Line #10 TearJerker/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney


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12	Examples here are entirely for the first game; moments specific to ''TearJerker/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', ''TearJerker/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'', ''TearJerker/{{Apollo Justice\|AceAttorney}}'', ''[[TearJerker/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Investigations]]'', ''[[TearJerker/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies Dual Destinies]]'' or [[TearJerker/AceAttorney2016 the 2016 anime]] can be found on their own pages.
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14	'''Please note that all spoilers inside folders [[Administrivia/HandlingSpoilers will be unmarked on this page.]] ''[[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned This is your only warning.]]'''''
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16	[[AC:The First Turnabout]]
17	* Even though Cindy Stone was no saint, she DID love Larry, or at least held him in high regard. Her death left a big impact on him, who even wanted to be declared guilty and given the death penalty. True, Larry loves to exaggerate and to overreact, and yes, he got better, but it's still quite sad to see him that broken and to know [[ThrowTheDogABone someone who actually appreciated his art]] just died.
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19	[[AC:Turnabout Sisters]]
20	* The first major one in the series is, of course, the death of Mia Fey. It's really driven home by the [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/aceattorney/images/3/34/Screenshot-mayacrying.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1920?cb=20210308214136 picture of Maya crying over her sister's body]].
21	** On a related note, in the new web musical being made for Ace Attorney, one of the songs ("I'll Be There") turns a funny moment into a pretty sad one. In the game, Maya tells Nick about the note Mia left for him, which says to take care of Phoenix if anything happens to Mia. Phoenix is puzzled, but then Maya laughs and states that Mia meant the office. The music at that point is really depressing and Maya and Phoenix sound so heartbroken.
22	* In the first game's second case, when the time for Maya to pick a defense attorney before the state assigns her one is up, the player is given a choice - "Defend Maya" or "Go home." If the player selects "Go home," Phoenix narrates about finding out about her guilty verdict in the newspaper a little later, the high possibility of never seeing Maya again, and asking Mia if he made the right choice. He then falls silent, before angrily announcing that [[ButThouMust he won't let that happen, and the game picks up from the "Defend Maya" option.]]
23	* A tearjerker in hindsight, but even though Gumshoe never says it in this game, presenting Mia's profile to him in ''Trials and Tribulations'' has him mention that everyone on the police force knew Mia, which makes sense considering a certain former detective turned chief prosecutor was a close friend of hers. No wonder the man was on edge the whole time; imagine seeing a defense lawyer that even the police liked dead in her own office, and the only suspect seems to be her sister one day and her protégé the next. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And then come the pay deductions...]]
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25	[[AC:Turnabout Samurai]]
26	* The Pursuit theme is playing, and it's absolutely necessary to save an innocent man, but it won't make you feel any better when you force a second grader onto the witness stand and make him relive seeing his hero (who never loses) being murdered right in front of him. The OcularGushers make it feel worse.
27	** The [[https://youtu.be/VQ5Ko4oesLE?t=330 anime]] arguably makes this moment even sadder, since Cody's breakdown is now fully animated and voiced, resulting in one of the few times a breakdown ''doesn't'' feel deserved. You're not watching some dastardly killer or obnoxious bystander get their comeuppance, you're watching a recently-traumatised young boy have a meltdown while desperately trying to defend his hero and the virtues he stands for.
28	* It's a bit of contentious topic, but some think that Dee Vasquez's story is a major tear-jerker. The man she loved was killed by a coworker, who claimed it was an accident. She doubted that, and set about ruining his life as revenge, dedicating her life to the studio. Then he tries to murder her and frame Will Powers for it. She freaks out and kills him in self-defense, and hastily tries hiding the evidence, accidentally framing Powers even further. She never wished Will any harm, and considering what we've seen of Jack Hammer (the fact he was so jealous of Will his response was to frame his murder on him) the idea that Manuel's death wasn't an accident looks pretty likely.
29	* Will Powers is a big teddy bear of a man, and he honestly looks devastated that he got involved with this situation. Sure he has the FaceOfAThug, but he's a nice guy who wants kids to have a hero to look up to and wears the mask to be that hero. He's only looking out for the kids with this role, and he is crying his eyes out when he asks how the kids will feel about it.
30	* Wendy Oldbag of all people actually gets a sad moment during the third day, when you prove beyond all doubt that Hammer drugged Powers, stole the Steel Samurai costume and tried to kill Vasquez. She's initially gives out her usual hair-trigger temper as her first response, which slowly fades to a sad resignation as she comes to accept that her beloved idol had committed some serious misdeeds, and subsequently spills the beans on the secrets that she's been keeping under wraps at Vasquez's bequest. It's probably the only time in the series when she seems genuinely human, instead of cartoonishly curmudgeonly.
