Hallo, alle miteinander, and welcome back to Wright Wednesday. We're here to recap, analyze, and review the cases of the Ace Attorney series, and today we're one step closer to finishing the first game. I'm Roy and ich nicht bin ein Berliner.
And I'm Sam, who will continue to write in English.
The third day of investigation starts in the Wright and Co Law Offices, not long after the end of the trial day. Ema and Phoenix are still stunned by Lana's seeming admission of forging evidence in the SL-9 Case, and Phoenix wants to hear more about it, especially considering Ema was a witness. She explains that she was in Lana's office, waiting for her sister to get off work so they could go to dinner, when Joe Darke burst into the room, followed soon after by Prosecutor Marshall. There was a fight, and the power went out due to the thunderstorm. Just as a lightning bolt flashed, lighting the office, Ema saw something that had been burned into her memory ever since.
It's interesting to see the whole "Wright's assistant was secretly traumatized by something related to the case" scenario play out here well before seeing it in a later game.
Maya and DL-6?
I mean, sort of? But she wasn't as directly involved. Compared to Ema or (insert spoiler here from later game).
Ah yes, my favorite Ace Attorney character: (insert spoiler here from later game). Anyway, Ema admits that she wasn't able to witness the precise moment of the murder, and as such wasn't able to testify about it. She feels like it's this failure that forced her sister to forge evidence, something that left her a much colder person ever since, and is now ruining Edgeworth's career.
It's a lot of responsibility for someone to feel about something in which they were a victim. It's really sad.
Asking Ema about the event further leads to her giving a few more details. She saw Darke about to stab Marshall with a knife, and she passed out right afterwards. When she woke up, Lana was cradling Ema in her arms. The fact her testimony wasn't useful is what led to her current obsession with becoming a scientific investigator: because it would make sure the tragedy would never be able to repeat itself, she'd never fail in her testimony again.
The way she understands it, Darke was going to murder her, and it's only because of Marshall's intervention that he died instead of her. But there's definitely room for misinformation in how everything went down.
Phoenix only has one last question about how everything played out: if Ema was waiting in Lana's office, then why did a murder suspect run into it, and why was a prosecutor chasing him? The answer is simple: Darke was in for questioning that day and escaped, and Lana's office was near an elevator, like all the detective offices. This confuses Phoenix further, but Ema reveals that at the time Lana wasn't Chief Prosecutor, or even a prosecutor at all, but a detective. The clout she got from the SL-9 Incident allowed her to reach the position she has now.
Not sure how this never came up until now, with all the talk about SL-9, but it's important information for sure.
Heading to the police department has the pair run into Officer Marshall. He is 'voluntarily' going to be interrogated regarding his actions, but he's aware that at this point his career is well and truly over. Before he does that, he doesn't mind chatting with Phoenix and Ema a bit. He gives an example of how the evidence was altered for trial in the SL-9 Incident: the murder weapon was found to not completely match the wound on Marshall's brother, which led them to speculate it was likely not the actual murder weapon. But when the autopsy report reached court, those details were all gone.
A good half of this investigation segment is just running into people who were involved in SL-9 and getting little bits of information that help create a more full picture.
Speaking of little bits on information, Marshall explains that his younger brother was far smarter than he is, and won the King of Prosecutors trophy on the day he was killed. In fact, that murder was on evidence transferal day, just like with the current case. Marshall really shows how much he loved and respected his brother, it's a humanizing moment for him.
I admit, the case turned me around on this character entirely. I was kind of ambivalent, didn't like him at first, but this scene was really nice.
The last big tidbit he gives out is that, back in the day, Damon Gant and Lana Skye were partners as detectives, and they were the best in the city. Every detective looked up to them, wanted to be just like them. And just like the SL-9 Incident allowed Lana to become Chief Prosecutor, it also gave Gant his position as Chief of Police.
And thus ends Marshal's lap in the exposition relay.
Well, before leaving he does two more things: make it clear he now believes that Edgeworth has never been his enemy, but that Damon Gant is; and he reveals he hadn't actually been drinking from his flask before when he pulls out a stopper with his teeth and actually starts drinking.
Oh! I noticed the animation was different but didn't quite catch what that meant! What a cool little detail.
Heading to the Detention Center, Lana is ready to talk...kinda. Phoenix makes it clear he's learned a lot more, including her previous profession, and he's ready to hear everything. When discussing the day of court, Ema is clearly distraught at the idea that Darke was convicted using illegal evidence, but Lana only is able to say that she sold her soul to win that case. As for why Lana went from detective to prosecutor, it turns at that was always her plan. Despite getting a law degree, she started as a police officer so she could get experience in investigating before becoming a lawyer.
I'm not sure if prosecutors and police officers are as connected in real life as they are in this game, but that seems a reasonable career course in the Phoenix Wright universe.
