History VisualNovel / PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll

* ExactWords: While the magic powers of the Magatama make for a pretty good LieDetector, it's triggered by making the target feel like they've got something to hide. One person manages to (unknowingly) fool the Magatama because he was being completely honest about the specific questions that Phoenix asks... but Phoenix doesn't ask the right questions. [[spoiler: Matt Engarde really ''was'' framed, was napping during the murder, and killed nobody... because he had an assassin do the dirty work, and the person who framed him did it because [[FramingTheGuiltyParty she suspected he was responsible]]. He ''is'' legally responsible for the crime, but that's not what Phoenix asked so it's not what Phoenix got.]]

* BigBad: Franziska von Karma, although she never goes to the same underhanded lengths her father did. [[spoiler:She loses the role to Matt Engarde in the last case.]]

* PayEvilUntoEvil: After the rollercoaster that is Case 2-4, nobody seems especially concerned when the court is informed that Franziska von Karma has been put in charge of the culprit's incarceration and she's probably beating the crap out of them with her whip. Given all the culprit has done, the Judge sums up the court's opinion with
an approving nod and a "Very good."

* OddballInTheSeries: This is the only game in the series that lacks an overarching mystery spanning multiple cases. All four of ''Justice for All'''s cases are standalone.

''Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All'', is the second entry in the ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' trilogy and ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' visual novel series. It was first released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in 2002 and rereleased for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS in 2006.

* LyingInTheDirtTogether: Oldbag fantasizes that this happened to Juan Corrida with the bear he supposedly fought, then made friends with.
-->'''Oldbag:''' Look, it's just like in those young people's dramas. I can see those two tuckered out, down by a river going, "Heh... You... You sure can fight..." "You too, bub. You too."

* CryCute: [[spoiler:Franziska von Karma]] in the post-credit epilogue of the good ending, finally accepting defeat to Phoenix, but vowing to return.

* WhamShot: At the end of Case 3, [[spoiler:Gumshoe profusely thanks someone over the phone [[AllAccordingToPlan for coming up with the plan]] to get Franziska to raid the culprit's room so he'd have to take the murder weapon to court, then Phoenix would realise this. It's then revealed that Gumshoe's advisor is ''[[ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated Edgeworth]]'']].

* BeneathTheMask: Everyone in the fourth case except Wendy Oldbag is hiding a big part of their personality:
** Adrian [[spoiler:was initially shown to be a confident, capable manager, before she is outed to be a dependent woman who latches onto others' words as though they are her own]].
** Matt [[spoiler:was shown to be a ditzy actor with a "refreshing like a spring breeze" persona, whereupon he proves to be a misanthropic killer who trusts no one. He even literally masks the side of his face for half of the case]].
** Juan, [[spoiler:a popular kids' show actor who probably destroyed Celeste's suicide note and forged a new one implicating Matt Engarde, and was going to present it under Matt's disguise]].
** The bellboy [[spoiler:is Shelly de Killer, a professional murderer hired by your client to finish Corrida]]. He's calm and polite no matter the situation, though.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Franziska's "You huffy, puffy, loosey-goosey excuse for a whimpering whining wuss of a witness", with some good ol' rhyming added for good measure.

** With the second case being the first chronologically, it and the fourth cases both involve Lotta Hart in a supporting role, Maya in deep trouble, [[spoiler:an [[AssholeVictim Asshole Murder Victim]]]], and [[spoiler:the true culprit being revealed via a clue in a drastic change in how their eyes look]].

** In 2-3, Moe the Clown brings the ultra-sheltered [[ThePollyanna Regina]] to court on the day [[spoiler:Acro is to be revealed as the true criminal specifically for this purpose, so that she can understand both the truth of her father's death and her own responsibility for Acro and Bat's injuries]]. She cries at the end of the trial and realizes some hard truths, but the fact that during the credits she seems to think Zimbabwe is full of talking bunnies and castles made out of cake, it seems uncertain [[ResetButton that the change stuck]].

** Franziska reveals to Phoenix in Case. that she placed a tracking device on Gumshoe to keep an eye on him (and to whip him as soon as possible). [[spoiler:When Gumshoe gets in a serious car crash while carrying crucial evidence and breaks his phone in the process without any conventional way of finding him, Phoenix asks to get Franziska out of the hospital so she can use the tracking device to find him.]]

* ExactWords: While the magic powers of the Magatama make for a pretty good LieDetector, it's triggered by making the target feel like they've got something to hide. One person manages to (unknowingly) fool the Magatama because he was being completely honest about the specific questions that Phoenix asks... but Phoenix doesn't ask the right questions. [[spoiler: Matt Engarde really ''was'' framed, was napping during the murder, and killed nobody... because he had an assassin do the dirty work, and the person who framed him did it because [[FramingTheGuiltyParty she suspected he was responsible]]. He ''is'' legally responsible for the crime, but that's not what Phoenix asked so it's not what Phoenix got.]]

