History Fridge / AceAttorney

* The games become a lot less fun when you realize that Japan's court system is pretty much ''exactly like how it is presented in the games'', not to mention the fact that Phoenix and others really would be social pariahs for being defense attorneys.
** It's FridgeHorror all around the world, thanks to the fact that RealityIsUnrealistic and for every "that could ''never'' happen," there's a contradicting incident of something that improbable, unrealistic, unlawful, or just plain horrifying happening.

** And Phoenix just left her there without a second thought? [[WhattheHellHero What the hell, hero?]]

* While it was very heartwarming to find out that [[spoiler:Iris]] really did love [[spoiler:Phoenix]] during the time she was dating him, she did it in order to help [[spoiler:Dhalia]] get away with attempted murder and didn't explain the deception for over half a decade... even when [[spoiler:Phoenix]] was being put on trial for a different murder that was committed while the real perpetrator was preparing to murder ''him'' and would have been executed if he wasn't proven innocent. Her almost overwhelming guilt at the end is ''very'' well earned.

** It's FridgeHorror all around the world, thanks to the fact that RealityIsUnrealistic and for every "that could ''never'' happen," there's a contradicting incident of something that improbable, unrealistic, unlawful, or just plain horrifying happening.

** In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'' 2, similar to what [[MemeticMolester Gant]] is speculated to have done Ema, [[spoiler: Bansai]] does something very similar to Yumihiko. When Yumihiko [[spoiler: finally confronts him in court during the final case, Bansai]] actually ''leaves the witness stand'' to approach him, suggesting Yumihiko wants to "play" and that the two of them should go home. He's trembling and is ''TERRIFIED'' when [[spoiler:his father]] says this with Yumihiko's actual moving sprite going backwards. [[spoiler: Bansai's]] sprite even approaches him when Yumihiko tries to weakly fight back. If it weren't for Edgeworth demanding that he get back on the witness stand so the trial could continue, Yumihiko might have broken down [[spoiler: again]], but the implication is very obvious.

** Meanwhile Apollo, once an orphan, finds his lost sister and mother, gains Pheonix as a sort of surrogate father/mentor, uncovers his special power... everything goes great for him and crap for Klavier, they're more foil to each-other than they first appear. Somewhat Fride Logic-y.

** It's FridgeHorror all around the world, thanks to the fact that RealityIsUnrealistic and for every "that could ''never'' happen," there's a contradicting incident of something that improbable, unrealistic, unlawful, or just plain horrifying happening.
* Three day trials with prosecutorial misconduct running rampant and many times they pretty much state these are resolved with the death penalty. How many people have been wrongfully executed under this system?

** Moreover, he met her because he was [[spoiler:her tutor, and from there she became his girlfriend.]]

**** Not to mention the sheer amount of caffeine that man ingests. Also, [[spoiler: The portraits Larry drew (which we see during the epilogue of Trials and Tribulations) seem to suggest that he has, in fact, passed away.)]]

* In the case "Turnabout Beginnings" in Trials and Tribulations Terry Fawles mentions that his kidnapping of [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] was staged and that she was [[spoiler:his girlfriend]]. It is important to note that she was 14 years old at the time, while a quick bit of subtraction shows that he was 20 years old. He was a 20 year old man with a [[spoiler:14 year old girlfriend.]]

* While it was very heartwarming to find out that [[spoiler:Iris]] really did love [[spoiler:Phoenix]] during the time she was dating him, she did it in order to help [[spoiler:Dhalia]] get away with attempted murder and didn't explain the deception for over half a decade... even when [[spoiler:Phoenix]] was being put on trial for a different murder that was committed while the real perpetrator was preparing to murder ''him'' and would have been executed if he wasn't proven innocent. Her almost overwhelming guilt at the end is ''very'' well earned.

***** Pfft. As if. Can you see Maya expecting reports about the DVDs? No, this was a team effort. She's not the only adult Steel Samurai fan, after all.

***** There is FridgeHorror, and then there is deliberately stretching for the point of inventing FridgeHorror. Miles Edgeworth is an important enough character that killing him off would be something that we would explicitly be made aware of, not something that happens randomly offscreen and then never mentioned or alluded to. A lot of time has passed between the Phoenix Wright Trilogy and Apollo Justice. Any number of things could have happened to Edgeworth, and there is an equal amount of evidence to support all of them (specifically, there is none), so panicking about an InferredEndorHolocaust that is never actually inferred at any point accomplishes nothing.

* In the first ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' game's final case, Damon Gant asks the fifteen-year-old Ema to stay in his office after he kicks Phoenix and Gumshoe out. Afterward, Ema seems... withdrawn. ''Very'' withdrawn. [[MemeticMolester Um.]]
** Not to mention [[spoiler: he was blackmailing Lana and could pretty much do anything he wanted with her. Ew.]]

