Board 8 > Yes! A Great Ace Attorney Chronicles playthrough topic

(+) Yeah! (+)

Case 3 complete! Well, 'complete' isn't the right word. I was wrong to think the game was heading to a more typical end with Fairplay and Furst being the culprits, instead it certainly looks like our client was responsible... but he gets a Not Guilty verdict and the case abruptly ends without us learning what really happened. A bold play, for sure!

I like anything that mixes up the usual AA procedure so I'm on board with this, and I assume the facts will come to light eventually anyway. Both court cases we've been in now have ended with the perpetrator getting away with their crime in some fashion, what a cool arching theme for the game. McGilded being our client is a great way of introducing an ongoing antagonist, if that's what he winds up being, and van Zieks definitely takes a turn towards being interesting with his dignified resignation to reality at the end. As with the whole game so far, we are well out of our depth and there is unending corruption and backdoor dealings going on far beyond what we can see.

I'm guessing events transpired roughly how they were originally alleged- McGilded killed the dude and was confident he could use his immense power to get away with it. Gina was presumably hired by him. Thinking like that, I guess a lot of the case developments were empty/false, but I dunno I'm far more interested in all this evidence fraud and corruption than if this had been a standalone case with the other passengers having framed our guy. McGilded is an entertaining character as a bad guy. FWIW I picked the honesty options always. I doubt things would've gone much differently if I'd lied to protect him, as he's pretty chummy with us after the trial is through regardless.

On the little girl with the gun who showed up at the end, I've seen her on the game's art next to Sholmes and assume she's his Watson (or Wilson, as it were). Hopefully that's not a spoiler for me!

The omnibus has been burned now, and Magnus is as free as he ever was. I don't know what the next case will bring or if it'll be a direct continuation from here, but I'm thinking its murderer will leave with a smile on their face. I think I see what people's reservations are with this game now, if it's all set-up and we'll have to wait for the sequel to bring all the resolution its subtitle implies. But I'm having a great time!

G1-3 is great

Curious to see your reaction when you realize a certain something

andylt posted...

McGilded being our client is a great way of introducing an ongoing antagonist, if that's what he winds up being

The omnibus has been burned now, and Magnus is as free as he ever was.

never mind

There it is

I guess 'Reaper of the Bailey' is a more literal title than I believed

There are no survivors

G1-3 rules.

andylt posted...

I like anything that mixes up the usual AA procedure

Same reasoning here. And it does it while still being vague to the very end, while still leaving hints the whole way.

The move of allowing the storage under the seat to be investigated early in the trial, and then reveal it later to be empty is such brilliant case design. It's almost directed entirely at old AA fans who love to investigate everywhere, and I appreciate that a lot, even moreso that the fact that it's changed isn't brought up anywhere, or thrust into your face like other AA games tend to do with important information. You just have to sit on it quietly, like it's an exploit you found.

Yeah, I appreciate that kind of detail rewarding the player.

I'm half tempted to go back and tank McGilded's case to see if there's any interesting dialogue from getting him sentenced in a trial he's done his best to rig.

I start Case 4, intending to play for 5 mins to see what happens directly after the end of the last trial but instead playing through to the first investigation break. Oops! McGilded has died, it was him in the burning omnibus in Case 3's epilogue cutscene. The police claim there was no further investigation into the omnibus due, so either they're lying, Magnus had his own crew there to tamper some more, or he was tricked into a death trap presumably by van Zieks. Perhaps some combo of the above.

The vampire lord's moniker is not an indication of him having a perfect record in trials (we're told that would be an impossible feat, a nice shot at the 21st century AAs), but a far more literal instance of those he prosecutes winding up dead whether he defeats them in court or not. Even in this corrupt system surely these deaths would've merited an investigation into Barok >_> We're later told that he usually targets 'bad' criminals, so I guess this is his way of trying to fix the broken system by instilling his own vengeance or something.

