History YMMV / TheGreatAceAttorney

* AluminumChristmasTrees: While the ''hologram'' aspect of the technology Herlock and Iris pull out at the end of the final trial is obviously wild science fiction, and the way it handwaves the necessary infrastructure pushes it further into sci-fi territory, the basic idea of transmitting video as a casual extension of transmitting sound is not as anachronistic as it might seem; the first machines capable of long-distance transmission of video over wire were made in the 1920s.

* SavedByTheFans: [[spoiler:According to Takumi, Kazuma Asogi was supposed to have died in the first game. Kazuma coming back as the Masked Disciple in the sequel was due to his immense popularity with the fans.]]

* {{Adorkable}}: Ryunosuke, at the beginning of his career. [[spoiler: Susato, in a lawyer's disguise, is much the same.]]

* ArcFatigue: Almost the entire first half of the investigation phase of "The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story" is made up purely of dialogue and exposition, which can become a slog to sit through at times. Prior to [[spoiler: Windibank's murder]], which is what really kicks off the episode's storyline, the only thing that breaks up the long sequences of dialogue is a short investigation in Windibank's shop, then a deductions segment where you try to figure out the motives of Eggert Benedict/[[spoiler:Ashley Graydon]].

** Case 3 of the first game, no thanks to its highly memorable and depressing twist [[spoiler: where your defendant turns out to be the BigBad and actually manages to manipulate the player into winning the case for him]].

** Herlock Sholmes himself. Takumi took certain liberties with his character and divided the fanbase into two camps: Those who think he's an {{Adorkable}} goofball and those who think he's a moronic {{Manchild}} who can never get anything correct. Most players end up warming up to him with time, likely thanks in part to how fun the ''Dance of Deduction'' mechanic is [[spoiler: and inviting Ryunosuke and Susato to live with them in 221B at the end of Case 4]], but the first impressions still tend to be strong either way. With the plethora of adaptations for the series, he may have been (fairly or not) compared to other adaptations of the character more than how he was in the source material, and some fans argue that it's actually easy to pick up the Doyle canon and read it imagining Takumi's Sherlock Holmes. It has been expressed in [[http://www.forums.court-records.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31327 an interview]] how Takumi himself sees him.

** How the games deal with van Zieks' racism toward the Japanese. While it is unambiguously treated as a character flaw, whether or not the game deals with it well alongside his character and background is a contentious subject for a number of fans. On the one hand, some like how van Zieks gradually [[spoiler:grows out of his racism as he continues to deal with Ryunosuke in many cases and eventually agrees to have Ryunosuke as his defense attorney.]] On the other hand, others think that having his racism be explained as a product of [[spoiler:the Professor incident to be at best a poor FreudianExcuse and thus may find his character development to be questionable.]]
** The other reveal of [[spoiler: the identity of the Professor actually being Klint van Zieks.]] Some players love it for being one of the most shocking reveals in the entire franchise that utterly blindsides most players while others decry it for that exact same reason since there's [[AssPull little to no set-up for it]], the game's explanation feeling generally weak because it never answers [[spoiler: exactly ''why'' he used the [[ImprobableWeapon killing method he did]],]] and the fact that even resorting to that method right away takes a level of cruelty that [[spoiler: even if the victim deserved it,]] feels either very out-of-character, or points to [[spoiler: him]] having [[MaskOfSanity severe underlying]] [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope mental problems]] that the game just completely ignores.
** How the last culprit is defeated is also divisive, which is through [[spoiler:Sholmes' and Iris' use of hologram technology to let the queen watch the trial. It's either cool and funny (especially with Sholmes' dancing at one point) and important for such a critical character to participate in the final chapter's case, or [[KillSteal it robs the player of the feeling of finally outsmarting Stronghart]] via DeusExMachina and is [[AssPull an obviously shoehorned way to get Sholmes and Wilson into the case]] for [[SchizoTech how tonally at-odds it is]] with the Victorian England setting.]]