The game features a new element known as Psyche-Locks. Thanks to a special magic item known as a Magatama, Phoenix is able to tell when people are trying to deceive or otherwise hide important information from him during investigations outside of the courtroom. The player is able to break the metaphorical "locks" that visualize these secrets that the characters hide, with this involving the presentation of evidence in a manner not dissimilar to the normal courtroom gameplay. The game also replaces the five-strike system for a virtual health bar where the amount of health lost varies based on the seriousness of the error the player makes. Plus, the player can present profiles in addition to evidence.

* CycleOfRevenge: Case 2-4 is one springing from a cycle of petty one-upsmanship between two actors that catches some bystanders up in it as collateral damage. [[spoiler:Matt reveals to Juan that his fiance is Matt's ex. Juan breaks it off with her, which causes her to commit suicide. Juan then forges a suicide note detailing Matt's wrong-doing, which Juan hides to use later. Her protegee, Adrian, begins seeing Juan to get close to him to find the note and burn it to save her further disgrace. Juan plans to publish the note as payback, but Matt has him killed first, and Adrian tries to [[FramingTheGuiltyParty frame Matt directly]] for the murder his assassin carried out, to make sure he doesn't get away.]]

* DemonicDummy: Trilo. Not actually demonic, but may as well be.

* ExactWords: While the magic powers of the Magatama make for a pretty good LieDetector, it can still be duped by specific wording. [[spoiler:Matt Engarde unknowingly fools it at the beginning of the final case and initially doesn't trip any Psych Locks because of the way Nick asks about his guilt. Did he kill Juan Corrida? No, because he hired an assassin to do it. Was he napping at the time of the murder? Yes, because he didn't need to do anything thanks to the assassin. Was he framed by Adrian Andrews? Absolutely, as she came across the body by accident and tampered with the crime scene since she suspected Matt was guilty. But Phoenix finds all this out too late, since he asked the wrong question and thus got an answer that was exactly true but not what he was looking for.]]

** In the second case, pay close attention to the cutscene of the car accident. Specifically, the hair of the survivor. [[spoiler:Now look at the Miney sisters' profile pics.]]

* NoBadgeNoProblem: During the third case, Gumshoe says he won't let Phoenix into a crime scene simply because he flashed his attorney's badge again. Maya states that he would if they were to show a Steel Samurai badge. Gumshoe's response implies that yes, it would indeed work. "Crime scene security" obviously doesn't exist in the Ace Attorney world.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler:Mimi Miney]] and [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]].

%%* RegalRinglets: Regina Berry.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Morgan and Pearl. In 1-2, Maya says that she's been living completely on her own since Mia's departure from the village, while 2-2 reveals that her aunt's been acting as her guardian, and she has a younger cousin by the same aunt.

** In the final case, [[spoiler:Gumshoe steals evidence and takes his personal car to deliver it to the courthouse as soon as possible, promising to run all red lights to do so. He then gets in a car crash because of that. Problem is, he broke his phone in the process and his personal car doesn't have any way of finding it as opposed to a police vehicle, leaving him and the evidence stranded save for Franziska's tracking device.]]

* PyrrhicVictory: The NonstandardGameOver in the final case ends this way for [[spoiler: Matt Engarde. Sure, he's able to escape conviction for the murder of Juan Corrida, but the [[VillainWithGoodPublicity pristine public image]] he'd fought so hard to protect is left in tatters after the court uncovers his role in [[DrivenToSuicide driving Celeste Inpax to suicide]], which was the exact thing he'd had Juan silenced to keep from getting out]].

* SadisticChoice: In case 4. [[spoiler:Get your guilty-as-hell client Matt Engarde acquitted to spare Maya (Engarde has her held hostage by an assassin), or sacrifice Maya to give him the verdict he deserves. On the plus side, turning the case around (by proving Engarde has blackmail material on the assassin and thus plans to betray him) gives Engarde his own Sadistic Choice: plead guilty to murder, or plead not guilty...and be targeted by that very same assassin the moment he's out of custody.]]

* StoryBreakerPower: The Magatama allows the user to see Psyche-Locks surrounding someone if they ask them a question they try to hide the answer to. While it's exceptionally good on the field to gather information, it's never used in court and there's a rather serious drawback of its power if [[spoiler:the question is answered with ExactWords, such as if the defendant honestly answers they didn't kill anyone. This is technically true, it's just that the hitman they hired did it.]]

** In Case 2-4, [[spoiler:proving that Shelley de Killer never met Adrian Andrews in person hinges on him referring to her as "he", mistaking her for a man based on her unisex name. But this mistake requires everyone else to refer to Adrian Andrews without any pronouns, repeatedly referring to her as just "Adrian Andrews" in a repetitive manner, and as "your client" repeatedly rather than the more natural "she" or "her". This isn't as contrived in Japanese, where writing around gendered pronouns is easier than in English.]]

* AvengingTheVillain: Phoenix wonders if Franziska von Karma wants to avenge her father Manfred, who was put in jail thanks to Phoenix. [[spoiler:Subverted in that she eventually reveals that she didn't give a crap about her father's downfall; the entire rivalry was simply for satisfying her ego by besting Phoenix when Edgeworth couldn't. The FreudianExcuse was that she wanted to defeat Edgeworth all along.]]