Bridge to the Turnabout, Day One Investigation

Hallo, alle miteinander, and welcome. We are really here. This is Wright Wednesday, a weekly series where we recap, analyze, and review the cases of the Ace Attorney series. Today, we are taking a first bite of one of the big turning points of the series, the last case on the Original Trilogy, Bridge to the Turnabout. My name is Roy, and I am ready to move on to other protagonists.

My name is Sam, and I love Phoenix too much to be ready for that but also look forward to replaying Apollo Justice, because it's fantastic and everyone is wrong about it.

The case opens with a monologue about the Shichishito, the sword that was briefly relevant in The Stolen Turnabout. It talks about how the seven-branched sword symbolizes how, even if there seem to be many choices in life, many ways things turn out, there is truly only one fate. One very sharp fate, which we see is stuck into someone’s back. As it talks about this, we get overlays of key cases that relate directly to the Fey family and to Phoenix’s past on the sword, giving you the impression this case will tie them all together into one story.

It certainly gives an early impression that this case is something different, especially right on the heels of the previous case.

From there, we cut to the Wright and Co Law Offices, a month after the end of the last case. Phoenix is suddenly ambushed by Maya and Pearl, who want something out of him. They shove a magazine in his face, the Winter Special of “Oh Cult”, which features a special temple not far from their city where spiritual training is offered. They want Phoenix to take them there, since Maya’s powers haven’t really grown that much since, well, since the first time we met her really.

I have to say, "Oh Cult" is an excellent name for a magazine about the occult.

Phoenix is pretty skeptical of the claims of this “Hazakura Temple”, being fairly sure it’s just a scam. He admits they don’t have any cases, so it wouldn’t be too hard for them to go. The thing is though, Pearl already made the reservations, they’re just trying to talk Phoenix into joining them. They need someone over 20, apparently. He doesn’t want to go, and the more they talk about the place, the less he thinks of it, especially since it’s early February and the place is very cold. But when they show him the magazine again, something catches his eyes: there’s a picture of two of the nuns who work at the temple, and one of them looks exactly like Dahlia Hawthorne.

Sorry, if you heard a growl of anger that was me. My bad.

Of course, neither Pearl nor Maya know who that is, so they’re confused by his sudden interest. He says he’ll go, and they don’t question the matter any further, nor does Phoenix tell them about his dark past, something that will become a recurring theme with protagonists in this series. In his narration, Phoenix tells himself that he’s sure this woman can’t actually be Dahlia, but he still has to check, he has to be sure.

Can't blame him, I'd be concerned too.

When they arrive at the temple, it is indeed freezing cold, the entire area covered in snow. They’re introduced to the head nun, Sister Bikini. The joke is that she’s a short, middle-aged, plus-sized woman with a name like Bikini, isn’t that just absolutely hilarious. More specifically, that’s the name she chose to go under while at the temple, and she picked it because she thought it had a good image to it. She’s a very jovial woman, but makes it clear to Maya that the “Special Course” she chose to endure is actually quite dangerous, especially in this cold weather.

Reminds me of polar bear swims. Did you ever do those? At some summer camps people would wake up super early to go for a run, then jump in a lake (which, in the mountains where I grew up, almost always meant freezing cold snowmelt lakes). I never joined them. Why would anyone ever do that to themselves?

No, I never went to summer camp. I spent every summer in my room, or outside the house doing chores.

Ah. Well I don't recommend camps that do polar bear swims, but the ones with cool stuff like ziplines and rock walls were great.

Hearing about the danger makes Pearl reconsider the training, but Maya and Bikini are of the opinion that since they’re already there, they might as well. There’s some time before dinner starts, so the player is left free to explore. Asking about what exactly a channeling dojo does has Bikini vaguely explain the concept, only for Phoenix to doubt it...despite literally everything he’s seen to this point.

