History TearJerker / PhoenixWrightAceAttorney

*** To summarize the BadEnding: [[spoiler:If Phoenix Wright failed to pick the one evidence (the videotape) and witness (Shelly de Killer) to convince Matt Enguarde a Guilty verdict, the judge would find [[CompleteMonster Matt Enguarde]] [[KarmaHoudini Not Guilty]]. Although Maya Fey is no longer a hostage, Phoenix Wright never sees her again, Adrian Andrews later gets tried and found Guilty, and this failure is eating Phoenix so much that he quits being a lawyer. [[ItsAWonderfulFailure The Miracle Never Happen.]]]]

*** Though the defendant is highly annoying, [[spoiler: the fact the murder was trying to kill a sixteen-year girl for something that wasn't her fault, and ended up murdering his adoptive father instead ]] definitely did not gain him any sympathy in my view. That and the fact he tries to get an innocent person convicted.

** The only thing stopping him from breaking down for good was the fact that he could convince himself that his dream was just a dream. Just hink about that for a moment.
* Yanni Yogi's story. [[spoiler: He was the suspect in the DL-6 incident, where Edgeworth's father was killed. Hammond, his lawyer and a man who cared not for his defendents, ordered him to fake brain damage in order to win the case. Following his orders, Yogi lost his job, his social life, and his fiancee, 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! Needless to say, I find him to be the series' most sympathetic murderer (that wasn't a main character).]]

*** To summarize the BadEnding: [[spoiler:If Phoenix Wright failed to pick the one evidence (the videotape) and witness (Shelly de Killer) to convince Matt Enguarde a Guilty verdict, the judge would find [[CompleteMonster Matt Enguarde]] Not Guilty. Although Maya Fey is no longer a hostage, Phoenix Wright never sees her again, Adrian Andrews later gets tried and found Guilty, and this failure is eating Phoenix so much that he quits being a lawyer. [[ItsAWonderfulFailure The Miracle Never Happen.]]]]

** To elaborate, [[spoiler:this is the profession stated by Maya on the witness stand after finding out about the death of her mother. Note the complete lack of the phrase "spirit medium" and much less the "new Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique".]]

** The worst part is ''why'' he did it: [[spoiler: Dahlia, bitch that she is, manipulated Terry into making a suicide pact should they cease to have faith in each other... all just to get away with murder. It's pretty much her MoralEventHorizon.]]

* ''Oh dear God'', this line from Franziska:
-->[[spoiler: '''Franziska:''' *WHIP CRACK* Still as much of a softie as ever, Phoenix Wright.]]

* I actually love the sketch as a whole. [[spoiler:it has every main character of the Ace Attorney series up to that point, plus Maggey and Misty. Phoenix, Maya, Pearl, Edgeworth, Gumshoe, Franziska, Maggey, Mia, Godot and Misty. And every single one of them have an expression that simply says 'Peace at last...' You know that this is the end of the Phoenix trilogy. You look at that photo, you're reminded of what you played through, and you can now move on to Apollo Justice.]]

** Farewell, My Turnabout. This case really TESTS your morality. [[spoiler:The Maya Kidnapping, the near conviction of the innocent Adrien Andrews, trying to prove the GUILTY AS HELL Engarde his innocence, the gallery reactions, the multiple close calls on Maya's situation, the SadisticChoice, and the BadEnding.]] Easily one of the Best Cases of PhoenixWright and one of the most heartbreaking as well.

** To elaborate, [[spoiler:this is the profession stated by Maya on the witness stand after finding out about the death of her mother. Note the complete lack of the phrase "spirit medium".]]

** Worse yet, [[spoiler:the gallery ''boos at you'' for daring to defend someone who is by now obviously guilty. You're already in deep shit, and the crowd ganging up on you just makes it worse.]]

* Pearl's crying animation. [[BerserkButton That was all the inspiration I needed to [[spoiler: save Maya.]] ]]

* Pearl's crying animation. [[BerserkButton That was all the inspiration I needed to [[spoiler: save Maya.]]]]