31	--> '''Oldbag''': ...I see. Poor, poor Hammer. You did wrong, Hammer, rest your soul. Okay, you win. I'll talk. I'm tired, see... Tired of holding it all in.
32	* Crosses with heartwarming, but Gumshoe admitting that he's [[AlwaysWantedToSayThat dreamed his whole career]] of telling a grateful civilian he saved to ThinkNothingOfIt, that he was just doing his job... and that Maya tearfully thanking him for saving her and Phoenix from being butchered by the mafia is the first opportunity he's ever gotten to say that in his entire career.
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34	[[AC:Turnabout Goodbyes]]
35	* Miles Edgeworth's entire backstory. As a kid, he wanted to be a defense attorney just like his father, and defended Phoenix passionately in his class trial, believing strongly in the protection of the innocent and the pursuit of justice. Then his beloved father was murdered, the killer was never caught, and he grew up with a crippling phobia of earthquakes. He was raised and mentored by his father's rival, the man who killed his father, who demanded absolute perfection and a guilty verdict for every case, and later becomes a genius prosecutor with a terrifying reputation and intense hatred for criminals. And for fifteen years he was haunted by a nightmare of the trauma that makes him believe he killed his father. And then, when he is accused of murder, he initially refuses Phoenix's- his childhood best friend's- help. Even when you finally prove him innocent, he confesses to the murder of his father he believed he committed fifteen years ago. This would be a brutal case of BreakTheHaughty, but he was broken a ''long'' time ago.
36	** When you see Edgeworth in the Detention Center, the first time he holds his arm and looks away with that extremely troubled look on his face is really quite sad. Up to that point, pretty much the only emotions he has shown are boredom, smug confidence, and anger.
37	** This one piece of dialogue in case 1-4, when he's discussing the nightmare:
38	--> '''Maya''': But...it's just a ''dream'', right?
39	--> '''Edgeworth''': That thought has been the only thing keeping me sane for these past fifteen years. But what if I'm wrong? What if it was ''real''?
40	** The only thing stopping him from breaking down for good was the fact that he could convince himself that his nightmare that he was having every single night was just a dream. Just think about that for a moment. If Phoenix had [[LivingLieDetector the magatama]] at that point in time Edgeworth would have revealed '''black''' Psyche-locks after stating that question.
41	** And add this to your list of horrors. At some point after being taken in by von Karma, as just a little kid, he might have ''told him'' about the nightmares he was having every night. At the very moment a very scared little boy was looking for help, his 'mentor' was filing that trauma away as a weapon he could use later if he needed to.
42	* Yanni Yogi's story. He was the suspect in the DL-6 incident, where Edgeworth's father was killed. His lawyer, Hammond, a man who cared not for his defendants, ordered him to plead insanity in order to win the case. Following his orders, Yogi lost his job, his social life, and his fiancée, who committed suicide. All he could do was sit in hatred for 15 years, with nothing but a parrot by his side. For a crime he didn't even commit! What's even worse is that if Hammond simply bothered to gather enough evidence, Yanni would've been perfectly proven innocent without being legally declared insane.
43	** If you thought that was heartbreaking, watch the story's depiction in the live-action movie. Although many of the details stay the same, you see from his eyes how truly cold-hearted Hammond was, how badly the trial destroyed his life through the vandalism of his home, leading to Polly hanging herself. If that wasn't enough, the final scene with Yogi ends with him seeing the spirit of his wife telling him that she still loves him and he breaks down crying.
44	** It's even more tragic than that. Parrots have a tendency to repeat sounds or phrases in response to another sound or phrase that they've come to associate with it. Like saying "Hello?" in their master's voice when they hear a phone ring. Now, with that in mind, think about what this exchange must mean:
45	--->"I'm sorry, Polly..."\
46	"I love you, Yogi."
47	*** This parrot probably remembers a lot of conversations he and Polly had that went like this. Yogi might have had a tendency to blame himself for troubles. His fiancée's response? Not, "That's okay," or "I forgive you," just simply, "I love you." Then one day he gets caught up in a murder case, and only escapes punishment by convincing the world he's gone insane. Then Polly kills herself. He must have blamed himself. He's regretted it every day of his life, wishing he could tell her how sorry he is. And every time he says "I'm sorry, Polly," the parrot says, "I love you, Yogi." In her voice. It's the only thing that's kept him going.