** Kazuma Asogi, a Miles Edgeworth {{Expy}} [[spoiler:turned out to be a case of AdvertisedExtra]], but is extremely popular with fans due to his samurai theme, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic incredibly awesome theme tune]] and friendship with Ryunosuke. The writers confessed in interviews that he ended up much more popular than they expected. [[spoiler: He's a case of NotSoSmallRole in the sequel.]]

* FanDislikedExplanation: Many fans felt the sudden reveal in the closing moments of the second game that [[spoiler: Iris is Klint van Zieks' daughter, and thereby Barok's niece]] to be too abrupt and undeveloped to have any meaningful impact, and much preferred the earlier implication that [[spoiler: she was actually Yujin Mikotoba's daughter]].

** It's pretty widely accepted by fans of the game that [[spoiler:Mael Stronghart]] is Damon Gant's ancestor, due to their similar designs, mannerisms, and [[spoiler: methods for using and abusing others as a high-ranking government official]]. This is despite there being not much to prove ''or'' disprove this theory.

** Jezaille Brett's [[spoiler:meltdown after being exposed as the real killer]] in Case 1 featured multiple swan chicks falling from her hat, including a single black one. In other words, a literal [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory black swan event]].
** During Case 2-1, [[spoiler: Raiten Menimemo]] attempts to frame his attempted murder [[spoiler: and actual murder]] as a patriotic and idealistic willingness to get his own hands dirty in the name of justice where the system failed in his testimony. This directly evokes (and indirectly critiques, given his messy actual motivations and willingness to finger others for his crimes to get away with them) the idea of "gekokujo" or "patriotic insubordination" in both pre-war Japan and pre-war Germany, where sympathetic judges would let right-wing assassins off with a slap on the wrist, or even an outright acquittal, if they framed their crimes as consistent with attempting to assert national pride and ideals against foreigners or traitors, leading to increased political violence and eventually to the rise of fascism and the erosion of the rule of law.

** This game's "Payne", Taketsuchi Auchi, while he still heartlessly condemns the defendants and rudely insults everyone who's a nuisance to him, he's still a ButtMonkey and IneffectualSympatheticVillain and is also an ExtremeDoormat to practically everyone in the courtroom. In the second game, he's primarily motivated by avenging his past failure, and when he loses ''again'' [[spoiler: he cuts off his newly-grown strand of hair (which he'd earlier seen as a symbol of hope for a comeback) in shame, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything in a manner resembling Seppuku]]]]. It's hard not to feel sorry for him in the end.
** Enoch Drebber has a ''lot'' of crap thrown at him, [[spoiler: despite his high hopes of becoming a scientist, thanks to his low funding that led him to become a graverobber, which led him to accidentally discover The Professor rising from his grave, and when he tried to tell the truth, he got exposed as a graverobber and expelled from university, destroying his future in a blink of an eye. He then became an infamous fraudster who tried to murder the man who ruined his life, only to be beaten to the punch by his accomplice (who also wanted the victim dead).]]
* LoveToHate: [[spoiler: Magnus [=McGilded=]]] in Case 3 of ''Adventures'' is ''extremely'' popular with the fanbase, both before and after the game's official localization, for being a character the game is very good at making the player despise. [[spoiler: With his MiscarriageOfJustice often netting the same anger out-of-universe as it does in-universe.]] The case's popularity owes a great deal to them, [[spoiler: for them leading the whole trial and playing both sides for fools, tampering with evidence and witnesses in a manner that's both shameless ''and'' impossible for either side to prove before the trial ends, thus averting StupidEvil like many series culprits.]]

** The BigBad of the second game crosses it by [[spoiler: blackmailing Klint van Zieks into committing murders for him, including killing the previous Lord Chief Justice so Stronghart can get a promotion]], and just keeps on going from there.

