Judge design by Hesseldahl
"We only have one word for love, and yet it takes on many different meanings. For me, it means the devotion I have for my closest friends: the ones who stuck with me through the years and the ones who have recently come into my life. But love comes with a heavy cost. Because sometimes love can make us hurt more than anything else. And if I had known the pain that was coming, would I have done anything differently?"
— Phoenix Wright
Ace Attorney: Truth and Consequences is an Ace Attorney fan game created by Sarcastic Pasta Games.
It's been a few weeks since the events of Spirit of Justice and the Wright Anything Agency is ready for, well, anything! Phoenix Wright and Athena Cykes take on some new cases while Maya Fey prepares for the moment she will finally be christened Master of Kurain. As for Apollo Justice, he'll be back soon with the Khura'inese delegation Maya has invited for the christening ceremony, and there's a chance he might stick around just long enough to take on his own case as well.
But things aren't all good at the moment. One of the most notorious serial killers, known for targeting well known prosecutors, has set their sights on Miles Edgeworth, and it's up to the Wright Anything Agency and a few familiar faces from the past to uncover the truth and hopefully catch the killer before they strike close to home.
It is a Visual Novel developed in PyWright. The game's first and second cases are available for free on Gamejolt
. The third case is being released in parts, with Part 1 already available to play.
This game provides examples of:
- Accuse the Witness: In typical Ace Attorney fashion, if it's not your client, it's almost always one of the witnesses. This game is no exception. Subverted in The Twin Turnabout when Athena accuses her own client of the crime before realizing what she's doing.
- Always Murder: Subverted, as Turnabout Ladies Night features a case in which the victim was the aggressor and the killer acted entirely in self defense. Played straight in The Turnabout Method. Initially subverted in The Twin Turnabout when Kevin is accused of theft but eventually played straight at the first part's ending, where Kevin is seen with a gun standing over Mike's dead body.
- Alternate Continuity: For the canon games, as stated at the beginning. Also, surprisingly, for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Conflict of Interest, as its prosecutor is name dropped very briefly as someone involved in past events. The Twin Turnabout makes it clear that the events of Dual Destinies have been extremely sensationalized and that the true story is much darker.
- Amateur Sleuth: Phoenix and his friends, as usual. Klavier Gavin even turns up investigate at one point.
- Anime Hair: Phoenix and Apollo's spiky hair have returned.
- Anti-Frustration Features: Impatient players can choose to skip text (possibly risking audio glitches) and players who aren't very confident in their abilities can play on easy, which reduces penalties significantly.
- Asshole Victim: No one liked Becca Tuwark. That's made very apparent from the start. By the end, the player is unlikely to be very fond of her either.
- Berserk Button:
- Presenting the carrot finally breaks Franziska's resolve not to use her whip because of how ridiculous it sounds.
- Pearl gets very upset when Phoenix's banter with Maya makes it sound like he isn't very fond of her, even when it's obvious he's kidding.
- Do not accuse Franziska of wasting time during a trial.
- Big Bad: Hunter Kestrel, also known as the Line Man. But his name is just about all they know about him, as his identity is completely hidden.
- Book Ends: The first case opens and closes with a monologue from Athena about the choices we make in life. The second case also opens and closes with a monologue, this time from Phoenix, about love and how we use it in a lot of contexts. Athena opens The Twin Turnabout with a monologue, implying that it will close with one as well.
- Butt-Monkey: Phoenix falls victim to this, as usual. Somewhat downplayed, but other characters seem surprised sometimes when he comes up with a decent argument. Apollo also falls victim to this, as he is thrown into Athena's case right after being picked up at the airport and thus must lug his suitcases around for the entire first investigation.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Larry, but that's no surprise. He does seem to care a great deal for Carey, but it doesn't stop him from being curious about what's in her bedroom and bathroom. The credits for The Twin Turnabout Part 1 indicate that he took care of Carey when she came down with a fever rather than attend the Taikan Ball.
- Closet Geek: Carey comes off as rather refined, but it's revealed that she loves video games.
- Courtroom Antics: Downplayed, but still present. This is Ace Attorney, after all.