Then, he asks her about the real reason he came, the other nun from the picture. Her name is apparently Iris, and it’s just her and Bikini who run the whole temple. When Phoenix asks where Iris is, Bikini jokes about Phoenix looking for a girlfriend. Apparently, Iris is in some place called the Inner Temple preparing for Maya’s training session, and won’t be back until the evening.

I don't trust it, but we'll see. I don't remember this case very well at all.

From there, you can head inside to the Main Hall or out to a nearby Suspension Bridge...one that looks familiar. In fact, a nearby marker even labels it as Dusky Bridge. Turns out, Phoenix is awful with heights, and finds the idea of crossing the bridge absolutely terrifying. So much so that Phoenix absolutely refuses to cross it, making that area a dead end. Heading over to the Main Hall reveals it’s just as cold in there, and they can smell the pot roast cooking for dinner.  But there’s also another visitor to the temple in there: a woman named Elise Deauxnim. She’s dressed in full black mage attire.

Definitely gives off a Kurain Spirit Channeling vibe at first glance, despite her actual occupation being significantly less ominous.

Pearl recognizes the woman immediately as an author and illustrator of picture books, and Pearl is her biggest fan. Talking to her, the game makes sure to emphasize how kind and caring she is. As it turns out, her career started when a friend went behind her back and submitted a story she’d written to a publisher, and that story was “The Magic Bottle”. She’s become popular enough that she recently took an apprentice, who is off doing landscape sketches.

Elise isn’t there for spiritual training, but instead just to gather material for a new book, one with a more Japanese feeling to it. The robes she’s wearing are from the temple, she was just borrowing them to try and capture the look of the place. The staff she’s holding even has a sphere on it made from real amethyst. She goes to finish dinner, and Pearl stays behind to help her, leaving Phoenix and Maya on their own. Maya actually offers to help too, but Elise insists she explore the area, and even gives her a map.

A map which will in no way become a vital staple in how we present evidence about a horrible crime that will take place here. Obviously.

Once out by the Main Gate, they notice Bikini is gone, and assume she must have gone to the Inner Temple to help Iris. After they cross the bridge, barely escaping death from the poorly constructed nightmare. As if to match Dusky Bridge, the Inner Temple is a lot more low-quality than the main one, which they guess is because it isn’t used as often. Oh, and once they’re inside, it turns out only Maya is doing the course, Pearl isn’t. It’s a small room, and the real training area is barred behind a wall and locked door. Said area is where the building becomes a cavern.

I feel like there should definitely be an age requirement for sitting on a block of ice underneath a freezing underground waterfall for 8 hours, so yeah, glad Pearl isn't doing it.

Then, just as some familiar haunting music plays, the person Phoenix has been waiting for arrives. She’s ready to greet them, but when she sees Phoenix they’re both startled, and stare at each other. Maya is completely oblivious to this, only wondering why they’re both spacing out. The woman does introduce herself as Iris, a nun at the temple. Before Phoenix can introduce himself, she leaves to attend to other duties. Phoenix is clearly shaken, since the resemblance is even more uncanny in-person.

There is one last thing to do in this room: examine a hanging wall scroll, one that shows someone that Maya wasn’t expecting: her mother. The sad thing is, she mostly knows that’s the case from the crest at the top of the scroll, the sign of the Master of Kurain, rather than because she’s actually able to recognize her mother’s face. After all, Maya hasn’t seen the woman in 15 years, so it’s no surprise she can’t even remember what Misty Fey looked like. This thought is very depressing for Maya.

Understandably, it's very depressing for me too. And I'm pretty sure it'll end up even more depressing by the time this case is over.

When they’re back across the bridge, Maya and Phoenix run into Elise’s apprentice, who she said had taken the name Laurice Deauxnim. Surprise surprise, it’s good old Larry Butz. But Laurice isn’t interested in a reunion and tries to take off the second he recognizes Maya and Phoenix. Neither Phoenix nor Maya respect the fact he’s trying to go by a different name, which is pretty douchey of them, but to be fair the game doesn’t respect it either.

 

Honestly the game sells it as "Larry's back on his bullshit" enough that the idea of respecting a new name didn't even occur to me.