** The way the final villain is taken down, [[spoiler: by use of a hologram system Sholmes and Iris made in 1900.]] Completely ridiculous and downright impossible? Yes. Absolutely amazing and cathartic to watch regardless? Also yes.
* OlderThanTheyThink:

* TheScrappy: Joan the maid, [[spoiler: otherwise known as Joan Garrideb, John's wife]], is not well-liked among fans, mainly because she physically abuses John Garrideb [[spoiler: her husband]] (an older, disabled veteran) out of crazed, unreasoning jealousy [[spoiler: and desire to manipulate him into covering up what she suspects to be a bad accident on her part]] several times, and the game [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale generally treats the abuse as a source of comedy]] and concludes their story with [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther an attempt to reaffirm their feelings for one another]] that falls flat in light of much of the above. [[spoiler: She's also one of the least-liked culprits in the series, as her crime turns out to be an accident resulting from DisasterDominoes, taking a long time to prove for such an [[ShaggyDogStory anticlimactic payoff]], ''and'' lying about her own culpability to serve as a juror on a case she was heavily involved with, a huge breach of legal ethics in the real world.]]

** Courtney Sithe in the second game. Pre-release materials build her up as a major figure in the plot, "The head coroner of Scotland Yard, who works at the forefront of the legal system's march towards forensic science." This could have led to some interesting themes to explore. Instead [[spoiler: she's the killer of the first case she appears in, and is promptly arrested and is only mentioned in passing afterward]]. It's especially aggravating considering Stronghart describes her as his right-hand woman, [[spoiler: which could have tied this case more strongly to the Reaper conspiracy if she had been ordered to take out Odie Asman to continue this legend instead of simply being a desperate move to get out of a blackmail situation]].

** [[spoiler: Iris turns out to be Klint Van Zieks's daughter, and therefore Barok's niece]], yet this fact is only revealed after the final trial is over. There could have been some neat emotional drama if [[spoiler: either found out the truth while Barok was in the defendant's chair]]. As a result, a possible character interaction has never been explored the way it could have been.

** At several points during the game, several characters lampshade the suspicious nature of the jury selection. Despite the fact that juries are supposed to be comprised of six individuals chosen at random from London's population of six million, bizarre coincidences continually pop up, including Ryunosuke running into the same jurors in multiple cases, witnesses to the case being selected as jurors, the jurors having pertinent experience related to the particulars of the case, so on and so forth. The coincidences are so abnormal, it seems to suggest -- particularly with the characters' constant references to it -- that there must be some sort of intent behind it, either a malign attempt to rig the outcome of the trial, or someone working at cross-purposes to the prosecution to ensure the defence always has the tools they need to come out on top. One could easily imagine characters like [[spoiler: Stronghart or Sholmes]] using this method to put their thumb on the scales of justice. Yet this plot point is all but dropped in the second game and never really explored, meaning that, canonically, those coincidences are just that: sheer random happenstance so statistically unlikely it beggars belief.
* UnderusedGameMechanic: The jury. [[spoiler: In ''Adventures'', it appears in three cases, and there are a total of five Summation Examinations. However, in ''Resolve'', it appears in only two cases (with one of them almost re-using the same set of jurors from one of the previous game's cases), with a total of three Summation Examinations, and the jury mechanic goes away for good in Case 4, which (alongside Case 5) follows the standard trial format from the mainline games.]]
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic:

** Are Sholmes' deductions genuinely InsaneTrollLogic or is he [[ObfuscatingStupidity faking it]] to act as a StealthMentor to Ryunosuke? The final Dance of Deduction [[spoiler:in 2-5 suggests the latter, as Sholmes doesn't bother coming up with the wrong deduction but instead helps leading Mikotoba to come up with the right one.]]
** At the end of the second game, Iris suddenly changes her mind and tells Gina [[spoiler: that she doesn't need to worry about her promise to find Iris' father.]] Is this merely her being considerate to Gina, or does Iris [[spoiler: know who her father really is]]?
* AluminumChristmasTrees: While the *hologram* aspect of the technology Herlock and Iris pull out at the end of the final trial is obviously wild science fiction, and the way it handwaves the necessary infrastructure pushes it further into sci-fi territory, the basic idea of transmitting video as a casual extension of transmitting sound is not as anachronistic as it might seem; the first machines capable of long-distance transmission of video over wire were made in the 1920s.

