Board 8 > Wifebolo plays Ace Attorney Trilogy [progressive spoilers]

(+) Yeah! (+)

5-4 actually letting you exonerate your client without finding the murderer is fucking brilliant. it's pretty much the only part of the case i really like, but it's so good.

enjoy 5-5 - everyone's got lots of feels on that one
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Reading through this topic for the first time, and I don't know why my brain is yelling at me to make this my comment:

The more you type out Themis Legal Academy, because it's called Themis Legal Academy throughout 5-3 (the case that takes place on the Themis Legal Academy campus full of Themis Legal Academy students), my brain which used to think '"Theme-iss" Legal Academy' is now going '"The Miz" Legal Academy' and Klavier Gavin's entrances are accompanied by "I Came to Play" and John Morrison Slo-Mo.

I think my brain is fried reading 4 1/2 cases worth of game... or the reverse of that, XD, in about 16 hours.

This topic is awesome!

Note: ...That 'awesome' was not intended as more Miz when written. But now reading it back... *headdesk, throws seeds at this post*

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@Leonhart4 Same here. I had an audible reaction when it happened.
@SeabassDebeste Right?! Such a cool decision, and different too!
@Mega_Mana Thanks! I'm entertained at your Miz references, Tom would be proud XD There's more to come, so keep reading!

Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

We get a particularly slicey cutscene in which we see a very young and blood-spattered Athena, and a creepy white outline of what looks like... Simon Blackquill, complete with katana, standing in an expanding pool of blood. Yikes. I wanna know what's up with this. And if true, how has Athena been able to keep her cool in the same courtroom as him?? I'm sure that either way, there's quality Ace Attorney flavored trauma ahead.

Athena's being held for questioning and Phoenix agrees to take her case on. Trucy encourages him to seek out evidence - Athena herself wouldn't be standing around when there's a case to uncover!

We talk to Space Center people and dig around for the truth tomorrow. See you then!

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Love me some 5-5

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Welcome to the scene that basically got DD an M rating

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Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

We talk to Starbuck, who shows us the Launch Pad Door Lock that needs fingerprints to open, but not to exit. The suspect probably escaped at the same time. There was no .10 caliber gun thrown down the garbage chute.

We talk to Director Cosmos and get a bunch of fiddle-faddle and - Psyche Locks!! We sort out that Clay Terran helped drug Starbuck, but that Cosmos thought the perpetrator was the same as 7 years ago, the sabotage and murder behind the HAT-1 Miracle. This is where Simon Blackquill comes in. Charged with murder at that time, Director Cosmos thought he had sabotaged the HAT-1 since it was at the same place and time... until the Director received a call from someone warning about this bombing and saying 'it's been a while'. If the saboteur then and now are the same person, then Blackquill did not sabotage the HAT-1.

It's a little twisty but I think I'll understand better once I talk to Director Cosmos more next week. See you Monday!


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Little Athena is so cute.

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Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

Talked to Director Cosmos and he talked about a spy, and how it was just like 7 years ago, and the Hope capsule [and its precious samples] were blown to smithereens not in this recent explosion, but in the Courtroom explosion we witnessed earlier in the game.

We run into Juniper, who explains that Athena's mom was a psychologist who worked at the Space Center, and that Athena had lived at the Center for a time. I guess crowds and the difference between hearts and minds overwhelmed Athena's reading ability as a child, and she got overcooked at places like school or crowded areas. Juniper wasn't doing too hot health-wise, so the two girls would often spend time together. Then there was a time when they were apart, so when Juniper saw Athena again after so long, she was astonished at how cheerful and energetic she was. Man, Athena must have pushed whatever this was deep down.

At the Detention Center, we're waiting on Athena when Fulbright tells us to listen in on questioning Ted Tonate, who insists that someone else blew up the courtroom while he was there. It sounds a little far-fetched...or does it?