* Even the first games had its moment. Remember Lana, everyone's favorite DefrostingIceQueen? Surely this troper wasn't the only one who got misty eyed when she [[spoiler: finally smiled. "It's been a long time, your honor."]]
** This troper teared up when [[spoiler: Lana and Ema hugged at the end. Their relationship was so touching throughout the entire case.]]

** Oh, that's not even half of it about SL-9. There's a reason everybody remembers the case with a mix of sadness and anger. Ultimately, it caused the deaths of two good police officers and send several people into prison or at least caused them to loose 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. What this troper thinks, though, is the worst case of [[FridgeHorror Fridge Tragedy]], is about [[spoiler: Damon Gant. As much as he's an evil manipulative bastard with a stare of death, it's noticeable that, after his big breakdown, he doesn't act like a sore looser at all. Plus, he once WAS the ace of the police force. The judge also remembers him as a different person. While he doesn't get any FreudianExcuse, just the implication that Gant may actually be a bit of a FallenHero makes the thing a whole lot sadder because the reasons he went evil are so simple, pointless and banal.]] This gives the whole thing a feel that it all could've been avoided so easily...

** On a related note, in [[spoiler: 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. For the musical, though, this troper almost sheds a tear or two whenever he hears the dialogue about the note, because the music at that point is really depressing and Maya and Phoenix sound so heartbroken :(]]

* How can no one have mentioned Edgeworth yet? In Turnabout Goodbyes (Case 1-4), [[spoiler:when you see him 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. Also [[spoiler:he believes that he killed his own father. The guilt has haunted him for 15 years, as has a nightmare that he has EVERY NIGHT. And when he initially tries to refuse Phoenix's help... this troper choked up, thinking, "dammit, Edgeworth! Let me help you!"]] When he says to Wright [[spoiler: "I was the true criminal of DL-6. I killed my father."]] that was just too sad. Especially when you play it a second time, and you know [[spoiler:that he's not responsible after all.]] And, in Rise from the Ashes (Case 1-5) when Edgeworth is [[spoiler: considering resigning, even though the forged evidence he used wasn't his fault, and he had no idea. "I've always made my own decisions about what I can or cannot do... Forgiving myself is something I cannot do."]] And in Case 3-5 after [[spoiler: his phobia of earthquakes causes him to pass out and lose track of the suspect he had been escorting]] his reaction is heartbreaking: [[spoiler: "If only I was stronger."]] With his conscience [[spoiler:and tendency to feel responsible for things he did unintentionally]] you can be sure he's really suffering. He's really quite a tragic character.

* The third case isn't exactly memorable in the tear department, but it got this troper really darn close on how it affected all those involved. Will Powers? [[spoiler: Framed by his best friend simply because he was satisfied entertaining children.]] Jack Hammer? [[spoiler: Brought down from a famous actor to a villain in a children's action show.]] Cody Hakins? [[spoiler: A kid being forced to testify that his hero actually died. In front of him.]] Wendy Oldbag? [[spoiler: Willing to assault a photographer for having incriminating evidence against Jack.]] Really, just a sad bunch of mis-happenings.
** ThisTroper always felt that Cody's scene was underplayed. Think about it: [[spoiler: This seven year old kid had to watch his childhood hero die. The poor kid could not handle that, and made something up in his mind. He then was forced into facing it by Phoenix in front of a court, bursting into tears. Imagine being seven years old and watching [[TheDeathofSuperman Superman die in front of you]]. Or [[TransformersTheMovie Optimus Prime]]. Yet after his confession he isn't even mentioned again.]]
** ThisTroper completely hates Wendy Oldbag but when she decides to stop being annoying for a few minutes and explains what happened to Jack Hammer all those years ago, it brought this troper to tears.
*** In Turnabout Musical I was looking at the characters and saw that Wendy Oldbag had a song called 'the way things were', just the name made me sob, I found out that this isn't what the song is about though but it seems to be what the reprise is about...

* The 'final photo' of Turnabout Goodbyes. 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 trollish smirk kind he does in court, but actually smiling. Plus with the 'FREEDOM' banner...it's heartwarming enough to make this Troper to take a bit of a breather.