* FandomSpecificPlot: A number of WhatIf fics have been written on the premise of the events of S.S. Burya going differently, most popular being the idea that Ryunosuke, instead of Kazuma, [[spoiler:is the one knocked out and given memory loss by Nikolina, to later return as a prosecutor while Kazuma stands for the defense.]]

* FanNickname: Fans often call Barok van Zieks "Vampire Prosecutor" or "Vampire!Edgeworth". Also, "Prosecutor von Leg", after his memetic leg-slam animation.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: Taketsuchi Auchi's "breakdown" upon losing in the sequel. The game seriously leads you to believe [[spoiler: he's going to commit {{Seppuku}} right there, and he even composes a death poem. He winces, picks up the knife...[[StabTheSalad and cuts off a strand of his hair instead]]]]. Which instantly wraps around to being hilarious, especially as the game ''still'' plays it as a TearJerker, including playing the sad variant of Kazuma Asogi's theme.

* SequelDifficultySpike: The first game is much nearer in difficulty to the original ''Ace Attorney'' trilogy than the previously-released entry in the series, ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', as it lacks that game's "consult" feature, doesn't have a memo system telling you what to do next during investigations (though Susato and Iris will at least give you a hint as to whether you're done investigating in your current area), and getting a "guilty" verdict will kick you back to either your most recent save or the start of the current trial chapter (the ''Chronicles'' UpdatedReRelease remedied this somewhat by allowing you to restart from the scene where you got the ''guilty'' verdict, a la ''Dual Destinies''). On top of that, the game throws in a sneaky additional bit of difficulty in that you're expected to take the time to do a three-dimensional examination of every bit of evidence, and will get penalized even for presenting an obviously-correct piece of evidence if you haven't fully examined it beforehand. It's not the hardest ''Ace Attorney'' game by any means, as the five-strike health system means it lacks the enormous penalties that ''Justice for All'' and, to a lesser extent, ''Trials and Tribulations'' were fond of throwing at you, but it's up there.

* SequelDifficultySpike: The first game is much nearer in difficulty to the original ''Ace Attorney'' trilogy than the previously-released entry in the series, ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', as it lacks that game's "consult" feature, doesn't have a memo system telling you what to do next during investigations (though Susato and Iris will at least give you a hint as to whether you're done investigating in your current area), and getting a "guilty" verdict will kick you back to either your most recent save or the start of the current trial chapter (the ''Chronicles'' UpdatedReRelease remedied this somewhat by allowing you to restart from the scene where you got the ''guilty'' verdict, a la ''Dual Destinies''). On top of that, the game throws in a sneaky additional bit of difficulty in that you're expected to take the time to do a three-dimensional examination of every bit of evidence, and will get penalized even for presenting an obviously-correct piece of evidence if you haven't fully examined it beforehand. It's not the hardest ''Ace Attorney'' game by any means, as the five-strike health system means it lacks the enormous penalties that ''Justice For All'' and, to a lesser extent, ''Trials and Tribulations'' were fond of throwing at you, but it's up there.

** When the player starts to realize that [[spoiler: Magnus [=McGilded=] actually ''did'' kill the victim of his trial and is now going to get acquitted.]] Also could apply to the fact that [[spoiler: he dies before he can leave the courthouse.]]

** A couple people predicted that the culprit in case 2 of the second game would be [[spoiler:Olive Green.]]
** In terms of the localization people correctly guessed Sherlock and Iris would have their names modified.