We discuss Dr Metis Cykes with Aura Blackquill in the Robotics Lab, Apollo's there too. It sounds like the two of them couldn't have been more different. Aura keeps snidely referring to Athena as 'the princess' in her retellings of memories. Apparently Clonco and Ponco are simply bodies, the hearts/minds that Dr Cykes worked on are stored on another mainframe. Aura insists that she can beat on the robots all she wants, since their bodies can be repaired. Clonco starts calling Apollo 'Mr Terran', which is creepy at best.

Apparently Dr Cykes loved the robots on the same level as she loved her daughter Athena and coworker Aura. Funky. Simon had connected with Dr Cykes because he was trying to use psychology to perfect his prosecution technique.

We go back to the Wright Anything and Everything Agency, and we see PEARLS!! Omg baby girl. I have missed her, and I didn't even realize it. She's obviously taller and older, but they give her sprite a lot of the little expressions and poses that she had as a tiny child... it's nostalgic. Takes me back. Anyway, Pearls is there to deliver a letter from Maya, and to play Merry Maid and clean up the office while Phoenix jet sets about solving cases.

We'll be quizzing Simon Blackquill at the Detention Center next! See you tomorrow!


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this investigation is so funky and cool
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Heck yeah Pearl

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I like DD Pearls.

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Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

The UR-1 Incident is what the police call it. The trial got Blackquill convicted of murdering his psychology mentor. 2 pcs of evidence - security footage and a photo of the moment of the crime. Swift conviction. Sounds like a setup.

'Kind of like if your red Mr Lawyer were to kill you' UH Fulbright? Do you mean Edgeworth? or like ...what. Now I can't stop thinking about homicidal Phoenix Wright - everything's the same, except he's killed someone at some point. Can't stop thinking about it... o_o

I like how Dr Cykes's round Japanese-style window spells out her name.

It was the day before the HAT-1 launch, so a reporter who happened to be across the hallway covering the launch was snapping photos and just so happened to capture the allegedly guilty Blackquill and his incriminating bloody katana on film.

Fdasfdjkl;dasfa
Phoenix asks Fulbright about the 'phantom from 7 yrs ago' and Fulbright muses that the urgency is rising as Blackquill's execution date approaches. Guys! This is serious!!

We'll look into it more tomorrow. Yeesh, I'm on the edge of my seat!


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no, you are 1
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Mr. Red Lawyer is Apollo

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Llarian posted...

Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

I like how Dr Cykes's round Japanese-style window spells out her name.

I don't remember this detail. I'll need to keep an eye on it during my next playthrough (on Switch preferably Nintendo/Capcom!)


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Leonhart4 posted...

Mr. Red Lawyer is Apollo

I am excessively focused on Edgeworth, so thanks for this.

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NFUN posted...

no, you are 1

Reminds me of my age-old US state joke. Anyway.

colliding posted...

I don't remember this detail. I'll need to keep an eye on it during my next playthrough (on Switch preferably Nintendo/Capcom!)

In the incriminating photo of Blackquill, there's a circular window with mostly straight lines going all different directions, METI can be traced on these... but one of them is like a traditional Japanese wave shape that looks like an 'S'. Should be a fun detail to notice on your next go-round.

Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow
We speak to Fulbright briefly and find out Blackquill's execution date is, in true AA fashion, tomorrow. He gets a phone call that makes him freak out - the robots are rebelling at the Space Center and they've taken several hostages.

Clonco greets us pleasantly before transforming into an ersatz Aura, complete with hairstyle. Aura communicates her demands for Athena Cykes in exchange for 12 hostages within the Space Center. Phoenix negotiates with Aura and offers to retry the allegedly-faulty trial from 7 years ago. Aura agrees, but she wants it to be taken care of in an hour. Fulbright rushes off to do what he can, and Aura lets us in to wait in the robot lab. We need a prosecutor, but Blackquill's effectively on death row...

Beautiful cutscene reveals that our prosecutor will likely be the Chief Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth! He shows up with slightly-different-yet-still-recognizable garb and horn-rimmed glasses. Goodness.