Which is really messed up, honestly. I never thought of it until this playthrough, but the utter lack of respect for this character's preference is kind of awful. The game definitely doesn't want you to respect the new name, which is why I am.

Yeah, that's fair.

So, what’s up with Laurice’s change in name and lifestyle, now that he’s taken up painting? Well, he was really tired of who he used to be and wants to reinvent himself, using Elise as his role model. Part of that reinvention is swearing off dating, because Laurice thinks that is part of the cause of his many misfortunes. One exception though: he’s madly in love with Iris. That wigs Phoenix out, but before they can talk more Pearl arrives and lets everyone know that dinner is done.

I mean if Iris is Dahlia, Phoenix knows better than anyone (alive, at least) how bad an idea it is to date her. Don't want Larry getting himself killed or framed.

After a big meal, Maya heads to the Inner Temple. Elise offers to spend some time with Pearl, reading books together. She’s interested, but reveals she isn’t actually a very good reader. The author offers to help her with that, though. Pearl accepts, and says she’ll go to the woman’s room once she’s done cleaning up after dinner. Laurice says he’s going to his room, and Phoenix decides to do the same.

I just want Pearl to have a mother figure that doesn't try to control her life and murder her relatives of a higher station than her.

...man the Fey family is a mess, isn't it.

In the middle of the night, Phoenix gets up to go to the bathroom and comes across Elise, who is looking for Pearl, who never ended up coming to her room. She heads out to look for Pearl, and then Iris shows up. Unlike Elise, she is also heading to the bathroom. Iris takes off her hood, and Phoenix gets the chance to finally talk to her, alone. She confirms that her name is Iris, and explains she grew up at Hazakura Temple. It seems like she’s dancing around Phoenix’s questions, so he flat out asks her if she went to Ivy University as a Literature student.

Iris explains that isn’t the case, and she never had any interest in university, though she does go out to the city sometimes, and is fairly tech literate. The thing is, there are no Psyche-Locks the entire time, so Phoenix knows she isn’t lying about any of that. Whoever she is, she doesn’t seem to be Dahlia. Iris blushes while telling Phoenix not to stare so much, and when they discuss the spiritual elements behind the temple and its training, Iris reveals that she actually dislikes spirit channeling, she hates the idea of talking to the dead. But then she realizes it’s late, and she has to go and do her duty to ring the bell for light’s out. Before she goes, she offers Phoenix her hood, as it’s supposed to be warded to protect people from bad spirits.

I admit, I'm very interested in how that hood will come into play.

Also I still don't trust her.

Iris is about to leave, but Phoenix stops her. She had just called him “Mr. Wright”, but he never introduced himself before. When he asks if they’ve ever met before, Iris faces him seriously as a wall of five Psyche-Locks bar him from the truth. She leaves, and the bell is rung. Phoenix is confused...she knows who he is, they must have met, but at the same time she isn’t Dahlia. He resolves to talk to her the next day.

See? I'm still not entirely sure what I remember of this case, but do not trust.

Later that night, there’s a scream, and Phoenix runs into a nearby courtyard to see what the player saw in the opening cutscene: Elise Deauxnim, laying in the snow, impaled by the Shichishito. Bikini is the one who screamed, and she asks Phoenix to go call the police. He forgot to bring his cell phone, so the only choice is to use the public phone next to Dusky Bridge, which is a twenty minute walk from the main temple.

I have to say it doesn't look that far away on the map, but alright.

As Phoenix approaches the bridge, he thinks about going across to alert Maya of what’s going on, but that proves to be harder than expected. Dusky Bridge is aflame, and Phoenix asks Laurice to call the police while he tries to cross and get to Maya. He’s afraid the murderer crossed the bridge, to where Maya is, and he has to make sure she’s safe. When Laurice tries to stop him, Phoenix pushes him away and tries to cross anyway. It doesn’t work, and Phoenix falls through the burning wood and into the Eagle River below.