* ImprovedSecondAttempt: Back in the final case of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll Justice For All]]'', many players felt that the concept of defending a client that turns out to be the guilty party was heavily undermined by the fact Phoenix gets blackmailed into defending Engarde very early into the case, plus a "miracle" happening by the end of the case that lets Phoenix get the best possible outcome. ''Adventures'' features Magnus [=McGilded=], the client from Case 3. You initially defend in a typical fashion, trying to pinpoint flaws in the witnesses' cross-examinations and finding new clues in existing evidence... but then one starts finding clues in places where there were none before, which begins to build a feeling that something is very wrong in the case, that [=McGilded=] is not who he seems to be, and that you are starting to consider he might actually be guilty, only for the Judge to give him a Not Guilty verdict due to the lack of proof, which would only come up two cases later to confirm that he was indeed the killer (which also leads to Ryunosuke temporarily losing his job). It gives Magnus [=McGilded=] a much better standing among fans because the fact your client is the culprit can't be seen coming, whereas players are effectively told to doubt Matt Engarde before you even meet him.

** Juror No.3 from case 1-3 is well remembered by fans thanks to his [[CrazyIsCool knife-happy tendencies]] and him [[EatTheRich hating the rich like McGilded]]. [[spoiler:The fact that he ended up being correct in his initial statement does do him a good reputation.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: [[spoiler: In the first game's final case, Gregson is tasked with protecting the British government's secret document from being leaked into public at any costs, and in the second game, said document's details revealed to include the assassination exchange with Gregson being one of the targets.]]

** Satoru Hosonaga won many fans for being so useful in the instances he appear in and also his nice personality. Especially in the second case of the first game, were he literally go through being beaten up by sailors to get Ryunosuke evidence. In the official poll held by Capcom, he placed [[https://aceattorney.fandom.com/wiki/Satoru_Hosonaga_-_Image_Gallery?file=Result_2.jpg#Promotional_art_ 5th]], beating Iris and Susato by a pretty good margin.

** Rei Membami from the second game instantly became one of the series' more popular defendants when she [[spoiler:[[TalkToTheFist physically stopped the culprit mid-breakdown]] by judo-throwing him with Susato's help]].

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: When Sherlock Holmes, or [[WritingAroundTrademarks Herlock Sholmes]] in the localization, was first revealed, he was widely decried as a poor-taste InNameOnly version of the original, being a goofy, idiotic {{Manchild}} rather than a no-nonsense genius. As time passed, a few factors did wonders for his reputation. The games got a belated localization and increased exposure, leading more to discover his HiddenDepths and [[spoiler: late-game reveals heavily implying he [[ObfuscatingStupidity played up his eccentricities]] to act as a StealthMentor to Ryunosuke]]. Secondly, ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' fell out of favor and stopped being the AudienceColoringAdaptation it was in the 2010s. This led many to re-evaluate Sholmes as [[ShownTheirWork far more accurate to the source then they thought]]: an AffectionateParody with a ''very'' heavy emphasis on "affectionate", as writer Shu Takumi always admitted to being a huge Holmes fan in interviews. Many also feel Sholmes captures the original's [[AllLovingHero humanity]] in ways most modern adaptations [[AdaptationalJerkass forget]], with some going so far as to call him the ''best'' modern adaptation of Sherlock.

** The final boss of the whole duology, [[spoiler:Mael Stronghart. Some like how threatening and intimidating he acts as the judge of the final case and think that he and Jigoku do a good job in fulfilling the "judge is the culprit" role. On the other hand, others find him to be a rather flat character who comes off as a poor man's Damon Gant, and the fact that it's very easy to see that he's a villain way before the final case soured him for a few players. About the only thing universally liked about him is his over-the-top and literally explosive breakdown.]]
* BestBossEver: Magnus [=McGilded=] is quickly revealed to be a cunning manipulator who has the entire trial in the palm of his hand. What makes him unique is he's ''your client'', which forces you to "unlearn" the normal logic of Ace Attorney and instead focus on [[NotProven providing reasonable doubt for his crimes]] and making sure his more blatant forgeries and JuryAndWitnessTampering don't hurt your case.

** "The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band," the second case of the first game, is perhaps the most divisive case in the duology, with many finding it their least favorite case but many others defending it. Much of the divide comes from the fact that it's the only case in the franchise without a trial portion or anything equivalent, as well as how [[spoiler:the "murder" was an accident]]. How much you like it largely depends on whether you see the nontraditional aspects as strengths or shortcomings.