* In ''Justice For All'', it is pretty hard to feel sorry for [[spoiler: Mimi Miney]] as most of her story can quickly be considered {{Narm}} However, This troper thought about it, and realized in a second playing that [[spoiler: there isn't really anything that tells you that Mimi actually wanted to do all that. She fell asleep while driving because of being exploited by Dr. Grey?? True, it was an accident. She said she took her purse and got of the car as fast as she could?? True, though with the panic she could as well had taken Ini's. Dr. Hotti said that they used her car licence photo to reconstruct her face?? True, but he also said that the car license was burnt with the rest of the car. The doctors could perfectly have made a terrible mistake. And finally, did she took the place of her sister?? Yes she did. But she had no other choice. And it's not like she liked, either. She breaks up in tears when saying how much she hates her life, how much she hates the occult and how sorry she is for everything. And being a whole year doing something you hate, without being able to complain because you're meant to love it?? No wonder she promised revenge against Grey. And actually didn't break her promise.]]

* At the end of Justice for All, when [[spoiler:Franziska breaks down in tears after Edgeworth returns her whip.]] The whole [[spoiler:fourth piece of evidence]] really touched this troper, too. Having a piano remix of the ending theme just made the moment so sad, this troper wanted to put the game down and bawl.
* This troper got horribly depressed when he went to Matt's house in 2-4 and [[spoiler: immediately recognized the locked door with the cat door in the bottom that Maya saw when she broke out of the basement. Maya's two rooms away and there's nothing you can do about it.]]

* While the last two cases of ''PhoenixWright: Trials and Tribulations'' have a number of tragic moments, only one line caused this troper to put down the DS for a few minutes... both times he played through it. "[[spoiler:I'm the assistant manager at Wright & Co. Law Offices.]]" The next few lines weren't even necessary.

** This is the moment that caused [[Tropers/TheGoodSamaritan this troper]] to [[BigNo shout, "NO!!"]] a bit louder than is usually admissable at 2 am...

** This particular troper had to take a break after that case and take a few minutes to think his life over...
* This troper had never cried at a handheld game before this one. Along with the above incidents, what really killed her was in the last part of 3-5 at the sudden, awful realization of [[spoiler: what really happened at Hazakura as soon as Maya says she saw a man in the darkness.]] This troper wibbled helplessly as [[spoiler: Godot carries on the trial to convict himself]] and finally, really burst into tears at [[spoiler: the big reveal of Godot's past. "I hope you remember... my name is Diego Armando." Then they throw the tears of blood at you.]]
* It can take some work to put the pieces together, but seeing hints at how much [[spoiler: Mia and Diego loved each other]] throughout the third game can really get to this troper; particularly Godot's [[FunnyAneurysmMoment seemingly silly line]], "by the way, I've tried salt in my coffee. It tastes terrible," then you see the context in 3-4 when [[spoiler:Mia is crying and Diego says "relax, kitten, your tears are getting my coffee salty."]]
** On that note, This Troper had to set her DS down to control herself while playing case 3-4 when she realized that Diego was the person that Mia had picked up some of her advice she gave to Phoenix before she died. ("A lawyer is someone who always smiles, no matter how bad it gets") That, and seeing Godot say something in case 3-2 that the Judge had said in 3-4 ("To err is human, to forgive, divine.") Maybe that one's a bit of a stretch, since it is a common phrase, but I don't find it to be a coincidence that he remembered that line for so long.

*** YourMileageMayVary- Though the defendant is highly annoying, [[spoiler: the fact the murder was trying to kill a sixteen-year girl for something that wasn't her fault, and ended up murdering his adoptive father instead ]] definitely did not gain him any sympathy in my view. That and the fact he tries to get an innocent person convicted.

** ThisTroper always felt that Cody's scene was underplayed. Think about it: [[spoiler: This ten year old kid had to watch his childhood hero die. The poor kid could not handle that, and made something up in his mind. He then was forced into facing it by Phoenix in front of a court, bursting into tears. Imagine being ten years old and watching [[TheDeathofSuperman Superman die in front of you]]. Or [[TransformersTheMovie Optimus Prime]]. Yet after his confession he isn't even mentioned again.]]

