Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All / YMMV

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll

This page is for subjective moments from the second game in the Phoenix Wright Trilogy.

Alternative Character Interpretation:
- There's no question that Juan Corrida is an Asshole Victim, but just how bad is he really? According to Adrian Andrews, he's a monster, but that's hardly an unbiased source. We do know that he was petty, a braggart, and bitterly Always Second Best to Matt Engarde. He caused Celeste's suicide when he broke off their engagement due to his jealousy and wounded pride. He then forged and hid her suicide note, which he planned to use at the most devastating moment for his rival. However, in the flashback to Celeste's suicide, he looks genuinely shocked and horrified, and his plans for revenge could easily be fueled as much by regret for the consequences of angry words he never got the chance to take back. Were his subsequent actions just part of their "game," or was it really personal for him? When he forged the suicide note, was he simply making another petty move in his game with Engarde, or Framing the Guilty Party? Since he is a Posthumous Character, his actions and reactions are up to a great deal of audience interpretation.
- Is Matt Engarde just a standard Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, or does he have a Split Personality? His dialogue right before he reveals his "real self" ("I think it's time for you to meet him now, Mr. Lawyer dude") is sometimes brought up as evidence for the latter.
- There's also the issue of whether "Ini Miney", aka Mimi Miney, or Turner Grey was the one at fault of malpractice incident. If Mimi was to be the one telling the truth, then Turner Grey is a monster who overworked Mimi into a nervous breakdown that caused the accident and possibly drugged her with sleeping pills, resulting in a car crash. However, Grey had a point in that he had no real motivation for doing so and was in fact trying to bring her ghost back to clear his name, which would probably be a bad idea if she'd just accuse him of her murder instead. Also, she seemed to kill him because he was about to reveal that she was still alive, not out of any apparent desire for revenge. But Grey is an Unreliable Narrator about himself. Why did he have a (very illegal in Japan) gun with him? Why did he expect to get Mimi's ghost to sign a confession that utterly blackens her name and exonerates her former Bad Boss? It seems likely he intended to force her to sign it at gunpoint (with the medium's life on the line), and if that's the case, then just how far would he go in anger?
  - He may as well have been just Crazy-Prepared for if the ghost is angry and tries to get him to go down, since they obviously weren't on buddy-buddy terms and especially regarding that accident. And exactly that happened in the end. Sort of...
- Adrian's response to Phoenix Wright's "I'm a lawyer" upon knowing that he will still choose to continue defending the incredibly guilty Matt Engarde, is to utter "what a foul profession". Is she saying that out of spite due to seeing a lawyer still defending the guilty party and thus indirectly getting Adrian convinced of a crime she didn't commit, or is she saying it out of pity due to having some vague ideas that Phoenix Wright has no choice in the matter due to blackmail and cannot let his personal feelings get in the way of doing his job as a lawyer?
- When Russell Berry figured out what Acro was planning, did he intentionally sacrifice himself in his daughter's place, or was he planning to confront Acro and try to talk him down, only to get distracted by the box Acro used in his trap?
- In the Non-Standard Game Over of the last trial in "Farewell, My Turnabout" where Matt Engarde is acquitted, Phoenix says he never saw Maya again but is certain de Killer released her since he's a man of his word. Was this because Maya was mad at Phoenix for failing to let Matt get convicted (perhaps mistakenly thinking he wanted that result) like she requested and decided not to associate with him anymore or because Phoenix felt too ashamed to face Maya again after failing to fulfill her request? Or both?
Anti-Climax Boss: Breaking Wendy Oldbag's Psyche-Locks in 2-4. It's the first time you have to deal with 4 locks at once, but if you show her Juan's autograph, all four of them break at the same time. Given how it's Wendy Oldbag we're talking about here, who is very dramatic, they probably did that on purpose.
Americans Hate Tingle: While many American fans consider "Turnabout Big Top" one of the worst cases in the series due to the wacky circus members being annoying and unlikable (not helped by the Love Triangle even many fans of the case find unfortunate) or its intended Sympathetic Murderer being Unintentionally Unsympathetic, it ranked fifth in a Japanese survey of cases that "left the greatest impression" on fans (which might have had a role in the circus returning for Investigations 2).
