LogFAQs > #979929127

...It's finally open, is it?
Pandora's box...

As with the final case of the last game, I was too invested to be taking many notes here, my bad!

Kazuma is hellbent on taking Barok down. Despite the repeated insistence of Ryunosuke and Susato, I don't think this is really out of character for him. When we saw him as a defence lawyer he was just as determined and fierce, he merely had the right target that time and was driven by his confidence in his best friend. Now he's driven by revenge and a longing that's been burning inside him for a whole decade, it's understandable that he's acting like this. Ironically enough, he and van Zieks have a fair amount in common with their delusion, denial, and being caught in the relentless grip of the painful shadows of the past.

The back half of the trial turns out to be much easier than the first, now we're focussed solely on the Professor. Yujin winds up on the stand, and Maria uh comes along for the ride despite not being invited. I guess nobody dared say no to her? Between her and Herlock, this isn't a very closed trial. Maria gets a moment to complete her character arc, she's a weirdly well developed character despite having like 3 scenes total. And lol at her staring at Mikotoba the whole time. Also I did not expect Genshin's ring to look like that.

After that we have Daley and Caidin on the stand, as the closest thing to a comedic duo this case has. I like Barry bouncing back and forth between feeling apologising to poor Daley and assaulting him, and Daley getting used to it and not being intimidated any more. The talk here is all about the will(s), and the game does well to hide the truth for as long as it can.

I love everything about the reveal of Klint as the Professor, and Genshin as his murderer. Nothing else to say, this sequence is the peak of the trial, it's satisfying on every level. Klint's eventual will is solid too (What if Kazuma had twisted the hilt of Karuma at some point in the last 10 years, I wonder), it's slightly undercut by Stronghart being in charge of most of the killings but at least they don't make Klint innocent.

Stronghart himself is a decent final boss, though not quite as impressive as someone with two games worth of build up should be. Time and again he tries to end the trial, and time and again we use the same method to keep it going- his oft-stated pursuit of the truth and the will of the judiciary in the public gallery. To his credit he holds out for a pretty long time, I'm impressed he managed to turn the crowd even after the full extent of his misdeeds came to light. And I think he's never personally killed anyone, which must be a first for a big bad.

Unfortunately, the last takedown isn't all that satisfying for me. Iris casually invents holographic projections and Sholmes saves the day via Queen Victoria. Where to even start with this! Sholmes should absolutely have a role in the trial, but the final blow should be Ryunosuke's to make. IMO he should've made his rousing speech about the truth directly after the crowd turned in Stronghart's favour. Throw in some words about how his time in England has made him appreciate the resilience of the human spirit, add that he has faith in the people to handle these revelations, I dunno I'm not a writer but you get the idea. Instead we get a Sholmes ex machina, or I guess regina ex machina, or Sholmes ex... whatever the latin for 'hare' is. The rotten head of a corrupt institution is finally taken down by, of all things, the reigning monarch of the British Empire. Nah, maybe my distaste for the monarchy is colouring my perception too much but I don't like this! ...Aside from the dancing hologram Sholmes, which is admittedly one heck of an animation.

It's not a big deal though, the rest is fine. Mael even gets a brief Gant clap, and ultimately narrowly survives another fiery explosion in the court. It's no wonder London keeps burning down, really. He apparently set all this in motion two years ago to clean his closet of skeletons as he sought the Attorney General job, which seems incredibly risky. Of course there's dramatic irony in him causing his own downfall, but more than that it's... very stupid? There was no risk as it was, everyone was playing ball and had long since forgotten the Professor, he needlessly drew lots of attention to the past and scarred his own judiciary's image long before this last trial happened. Not a great plan, Mael.

Now Stronghart is gone, Everything is Good with the legal system. I guess everyone forgot that all the highly ranked members of the judiciary were chanting Stronghart's name after everything was out in the open.

The epilogue is very sweet. Kazuma and Barok share some kind words, really the best parts of this trial involved the Asogis and the van Zieks. Mikotoba reveals that Iris is Klint's daughter, which is a cool twist that I didn't see coming, but I'm glad they don't dwell on that for too long. The most emotional part of this whole ending is Iris calling Hurley 'daddy', that really got me.

Ryunosuke decides to go back to Japan of course, and gives another nice speech about his Resolve (TM). Susato goes with him, as if there was any doubt. Kazuma gets some good resolution, and he finally calls Ryunosuke 'partner' again. I'd be up for a sequel/spinoff with Kazuma and Barok tearing up London, tbh.

The Great Ace Attorney 2 -Resolve- FIN

More general talking to come tomorrow but I'm really happy with this game :) Thank you all for reading along!