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

(+) Yeah! (+)

the susato objection theme is sooooo good

when you hear the initial leadup to the objection theme, I just sat and listened to it for a while, and I'm glad I did because I didn't really get as many opportunities in this case as I thought I would

Case 1 down!

Well, they've learned to cut the case length by an hour or two, I see. Much like the first game, I like a lot of the character stuff and arching intrigue, but the nuts and bolts of the case are still a bit lacking. We establish that the pen in the hut is probably Menimemo's, and then don't touch on that topic again until the end of the trial. And everybody accepts our rather flimsy 'knife through the back of the hut' evidence far too easily! I'm not too fond of 'he had to stab her after poisoning her or he'd be found out' angle either, given that nobody knew he was there and both Soseki and Rei would be far more likely to be found guilty of her murder than him. He's also weirdly treated no differently after admitting to having stabbed Brett.

I mostly enjoy Raiten as a character, though I think the game bounces back and forth a bit between whether he's awful or sympathetic. I enjoy him much more in the latter category, though I'm glad Susato points out how willing he was to frame an innocent of murder. He's not as bad as Brett though, come on Susato, didn't you see that flashback? She really was a dreadful person, lol. The angle of him sincerely trying to report the truth and uncover government cover-ups though, and being so frustrated at the lack of justice in the world that he snaps, that's all great. Also how the heck is he supposed to be older than Natsume and Hosonaga >_>

I thought that our rather favourable treatment from the judge was due to this being a tutorial case and to contrast with Britain later on, but after the trial we see that the judge is friends with Susato's father, who is looking shadier by the second. Now this could be really interesting. I was disappointed at Yujin being rather bland throughout the case, but we know now that he traveled to GB when Susato was born and is a government adviser, Menimemo even indicates that he was involved with Kazuma's death before being manhandled by the (corrupt?) judge! (Sidenote, is this the first time we've seen a judge out of court? And with a name!) Will Ryutaro have to take him down by the end of the game? If he's the one who invited Wilson to Japan, I wonder how this fits in with his murder... Move over Stronghart, we have a new candidate for big bad. Though I'm getting ahead of myself.

Before we wrap up, Soseki and Hosonaga talk with Susato (who drops her disguise before she's even left the courthouse), and I'm reminded that Hosonaga is really very bad at keeping the people he's meant to protect alive. Maybe he's a secret mastermind! Soseki and Susato talk about a secret second case that took place during the events of the first game. Was this hinted at last game and I missed it, or are they pulling it out of their ass? Either way, it's not what I expected, and I am intrigued. I doubt this is the last time we'll be in Japan this game, but for now Susato hangs up her dashing disguise and hands the reins back to her cousin.

...

'Sprig of my topknot
the time is right for farewell
Hope is lost forever.' - Taketsuchi

OK and Auchi is mostly unironically the case highlight. His slight growth from the last game has him treated more like a real character than ever before, and I appreciate how every character reacts appropriately to his sacrifice. I'm not even mad they use the sad Kazuma theme here, what a hilarious scene.

You see multiple judges outside of court in the AAI games and one of them has a name

andylt posted...

Was this hinted at last game and I missed it, or are they pulling it out of their ass?

hype!

I realise now that they've probably done this as an excuse to have Ryunosuke and Susato together again in the second game. We'll see!

if they really wanted them together they could just put them together again

OK I have the alternate costumes on now. I don't like Susato's, Ryunosuke's is good but it's a shame he loses the armband, and Sholmes's is fantastic, I'm definitely keeping that one.

Apparently Ryunosuke has been barred from appearing in court since his last case, I guess because he made an enemy out of the British government. Or perhaps he's still being punished for defending McGilded >_> Regardless, Sholmes acts shady about our secret case, and we flash back to the day after the Clouded Kokoro case finished. I suppose all the mentions of haunted lodgings in the first game's last case were supposed to refer back to this secret one.

We meet conscious Olive Green for the first time, and aside from continuity I don't know why she'd be relevant here so she must come into play later on. She seems nice. Our victim is William Shamspeare, who I believe is one of the mystery duo we met so very briefly in the last game, and our defendant is, of course, Soseki Natsume. I wonder who will have the higher 'falsely accused' count by the end of the game, Ryunosuke or Soseki. The deduction with Sholmes is a lot of fun, there's a lot of banter with Susato and running gags about soap, a fork, and an English liquid storing vessel. Was this poisoned soap from a real Holmes story? There's also some inspired 'animations' on show here, with Natsume posing towards the building's entrance.

