Hallo, alle miteinander, and welcome back to Wright Wednesday. This weekly blog series has us recapping, analyzing, and reviewing the varied cases of the Ace Attorney series. Last week we finished off Turnabout Samurai, and today we start the beginning of the end, the first segment of Turnabout Goodbyes.
And we start it with me, Sam, the Game Professor, Ace Attorney fan and friend of the blog!
As well as me, Roy, owner of this blog and fan of Games as Lit. The case begins on a lake, with two men of a boat, the scene obscured by the night and the fog. The two talk about how long it has been, and just when one mentions how much they've suffered, one pulls out a gun, wishes the other a Merry Christmas, and the gun is fired. Someone falls into the lake...and the man left standing, the man shown holding the gun, is Miles Edgeworth.
See when you summarize it like that, I definitely imagine Miles Edgeworth saying, "Merry Christmas you filthy animal." Which is... a strange image.
Can we pause the recap for a second so I can freak out over how much I love this opening cutscene? It's not quite my favorite, but it is in my Top 3, for sure.
It is definitely a good one! And the shock of seeing Edgeworth holding the gun at the end sure is a hell of a twist.
Anyway, it is indeed Christmas, and Maya and Phoenix are enjoying a quiet day at the office. Maya's worried her powers are going to atrophy and wants to stand under a waterfall, but sadly Los Angeles is not exactly known for such geographic features.
Are there any cases post-Turnabout Sisters that don't start with Maya saying weird stuff in Phoenix's office?
Yes, yes there are. While Maya is fooling around, Phoenix is cleaning the office with the TV on. First there's a news story about Gourdy, a supposed monster in the nearby Gourd Lake.
Anyone else see the stupid pig movie with that name? Definitely took a while to get that out of my head when Gourdy came up.
Soon afterwards there's more news from Gourd Lake: there was a murder the night before, and up-and-coming attorney Miles Edgeworth has been arrested for the crime. This stuns Phoenix, and by the time he's managed to tell Maya about the terrible news, they both agree to go the Detention Center and see the Demon Attorney.
While Phoenix is kind-hearted and stubborn enough that this immediate reaction doesn't necessarily surprise me, it is still kind of impressive. Even more so that Maya would immediately rush to the rescue of the man who tried to get her convicted for murdering her own sister.
Well, she's seen the hints that there's more to him than that, the same as the player has, and Phoenix...well, we'll get back to that later. They find Edgeworth sulking in the room, unhappy to see them and seemingly thinking that Phoenix only came to laugh at his fallen opponent.
Definitely says something sad about Edgeworth's view of the world that laughing at him is the only reason he could think of for Phoenix to come visit him. Especially Phoenix, of all people.
Well, even Phoenix admits that he doesn't actually have anything better to do. Edgeworth doesn't say much about the murder, dodging Phoenix's questions, and when he Presents his badge to him, Edgeworth laughs at the idea of hiring Phoenix. He makes a good point as well: even if he's won each trial so far, he's only defended three clients and had his badge for less than a year. Streak or not, he's not exactly the best option.
Fair. Not that a state-appointed attorney is a good option either. Edgeworth is coming across as incredibly fatalistic throughout this whole conversation.
That's true, but he isn't quite that hard up, not yet. But yeah, this is the beginning of seeing the melancholy at Edgeworth's core, and I think fatalism is the perfect word for it. Since Edgeworth refuses to say anything useful, Phoenix heads to Gourd Lake only to find Gumshoe leading the investigation, trying to find any clues to clear Edgeworth's name.
Have I mentioned yet in these blogs that Gumshoe is a beautiful gumdrop of a human being?
No one else is taking the investigation seriously, and Gumshoe is genuinely enthused to see Phoenix again. He gives the defense duo the relevant information about the murder, including the reveal of a witness to the crime. When Phoenix and Maya tell him they already tried talking to Edgeworth and being his lawyer, Gumshoe is befuddled at why Edgeworth would refuse. After all, ever since the last case he's been moody and say Phoenix's name over and over. That means he was impressed and stuff, right?
Yes, definitely what that means, Detective Gumshoe. Nice detecting.
Gumshoe makes it clear that no defense attorney has or will accept Edgeworth's case, Phoenix is his only option other than a public defender. He has to head back to the precinct, but before he goes he tells Phoenix that the autopsy report isn't out yet, and gives him the address of the police station so they can meet up later. From the entrance, Phoenix and Maya head into the park itself, where they find an unattended booth selling Samurai Dogs and a party popper sitting on a bench. Maya swipes said explosive, because Maya, and from there two locations are available: the boat rental shop and a lakeside area where someone is camping.
Which means it's time for everyone's favorite Phoenix Wright character!
