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

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Bad news: I did not take many notes while playing the rest of the trial, so my recap may miss major details. Apologies. Good news: the reason I didn't take notes is because I was so enthralled in the case!

Inside McGilded's box is a reader for the music disk- or rather, two music disks. It quickly becomes apparent that these disks contain coded messages, which everybody is very shocked by- did they think all this murder was because people wanted to get their hands on some cool music? Juror #5 has her time to shine, and inadvertently lands Graydon in hot water in her attempts to praise him lol. I like all of the cross examinations we get today, none of them play things straightforwardly.

After a while we break Graydon down somewhat, and he admits to being at the scene of the crime. But he frames Gina, using her bloody coat against her. A neat development, as we already know Sholmes's evidence won't work here. We're led to believe we have to find a contradiction in Graydon's testimony quick, but when we don't, Sholmes dramatically arrives to save us disguised as a police officer. And then dramatically leaves by passing out. Always a showman.

In a twist I never would have guessed, Susato had stolen Chekhov's Cat-Flapomat and created the peephole in the storage room door, and this is our key to undercutting Graydon. To tell the truth, even after we're presented with some of this information I don't understand exactly what had happened or what statement I'm supposed to press. It takes a while for me to realise the truth. It seems far out of left field, but after examining the photos... huh. Man, I love stuff like this where it's technically possible to notice a key element a very long time before you're supposed to. Did any of you spot the peephole discrepancy in the before and after photos from the beginning? The more I think about it, the more a peephole in the storage room door makes no sense. My main query at this point is why on earth Susato did such a thing, as it is very bizarre.

Anyway, Graydon begins to fall and I'm pleased with how the case is resolving... but of course, it isn't resolved yet at all. This game loves to keep things going an hour longer than you think it will! But this time, it actually works. Our target becomes Inspector Gregson, and I really like everything about this. His odd actions earlier come back into focus, and it is very satisfying sparring with him. Honestly, Gregson's behaviour on the stand here makes me appreciate him and his intelligence far more than any regular detective stuff we've seen him do up to this point. He sees pretty far ahead as to where things will go, and manages to cover himself nicely. I did not expect Gregsy to be in this situation, but he makes for a great final boss, as it were.

Iris gets some good lines, Sholmes and van Zieks (sort of) are on our team, and even the Skulkins help us out (not gonna lie, I really enjoy these stupid guys), but the standout here, as it should be, is Ryunosuke Naruhodo. He is absolutely on fire in this sequence, hunting his prey as he did in the first case, but this time to protect someone else.

By fair means or foul, you're determined to due your duty. Well... by fair means or foul, I'm prepared to do mine! I will stop at nothing to protect my client! I don't care who I make an enemy of!

I love this guy! He doesn't give a fuck about taking on the British government or the judicial system. I particularly like that he doesn't mince words with Gregson, there's no softness here once Gregson has decided he's fine framing an innocent child. After how generous the game had been towards the police as an institution earlier on, I'm glad this is how they close things out. And with our final piece of evidence, we threaten Gregson by playing the state secrets of Great Britain in open court. What a great scene.

After this we have a very long denouement (I'd expect nothing less from this game). For a second I think Graydon breaks Gregson's neck lol. But no, he gives us his tragic and honestly pretty interesting backstory. We get to see some of Mason, who seems to have been a lovely man, and McGilded, whose moustache twirling villainy I enjoy every minute of. He did die in the fire, after all. Has a one-off character ever appeared in so many flashbacks post-death? Even Kazuma can't compete! Case 3 is mostly wrapped up now, we don't get the specifics of the conflict between Mason and McGilded on the omnibus but it's easy to imagine an argument sparking that McGilded hadn't anticipated.

Things end pretty chill for the rest of us, considering how many of us have been committing crimes here and there. After the verdict, Ryunosuke and van Zieks share a moment in the empty courtroom. I do quite like van Zieks in the later parts of trials, when he's helping us find the truth and just as annoyed with unhelpful witnesses as we are. And it's pretty remarkable that he, to my knowledge, doesn't commit any shady legal business at all, a far cry from pretty much every other prosecutor. It's a shame about the racism. He opens up slightly to us (to tease the sequel, no doubt), about how his mistrust of us stems back to a Japanese friend who betrayed him. I don't recall if Kazuma had ever set foot in GB before but I assume this is referring to him. Perhaps Kazuma broke Barok's heart, just as he broke Ryunosuke's in case 2.