And dies. The end, this is why the next game has a new protagonist.

It could have been that, but unbeknownst to the player, Phoenix Wright has a +5 to Constitution and rolled incredibly well on his saving throw.

Somewhere overseas, Edgeworth gets a call from Laurice, telling him to come quickly because Phoenix’s life is in danger. Edgey charters a private jet to get there as quickly as possible, where he visits Phoenix in the hospital and gets the rundown on the situation. Apparently Phoenix needs a few days of bedrest after his fall into the river, and Iris is the suspect in Elise’s murder. Before Edgeworth left the hospital room, Phoenix gave him two items: the magatama, and his defense attorney’s badge. Yes, this case is switching perspectives and putting the player in Edgeworth’s shoes. He’s being asked to defend Iris in court.

By the way, the reason Phoenix is just getting an overnight hospital stay? Because he fell hundreds of feet into a river, drifted through the rapids, and all he got for it was a cold.

Or, alternate theory, he died and rose again from the ashes.

...now that I think of it, Rise from the Ashes is a weirdly poignant case title for a game with a protagonist named Phoenix, considering that particular case was an extra one with little significant story or character development.

I think, lack of significance aside, that was the point of titling it that.

Yeah, it just seems like the title of a big, dramatic game-ending case or something, not an extra side-story. But anyway.

Edgeworth visits Iris in the Detention Center. She seems distraught, but put-together, and also seems worried about Phoenix. Edgeworth gets the feeling he’s met her before, no doubt because he prosecuted the case where Dahlia got Terry killed. But she assures them they haven’t met, as she’s been at the temple. Supposedly, she has no spiritual abilities, but is there to atone for some unspecified sins and purify her soul.

I hate that I have to restrict my comments here for spoiler reasons.

Iris says she helped clean up after dinner, then went to her room until 10:00, when she went to ring the lights out bell. She was apparently told to go to the training hall after that, but instead went to her room because she was scared; but rather than say what she was afraid of, two psyche-locks pop up, shocking Edgeworth since he hasn’t seen them before.

Interestingly, that and how she knows Phoenix are the only Psyche-Locks she has so far, so she is telling the truth about everything else.

When asked if she has any ideas about what happened, she says some intense spiritual energy was released which might have something to do with it. Edgeworth is confident, as a man of science, that this is not the case. But when he asks her if she killed Elise, she denies it, and no Psyche-Locks appear.

As a farewell, Edgeworth tells her Phoenix asked him to take care of her in court. This seems to surprise her, so he asks if they know each other. Iris says she deceived him five years ago, and has been avoiding him so he can forget about her and heal. Edgeworth, however, thinks Phoenix will only heal if he finds out the truth, so he agrees to defend Iris on the condition that she tell him the truth after this is all over. She agrees.

Okay, you know what, I feel I can say this already: I absolutely adore Iris.

I don't remember this case well enough to know if I can or not, but I like her too. Aside from the whole "is she the same person as the absolute worse person in the entire series" thing.

Edgeworth heads to Dusky Bridge, where he meets an enthusiastic Detective Gumshoe, who fills him in on more details. Apparently Sister Bikini is a witness to the entire crime. There’s also a new complication; since the bridge burned, they can’t get across to the Inner Temple. And Maya was training over there. Due to strong winds, they can’t get a helicopter over there, so Maya is stuck alone in the cold until tomorrow.

When asked about the cause of the fire, Gumshoe is nearly positive it was lightning, and a weather report along with eyewitness testimony backs this up. As an extra note to confuse us, Iris’ fingerprints weren’t in the police database, indicating that she’s never been involved in a previous crime. And, one last detail: Edgeworth has no idea who Godot is, despite hearing about pretty much every promising lawyer while they’re still in school.

This also means that Atmey lied, since he said Edgeworth was the one who called Godot the greatest prosecutor in America.

Weird thing for him to lie about, but I suppose I'm not surprised. More likely it was a continuity error, but still.