I am overjoyed. :D :D :D Not-Red Lawyer is here at last.

We'll have to see what we can do in the meantime until Aura returns. See you tomorrow!


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Miles Edgeworth: Purple Prosecutor

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I don't believe that was intentional; its appearance was the same in Japanese, where her name was Mari Kizuki (given name first).

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Yeah, I definitely wouldn't have gotten that. Big if true.

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bwburke94 posted...

I don't believe that was intentional; its appearance was the same in Japanese, where her name was Mari Kizuki (given name first).

If not for spelling out her name, it was intentional in other ways: the curving river pattern is not generally used on these round windows. Symbolically, rivers take on a life/death meaning in Japanese culture. The otherwise straight lines and right angles present in the window reflect the cut-and-dried nature of building robots. Without Dr Cykes, the lone river shape bringing life to them, most of the operation is handled by Aura, who constructs the bodies and handles the mechanics.

It's a neat little detail either way, imo.

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Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

OKAY - been playing for a while, just not writing up for whatever reason.

We poke around the Robotics lab, looking for clues. We collect various items related to Dr Cykes' research. Phoenix returned to law right around the Blackquill case, we're pretty determined to end the dark age of the law [oooOOooo~].

We speak to Athena in the Detention Center and learn she was in the Space Museum the day before the HAT-2 was scheduled to launch. She mentions being unconscious and missing large portions of the action surrounding those days. Athena has sad memories of Dr Cykes caring more about the robots than her - when Phoenix protests, she mentions the Moon Rock Earring, as well as Widget, given to her by her mother.

Athena reminisces about growing up around Ponco and Clonco, interacting with them and literally bandaging them when they got damaged. Dr Cykes fixed them in no time, and as a little girl, Athena often thought her mother would do the same if she was ever hurt [not really seeing the difference between herself and robots, but I guess if her only friends are them and Junie...].

The characters have settled on negotiating with the person holding the hostages, Aura Blackquill. They have agreed to restage the trial from 7 years ago. Athena talks about how clearing Simon's name was her inspiration to become a lawyer - she felt so powerless when she testified on his behalf during the trial 7 years ago, so she wanted to change that. Simon used to be so kind, she said. I'm intrigued!!

Fulbright busts in and tells us all the courtrooms are taken, so we can't hold a trial. Phoenix remembers that not all the courtrooms are taken - and decides to stage this trial in the exploded courtroom shell. You know, for that open air, natural light look.

How is all that gonna go down? We'll have to see, tomorrow!

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ya go my exploded courtroom

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Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

Basically, I love this. I love everything about this. It's amazing.

Fulbright starts off by reading testimony from Aura Blackquill. She insists that Athena Cykes was hiding in the rolling case that Simon Blackquill was seen removing from the scene of the crime. The extant photos deny this though - since we see a bandaged robot arm detached from Ponco, and young Athena had bandaged up Ponco prior to the HAT-1 group photo, we must assume Simon disassembled Ponco and stuffed it in the carrying case instead.

Ponco takes the stand, and gives some vague testimony about Athena hugging Dr Cykes and Dr Cykes falling down... across the room from the operating table where her body was found. Edgeworth makes a distasteful suggestion - that Athena [with Ponco's help] had placed her mother there to get rid of the evidence by having the automatic robot repair 'disassemble' her mother. For some reason, Phoenix is surprised that the guy who lived most of his life believing he had shot his own father is coming to extremely dark conclusions based on vague testimony.

Phoenix instead suggests that Athena had directed Ponco to place her mother there in an effort to save, or 'fix' her. She had seen magic come together on that operating table countless times before, and as evidenced by the bandages on the damaged Ponco, she didn't see a difference between humans and robots in this regard.

They gave Edgeworth a particularly powerful voice in this game o_o His sprite is angular and handsome, which is exactly what I would expect. Only expression I think turned out funky is his smirking/finger wagging one. The mouth shape seems off. How do the 3D sprites in this game make everyone look so much better than they normally do? I don't typically have such a positive impression of 2D transitioning to 3D. Maybe it's particularly well-done here and that's why.