We celebrate with Gina, and I feel bad for poor Sholmes that we do not notice his disguise. This man should really be in hospital though. As he did with Soseki, Sholmes 'helpfully' reminds Gina that she's a sacrificial lamb of the Reaper, and is probably doomed. But Gina has a new outlook on life and thinks her good heart will mean she won't be judged harshly. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that is sort of how it works, what with the Reaper's prior victims being said to be terrible people.

Afterwards, we reunite with Susato in front of a neat looking background at Dover. She explains her rationale for the peephole thing, and uh... IDK, mechanically this all feels pretty farfetched for her to have foreseen that much so quickly. But as far as her motives go, this is just about what I wanted from her. She's lost faith in the judicial system and manipulated things to help us out, while ensuring our own hands were clean. Glad to see her get some agency, and I'm excited how the second game goes for her! Though she probably won't be able to go back to London again without facing trial.

Before we wrap up, we surprisingly do hear some of the state secrets from the music disk. They are personal after all, but not in the way I expected. Four names are read out: K Asogi, A Shin, T Gregson, and J Wilson. For a moment I wonder if Asogi is secretly alive somehow as a Japanese spy, but I quickly realise how little sense that would make. I suppose the best I can hope for is that we get a Mia-style flashback case in the next game with Kazuma as the star. As for these names, I can't think what connects them. Wilson and Kazuma are both dead, Shin could be someone we've never met or an alias, and Gregson is a bizarre link. Did he have reason to hide this disk beyond his duty to the force? Hmmm.

And thinking of Wilson, I wonder if he is how Susato knows about the Baskervilles title. Her father was good friends with him, if I recall correctly, but if that's the case I don't know why she'd keep it a secret from Ryunosuke.

We get our anime ending (I like the photo at the end), and a credits sequence with more great music. Gregson and Roly get a happy credits scene roaming about while Gina is in jail. The system is rigged! And so Ryunosuke's first chapter is over. I'll post more thoughts about the game as a whole tomorrow, but I was very happy with this conclusion, and can't wait to see where things go from here.

G1-5 is..... fine. Hearing your thoughts on it honestly did make me realize some things I hadn't the first time I played it and bumped it up a bit for me. Granted, now that I've played 2, seeing how the clues were set up feels better now, but back when I first beat it, it just kinda felt like it was blue balling the shit out of me.

I liked G1-5 more than most, but it definitely falls short to the series' general standard for epic cases.

Hell yes, Ryunosuke praise. Im also a big fan of G1-5 but its definitely the lowest stakes of any finale case.

Graydon is the only AA culprit to get a scene in the ending credits.

And now I have to vacate the topic for the side stories and GAA2, which is where I'm at.

So be honest: Barok van Zieks' theme.

Great prosecutor theme?
Or greatest prosecutor theme?

love naruhodo so much as a protagonist! favorite part of your writeup

G1-5 has a nice sense of confrontation with gregson but the cat flap stuff is so bad. i don't remember the details but even hearing it described is a huge drag!

onward and upward - sounds like you might have liked GAA1 more than some did. based on your commentary and musing, i'm hoping you love G2-1

Aw, I didn't expect the case not to be liked. I suppose I have the benefit of knowing there's another five cases to come, so I didn't expect this to be a grand finale that would answer all outstanding questions. But I thought the stakes were good! The British empire has been the real antagonist since the opening case, so Ryunosuke going up against their government without shame or hesitation at the end is great payoff, I think. Every character is on their A-game here, and the casework itself has more going for it than the rest of the game's cases. The last two hours or so of the trial are really good!

I'll talk more about the game as a whole later but yeah I liked it quite a lot. The atmosphere, themes, and overall presentation were very strong, and I appreciate the more grounded take on an AA game, though the nuts and bolts of the cases were often somewhat lacking. I guess how much you'd like this game depends what aspects of the series you value the most.

TheRock1525 posted...

So be honest: Barok van Zieks' theme.

Great prosecutor theme?
Or greatest prosecutor theme?

This game's OST is well above the rest of the series for me, so most (all?) of its individual themes are my fav of the lot lol.

GAA1 is like a D-tier AA game.