Sholmes gets Natsume arrested once more (thankfully Ryunosuke dodges the blame), and we investigate before the dead body jerks upright and starts monologuing. And then promptly collapses on the floor again. I did not see this coming, regular AA had ghosts and now GAA has zombies!

An amusing development, though. Out on the street the other guy we met briefly last time around runs away from us, then we talk to Garrideb, which is a much more pleasant experience without Joan around. I'm assuming the gas meters will be vital here, maybe a gas leak will explain the hauntings. Natsume explains that his room's previous occupant suddenly died, and I do recall that being briefly brought up by the Garridebs way back when. Shamspeare regains consciousness and apparently points the finger at Natsume, and thus concludes our investigation!

The investigating was enjoyable here, though we don't have nearly enough info to put things together yet. I assume van Zieks will be our prosecutor again, I wonder how many repeat jurors we'll get tomorrow. I can't help but note that we've technically not met any new characters yet, given that Green, Shamspeare, and the other guy were all sort of around last time. Please don't bring the Beates back, game! The case is fun but I don't yet see how this will become relevant to the ongoing arc. Mysteries, mysteries.

The wrong dialogue choices in all Dances of Deduction are great, but I especially like that one.

The poisoned soap isn't from a Holmes story, but the case's overall plot loosely resembles a story called "The Three Garridebs," from which the two Garridebs in the game get their name.

I've done the first trial section. Multiple trial days?? Whatever will they think of next :O

van Zieks talks a lot of trash considering he's 0-2 against us at this point, and we've only been in the country for 4 days. Not only do we have him as the prosecutor (I wonder if we'll even get any other prosecutor this game now, I hope so), but nearly the entire jury is identical from the case two days prior. Sadly none of them seem to have new gimmicks, and the old ones are wearing thin. Our new juror is interesting though, Mrs Quinby Altamont. I don't know why they decided to go so hard on a bee gimmick with her and the workman, but it works OK I guess. I also don't know why she votes Guilty for Natsume and then changes her mind, when she clearly hates Shamspeare and the only new piece of information we get in the examination is from her... But whatever, examinations are fun, even if Ryunosuke has forgotten their existence (to be fair it has been nearly 48 hours since he last used one).

We spend half of this trial acting on behalf of Big Gas, and the other half imagining Shamspeare and Natsume wrestling while dressed as Romeo and Juliet. All in all, a productive morning. I like the frozen tea twist, though for once I wish the game had given me a bit more of a hint, I didn't recall the frozen water pipes. Shamspeare is also an entertaining witness, his animations make Ashley Graydon's seem static. It's a shame we don't see William react to us proving him to be a gas thief.

More investigating ahead, I guess! Still don't see how this will become an unspeakable case, and I still think a gas leak is gonna be a thing.

I know right, can you believe it? A two day case, in Great Ace Attorney?

"Who's stronger: Romeo or Juliet?" always gets me.

andylt posted...

Shamspeare is also an entertaining witness, his animations make Ashley Graydon's seem static.

My Switch album is full of Shamspeare doing little shimmies on the witness stand. I have like 6 videos of just him saved in there. He's so fun to watch.

I wish we had gotten more interactions between Soseki and Shamspeare

I want a crossover between Shamspeare and the dancing security guard from Ghost Trick

shamspeare is my sole reason for this case being like a top whatever for the series for me. there are some characters whose animations get tedious but these cracked me up every time

Managed to squeak some game time in today, enough to finish the next day of investigation.

We get a brief tease from past Kazuma that I believe is new: 'If you were to become a lawyer, then one day...', hm still no idea what his goal was. Sholmes tells us a bit about van Zieks, though it's nothing Ryunosuke doesn't learn again at the end of case 5. We then engage in some investigation with an early 20th century Luminol equivalent, thankfully without any blowing required. Sholmes joins us for most of the afternoon, I'm surprised we don't get a deduction dance but he's entertaining as always. A dismal failure!

We learn a lot more about our case- Selden, Duncan Ross, gas leaks, skin prints, and more. I haven't figured it all out but this was a fun day. The unexpected climax is poor Olive Green almost attempting suicide before our very eyes. This is thankfully treated much more appropriately than Windibank's comedy routine last game. It's a good scene, and Olive has truly been on the receiving end of a great deal of misfortune, which is why I'm sad that she's now my top suspect for poisoning Shamspeare.