- Deadpan Snarker: Phoenix, as usual, but also Ema and Edgeworth. Maya has a few moments as well. Apollo is back in all of his snarky glory come The Twin Turnabout. Athena also gets a few snarky lines in that case too.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Morgan Fey is revealed to have been executed as of the events of the first case.
- Surprisingly, this isn't even the first fan game to kill off Marvin Grossberg, who is revealed to have been murdered by the Line Man in the post-credits scene. Possibly subverted when Ema and Gumshoe indicate that Fulbright was a psychopath who had them both fooled rather than an offscreen victim of the Phantom's.
- A newspaper headline announces the murder of Vex Vulper from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: The Contempt of Court by the Phantom. The reason is not revealed. The same newspaper reveals that Francisco Mendirez from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Conflict of Interest has been found dead as well, another Phantom victim most likely.
- Developer's Foresight:
- When doing Penny's cross examination, Phoenix can try to claim that her timeline is off by presenting the clock, but Penny clarifies that she meant something different.
- When doing a later cross examination, a piece of evidence that seems very compelling cannot be presented, even though there is a contradiction, because Phoenix isn't quite sure if it's genuine or planted.
- You can present every single profile for unique dialogue when the Judge asks Athena who she would like to call to the stand in The Turnabout Method. She can even call herself, victim, or the witness who is currently on the stand to the stand. Every profile has the characters reacting to the absurdity of it. The best part is that there is no penalty for this, so you can look at every single one.
- Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Franziska whips Phoenix once during the trial, which doesn't seem to upset anyone (Phoenix included). Pearl threatens to hit him once, twice if you look at optional flavor text, but never follows through with it. Franziska also whips Apollo once in The Twin Turnabout.
- Entertainment Below Their Age: Maya is 29 years old and just as into the Steel Samurai as she was when she was 17. Phoenix, Larry, and Carey are all implied to love cartoons. Kevin, too, is Maya's age and still a big Steel Samurai fan.
- Figure It Out Yourself: Several times during the trial from both Trucy and Maya. Lampshaded by Trucy, who tells Phoenix she's not a video game tutorial character at one point.
- First-Person Smartass: Phoenix, as usual. Although he's a little bit more likely to verbalize his comments when around his friends. Athena becomes this in The Twin Turnabout.
- Four Is Death: The crime scene is Carey's apartment, which happens to be number 4. This is even pointed out by Ema.
- Friend on the Force: Ema and Phoenix are obviously pretty good friends by this point. Optional dialogue has her facetiously welcome him to the family. Gumshoe turns up with new evidence mid-trial in The Turnabout Method and makes it clear he's very fond of Phoenix and his crew.
- Friendly Enemy: Franziska von Karma, who has obviously grown quite a lot since Phoenix last saw her. Her rivalry with him seems to be more of a joke than something she takes seriously. She's also far more friendly to Athena and Apollo than she would have been early on in the series.
- Graceful Loser: Both the killer and prosecutor in Turnabout Ladies Night fit this category, as neither put up a fight when Phoenix is able to prove what happened. It's made pretty obvious that Edgeworth had no intention of winning his trial against Athena and even seems to enjoy taking Entiste down with her. Kay also shows up, grinning widely while congratulating Athena for "destroying" them in court. Though initially frustrated, Athena becomes this when she is absolutely wrecked in court by Franziska, even stating that she's glad she no longer has a perfect win record because it was too much pressure anyway.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Hunter Kestrel, or the Line Man, is obviously this game's main villain, but his identity is currently unknown.
- Hard Head: Phoenix is clubbed with a gigantic lawbook in the first minute of the first scene, knocking him out for nearly an hour. Apart from a few jokes from other characters and even himself, he suffers no long-lasting ill effects. Gumshoe mentions the bridge incident from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations too, prompting Ema and Apollo to react in shock. Apollo is also hard headed, bouncing back from having been full on tackled by Trucy in an instant.
- Hurricane of Puns: It's Ace Attorney, after all. Many of the names are punny.
- Indy Ploy: Lampshaded by Maya when she suggests Phoenix should make something up when he can't figure out what to do next. Phoenix corrects her, saying he actually just stumbles onto the solution by accident.
