Characters / The Torrential Turnabout

Main Characters

Mia Fey / Casey Lane

Mia Fey

^{Click here for spoilers.} Casey Lane

The protagonist. She has a keen interest in the Room and Board but her specific ties to the incident are a mystery.

• Amnesiac Hero: Minor example. She remembers her past perfectly well, but when she wakes up at the start of chapter 4, she's lost her memory of two significant chunks of the previous chapter's trial.
• The Atoner: She wants to expose Sheol out of guilt for participating in the Room and Board as a spectator.
• Desperation Attack: Just as time runs out and Zero's about to kill them all, she imagines herself drowning from the immense pressure of her situation. In her despair, she manages to form a complete theory as to how Bishop was killed, which in-universe happens in seconds. She does the same thing right when it looks like the case is solved, this time with the prosecutors of the first four Ace Attorney games telling her that she suspects the real Sheol is still out there.
• Defector from Decadence: She and Tower are the only ones to report the Room and Board livestream to the authorities after its completion. When she's approached by two people from the group at the end of the game, she's less than pleased.
  Mia: (Did I really used to associate with people like this??)
• Nervous Wreck: She has a good poker face, but her nerves are extremely on edge. She has multiple panic attacks over the course of the investigation.
• Troubled Teen: Assuming her given age is accurate, she watched the Room and Board livestream when she was 19.

Miles Edgeworth / Miles Murdoch

Miles Edgeworth

^{Click here for spoilers.} Miles Murdoch

A ruthless prosecutor who will do anything to secure a guilty verdict. Actually an FBI agent investigating Sheol's Room and Board who has an unhealthy obsession with visual novels and adventure games.

• Ascended Fanboy: A big fan of Ace Attorney who managed to become a federal prosecutor. An extremely dark example, he also masterminded a real life killing game motivated entirely by his obsession with visual novels.
• Big Bad: Though Charlie and Damara both played a part in the murder of Curt Bishop and the attempted killing of Donald Graves, it was Murdoch who prompted them to act in the first place. He's also the man behind Sheol's Room and Board.
• Evil Nerd: The Room and Board was inspired by Zero Escape.
• Evil Versus Evil: When he kills his partner in crime, Judge Harper.
• Faux Affably Evil: His laidback and informal approach towards people does very little to hide the fact he's a slimy jackass willing to throw anyone under the bus as long as it benefits him. He's also this under his "Sheol" persona, though in a more of a Soft-Spoken Sadist manner.
• Foil: To Mia. Both are obviously obsessed with games like Ace Attorney (to the point that they both use characters from the series as false identities). They're also both deeply messed up people, but while Casey's got a heart despite that, empathizes with the victims of the Room and Board and wants to make things right, Murdoch is insincere and insensitive, not to mention directly responsible for their suffering in the past and present.
• Hate Sink: There is NOTHING likable about Miles, no matter how you slice it. He's a slimy, condescending jackass who clearly has it in for Mia and has no problems putting the blame on her and Tower. This doubles once he's revealed as Sheol, as underneath all the sadism and cruelty, he's an utterly pathetic manchild obsessed with murder mysteries to the point of wanting to re-enact them.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: His final argument is technically flawless and impossible to beat, so the only way out is to deplete your health bar. Fortunately, finding a flaw in his argument was never the point, as everyone was convinced he was guilty anyway.
• Loony Fan: He's a big fan of games like Zero Escape. So much so that he created his own version of the Nonary Games, Sheol's Room and Board, where he kidnapped nine people and forced them to play his sick game under the threat of dying.
• Obviously Evil: He's a smug, pompous jackass who belittles Mia and Tower and tries to throw them under the bus nonstop throughout the entire game. Presenting his profile to Tower prompts a present conversation consisting entirely of them both declaring he's probably the killer. They're right.
• Real Name as an Alias: His first name really is Miles.
• The Rival: Mia considers him one.
• Zero-Effort Boss: While Charlie went to great lengths to cover up his crime and had arguments to make in his defense, all Casey has to do to prove Murdoch's guilt is present the livestream footage and watch him squirm.

Diego Armando / Tower / Vince Marquez

Diego Armando / Tower

The protagonist's long time friend who assists her in her investigations into NX-0.

• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In spite of his crass and vulgar personality, he's perhaps one of the most moral characters in the game period, along with being Mia's loyal friend. He's also one of the few who does NOT want to kill Sheol, instead wanting him to pay for what he's done properly.
• No Name Given: His first name is revealed to be Vince during the epilogue, but his last name, Marquez, isn't revealed at any point; Acid Rain only stated it in the forum thread on AAO.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Mia exclusively refers to him by his online handle, Tower, in private and in her internal monologue.
• The Power of Friendship: He invokes this trope when encouraging everyone to work together to learn the truth behind the Room and Board.
  Diego: Now at this point, ya can probably guess where I'm goin' with this. Yeah, that's right - Imma "power a' friendship" the $%@# outta all y'all!
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: One of the more frequent sources of the game's Symbol Swearing, second only to Charlie.

