Tropes that indicate spoilers will be unmarked in the titles, so be sure to play the game first if you want to avoid them.
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Returning Characters
Note: Only put tropes relating to the characters' depictions or actions in this game.
Phoenix Wright
The main protagonist in this game. Little has changed since his last appearance, but the version of him in this game is written slightly differently.- Affectionate Nickname: "Nick" to Maya and Larry, "Mr. Nick" to Pearl, and "Boss" to Athena. Later on, Ema calls him "Slick."
- Amateur Sleuth: Helps Ema (and presumably Gumshoe, given his appearance in the opening credits) investigate each murder.
- Anime Hair: He retains the same spiky hairstyle he's always had.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Very subtle. This version of Phoenix has a tendency to go off on mental tangents, though he doesn't voice them very often. He even muses that he might need ADHD medication at one point.
- Deadpan Snarker: As in the original games, Phoenix has a habit of being snarky even with his closest friends.
- Doting Parent: To Trucy.
- First-Person Smartass: And he's more likely to verbalize these comments now!
- Inner Monologue: Phoenix's thoughts are readable to the player. They're often incredibly sarcastic comments.
- Intergenerational Friendship: To Pearl and Athena, who are 19 and 20 respectively. Meanwhile Phoenix is 36. Despite this, he thinks very fondly of them in the exposition monologues and even encourages Athena to simply call him by his first name.
- Large Ham: Downplayed, but he has his moments.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: He's a lawyer again after the events of Apollo Justice, but it's kind of hard to avoid spoiling this seeing as this takes place after Spirit of Justice. He also alludes to Apollo being away, although he doesn't say where and hints that he'll be back for an important event.
- Like an Old Married Couple: Phoenix and Maya bicker a lot in this game. It's obviously all in good fun.
- Made of Iron: He's knocked out with a heavy lawbook less than a minute into the first scene and all he needs is to put a bag of frozen peas on the bump rather than go to a hospital. In flavor text, he also casually mentions having been hit by a car, causing Athena to react in surprise, as she's never heard this story before.
- Mentor: To Athena, at least, though he's more hands off in this iteration.
- Nice Guy: He's very friendly to everyone he meets, even if he's internally snarking at them.
- Older and Wiser: Lampshaded by the developer, as Athena comments that he's keeping it together remarkably well after watching him in his first trial of the game. Maya comments that he hasn't changed much, so it's obviously a dig at his characterization in Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. Played straight in that Phoenix does display more maturity overall.
- Parental Substitute: He is this to Trucy. You can even see him acting a bit parental toward Pearl in a some optional dialogue, as he displays discomfort at the idea of her dating and relief when she says she wouldn't want to date someone like Larry. He's also shocked when he realizes Cody Hackins is talking about Pearl when he asks who the "cute girl" is and cuts Athena off when she reminds him that Trucy is old enough to date as well.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: With Maya, although it's not always played straight.
- Ship Tease: With Maya several times.
- Team Dad: To Trucy, Athena, and Pearl.
Maya Fey
Phoenix's assistant and best friend. She's also open to assisting other lawyers when needed.- Big Eater: She references this here and there in optional text.
- The Bus Came Back: This game takes place right after Spirit of Justice, and Phoenix points out that she's been gone for far too long. Some optional dialogue implies that she and Phoenix missed each other quite a bit.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Downplayed slightly, but her comments during investigations can be rather ridiculous.
- Deadpan Snarker: She has her moments, particularly when talking to Phoenix.
- Older and Wiser: By a significant amount. While she is still prone to goofy moments and is just as playful as before, she knows when to get it together. Not surprising considering she's 29 in this game.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Both burgers and ramen this time!
Athena Cykes
Fellow lawyer at the Wright Anything Agency and the person behind the Mood Matrix.- Affectionate Nickname: Trucy spontaneously starts calling her Theenie. Athena doesn't really react to it other than a brief moment of confusion at first.
- Brain Bleach: She claims to need it when she witnesses Kevin and Regina making out in the defendant's lobby, though she admits that it's all G-rated.