Angst? What Angst?: Maggey seems shockingly unaffected throughout the first case by the fact that her boyfriend of six months was murdered, keeping up her usual cheery attitude even when he comes up in conversation, and after the case is over, is just happily thanking Phoenix for helping her and doesn't say anything about Dustin until Maya brings him up first. And even then, her demeanor about his death comes across more as just bummed out (like "Aw, that's a shame he died") than the heartbreak or at least major sadness you'd expect to see from a woman who lost her partner. And then her resolve going forward is an upbeat, optimistic promise that she's going to try to overcome her bad luck, and doesn't give any indication that she'll need to take time to grieve Dustin's loss.
Base-Breaking Character:
- Franziska von Karma, Manfred von Karma's daughter, or specifically her behavior in 2-4, and her epilogue scene with Edgeworth. While she's (intentionally) unlikeable during the first two cases, her behavior later changes and matures. Fans are still divided upon her when it comes to these games (but not so much with the Investigation spin-offs).
- Maximillion Galactica is either seen the best character in an otherwise poor case, or is just as unlikable as Ben. While not as bad as Ben in terms of age difference, he’s still noticeably older and more experienced to the point of being inexcusably creepy, while Regina is mentally immature and naive, even disregarding her only being 16. However, many others choose to look past this uncomfortable aspect of his character, finding his personality entertaining and captivating. His fans are sympathetic in that despite his arrogance, he genuinely cares for his coworkers and only wants them to do better, but only gets hatred in return, showing a surprising amount of depth to his character. However, his haters dismiss him as an arrogant jerk, who even despite his creepy interest in Regina, assaults Ben over her and gets away with it, making him a very unsympathetic defendant from the get go.
- Regina Berry. One one hand, between her appearance, personality, and role as the heart of the third case, many fans will concede that it's nearly impossible not to like her. However, many other fans find her naivety unbearable and hold her responsible for putting Bat into a coma and causing Acro's paralysis, and not showing any sympathy over them. Defenders, however, will say that her lack of remorse for the accident is because she did not understand the concept of death, rather than being a heartless monster.
- Moe. There's his jokes, which are either just straight up unfunny or charming in their awfulness, his design, which is either just plain creepy or silly in a good way, and his small character arc which climaxes with his decision to bring Regina to the last day of trial, which is considered either a cruel Jerkass move or an necessary step to help her come to terms with Bat's accident and her father's death. While it's hard to argue against his irritating gameplay mechanic during trials, some players can look past that and appreciate these other aspects of his character, such as his surprisingly grounded and mature presence within the case and genuine care for the members of the circus, though there are still plenty who still dislike him either because of or beyond those gameplay issues.
- Acro as well, which is further detailed under Unintentionally Unsympathetic below. Fans see him as a tragic character who lost a great deal, being paralyzed from the waist down and seeing his brother go into a coma, and believe that while that doesn't excuse what he did (which Acro himself has the decency to admit), it does make him one of the more sympathetic killers. Detractors, however, don't like how he intended to murder a young girl who'd accidentally been responsible for those tragedies, who was also the daughter of his benefactor, and point out that the case wouldn't have happened if Acro had decided to confront the person responsible in a more sensible manner.
Best Boss Ever: Shelly De Killer is a challenging and unique opponent. Due to talking through a radio, you have to listen to his words rather than expressions, and he's skilled at deception due to his work as a Professional Killer. You also have to worry about pressing him too much, or he will kill Maya. There's immense satisfaction to be had in outsmarting him due to his sly testimony and subtle lies.
Best Level Ever: "Farewell, My Turnabout" is widely considered one of the best cases in the franchise, in large part because of the twist. Matt Engarde turning out to be guilty forces Phoenix to decide what being a lawyer means to him, and pull off a clever gambit to both save Maya and see to it that Engarde gets what he deserves.