Edgeworth heads to the main gate, where Laurice is waiting impatiently. He pretty much believes that no one as cute as Iris could have murdered anyone. He also gets extremely defensive when Edgeworth asks him where he was the night of the murder, and Psyche-Locks appear over him.

I love how freaked out Edgeworth gets over them.

Edgeworth then goes inside, where Sister Bikini explains what happened. They had an acolyte there for training (Maya), and Sister Bikini took her to the Inner Temple across the bridge after dinner. She was supposed to stay with Maya all night, but left to take a warm bath to soothe her aching back and told Iris to watch over Maya in the meantime. This is when Iris, according to her own words, returned to her room because she was supposedly afraid of something.

But Sister Bikini says she saw Iris go to the Inner Temple. Around 11pm, Sister Bikini left to return to the Inner Temple, and saw Iris stab Elise through the back with the Shichishito, then immediately passed out. But even so, she doubts Iris’ guilt. That said, there’s a note nearby telling Iris to meet someone at 10pm in Heavenly Hall, or her “secret” will be exposed, which complicates things even further. And unfortunately, there’s one more worrying detail; Pearl went to visit Elise before the murder, and hasn’t been seen since.

Does...Edgeworth really know Pearl? I feel like his connection to her is extremely tangential.

On to the Courtyard, where the murder took place. Gumshoe has more details about the murder itself. Apparently, Elise’s past is a big mystery, despite her fame as a children’s author. Estimated time of death is between 10 and 11 the night before. Cause of death was blood loss from a stab to the back, but the victim’s body was also covered in bruises from a 10 foot fall after her death. In Examining the crime scene, the tip of the Shichishito is covered in blood, and still held straight downwards by the statue. Apparently Iris’ fingerprints were found on the hilt. Elise’s staff is still laying out in the snow as well, with no one’s fingerprints on it but her own.

There are also some necessary shenanigans necessary to maintain the illusion that Edgeworth is a defense attorney. To that end, Gumshoe has arranged for a different judge than usual to preside over this case, and Edgeworth pulled some strings to appoint a prosecutor of his choosing if Godot doesn’t show (since he’s apparently impossible to reach at the moment).

He does have a track record of avoiding trials Phoenix isn't defending though.

Edgeworth returns to Iris, explaining that Sister Bikini says she saw her at the Inner Temple. This confuses Iris, and Edgeworth uses the magatama to try and figure out why. He suggests she was frightened because of the blackmail letter. Her reaction all but confirms it, but she tries to pass the letter off as a prank, saying she wasn’t concerned because she has no secret, and even if so, no one who she’d hide anything from. But Edgeworth knows better; she has something she’s been keeping from Phoenix Wright for five years. This breaks the final lock.

Doesn't mean she'll tell that secret, not yet.

She was indeed scared because of the blackmail letter. The “Heavenly Hall” the letter references is a small, broken-down a little north of the bridge, down a path alongside the river at the bottom of the ravine. Iris didn’t cross the bridge because she would have to pass Heavenly Hall, and feared whoever wrote the letter might be there. So, she holds on to her claim that she did not leave her room that night. That testimony is added to the Court Record. Edgeworth promises to win so Iris and Phoenix can see each other, and she can tell him her secret. She has already agreed, but says it’s pointless, because “I know who Phoenix Wright is… but he has no idea who I am.”

An ominous line.

The immediately striking thing about Heavenly Hall is the two front windows, which are covered with images of Laurice and Iris. Laurice is there, lamenting that the women he falls for always run off or get arrested, and he’s about to muse about something he did wrong before Gumshoe gives them away. So normal conversation it is.

Or as normal as it can be with this cast of characters.

Laurice found this place the day before, and has been using it as a private sketching studio since. When asked where he was last night, he says he saw something incredible. But once again, the Psyche-Locks show up, and he deflects. So, magatama time. Laurice immediately volunteers some information, namely that he saw lightning strike the bridge (which explains the weirdly exact timing in the weather report). But the Psyche-Locks don’t break, so he’s still hiding something.