Whatever the case, that doesn't bode well for our latest defendant-to-be, a seemingly clueless Japanese man named Soseki Natsume. I'm glad how directly the game is showing the racism omnipresent in our surroundings. I'm yet to warm to our prospective client's particular quirks, but he seems harmless enough. Will he turn out to be a monster, and if not then why does van Zieks take this trial? Far too early to speculate. We're also introduced to Inspector Gregson. I'd assumed Hosonaga would be this game's recurring inspector friend, did he go back to Japan? Gregson has an infinite supply of battered fish (but never touches the chips), and a rivalry of sorts with one Herlock Sholmes. Sholmes' name is everywhere in London, it's great how we've only met him once but the game can succeed in tantalising both Susato and me with his imminent presence.

We go to 221B Baker Street, but instead of the man himself we meet Iris Wilson, his 10 year old inventor roommate who authors his bestselling stories under a pseudonym and seems to share his brilliant deductive reasoning. OK then! Very anime. She's reasonably fun, I'm struggling to imagine what a conversation between the two of them would be like but I'm eager to see one. Sadly our reunion with Hurley must wait until next time.

Soseki Natsume was a real person if you didn't know

Oh cool, I did not know that, thanks.

...I'm guessing he didn't turn out to be a monstrous killer who got murdered by a racist vampire prosecutor >_> But we shall see!

Her name is Iris Watson in other versions (except Rose Watson in Brazil?). That is in fact supposed to be apparent.

Ace Attorney exists in an alternate timeline so who knows...!

love the world-building in G1-4. there's so much about GAA1 i actually really enjoy, but in so different a way from other AAs

And we're done with the day's investigations! Despite exploring far more locations than we have up to this point, the most interesting part of proceedings is Ryunosuke's internal conflict. Back when Kazuma was around (RIP) he told us to believe in our clients, and of course after the McGilded case Runo's having all sorts of doubts. It makes sense how hesitant he is to take on Natsume as a client, and how it colours his interactions here. He wants to do the right thing but doesn't know what or who to believe in, everything seems bleak and contradictory. Of course there's no doubt he will take the case in the end, but that doesn't lessen how much I enjoy the final scene in the prison.

Herlock, of all people, becomes a wise mentor figure here (uh oh don't die, Herlock!) and gives our protagonist the guidance he needs to confidently believe in himself. Despite his surface ditz behaviour he does seem to genuinely care about Ryunosuke and knows when and how his presence is needed. I suppose, much like with his deductions, he can see straight to the heart of personal matters like this. I already enjoyed him for entertainment value but he's boosted up majorly for me here, I very much doubt his going to the prison was purely for professional reasons. I really like this guy!

I'm warming to Natsume too, who it seems is as innocent and helpless as he first appeared. Though some of the conversation here was very inappropriate to have in his presence, particularly all the talk about Van Zieks's opponents dying >_> That said, props to Ryunosuke for forming that 16 word sentence so quickly.

A word on Susato, who I realise I've barely talked about despite her constant presence. I like her, but as it stands I think they're kinda wasting her potential to be a unique interesting character. Since arriving in London she's played the 'adorable quirky sidekick girl' character to a T, it feels like she's there to fill the series' mandatory supporting female role, and has been given the personality to match. Even her personal oddities like Susato Takedown or her adoration of Sholmes feel like they could come from any other series sidekick. She stands out the most when displaying her own intelligence, usually in court, having a lot of knowledge herself and a book that seems to contain all possible pieces of information we could ever need. But ever since Stronghart asked us who we proposed to replace Kazuma as lawyer, I've thought... well, why not Susato? What do we bring to the bench in court that she doesn't? She's knowledgeable and better at getting things out of other people than Ryunosuke is.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean she should replace Ryunosuke (who I probably find more compelling as a human being than Phoenix at this point), but does she not have any drive of her own to become something more in her career? Is she at all bothered by the restrictions placed upon her because of her gender? There's been no sign of this, she seems perfectly happy being the supporting character, and I dunno it feels like a missed opportunity that when this game is trying a bunch of new things they go to the same old well for the sidekick. I dunno, maybe I'll change my mind!