Catharsis Factor: In Case 4, after being forced to decide whether Engarde, who you know is guilty as sin and reveled in it at this point, is guilty (thus getting Maya killed by de Killer) or not guilty (thus freeing Maya, but allowing a cold-blooded murderer to go free), and then proving that Engarde blackmailed de Killer which leads to de Killer severing his contract with Engarde, you're finally given the option to again plead guilty or not guilty with no consequence (as de Killer has no reason to kill Maya anymore). You can either give Engarde the guilty verdict he deserves...or give him the even-more-satisfying Cruel Mercy decision of a not-guilty plea, knowing full well that de Killer will set his sights on his former client once Engarde is free. Either way, Engarde has his Villainous Breakdown and claws his face brutally, either freaking out about his guilty verdict, or begging to be rendered guilty instead.
Common Knowledge:
- Concerning "Turnabout Big Top", Regina is sometimes held as being more culpable for Bat's accident than the events of the case would imply. While she was responsible for sprinkling Bat's scarf with pepper, and that did cause Léon to sneeze while Bat's head was inside his mouth, it's never said precisely when these occurred relative to one another. All that's said is that Regina peppered the scarf in response to Bat playing a similar trick on her before, not whether she had any foreknowledge that he would attempt the trick with Léon.
- A good number of people believe that the final verdict of "Farewell, My Turnabout" is decided by the player. This misconception stems from the fact that the player is prompted twice to decide whether to plead "guilty" or "not guilty". The first time is rendered moot, due to Franziska showing up with some last-minute evidence. The second time, regardless of what you pick, Engarde demands to be found guilty, and Franziska later asks how Phoenix can be so happy after losing, firmly establishing the only canonical verdict as "guilty". It is possible to get a “not guilty” verdict, but doing so requires getting one of the final questions wrong, and leads to a Downer Ending. It might also be related to the ending of "Turnabout Succession," which does have a verdict literally decided by the player.
- It's widely believed that Edgeworth intentionally faked his own suicide and went into hiding. Word of God has actually stated that the Metaphorically True meaning of "Miles Edgeworth chooses death" is something the characters are fully aware of in-universe, and the player is just intentionally kept in the dark about this until it's revealed Edgeworth is alive. Phoenix spells it out in the denouement.
  Phoenix: When you disappeared, I felt... betrayed. The reason I decided to become a lawyer to begin with... Was because I believed in the things you said to me, all those years ago... And you... You betrayed your own words. That's why... one year ago, I made up my mind. I decided that the Miles Edgeworth I knew had died...
Contested Sequel: While not universally disliked, most fans consider it to be uneven at best. While the second case is considered to be good, and the finale is considered one of the best cases in the entire franchise, the tutorial case is at best forgettable, and hoo boy, does "Turnabout Big Top" have a very notorious reputation among fans.
Critical Backlash: Case 2-3, Turnabout Big Top, by far the most hated case of the whole trilogy and definitely one of the most hated cases of the franchise. And while that’s still mostly the case for many fans, some people have been defending it as not quite as bad as people make it out to be. While basically no one defends the love triangle (in the western fandom anyway) or the fact that you get a penalty if you press too hard on Moe’s testimony, more and more people have been defending the other aspects of the case, particularly the Base-Breaking Characters mentioned above.
Crosses the Line Twice: The Judge's double penalty (45% + 50%) in Case 2-3 if you accuse him of carrying the murder weapon. Yes, you lose if you're at anything lower than full health, but many players have accused him (or even just thought of it) just to see what would happen, and are not let down by the result.
Franziska von Karma: (Beat) You had to think whether it was a good idea to say tha-
Judge: GWAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME? THAT'S A PENALTY!
Phoenix: Aaaaaaargh!
Judge: WHAT'S THAT? YOU WANT A DOUBLE? HERE YOU GO!
Phoenix: Double aaaaaargh!
- Even better, since it's only a 95% penalty, if you have no penalties by the time you do this then you can accuse the Judge of carrying the murder weapon and then keep going with the trial as if nothing happened.