Roland / Zero / Noah Colten

Roland / Noah Colten

^{Click here for spoilers.} Zero

The POV character in the first chapter who documented the events of the Room and Board in his journal.

• Affably Evil: Is Zero a kidnapper? Absolutely. But he is mostly cordial to the group he holds hostage, and can be reasoned with when push comes to shove. The "Evil" part is more or less ditched when it's revealed that he never actually intended to kill anyone.
• Anti-Villain: Of the Well-Intentioned Extremist variety. He holds a whole group of people hostage and threatens to kill them if they don't oblige. All of it is however to drag Sheol right into the spotlight, and the murder threat turns out to be a bluff: he never actually intended to do it.
• Back from the Dead: Spent five years in hiding before making his grand return as Zero.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: One of his journal entries is written after getting drunk, though it can only be fully appreciated by checking the image itself in chapter 7's editor.
  yea i could probably take shol in a fight
  bring him on ill bust hisstupid face
  Wow, that bourbon is really powerful stuff.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Shown to be a pushover in the first chapter despite being able to make a few snippy comments. Based on Bishop's notes, though, once he started taking the game seriously, he managed to successfully threaten the Fireman into giving up one of his keys, form an alliance with Blue and Eric to counter Poppet's alliance with Teddy and Fireman, and gain control over the elevator leading out of the bunker to make up for their lack of keys. And then there's the part where he used the chainsaw to break into the ninth bedroom, realizing there may be a tenth key hidden inside that he could use to escape, all while smoke is slowly filling the bunker.
• Foil: To Sheol. Like Sheol, he imprisoned several people and forced them to participate in a "game" of sorts, but Zero had a specific purpose in mind which he pressured his group into fulfilling. On the other hand, Sheol didn't care what direction the Room and Board went in and simply allowed the participants of his game to do whatever they wished, with certain loose restrictions.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Seeks revenge against Sheol by imprisoning a group of people and threatening to kill them if they fail to identify him — a crime not unlike Sheol's. A big difference is that, though he was evidently capable of going through with it, he never did or even wanted to have to kill anybody.
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Chooses to turn Murdoch in alive as he doesn't want to become a murderer if he can help it.
• My God, What Have I Done?: His reaction to the fact that Judge Harper wound up dead as a result of his actions was that of shock and horror. While it is revealed that he didn't actually do it, his reaction to the possibility is absolutely genuine.
• Never Found the Body: His body was not recovered from the charred remains of the bunker where Sheol's Room and Board took place. He turns out to have survived the events of the Room and Board and went into hiding after the fact.
• "No More Holding Back" Speech: Another highlight from his journal.
  Are you watching, Sheol? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Are you satisfied? Have things played out the way you wanted? The way you expected? Was it profitable? Was it fun? Was it worth it? How's your day — going well? How would you feel if I put a bullet between your eyes?
• The Quiet One: Implied to have been this before the Room and Board makes an entirely new man out of him.
• Walking Spoiler: It's difficult to talk about Roland without revealing that he isn't exclusive to the first chapter; he survived the Room and Board and he comes back as Zero.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Much like his namesake, he is this. His goal to drag Sheol out into the daylight and make them pay for what they did is certainly admirable, but his means? Slightly less so, to say the least.

Fireman / Charlie Klein

Fireman / Charlie Klein

• Anti-Villain: He murdered Curt Bishop, but it's later made clear that he feels horrible about it, essentially being forced into it by Sheol.
• Disc-One Final Boss: He's the culprit in the Bishop murder, but Sheol's the one pulling his strings.
• Face–Heel Turn: During the Room and Board. He helps Ace solve Doc's murder, then forms an alliance with her killers.
• Forced into Evil: Five years after the Room and Board, Sheol contacts him again and threatens him to murder Bishop.
• Reformed Criminal: Used to sell drugs before going clean. He even arrested some of his former colleagues.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: He's by far the character that drops the most amount of "$#*%"s.
• Sticky Fingers: He's a skilled pickpocket, not only swiping Roland's gun for a moment in chapter 1, but is also noted to have stolen Salem's jade on Day 3.
• Verbal Tic: In the first chapter, he has a habit of addressing people, namely Roland, as "guy." It doesn't carry over into later chapters though.

Poppet / Damara Rochelle

Poppet / Damara Rochelle

• Even Evil Has Standards: She has no qualms with committing murder as part of Sheol's Room and Board. But that being said, when Sheol's motivations behind it all come to light, she's completely and utterly repulsed.
  Poppet: Forget disappointed. I just feel sick.
• Karma Houdini: Ultimately flees to South Africa to escape being charged with her attempt on Eric's life.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Presenting Salem's profile to her during Chapter 1 leads to her remarking that she's a sweet girl and that she shouldn't have been there — probably relevant then, that she isn't shown to have targeted her at all before her death. That didn't stop the Fireman from stealing her key several days before their alliance, though.

Teddy / Nathanial Montclair

Teddy / Nathanial Montclair

• Drowning My Sorrows: Turns to excessive drinking after escaping the Room and Board.
• I Did What I Had to Do: He says he needed to kill Doc and Ace to survive, but without the same conviction Damara has.