I should also mention the Garridebs, who we spend a lot of time with today. Oddly the area description spoils that Mr Garrideb lives with his wife, so that wasn't much of a reveal. The dance of deduction is fun and I assume the two will have some relevance to the case going forward, but the fat jokes are a little lazy and I don't find them all that interesting yet. There's also a couple of random characters we meet for only a few seconds, who I assume will show up in court. I've no clue how the attempted murder went at this point. I like that they've kept the victim alive (for now at least), but I'm not sure why.

What Ryunosuke brings to the table that Susato doesn't is maleness. She would never have been accepted as Kazuma's replacement, no matter how well qualified she is.

Leonhart4 posted...

What Ryunosuke brings to the table that Susato doesn't is maleness. She would never have been accepted as Kazuma's replacement, no matter how well qualified she is.

But I'm interested to know what she thinks about that, if she has any aspirations to change things herself. I know this game isn't reinventing the wheel or anything but it seems to be sincerely attempting to look at things from new angles for the series, so it's a bit disappointing that in this area they seem content to stick with this well-worn archetype.

Again, this may well change depending on what comes down the line, but we're 3.5 cases in and I don't think I know much about what drives her internally, what she stands for, what she hopes to accomplish, anything about her that doesn't revolve around Ryunosuke or Kazuma.

I do have thoughts about Susato, but I'll save them for later

This feels like how people complain about Yukiko in P4 not being "ambitious" and not understanding why she'd be content in what they perceive to be a "lesser" role

But it also feels like you want them to do a period piece with modern sensibilities

Susato is awesome, by the way. Best non-Maya assistant!

it's definitely disappointing they keep going with "new spunky girl" every time, but susato is probably the best of the lot outside of maya as the original. she develops more uniquely than trucy/kay/rayfa imo.

agreed on your take on naruhodo too. he's my favorite protagonist of the series, though it feels almost unfair to rank him when he inhabits so much realer of a world than the others.

Leonhart4 posted...

But it also feels like you want them to do a period piece with modern sensibilities

I don't agree with this assessment but like I said I'm withholding my thoughts on Susato for now

Kay is the only assistant that really feels like she's shoehorned in there just to have a spunky girl assistant and nothing else.

Leonhart4 posted...

But it also feels like you want them to do a period piece with modern sensibilities

I just thought the game would have some kind of commentary to make on the subject. Given how intrinsic the anti-Japanese racism is as a theme, and how they absolutely do not shy away from that, I didn't expect them to then pretty much ignore the misogyny. I'm judging too early, I know, that's just where I am right now.

Again I do like Susato and enjoy her presence! And I don't mean to focus so much on her lack of ambition or subservience (though those do tend to be very common and uninteresting tropes IMO), it's more about the lack of her perspective and particular personal beliefs of any kind. I don't feel like she's as well realised a human being as Ryunosuke, Kazuma, or Herlock are (or were, RIP).

andylt posted...

I just thought the game would have some kind of commentary to make on the subject. Given how intrinsic the anti-Japanese racism is as a theme, and how they absolutely do not shy away from that, I didn't expect them to then pretty much ignore the misogyny. I'm judging too early, I know, that's just where I am right now.

i don't know much about japan's actually society but based on anime targeted to similar demos as AA, i don't think they're generally too forward-thinking in terms of women's POVs in general

andylt posted...

I'm half tempted to go back and tank McGilded's case to see if there's any interesting dialogue from getting him sentenced in a trial he's done his best to rig.

Don't bother, the game overs are totally half assed.

Also G1-3 is the best case in the game imo

Case 4's trial brings us some colourful new jurors. And some familiar faces! Fairplay is here, though he doesn't do much. He adds some nice flavour though, being already biased against the defence, and I guess it sets the groundwork for bringing past characters back in future. That, or they couldn't fit any more new models onto the 3DS cartridge. Mrs Garrideb is a juror too, which is surely crossing a line even with this game's stretchy logic. Did they not have voir dire back then? For the rest, Juror #3 is nice, Juror #2 is next level racist but also weirdly reasonable, and the hard of hearing Juror #6 is great and very up to date on current trends!