But the good news is that GAA2 is S-tier. Legit my favorite AA game of them all.

case ranking time

5. The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Herlock is the bright spot of this case, but virtually everything else drags it down. It's set across only 3 rooms, and instead of feeling claustrophobic and intense, it's more... boring and repetitive. There are barely any one-off characters and those we have aren't particularly notable (except Bif's snake), and the crime itself turns out to be rather uninteresting. They try to make this a very sympathetic crime, a series of virtual accidents with no purpose, but in doing so there's little to grasp onto. The core of the crime bothers me somewhat. Nikolina is supposed to be isolated and desperate, but she had the unconditional backing of the entire crew of the Burya, and had many chances to come clean about things, refusing every one until she had no choice left. I don't feel the tragedy the game wants me to here, though it's sad to lose Kazuma of course. RIP.

4. The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro
The jury shenanigans are fun, Soseki grew on me a lot, and there's some worthwhile investigation sections, particularly Ryunosuke's crisis of conscience and Herlock helping to pull him out of it. But the trial is largely uninteresting, and packed with tropes I do not enjoy. Ace Attorney has always had a fondness for cartoony violence that isn't to be taken seriously, but the 'funny' spousal abuse stuff here doesn't work at all. I think it particularly bothers me because the Garrideb violence directly results in the stabbing itself, yet it's still treated as a joke that Joan threw a knife directly at her husband. The disconnect bothers me. I don't like the Garridebs, I don't enjoy the Beates, and Gregson and Iris don't come into their own until the next case.

3. The Adventure of the Great Departure
OK this one goes on too long (we did not need the switching steaks!), Nosa and Korekuta aren't interesting, and the case itself is pretty slapdash. But as an introduction this does a great job of setting up the themes of the game, the atmosphere is top notch, and the characters are effectively established very quickly. Kazuma is only with us for this one case yet he leaves such an imprint on the whole game! Looking back it's impressive how much detail they put into the particular courtroom dynamics here considering we don't see Japan again. Brett is a solid antagonist, too.

2. The Adventure of the Runaway Room
This is carried by its last hour, but whew what a climax. It plays perfectly on the expectations any AA veteran has, and the player is more involved with proceedings than in any other case. The impact of the evidence fraud twist entirely depends on how thoroughly you've been investigating, what a neat idea! I remember spotting the blood on the floor and chastising myself for missing it earlier on. I mistakenly thought this case would be a simple introduction to British court, but the game pulls the rug out from under us beautifully, it's a great choice throwing this case in the middle where we wouldn't expect it. A surprisingly brief adventure for this game, and it's all the more effective for it. McGilded is the game's best villain.

1. The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story
Yes there are flaws, some catflap oddities and it doesn't conclude a lot of stuff, but I had a blast going through this one. All the returning characters are at their best, Ryunosuke reaches new heights, and I greatly enjoy the last couple hours of court. No idea why this one isn't so well regarded! Shout out to the Skulkins for standing out in a packed case.

TL;DR: 5>3>1>>4>2

3 > 5 > 1 > 4 > 2

I'll put 4 above 1, but otherwise I agree with Leon. Well, maybe with 1=2.

Nothing in the entire game caught me off guard quite as much as Naruhodo freaking out on the ship, wishing for someone to help him, only to pan the camera over and Herlock's hanging off the coat rack wearing a tiara.

3 > 5 > 4 > 1 > 2 for me

I liked 3 and 5. The stuff with McGilded is the only trial part of the game I'd say is legit great.

3 > 5 > 1 > 2 > 4

I could go either way on the top two, neither are top tier cases for me. McGilded is great but I have lingering issues with 3 - I don't really understand McGilded's plan in the beginning, why he's all sad sack about not having a lawyer and then asking Ryunosuke to defend him, like, if he was masterminding the whole thing from the very start and saw himself as never being in any danger of getting found guilty, then I don't understand how any of that fits into it and it just feels like it's meant to mislead us. Also while the feature characters in GAA are great, I sort of hate all the bit players - like, McGilded, Gina, and Van Zieks are all fantastic but I don't like any of the jury or minor witnesses and that kind of hurts things.

5, people have gone over it before. I don't mind the cat flap thing and I like most of the stuff this case does, and the Skulkins are better bit parts than the other ones in this game. It isn't as great as other 'epic' cases though and feels like it sets up more mysteries than it answers which is sort of annoying for what's supposed to be a climax. Still, most of what it does it executes well.