Catherine Winters

Catherine Winters

A nurse at Jameson Memorial Hospice.

• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Highly distrusting to Mia and Miles, especially when they're around Montclair, who she's much more caring towards. Mia accusing her of murder doesn't help, either, but she comes to forgive her for that by the end.

Minor Characters

Eric / Donald Graves

Eric / Donald Graves

Considered an outcast among the Room and Board participants due to several factors, not least that each of them find him inexplicably familiar. Five years later, after escaping with his life, he's charged with murdering the detective, Curt Bishop, despite sustaining life-threatening wounds.

• Back for the Finale: The final frame of the entire game, after the credits, shows Eric, having woken up from his coma, reacting in shock after hearing about what happened while he slept.
  Eric: I was arrested for what?!
• My Name Is ???: When he first introduces himself as "Eric...?" his nametag temporarily includes the "...?"
• Real Name as an Alias: He introduces himself to Roland and Blue using his middle name, unaware that everyone else had opted to use pseudonyms.
• Red Herring: Sheol specifically makes sure Eric stands out as an outcast to make the other participants wary of him. It's all a psychological trick, though.

Salem / Darcy Owens

Salem / Darcy Owens

A friendly girl with lots of interests she's all too happy to talk about.

• Driven to Suicide: On Day 7. Speculated to have been a result of the loss of her key, her unwillingness to kill people and her overwhelming fear.
• I Have Many Names: At first wants to be called Jade Hunter☆Crystal Witch. When Roland speaks to her next, it's Orphan Dark: Daughter of Chaos. Roland states in his journal that she would change her name even more times afterward. Everyone in the Room and Board just calls her Salem. Also, her real name is Darcy Owens. Nom de plume: Amber Owens.
• Lucky Charms Title: Much like Mask☆DeMasque, her initial pseudonym has a star in it.
• Motor Mouth: When Roland asks her about herself. The textbox literally expands as she goes on wild tangents about her interests.

Blue / Erika van der Muellen

Blue / Erika van der Muellen

An irritable, snarky college student.

• Despair Event Horizon: Gives up hope as soon as Sheol explains the rules behind his game. Roland convinces her to hold out by returning her key to her.
• Never Found the Body: Her body was never recovered from the aftermath of Sheol's Room and Board. Unlike Roland though, there's no indication she's still alive.

Doc / Patricia Markovitz

Doc / Patricia Markovitz

A kind, motherly woman, and a participant in the Room and Board.

• Good Parents: It's safe to assume she was this, considering Catherine has nothing but positive things to say about her.
• Inciting Incident: Her death in Day 4 is what kickstarts the tension between the Room and Board participants.

Ace / Daniel Caruthers

Ace / Daniel Caruthers

An ex-cop fired from his job due to his sexuality.

• Baldness Angst: Says he'd take Eric's genetically white hair over his complete lack of hair any day.
• Grumpy Old Man: Significantly older than most characters and shown to be irritable, especially from Salem.
• Straight Gay: Confirmed through the NX-0 Dossier, and the possible reason he was fired from the force.

Bryce McClane

Bryce McClane

Detective in charge of the investigation into Curt Bishop's murder.

• Come Alone: During the game's epilogue, Charlie asked him to come and meet him alone. Of course he didn't come alone.
• Dirty Old Man: Winters accuses him of ogling her butt just before Mia meets him.
• Out of Focus: After his cross-examination in chapter 3, he all but vanishes from the game until the credits sequence.

Dmitri Volkov

Dmitri Volkov

A Russian nurse at Jameson Memorial Hospice.

• Red Herring: He's played up to be suspicious, but he doesn't actually have anything to do with any of the crimes committed in the story.

Lisa Harper

Lisa Harper

The weak-willed judge presiding over the trial of Donald Graves.

• Asshole Victim: Given how she was essentially one part of "Sheol", it's a tad hard to pity her.
• She Knows Too Much: Murdoch kills her out of concern that she might reveal their involvement in NX-0.

Curt Bishop

Curt Bishop

The victim. A detective investigating NX-0.

• Posthumous Character: Though he dies before chapter 2 begins, his personality gets expanded on through his NX-0 notes.

Brahtzee

Brahtzee

Member of the Room and Board "fandom". He appears in the final chapter, as well as the game over scenes throughout the game, waiting outside the court for a chance to meet Sheol, as well as the livestream's host.

• Abhorrent Admirer: Of Mia's. Calls himself a fan of "murder," distinct from "murder mysteries." Gleefully involved in cryptocurrency. Attempts to ask her out on a date through the livestream chat, then once more when he meets her outside the court, which he'd been waiting outside of for hours. She doesn't hesitate to reject him.
  Mia: Today, I've solved a hit-and-run, an assault, two murders, and a half-decade-old serial kidnapping. And you are still - somehow - the worst person I've dealt with this week!

Ilyana of Vendar

Ilyana of Vendar

Another one of Sheol's followers who appears only briefly in the game's final chapter and game over scenes.

• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: She's 16 now, but was 11 at the time she watched the Room and Board stream.
  Mercurial Youth: So? I turned out fine.