I don't want to pretend to know more about real life law enforcement than I do, but from what I can glean criminal prosecutors do work very closely with police, but they don't actively direct the investigations like they do in the Ace Attorney timeline. Lana repeats a lot of stuff we already know about the SL-9 Incident, but reveals for the first time that she was the first on the crime scene, that she panicked and immediately tended to her unconscious sister before arresting Joe Darke
Considering how much everyone says she changed since that incident, this makes sense; I find it hard to imagine Lana ignoring the perpetrator to care for her sister first, but apparently she was much more outwardly caring back then, and this shows it.
Lana tries to spin this as an awful crime from the past, one that is well closed and completely over, any connections to the current case are just coincidences. Phoenix doesn't buy that for a second. He believes what Starr and Marshall have said, that their demotions and Lana's promotion are all connected, and to Goodman's murder as well. Now, he wants to investigate the scene of the crime from the SL-9 Incident, the office where Damon Gant still works.
There's a bit in here where Phoenix says that it can't be coincidence that everyone involved in SL-9 is also involved in this case, and it's not the only time that's said in this segment either. No one is particularly genre-savvy in this one.
Going to Gumshoe's office has Phoenix ask his boss where Gant's office is. He tells the duo, no problem, and only after Ema point out that they aren't police officers does he realize they can't enter and tells them not to. I think Gumshoe's boss is even ditzier than he is.
As Phoenix points out, it's easy to see how it runs in the department.
Completely ignoring that command, our heroes head to the office and find the best office in the history of the world. It has an enormous pipe organ, suits of armor, it's orange as hell, it's just freaking coolsville. Gant is there, and as they enter he stuffs something in a drawer and locks it.
It might be the most ostentatious office in this whole game, and considering Redd White and Grossberg that's saying something.
WRONG. WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG. NO TASTE.
Come on, organs are cool, but in an office? Bond villains wish they had that kind of overdramatic flair.
Aside from Sam being bad and ridiculous, Gant acts like his usual affable self, for the most part. Phoenix and Ema catch a glimpse of a photo of Gant, Lana, and Marshall's brother from the day he died, when he received the King of Prosecutor's award. Gant expressly forbids any investigating of the office, and has somewhere important to be. He insists Phoenix and Ema join him as they leave, and locks the place behind him. Left without a crime scene to investigate, they head back to the Police Department and run into Gumshoe.
Yeah, considering the source I think either option is about as likely.
The more important part is that it was the last murder that allowed them to convict Darke, as there wasn't sufficient evidence from any of his prior killings. Gumshoe's able to enter Gant's office using his detective's ID, but doing so could get him fired, so he refuses to help unless they can prove it's really, really important.
Can't blame him for that, really. Poor guy seems to take enough flak for one thing or another, he doesn't need to hand them an excuse to fire him. Having encountered a dead end with Gumshoe for now, Phoenix and Ema go to see Edgeworth. He isn’t in the best of moods, understandably, but he does talk. Firstly, by taking blame for the falsified evidence despite not knowing it was forged.
This is actually a reoccurring, established part of the series's version of law: it doesn't really matter if the attorney knows or not, if they present illegal evidence in court it's their responsibility, period, end of story.
He shows them the evidence list for the Joe Darke case, which is suspiciously short; about half as long as most cases. He also reiterates the fact that he was only at the office the day of Goodman’s murder because Gant asked him to take an unrelated piece of evidence back there.
Upon showing Edgeworth the picture of Gant, Marshall, and Lana, we find out that the King of Prosecutors award changed its design between then and now. Apparently the award is based on an ancient Chinese story. In Chinese, the word “contradiction” is written with two characters: one means “halberd,” the other means “shield.” The story itself is about an arms merchant named Chu, who presents the king with two items: a halberd that could slice through any shield or armor, and a shield that could withstand any weapon. The Chinese word for “contradiction” was supposedly born from this story. Edgeworth says the trophy symbolizes a prosecutor’s need to pursue the truth, even if that truth is ugly.
Phoenix pretends to know the story himself but loses that cover by getting really into figuring out the twist.
In any case, the relevance to the issue at hand is that Gant apparently had the halberd removed from the design two years ago. But there’s also a piece of paper that Edgeworth set down quickly when you entered, and upon examination it turns out to be a resignation letter. Edgeworth explains that he feels tired, and like something inside him has died. He knows the path he’s walked hasn’t been just, and he can’t forgive himself, nor should anyone else. Phoenix, ever the pragmatist, muses that he might be able to use the resignation letter, and puts it in the Court Record.
On their way from Edgeworth’s office, Phoenix and Ema run into Angel Starr again. She explains her view of things, which is that Gant manipulated the SL-9 incident, as well as the fallout with firing detectives and promoting Lana, as a coup to take control of the Prosecutor’s Office. She says Lana was used like a pawn, and theorizes that this is why her demeanor changed so much after that case.