We start with a strangely in depth discussion about what route Mr Natsume took to get home that night, despite him freely admitting to being present at the scene of the crime. It becomes clear what they're going for with Juror #6's super stylish green overcoat, but van Zieks quickly undoes the idea and we accept that Natsume did go along to the crime scene. Well, that didn't accomplish much!

Ryunosuke is rather annoyingly frail here, breaking at every slight attack from van Zieks. I'm getting a bit sick of his sweaty and falling down animations >_> Zieks also turns his racism up a few notches in the first half of this trial, I am not seeing what people like in him. It's funny how Japan is insulted as a 'tiny island' nation though, with Great Britain being a smaller island itself.

I'm very much enjoying the summation examinations! They're refreshing and I like the increase in complexity they get in this case, I assume that will only continue. Unfortunately the rest of this trial doesn't do much for me. The theme of the day is 'funny spousal abuse', from the Garridebs to the Beates to poor, poor Juror #5. We'd better not have a case with a victim who drowned in the Thames! To put it simply, I don't vibe with these sorts of jokes. Roly is... OK, and I think Patricia continually speaking as if the victim is dead is amusing. But the second we learn where Roly's beat boundary is, we've solved the case and everything else is a long drag to get to the conclusion. To be fair, Ryunosuke also pretty much figures things out at the same point.

The Beates repeatedly incriminate themselves by talking too much, and the Garridebs don't offer much resistance. With things straightened out, both Roly and Joan are treated with a rather sizable dose of sympathy from everyone concerned. I assume this is intentional, to contrast with how Natsume receives zero sympathy or benefit of the doubt from anyone in this country, but it's still slightly frustrating! I suppose that means the game is doing well. I wonder if the victim was kept alive so the game didn't have to charge Joan with manslaughter, or maybe Ms Green will come back in the future. She did have a distinct appearance for a one-off victim.

Van Zieks helps us towards the end of the trial much like Edgeworth would, I am pretty intrigued what his deal is but I still don't particularly enjoy him. Soseki Natsume is found not guilty and I care about him quite a lot at this point, I especially like how Ryunosuke has simply become 'Locum' to him. Hopefully he does not fall victim to the reaper, he deserves to be cut some slack. Herlock handles the situation with his usual amount of tact.

Lastly, Ryunosuke and Susato are now living and working with a coatless (!) Sholmes, and Herlock teases some foreboding and enticing darkness to come. I look forward to the next case!

The concept of "conflict of interest" does not exist in the world of Ace Attorney

G1-4 is...okay. It just feels surprisingly minimal for your first "full" case. Going into the trial with three pieces of evidence (one of which is your armband and another is a map of the scene) is pretty silly.

I know I like van Zieks because of his animations, which you surprisingly are quiet about!

His animations are a bit long! He's not alone in that regard, though. I like the several different ways he has of throwing wine, and the random foot animation catches me off guard each time. His delicate finger point is neat, too.

G1-4 sucks. But it's worth it as setup.

G1-4 is my least favorite case in the series yaaaay

i love the social commentary of G1-4

TWO MONTHS LATER

I've started Case 5, done the first investigation sequence and we don't have a murder (or almost murder) yet! How intriguing!

There's a mysterious telegram that Susato won't let us read. And Herlock is depressed :( So we head to the pawnbroker's to pick up his violin. Windibank's is set up like it's gonna be a crime scene in the future, particularly with Sholmes's bi-hourly photos. Gina arrives and makes Herlock sad again so he stands in the corner out of the way for a good 10 minutes while arguments happen. A man going by the name Eggert Benedict appears, and he gets both McGilded and Brett's theme songs playing so he must be a very dodgy dude.

