LogFAQs > #979713659

Well, there was more case left than I thought. Drebber's testimony isn't difficult to dismantle. I see everyone here likes him, and I do find him to be an interesting character, but he has this one animation that takes too long and is far too frequent. Speaking of animations, the Masked Disciple plays a very amusing support to van Zieks's theatrics throughout these proceedings. van Zieks himself is objecting a lot more than normal, and I think this is the first time we hear his 'Hold it!', he's definitely flustered with the Professor waxwork staring out at him.

In what is maybe a first in AA history, the judge is ready to rule in our favour despite us not having proven who the killer actually is (oh wait the same thing happened in the last game's third case too, albeit in very different circumstances). It is pretty funny that we intentionally delay the verdict to find out what happened, this is certainly not in the best interests of our client! Though Harebrayne is, in my opinion, the least interesting character in this whole case so I'm happy to keep things going.

I have a very hard time presenting the right evidence to nail Sithe. I was thinking the reveal would be that she orchestrated the whole thing rather than being coerced by Drebber, and that the truth behind the Professor case would come out. But it's much more mundane, she simply killed the victim herself. I don't know why we have to find a weird personal motive for this, when surely we could argue that she killed the guy to keep in line with Drebber's wishes and the blackmail had over her. If Asman had lived to tell the tale then Drebber's game would be up, and so would Sithe's. This finale is a bit anticlimactic considering how much fun I'd had getting here, but I guess they're saving the Professor for later.

Also this is a minor nitpick but are we really supposed to believe that Asman didn't recognise Drebber when they met? He's a very conspicuous individual! Maybe he took out his monocle and dyed his hair for the meeting or something.

Regardless, we get our Not Guilty verdict and van Zieks trails to 0-5 against us. Is he the least successful prosecutor in the series in terms of losses?? Hm, I haven't played all the games but I imagine Winston Payne lost 6, though he has the one win at the start of 3-3. Still, two more cases left could take our guy to 0-7! He has a nice word with Albert and then insists he leaves the country to protect his life. Well, if you hadn't insisted on prosecuting the case then his life wouldn't be in danger, Barok! And there is Gina, still.

The trial may be over, but our journey for the day isn't. And the final scenes here are massive. And largely voiced! The Professor is unmasked as a Japanese man, and for a moment I'm a bit disappointed thinking all this intrigue was simply to provide Barok with a racism origin story. But then, his disciple speaks! The twist here is not that Kazuma is van Zieks' disciple, but that the Professor was Kazuma's father! I did not see this one coming!!

Kazuma has a really great scene here and I'm immediately reminded of how much I missed his presence. He's so cool. And with a new remix to his theme, the title of which spoiled me in the first place >_>! I guess maybe he really did have amnesia? Or he could've been faking. Whatever the circumstances, I'm glad he's with us again. ...For two minutes. In that time, he slices his father's model in two, so I doubt his grand mission was to avenge his dad. But it has to be connected, and we're told he'd made a promise to his father... Hm. The thought occurs to me that with his victims all being aristocracy/royalty, and Asogi Sr. presumably being a smart guy who was colleagues with Mikotoba and a third Japanese man (Jigoku?), maybe the Professor was the original Reaper? That'd be a nice wrinkle, I dunno. What could his motives be for the murders? And what could Kazuma's motives possibly be if not to avenge him? And what role will he fill from this point on? So many questions.

Barok seems angry that the son of his brother's killer is alive. Perhaps Lord Stronghart's motives aren't complex at all, and he's simply a huge troll who gets his kicks out of messing with his #1 prosecutor. Ryunosuke and Susato are left with conflicting emotions I assume, but at least our best boy is back! Hooray for Kazuma!

This case was a lot of fun! I loved everything to do with the Professor. We still have two cases left, which is exciting given that this one appeared to largely be setting up for the finale. What will the next case bring :O