From what we've pieced together, here's my current theory: Shamspeare wants to find Selden's treasure haul, and intentionally turns off the gas in the other tenant's room through the hole Wagahai appeared from, or maybe something to do with the handprints around the painting. Is he intentionally killing them so he can get the room for himself? IDK that seems a bit thin, especially as he didn't move in after Duncan died, so that part needs work.

We know Green dislikes Shamspeare, and it's unremarked upon but the fragment of envelope in Shamspeare's room must come from the card that was sent to her. So I think they've had a confrontation and she somehow poisoned him with some stuff she took from the hospital (I believe she regained consciousness during the final day of the case 4 trial, so she could've moved around that night). Dunno how it would all work and why Metermann and Garrideb didn't notice her, but that's roughly where I'm at. If the trial does point towards Olive as the attempted killer as revenge for her fiance's death it will all be very sad, I'm sure. But we have one more trial day (at least!), so there's no doubt many more twists to come!

The second trial day starts rather anticlimactically. Despite there being no poison found in Soseki's tea, and how quickly we dismantle Shamspeare's latest lie using the unstained cup, van Zieks immediately covers for Shamspeare and the jury promptly rules that Natsume is guilty again. Nahhh, I don't believe this one.

I'm thinking the writers may have put themselves into a corner with the nature of summation examinations, they're a fun mechanic but they require all the jurors to vote guilty beforehand, so we wind up with weird stuff like this. And I find it odd for van Zieks to bail out Shamspeare like that, he's usually interested in the truth even if it hurts his case. I do like how the jurors aren't even pretending to care about the case itself though, they're all arguing amongst themselves about gas prices. Quinby Altamont remains a fun character, the bee gimmick is forced and I don't buy her voting guilty but I like her violent hatred of Shamspeare, and her offering a job to Ryunosuke. Screw this gig, we're gonna live comfortably in the world of corporate law from now on!

Nobody is paying the slightest bit of attention to the court rules this examination, we're all talking whenever they want. Even van Zieks. Afterwards we get our chance to name Olive Green as the perpetrator, and van Zieks helpfully allows our request. Though really, we'd established no link at this point and her alibi seemed to be airtight so it's very generous that we're given this break anyway!

The rest of the trial is strong. Some of the case goes as we'd already guessed, but I like the twist that Olive sent the card to Shamspeare and that she put the poison in place back before she was stabbed. It's a pretty smart plan she had, too, ensuring that nobody would die if Shamspeare was innocent. Of course nobody considers the repercussions their actions have on poor innocent Natsume, as ever. Shamspeare has a fun breakdown, too, though it's somehow not as extravagant as I was hoping given... everything about him. Also, would that key really have still had skin prints of Selden on it? And why was Selden never given a first name, I wonder?

Between Olive Green and Raiten Menimemo, this game is much more successful at making sympathetic culprits than the first game was with Pavlova and Mrs Garrideb (and Roly). Both cases this time have involved people seeking revenge in a way that is arguably justified, so it's worth keeping an eye on that being an ongoing theme going forwards. This was a solid case through and through, I liked all the characters and the mystery itself was good, even if bits of the trial felt a little forced. I really like how they're playing with the series tropes by having two culprits here, one of them being the victim himself. Much better than our first sojourn into Briar Road!

Our brief epilogue shows Selden's loot- a giant bloodstained collar with the letter B engraved on it. I have to assume this B is for Baskervilles. Sholmes gets deadly serious again, and I note that Gregson seems to catch on to the hints he's throwing down. Finally, Ryunosuke teases the next case- we're finally heading to the Great Exhibition! Hype!

Hype indeed

glad you liked the case! tho G1-4 getting entirely too much hate! i really liked how it blended a lot more traditional AA feel with the two-day trial and a culprit with an actual motive. and of course the "twist" of the victim being alive made it really enjoyable as well.

Hype indeed.

Also I like Olive Green enough to commission an artwork of her and Duncan
https://twitter.com/asteRiesling/status/1443977716877778948?t=sEBWh3VXgXr-LPlND0a7Fg&s=19

Aw, that's sweet. I still feel bad for them.