Judge: Now hurry up and fix things!
- Accusing Franziska of hiding the weapon yields a similar result where she once again beats the absolute shit out of Phoenix.
- And to top it all off: the correct answer, underneath Acro's wheelchair, is the only other option, which turns these two scenes into hilarious Schmuck Bait at least, or Press X to Die at worst.
Ending Fatigue: The last trial eventually boils down to just stalling for time until a Big Damn Heroes moment happens. Canonically!
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Ini Miney, or, in actuality, Mimi Miney, despite being a single case character, is quite the fan-favourite for being rather lovable and a very complex and tragic killer.
- Adrian Andrews has a lot of love due to her sympathetic and relatable backstory, her determination to find justice for her deceased mentor while protecting her secret from being exposed by the media for her sake, all while formulating a plan to bring down Juan Corrida and Matt Engarde for their crimes, and how the game sets up a successful Player Punch in testing to see how far they're willing to go to save Maya, even if it means an innocent party takes the fall for a crime the player knows they're not guilty of. It's probably because she was so beloved that led to her (semi-)triumphant return in Trials and Tribulations.
Harsher in Hindsight:
- Phoenix's nightmare of being disbarred by a giant, demonic judge becomes much less funny in Apollo Justice after he really does get disbarred. It even comes across Harsher in Hindsight in this game, simply from knowing that while it's just a bizarrely out-of-place dream in the first case, his having the dream again during the game's final case shows just how far he's crossed the Despair Event Horizon.
- Maya, despite being cleared of all charges, laments at the end of Case 2-2 that every time something like this happens, she loses someone close to her, since her aunt got locked up for her role in the murder plot. In the next game, she loses her long-lost mother.
- Gumshoe's testimony in case 2-1, once you realize that he's had a secret crush on Maggey Byrde for a long time. The real punch is when he's asked to describe Maggey and Dustin's relationship — how they were close to getting married and how Maggey even came to Gumshoe for advice on what to get her boyfriend for his birthday. That hangdog expression of his isn't just because he's testifying against a subordinate.
- In case 2-2, the court is convinced for a while that Mimi Miney's spirit, channeled through Maya Fey, is guilty of murder. Phoenix says in court that he finds the idea of a vengeful, murderous spirit hard to believe. In this case, he's right, but in the next game, a vengeful, murderous spirit does try to kill someone, and said vengeful spirit is Phoenix's ex-girlfriend. Sort of.
- Case 2-4 is harsh enough on its own, especially with Phoenix realizing midway through the trial that his client actually is guilty, but The Great Ace Attorney makes things come off as even harsher in retrospect. In Case 3 of the first game, Ryunosuke unwittingly defends a guilty client, and actually gets said client acquitted. To make matters worse, Ryunosuke only realizes the client's guilt after the trial ends, and is punished by being banned from British courts for six months until he persuades Stronghart to reinstate him.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Ini mistaking Pearl for Phoenix's daughter and him expressing incredulity that she thinks he's old enough to have a daughter becomes much funnier when he actually adopts a daughter almost exactly Pearl's age in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.
- Examining the notice board in the cafeteria early in Case 2-3 has Maya making an off-handed remark about how they should put up a note addressed "To the Murderer". As it turns out, this actually happened, and it's what indirectly led to the murder in that case.
- In case 2-1 Phoenix points out that you can't possibly not know the name of someone you're dating. In Trials and Tribulations, we learn that Phoenix himself didn't know the name of his first girlfriend for years.
- In case 2-4, on the subject of the Love Triangle in Nickel Samurai, Phoenix says, "Sounds like an unusual situation. Like Romeo and Juliet... times three." Ten years later,^note a game would be released featuring a Show Within a Show that's... er... something like that.
- Case 2-3 features the defendant Maximillion Galactica, a purple-themed flamboyant performer with a lot of ham and a bit of an ego who's actually a country bumpkin, which he tries to keep hidden. Years later, we get Mettaton EX, a flamboyant purple-themed performer who is also a Large Ham with a massive ego and secretly a country bumpkin (even if he doesn't act the part), as he was originally from the Blook family snail farm in Waterfall with his cousin, Napstablook, so he's from at least the underground's version of the countryside.
