History KangarooCourt / VideoGames

*** There are three punishments implemented: beatings, prison time, and hammering. Beatings are considered the least severe, and victims will be annoyed if a criminal's sentence is "downgraded" to a beating, but beatings are ''also'' incredibly dangerous, and likely to kill the victim, while prison time just takes the dwarf out of commission for a while. And though hammering is meant to be a Dwarven death penalty, if the victim survives for whatever reason (like being a vampire or the player giving the hammerer an [[JokeItem adamantine hammer]]), they are simply let free. In the case of vampires, this usually means the player has to [[DeathTrap take care of things themselves]] before the vampire drains some important dwarf.

* In the finale of ''VideoGame/ConquestOfTheLongbow'', the Sheriff captures Robin Hood and immediately orders him hung. Fortunately, King Richard shows up, stops the execution, and arranges for a fair trial (though depending on how Robin conducted himself during the game, he could very well order Robin sent back to the gallows).

* In the finale of ''VideoGame/RobinHoodConquestOfTheLongbow'', the Sheriff captures Robin Hood and immediately orders him hung. Fortunately, King Richard shows up, stops the execution, and arranges for a fair trial (though depending on how Robin conducted himself during the game, he could very well order Robin sent back to the gallows).

* Crono gets hit one of these very early on in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', accused of kidnapping Princess Nadia/Marle, despite the fact that she hung out with Crono willingly during the Millennial Fair, her disappearance was a complete accident, and Crono was the one who rescued her. On top of all that, Marle isn't allowed to even be present at the trial to speak in Crono's defense. Even if Crono is found "not guilty," the judge will still condemn him to three days in jail (before the EvilChancellor orders Crono's execution anyway). You get a few Ethers if you get him found innocent, however. One of the sidequests has another one; this time, the present King Guardia is being framed for selling the Rainbow Shell.

* Late in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': [[spoiler:Dr. Huey Emmerich is subjected to a drumhead trial at Mother Base after it was discovered he helped to facilitate a vocal chord parasite outbreak that killed several members of the Diamond Dogs. In addition to revealing evidence that he not only tried to make his son Hal test-pilot a new Metal Gear, but also murdered his wife Dr. Strangelove when she protested (the evidence of the murder being her recorded cries from the AI core she was trapped in), Miller hands down a summary verdict of "guilty, all counts". Big Boss rejects the cries for the death penalty, claiming that a mercenary company doesn't have the right to execute prisoners, but gives Huey a CruelAndUnusualPunishment because he's obviously guilty of some of the murder crimes; Huey is exiled from Mother Base on an unstable raft, forcing Huey to amputate his cybernetic limbs to survive, and then the R&D team reverse-engineers Huey's blueprints and posts all counts of Huey's plagiarism to the public.]]

* In ''VideoGame/AviaryAttorney'', which is essentially ''VideoGame/AceAttorney'' set in France in 1848 (with [[CivilizedAnimal anthropomorphic animals]]), features several flavours of those, including one held by [[spoiler:a corrupt judge with an agenda, a mob of republican revolutionaries, and one set up to convict none other than the ''King of France'' of various crimes against the people before the aforementioned mob can get their paws on him]] - the last one of which the [[spoiler:defence attorney protagonist helps organise himself]].

* In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' franchise, you can debunk every piece of evidence pointing towards your client (which is considered sufficient in real life, as the defense has nothing to prove), but they're ''still'' not off the hook until you can actually ''prove'' their innocence by catching the real killer.[[note]]Usually, anyway; the series gets a little more lax about this later on, and Layton-1 and 5-4 both end with Not Guilty verdicts being declared before an alternate culprit is presented.[[/note]] Still, the incompetence of the games' current court system becomes more apparent as the series goes on and reaches a head in the third case of the fourth game, and Phoenix actually is so frustrated with this -- [[spoiler:especially since it ''cost him his career'']] -- that he begins a quiet crusade to reinstate the jury system and succeeds in getting a test run in the same game's fourth case. When [[spoiler:Ron Delite confesses he was the thief when Phoenix already proved him innocent]], the judge outright says, "What kind of a kangaroo court do you think this is?"[[note]]It should be noted that the ''Ace Attorney'' series is based on the Japanese court system, which is notorious for its ridiculously high conviction rate, which can lead to a heavy dose ValuesDissonance for Western players and led the localization team to put in some lines handwaving the dramatic differences between the game's court system and the American court system of today. The jury system was introduced as a TakeThat to Japan's trial-by-judge system and to promote trial by jury which is a largely foreign concept over there.[[/note]]