The Great Exhibition is upon us! The opening indicates that we're in 1899, oops I had assumed up until this point that we were in the early 1900's. Our mystery this time sets us up for some classic AA shenanigans. We have a pseudoscientific experiment in front of a crowd and a teleporting body, which will surely turn out to have been moved in a very convoluted way. I haven't formed much of an opinion on Professor Harebrayne yet, but Odie Asman is a high tier evil victim name. Gina is an inspector in training now, a development that seems very obvious in retrospect. It works for her character. She mentions looking for Iris's dad, so uh yeah I guess Ryunosuke still hasn't mentioned that to Iris. Thinking about it, I really hope Ryunosuke and Herlock have had a discussion about Wilson's death in the past several months, it would be silly if they haven't.

Ryunosuke decides not to tell Harebrayne his former friend will be prosecuting him tomorrow, and I cannot think of a good reason not to prepare him for this. Maybe he'll do it before the end of day.

I'm only partway through the investigation (just talked to Gina and about to talk to Gregson), but there's three characters that provoke intrigue so far. First is van Zieks, of course. We visit his office after he was attacked, and there's some very funny moments here (Despite me saying earlier that I'm tired of the quirky young girl assistant trope, Iris is fun in that role). I hope we don't wind up being best of friends with this guy after we ultimately learn his racism origin story, but for the time being I like the awkward coworker dynamic between him and Ryunosuke. There's a painting in his office that isn't of him, and he makes an interesting comment when we present him with our armband (yes I present everything to everybody), telling us there's merit in remembering who made you what you are, and to keep that close at all times. He confirms that he's not the alleged Reaper, but doesn't mind the moniker.

Second is Stronghart. We're learning much more about him than we have before. Turns out he's just bad at timekeeping, so there's one mystery off the list. He appears to know of Asogi's true calling, but of course joins the rest of the game in not telling us the answer. He's very eager on having the British justice system catch up to the world, particularly with forensics. I guess he's not all powerful, as whoever's above him is dragging their feet on modernising and he's frustrated with how things currently stand. But van Zieks is at his beck and call, and he even supplied the '#1 prosecutor' (0-4 against us now but who's counting) with this new mysterious apprentice. I think back to Stronghart giving us McGilded's trial in the first game, saying it was very simple. But he assigned his top prosecutor to that case, too? And he's very aware of how exploitable the courts are. I can't pin down what he's going for, but he sure looks like a final boss.

And last up is van Zieks' mysterious new mute, masked, fighting-capable apprentice who Ryunosuke feels he's met before. OK, there's only two people I think this could reasonably be. One is Susato. I believe it's been about two months since her case, so she could have talked to her father and he's put her on some secret plan that involves the grand plot of the series. This'd be an efficient way to tie her back into the game in London, using her knowledge of the law and newfound ability to disguise herself as a man. And we know she's handy with a takedown!

The other option in my mind is... OK, confession time. I looked up Kazuma's theme online a while back, and unintentionally saw an autofill suggestion that I think indicated he returns. I know, I know, don't look up anything on a game until you've beaten it, but I thought with him being dead I was in the clear, and the theme is too good I had to hear it again!! Trust that I'm very annoyed at myself for this. For a while I thought I must have been mistaken but the more this game goes on, and the more that people keep talking about Kazuma and his mission, and the more the game continuously shows us flashbacks of this guy who died 6 cases ago... I'm starting to think it's getting pretty likely.

If this is the case (and I don't know that it is), I feel like I've betrayed not only myself but everyone reading this hoping for a big shocked reaction when he does turn out to be alive. I'm sincerely sorry for my lack of self control! Again, I don't know for sure. It would be a very anime twist, and I can't think of any other recurring character who would be a satisfying fit who shares the apprentice's stature and nondescript chin. And of course there's this case's title... Man, I wish I knew what I'd have thought if I hadn't maybe spoiled myself :(

But for now I'll try to put that out of my mind and focus on the case at hand!

It's standard practice to present everything to everyone

Also the timeline of GAA is fuzzy on purpose. Trying to nail down an exact year doesn't work because multiple historical events just don't line up, so Takumi wasn't too interested in accuracy in that regard.

There are also deliberate anachronisms.

Talking to Van Zieks in his office is among the best investigation segments in the franchise imo

I love The Great Exhibition.

Ah, I see about the timeline then. This case definitely establishes the game as pre-20th century, though.

And yes the van Zieks office scene was great, Ryunosuke and Iris talking trash with him standing right next to us responding to each little comment.