** Juror No.3 from case 1-3 is well remembered by fans thanks to his [[CrazyIsCool knife-happy tendencies]] and him [[EatTheRich hating the rich like [=McGilded=]]]. [[spoiler:The fact that he ended up being correct in his initial statement does do him a good reputation.]]

** Gina Lestrade [[https://www.reddit.com/r/AceAttorney/comments/sqzp34/the_final_round_of_the_great_ace_attorney/ has won first place of a character elimination poll hosted on Reddit]]. Despite only showing up in half of the cases, she a LovableRogue for her StickyFingers tendencies (not even fully quitting those when she ends up [[spoiler:working for the police]] in the second game), and her backstory and motivations make her sympathetic and compelling to players.

** Almost no one was surprised at the BigBad of the second game being [[spoiler:the chief justice Mael Stronghart]], due to the character being ObviouslyEvil by ''Ace Attorney'' standards by [[spoiler: being a LargeHam in a major position of power within the legal system, having an intimidating name, an [[EvilIsNotWellLit intimidating appearance]], and being met briefly a few times in the first game without ever having a major role.]] Somewhat balanced out by the writers throwing in an accomplice no-one saw coming: [[spoiler:''[[ChekhovsGunman the Japanese judge]]'']].
** Fans predicted that Barok would [[spoiler: be a defendant]] and that Kazuma would [[spoiler: become a prosecutor]] due to them being a DecompositeCharacter for Miles Edgeworth, the main prosecutor of the main series.
** The identity of van Zieks' masked apprentice. Ryunosuke immediately notices that something seems familiar about the man, the individual is skilled with a sword and after the first trial day of 2-3 (the same case when the apprentice debuts), Susato tells Ryunosuke about how [[spoiler: Kazuma's body vanished after his apparent murder.]] With all this information, it's rather easy to guess that [[spoiler: Kazuma is the masked man.]]
* CatharsisFactor: Half of the first game involves nontraditional cases that prove to be [[spoiler: accidents or involve circumstances that allow the true villain to escape from legal consequences.]] Players are left with cases that don't quite offer the same thrill of chase or victory that most ''Ace Attorney'' games offer, [[IntendedAudienceReaction while highlighting Ryunosuke's own anxieties over his role in the legal world.]] Comparatively, the final case involves a lengthy MarathonBoss who's challenging, satisfying ''and'' entertaining to dismantle over the course of the trial and emphasizes the culmination of Ryunosuke's ideals and prowess as an attorney.

* CharacterPerceptionEvolution: When Sherlock Holmes, or [[WritingAroundTrademarks Herlock Sholmes]] in the localization, was first revealed, he was widely decried as a poor-taste InNameOnly version of the original, being a goofy, idiotic {{Manchild}} rather than a no-nonsense genius. As time passed, a few factors did wonders for his reputation. The games got a belated localization and increased exposure, leading more to discover his HiddenDepths and [[spoiler: late-game reveals heavily implying he [[ObfuscatingStupidity played up his eccentricities]] to act as a StealthMentor to Ryunosuke]]. Secondly, ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' fell out of favor and stopped being the AudienceColoringAdaptation it was in the 2010s. This led many to re-evaluate Sholmes as [[ShownTheirWork far more accurate to the source then they thought]]: an AffectionateParody with a ''very'' heavy emphasis on "affectionate", as writer Shu Takumi always admitted to being a huge Holmes fan in interviews. Many also feel Sholmes captures the original's [[AllLovingHero humanity]] in ways most modern adaptations [[AdaptationalJerkass forget]], with some going so far as to call him the ''best'' modern adaptation of Sherlock.