Before long it's time for a deduction to get Sholmes out of his slump. He inadvertently reveals that a secret reserves fund for the Great Exhibition (we have to see this eventually with how often it's getting namedropped) is being stored at the bank across the street, and this is honestly completely on Gregson for telling him. He should know him better than that! My fav part of this deduction is examining the white top hat several times, ending up with Ryunosuke deciding he likes it and wants to try it with his look. I'm fed up with everybody being mean about the black outfit he is proud of, so I say go for it!

I gasp upon seeing McGilded's name on the music disk. And what's more, this item was dropped off at 10:30pm on the night of the omnibus murder! OK, good, we are going to get a true resolution to that case. I wonder if Cases 3 and 4 were swapped at one point early in development, and they decided to put it this way around to keep us on our toes. It's definitely juicier this way, bringing it all back up after the case had faded into the background. I'm also beginning to wonder if maybe McGilded isn't dead after all, with all this sinister intrigue. It could've been anyone burning in that omnibus, and he has plenty of connections at his disposal to fake his own death. Maybe he's this game's equivalent of Moriarty? ...But he doesn't have a connection to Herlock himself, so perhaps not.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. It is very frustrating having to hand over the music disk before getting to hear what's on it, if only we could've played it in the music box in the pawnbroker's. And I'm noting a reminder to myself that there was supposed to be another disk in the overcoat pockets.

Also a note: Gregson's theme is a banger. Add it to the long, long list. Though Kazuma's is still my fav of all!

Windibank is like my least favorite character with a speaking role lol

Eggert Benedict is the AA version of Seifer

Bitto posted...

Windibank is like my least favorite character with a speaking role lol

I've seen worse, but I wasn't a fan of him being the ethical affable pawnbroker to contrast McGilded's predatory loans. And the suicidal joke was an odd one. Turns out he's only a one scene character though!

Before all that, we have dinner with the Sholmeses. Herlock and Iris propose a spinoff game where the three of them (including Susato) run around committing crimes and Ryunosuke gets them off the hook using his law skills. I mean, I'd play it! Susato piques my interest when she lets slip that she knows the full title of Iris's unpublished manuscript, this is very suspicious but she simply says she's not ready to reveal the truth and that's enough for Iris. Dammit.

Iris talks about her parents, and her dad is the victim from the first case :O She doesn't seem to know he's dead, though. John H Wilson's name must not have registered with me at all at the time, whoops. In my defence Wilson is a little far from Watson, two whole letters! I like this talk with Iris, it gives her some much needed grounding and layers Sholmes a bit more as well. Poor girl. What on earth could have made her father abandon her to travel halfway across the world and teach at a university? Whatever it is, could he not have taken his daughter with him or had Sholmes go instead? Maybe he was escaping the reaper, much like Natsume.

Gina sneaks off at night and Windibank's becomes a crime scene sooner than I expected. Herlock is shot (!), two shadowy folks get away, and Windibank is found dead in a locked room with Gina unconscious next to him holding a gun. For a moment I wondered if they were killing off Sholmes but they aren't that brazen. Morning comes and Gina will be the next defendant, and Iris is our new assistant for now. Cool! I re-examine everything we looked at yesterday and I'm pleased to get different dialogue for it all. The highlight is the photo of The Woman on the desk, which turns out to be Herlock in a dress. He looks stunning, according to Ryunosuke.

Gregson is at the scene and gives an understandable explanation as to why he's so subservient to Iris. Gina refuses to let us defend her but gives us a cat photo which also functions as a ticket from Magnus, and Herlock remains in surgery. Susato, meanwhile, has a meeting with Lord Stronghart, and I'm pleased she's off doing things on her own. Her dad is ill, and she's gonna head back to Japan in the morning. Oh. Well, it may be because of her father, but this is a shakeup to the routine. What if the second game has us play as Ryunosuke in London and Susato in Japan? I doubt it'll happen, but that would be neat. She'd better reveal how she knows about the Baskervilles before leaving.