Herlock is on fine form working a part time job in Madame Tusspell's, though today's dance of deduction isn't one of the best. The location seems pretty irrelevant to our current case for the time being, but I'm sure it won't be long until the waxworks weave their way into the plot. Perhaps the stolen model functioned as a body double for the victim to make the experiment look successful, or something like that.

The missing figure is that of the Professor, a serial killer from 10 years ago who exclusively targeted the aristocracy. Sounds cool, tbh. I wonder if they were Nipponese, given that they killed the older van Zieks brother, Klint. Barok, for his part, acts rather chummy towards Albert Harebrayne, hm. We could be in for an interesting trial if the prosecution and defence are both agreed that the incident was an accident. I suppose Barok could betray his pal, or the brand new Forensics Team could force their way in with evidence of murder, but we've had some interesting spins on the conventional trial format already in these games so I trust they'll do something unique here.

Before the trial begins, Herlock and Iris confirm to us that Harebrayne's scientific experiment is impossible, a fact I'm very glad to have confirmed at this stage. Ryunosuke is also going to be alone in the courtroom for the first time! Was Phoenix ever assistant-less? I don't recall.

Trial next time!

Phoenix didn't have an assistant for 1-2, 2-2, 3-5, and the last trial day of 1-5.

Oh duh, whenever Maya was the defendant or otherwise incapacitated

Except for 2-4, where he had Mia being channeled by Pearl!

andylt posted...

Herlock and Iris confirm to us that Harebrayne's scientific experiment is impossible, a fact I'm very glad to have confirmed at this stage.

I love that they actually bother to point this out, just in case somebody playing might have thought teleportation could be real. (Though I suppose the only reason it's so obvious is the lack of teleporters in the modern games, which not everyone has played )

Yeah I mean this is a series that doesn't, like, have Mia turn to you at the start of a trial and say "By the way, Phoenix - just to be clear, there's no way anything like spirit channeling exists" so in that context, maybe they do need to clarify.

I mean Edgeworth continues to deny the supernatural even after using the Magatama to break Psycholocks!

But it saves the player time in court just to have Sholmes and Iris tell you it's impossible up front so you can focus on other stuff.

haven't really commented but i do really like this case - seems like you're enjoying it too!

Harebrayne is a pain in the ass for us in trial, intentionally putting himself in a bad position to protect his shoddy hypothesis. Maybe the least helpful defendant we've had? OK maybe not, that's a high bar to clear, I'd have to think.

I note the name of the coroner is listed on the autopsy report- Courtney Sithe. That's an AA name alright, we don't meet her today but I'm sure she'll be a key witness later on. Surprisingly enough, we don't have a judicial examination this trial day. We have a cast of six brand new jurors, I don't find their designs particularly interesting but they generally keep to themselves and only interject when they've something useful to add. And they don't jump to declare our client guilty at the drop of a hat! What a revelation! I wonder if it's because our client isn't Japanese or a pickpocket >_>

The end of this section is pretty great, Harebrayne is incredibly annoying but we're faced with a conundrum- whether to prioritise his life or his wishes as our client. I initially want to follow the truth and show his experiment is bogus of course, but after thinking about it he explicitly hired us for one single reason and begged us not to let his machine get taken away, so despite my better judgment I decide to obey the wishes of the man who hired us. Of course it doesn't matter, because Susato appears (?! I was sure Ryunosuke was hallucinating at first), Albert is forced to admit the truth, and our court journey ends here for today.

I'm not sure what van Zieks is trying to accomplish in this trial. He seems to be betraying his friend but he's easier to defeat than usual. He could be tanking his case so Albert doesn't get found guilty, but I think he may just be putting pressure on him to admit his experiment is a failure. I'm interested how he'll handle the next part of the trial now Albert isn't in denial. And speaking of, I half expected our client to be found Not Guilty right here and for the next day to have another wrinkle with another defendant, what with Harebrayne's character development and all the evidence pointing to the mysterious green balloon and Enoch Drebber. But this is AA law, I shouldn't be shocked he's still on the hook. At least he won't be undercutting our defence next time.

But enough of that, Susato is back! I'm not sure what to think of this if she's gonna jump right back to her previous supporting role, I was hoping we'd see her lawyer up again at some point, but we'll see how it goes. Thankfully she's as thorough and prepared as ever, and back at home she immediately cuts to the chase with all the mysteries she can clear up. Thank goodness, someone who isn't holding things back from us! She's decided not to keep secrets anymore, and even if we should be investigating instead of reminiscing, I'm happy to get some answers.