48	** When asked to identify himself in the game, he reveals that he is indeed Yanni Yogi and is stoic throughout the entire scene, saying that he is indeed the same person who stood in court 15 years ago and doesn't regret his actions. In the movie, however, he lacks the composure of his game counterpart. When asked the same questions, he yells "I didn't do it! I didn't kill Mr. Edgeworth!" The viewer can feel all the pain and sorrow he's dealt with for over 15 years, even before the flashback begins.
49	* The classroom trial. The fact that it doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment\|s}} for Edgeworth and Larry doesn't quite erase the heartbreak of what happened of poor little Phoenix, being ganged up on by everyone else, even the teacher.
50	** This gets worse as it was based on a real event that Shu Takumi experienced. After finding a piggy bank a student lost, he was found holding it and accused of being the thief. Unlike Phoenix, there ''wasn't'' an Edgeworth or Larry who stood up for him, leaving him found Guilty of the theft.
51	* After Phoenix and Maya get tazed by von Karma, when Maya says she wishes she hadn't woken up at all after giving a short speech about how she dislikes herself.
52	* Maya's departure. Even if they were bittersweet tears, she certainly couldn't hold back them back, and neither could the players.
53	* The 'final photos.' Not just because it has the main cast of the game- Phoenix, Maya, Edgeworth, Gumshoe, Larry and even Mia in spirit form, but particularly, Edgeworth's face. For the first time in the game, he's smiling. Not the smirk he does in court, but actually smiling. Plus with the 'FREEDOM' banner...
54	* The ending monologue of 1-4.
55	--> And so my story ends. Time to turn a new page... and say goodbye to the novice defense attorney that I once was... Now a new story begins... With the same old crazy cast of characters...
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57	[[AC:Rise from the Ashes]]
58	* Remember Lana, everyone's favorite DefrostingIceQueen? She finally smiles, albeit a bittersweet smile.
59	--> '''Lana''': It's been a long time, Your Honor.
60	* Lana and Ema's hug at the end after everything's said and done. Their relationship was so touching throughout the entire case, given how much Ema missed her big sister being happy and bright, and how Lana had to become an entirely different person to protect her little sister for so long.
61	* If you present Lana your attorney's badge when first seeing her at the beginning of the case, Phoenix comments on how he polishes his badge every day. She says, "In a few years, the gold plating will flake off. Then we'll see the real you. [...] Give it three years. Then we'll see what you have become." [[{{HarsherInHindsight}} Given what would eventually happen to Phoenix several years later and what it did to his reputation as a lawyer...]]
62	* When interviewing her older sister at the detention center, Ema accuses Lana of only thinking about herself. When you find out what Lana did to protect her, it only hurts to think about how much Lana has done, unbeknownst to Ema, to keep her little sister safe.
63	* And earlier in that case, as the realization hits as to exactly what the evidence in Gant's safe [[{{Blackmail}} implicate,]] and why Lana has acted the way she has: Neil Marshall appears not to have been killed by Joe Darke at all, but in a tragic accident and was accidentally pushed to his death by Ema. Lana has spent two years taking the fall at Gant's order to protect her sister from this knowledge. And then Phoenix has to ''make the accusation in court'' to prove Lana innocent. It somehow becomes even more heart wrenching when Ema was ''willing to accept this truth if it could save Lana.'' Of course, it all turns out to be a plot by the real murderer, Damon Gant, to gain control over the Prosecutor's Office. Exposing Gant as the real murderer is very satisfying.
64	** There's a reason everybody involved in SL-9 remembers the case with a mix of sadness and anger. Ultimately, it caused the deaths of two good detectives and sent several people into prison or at least caused them to lose their jobs, which most of them seemed to be greatly dedicated to. Not to mention all the emotional suffering it caused for all the various participants.
65	** As much as he's a murdering bastard, it's a little sad to hear that Gant used to be an ace of the precinct and an overall force for good before SL-9.
66	--> '''The Judge:''' [[WeUsedToBeFriends I knew you as you used to be, long ago. You were once a fine investigator, and an example to others on the force.]] [[BrokenPedestal I'm sorry to learn that you are no longer that person.]]
67	--> '''Gant:''' [[ThatManIsDead Those days are gone now, Udgey.]] Thanks for all the memories, though... Don't worry, you'll be fine! [[GracefulLoser Now you have Wrighto here... and Worthy. With these two around, you can't go wrong... You see, if I listen carefully, I can hear it right now... The sound of a new beginning! ]]
68	* After everything is settled, after finding the truth that had eluded them for the past two years, Ema will still have to leave Lana behind. Ema accepts this, but she's still clearly distraught after everything they've been through. Coupled with Lana never receiving a significant mention in the later games despite Ema becoming a main character, one can't help but wonder if they ever saw each other again.
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Context TearJerker / PhoenixWrightAceAttorney