemplates asking Gumshoe about them since he doesn't know who they are, but he decides against it once he realizes how confusing the conversation would be. Edgeworth getting upset at the name iFly and the fact that nobody knows how to properly capitalize words anymore is excellent as well. Of course, the best one is...

Edgeworth: (These counter windows offer a glimpse of the sky, but the clouds, they tell me nothing.)
Rhoda: Mr. Edgeworth...? You...look like you're talking to the clouds.
Edgeworth: Is that so? Then tell me, what do you suppose I said to them?
Rhoda: I don't know, but it looked like a rather one-sided conversation.
Edgeworth: (The clouds...they tell me nothing.)

I think E1-2 might have the weakest case-exclusive cast in the series. Rhoda is inoffensive but boring (other than her hairdo, which I still haven't been able to discern what it's supposed to be). Meele is okay but still a low-tier killer (and her non-standard design bugs me). Akbey Hicks is a pretty forgettable victim. The aforementioned Lablanc is bottom tier. He does have one great line though, when Edgeworth asks him why he's so upset. "I am always upset! The only time when I am not upset is when I am holding a valuable art piece in my hands!" I can give him credit for being self-aware, at least!

The murder itself isn't very interesting either, I don't think, at least not until you get down to the cargo hold and find out how it really happened. It's kinda weak early on because you know virtually nothing, and so there's so little to go on or speculate about. It takes a while for it to get going, so this first section wasn't too great.

A few stats: Four total testimonies in this segment, two by Rhoda and two by Lablanc. They've done a good job of making you use almost all the evidence you have. I think there was only one I didn't end up using, so at least there's some variety in terms of contradictions and inconsistencies!
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man that sounds dreadful
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I wish Zinc Lablanc was forgettable. He's too awful to be forgettable. The most forgettable character is that Mask*DeMasque impostor in E1-5, but that might be cheating since he's a victim.

Penny Nichols is the "notably unnotable" character in Japan. Apparently the AA staff considered knowing Penny Nichols's name a sign of being a true fan...!

I guess what we need is another Sporcle quiz with literally all of the characters on it and we'll see who gets forgotten the most often...!
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Zinc Leblanc definitely testifies. He even has a mini-breakdown animation!

I don't think Ernest Amano does though, but I guess I'll be able to confirm it one way or the other pretty soon!
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Yes, it is an actual cross-examination, but it's a "press every statement only to realize there isn't a contradiction" one. Then you get to ask "one more question" and you have to make him slip up about Redd White.
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fedorafreak posted...

EDIT: oh and I guess the bellboy in 1-2 doesn't actually testify

He does testify though, and it ends up being a pretty important one! It's the first real "dramatic" cross-examination in the series.
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I wouldn't even consider Bruto Cadaverini a super minor character because he's never seen and he's not a victim. Penny Nichols and Lisa Basil are the most minor OT characters because they never appear in court and have nothing to do with the case.

The Kitakis are the super minor characters in AJ. I guess Ernest Amano is super minor in AAI. He's part of the smuggling ring and the backstory to E1-3, but he doesn't do much other than try to obstruct the investigation. I guess maybe Palaeno, but I think he has a bit too much screentime to be super minor. Dunno if anyone in AAI2 qualifies. Maybe the closest is Jay Elbird.

Super minor characters in Dual Destinies are...Pearl and Klavier. Ahlbi and Bucky would be those guys in SoJ if they weren't defendants...!
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I kinda like Starbuck, too. His animations really sell me on him, like the nervous animation where he acts like he's rapidly tapping on a panel and adjusting knobs on a spaceship.

also best Starbuck moment is when his sigh rubs off on Blackquill

Verbal tics rubbing off on other characters is one of my favorite AA shticks
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