The Baskervilles manuscript was in her father's room a year or so ago, and he refused to discuss it with her. I imagine he learned of the case through John Wilson, and I assume the reason he's secretive about it is the same reason Sholmes is, but Yujin is looking mighty shady right now. He knows that Kazuma's body disappeared off the boat too (OK he's 100% alive good that's not a mystery anymore), and bless Susato for going to Raiten's cell and clearing this up. She's acting with her own agency now, and her distancing herself from her father is a good sign for whenever we confront him. Yujin and Jigoku are both heading to Stronghart's Forensics convention in London as we speak, so all the key players will be here soon enough!

The other major piece of info here concerns Jezaille Brett- or rather, Miss A. Shinn! Neither Ryunosuke, Susato, or Iris seem to remember where they heard that name before, I'd expect this from Ryunosuke, but I'm disappointed in the other two! So that answers that question... but little else. Gregson is the only person on that list still openly walking around, we should really warn him. Though Shinn killed Wilson herself, and Kazuma and Shinn were killed (or 'killed') by independent means, it's not like the deaths are all connected, right? Is the Reaper at work somehow? I still fail to see how these names connect, and what it could mean. Why did Shinn kill Wilson?

Next time we'll be back to the investigation, but I'd really like to ask Sholmes about Kazuma soon. Susato has opened up, it's past time we learn why he was on the Burya to begin with.

Most actively unhelpful defendant is probably...Wocky? Harebrayne is up there though.

Actually, it could be 3-1 Phoenix because he ate the stupid bottle.

was disappointed not to get more susato in japan but getting her in G2-3 was an awesome surprise

The second afternoon of investigation is really strong. We meet the shady looking Courtney Sithe and her cheesy creepy seemingly murderous daughter. I don't know if she'll be this case's villain but we're taking her down at some point in this game, I'm sure. Her and her 500 scalpels per month (It took me far too long to find the part of the room I had to investigate to proceed, I thought the ledger was a part of the desk >_>). She claims the fingerprints show the victim did move, but I don't know if we can take her at her word.

Stronghart knows Mikotoba Sr as well as Judge Jigoku, whose continued relevance must be building to something. Gina has a new puppy named Toby, who surprisingly seems irrelevant to the Baskervilles case. For now! Gregson is heading to Paris, I wonder if he's aware of the list and is fleeing the reaper. If not, it's surely related to why he's on that list in the first place, though he plans to take Gina with him. Sidenote I guess we've all forgiven him for committing perjury that would've gotten Gina found guilty of murder. I suppose taking her on as his apprentice may be his way of atoning.

Up with van Zieks, the Apprentice shows up again and Susato immediately identifies him as Kazuma! Once again Susato, bless you for not beating around the bush like everyone else. It appears he has amnesia... which this series isn't above doing of course, but there's obviously more going on, even if that is true. Kazuma, you have a lot to answer for in letting your best friends think you were dead!! I'm glad the game isn't dragging this particular reveal out.

Sholmes, however, won't tell us about his role in covering up the 'murder', claiming this upcoming trial will provide some answers. I don't like to be mad at Sholmes, but him hiding this, not apologising, and then immediately scamming us out of 5 shillings is a lot to take!

This does lead us straight into the special exhibit at Tusspell's, however, which is a really cool scene. 10 years ago, Enoch Drebber claimed he saw the Professor rising from his grave. There's blood on the waxwork Drebber's camera, somehow, and the waxwork of the killer has lost its head. The Professor's identity is apparently still a secret, but it seems the waxwork head must legitimately depict his likeness the way everyone talks about it. Did Tusspells get access to the dead body even with this all being a closed court case? More importantly, if the game hiding the Professor's face, it must be a face we'd recognise... I'm at a loss, this case seems wrapped up in our current one, but we also learn that the Professor is the killer from the Baskervilles case and I doubt that's getting resolved here. Hmm! I wonder if we're heading towards a flashback Baskervilles case with Sholmes, or something.

Drebber took the Professor's waxwork and presumably used it to aid in assisting the illusion of the experiment, but I wonder why he took that particular figure, what with his own personal horrible past experience with that event... Too many pieces to fit them together here, though Drebber is of course the #1 suspect for now.