*** Thank you for the capital punishment thing. This troper lives in an European country that ''very much does not endorse it'' and was ''horrified'' to discover that was what happened to people Nick had convicted. Granted, the one in that case was a CompleteMonster, but... geez, I didn't sign up to send people to their deaths. For that matter, regarding Klavier - [[spoiler:it's not specified what happened to the best friend he convicted of smuggling and murder, but we do know that in one of the countries in question, the ''smuggling'' is punishable by death. Every time. And Klavier knew that, too.]]
**** If it helps make you feel better, the only two characters confirmed (or at least implied) to get the death penalty, [[spoiler: Von Karma and Dahlia Hawthorne]], both had a rather substantial laundry list of other crimes on top of their murders. While that is no solace for killers like [[spoiler: Damon Gant]] who almost certainly had enough to hang them by based on the standard set by the other two, it still means that not necessarily ''everyone'' Phoenix put away is going to the gallows. Supporting this in Apollo Justice, [[spoiler: Kristoph Gavin seems to have a rather swanky prison suite several months after his first conviction]], suggesting that murder, in and of itself with no other crimes on top of it, may not be sufficient to earn the death penalty. Additionally, with regards to the smuggling: [[spoiler: while both Daryan and Machi will be tried and probably convicted for the smuggling, they will not be tried in ''Borginia''. As such, neither will be receiving the Borginian death penalty. Machi is effectively in permanent exile, as he cannot return home to Borginia without getting their death penalty, but he knows this. It's sad, but it's still better than execution for the poor kid.]]

**** The entire ''Apollo Justice'' series is filled with this sort of Fridge TearJerker/Horror. We know that Maya and Pearls are around, even if they don't show up in the game, by the stack of Steel Samurai [=DVDs=] in [[spoiler: Phoenix's hospital room]]. But where's Edgeworth? The Phoenix Wright arc frequently comes back to the point of their relationship, and stresses that whenever he is needed, the reformed prosecutor will appear and offer his support and help. According to ''Apollo Justice'', [[spoiler: Phoenix is subsequently disbarred, tried for murder, hit by a speeding car...]] Where are you, Edgeworth? Not ''dead'', I hope. ... Ohshi-

** More a Fridge TearJerker, but if you take into account his [[spoiler: blindness and recently comatose status]], it's not really a stretch to think that Godot [[spoiler: is basically dying from the effects of Dahlia's poison and might not live very long after he is jailed.]]
*** Also, wasn't [[spoiler: Godot slashed with a dagger in the face]] the day before, without receiving medical treatment? He could have been dying of blood loss.

** In the first game's second case, Gumshoe recognizes Phoenix as Larry's attorney from the first case, and constantly refers to Larry as "the killer". As a defense attorney, Phoenix is sometimes treated with mistrust and derision. Between this treatment and Gumshoe's (a veteran, if simple, detective) name calling, criminals in ''Ace Attorney'' are pretty much judged before they ever reach trial. Given the rapidity of trials in the game, it makes you wonder how many innocent people are in prison or were executed simply due to the legal system's bias against the accused.
*** It's actually explicitly stated in the opening of that first game that the criminal system is set up as "guilty until proven innocent", with a limited amount of time allowed in each case, and several other statutes that basically are designed to end the cases as quickly as possible.

** Also a Fridge TearJerker, with a horrifying psychological element. In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Prosecutor Klavier Gavin [[spoiler:proves himself a BigDamnHero by pointing out the loophole which allows his big brother, Kristoph Gavin, to be brought to justice.]] Previous games in the series have made it clear that those who commit more than one murder face capital punishment (in itself a bit of a Fridge Horror if you don't believe in capital punishment), eg. [[spoiler: Dahlia Hawthorne in T&T, who describes her hanging when she's channeled in the final case]]. So here we have a guy, in a series where sibling relationships consistently have a high value placed on them, [[spoiler: knowingly condemning his own brother to death]]. To make it worse, this case occurs shortly after [[spoiler: he had to condemn his long-time best friend, bandmate and colleague to life imprisonment]], not long after [[spoiler: finding out his brother was a murderer in the first place]]. Even, as ''Ace Attorney'' goes, that's quite a stomping to give one character's mental state over a short period.
*** Meanwhile Apollo, once an orphan, finds his lost sister and mother, gains Pheonix as a sort of surrogate father/mentor, uncovers his special power... everything goes great for him and crap for Klavier, they're more foil to each-other than they first appear. Somewhat Fride Logic-y.

** In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'' 2, similar to what [[MemeticMolester Gant]] is speculated to have done Ema, [[spoiler: Bansai]] does something very similar to Yumihiko. When Yumihiko [[spoiler: finally confronts him in court during the final case, Bansai]] actually ''leaves the witness stand'' to approach him, suggesting Yumihiko wants to "play" and that the two of them should go home. He's trembling and is ''TERRIFIED'' when [[spoiler:his father]] says this with Yumihiko's actual moving sprite going backwards. [[spoiler: Bansai's]] sprite even approaches him when Yumihiko tries to weakly fight back. If it weren't for Edgeworth demanding that he get back on the witness stand so the trial could continue, Yumihiko might have broken down [[spoiler: again]], but the implication is very obvious.