It's a great theory...from an incompetent detective the player has negative feelings about.
Meanwhile, the only way back into Gant’s office is with Gumshoe’s help, but since doing so could cost him his job, he refuses. But showing him Edgeworth’s resignation letter prompts him to reflect on Edgeworth’s character, and the trust he puts in detectives like Gumshoe to provide him with sound evidence. “We betrayed him,” he concludes. And with that, he agrees to help Phoenix and Ema set things right. He gives them his ID card so they can get into Gant’s office. Given Phoenix’s previous track record with snooping around suspicious people’s offices, this is sure to end well.
This is actually the first time Phoenix has snooped in someone's office, unless you count Mia's. I would never call what he did at Bluecorp snooping.
I suppose that's fair. Gumshoe comes along too. Lana’s desk is still in the office, but empty, and Gumshoe says that no one touches it but Gant and the cleaning lady. But there’s also a safe in the room, and Phoenix successfully guesses the combination number is 7777777, providing a plausible connection between Gant and the ID number that went into the evidence room right before everything happened.
Gumshoe also mentions a really funny incident of Gant drunk at the police Christmas party if you examine the right thing.
Inside the safe they find a cloth with a bloody handprint, and a shard from a jar. If these are related to the SL-9 case, they indicate that Gant was hiding evidence. The shard belongs to the jar that shattered in the evidence room, and has blood on it.
Gumshoe also makes it clear he doesn't want either piece of evidence taken unless they relate to the case at hand.
Searching the desk brings up the paper that Gant had quickly put away earlier, which is a list of evidence like Edgeworth was talking about. Its brevity makes Phoenix suspicious that there might be more to the list, and that this might be the second half to the one Edgeworth has. Using the fingerprint kit on the bloody cloth reveals the fingerprints to belong to Ema. Despite knowing that Ema was at the scene when it happened, this freaks Phoenix out, and he decides to keep this information from her for some reason.
Yeah, it will definitely be important he hides this, but in the moment it's a bit odd. I should also mention that there's no blood on the cloth at all, it's just made of leather and the handprint is clearly visible because that's how leather works.
Oh, I'd misunderstood that. But that clarification just makes it even weirder that Phoenix hid this from her. Of course, Gant shows up. He fires Gumshoe, and shows some of his nastier sprites in doing so. But before Phoenix and Ema can leave, he tells Ema to stay, and Phoenix just goes along with it I guess? That's obviously a terrible thing to let him do. She contacts Phoenix later to tell him she'll be answering questions at the police department for the rest of the day.
Well, considering he's the Chief of Police and they were caught illegally investigating his office, I totally understand him nodding along with that, he was already a few steps away from being arrested.
I guess, it's just so obvious here that Gant is a pretty bad guy, and also probably a murderer? "Leave the young girl with the murderer" is not an ideal plan. We cut to Phoenix visiting Lana in the Detention Center, she’s still refusing to give any useful information. So Phoenix tries to get it out of her, explaining that he believes there’s someone she’s afraid of. The answer is Gant, of course, but she still won’t talk. So Phoenix tries another angle, demonstrating that Gant was the one who forged evidence, and using the broken vase as proof. He asks why she’s intent on taking the fall for him. This finally cracks her facade, and she admits that she can’t disobey Gant’s orders, even if it means being found guilty of murder.
A lot of people were likely guessing something like this long before it was revealed, but it definitely gives a good(ish) explanation for her behavior.
Lana called Ema about this, as we saw earlier in the case, and apparently also contacted Jake Marshall, in hopes that he would help her keep all this quiet. But Marshall didn’t want the case to die, so he did something entirely different and messed it all up. She says she can’t give the details, but explains that she was given an order to dispose of Goodman’s body, and that she’d find it in Edgeworth’s car. When she found the body, Joe Darke’s knife from the SL-9 case was stuck in it, and since she didn’t want anything leading back to the SL-9 incident she took it out and stabbed Goodman with Edgeworth’s knife instead, accidentally cutting her own hand as she did so. This was the moment Angel Starr witnessed.
After explaining all this, Lana tells Phoenix that he’s earned her respect, but pleads with him not to pursue this any further in court the next day. But Phoenix is Phoenix, and declares to himself that the only way to drive off Lana’s demons is to get to the bottom of everything. Thus ends the day.
With all that done, let's start our analysis for the day. What jumps out to you first, Sam?
Well for once, we seem to have a decent picture of who Lana is, as a character, and it's a lot more complex and tragic than it had been up to this point. I get the feeling there's more motivation to uncover, but we at least understand now that she's been acting this whole time out of concern for... someone. Lana doesn't come across as the kind of person who would do any of this to save her own skin; she's too idealistic, even if rather cold and pragmatic. It could be loyalty to Gant, or perhaps even to protect the justice that was done in the SL-9 case, but my money's on Ema. In any case, it's clear she cares enough about something to do some messed up stuff and take the fall for it completely at Gant's orders.