After Toby finds Drebber's hideout, it's time for a much funnier deduction dance than last time. "Life was so much simpler in those halcyon days when gravity could be reversed", says Susato, and her, Ryunosuke and Herlock are all in fine comedic form here. The cherry on top is that the timebomb Herlock instantly dismissed turns out to be a legitimate one that very nearly kills us all. Knowing that we were all chatting away and having fun while a countdown to our doom ticked away, and Drebber was hiding in the safe incredibly confused as to why we weren't running away, it's brilliant. As are the numerous well-deserved side-eyes that Sholmes receives afterwards. Oh, and the experiment blows up.

I've no idea what to make of Drebber, I hope he turns out to be as complex as the hints of his backstory indicate he could be. The next trial day has been promised to be very important, both Barok and his amnesiac apprentice will be there with us. Oh, and Harebrayne, who is still there I guess.

I think that might be my favorite Dance of Deduction. It's so good.

andylt posted...

After Toby finds Drebber's hideout, it's time for a much funnier deduction dance than last time. "Life was so much simpler in those halcyon days when gravity could be reversed", says Susato, and her, Ryunosuke and Herlock are all in fine comedic form here. The cherry on top is that the timebomb Herlock instantly dismissed turns out to be a legitimate one that very nearly kills us all. Knowing that we were all chatting away and having fun while a countdown to our doom ticked away, and Drebber was hiding in the safe incredibly confused as to why we weren't running away, it's brilliant.

This might be my favorite part of the entire game. It's so fantastically stupid in a way only Sholmes could be.

the dances of deduction and sholmes in general make GAA feel so distinct from regular AA

Whenever I get to the AJ trilogy investigations will feel so empty without Sholmes, I'm sure. And the courts won't feel right without a jury!

This case's jury is still pretty lowkey though, despite a summation examination (which we don't even need to ask for, lol). The exceptions are juror #4, the scientist guy, and juror #6, the 'back in my day' cop, possibly the worst juror we've endured yet. There's also a bizarre corn child gimmick that I don't get.

Drebber's text has this tendency of highlighting lots of unimportant words, I'm not sure what exactly that's meant to convey about his character but it's a neat idea. I like that the waxwork is suddenly present in the court right when we present it, I guess it was there all along just offscreen.

It occurred to me how very convenient it was for us to get a piece of evidence with Courtney's maiden name on it immediately before the part of the trial where it'd be useful, but the intermission shows that everything happening here is according to Sholmes's plan. He's not trusting us enough to tell us what's going on, but he seems to want Pandora's Box open while other characters are apprehensive about it. The game is hyping up this last section a lot, I'm excited!

Tusspells has a fun testimony, I like her character (and theme). The game isn't afraid to get very macabre here, intimately describing details of rigor mortis while describing how the then 16 year old (!) Esmerelda dug up a grave and held the fresh cadaver's jaw up so she could create a fitting waxwork of it. Jeez. And all this to make a face that isn't even on display in public. This section ends with Barok calling Sithe to the stand, and unfortunately I have to leave it here for today. I hate to, as I'm sure this will be the last segment of the case, but this way my hype can build further!

I wonder about Stronghart's motivations here. He told van Zieks to prosecute this case (and Ryunosuke to defend it), despite presumably being able to foresee that Sithe would be relevant, and that Barok's own principles would take precedence for him over his orders. Either he was testing his #1 prosecutor's loyalties, he's not as smart as I figured, or for some reason this is part of his plan. Is he happy to cut Courtney loose? Hm.

Again my mind turns to the Professor's identity. If it's not someone we the player would recognise, it has to be a face that would mean something to one of the characters. Maybe this talk of twin brothers is foreshadowing! I'd imagine that Stronghart, Sithe, Mikotoba, Jigoku, Sholmes, and Wilson could all have been in London at the time of these murders, but what face would mean anything to them? I assume Sholmes already knows the identity. Perhaps Klint van Zieks wasn't a victim of the Professor but was the killer himself? ...Eh, no, that wouldn't work with the timings. Hmm. I don't know where this will go. I noticed Osman's signature on the 10 year old article, though, so I imagine that ties to Drebber's motive for the murder.

Drebber has some A+ animations.

and music.

Drebber so good

loving this writeup of the case. i don't remember G2-3 all that well but man there's so much to it. the rigor mortis stuff is dark and fantastic.

Tusspells is the good kind of crazy.

and hot.