1 could have been a great intro case, one of the best, if not for the fact that it grinds to an absolute halt over the plate switching thing. It's painfully easy to call what happened, and I thought it was only going to take me a single present to explain it, but then there's like another hour of cross-examining witnesses over it! Painful. I guess they wanted to bring back the witnesses in this one at the end but it wasn't necessary. The whole trick with the poison and such would have been a far better way to end what was a great case up until then.

2 is just the Herlock Sholmes show. It's mostly pretty bad, but Herlock carries it on his shoulders. I don't hate the premise or the characters but it's a little weak and it feels like the game is still stuck in tutorial mode when it doesn't need to be.

4 is probably my least favorite case in the franchise! The characters are such awful and lame caricatures, like I'm playing a Layton game instead of an AA game, and the murder mystery's lame too, it all feels like a big asinine joke, like I'm playing Ace Attorney Junior instead of a real Ace Attorney game. I was feeling REALLY down about this game after this case, but fortunately it picks itself back up after this and never feels like this again.

Guess I'll have to be the one to say it

I like the Beates

Paratroopa1 posted...

I don't really understand McGilded's plan in the beginning, why he's all sad sack about not having a lawyer and then asking Ryunosuke to defend him, like, if he was masterminding the whole thing from the very start and saw himself as never being in any danger of getting found guilty, then I don't understand how any of that fits into it and it just feels like it's meant to mislead us.

While the true reason is likely to deceive the player, I feel the game does give an in-universe reason for it. McGilded had a public facing persona where he pretends to be a super amazing guy. Stuff like building public libraries. He was wildly adored by the public. I feel like the act is part of that face he shows the public.

TeamRocketElite posted...

While the true reason is likely to deceive the player, I feel the game does give an in-universe reason for it. McGilded had a public facing persona where he pretends to be a super amazing guy. Stuff like building public libraries. He was wildly adored by the public. I feel like the act is part of that face he shows the public.

But that doesn't really connect for me to why he wouldn't have a lawyer. I get that they're trying to sell the whole Reaper of the Bailey thing (cautious of spoilers here since I think it's safe to say this plotline is not resolved) but that doesn't actually explain why he wouldn't be able to bribe a lawyer? It's not like the lawyers are in danger, as far as we know! Why does he need to hook a rookie into this? Why does he WANT to hook a rookie into this? Wouldn't that just put him at greater risk of getting found guilty? I really DON'T get it

I think you do have a point about the lawyers. As seen in G1-3, it is possible to officially get the W on your record as a defense attorney. Even if the defendant dies later, that's a separate issue. The attorney gets their money, can do a fair job and gets a fair verdict for their record. Also as seen in G1-3, the attorney does not share the death punishment of the accused. So, I'm not sure there was a good reason for attorneys to shy away from he McGilded case.

But, lawyers being dumb are lawyers being dumb and McGilded is stuck with that. McGilded wants to pretend he doesn't know that the trial is going to be rigged. So maybe asking for a lawyer is part of that cover. He was asking for Ryunosuke to be a pretend lawyer so he wasn't expecting Ryunosuke to actually do any real work. I'm not sure he would expect that to make it more likely for McGilded to be found guilty.

Yeah, I'm not sure what McGilded's plan was if Ryunosuke doesn't show up. They never really elaborate on that.

The series in general has a lot of nonsense with defense attorneys

Leonhart4 posted...

Guess I'll have to be the one to say it

I like the Beates

you're not alone

I have issues with G1-4 but the Beates are not one of them.

AA is generally an aromantic game, so its nice to see a couple clearly in love.

I think McGilded not hiring a lawyer is pretty silly given how quickly the jury defaults to guilty early in the case, and the Summation Examination presumably wouldn't have been thought of at all by anyone other than Susato. But late in the case, we see how adept he is at manipulating the jury and the public with his efficient dismantling and framing of Fairplay and Furst. My guess is he would've been perfectly competent defending himself, and would've initiated the tricks earlier on if necessary, but for some reason decides to take a backseat when Ryunosuke jumps on board.

Why he doesn't start causing drama when the jury is leaning guilty though, I dunno.

andylt posted...

I think McGilded not hiring a lawyer is pretty silly given how quickly the jury defaults to guilty early in the case, and the Summation Examination presumably wouldn't have been thought of at all by anyone other than Susato. But late in the case, we see how adept he is at manipulating the jury and the public with his efficient dismantling and framing of Fairplay and Furst. My guess is he would've been perfectly competent defending himself, and would've initiated the tricks earlier on if necessary, but for some reason decides to take a backseat when Ryunosuke jumps on board.