I sense the sarcasm...or at least I hope that's what that was, but you're ahead of yourself, my friend. Heading to the boat rental shop leads to nada, and the campsite is without a person to be seen. There's a van, evidence of someone living there, and a camera set up pointing at the lake. When Maya sees a microphone attached to the camera, she does her best to set it off with no success, until she uses the earlier begotten party popper. Which, when popped, causes the camera to take a ton of pictures. This causes its owner, the Southern-fried photographer Lotta Hart, to show up with a bone to pick with our protagonists.
Oh, was that... was I too early, sorry let me try again: And now it's time to meet everyone's favorite Phoenix Wright character!
We'll get more into our opinions on Lotta another day, but for now I'll just say that you are a funny man. Ms. Hart goes from belligerent over a roll of wasted film to interested in the idea of a murder pretty quickly, and seemingly warms up to the lawyer and his assistant. When Phoenix points out that her camera was pointed at the lake on the night of the murder, set to go off to the sound of very loud noises, Lotta realizes she might have a picture of the murder, and goes to check her film.
The department is pretty... normal? I mean I'm not sure what else I expected, but with as zany as Phoenix Wright can sometimes get I half expected a giant police mascot or something.
Blue Badger theme begins playing, off in the distance
Now who's getting ahead of themselves?
Excuse me, but the Blue Badger is actually in this scene. Anyway, with Lotta talked to, Gumshoe is out of the meeting he was in...and he has no good news. Edgeworth is still the primary suspect, and the trial is tomorrow. The entire thing makes Gumshoe feel like he's betraying Edgeworth, which leads to Maya noting how much trust there is between them.
It's actually really cool to finally see more of Gumshoe's perspective on Edgeworth. It's a great moment for him.
I completely agree. The way Gumshoe sees it, Edgeworth's 100% guilty policy means he puts faith in the police to arrest the right person, and because of that Gumshoe feels like they need to show that same level of trust in return. It's a beautiful sentiment...though on reflection it darkly mirrors how unwilling real life prosecutors are to in any way convict a cop.
Phoenix brings up the autopsy report, which Gumshoe happily gives him, and the police have no idea who the victim is. When Maya sees the report, she feels like the picture of the victim looks vaguely familiar. Heading back to the woods where Lotta's camping leads to her revealing that she does indeed have a photo from the murder...a photo that made her remember the fact that she herself is a witness!
How convenient for her.
Yep, and since she's a witness, she lets them know she's going to the cops. Phoenix and Maya take it hard, but Lotta just says that it isn't personal, and that they're enemies now. Okay.
Then Santa shows up!
The crossover we all wanted
Okay, so he’s Larry Butz in a costume selling hot dogs. Not that I’d be surprised if Santa Claus showed up in this series at some point. Phoenix tells him that Edgeworth is accused of murder, and Maya is surprised to find that Larry knows Edgeworth too; the three of them were in grade school together. He says Edgey was always a very serious person, and wanted to be a defense attorney like his father.
This is also his first time meeting Maya.
True, and his reaction to her is... about what you'd expect. He also has an article about Gourdy, complete with testimony from the people who saw it and the picture that sparked the whole thing off; a picture of a couple in front of the lake, with a strange figure seeming to come out of the lake behind them.
Clearly, this is genuine proof of a for-real monster that lives in Gourd Lake
But that's all the useful information Larry has, so we move on. At some point in all this, if you go back to the Wright and Co. Law Offices after getting the autopsy from Gumshoe, Maya remembers where she saw the victim's face. She says he used to work at Mia’s law firm, and that Grossberg may know more. Grossberg is shocked to hear that Edgeworth is accused of murder, and also recognizes the victim as Robert Hammond: the defense attorney in the DL-6 case that disgraced Mia and Maya’s mother.
That would've been pretty awkward, having a coworker who inadvertently shattered your family.
For sure. And man does the game use that sprite of Maya tearing up with her hand over her mouth really well in cases like this. As soon as her mother comes up, it's heartbreaking. But that's not the only revelation we get about that case: we also find out that the victim in the DL-6 case was Gregory Edgeworth. Miles Edgeworth’s father.
Fun fact: he was both named for, and later designed to look like, Gregory Peck, the actor who played Atticus Finch in the film adaptation of To Kill a Mocking Bird.
Now that is actually a very interesting parallel. Showing the picture of Misty Fey (the one Phoenix saw in Turnabout Sisters, which Grossberg gave him just now) makes Edgeworth realize how far Phoenix’s investigation has come in a mere few hours, and he concedes to answer his questions. Edgeworth explains that his father was shot and killed, and he saw it all with his own eyes as a child. The evidence and Misty Fey all pointed to one man, but Hammond convinced the court that they were wrong.
He also says the statute of limitations will run out in three days, even though murder has no such statute, but whatever, it's set-up for...kind of a lame pay off but we'll get into that later.