Edgeworth asks where Laurice was when he saw this, and he says he was in his room in the main temple. But obviously, he couldn’t have seen the bridge from there. Edgeworth posits that Laurice was at Heavenly Hall at the time, which Laurice can’t credibly deny (though not for lack of trying). So Edgeworth puts it together; Laurice was waiting there for Iris, because he sent the blackmail letter. To his credit, he hadn’t meant it as a blackmail letter; the “secret” was their love for each other, which burned hot enough to melt all the snow on the mountain and “expose” it. It was a love note, he’s just too much of an idiot to write one well.

I will say this feels fairly in-character even for first game Larry

Edgeworth is upset that the secrets and Psyche-Locks led to such a weak, irrelevant reveal, but Gumshoe was paying attention and believes Laurice saw something else incredible besides just the lightning strike. But Laurice clams up again, this time with a whopping five Psyche-Locks. Edgeworth accepts that he doesn’t have what he needs to figure this out right now, and resolves to drag the truth out of Laurice on the witness stand. And with that, the first part of the final case of the Phoenix Wright trilogy comes to a close.

Which means it is time for analysis. Which...wow. Where to start?

Yeah, this is a weird one. As usual, the first part is more setup than payoff, so the analysis is inevitably in-progress and there's only so much we can say definitively. But there's still a lot going on early in this case.

We could begin where the case does, with the concept of Fate. This is actually something that it doesn't feel like the series thus far had played with a lot, but this case in particular clearly states from the beginning that Fate is a very big thematic point here.

I look forward to seeing how that plays out, because honestly I don't see fate as a particularly resonant theme in the series as a whole. There are plenty of dramatic coincidences and resonant parallels and such, but as a mystery series these stories are still very much about making sense of how events ripple out of human action.

True, but this case in particular is one that I can see drawing on that idea. Not only is it tying in many disparate cases together, it carries with it at times a feeling of inevitability. Even as you're playing in the first half, before there's been a murder, you know one is coming. You have to look at it all from that perspective, going in with the fate of death looming among the characters.

That's fair. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out as the case progresses.

The thing that most stood out to me as I played this segment was how pointedly different everything felt after the perspective switch. The music while talking to Iris in the Detention Center is ethereal, sad, and somehow ominous in a way that feels foreign to the series. Edgeworth's more grounded inner monologue feels worlds away from Phoenix's more casual, scattered thoughts. There's even different investigation music that hasn't been in the game before now. It goes to great lengths to feel like there's something big coming, and it's different from all the stuff we've seen across the trilogy up to this point.

That's very true. They do a lot to make the change of protagonist, temporary as it might be, feel distinct. I also like the small differences like the icons and graphics changing to show Edgeworth on them instead of Phoenix.

Since we're seeing Edgeworth's inner thoughts, we also see what he actually thinks of Gumshoe for the first time.

And as always, poor Gumshoe deserves better.

While Edgeworth does have some nice things to say about him at points, from what we can tell he truly does think of Gumshoe as a pitiful person. Though it is also fun seeing the detective when Phoenix isn't around, like the silly story about him wanting to be a wizard when he was a kid.

Agreed, seeing more of Gumshoe in a working environment is nice. But I do still think he's underappreciated in universe.

You'll not get an argument from me there. In terms of the game's larger theme, of the masks people wear to hide who they really are, there are two elements of it we can see right now: Iris, who looks just like a killer from the past but seems to be someone completely different; and Elise Deauxnim, our incredibly mysterious victim.

I assume it'll be a while before we find out who's really under each of these masks, but the theme definitely has its share of setup here. And, in a nice change of pace that makes everything a little more personal, Phoenix is now dealing directly with a defendant who he isn't sure he can trust. Even if he's kind of taken out of the picture early on.

Even though she is largely still a question mark, I think looking closer at Iris wouldn't be a bad idea

If my remarks in the recap didn't make this clear, I quite like Iris. In fact, she is easily my favorite character introduced in this case, and possibly my favorite introduced in this game. She may look like Dahlia, but she doesn't really act like her.