- Last-Name Basis: Mostly subverted, but Betty is referred to as Mrs. Nightingale. Franziska is addressed by her first name by everyone except the judge, and Phoenix even tells Athena and Ema both that he'd rather not be called Mr. Wright anymore. He offers to let Apollo call him Phoenix as well, but Apollo sticks with Mr. Wright. As usual, Edgeworth and Gumshoe both refer to Phoenix simply as "Wright."
- Left Hanging: In their closing monologues, both Athena and Phoenix references pain coming their way very soon. This is not expanded upon, but is likely to be seen in later cases. The Twin Turnabout has been released in parts, with the first part ending on a cliffhanger.
- Mistaken for Romance:
- Phoenix and Maya several times. Both of them refuse to define their relationship apart from stating that they're very close friends. Maya lampshades this in optional text claiming that she's breaking up with him, prompting Trucy to ask if it counts as a breakup if they're not dating.
- At one point, someone thinks Phoenix and Athena are dating, though both of them immediately shut this down.
- With an obsessive admirer nearby, Edgeworth tells Athena that Kay has agreed to pretend to be his girlfriend if worse comes to worst, thus hoping his admirer will back off.
- Noodle Incident: Trucy invokes the trope when she turns up halfway through The Turnabout Method informing them that her rehearsal was cut short "on account of the chocolate syrup" and then immediately changing the subject. Later, she mentions that they "really need to do something about the lobster situation" but does not elaborate.
- Punny Name: It's Ace Attorney. It's practically a tradition now.
- Put on a Prison Bus: Subverted twice. Because Betty was protecting herself and Becca's death was 100% accidental, she gets a slap on the wrist for her half-hearted attempt at framing Carey. She's even seen in the ending credits. Kevin is revealed to be guilty of property damage but gets fined rather than imprisoned. Played straight with Dr. Entiste.
- Retcon:
- The game now takes place in Maryland. And, in this universe, it always has. This almost certainly retcons several earlier cases to a minor degree.
- The biggest retcon so far is the revelation that the events of Dual Destinies is actually Larry's painfully inaccurate and embellished account of what happened, complete with Trucy complaining about having been flanderized and Athena stating that the final boss was like a Scooby Doo villain. Apollo, and Trucy emphatically state that the Phantom in Dual Destinies is a nonsensical version of the real Phantom they encountered. The Fib, a popular tabloid, published the fake story, thus making it what everyone assumes happened. It has not yet been revealed what the real story is, but it's implied that the Phantom is a much more sinister villain in this game's timeline.
- Scuttlebutt's personality is completely reverted, erasing her character arc in Turnabout Academy. Turns out she was undercover the whole time and the box was to disguise her age, which happens to be 29 (meaning she was a decade older than the age she claimed to be in that case).
- It's revealed that Max Galactica and Regina Berry went out for a few dates when she was 18 and then decided to remain friends instead.
- Running Gag:
- The characters who were present for earlier games being surprised by the events of said games. Athena reacts in shock when Phoenix casually mentions being hit by a car in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. She also attempts to ask Maya what happened when she references Farewell, My Turnabout by saying that it took "a year and a hostage situation" to make Phoenix lose a case. Athena suddenly realizes that means there was a hostage situation BEFORE the ones in Turnabout for Tomorrow and Turnabout Revolution Phoenix also casually mentions having proven Ema innocent of murder, prompting Athena to react in surprise and attempt to ask him about it before being cut off by the bailiff telling them to return to the courtroom. Pearl is confused when Maya jokes that she didn't have to resort to paper airplanes in her first trial, referencing Turnabout Sisters in which Maya, in her first trial, had to communicate with Phoenix via notes. Gumshoe mentions the bridge incident in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations, to which both Ema and Apollo react in horror.
- There's a Noodle Incident moment every time Trucy returns from rehearsal.
- Athena attempts to hype everyone up before the trials of both of her cases. No one is hyped, instead reacting with irritation. Athena does not let this get her down.
- Athena having an unintentionally dirty mind. The Twin Turnabout, she makes a rather naughty assumption when Lorde asks if she'll be "quizzing about the favorite position," though Trucy seems to have jumped to the same conclusion judging by her reminding Athena that she is 18 now. Turns out Lorde was talking about job positions. Later, Maggey tells Athena she "couldn't resist [Gumshoe's] weenies" to which Athena reacts with shock only for Trucy to clarify that she meant cocktail weenies.