- Covert Pervert: A Running Gag has Athena interpreting things in the most dirty way possible, then being embarrassed when proven wrong. Such as being horrified when Maggey tells her she "couldn't resist [Gumshoe's] weenies" only for Trucy to immediately clarify that she meant cocktail weenies.
- Deadpan Snarker: She becomes considerably more snarky in The Twin Turnabout, but there are a few moments in The Turnabout Method as well.
- Didn't Think This Through: Accidentally proves her own client guilty in The Twin Turnabout when she gets carried away out of sheer irritation. At first, she's very confident. Then she suddenly realizes what she's doing and her pursuit track ends in a record scratch.
- Failure Is the Only Option: There is no way to win the first trial in The Twin Turnabout. Justified, as Athena's client is genuinely guilty. Good thing it's a minor charge that results in him being fined and nothing else.
- Fun Personified: She and Pearl decide to attempt to make creme brulee while the others are investigating their case. They nearly burn the office down, but they're obviously having a lot more fun than Pearl would have had on her own.
- Oh, Crap!: Athena gets carried away in The Twin Turnabout when Kevin is on the stand, eventually proving him guilty of the crime. It takes her a moment to realize what she's just done. Then she freezes, the realization sinking in as her pursuit track is abruptly cut short by a record scratch.
- Sleepyhead: Optional flavor text reveals that she's often seen sleeping in the office covered in case files.
Trucy Wright
Phoenix's 18-year-old daughter who is both a magician and a decent investigator.- Annoying Younger Sibling: Immediately picks up where she left off with Apollo the moment he arrives from the airport. Also acts like this with Athena here and there.
- The Baby of the Bunch: The youngest person at the Wright Anything Agency. Incidentally, she's also its CEO.
- Daddy's Girl: Definitely, with Phoenix, although their relationship is a bit unusual.
- Happily Adopted: As in canon, of course.
- The Pollyanna: She's frequently seen encouraging Athena and Phoenix for every case so far no matter how bad things get. Even when Athena loses the first trial in The Twin Turnabout.
- Young and in Charge: Is the CEO of the Wright Anything Agency. Doesn't let the other characters forget it either.
Pearl Fey
Maya's cousin and the only person who isn't technically part of the Wright Anything Agency, though she hangs around anyway.- Affectionate Nickname: Phoenix calls her Pearls, while Athena, Trucy, and Maya occasionally call her Pearly.
- Older and Wiser: Somewhat, but it's pointed out that she finds Phoenix's disbelief at her age a bit off-putting and asks if she should dress differently so he'll see her as an adult. Her personality is certainly similar to her childhood personality, but less childish than her earlier appearances, even in canon.
- Shipper on Deck: Pearl still ships Phoenix and Maya 11 years later. She even threatens to slap Phoenix when he playfully banters with Maya, even though Maya clearly didn't take offense to what he said.
Franziska von Karma
The main prosecutor for this game. She claims she's returned to finally best Phoenix in court, but seems far more mature than she was before.- Adaptational Nice Guy: While not entirely out of character given her last appearance in the main series, she is certainly a lot nicer to everyone, only bringing the whip out when they get on her last nerve.
- Berserk Button: Don't accuse her of wasting time during a trial.
- Deadpan Snarker: She's grown as a person, but her words can still pack a punch.
- Defeating the Undefeatable: Becomes the first prosecutor to defeat Athena in court.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Not surprising considering this game takes place 9 years after her last appearance in the franchise. She's had a lot of time to mature.
- Full-Name Basis: She only does this with recurring characters. Ema calls her out on it.
- Graceful Loser: Unlike in canon, she is very blase about her loss to Phoenix. It's clear she does want to beat him one day, but she wants to do it legitimately.
- Karma Houdini: Despite there being a different judge this time around, she is never called out for using her whip, though she is warned at one point not to abuse her privileges.
- Older and Wiser: Lampshaded in Turnabout Ladies Night when she does her best to be respectful and calm, but she eventually loses it and brings the whip out. But it is mostly played straight, as she admits her rivalry with Phoenix is just her making jokes. She doesn't seem to hold any animosity toward him anymore and is far less likely to lose her temper in court. She's also very friendly with Athena, even saying she'd be willing to mentor her if she ever switched to prosecution.