Back at the prison, Susato guilts Gina into telling us the truth, and we get a long and really cool retelling of the omnibus murder two months ago from her perspective. We don't learn everything, but Gina was in fact there and the music disk (which Herlock has a replica of) is vitally important. McGilded indeed orchestrated everything after committing the murder himself, up to and including bribing Beppo!! Juror #5 will be fuming if he ever finds out! I'm not sure how the timeline works here, it seems Magnus and Gina chat for some time after the murder but I thought Fairplay and Furst noticed the body quickly. And the cubbyhole Gina was in was filled with items before the evidence was tampered with, did Magnus fill the box to hide her presence and then decide to empty it again later on? Weird. He threatens Gina into getting her to assist him. McGilded is a really good sinister villain, if he's not secretly alive I think I might be a little disappointed!

I've been sympathetic to Gina's situation from the start but also a little annoyed by her regardless, but this scene is her best yet. She signs the paperwork (I feel a little bad about guilting her into doing so), and that's where things end for today. This case perked up in a hurry, I suppose it is a finale after all.

Yeah, Gina is a good blend of "I want to help her but she's also kinda annoying"

It's a difficult position for a character to be in! I like that the long loading animation for the gun is an in-universe gag, at least.

A couple of thoughts I've had since I posted: First, Thrice-Fired Mason's death can't have been premeditated. McGilded is quick to cover himself once the deed is done, so if he knew he was going to kill Mason- or if he even thought it a possibility- he surely would've arranged a different location and had precautions in place. As is, he seems to think on his feet and there's nothing already pre-arranged to help him. So a meeting was arranged in a public place, and something happened during that discussion that brought about this action, presumably related to the music disk. Was Mason going to expose his misdeeds? Gina doesn't mention any raised voices, so I don't think it was a heated argument that got out of hand. Hm.

Second, I was thinking about John Wilson and whether Sholmes knows of his partner's death. Then I thought about the SS Burya, and I don't think we were ever told when he boarded the ship, or what his one important reason was for being there. I assume he got on in Japan and Susato somehow didn't cross paths with him before Kazuma's death. I popped the game on to check the case dates:
Case 1: 22nd November
Case 2: 9th January
(Case 3: 18th February)
IIRC they'd been at sea for 14/15 days come case 2, so the SS Burya set sail around the 26th/27th December. There's not enough time after Wilson's death for Sholmes to hear of it, board a ship to Japan to pay his respects, and then head back. So he must've already been in the East at the time, or on his way. If he was in Japan, why was he not around when Wilson died, or at his trial? It's strange of him not to investigate his partner's death. What was he doing there anyway if Wilson had to leave England by himself? And... did he leave Iris home alone for 100+ days?!

I think GAA1's slow pacing pays off the most in G1-5. I was really invested in Gina by the time we got to the trial. Iris, who I expected to really not like based on previews, ended up endearing herself to me around G1-5 too.

Bitto posted...

I think GAA1's slow pacing pays off the most in G1-5. I was really invested in Gina by the time we got to the trial. Iris, who I expected to really not like based on previews, ended up endearing herself to me around G1-5 too.

Yeah I'm really liking Iris more in this case. Based on her design alone I would not have expected to like her.

Done with the investigation!

We spend a long time talking about stereoscopes, Ryunosuke has no idea how this will be relevant and neither do I. I cannot cross my eyes :( We pick a few pieces of evidence up in this section, including a neat colour coded blood ID gadget. I assume the green blood is Herlock's, but there must be reason for this evidence going forward.

Gina eventually accepts us as her lawyer, though I choose the 'don't trust her' option to see what happens (It actually results in a decent brief internal monologue from Ryunosuke). We learn for a fact that McGilded killed Mason two months ago, though I wouldn't call that case closed with all the loose ends we still have. Gregson mentions an emergency at the Supreme Court, one of several instances where we've been told of some mysterious other serious matter going on. I eagerly await whatever that is.