* In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' franchise, you can debunk every piece of evidence pointing towards your client (which is considered sufficient in real life, as the defense has nothing to prove), but they're ''still'' not off the hook until you can actually ''prove'' their innocence by catching the real killer.[[note]]Usually, anyway; the series gets a little more lax about this later on, and Layton-1 and 5-4 both end with Not Guilty verdicts being declared before an alternate culprit is presented.[[/note]] This is perhaps justified by RuleOfFun. Still, the incompetence of the games' current court system becomes more apparent as the series goes on and reaches a head in the third case of the fourth game, and Phoenix actually is so frustrated with this -- [[spoiler:especially since it ''cost him his career'']] -- that he begins a quiet crusade to reinstate the jury system and succeeds in getting a test run in the same game's fourth case. When [[spoiler:Ron Delite confesses he was the thief when Phoenix already proved him innocent]], the judge outright says, "What kind of a kangaroo court do you think this is?"[[note]]It should be noted that the ''Ace Attorney'' series is based on the Japanese court system, which is notorious for its ridiculously high conviction rate, which can lead to a heavy dose ValuesDissonance for Western players and led the localization team to put in some lines handwaving the dramatic differences between the game's court system and the American court system of today. The jury system was introduced as a TakeThat to Japan's trial-by-judge system and to promote trial by jury which is a largely foreign concept over there.[[/note]]

* Late in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': [[spoiler:Dr. Huey Emmerich is subjected to a drumhead trial at Mother Base after it was discovered he helped to facilitate a vocal chord parasite outbreak that killed several members of the Diamond Dogs. In addition to revealing evidence that he not only tried to make his son Hal test-pilot a new Metal Gear, but also murdered his wife Dr. Strangelove when she protested (the evidence of the murder being her recorded cries from the AI core she was trapped in), Miller hands down a summary verdict of "guilty, all counts". Big Boss rejects the cries for the death penalty, claiming that a mercenary company doesn't have the right to execute prisoners, but gives Huey a CruelAndUnusualPunishment; Huey is exiled from Mother Base on an unstable raft, forcing Huey to amputate his cybernetic limbs to survive, and then the R&D team reverse-engineers Huey's blueprints and posts all counts of Huey's plagiarism to the public.]]

* Late in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': [[spoiler:Dr. Huey Emmerich is subjected to a drumhead trial at Mother Base after it was discovered he helped to facilitate a vocal chord parasite outbreak that killed several members of the Diamond Dogs. In addition to revealing evidence that he not only tried to make his son Hal test-pilot a new Metal Gear, but also murdered his wife Dr. Strangelove when she protested (the evidence of the murder being her recorded cries from the AI core she was trapped in), Miller hands down a summary verdict of "guilty, all counts". The sentence, as decreed by Big Boss, is exile from Mother Base.]]

* In side material to ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', Sela, the deposed empress of the Romulan Star Empire, complained to her Romulan Republic jailors that she thinks a kangaroo court is beneath the Romulan Republic, which claims to have abandoned the old ways. Actually, she's guilty as sin, she's just trying to curry favor.

* Crono gets hit one of these very early on in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', accused of kidnapping Princess Nadia/Marle, despite the fact that she hung out with Crono willingly during the Millennial Fair, her disappearance was a complete accident, and Crono was the one who rescued her. On top of all that, Marle isn't allowed to even be present at the trial to speak in Crono's defense. Even if Crono is found "not guilty," the judge will still condemn him to three days in jail (before the EvilChancellor orders Crono's execution anyway). You get a few Ethers if you get him found innocent, however. One of the sidequests has another one; this time, the present King Guardia is being framed for selling the Rainbow Shell.
* The trial that Ellen is subject to in Hell Realm in ''VideoGame/{{Folklore}}'' is full of preconceived conclusions, as it's meant to be a symbolic representation of her own guilt. [[spoiler:She isn't even guilty in the first place.]]