Why he doesn't start causing drama when the jury is leaning guilty though, I dunno.

Yeah, like, McGilded seems like he was actually in pretty serious danger of things going against him. What the fuck was his actual plan here if he didn't have an attorney? I seriously don't get it? And this is NOT a minor issue with the case that can be handwaved away, imo - the entire CASE is about how McGilded masterminded this whole conspiracy, so if his master plan doesn't make sense from the very beginning it really puts a huge dent in the whole thing for me.

I guess he thought he could acquit himself, and if things were in jeopardy he'd have Gina pull out the smoke bomb. But that's undermined by him doing nothing when all the jurors vote against him under Ryunosuke. I dunno, how far does his power reach? Maybe he'd interfere with the sentencing, or manage a retrial somehow. It definitely doesn't fully hold up. (Also I'm still wondering why the cubbyhole needed to be emptied in the tampering, as Gina was in it already so that wasn't faked)

Back to the talk of side characters, I suppose most of the named single case characters aren't especially memorable in a positive way, my own exceptions being Jezaille Brett and the Skulkins (though I think they do a decent job with Fairplay and Furst once you realise that you're accidentally framing innocent people). But I love the jurors! In all their wacky, selfish, ignorant ways. Most of them don't get much dialogue and they quieten down when needed, there's no annoying lengthy testimony that undermines the serious business. IMO they're a great way to get a dose of the classic AA absurdity without it being overpowering, I found many of them amusing and always enjoyed the summation examinations. I'm not sure if that's an unpopular opinion!

Maybe McGilded planned to have Gina take the fall somehow?

Also I thought most of the jurors were pretty dumb despite enjoying the Summation Examinations (mostly because the music is a bop).

think to me the jury system feels a little silly, drawn out, and contrived... but it's so well written (and directed, visually/sound-wise) that i love them anyway

Summation Examinations are fun, but I dunno, the jury just doesn't really hit for me for whatever reason.

I mean, they aren't real characters for the most part, which makes them feel out of place in Ace Attorney. Jurors are like carryovers from Layton/AA.

OK, I've watched the escapades. Kazuma and Herlock interacting (too briefly :( )! Fun with taxes! And kanji! And wacky crazes! The misadventures of a shilling! Van Zieks's dramatic daydream of Sholmes being framed for the murder of a parakeet by Gregson! What more could you want. I enjoyed the slice of life stuff here, it's fun being around everyone in casual situations. Dunno how Gina got out of jail already. And van Zieks was given a new animation facing straight on, that's interesting. Ryunosuke didn't, so I assume we'll encounter Van Zieks outside of court in the second game.

Sent by: Sholmes, Envoy of Hell!

As a heads up I'm probably gonna start Resolve tomorrow or Friday. I was thinking of making a list of unresolved mysteries we need answers to, but there's probs too many to remember.

I randomly remembered Sholmes's caramel imprint of the disk, which never up in the case. So maybe we'll hear the full contents of the disk next time. I assume Iris looked at the player enough to replicate it accurately.

I can't think what connects the 4 names on the disk. Asogi and Wilson were both killed (and Ryunosuke was blamed for their murders), but Kazuma's death wasn't premeditated so I don't think it's a hitlist. Wilson and Gregson have close ties to Sholmes, but Kazuma didn't. We've never (knowingly) met Shin so Ryunosuke can't be the link. How old was Kazuma? I know he was a registered lawyer but I don't see how he could be important enough to be listed in a secret government message post-death. But he did have grand plans for changing the legal system and there was something important he had to do in GB. I still don't remember if we've been told he'd been to Britain or not but I'm assuming he must have been, to connect to anyone else.

Also looking back it's funny that they made a whole model for Susato's father when he appears in exactly two scenes and doesn't do anything. He must have a role to play in the second game, unless he dies of his mystery illness in the meantime. Come to think of it, I wonder how far ahead the timeskip will be.

The biggest possible twist in the second game would be Stronghart not being an antagonist.

andylt posted...

The biggest possible twist in the second game would be Stronghart not being an antagonist.

Reminds me of 6-5, when I was (momentarily) floored that Garan wasn't the culprit. Too bad they didn't stick with that!

andylt posted...