Yep, there are three days (conveniently the maximum length of a trial in this universe) before the case basically never happened. After explaining all of this, Edgeworth asks Phoenix to defend him. Then there’s an earthquake, and Edgeworth is left as a shivering ball on the floor.
You can also choose to tell Edgeworth you won't defend him as a joke, but for some reason Edgeworth and Maya don't think it's very funny.
Phoenix and Maya go to the police department to give Gumshoe Edgeworth’s letter of request. Gumshoe is upset that Lotta Hart showed up, since she gave testimony that she saw Edgeworth shoot Hammond and provided the photo as proof. He’s happy to see that Wright will be defending him, though, and after commenting on the earthquake goes to check on Edgeworth to see if he’s alright. Because Gumshoe is a caring little teddy bear of a man. And thus ends the first investigation day.
Well, Professor, what would you want to talk about first, analysis-wise?
While most of the first investigation segments are mostly setup, this one manages to subvert that expectation by laying some very important groundwork for Edgeworth's development. I won't give away how the case goes after this, but learning that Edgeworth initially wanted to be a defense attorney, and that this traumatic event happened to him as a child, casts his character in an entirely new light that we'll spend the rest of the case exploring. So yeah, still mostly setup, but it's setup that has some huge ramifications for someone who, I think I can safely say, is easily the most complex and interesting character in this first game.
An interesting thing to bring up is that the game's director and series creator Shu Takumi has said that, originally, he wanted Edgeworth to be interesting and sympathetic but unlikable at the same time. The end result, that the character proved to be one of the most popular in the entire series, far more than the titular protagonist, was a major surprise to him and actively changed the course of the series.
There's definitely some degree of a "Draco in Leather Pants" effect going on here; the dark, brooding, kinda' assholey character with a secret reason for his douchebaggery is not only always popular, but usually gets a surprising amount of fans. And they become the favorite of a loooooot of women. And this all aside from the fact that if his goal was for people to dislike Edgeworth, he probably shouldn't have turned the entire first game into a redemption arc for him.
I see where the director was coming from, in a way: no matter how sympathetic, Edgeworth still came very close to falsely convicting Maya and Phoenix, and before the start of the game he won every case for three full years, sending who knows how many innocent people to prison or the gallows. Even now, as he is a defendant himself, he's still struggling against the prosecutor's creed he's been raised with.
The execution is what allows him to worm into player's hearts, I think. We don't see it in this segment, but it soon becomes clear that under his frightening facade Edgeworth is very socially awkward and unaccustomed to interacting with others, and I think it's that Adorkableness, when combined with his sad past, that leads to his legions of fangirls.
That definitely makes sense. And we'll have a lot more to talk about in regards to Edgeworth as this case progresses.
I do want to mention Gumshoe as well, since we see a bit of a different side of him in this one. He came across at first largely as though he was a sort of aggressive, very incompetent detective who was little more than a stooge for Edgeworth's schemes. But we've seen that first impression break down over the course of the game, and at this point we're really seeing who he truly is; he cares so much about the people around him, and so appreciates when people put their trust in him. Hearing his impression of Edgeworth and seeing him fight for him is a gamechanger in how we view Gumshoe, and reveals him to be the wonderful, compassionate, determined ice cream sundae of a man that he is.
All of that is completely accurate. Gumshoe's stated philosophy on how he sees Edgeworth is really interesting, especially because it seems like something the prosecutor would perhaps think about himself...in spite of the fact that he treats Gumshoe like garbage 99% of the time.
We mentioned a little bit of how the whole Maya's mom thing integrates into other stuff, but I think this is the right time to bring something up. Now, Misty Fey's abandonment of her children is stated to be have been caused by the backdraft she and their family got from the DL-6 Incident, and it clearly left an enormous impact over both her children. Can I just ask, though, why exactly she had to leave? I'm not joking when I say that there is never, ever any elaboration on why she had to completely abandon her two children, and it genuinely colors how I see that character. The situation will get stupider later in this very trial, but even with how things are now, one has to wonder why the series never asked the question of how Maya dealt with this neglect.
Yeah, in general Maya's got some deep-rooted issues that the series never really addresses as completely as it should, and I'm not sure it adequately explains why Misty disappeared either. I love Maya, but I do think the series drops the ball on her a little bit in this regard.
While the full reveal of what Phoenix is holding back from Maya hasn't been shown to the audience yet, this segment does further his arc by elaborating on his past connection to Edgeworth in definite details, and it recasts earlier cases in an interesting new light. Phoenix wasn't just going up against the Demon Prosecutor, the genius without a loss on his record, he was fighting his childhood friend.
It's definitely been interesting to replay the game already knowing this fact; the dialogue dances around ever acknowledging it in some occasionally contrived ways, but there's some major subtext to a lot of their interactions that you'll only really pick up on if you already know Phoenix and Edgeworth grew up together.