* Guybrush is tried by one in chapter four of ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland''. The judge tried to sentence him to death by keelhauling ''before any charges were brought up!'' However, the judge (and every other pirate present) is sick with the Pox of [=LeChuck=], causing them to have violent outbursts. The only ones who are "clean" are Guybrush (who was sick in the previous episode, but it now cured); Stan (who isn't a pirate and is, thus, immune), whose new job is Guybrush's prosecutor; and one of the plaintiffs (no explanation for his immunity is given, though it's implied he might not be a real pirate).
* ''VideoGame/UltimaVIIPartII: The Serpent Isle'' has two of them, one in Fawn where you have the opportunity to turn the tables on your accusers, another in Moonshade where you don't. The charges are inciting rebellion (Toasting the leader of a nation the locals don't like), and entering the bedchamber of the [=MageLord's=] mistress (At her invitation), respectively.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Dead Cell's commander, Jackson, was arrested and found guilty for misappropriating funds and corruption. Ocelot later reveals that the trial was actually a sham, in an attempt to get Dead Cell renegade, or at least angry enough to attempt to attack the Patriots (since they apparently framed Dead Cell for terrorist attacks later on) so they could further use them for their S3 Plan.
* Late in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': [[spoiler:Dr. Huey Emmerich is subjected to a drumhead trial at Mother Base after it was discovered he helped to facilitate a vocal chord parasite outbreak that killed several members of the Diamond Dogs. In addition to revealing evidence that he not only tried to make his son Hal test-pilot a new Metal Gear, but also murdered his wife Dr. Strangelove when she protested (the evidence of the murder being her recorded cries from the AI core she was trapped in), Miller hands down a summary verdict of "guilty, all counts". The sentence, as decreed by Big Boss, is exile from Mother Base.]]

* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', Mario stands trial in one of the worst trials in video game history. The prosecutor states the sun has stopped shining due to the graffiti and Mario ''looks like the criminal''. Peach and Toadsworth try to object, but the judge ''overrules it without even hearing her out.'' With Peach being royal and all, this is a fail. And when you saw the tape on the plane about Isle Delfino, you could see the ''real'' person doing it. Even more facepalm-warranting, Shadow Mario/[[spoiler:Bowser Jr.]] is blue, transparent, and has a magic paintbrush. The real Mario is opaque, wears red clothes with blue overalls, and ''just got there.'' He's also wearing a robotic fire extinguisher. {{LetsPlay/Chuggaaconroy}} sums it up quite well.
-->'''{{LetsPlay/Chuggaaconroy}}:''' There was no statement by the defense, no attorney appointed to the defense, no witnesses called, no evidence presented, nobody even bothered to notice that we literally got here 4 minutes and 34 seconds ago before we were arrested, and there wasn't even a jury!?!... This is more rigged than Saddam Hussein's trial!
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'':
** You almost get extradited to Luskan for a [[WronglyAccused crime you didn't commit]], only saved by the timely intervention of your allies in Neverwinter. And Luskan justice is described as such:
--->'''Sand:''' Well, at best, they will put you on trial - or what seems to be one, then execute you. At worst, they will dispense with the courtroom mockery and execute you as soon as you step within the gate. And when I say "execute," do not think it will be one clean chop of a headman's axe... Luskans have all sorts of inventive ways for executing prisoners that is not best to describe on a full stomach.
** Their so-called "Prisoner's Carnival" really is that bad, too. They just bring out whoever is in the cells, shout at them and find some horribly twisted (and highly creative) way of executing them. This is the main entertainment in the city, thus the "Carnival" part. As an example, once they tied a prisoner down on a table, with a bottomless wooden cage on his stomach. They then put a large rat in the cage and set the cage on fire. The rat only has one way to avoid the flames, ''dig its way out''.

* The Sheriff of Nottingham takes a "hang 'em all" attitude towards trials in ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfRobinHood''.