- Franziska von Karma quotes Machiavelli in saying "The ends justify the means" early during "Farewell My Turnabout", as she follows her father's example in doing everything she can to preserve a perfect win record as a prosecutor. In Dual Destinies, a defense attorney (Aristotle Means) has just as much faith in this quote, to the extent that it may as well be his own catchphrase.
- Also related to Dual Destinies, pressing one of Acro's statements (about whether he had any problems with the victim), will cause Franziska to ask whether Phoenix has doubts about the emotions underneath that statement. Athena Cykes would have probably found an issue with that.
It Was His Sled:
- Thanks to becoming the series' Breakout Character it's common knowledge that Edgeworth is still alive and well despite the majority of the game implying he committed suicide.
- That Matt Engarde, the defendant of 2-4, is actually the true villain and an utter scumbag is easily one of the most iconic twists in the series.
Jerkass Woobie: The culprit of case 2, Mimi Miney. She was constantly overworked by Dr. Grey, she has the blood of 14 patients on her hands that she killed by accident due to that, THEN she lost her sister in a car accident and was burned beyond recognition in said accident. And she lost her expensive car, too! That's an experience you rather don't want to have. Still, she maintains a Never My Fault attitude about the accident and incident at the clinic (much like Grey himself, ironically), and is never shown to be at all conflicted or remorseful about working with Morgan Fey to frame the innocent Maya for the murder, which would've gotten her sent to prison or even executed if she'd been convicted.
Love to Hate: Matt Engarde. While he is a complete douchebag who drove a woman to suicide and screwed over everyone else in the story, and only gets his comeuppance because he didn't know when to stop doing that, he is popular as an entertaining villain, whose impact arguably changed the series for the better, as his guilt triggers the development of Phoenix and culiminates that of Edgeworth. And taking the bastard down is extremely satisfying.
Most Wonderful Sound: Franziska's whip becomes this in case 4, due to it signaling her perfectly timed Big Damn Heroes moment.
Narm:
- Acro's Manly Tears moment at the end of 2-3 is supposed to be taken seriously. It ended looking like cartoony Ocular Gushers instead, with the animation and everything.
- In case 4, after The Reveal of Matt Engarde's true colors, he reveals his previously-unseen massive facial scar, pulls out A Glass of Chianti in the middle of the Detention Room, gains an ominous new Leitmotif, and his personality does a complete 180, turning him into an Obviously Evil figure that makes the silliest of Bond Villain parodies seem toned down. How jarring the change is from his previous Brainless Beauty Nice Guy persona can easily come across as absolutely ridiculous.
- "The miracle never happen." That one simple typo in the American DS release turned the bad ending of "Farewell, My Turnabout" into a mockery.
- Mia gives a brief speech about The Power of Friendship in "Farewell, My Turnabout" - which feels bizarrely childish and out of place in an extremely dark and tense case.
Narm Charm: At the same time, Mia's speech to Phoenix during 2-4 is also delivered at just about his lowest and most stressful possible point as he is knowingly working for a despicable human being who has Maya held hostage by a moving assassin, and is a reminder that he still has people like her, Gumshoe, and even Edgeworth beside him, trying in their own ways to ensure Maya's safety and that justice can be brought. One might find that it still resonates even if you think it has an awkward delivery, and even that could be justified by the context and circumstances surrounding it.
Player Punch:
- The first act of "Reunion, and Turnabout". Particuarly Maya's Angst at the detention center.
- Pretty much all of the last case is intense, starting right at the beginning when Maya gets kidnapped to blackmail Nick, and just getting worse when you find out your client is guilty as sin, and you're forced to pin the blame on an innocent person just to stall for time.
Replacement Scrappy: In this game, Franziska has very little character beyond being a cartoonish Jerkass with thinly-sketched motives, and the only time she gets any real character development isn't until after the end credits, making her less compelling than either Edgeworth or Manfred. The next game and the two Investigations entries would flesh her out much more, although her portrayal here is still a big factor in this being seen as one of the weakest entries in the series.