I was thinking of making a list of unresolved mysteries we need answers to, but there's probs too many to remember.

would love to see if you ever bother trying

The second game won't start before tomorrow, I'm afraid! In the meantime, here's all the lingering questions I could think of.

• What was Kazuma's secret important goal in Great Britain?
• Why did Jezaille Brett kill John H Wilson?
• Why did Wilson abandon his daughter to go to Japan and become a professor?
• Why is Hosonaga always coughing up blood?
• What was Sholmes' primary purpose on board the SS Burya, and why was he in the East to begin with?
• Why was Stronghart several hours late to meet us when we first arrived in London, when keeping time is his whole thing? (OK this might not actually be a mystery but it bothers me)
• What was the deal with those two randos who we saw for 30 seconds in case 4's investigation?
• How did Susato know about The Hound of the Baskervilles?
• Why did Sholmes insist on the Baskervilles manuscript not being released?
• Why did van Zieks leave law for 5 years, then come back now?
• Who betrayed van Zieks, and how?
• Why do all of van Zieks's opposing defendants die?
• What's the deal with the four names on the disk? And by extension, what are the shady communications between GB and Japan all about?
• ...Does Sholmes still have a scalpel inside him?

And not a mystery as such, but there's so much talk about the Great Exhibition and Crystal Tower dotted throughout the game that I imagine we'll see it coming up.

I went right from the 1st game to the 2nd game. That didn't leave me extra time to ponder too much about some of these mysteries from the 1st game. I can only imagine the discourse Japanese folks had waiting for the 2nd game to be released.

I feel like if I waited that long between games, I would've forgotten a lot of the stuff from the 1st game by the time I got to play the 2nd. I suppose that's the nice thing about getting them both at once.

this is a wonderful list. can't wait to read your thoughts on the next game!

Fiop posted...

I went right from the 1st game to the 2nd game. That didn't leave me extra time to ponder too much about some of these mysteries from the 1st game. I can only imagine the discourse Japanese folks had waiting for the 2nd game to be released.

It's interesting to think about that, since GAA was originally planned as a trilogy, with the second game being cancelled due to lukewarm sales of the first. A lot of the answers to these mysteries would've been rewritten (or dropped entirely) due to needing to rewrite the third game so heavily.

MacArrowny posted...

It's interesting to think about that, since GAA was originally planned as a trilogy, with the second game being cancelled due to lukewarm sales of the first. A lot of the answers to these mysteries would've been rewritten (or dropped entirely) due to needing to rewrite the third game so heavily.

Huh, interesting. I kinda think we probably made out better with just having this in 2 games, honestly. At least based on people's reception to the 1st game, and that presumably it made 2nd game go at a more brisk pace. When playing the 2nd game, I did not get the sense it would've been better split into 2.

I'm sure there were storylines that got cut completely like surely they were going somewhere with the Russian revolutionary besides him being a gag juror in the finale case.

Don't read that one until you finish the second game, andylt

Oh, sure. That makes sense. It also seems odd that they didn't do much with the culprit of 1-2 either after that case. I suppose they could have expanded the Russian stuff as a whole.

Don't read that one either before the end, andyIt.

LAWYER SUSATOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo

That's the right first post about GAA2.

Susato? Do you mean Ryutaro Naruhodo?

I didn't have much time to play today, but I'd waited too long to start Resolve already so I went through to the first court recess. Of how many this time, I wonder. The opening cutscene has Susato talking to Kazuma's grave ( :( ) about what she's been up to, and informs us in a very hype way that she is going to be a lawyer for one case. Yeah!! I didn't think this would actually happen but I'm very glad it did, it makes so much sense. Glad I didn't know of it either, I imagine this hook was featured in trailers when the game first came out in Japan. We also see that the new victim is Brett!

We begin the case in the same way as the first game, in the Japanese Supreme Court with Taketsuchi Auchi, Susato's father, and even Hosonaga as a witness. I was curious how this game would handle its tutorial, with it being a standalone game in Japan they'd have to account for new players but for all of us in the West we're coming into this with dozens of hours of experience. There is some basic handholding but it appears to be over with much more quickly than last time. ...Although we haven't done pursuing, investigating, or jury stuff yet so maybe I'm speaking too soon. The game at least gives us the option to skip the examine tutorial.