* Central in ''VideoGame/ExitPath'' has an automated jury that, when you're caught, immediately finds you guilty with no differing opinions, and they leave you to be shoved into a series of saw blades [[spoiler:(but that's never stopped you, even without flow)]]. The surprise is lost a little if you managed to glance at a sign further back that says "All citizens are guilty unless proven innocent!"
* Subverted for laughs in a cutscene in ''VideoGame/BeneathASteelSky''. Howard Hobbins, the maintenance man you met at the beginning of the game is put on trial as a consequence of some of the puzzles you solved while in the city, which caused some damage in the process, and he has you defend him. The presiding judge Chutney is eager to pass his sentence, and talks as if the whole scenario is a game show to him rather than a trial. No matter what sort of statements you make, including calling your ally Mrs. Piermont as a witness, though, Chutney will always say this line.
--> '''Judge Chutney''': "Howard Hobbins, you have won tonight's star prize," *Security logo flashes colors with game show music* "LIFE IMPRISONMENT!" *beat* "However, in view of your service to the city, I'm going to reduce your sentence. Two hours community service."
* In the finale of ''VideoGame/RobinHoodConquestOfTheLongbow'', the Sheriff captures Robin Hood and immediately orders him hung. Fortunately, King Richard shows up, stops the execution, and arranges for a fair trial (though depending on how Robin conducted himself during the game, he could very well order Robin sent back to the gallows).
* ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity: Nova'' - Judges presiding over major [[TheFederation Federation]] trials are typically Vell-Os, a race of evolved humans endowed with {{Telepathy}}. Defendants do not mount a defense or get to testify, do not get a defense attorney, and do not stand before a jury; rather, a list of charges against them is read and they enter their plea. The Vell-Os judge then reads their mind and history, and is able to determine the truth and issue a ruling in seconds. This would in itself be questionable enough, but it doesn't stop there! Unbeknownst to the general civilian population, as well as most prominent political and military leaders, the Vell-Os are enslaved via mind control chip implants by the Federation, which are in turn puppeteered by the [[SecretPolice Bureau of Internal Investigation]], a shady organization that officially serves as military intelligence but in fact controls the Federation entirely. Enemies of the state, particularly those who speak out against or get in the way of the Bureau, tend to end up in court with extensive lists of unlikely charges leveled against them and are invariably found guilty.
** Leads to a [[spoiler:KickTheSonOfABitch]] moment in [[spoiler:the Rebellion storyline. The end goal of the Rebellion that they accomplish with the player's help is to covertly free the Vell-Os slaves and then put the head of the Bureau on trial in front of the judge, with the kangaroo court now rigged in their favor. The head of the Bureau smugly declares herself "not guilty" of the (completely honest) charges against her, only to suffer shock as the judge very animatedly stands up, loudly calling her a liar, declaring her guilty of every charge, and holding out his removed enslavement device for her to see as he delivers a quick TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. The narrative text describes her expression as someone who has just been smartly slapped in the face.]]
* The trial of [[spoiler:the Auditore family]] at the beginning of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed2'' is rather obviously one. The fact that the trial is held on the gallows with the accused already having nooses tied around their necks is the first clue to this.

* ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity: Nova'' - Judges presiding over major [[{heFederation Federation]] trials are typically Vell-Os, a race of evolved humans endowed with {{Telepathy}}. Defendants do not mount a defense or get to testify, do not get a defense attorney, and do not stand before a jury; rather, a list of charges against them is read and they enter their plea. The Vell-Os judge then reads their mind and history, and is able to determine the truth and issue a ruling in seconds. This would in itself be questionable enough, but it doesn't stop there! Unbeknownst to the general civilian population, as well as most prominent political and military leaders, the Vell-Os are enslaved via mind control chip implants by the Federation, which are in turn puppeteered by the [[SecretPolice Bureau of Internal Investigation]], a shady organization that officially serves as military intelligence but in fact controls the Federation entirely. Enemies of the state, particularly those who speak out against or get in the way of the Bureau, tend to end up in court with extensive lists of unlikely charges leveled against them and are invariably found guilty.