- Triumphant Reprise: Makes sure Phoenix doesn't even know he's going up against her until she dramatically enters the courtroom a minute into the trial. She's definitely become a bit more dramatic with age.
- Worthy Opponent: Considers Phoenix and anyone he mentors to be this. She also considers herself to be one to him, and he seems to agree. She then goes on to absolutely destroy Athena in the first trial of The Twin Turnabout, singlehandedly ruining Athena's perfect win record in the process.
Apollo Justice
A lawyer at the Wright Anything Agency who is returning, at long last, from Khura'in from the third case onward. He is the assistant in the third case and the main protagonist for the fifth.- Absurd Phobia: Apollo is revealed to be fearful of the moving walkways at airpoints. No explanation is given for this and Apollo outright denies it when he's called out. His text is pink, indicating that he's a bit embarrassed by this.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Polly" to Trucy
- The Bus Came Back: He returns from Khura'in for Maya's christening and becomes sucked into a case right out of the airport gate. According to
Word of God, he is the protagonist for the fifth case, which means he'll be back for a while. - Butt-Monkey: He has to lug his suitcases all over Maryland Manor for the first investigation of The Twin Turnabout because Athena got that case while she was picking him up at the airport. He admits in a later scene that he actually did miss being the subject of Trucy and Athena's joking around, so part of this might be played up a little.
- The Comically Serious: Definitely the Straight Man to Athena and Trucy's sillier shenanigans.
- Deadpan Snarker: Within minutes of returning The Twin Turnabout, he is already back to his snarky self.
- The Ghost: Until The Twin Turnabout, when he returns to assist Athena with her case.
- Last-Name Basis: Still calls Phoenix "Mr. Wright," even after Phoenix said it was fine to call him by his first name.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: Apollo is in Khura'in as of the start of this game, spoiling the end of Spirit of Justice when he left the agency to stay there. Although it seems like he'll be back in the States for a while seeing that he's getting his own case.
- Made of Iron: He gets full on tackled by Trucy at the airport and apparently suffers no injuries.
- Only Sane Man: He obviously thinks he is, seeing as he's the only one who points out that Blackquill's sudden appearance despite not having been informed as to Athena's location is creepy. The Twin Turnabout only cements this view of himself as he encounters the other characters.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: In canon, he's this with Trucy and Athena separately. The Twin Turnabout combines them all, pairing him with two energetic girls!
Ema Skye
A forensic investigator who is very friendly toward the main characters and helps them whenever she can.- Black Comedy: She has apparently come up with a hypothetical plan for committing the perfect murder. She discusses it cheerfully, saying it's fun to think about but she wouldn't actually do it.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: She actually calls herself lazy in The Turnabout Method, claiming that she rarely does her laundry.
- Comfort Food: The Snackoos are back. When accused of murder in The Turnabout Method, she is seen snacking through the entire case except the very end when she's acquitted.
- Fangirl: To Edgeworth. She's even thrilled that he prosecuted her case to ensure she got a fair trial because it means their awkward pleasantries meant something to him after all.
- Friend on the Force: She is very friendly with Phoenix's crew and facetiously says they're like family now.
- Mr. Exposition: She provides most of the information about the case in Turnabout Ladies Night and the first testimony in the trial. She also does this for The Twin Turnabout along with Gumshoe.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: She blurts out during her own trial that she wants them to figure out whether or not she's guilty and that she thought she and Edgeworth were friends. She is clearly very embarrassed by this outburst moments later.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Several times in The Turnabout Method when stressing about how much she'll be hated in prison if she's convicted and when asking Edgeworth why he's prosecuting her case if they're friends.
- Seen It All: She frequently makes offhand comments about how she'd either prefer to be murdered or commit a murder herself. When Phoenix calls her out on this, she tells him her job has desensitized her to these things, prompting him to wonder if he's desensitized too.
- Ship Tease: Somewhat with Klavier. Played up in that her snacking can be heard from outside Carey's house when Klavier shows up. She goes on to ask Klavier to dance at the Taikan Ball to avoid Nahyuta, but Apollo in particular seems to get the impression that there's more to it than that.