Even when Dahlia was going full "look at how cute I am", there was something profoundly artificial about it. In contrast, Iris has moments of vulnerability, even a few animations where she's visibly blushing talking about Phoenix. She doesn't feel like she's trying to come off as the perfect sweet angel, there is something more human to her, even with the identity conundrum.

It's true, something about her expressions, animations, poses, etc. feels more real. Less performative. As usual, Ace Attorney is just amazing at this kind of visual presentation, and can give us a visually identical character that still feels completely different in her design.

Hard agree. Let's also look at the pieces of her identity mystery we have so far: her name is Iris, not Dahlia; she's never attended college; she was raised in Hazakura Temple; she knows Phoenix, but he doesn't "really" know her; her fingerprints don't match those of anyone ever convicted of a crime.

If it isn't clear enough, I will just confirm that the case isn't pulling your leg, she really isn't Dahlia Hawthorne. Who is she? I won't say, but I will say that I think, even from this one segment, they've given the player all the pieces they need for an educated guess at her identity.

Pretty much. Though this is Ace Attorney. Who knows what wacky nonsense could really be going on behind the scenes?

We'll have to find out in the coming weeks. I feel like...we have to talk about Laurice, at least a little. Want to start us off there?

Sure! He's... well, he is who he is.

Oh, I do have to admit, the fact that he tried writing a love letter and accidentally made it sound threatening is kind of hilarious. I'm here for that bit.

Okay, I'll do the heavy lifting. So, we talked fairly extensively in Stolen Turnabout how, with his return in this game, Laurice has gone a fairly large-scale Flanderization. If you don't remember the term, it basically means the writers have heavily changed his characterization, emphasizing certain aspects with removing others. In his case, they've made him more annoying, more selfish, more perverted, while also making the other characters actively dislike him when before he was their friend.

This case doesn't change too much in that regard. Laurice is still being written as though he's always been a bane to everyone else, not really their friend, and there are still some really messed up 'jokes' about his horndog nature. Even him changing his name and mentoring as a picture-book author is treated as a joke, just him avoiding responsibility for his actions.

What is so strange is that...if you completely ignore how everyone talks to him or about him, the broad strokes of this actually fit his original characterization fairly well. I can totally believe that first game Larry would eventually get burned out on his romance cycle and try to escape it, and being an artist actually fits well considering he created the Thinker clocks from the first two cases. The note, like you said, is also a very in-character thing for him: he's trying to be romantic and cute but he messed it up and it comes off as creepy. Honestly, if the writers took out or adjusted the more off-putting jokes and stopped everyone from treating Laurice like he's the worst human being they've ever met, he would really work here.

This is definitely more your soapbox than mine. But I agree, this feels a little closer to his original character. There were times I liked him again.

As much as some of what they're doing with him annoys me, I do enjoy the symmetry of him being here. Laurice was there in The First Turnabout, and now he's here as the trilogy ends.

I certainly don't mind his involvement here. And while I don't feel quite as strongly about his later development as you do, I do find it nice that I can at least see a little bit of a likable Larry here again.

Did you have anything else big you wanted to cover, or could we get into some smaller details?

Nope, I think I'm good! All in all I think it's a pretty strong start, so I'll look forward to seeing where it goes.

But first, examinables!

Well, actually, there aren't any examinables available! Remember, we can't go to the Wright and Co Law Offices, or even the Criminal Affairs Department. But that doesn't mean there aren't fun little things left to discuss. For example, Examining the Hazakura Temple leads to the revelation that Kurain Village itself used to have that level of grandeur to it, but that fell by the wayside in the decade-plus since Misty Fey disappeared.

Wow, that actually kind of sucks. That the family would have let it go like that in such a short time.

If you start Presenting evidence to people as Phoenix before there's been a murder, people get really confused why Phoenix is doing that considering there's no mystery to solve.

That's actually pretty funny.