* "VideoGame/Danganronpa" Or in this case a khoala court. In Episode 5 the trial is quite litteraly rushed to a conclusion when the case was clearly unsolved. You dont even get a closing statement because the evidence you need to put the peices together was hidden from you [[spoiler: by the judge itself.]]

* In ''VideoGame/AviaryAttorney'', which is essentially ''VideoGame/AceAttorney'' set in France in 1848 (with [[CivilizedAnimal anthropomorphic animals]]), features several flavours of those, including one held by [[spoiler:a corrupt judge with an agenda, a mob of republican revolutionaries, and one set up to convict none other than the ''King of France'' of various crimes against the people before the aforementioned mob can get their paws on him]] - the last one of which the [[spoiler:defence attorney protagonist helps organising himself]].

* In ''VideoGame/AviaryAttorney'', which is essentially ''VideoGame/AceAttorney'' set in France in 1848 (with [[CivilizedAnimal anthropomorphic animals]]), features several flavours of those, including one held by [[spoiler:a corrupt judge with an agenda, a mob of republican revolutionaries, and one set up to convict none other than the ''King of France'' of various crimes against the people before the aforementioned mob can get their paws on him]] - the last one of which the [[spoiler:the defence attorney protagonist helps set up himself]].

* In ''VideoGame/AviaryAttorney'', which is essentially ''VideoGame/AceAttorney'' set in France in 1848 (with [[CivilizedAnimal anthropomorphic animals]]), features several flavours of those, including one that that [[spoiler:the defence attorney protagonist helps set up himself]].

* In ''VideoGame/AviaryAttorney'', which is essentially VideoGame/AceAttorney set in France of 1848, features several flavours of those, including one that that [[spoiler:the defence attorney protagonist helps set up himself]].

* In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' franchise, you can debunk every piece of evidence pointing towards your client (which is considered sufficient in real life, as the defense has nothing to prove), but they're ''still'' not off the hook until you can actually ''prove'' their innocence by catching the real killer.[[note]]Usually, anyway; the series gets a little more lax about this later on, and Layton-1 and 5-4 both end with Not Guilty verdicts being declared before an alternate culprit is presented.[[/note]] This is perhaps justified by RuleOfFun. Still, the incompetence of the games' current court system becomes more apparent as the series goes on and reaches a head in the third case of the fourth game, and Phoenix actually is so frustrated with this -- [[spoiler: especially since it ''cost him his career'']] -- that he begins a quiet crusade to reinstate the jury system and succeeds in getting a test run in the same game's fourth case. When [[spoiler: Ron Delite confesses he was the thief when Phoenix already proved him innocent]], the judge outright says, "What kind of a kangaroo court do you think this is?"[[note]]It should be noted that the ''Ace Attorney'' series is based on the Japanese court system, which is notorious for its ridiculously high conviction rate, which can lead to a heavy dose ValuesDissonance for Western players and led the localization team to put in some lines handwaving the dramatic differences between the game's court system and the American court system of today. The jury system was introduced as a TakeThat to Japan's trial-by-judge system and to promote trial by jury which is a largely foreign concept over there.[[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Tali's trial is only a pretence for the judges to pursue their various political agendas on how to deal with the Geth. None of them really care what happens to Tali, except for Shala'Raan (who, due to her ties to the Zorah family, is forced to recuse herself from voting). [[spoiler: They're so transparent about it that you can have Tali exonerated ''without evidence'' just by pointing this out, although you need a lot of alignment points or two important character witnesses.]]

* Central in ''VideoGame/ExitPath'' has an automated jury that, when you're caught, immediately finds you guilty with no differing opinions, and they leave you to be shoved into a series of saw blades [[spoiler: (but that's never stopped you, even without flow)]]. The surprise is lost a little if you managed to glance at a sign further back that says "All citizens are guilty unless proven innocent!"

* You hit one of these very early on in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''. In fact, you can be found "Not Guilty," but the judge will still condemn you to three days in jail (before the EvilChancellor "orders" your execution anyway). You get a few Ethers if you do. One of the sidequests has another one; this time the present King Guardia is being framed for selling the Rainbow Shell.