- The Slacker: Ema even points this out herself, claiming that she's "really lazy" and has a pile of laundry at home that she hasn't done in ages.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Very friendly toward Phoenix and his friends, but also has a tendency to make incredibly dark jokes and completely ignore them when stressed enough. She also snaps at Athena several times in The Turnabout Method due to stress, though she apologizes after being acquitted.
- Sweet Tooth: The Snackoos are back.
- Terrible Artist: Phoenix reacts to Ema's horrendous sketch of Carey's apartment with horror due to having been an art major back in the day. The judge calls the sketch horrible when accepting it into evidence.
Miles Edgeworth
The target of the Line Man serial killer and a close friend of Phoenix Wright's.- Adaptational Nice Guy: He's certainly snarky and sarcastic at times, but he is quite polite to everyone in the courtroom and even displays extreme concern toward his friends when he is targeted. He even got Gumshoe a very generous care package after the birth of his son and admits that he can no longer cut Gumshoe's salary because he now has a family to support.
- Confirmed Bachelor: Confirms at the end of Turnabout Ladies Night that he wasn't lying when he said he wanted to remain single, but made a big deal of it in an attempt to show Hunter Kestrel that he wouldn't make a very good target. This was apparently unsuccessful. He later goes as far as to have Kay pretend to be his girlfriend to get a certain admirer off his back in The Twin Turnabout.
- Crusading Lawyer: Prosecutes Ema's case despite obviously not believing she is guilty simply because he doesn't want her to be wrongfully convicted. Once he figures out who the true culprit is, he goes after Entiste so vehemently that he has to be reminded that he's supposed to be arguing for Ema's guilt.
- Everyone Has Standards: He admits that he can no longer cut Gumshoe's salary because of how it would affect his children.
- Gentleman Snarker: He is extremely snarky in court, particularly toward Dr. Entiste because he is convinced of Entiste's guilt.
- Promoted to Playable: In both post-credits scenes, he is the player character.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He shows up to prosecute Ema's case because he doesn't believe she's guilty and wants to find the guilty party. He has Payne thrown out of the courtroom! He has to be reminded several times that he's the prosecutor, not the defense attorney, when he starts going after the real culprit before there's sufficient proof that Dr. Entiste is guilty. He gives Athena a lot of hints to make sure she'll prove Ema is innocent and often repeats Entiste's arguments in the least flattering light to make him look stupid.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Gumshoe. He even shows concern at the thought of anything happening to him.
Dick Gumshoe
A detective Phoenix has known for a long time who has finally returned to investigate with them once more.- Gentle Giant: He's a big guy, but get him talking and he'll probably show you pictures of his kids and gush about how cute they are.
- Friend to All Children: And now he has children of his own!
- Last-Name Basis: Gumshoe doesn't even introduce himself to Athena because Edgeworth already greeted him. The only way to find out his first name is to check his profile in the court records, as everyone simply calls him Gumshoe.
- Perpetual Poverty: Subverted because now he has children. It seems Edgeworth draws the line at punishing innocent children for Gumshoe's mistakes.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Several bones, in fact. He and Maggey got married and had two children, a daughter and a son. Part of the reason he's been absent from the other games is implied to be because of a combination of paternity leave and other reassignments, though he was on leave for a different, as of yet unexplained reason. As a result, Gumshoe is frequently seen smiling and in good spirits.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Edgeworth. Him being included as a potential target for Hunter Kestrel confirms that Edgeworth is rather fond of him, and Edgeworth did give him a very generous care package when his son was born.
Simon Blackquill
A prosecutor who was once a formidable foe but is now on very good terms with the lawyers at the agency, particularly Athena.- Be as Unhelpful as Possible: He goes to the effort of tracking Athena down at the airport to pick up Apollo, demanding that she take his friend in prison as a client and insisting that it can't wait, then proceeds to not give Athena any details about his friend, how they met, or what he's like. Simon merely states that it would be better to show Athena the defendant rather than describe him.
- Big Word Shout: Shouts "SILENCE!" when he finally catches up to Athena as a way to catch her attention.