As we talked about much earlier in our coverage of this case, the Skye sisters are a clear parallel to Mia and Maya. Lana is Mia's dark reflection, someone with a strong passion for her profession, and for doing it well. They both love their younger sisters, and each mentored a young attorney. But Lana has none of Mia's independence, chained to a flawed system and being blackmailed by someone she used to trust. It's clear to see why they 'respected' each other so much during law school. I put 'respected' in quotes because they were clearly just gal pals. Two gals, pallin' around, being pals.
The commentary this case is making on corruption has taken a more specific turn here as well; Lana's blind trust of the system and the people who control it has gotten her stuck between a rock and a hard place, and that naivete has given way to cynicism. And yet she still marches onward, because she seems not to see any other options. There are similarities between Lana and Edgeworth here as well, specifically in their tunnel-vision pursuit of justice that got both of them into this mess. I think it's safe to say that Edgeworth sees himself in Lana, and sees where it's gotten her, which is why he's taking all this as hard as he is.
If we're done talking about Lana (for now), I think focusing a little on that corruption is a good idea. The entire first game of the series is heavily focused on people too powerful to take down, on the corruption they bring to the systems they inhabit, and we've already talked about that quite a bit. One of my favorite things about this case is how it continues that theme and takes it further.
It's been clear since go that this universe's version of the legal system in the United States has a lot of problems, and that's putting it lightly. Speedy trials, loose regulations on where evidence comes from, no requirement to show any of it to the opposite side before the trial start, and no juries. By looking closer at the police, the prosecutors, and the relationship between them, this case dives deeper into that system and makes evident how messed up it really is.
It certainly is fascinating how much the game reveals about the flawed legal system when it doesn't explicitly say much about its problems until later in the series. Most of the plots and villains in this game could, theoretically, just be the product of bad actors and unfortunate mistakes, but it's pretty clear that many of these issues are systemic, and those bad actors are enabled by the system itself.
I would argue the game, or at the very least Phoenix himself, is clearly dissatisfied with the legal system from the word go, it's just a while until anyone actually does anything about it. Edgeworth's readiness to quit is also something worth talking about. While many people don't like how this case retroactively colored his character arc, I feel like it makes a lot of sense. After a shady career, the discovery that he got capital punishment using illegal evidence in his first trial ever is going to destroy whatever remains of his reputation, he could be straight-up fired or worse, and as someone who has such deep convictions about what he does it must be killing Edgeworth inside, the ultimate symbol of the kind of man he had unwittingly become.
That's why I find the parallels between him and Lana so fascinating here. I mean of course those parallels exist, she played an instrumental role in his training, and we see the same blind dedication in both of them; the system exists to put away dangerous people, so they will do everything in their power to get guilty verdicts and trust that the system will work as intended. That their guilty verdicts will be accurate because that's just how it's supposed to work.
Seeing that his mentor abused the system to get a guilty verdict that's so central to his career must be unspeakably painful and confusing for him. Knowing he had taken part in it, even unknowingly, shakes his faith in the system he's used blindly for years. I think it's a really nice touch for him, and adds a lot to how he develops later.
On the whole I'd say this was a really well-paced segment...though I won't lie, when Angel showed up and the game made me Talk with her through all her dialogue choices I was tempted to just skip through all of it. This is the last time we're seeing her (aside from the credits), and while that's true for Marshall as well, they actually used his scene to add further definition to his character, while Angel remains as dull and flat as usual. Well, flat in the character depth sense, not really flat in the, uh, y'know...
I actually found it refreshing that she seemed to acknowledge Lana's situation. For all her hatred of prosecutors, we finally get some acknowledgement here that one of them, at least, is acting out of desperation rather than malice. That's... not much, really, and not enough to make her likable. But it's something.
I mean...I guess...bleh. Is there anything else you had for analysis today?
Just one thing; this marks the first time (at least that I remember) that Gumshoe explicitly acknowledges that he's kind of an outsider in the force. He knows that his connection to Edgeworth and fairly common mistakes ostracize him, and in this case he's sharply aware that this fact puts him in a precarious position. It's always been an element of his character, but it's sad to see him acknowledge it so plainly. He's too pure.
He really is, and while last case was the first to really show how much he cares for Edgeworth, this case takes it even further. Gumshoe risks losing the job he loves with all his life, because he believes that's the only way to save Edgeworth.
And that's why Gumshoe is the best Phoenix Wright character, thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Well, I think we're done for this week. Next time, we'll be finishing this case and with it, the first game in the series. Auf wiedersehen!
Until next time!
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