*** Furthermore, the Ace Attorney system originated as an indictment of Japan's legal system, where 'guilty until proven innocent' is the norm, and defence lawyers are vilified for defending suspects whether they're guilty or not and it's not rare for one to never win a case in his career.

** In Ace Attorney Investigations 2, similar to what [[MemeticMolester Gant]] is speculated to have done Ema, [[spoiler: Bansai]] does something very similar to Yumihiko. When Yumihiko [[spoiler: finally confronts him in court during the final case, Bansai]] actually ''leaves the witness stand'' to approach him, suggesting Yumihiko wants to "play" and that the two of them should go home. He's trembling and is ''TERRIFIED'' when his father says this and his actual moving sprite is going backward. [[spoiler: Bansai's]] sprite even approaches him when Yumihiko tries to weakly fight back. If it weren't for Edgeworth demanding that he get back on the witness stand so the trial could continue, Yumihiko might have broken down [[spoiler: again]], but the implication is very obvious.

* In the first ''AceAttorney'' game's final case, Damon Gant asks the fifteen-year-old Ema to stay in his office after he kicks Phoenix and Gumshoe out. Afterward, Ema seems... withdrawn. ''Very'' withdrawn. [[MemeticMolester Um.]]

** Also a Fridge TearJerker, with a horrifying psychological element. In ''ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Prosecutor Klavier Gavin [[spoiler:proves himself a BigDamnHero by pointing out the loophole which allows his big brother, Kristoph Gavin, to be brought to justice.]] Previous games in the series have made it clear that those who commit more than one murder face capital punishment (in itself a bit of a Fridge Horror if you don't believe in capital punishment), eg. [[spoiler: Dahlia Hawthorne in T&T, who describes her hanging when she's channeled in the final case]]. So here we have a guy, in a series where sibling relationships consistently have a high value placed on them, [[spoiler: knowingly condemning his own brother to death]]. To make it worse, this case occurs shortly after [[spoiler: he had to condemn his long-time best friend, bandmate and colleague to life imprisonment]], not long after [[spoiler: finding out his brother was a murderer in the first place]]. Even, as ''Ace Attorney'' goes, that's quite a stomping to give one character's mental state over a short period.

**** Not to mention the sheer amount of caffeine that man ingests. Also, [[spoiler: The sketches Larry drew (which we see during the epilogue of Trials and Tribulations) seem to suggest that he has, in fact, passed away.)]]

** In Ace Attorney Investigations 2, similar to what [[MemeticMolester Gant]] is speculated to have done Ema, [[spoiler: Bansai]] does something very similar to Yumihiko. When Yumihiko [[spoiler: finally confronts him in court during the final case, Bansai]] ''actually'' leaves the witness stand [[spoiler: despite the fact he's on trial]] and tries to force his son [[DoesThisRemindYouofAnything to go home saying he'll follow him in order to ''play''.]] This implies that [[spoiler: Bansai was planning to get away with murder since he just blackmailed the judge so she would side with him and make this trial quick to get him off the hook so he can go home and relieve the stress he was feeling during the previous case.]] However, pay attention to Yumihiko's sprite when he says "play". He's trembling and is ''TERRIFIED'' when his father says this and his actual moving sprite is going backward. [[spoiler: Bansai's]] sprite even approaches him when Yumihiko tries to weakly fight back. If it weren't for Edgeworth demanding that he get back on the witness stand so the trial could continue, Yumihiko might have broken down [[spoiler: again]], but the implication is very obvious. [[spoiler: If Bansai got off scotch free after the trial, the audience has a very good idea what he was planning to do to his son]] and the {{Fridge Horror}} is that no one would have the power to stop it.

** In Ace Attorney Investigations 2, similar to what [[MemeticMolester Gant]] did to Ema, [[spoiler: Bansai]] does something very similar to his son Yumihiko. When Yumihiko [[spoiler: finally confronts him in court during the final case, Bansai]] ''actually'' leaves the witness stand [[spoiler: despite the fact he's on trial]] and tries to force his son [[DoesThisRemindYouofAnything to go home saying he'll follow him in order to ''play''.]] This implies that [[spoiler: Bansai was planning to get away with murder since he just blackmailed the judge so she would side with him and make this trial quick to get him off the hook so he can go home and relieve the stress he was feeling during the previous case.]] However, pay attention to Yumihiko's sprite when he says "play". He's trembling and is ''TERRIFIED'' when his father says this and his actual moving sprite is going backward. [[spoiler: Bansai's]] sprite even approaches him when Yumihiko tries to weakly fight back. If it weren't for Edgeworth demanding that he get back on the witness stand so the trial could continue then Yumihiko might have broken down [[spoiler: again.]] But the implication is very obvious. [[spoiler: If Bansai got off scotch free after the trial, the audience has a very good idea what he was planning to do to his son]] and the {{Fridge Horror}} is that no one would have the power to stop it.