- Dark Is Not Evil: While not a social butterfly by any stretch, he is definitely on the protagonists' side and even seeks Athena's help in defending his friend.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Sure, Kevin may be painfully gullible and has absolutely no common sense, but Simon still befriended him, acting as a kind of protector for him while in prison. Now, outside of prison, Simon still displays concern for Kevin's wellbeing and never once denies their friendship no matter how annoyed he is at Kevin's antics. He also provides a glowing account of Athena's skills as a lawyer to both Kevin and Franziska, though is quite embarrassed when Athena points this out.
- It's Personal: His motive for wanting Kevin acquitted of the theft and murder. He implies that this is out of fear that Kevin would never survive prison without him.
- Not So Stoic: Seems genuinely concerned for his friend, though he's doing his best to hide it.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Implied with his prison friend and he encourages Athena in The Turnabout Method. Although he does threaten Athena with Aura's wrath at one point.
- Tsundere: He shows subtle affection for and faith in Athena, enough that Kevin and Franziska both comment on his glowing accounts of her skills. He cares a great deal about Kevin, despite their opposite personalities and Kevin's proclivity for getting himself and Simon in trouble. Despite showing irritation at Kevin's eccentricities at times, he never once denies that the two of them are friends and Kevin gushes about how nice he was to him there.
Marvin Grossberg
Mia's mentor long ago.- Death by Adaptation: His only appearance is as a corpse at the end of Turnabout Ladies Night.
Regina Berry
An animal tamer at the circus who seems to attract more than her fair share of attention- Adaptational Romance Downgrade: She and Max are no longer romantically involved. Regina says it's because they wanted different things, but they're still friends so it's not weird.
Regina:
- Older Than They Look: Regina is 27 in this game but, due to her sprites being recolored but not otherwise edited, she still looks exactly like she did at 16.
- Promoted to Love Interest: For Kevin, at least.
Myriam Scuttlebutt
A reporter for The Fib, a tabloid that sensationalizes events until they're unrecognizable, who has no issue going undercover and hurting people in the process.- Adaptational Jerkass: Remember that little arc she had in Turnabout Academy? Completely retconned. Now she's a reporter who has no qualms about outright lying or embellishing details to get a story. Turns out she was just using Juniper and her friends for insider information.
- Adaptational Job Change: She's not a student anymore, she's a reporter for a tabloid called The Fib.
- Adaptational Name Change: According to her, her name is not actually Myriam Scuttlebutt, but she never reveals her real name.
- Age Lift: She is a total of ten years older than she claimed to be in Turnabout Academy. No wonder she hid under that box!
- Same Character, But Different: Meant to be the Myriam Scuttlebutt in Turnabout Academy but has also an undercover reporter who will stop at nothing to get dirt on everyone she can.
- You Don't Look Like You: She was made into a 2D sprite. Seeing as she wasn't seen for longer than a second in Dual Destinies, this isn't really that shocking.
Cody Hackins
Once a witness to a crime when he was a kid, he's now a young adult with a rather obvious crush on Pearl- Same Clothes, Different Year: Cody is 20 years old and still dresses a lot like he did as a kid. Somewhat justified in that his sprites are the ones originally in Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Conflict Of Interest.
Maggey Byrde-Gumshoe
Gumshoe's crush on the force long ago and now his wife.- Promoted to Love Interest: She and Gumshoe are now married. She isn't a major character in the game but she has a cameo in The Twin Turnabout.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Despite her abysmal luck, she and Gumshoe have a great marriage and two happy, healthy children, which is really saying something considering Gumshoe delivered both of them in the car. Her luck seems to be turning around after all, at least somewhat.
Bobby Fulbright/The Phantom
A police officer who was secretly the Phantom, a villainous individual who killed Athena's mother.- Adaptation Personality Change: For Fulbright, at least. It seems the victim of the Phantom is himself the Phantom in this version.
- Adaptational Jerkass: So it seems, at least. All we've heard about him specifically is that he was a psychopath and Athena definitely doesn't want to run into him again.