** In ''BG 2: Shadows of Amn'', your character is subjected to one of these by an ambitious Harper. You're not actually being legally accused, but he's holding a hearing to determine whether you are a danger and must be regarded as a monster and [[SealedEvilInACan magically imprisoned]] -- and he's only out to get the prestige for doing it, no matter what you say. Granted, he may be right about you if you are playing an evil character, but that would be entirely coincidental. No matter how you answer his questions, he will find a way to twist them against you. This literally includes asking for your favourite colour and interpreting any possible answer negatively. (Green, is it? INTERESTING. You can imagine what he makes of red or black.) Jaheira calls him out on this arbitrariness and hypocrisy repeatedly. At least you have the option of being a DeadpanSnarker throughout the whole interrogation.

* In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' franchise, you can debunk every piece of evidence pointing towards your client (which is considered sufficient in real life, as the defense has nothing to prove), but they're ''still'' not off the hook until you can actually ''prove'' their innocence by catching the real killer. This is perhaps justified by RuleOfFun. Still, the incompetence of the games' current court system becomes more apparent as the series goes on and reaches a head in the third case of the fourth game, and Phoenix actually is so frustrated with this -- [[spoiler: especially since it ''cost him his career'']] -- that he begins a quiet crusade to reinstate the jury system and succeeds in getting a test run in the same game's fourth case. When [[spoiler: Ron Delite confesses he was the thief when Phoenix already proved him innocent]], the judge outright says, "What kind of a kangaroo court do you think this is?"[[note]]It should be noted that the ''Ace Attorney'' series is based on the Japanese court system, which is notorious for its ridiculously high conviction rate, which can lead to a heavy dose ValuesDissonance for Western players and led the localization team to put in some lines handwaving the dramatic differences between the game's court system and the American court system of today. The jury system was introduced as a TakeThat to Japan's trial-by-judge system and to promote trial by jury which is a largely foreign concept over there.[[/note]]

*** Spirit of Justice turns it up well past 11 for the final trial, [[spoiler:with the prosecution taken over by the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen country's queen]], who can [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem rewrite the law on the spot]]. That doesn't even get into her actually taking judging duties, such as giving out penalties, or even [[HangingJudge trying to declare a 'guilty' verdict herself without allowing a counter-argument]]. She even uses her law book as a gavel.]]

* Happens exclusively in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' franchise; you can debunk every piece of evidence pointing towards your client (which is considered sufficient in real life, as the defense has nothing to prove), but they're ''still'' not off the hook until you can actually ''prove'' their innocence by catching the real killer. This is perhaps justified by RuleOfFun. Still, the incompetence of the games' current court system becomes more apparent as the series goes on and reaches a head in the third case of the fourth game, and Phoenix actually is so frustrated with this -- [[spoiler: especially since it ''cost him his career'']] -- that he begins a quiet crusade to reinstate the jury system and succeeds in getting a test run in the same game's fourth case. It's [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]] when the judge explains that jury systems work by virtue of ''normal citizens having common sense''. When [[spoiler: Ron Delite confesses he was the thief when Phoenix already proved him innocent]], the judge outright says, "What kind of a kangaroo court do you think this is?"[[note]]It should be noted that the ''Ace Attorney'' series is based on the Japanese court system, which is notorious for its ridiculously high conviction rate, which can lead to a heavy dose ValuesDissonance for Western players and led the localization team to put in some lines handwaving the dramatic differences between the game's court system and the American court system of today. The jury system was introduced as a TakeThat to Japan's trial-by-judge system and to promote trial by jury which is a largely foreign concept over there.[[/note]]

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Tali's trial is only a pretence for the judges to pursue their various political agendas on how to deal with the Geth. None of them really care what happens to Tali, except for Shala'Raan (who, due to her ties to the Zorah family, is forced to recuse herself from voting). [[spoiler: [[TakeAThirdOption The way out of the mess]] is to call them out on their Kangaroo Court in the manner most karmically fitting to your character, or by ensuring two quarians you met previously are alive and/or sane.]]