** Oh, that's not even half of it about SL-9. There's a reason everybody remembers the case with a mix of sadness and anger. Ultimately, it caused the deaths of two good police officers and send several people into prison or at least caused them to loose 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. What this troper thinks, though, is the worst case of [[FridgeHorror Fridge Tragedy]], is about Damon Gant. As much as he's an evil manipulative bastard with a stare of death, it's noticeable that, after his big breakdown, he doesn't act like a sore looser at all. Plus, he once WAS the ace of the police force. The judge also remembers him as a different person. While he doesn't get any FreudianExcuse, just the implication that Gant may actually be a bit of a FallenHero makes the thing a whole lot sadder because the reasons he went evil are so simple, pointless and banal. This gives the whole thing a feel that it all could've been avoided so easily...

* How can no one have mentioned Edgeworth yet? In Turnabout Goodbyes (Case 1-4), [[spoiler:when you see him 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. Also [[spoiler:he believes that he killed his own father. The guilt has haunted him for 15 years, as has a nightmare that he has EVERY NIGHT.]] When he says to Wright [[spoiler: "I was the true criminal of DL-6. I killed my father."]] that was just too sad. Especially when you play it a second time, and you know [[spoiler:that he's not responsible after all.]] And, in Rise from the Ashes (Case 1-5) when Edgeworth is [[spoiler: considering resigning, even though the forged evidence he used wasn't his fault, and he had no idea. "I've always made my own decisions about what I can or cannot do... Forgiving myself is something I cannot do."]] And in Case 3-5 after [[spoiler: his phobia of earthquakes causes him to pass out and lose track of the suspect he had been escorting]] his reaction is heartbreaking: [[spoiler: "If only I was stronger."]] With his conscience [[spoiler:and tendency to feel responsible for things he did unintentionally]] you can be sure he's really suffering. He's really quite a tragic character.

* Although it's not as heartwrenching as some of the other moments described here, PlanBFromOuterSpace takes a decidedly [[DudeNotFunny non-comedic turn]] in the fourth case of the second game, where you are [[ButThouMust forced]] to accuse [[spoiler:Adrian Andrews]], who by this point is [[TheWoobie woobie-tastic]], just to buy time. If that's not bad enough, [[spoiler:you know full well that you're buying time to ''defend'' a [[MagnificentBastard bastard so magnificent]] that he produced a glass of cognac from HammerSpace just to swirl it in your face as he taunts you - and when I say "you," I mean it sounds like he's taunting the ''[[NoFourthWall player]]'' for being unable to do anything to thwart his plan.]] If ''that's'' not bad enough, the game also forces you to press the button yourself, a la the end of ''MetalGearSolid 3'', to increase your complicity that much more. I never thought I would agonize so hard about a "choice" in a strictly linear game without multiple endings.

* This troper got horribly depressed when he went to Matt's house in 2-4 and [[spoiler: immediately recognized the locked door with the cat door in the bottom. Maya was two rooms away and there nothing you could do about it.]]

Take moments specific to ''[[TearJerker/{{ptitle11hpolf2}} Apollo Justice]]'' or ''[[TearJerker/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Investigations]]'' to those pages, please.

--->[[spoiler: '''Phoenix:''' "She'll always be with me, until the day I die", huh...]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Maya:''' ...?]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Phoenix:''' There's a rule or something all Masters are to follow, isn't there? To never take the charm off until the day you die... .]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Pearl:''' Th-That's the Master's Talisman...]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Phoenix:''' The thing that Misty kept by her heart and would never take off...]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Phoenix:''' It wasn't the container that was important. Rather, it was the contents.]]
--->[[spoiler: ''The talisman is opened to reveal something inside'']]
--->[[spoiler: '''Bikini:''' Th-That's...!]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Pearl:''' A photo?]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Maya:''' Ah...!]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Maya:''' M...]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Maya:''' ...Mother...]]
--->[[spoiler: The photo is revealed to be a childhood photo of Maya as a toddler, and Mia as a kid, trying to fix the broken sacred urn, with Maya bawling to one side and Mia with a shocked look on her face at getting caught red handed. The revelation that Misty carried this around with her for her whole life just brought tears to my eyes. ]]