- Adaptational Seriousness: Where the Phantom was rather hammy, even for Ace Attorney, he seems to be played as significantly more dangerous and evil than before. He was definitely far more of a threat in this game's timeline.
- Composite Character: Fulbright the cop and the Phantom are the same person here.
- Named by Adaptation: In a sense, at least. The Phantom himself was never named, but as he's revealed to have been Fulbright himself in this version, he does technically have a name.
- Same Character, But Different: In a very literal sense, as Fulbright and the Phantom are, in fact the same character now.
- Spared By Adaptation: According to Ema and Gumshoe, he's alive and he's a psychopath.
Introduced in The Turnabout Method
Dr. S. I. Entiste
A scientist for Kestrel Laboratories- Sinister Shades: He wears them for the entire case. Turns out that's to avoid being recognized by Clonco. He takes the sunglasses off right after his Villainous Breakdown, revealing red eyes, then goes into a creepy monologue about them all having made a big mistake.
- Starter Villain: The first culprit of this game.
- Villainous Breakdown: Has a huge one, screaming at the top of his lungs. It doesn't last long, however, seeing as he then tells Edgeworth to watch his back because he knows exactly what's in store for him.
- Warm-Up Boss: He's not hard to beat and services to familiarize the player with the Ace Attorney mechanics.
Hunter Kestrel
A mysterious billionaire whose identity is unknown. He likes to target prosecutors for psychological torture.- Big Bad: The game's main villain. He's now targeted Edgeworth and made it clear that no one he loves is safe.
- Evil Genius: It's implied that he's brilliant at figuring out exactly how to psychologically torture his targets. This even results in his first target committing suicide.
Introduced in Turnabout Ladies Night
Becca Tuwark
The head nurse at the hospital. No one liked her.- Asshole Victim: No one liked her. Even Betty, who tries not to dislike anyone, didn't like her. She was so disliked that, even after her murder, everyone still admits to not liking her. It's unlikely the player will be very fond of her either when they discover that she was the aggressor and Betty killed her in a freak accident while defending herself.
Penny Ernst
A bartender and single mother who was a witness to the crime.- Ms. Fanservice: Wears a low cut top that exposes a lot of cleavage. Somewhat justified, as she's working as a bartender.
Betty Nightingale
A nurse at Mt. Hope Hospital who is very sweet and cares greatly for her patients.- My God, What Have I Done?: After realizing she accidentally killed Becca Tuwark, she is horrified. She also states that she regrets framing Carey for it too.
- Speak Ill of the Dead: She states that she's trying not to do this, but she can't deny that she didn't like Becca Tuwark one bit.
Introduced in The Twin Turnabout
Kevin Lamb
The defendant for the case. He and Simon Blackquill were friends in prison.- Cloudcuckoolander: Frequently goes on tangents, takes things far too literally, and says things that only make sense in his head. At one point, he apparently attempted to eat the soap in prison and Simon has had to give him an awful lot of advice that really should be common sense.
- The Ditz: He is extremely, extremely gullible and, at one point, manages to get his own lawyer to prove him guilty of the crime. Thankfully it wasn't a serious one!
- Graceful Loser: Even laughs at his own mistakes in the end.
- Keet: He's always excited about something, laughing at even his own jokes at times.
- The Klutz: Kicked off the entire series of events because he was doing a little happy dance and broke the case and the $5,000 vase inside of it.
- Leitmotif: "Title/Level 1" from Word Rescue.
- Nice Guy: He may not be very intelligent but he is very sweet and friendly to everyone he meets. This is actually a massive liability, as it makes him extremely easy to manipulate.
- Not Me This Time: Despite being the culprit in the first, far more minor case, he is presumably innocent of the murder in The Twin Turnabout.
- Odd Friendship: He is best friends with Simon Blackquill. Despite clearly driving him nuts, Simon seems to harbor quite a bit of genuine affection for him too.
- Running Joke: Whenever Simon tries to remind Kevin of what he told him, Kevin will blurt out something else Simon told him, usually completely irrelevant. Simon eventually interrupts him with what he actually wanted Kevin to remember.
- V-Sign: Frequently grins and shows a peace sign.