The Scrappy:
- While the characters introduced in "Turnabout Big Top" are all divisive to varying extents, Ben Woodman (and by extension, his puppet Trilo) is almost universally disliked. This is due to his one-note and irritating gimmick, his attraction to Regina that's even creepier than Max's (due to Ben being nearly twice her age), and him being almost completely superfluous to both the murder and the cases' overall story.
- Richard Wellington is seen as one of the worst culprits in the series, due to being an unremarkable and charmless Hate Sink who isn't challenging or evil enough to gain any satisfaction from defeating. He's essentially a rehash of Frank Sahwit from the first game, but whereas Sahwit was intentionally portrayed as being completely out of his depth and played his Starter Villain role well, Wellington is actually supposed to come off as an organised career criminal with connections. The only thing not universally disliked about him is his breakdown, but even that does little to save him.
- "Director Hotti", the "doctor" at Hotti Clinic. He's creepily obsessed with his female patients, even going so far as to steal Ini's photo and hit on a wounded Franziska. He doesn't even serve much of a purpose beyond giving you the photo in 2-2, which could have been fulfilled by a random nurse. When he returns in the final case he's just there to piss off Franziska. No one seemed to mind when he was Adapted Out of the anime.
Scrappy Mechanic:
- Assigning penalties for pressing the wrong statement. Even when pressing isn't necessary to advance the case, it can be a useful way to get a hint as to which part of a witness's testimony contains a contradiction, so it's rather frustrating to lose part of your life gauge just for asking questions.
- The overhaul to the penalty system isn't a well-liked change. In theory, changing it from a five-strike system to a lifebar should allow for more flexible penalties and make major accusations or other choices carry a lot more weight. However, this game also introduces another mechanic: The lifebar does not automatically restore between trial days; it can only be refilled by completing Psyche-Lock sequences, and it's only a 50% refill on top of that. Furthermore, the lifebar can decrease during Psyche-Lock sequences, and running out aborts the sequence and makes the player try again with only a sliver of health, meaning that unless another Psyche-Lock sequence shows up and the player avoids draining out there, they will go into the next trial day with only a half bar. This means players end up Save Scumming more than usual. The in-universe explanation for the lifebar is that it represents the "Judge's patience", but it doesn't make sense that Phoenix messing up what's basically a glorified lie detector session the day before outside of the courtroom causes the Judge to be more irritable than usual. The "only restore health mid-case with Psyche-Lock sequences" was retained for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations to the ire of many players, and went away entirely for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney onwards, with subsequent days of each case restoring the lifebar and the Psyche-Lock mechanic being removed except in the MASON System of Case 4, and even then it would not influence the state of the lifebar for the second trial day, on account of being a simulation of investigations that took place years ago. When between-trial-session Psyche-Lock sequences returned in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, they were modified to no longer affect the lifebar at all.
Sequel Difficulty Spike: Justice for All is a lot more punishing than its predecessor. While failing Psyche-Locks cannot lead to a Game Over, they can potentially cause Nick to be at less than full health before even entering the courtroom and leave him at a disadvantage. Even if you get through the locks unscathed, the game is also very prone to handing out huge penalties, giving penalties for pressing the wrong statement (rare in the previous game), and even has the most potential instant game over states in the entire series.
Sophomore Slump: While Justice For All is certainly not considered a bad game, a lot of fans regard it as the weakest in the original trilogy. Reasons why include: having only four cases versus the other two games' five (although Rise From The Ashes was only added in the DS re-release of the original, meaning the GBA version only had four cases), the lack of a strong narrative through line to thread the cases together and causing the story to feel disjointed^note, the hugely divisive third case, and the developers going overboard with the new health system to pump up the difficulty and frequently hit you with gigantic penalties with no warning whatsoever. Notably, Justice For All has more "instant game over" scenarios than every other game in the series combined. Other, minor annoyances for some are Pearl getting all the focus over Maya, who barely features in the game and has no real character development, the substandard English localization in the initial DS release, and Franziska being a much less interesting adversary than her predecessor Edgeworth or the succeeding Godot.