Just as Phoenix is about to give up, Prosecutor Blackquill takes the stand. He insists that he killed Dr Cykes and that neither Ponco nor Athena had anything to do with it. Based on this testimony, he leans on the Judge to hand down a verdict with a wild look in his eye, all the while making dark jabs at the idea of himself running late to die. Aura objects, of course, screeching about Simon still covering for Athena. A tense moment where we wonder if it's all going to go down as it did 7 years ago...

...and Athena shows up on the defense bench! Shocking! Unheard of! Unorthodox! Just another day in the Ace Attorney universe!

Simon protests, that wild look still glinting from the witness stand. Athena confesses that courtrooms terrify her, that she frequently remembers the feeling of being unheard while testifying on behalf of Simon all those years ago. Athena quotes Captain Jean-Luc Picard:
"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth or historical truth or personal truth! It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based... And if you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform!"

Okay, she doesn't, actually. But she does push on towards the truth, no matter what consequences it may hold for her, personally.

Looks like we're on for a Mood Matrix on Simon Blackquill next. See you tomorrow!

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5-5 hype

The Blackquill Mood Matrix is my favorite one in the game, so enjoy!

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yeah this is a pretty good section of this particular game

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the flashback images are really awesome for this case

also i vastly preferred the 2D sprites, but glad you're having fun with this

edgeworth definitely elevates the stakes of 5-5 by a ton
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SeabassDebeste posted...

also i vastly preferred the 2D sprites, but glad you're having fun with this

The drawback with 3D is that you have to make concrete structural decisions, so rather than looking more natural, Phoenix's hair looks like something straight off the side of an Art Deco building from the 1920s. It also takes the quirkier aspects of the 2D sprites, such as Edgeworth's wide frogmouth, into unsettling territory.

Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

We poke around in Simon Blackquill's testimony, and he starts lying, which causes his emotional noise to rise. He claims to have disassembled Ponco before he could have based on the Photo. Since there was blood on the severed robot arm, he must have done so after the katana blade was covered in blood. At this point he wigs out, and you have to sort out that the source of these overwhelming emotions was Athena.

Athena confesses to killing her mother, but her memory of the event doesn't add up - she talks about blood on her hands, but the katana blade was the only thing marked with blood, not the handle. Phoenix talks about the utility knife that's issued to each Space Tech, and how one was missing from the toolkit in the robotics lab [we can tell bc of the Gyaxa logo across all handles in the kit].

Congratulations, Mr Nick, you played yourself. Now Edgeworth rushes forth for the kill, pointing out that no matter what weapon was used, if Dr Metis Cykes and Athena were the only people in the room, that Athena must still be the killer.

You rethink the scene - with Dr Cykes dead while not wearing her ID card or jacket, Ponco would not have recognized her as herself. Anyone else could have then worn the jacket that she often left over a chair and been misread by the robot as Dr Cykes. To foil the face recognition, they could have worn the Noh theatre mask from the wall in the lab. You posit that the scene of Athena 'hugging' Dr Cykes was the small girl, armed with the utility knife, avenging her mother against an attacker. Athena recalls stabbing an intruder in the hand, and enlisting Ponco to move her mother to the operating table.

In proving the existence of this 3rd person, we rewind the security footage from the hallway to the now-estimated time of death slightly prior to 2:00PM. We see a mysterious man escape wearing Dr Cykes' jacket. But the jacket was there when the body was first found, Edgeworth objects. Too bad - with all the attention on the dead body, the person could have easily slipped it back on the floor in the robotics lab.

Fun fact: Noh 'onna'/women's role masks come in many varieties, but the mouth is carved and painted in such a way that when the actor tilts their chin up or down, the facial expression appears to change from happy to sad. I love that there are extra layers of symbolism here to go along with Dr Cykes' research. Might be my Western sensibilities, but I found the different types of women's role masks to only have slight variations. These masks are honored heirlooms handed down from generation to generation. One type, the 'fukai' mask, specifically represents a woman who has lost a child.

