That was great. Really surprising how open-ended the game is. Pretty unexpected for an Ace Attorney game. I mentioned it before how the last case felt... less grand? Than is usual for a final case in these games. But mostly that was kind of good. Those cases tend to be very verbose and this was more focused on characterization than grand trial theatre. Mostly. Sometimes it did feel a little slow. I also thought I was going to hate the Skulkin brothers when they were introduced, but by the end I was quite fond of them. The whole thing with the flap-omat was complete asshat, from the implications on the case, to the logic it suggested for Susato and her absurd forward look regarding it. I don't even think it would count as something illegal. The place was burgled, someone had been shot and the door was locked. She was just trying to see inside so she'd have an idea if Mr. Windibank was hurt. That was not crime scene manipulation. That's stupid. I kind of found Graydon sympathetic as a villain. Like, he's not some large looming beast as we usually see in a final case, but when he was giving up and explaining himself, I found his story quite morose in a way where my impulse wasn't to hate or dislike him, but, like himself, in a state of sad acceptance of the situation. I think I've expressed it already but I really liked that aspect of the case. This is what, the 10th game in the franchise I've played and at this point "different" can be a positive trait in itself.
But I do think the cases are just too long, and I was probably wrong in saying that the lack of invesigation phases after the trials begin was a boon. They just go on for too long. Even the first case was waaaay too long. Which is retroactive made more apparent by the case not having a resolution. I was kind of expecting it to be a setup for probably the last case in the game, but no, that's completely unrelated. I think the break up that invesigation phases have is probably really needed, just to keep it from being samy for 3+ hours in a row.
Overall I'd say it's a really fucking good AA game. My brain wants me to say that it's not one of my favourites, but looking down at the list, I can't think of more than one or two others I'd put above it, so I guess it is, lol.
Excited for the sequel, and whether it ends up tying everything together or a lot of stuff gets left un... Resolve...d. I dunno if I'll start it today, but probably tomorrow if not.
Edit: Also I must restate that I really don't like The Great Deduction, despite how cool it is.