Squick:
- Pearl gives us this gem when encouraging Phoenix to go talk to Franziska:
  "Let's go let her whip us, Mr. Nick!"
- "Director Hotti" implies that he'd like to "research" the crime scene photos if you show them to him in 2-2. Even worse when you remember that it's Ini/Mimi in the pictures, and he'd been going on about how she was a favorite patient... To make this worse, in the Japanese version when you present Pearl's profile to him, he shows great interest into her while doing his creepy grabby animation, on top of his dialogue (the original script is highlighted in red, the rest are rewrites when translating the scene to English). Keep in mind that Pearl at this point in the series is eight years old!
Take That, Scrappy!: For the portion of fans who dislike Franziska for her seemingly constant and unpunished Jerkass moments, Shelly de Killer shooting her in the shoulder, preventing her from prosecuting for the remainder of the game, and causing her to be replaced by the more levelheaded Edgeworth can come across as refreshing.
That One Level:
- "Turnabout Big Top" is full of cross-examinations that dole out hefty punishments, and very little connection to the Fey plotline and Edgeworth's return. Moe's cross-examination in particular is a real pain in the ass, since one wrong press will get you penalized, and culminates with his last testimony, in which any pressing will cause you to instantly lose. While the game at least has the Judge try to warn you, he does so in such a vague manner that you might not even notice it at all, or think he's just talking a standard 20% penalty (which you could get for needlessly pressing back in 1-4) instead of a 100% penalty. Furthermore, on the second trial day, you have to make a huge leap of logic and figure out that Russell Berry's cape got attached to the Max bust, seemingly ignoring physics, expecting you to somehow remember Moe's testimony from the first day (as it isn't brought back via a flashback), and in the end of the trial you have to figure out Acro is hiding the bust under a blanket whose existence is only known via an image that shows up in a cross-examination.
- While "Farewell, My Turnabout" is considered one of the best cases — possibly even the best — in the whole Ace Attorney franchise, the penalties for messing up can be absolutely brutal. In most of the game's other cases penalties are usually the same 20% that you get for presenting incorrect evidence while cross-examining. Here they're more on the order of 30-50%, including two outright instances of a 100% penalty, and one indirect example at the very end of the case where you have to not only pick the correct evidence but also the correct person to present to. Add to that the trial days being very long, the game doing away with health refills during recesses, and the possibility of screwing up the Psyche-Lock segments and going into the trial days with less than 100% health, and you'll feel each and every mistake much harder.
That One Puzzle:
- The dialogue in Mia's Psyche-Lock segment in 2-2 gives you zero hints about exactly what items you're supposed to present. At least one of them is found in circumstances that throw suspicion on Ini Miney more than Morgan, and the segment can only be attempted right before you go into the second trial day, making it very easy to do poorly and go into the trial with an already-depleted health bar.
- The first half of the first day of "Farewell, My Turnabout" has two instances where if you screw up, you get a 100% penalty. The first one gives you no hints about what you have to present, and the second one asks you to point out that the Nickel Samurai's ankles should be visible in Lotta's photo; something that's particularly difficult to spot on a first run.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
- Some fans didn't like how much Ken "Acro" Dingling was played as a Sympathetic Murderer, especially in light of the admission by Word of God that no one in the case, not even the murderer, was meant to be seen as a bad person. For example, Video Games Awesome! and their commenters noted that while he didn't mean to kill the Ringmaster, he did intend to kill the sixteen-year-old Regina, and in vengeance for something that she didn't even realize she'd had any part in. He went this route instead of trying to talk with the Ringmaster about her insensitivity and without even considering how his benefactor and Parental Substitute might react to the murder of his only daughter. The fact that Regina is so distraught and repentant after learning the truth in court just highlights how much easier things could have been for everyone if he'd spoken up.