** The other reveal of [[spoiler: the identity of the Professor actually being Klint van Zieks.]] Some players love it for being one of the most shocking reveals in the entire franchise that utterly blindsides most players while others decry it for that exact same reason since there's [[AssPull little to no set-up for it]], the game's explanation feeling generally weak because it never answers [[spoiler: exactly ''why'' he used the [[ImprobableWeapon killing method he did]],]] and the fact that even resorting to that method right away takes a level of cruelty that [[spoiler: even if the victim deserved,]] feels either very out-of-character, or points to [[spoiler: him]] having [[MaskOfSanity severe underlying]] [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope mental problems]] that the game just completely ignores.

** Are Sholmes' deductions genuinely InsaneTrollLogic or is he [[ObfuscatingStupidity faking it]] to act as a StealthMentor to Ryunosuke? The final Dance of Deduction [[spoiler:in 2-5 suggests the latter, as Sholmes doesn't bother coming up with the wrong deduction but instead help leading Mikotoba to come up with the right one.]]

* {{Fanon}}: It's pretty widely accepted by fans of the game that [[spoiler:Mael Stronghart]] is Damon Gant's ancestor, due to their similar designs, mannerisms, and [[spoiler: methods for using and abusing others as a high-ranking government official]]. This is despite there being not much to prove ''or'' disprove this theory.
** Ryunosuke being Apollo's ancestor as well as Phoenix's is a popular reading, albeit one with no particular evidence for or against in the text itself, unless you count the fact that Ryunosuke [[IdenticalGrandfather looks a lot like Phoenix]] but really ''acts'' a lot more like Apollo. A secondary reason for this theory gaining popularity might be that [[spoiler:it would potentially make Phoenix [[ConnectedAllAlong a biological relative]] of his adopted daughter Trucy, since Apollo and Trucy are half-siblings.]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: Ironically, the duology can be seen as one to ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', a game it's also literally a prequel to! A few factors make it feel like one: despite being Phoenix's IdenticalGrandfather, Ryunosuke is actually more similar to Apollo (especially in his first appearance) in terms of temperament and anxiety over his inexperience, and the Jurist System, which is infamously introduced in ''Apollo Justice'' as a major game-changer only to be [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome quietly ignored]] in the [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies next]] [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice two]] main series games, sees its full realisation here. The fact that ''The Great Ace Attorney'' was helmed by Shu Takumi, who departed work on the main series following ''Apollo Justice'', helps a lot as well; since technically ''The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures'' was his first non-crossover ''Ace Attorney'' game since working on ''Apollo Justice'', it's possible to read the three games consecutively as a thematic trilogy.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Ironically, the duology can be seen as one to ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', a game it's also literally a prequel to! A few factors make it feel like one: despite being Phoenix's IdenticalGrandfather, Ryunosuke is actually more similar to Apollo (especially in his first appearance) in terms of temperament and anxiety over his inexperience, and the Jurist System, which is infamously introduced in ''Apollo Justice'' as a major game-changer only to be [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome quietly ignored]] in the [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies next]] [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice two]] main-series games, sees its full realisation here. The fact that ''The Great Ace Attorney'' was helmed by Shu Takumi, who departed work on the main series following ''Apollo Justice'', helps a lot as well; since technically ''The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures'' was his first non-crossover ''Ace Attorney'' game since working on ''Apollo Justice'', it's possible to read the three games consecutively as a thematic trilogy.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Ironically, the duology can be seen as one to ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', a game it's also literally a prequel to! A few factors make it feel like one: despite being Phoenix's IdenticalGrandfather, Ryunosuke is actually more similar to Apollo (especially in that first appearance) in terms of temperament and anxiety over his inexperience, and the Jurist System, which is infamously introduced in ''Apollo Justice'' as a major game-changer only to be [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome quietly ignored]] in the [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies next]] [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice two]] main-series games, sees its full realisation here. The fact that ''The Great Ace Attorney'' was helmed by Shu Takumi, who departed work on the main series following ''Apollo Justice'', helps a lot as well; since technically ''The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures'' was his first non-crossover ''Ace Attorney'' game since working on ''Apollo Justice'', it's possible to read the three games consecutively as a thematic trilogy.