Susato and Ryunosuke have a sweet chat on the eve of her departure. I've no idea where they're going to go with her character, I very much doubt she's leaving the duology here but perhaps the two of them won't meet up again for some time. It's a good scene regardless. She still doesn't tell us about her Baskervilles knowledge, and the day ends with some mystery vague discussion between her and a conscious Herlock. Is this merely a nice favour for Ryunosuke she's asking him to do? The music tells me no, but it could be a fake-out. Lots of shadiness afoot! I can't wait to see how the trial goes. Van Zieks hasn't been named as the prosecutor so maybe we're gonna meet someone new?

The stereoscope was lame, just them trying to make use of the 3DS

Ohhh, that makes sense. I was struggling to think how it would be useful in a case lol. Did they have other 3D gimmicks like that?

Well, in some scenes where the stereoscope can be useful with two pics, I learn how to cross my eyes and bring the pics together. That was my experience when I played the game on Nintendo Switch.

As expected, Iris is our assistant in this trial. She acquits herself rather well! Van Zieks is our prosecutor after all, and he ramps up the racism to a new level bright and early. Hooray. This case's jury is somehow even more absurd than the last, I laughed seeing Vilen Borshevik up there. OK game, you got me, of all the characters in this game I did not expect to see him lol. We also have Mr Garrideb, whose life has taken a turn for the worse since the last case (much like Fairplay's! Am I sensing a theme here?), a returning juror who is now a communications officer (I assume this will relate to the newspaper article of the leaks of secret comms from the GB govt), another who is the surgeon of Dr Sholmes (who may have a scalpel in his stomach, poor thing), a third returning juror who has the exact same gimmick and outfit as last time (weak!), and our only new character is... a stereoscope enthusiast. As much as I try I still cannot cross my eyes, so the stereoscope segment is sadly wasted on me (why can't we just flip directly from one photo to the next to see the inconsistency >_>).

When we're told the evidence indicates Windibank's attacker was short, my mind went straight to Magnus McGilded. Instead we have the Skulkin brothers, who don't annoy me nearly as much as I first thought they might. I actually rather enjoy the gimmick with Gregson being the third brother, maybe because they don't push it for too long. At one point Ryunosuke objects on the grounds of baseless conjecture, and my goodness how often do you see a legitimate objection in this series? This really is a more grounded game! ...Ignoring the Russian revolutionary assassin on the jury.

A couple of aspects of this case bother me. First, why does nobody speculate how Gina became unconscious? I understand she's reluctant to let us in on her side of things, but what is the prosecution's theory for this? If they don't need one, surely Iris and Runo should at least ponder the issue. There's also a time when we're told Windibank was brandishing his own gun after having been held at gunpoint and led to the storage room... but this is not treated as a revelation and we spend several minutes without anyone bringing it up as an inconsistency.

Van Zieks eventually presents the music disk as evidence, and interestingly this is against the wishes of the government. Oh, Stronghart must be involved in some real shady shit. The disk works to our benefit, as does Sholmes's pouch later on. We're lucky Van Zieks is such a thorough and resourceful racist. The green blood from earlier actually belongs to the man known as Eggert Benedict (apparently there is a name too absurd to be entertained as real by the cast of Ace Attorney), and we establish the presence of a third bullet on the scene.

I'm more confused than ever, now. We claim Benedict is an accomplice of the Skulkins, but he is the one who was shot by this third gun that we've not seen. Did he somehow take the gun that shot at him and run? Which gun fired which bullet, here?! Juror #5 claims Benedict is an associate of hers, so I guess this is where we'll start connecting the bigger picture.

I enjoy having to present the blood profiles several times, a nice way of the game making sure we're paying attention. Eventually van Zieks insists that Sholmes's invention is inadmissible as evidence, and I was wondering when we'd get around to that. But the jury overturn him, and we conclude our second summation examination as I wrap up for the day. We have so many pieces of evidence and I haven't a clue how we're gonna tie everything into whatever is really going on higher up. Maybe Stronghart and McGilded were working together and there's evidence implicating him, so he ordered Benedict to retrieve the disk and it all went wrong from there? But there are more secrets at play here involving the rest of the cast. Herlock is mentioned as still being unconscious, so that early morning rendezvous with Susato was very off the books...