Blackquill takes the stand and gives his psych profile on the spy to Phoenix. Judge rules in favor of Blackquill's innocence, overturning the 7 year old judgement, but is interrupted by Apollo when he is about to issue a verdict for Athena.

What is Apollo's deal? We'll find out tomorrow!


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Aw yeah Apollo

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great stretch you're in here, loving this recap! the robots' rules about only recognizing clothing are a really cool twist

and yeah, apollo hype
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Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

Apollo suspected Athena of killing Clay Terran. His bracelet reacted when Athena saw the utility knife during Intelligentsi- er, Starbuck's trial. All roads seem to point to Athena as the killer, with or without a motive.

Phoenix explores an angle where the phantom would have had to escape the Space Center wing as it was moving. The emergency ladder was set up from floor 4 as instructed. Edgeworth protests - the jump would be too far, and far too high up, for any normal person to take the risk without fear. The Phantom's Psych Profile outlines a person without a normal emotional response, however. If the spy really took the flying leap, it would have to be this mysterious phantom and not Athena.

Athena's cleared, Apollo apollogizes to her, Aura Blackquill surrenders her hostages and leaves finding Metis Cykes' killer to you. Simon appears and thanks Aura as she is taken away. Simon is released from his shackles. I guess Apollo's bandage was to prevent him from Perceiving? But then all the bandaging on his arms, was that from bomb injury...? Idk, kid grew up to be real edgy. No more bandages now, we're facing the situation as clearly as we can. Since Athena's the defendant, Apollo joins Phoenix on defense, and Edgeworth hands the reins over to Simon to prosecute. The chief prosecutor has some things he'd like to look into, after all.

Det. Fulbright was the one to instruct the placement of the emergency ladder, and had access to all the necessary areas, as well as time spent with Clay's corpse as an opportunity to forge evidence. The Earth lighter is actually a small gun, probably the .10 caliber from earlier. We dig into fingerprints and rather than Athena's, it's Clay's fingerprints on the little gun.

Fulbright claims that he has been manipulated by the real phantom from behind the scenes, and that he's an undercover investigator. After Fulbright uses the power of suggestion, Simon appears to be taken in by this. Phoenix and Apollo are indignant.

Athena scoots past Apollo to point out, after a couple of casual questions regarding Fulbright's feelings, that the Detective doesn't have the expected emotions behind his words! Special ability time. She's gonna listen to his heart, cue the Roxette tunes~

Simon's ruse that he believed Fulbright's ridiculous testimony was merely an opportunity for Athena to catch a man who should have been relieved or happy, in the act of not feeling anything!

:D

We will see exactly how this shakes out tomorrow. See you then!


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I lowered my emergency ladder like the detective ordered me to

Love that Mood Matrix

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Case 5-5 - Turnabout for Tomorrow

We have Fulbright testify, because now the situation demands real evidence. I just realized he's wearing gloves...maybe if I can get the correct one off... then we'll see a telltale scar from 7 years ago! You can't escape a hand-stabbing completely unscathed!

So, I got the entry point with the utility knife, pointing out that perhaps some of the killer's blood ended up on the moon rock, meaning it had to be removed as it would provide crucial DNA evidence against him!

More than a little disappointed that this is stacking up to be a game without a genuinely warm, friendly, goofy law enforcement officer >_> Gumshooooe. I miss youuuu.

In order to 'get rid of' the moon rock, we determine that the phantom loaded it into the Hope Capsule, sending it off to the HAT-1 which he was already planning to destroy! When that all went haywire, the Hope Capsule, along with its offending evidence, returned safely home to Earth seven years later!

Clay Terran must have put up a fight trying to keep the capsule safe, but ultimately the phantom didn't have time for that, and could only get away with killing him and sabotaging the HAT-2, not retrieving the capsule.