The scene where it's revealed Larry also knew Edgeworth is one I really like. The immediate contrast between the two adds to how out of nowhere is feels, and it works well at shocking a new player. Speaking of the Butz, I actually really like his dynamic with Maya, insofar as she's one of the few women in the series he isn't constantly hitting on, but there are moments where it feels like the two are oddly in-sync, like kindred spirits. Kindred, Chaotic Neutral spirits.
Yeah, there are definitely some parallels there. Though I also get the feeling the only reason Larry isn't hitting on her is because he thinks she's with Phoenix.
I actually disagree there, his first thought is that she's his little sister, and before Phoenix can really do anything to dissuade him of that notion, Larry's brain has kind of just stopped caring about the entire thing. Especially considering lines from him later in the trilogy, I don't think him seeing them as a couple would make sense.
Oh, maybe I misremembered the scene. But alright, that makes sense.
Now, I believe it's time for the check-up on the Wright and Co examinables!
Yes, fill us in!
Looking out the window reveals that a second branch of the Gatewater Hotel is being built outside the city, which believe it or not is foreshadowing for a future case!
That's amusing, but also I have no memory of that coming into play later and now I'm nervous.
Maya's gotten into a better routine of how to water Charley the Office Plant, and he's perking up.
Oh good, glad the best character is getting watered consistently.
Examining the poster leads to Phoenix remembering that Maya brought in a Steel Samurai poster a few days earlier, and had wanted to tear down Mia's movie poster so hers could go on the wall. Phoenix argued heavily against that, but now he knows she's just waiting for the right chance to sneak it up there.
I'd think Maya would want to keep Mia's poster up too, but then I'm also not surprised she'd jump at any opportunity to get some Steel Samurai iconography in Phoenix's office.
That'll go great with the clientele. Last but definitely not least is one of the funniest and understated moments in the series, which I will transcribe instead of trying to top. When examining Mia's legal books: "Difficult-looking legal books stand in a formidable row. They mock me. I tried reading one, and it made my head hurt. When I closed it, it slipped out of my hand. Then my foot hurt too."
Okay yeah, this is definitely one of those times I regret not being more exploratory in these segments!
Speaking of exploratory, I mentioned earlier that I really love the Criminal Affairs Department, and that's actually because, as a reoccurring location, it has examinables almost as good as the office's!
Alright, what's it got?
Well, there's the Chief, who has some dialogue with Phoenix anyway. Specifically, he's the Chief of Detectives, not the Chief of Police, and he basically sits at his desk all day being a goober. Whenever you examine him he's doing something completely unrelated to his job, in this case freaking out about Gourdy.
I guess I can understand why he'd do that, at least.
There is also a detective on the left. He actually has different descriptions every time a Criminal Affairs related thing happens, but they're all him mumbling quotes that sound like he's training himself on various aspects of detective work.
Well at least someone there is working hard.
Oh yeah, there's also this stuffed animal on a shelf, some weird blue thing that the Chief explains is the Blue Badger. He created it, and is doing his best to make the Blue Badger the LAPD mascot.
I love that. It's such a Japanese thing that seems so weird in America.
If the real LAPD had a mascot as cute as the Blue Badger, maybe people would like them more.
Yes, that's definitely the problem with America's law enforcement. No cute mascots.
One last thing, and this is an admittedly weird complaint, but for the first time I noticed how useless the Gourd Lake Entrance is. It might be the most useless location in the series. It adds nothing to the story, has one fairly funny examinable, and adds all movement to and from the Lake by one. Am I making sense, or have I gone crazy?
Well the game's whole movement system is linear, meaning you can only go to places that are directly connected to the place you're currently in. This is annoying for travel, but keeps instills a sense of location and keeps the "move" screen from getting too crowded with options. My guess is that the entrance ensures that, when traveling from anywhere other than Gourd Lake, there's only one movement option for it rather than two (one for the boat rental and one for the campsite). Otherwise the move screen might get too crowded, and avoiding that is a big part of how the movement system is designed in the first place.
I understand where you're going with that, I really do...but there's another location that could serve the same function: the Samurai Dog area! It also connects all the Gourd Lake places together, serving as a junction between the rental shop and the woods, and stuff actually happens there!!
That's... okay yeah, that's actually true. Weird.
I will say that examining the trees there leads to a funny bit where Phoenix waxes poetically about the cold, and when Maya complains about the weather making her numb, admits his poetry does that to people too.
Haha, I am not surprised at this.
That Phoenix writes poetry or that it makes people numb?
That Phoenix writes bad poetry.
With that bad poetry in mind, it's time to end things for today. Next week we'll start the first day in court, and I hope to see you all then. Auf wiedersehen.
Later everyone!