Another repeat of last time is our lawyer herself, sort of. Susato follows the classic trope of dressing as a man, and I'm glad they aren't shying away from the sexism angle now. Ryutaro Naruhodo is her new name in court, even on the textbox, and she inherits her surname's animations right down to the hand raise and twitchy eyes. It's worth noting that Ryutaro asserts himself far more quickly than Ryunosuke did, as you'd expect from someone with Susato's judicial experience. There's no shaky hand slam here! Gosh, I really am so happy that this is the direction they chose to go in.

Our defendant is Rei Membami (insert Anthony Higgs joke here), Susato's best friend who we've never heard of before (I guess she forgot!). Rei has a not so slight crush on the elegant and dashing Ryutaro.

As said Jezaille Brett is our victim this time, which is a surprise. Did the Reaper of the Supreme Court of Judicature get her? I like that her ridiculous hat is in the victim photo, though I feel for whatever poor soul played this game before the first and was baffled as to why nobody was mentioning the giant swan. The case involves poison just like last time, we're coming full circle. And Jezaille's lack of known motive for killing Wilson has also been brought up, so we're definitely getting closure here.

I'm not surprised to see Hosonaga on the stand in a silly outfit, but Soseki Natsume is a different story. Not just Soseki, but cocky and successful Soseki! Japan agrees with him, I take it. He's now a famous author, complete with a background paparrazo, and it's a very neat little quirk to have that background character become an actual witness (maybe the killer :O). The first recess transpires as the police go to bring Reiten Menimemo (I get it!) to court. I don't love that the judge is taking the photo as decisive evidence when it already fits with our notion of Rei pulling the knife out of Brett, but we'll see how things go. No steaks or koban coins so far, here's hoping it stays that way.

I correctly predicted Susato would be the playable character in the first case based on this logic: Auchi is literally required to be the prosecutor in the first case, so either he comes to London or we begin in Japan, and it makes more sense to begin in Japan since we sent Susato there anyway, and Susato is the only person who could be the playable lawyer in that case

Yeah, I didn't want to get into this in G1-4, but Soseki Natsume would kinda be like having a stuck-in-France Thomas Jefferson as a witness/defendant in a France-based Ace Attorney for American audiences. He's a Japanese novelist that lived in London during the 1900s, which is roughly around the time of GAA (though, it's actually a little bit after it takes place). He doesn't really become famous until he came back in Japan and wrote, with I Am A Cat being his most well-known novel. Which is why you see a lot of cat-based stuff. His cat, Wagahai, is how the cat refers to itself and is an archaic pronoun used for emperors (pronoun in the sense that boku is how a non-aggressive man refers to himself, etc). From what I can tell, any time a contemporary Japanese game uses "wagahai" as a pronoun, it is directly a reference to this book. His eccentric animations is him curving his body to make certain symbols in the Japanese language.

I'm sure I got some of this wrong since I don't study Japanese literature and have a tenuous grasp on the Japanese language.

I would refrain from searching up Soseki Natsume on Google, because it's very possible you'll end up on the Ace Attorney wiki and get spoilers for GAA.

Susato mimicking Ryunosuke's animations was so great.

I forgot to mention this in G1-1, but Jezaille Brett's name comes from the jezail bullet, which injured Watson when he was a military doctor in Afghanistan in the stories.

There's a lot of cool references like that. A lot of Holmes's Dance of Deductions reference the stories, too.

Yeah I'm really not very familiar with Holmes so a lot of that goes over my head. I suppose the lion and tunnelling under the store ones were real stories?

And yeah I also know absolutely nothing about Soseki Natsume, I am very uncultured :( I will look him up... after I've finished this series.

Paratroopa1 posted...

I correctly predicted Susato would be the playable character in the first case based on this logic: Auchi is literally required to be the prosecutor in the first case, so either he comes to London or we begin in Japan, and it makes more sense to begin in Japan since we sent Susato there anyway, and Susato is the only person who could be the playable lawyer in that case

It made sense for Susato to be playable, I think I mentioned the possibility earlier (I definitely mentioned my desire for it!), but I didn't believe they'd actually do it.
And I know Payne/Auchi is the tutorial guy but I didn't think of that as being a hard rule, and GAA has already broken some series conventions anyway. Has he really been the first case prosecutor in every AA game? Even Investigations and Layton?

Winston has cameos in the first cases of both AAI games

The prosecutor in Layton isn't Payne but is an obvious homage to him