Fulbright tries to wriggle out of it, saying any blood found on the moon rock would be a trap set by the REAL phantom. I really hope I'm right...Wright?

Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth slides in just in time before Fulbright and Blackquill actually come to blows. He shares important info: none of the employees first on the scene resembled Fulbright, and 'Bobby Fulbright'... is long dead.

WHAT.

An impostor! Invaders! Encroachers! Blackquill SLICES HIM IN THE FACE. Omg. Is he one of the robots? Is everyone a robot?! Omg. He pulls off his 'face' to reveal...Solomon Starbuck? He pulls off his 'face' to reveal... Prof. Means? We keep talking about the moon rock, and 'Prof. Means' teases us because the remaining moon rock was blown up along with Courtroom No. 4 in the bombing at the beginning of the game. But those pieces were gathered and analyzed - we get paperwork on this that establishes that yes, there was some old blood on some moon rock fragments and that they match the witness, whoever he is.

The witness pulls off a very convincing-sounding 'Objection' and pulls off his 'face' to reveal... Phoenix Wright?? For the purposes of the next post, I'll be referring to the witness as 'Phoenix Wrong'. I'm starting to think my lame robot idea was better than this crap.

3DS was dying and this end of the case dragged on too long. Hopefully, we'll finish it tomorrow! See you then!

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=_-2RaUeElS4

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I was legitimately stunned when he pulled the mask off to reveal Starbuck. Great red herring.

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Llarian posted...

I'm starting to think my lame robot idea was better than this crap.

there's definitely some fun stuff in here, but i agree that the actual part where it comes to finally unmasking the phantom is lackluster
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SeabassDebeste posted...

there's definitely some fun stuff in here, but i agree that the actual part where it comes to finally unmasking the phantom is lackluster

yeah, it's kind of a big oof. they went for a big reveal moment with fullbright/phantom and didn't quite stick the landing. this "epic but slightly off" feeling happens a lot in DD I feel.

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That being said, I only have this case and the DLC case [if I can get the 3DS to cooperate with our new modem/router in short order] before I'm done with Dual Destinies.

What am I playing next in the AA franchise? Spirit of Justice? Investigations? Suggestions are welcome - since you've been reading all this time, make a case for your suggestion [short or long, whatever you have time for].

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if you're willing to sail the seas for AAI2, then i'd say go for the two AAI games next. if you're not going to play AAI2 then i'd skip AAI1 and go for professor layton vs phoenix wright, and then spirit of justice.

i forgot there was a DLC case coming up - hyyyyype
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Important point on future games: Is there Gumshoe, Y/N?

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Gumshoe is the teenage girl of AAI

there's also a teenage girl who isn't the teenage girl

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gumshoe has yet to appear in anything set in the main timeline post-AA3 - but he does show in the edgeworth games!
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SOJ is more of the DD gang (except better imo). AAI has gumshoe, and he's great, but I don't think the game itself is that good honestly.

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AAI1 is a bottom tier AA game, but AAI2 is fantastic. I'd say SoJ is of comparable quality.

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AAI is even worse than Apollo Justice, and that's a very low bar to not clear. But AAI2 is my second-favorite game after AA3.

That said, don't wear yourself out on AA games. If it's been difficult to stay focused on this one, playing through AAI is kind of a death sentence for the series, in terms of staying motivated.

Honestly, you can choose anything to play next, and it'll be fine, even skipping AAI and going straight to AAI2. There's really only two characters that you'd need a bit of a tune-up on to understand where AAI2 starts off from, and one of them would be as easy to explain as telling you what this old character's new job is.

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I don't think AAI is worse than AJ--it's not painful--but the feeling that it's missing something is oppressive

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I've often said that AAI1 is the prototype and AAI2 is the finished product. It feels like they treat the first game as an experiment and it doesn't always work.

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I'll make another thread tonight, this is about to hit 500 posts. Thanks y'all!! See you in the next thread.

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https://imgur.com/a/oBNxlUK

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