Also funny is if you examine the door to the Inner Temple when you first get there, because it involves Maya pointing out that she is actually quite aware that Phoenix is acting strangely, but she's sure it's because he's crushing hard on Iris, seeming to find that amusing. And like...she's not completely wrong?

Maya would assume that. So would Pearl, for that matter. And sure, it's not completely wrong, but also waaaaaaaaaaay more complicated than that. And I'd be willing to bet the prevailing feeling at the time is far more like dread than love.

This one is pretty weird. If you Present Bikini's profile to Laurice, he says she doesn’t just look motherly, she’s his actual mother. And then he refuses to say anything else on the subject.

So...uh...what? If that were true, since Bikini is actually a Fey by blood, a branch family member distantly related to Maya, that would also make Laurice a Fey, and related to Maya and Mia and Pearl. I will spoil it now though, and say that later in this case Laurice will clarify that Bikini just reminds him of his mom, she is not actually his mother.

I mean in all fairness that does sound like Larry.

Okay, so, this playthrough, I ran into a few lines while Edgeworth is the player that seemed...well...I am going to put them up, and see if my co-host picks up what I'm hinting.

Haha okay, well I highly doubt that's the intended takeaway but I'm still here for it.

Oh yeah, not trying to say this was intended at all. But, um, nonbinary Edgeworth? That's kind of a neat idea?

I'd support them.

Presenting the scroll to Bikini has her mention that Misty originally planned to pass on her title to one of her daughter's, but we don't know which one. That's...interesting for reasons I can get into more if we want to.

Do we want to yet, or should we save it for later? I'm unsure what gets revealed when in this case.

Here's the thing: my thoughts here are not of a spoilery nature, they're restricted to what we know so far.

Alright, then I don't see why not.

I guess it just makes me consider, once again, the question the games seem to do everything to avoid: why exactly did Misty completely abandon her children? The way this conversation is worded, it's unclear whether they're saying she meant to pass on the title in some far off someday, or that she meant to make clear the order of succession. But no matter how you interpret it, it just raises the question: if she had stuff like that she'd wanted to do, including stopping any fighting over the Master title, why didn't she just do it? As far as we know, she wasn't under some time crunch for disappearing, there wasn't some ticking clock limiting what she could do before vamoosing.

I guess the impression I'd gotten was that it was more in shame than anything else. The DL-6 case went so sideways that her reputation was completely destroyed, and she disappeared in grief, or guilt, or shame. I don't think the game has expanded enough on it before now, but that's what I've thought from what the series has told us so far.

I mean, yes, that is the concept, but we've gone over before how strangely thin that explanation is, especially considering the man Misty implicated with her testimony wasn't found Not Guilty, but Not Guilty by Insanity. Even considering that the case trashed her reputation and that of Kurain, I guess this just once again raises my confusion of how exactly abandoning her two children was a great idea.

I think the issue here is one of narrative justification. It's supposed to have been awful and shameful, but the actual explanation didn't quite live up to how the story treats it. I think we're supposed to judge Misty based on that understanding of the event, even if the events themselves don't really mesh with it.

But it's certainly not a good move, regardless. I guess we'll see as this case progresses if that's how the game treats it, but it's safe to say it was the wrong choice. Perhaps an emotionally understandable one, but wrong nonetheless.

One last thing: Examining the flags at Heavenly Hall reveals that Edgeworth once sobbed during art class as a kid because he couldn’t do origami, and he still remembers the shame of that day. He even learned how to do origami perfectly, just to try and recover from it.

I...but...that's so cute!!

It is! I quite enjoy that trope of the gifted but awkward person who, after failing at something, masters it out of spite and a desire to never appear unskilled at something again.

That definitely does sound like Edgeworth, yeah. I'm far more the "tried something, wasn't immediately decent at it, gave up forever" type.

Well then, next week is the first day of trial in this climactic case, and our first time in court as good ole Miles Edgeworth himself. Auf wiedersehen.

Until next time!