Best moments of the trial so far

• Ryunosuke calling van Zieks 'my learned friend'.
• Van Zieks quoting a famous Sh- Herlock quote, and Iris getting mad about it, and van Zieks later acting like he's above reading the stories.
• "Those two statements clearly contradict... the idea that all I do is pit jurors against each other!"

The Skulkin Bros. are great because they're just ripoffs of the Mario Bros.

...I can't believe I didn't notice that. Even after they ate some fruit >_>

In the hour long recess, Gina trusts us enough to tell us what really happened that night from her perspective. We don't learn anything of note for the trial here, but I see she fainted after events transpired. I guess the prosecution's theory would be that she fainted after committing the murder or something. Afterwards, Ryunosuke gives a nice speech about putting your faith in someone and the burden of having someone put all their faith in you, and we get another ode to his partner Kazuma featuring both of his theme songs (woo!). They're laying on the Kazuma stuff thick this trial! I suppose it's not surprising to replay the hits of the game in the finale case, and I'm not complaining, I like him and his relationship with Ryunosuke a lot. Poor Kazuma :(

We reunite with Mr Eggert Benedict, now going by the much more boring name Ashley Graydon. He wants to get this over with quickly so he can go off to afternoon tea, much like Jesaille Brett did before him. I'm noting an afternoon tea appointment as damning evidence in any future case. Graydon tosses his hat at Ryunosuke, but sadly we do not put it on. There's still time!

Graydon is a coy witness, careful not to reveal much and refusing to cooperate with anything he isn't legally obligated to. ...Until he isn't. After refusing to have his arm examined for a bullet wound, he quickly accepts our assertion that his thumb was scratched by the music disk. I feel like it would've been very easy for him to get out of that by continuing to stonewall us, but whatever.

I'm also surprised that nobody challenges the second ticket being McGilded's, despite his name not being anywhere on it. I thought we'd have to connect the tickets to each other through the cat photo on the front. After another stereoscope advertisment, I guess Graydon then sort of accepts the coat and disk are McGilded's? He still claims ownership of the disk, but our conundrum is having to prove that the disk and box are valuable and worth stealing. But we already know that Graydon tried to take the disk? Did I miss something here or is this a silly development? The blood on the first ticket doesn't come up, either.

This is all to get us in a position where we have to reveal the truth of the omnibus case, putting Gina at risk. I assume in the real world there'd be some real defence for her perjuring herself under fear of being killed. But this is Ace Attorney, where even Ryunosuke is now in hot water for... defending a client who turned out to be guilty. Maybe the accusation is more that he could've helped in rigging the case, but it's framed like him defending McGilded is the awful crime here. We get a nice testimony from Gina that takes up just enough time for McGilded's box to arrive at court, and the game pauses here so that's where I'm stopping. I'd like to continue but I imagine the final sequence to this will last some time, so I want to give myself plenty of time to enjoy it.

Easily the most interesting part of this whole section is Gregson's shadiness. There's him refusing to acknowledge seeing Graydon in the shop (which isn't brought up again after he admits to being there), his words with van Zieks, and best of all during Gina's testimony he and Graydon are whispering to each other in the background. This is the first time I get a good result out of 'pursue' without a big audio cue, neat. I know he'll just be following orders but this is dodgy stuff from Gregsy. It's only a matter of time before the bigwigs start getting implicated, now.

Random note that I've been meaning to mention since the first case: when the music drops out it's very clear how dated the sound effects are in this game. They should update them!

Shady Gregson is best Gregson

andylt posted...

Ryunosuke is now in hot water for... defending a client who turned out to be guilty.

I remember thinking this was odd too.

Leonhart4 posted...

The Skulkin Bros. are great because they're just ripoffs of the Mario Bros.

...I didn't realize this either.

In this world, is every defence lawyer punished legally if they lose a trial?

Just wait until you play Spirit of Justice...!