- To another character from the same case, Maximillion Galatica. He’s supposed to be sympathetic as any other defendant due to being accused of a crime he didn’t commit, as well as being hated by his coworkers for his arrogance despite being well-meaning in his attempts to get them to improve their acts. However, this sympathy tends to be thrown out the window when fans realize the age gap between him and Regina, despite Max wanting to marry her. It doesn’t help that he’s an experienced celebrity while she’s an immature, naive Cloud Cuckoo Lander. Even disregarding the Values Dissonance, he already committed a crime in assaulting Ben over Regina, yet he gets away with it.
- The victim in this case also qualifies to an extent. While he seemed to have loved his daughter and treated his employees well, and everyone in the case speaks highly of him, his neglectful and harmful parenting methods undercut this. The most obvious issue is the fact that he had no problem with Max marrying Regina, despite her being a minor. But even if that can be brushed off as Values Dissonance, his sheltering of Regina and telling her that people who die just become stars in the sky is what caused her to disregard her own role in accidentally putting Bat in a coma, resulting in her attempted murder by Acro. Even Moe admits that Regina wasn’t raised correctly, but still admires the Ringmaster.
Values Dissonance:
- Americans tended to have a certain reaction during "Turnabout Big Top" when they learned that both Maximilian Galactica (21) and Ben Woodman (30) planned on marrying Regina Berry (16), since she's below the American age of consent (18) and the age difference would make the principle squicky. In Japan, however, women are allowed to get married as young as 16 years old with parental approval, and Age Gap Romances are not seen as negatively as they are in the west. Detractors from the case point out in response that they still seem to be taking advantage of a young, naive Cloud Cuckoo Lander, regardless of cultural boundaries.
- While Morgan Fey comes off as an Abusive Parent due to using her own children as pawns, the fact that she'd spank Pearl for playing in the trash is not meant to come off as physically abusive from a Japanese perspective. Spanking has mostly fallen out of favor as a disciplinary measure for children in the West, so many Western players would likely have an even lower view of Morgan in light of her using spanking on Pearl.
- Legal professionals generally take a dim view of the fourth case's attempts to analyze the problem of having to give a proper defense to a client the lawyer knows to be guilty, since rather than engage with the issue it both contrives a situation to absolve Phoenix of all responsibility and doesn't give the situation much nuance around Engarde being the scum of the earth.
Viewer Pronunciation Confusion: Many players pronounce the “psyche” in “Psyche-Locks” as though it rhymes with “like”, not realizing that the term “psyche” (which refers to one’s mind or soul) is meant to end in a long 'e' sound.
Vindicated by History:
- For a long time this was (aside from the final case and even that has its share of detractors) seen as the worst game in the whole Ace Attorney franchise, for lacking the tight storyline of the first or third games, or the novelty factor of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney or the first Ace Attorney Investigations game. Since then, opinions toward it have warmed considerably, to the point where it's actually now considered one of the better games in the series — the other two entries in the original trilogy are probably the only ones universally regarded as being superior — only really let down by a poor third case and Franziska being a rather divisive adversary. The lack of an overarching storyline is also considered much less of a problem than it once was, allowing for the game to focus on developing the main characters, and standing in contrast to the 3DS-era games, which are commonly accused of falling victim to Arc Fatigue. Even the game's Sequel Difficulty Spike is looked on more favorably when compared to some of the newer entries, which have been criticized for being too easy.
- The game's English localisation was initially compared unfavorably to that of the first, with Capcom being accused of cheaping out by giving the job to Janet Hsu (then a Capcom USA employee whose only prior translation work had been on a couple of the Mega Man Battle Network games) rather than the first game's Alexander O. Smith (an industry veteran with many high-profile games under his belt) as well as the resulting translation being obviously rough around the edges and seen as overly literal in places. Nowadays, and especially with subsequent re-releases that cleared up the errors made in the original DS release, the localisation is seen as Truer to the Text of the Japanese original, as well as lacking the overly flippant writing and heavy-handed pop culture references of the first game's translation, both of which are widely agreed by fans to have aged poorly.

YMMV / Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All

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