- Ship Tease: In optional text, Maya claims that she might have someone in mind for Phoenix. Judging by the other characters' reactions to them and their own banter, it's possible she's talking about herself, but this isn't elaborated upon.
- Shout-Out: Several.
- Trucy rattles off a list of games Carey has in her cabinet that includes obvious references to AI: The Somnium Files, Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, and The BOSS: A Jacksepticeye Fan Game. They also find episodes of a show clearly parodying Avatar: The Last Airbender.
- Carey's computer has Glitch In The System installed on it. You can also find an email from "SCYOBI" in her inbox, a reference to Billy from that game. In the opening scene for The Twin Turnabout, Mack can be seen at the airport and Apollo mentions having sat next to him on the airplane. Apparently he was a real conspiracy theorist convinced an "antiseptic guy" was going to take over his country. Wireland is also included in the list of countries that have planes arriving at the airport.
- Characters reference watching a show called "Totally Legit Psychic Detective Agency," which is an obvious parody of Psych. This is confirmed when Phoenix quotes a line from the theme song almost word-for-word right after Penny was talking about the blackout happening during said theme song. Penny also mentions that they were watching the Season 3 finale that night, which in Psych was about a serial killer who challenged Shawn to find them. This is eerily similar to what's going on in Edgeworth's plotline and quite obviously not coincidental.
- Portal gets a direct shoutout when GLaDOS is mentioned by name. Maya asks who that is and Phoenix immediately responds that he will fix this as soon as possible.
- Maya suggests that internet scammers should come up with a new take on the old Nigerian Prince scam by using the "Maharincess of Franistan." This is a bizarrely specific reference to an episode of I Love Lucy.
- The plastic bags and knife came from Stuff Mart, a store created for VeggieTales.
- You can find a picture of Carey with her high school literature club in her bedroom. Since some of the music contains motifs from Doki Doki Literature Club!, it's pretty clear to see the inspiration.
- Larry mentions loaning Carey his boxset of Ferdinand and Finn, likely a parody of Phineas and Ferb.
- Arstotska from Papers, Please is referenced as one of the countries from which a plane is arriving at the airport.
- The Phantom of the Opera is briefly mentioned when talking about the chandalier in Maryland Manor.
- Apollo asks is Lorde's garden is "a shop of horrors," referencing Little Shop of Horrors.
- Show Within a Show: The Steel Samurai, Plumed Punisher, Ferdinand and Finn, and Totally Legit Psychic Detective Agency are all mentioned.
- Sidekick: Athena has two in The Turnabout Method: Maya and Pearl. Phoenix has two for Turnabout Ladies Night: Trucy and Maya. Edgeworth even brings Kay back as his assistant. Athena has two again in The Twin Turnabout: Trucy and Apollo.
- Sliding Scale of Continuity: The developer outright states that she plans to make changes to canon, but a lot of events in previous games are referenced. You'd have to be pretty familiar with Ace Attorney to follow a lot of the story, too. Dual Destinies has been outright stated to be a sensationalized version of the truth, with one character's arc retconned and its villain implied to be more sinister than in said game.
- Stopped Clock: A digital clock that was reset during the blackout helps them figure out exactly what time it was when the power came back on.
- Sudden Soundtrack Stop: Played straight in typical Ace Attorney fashion for objections and for laughs at twice in which both Athena and Phoenix, in their separate cases, clearly on a roll, suddenly hit a snag in their logic. The music stops abruptly when they realize that the result of their speculation doesn't quite make sense. Stop: Accompanied by a record scratch in The Twin Turnabout when Athena realizes she's made a very big mistake.
- Time Skip: Subverted in that The Turnabout Method takes place during the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice timeline (after the main game but before the DLC), so it's pretty much a continuation of the timeline with cases occurring within weeks of each other.
- Two Decades Behind: Carey's computer runs Windows XP, judging by the sound effect that plays when you log into it.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: As usual, it plays during the credits. Both cases even check in with the player character! The Twin Turnabout Part 1 ends with characters who didn't show up to the Taikan Ball stating their reasons for not attending. When the full case is released, the epilogue will change to reflect the case.
