Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth - MBTI Types

Preface

The following is an MBTI analysis on Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth, all personally typed using the cognitive functions. I don’t claim perfect accuracy, but I researched very extensively and analysed through various type perspectives, so these conclusions are made to the best of my ability. Fictional characters are generally harder to type than real people, because many different interpretations arise from their action. While the themes and narratives of this game are based on characterisation, Ace Attorney was not created around the characters per se. Writers like Takumi stated that they even tried to make Wright a “flat” malleable-protag character, so there is an ambiguous depth of motives in a majority of these characters. Therefore, you could probably make solid cases for these two being another type, and this alternate perspective is valuable because I may have missed certain details that another type could cover. My typing is done through determining each character’s “development path,” determining which major changes in their story are aligned with which function. This has lead me to conclude that Wright and Edgeworth’s character arcs are about “two idealists with differing approaches towards those very same ideals.” As another point, given that I’ve only played the Trilogy and writers will interpret characters differently for each game, this analysis will be typing these characters using evidence and arcs from the three games only. I may use some extra information from the Investigations/Gyakuten Kenji duo as well. With that said, massive post below the cut.

Contents

Phoenix Wright

Miles Edgeworth

Wright

INFP

Not the typing most would expect from him, but the evidence seems to lead towards this way. I had taken into account narrative elements alongside his character development to come to this conclusion.

Character Path

Wright from the get-go is a highly idealistic, principled individual, bordering on romanticism with a snarky twist. A lot of his motivations primarily come from deep feelings of what he wants for himself and others. For instance, the class trial left an impression due to it teaching him about what it means to be truly alone, so whenever he sees someone in a similar position (the defendants), Wright takes it upon himself to alleviate their suffering. The personal impact of this memory on him is further substantiated by the fact that both Larry and Edgeworth do not remember it well. He becomes a lawyer to save Edgeworth, whom he sees as being in great pain in spite of his cold, “Demon Prosecutor” persona. Wright is surprisingly protective of these deep emotions and motivations, as he does not reveal much about what he feels to others. Neither Larry nor Maya, his two closest friends at the time, know about his reasons for becoming an attorney until they confront him about it. These traits point to his introverted tendencies, namely an Fi dominant.

In order to give his emotions an outlet of expression, he relies on his extroverted functions to carry through. These are generally easier to spot in others, which can explain why he appears to be an extroverted person at first glance.

Much of his critical periods of character growth are related to learning how to utilise these extroverted functions better, due to overindulgence in his introverted ones. After getting Edgeworth acquitted on two murder cases, one of which is the DL-6 incident that scarred Edgeworth for much of his career. Wright expects him to know what to do next, because he “saved” him from his pain and suffering, but contrary to his expectations, Edgeworth leaves the country instead. This leads to some self-centred Fi indulgence, because Wright is not considering the external factors that would cause Edgeworth to act this way. Instead, he shuts Edgeworth out of his mind and continues to follow his ideal of “saving others,” getting aggressive whenever others, including his closest friends, try to pry into why he is avoiding the topic of Edgeworth. Wright decides that Edgeworth betrayed him and refuses to let go of his anger in spite of nearly a year passing, which is using Si to indulge in past feelings instead of utilising Ne to view a different perspective beyond his own Fi reaction. It is identifying these Fi-created moral beliefs that gives Wright strength to defend and save people in court, but when Edgeworth becomes the exception to being “saved,” instead of reconsidering the situation (Ne), he further indulges in his Fi emotions, making him prone to looping into Si. This eventually puts Wright in a position where he faces a confounding situation where saving one person will result in the unjustified death of another, leaving him feeling powerless and unable to help those closest to him (inferior Te fears). Thankfully, Edgeworth returns to a much dismayed Wright, and teaches him about the new insights he learned throughout the past year. Wright resists at first, exclaiming that Edgeworth “should never have returned from the dead” and continues on his way. However, after noticing how much Edgeworth is helping him, Wright reconsiders his perspective and comes to find how much he trusts Edgeworth to find the truth. This effectively enables Wright to understand about what is important to him as a lawyer, and how he can more effectively achieve his goals of saving others (clarify Fi and inferior Te development). Afterwards, T&T does not do as much to cognitively expand on Wright’s character, but it does absolve him of his past demons that he has struggled to find closure over.

Function Notes

NOTE: These function notes simply provides evidence and a more detailed description of the cognitive functions used by each character. They are not necessary for reading, since the basic information explained above will be redundant. [Move on to view Edgeworth’s MBTI Type.]

Though it may not appear to be, Wright is very much an introvert. INFPs are highly idealistic types who stick with their feelings and moral values to make decisions. As such, his use of introverted feeling (Fi) as a dominant function is a giveaway. He states that he became an attorney for two reasons: to stick up for people who have no one on their side and to save Edgeworth.

“ Edgeworth believed in me, and I believe in him. He’s in pain… And no one’s on his side. I’m the only one who knows the real Edgeworth. I’m the only one who can help him”. -1-4

His motivations comes primarily from within and are self-defined. He decides that he is the only one who believes in Edgeworth, and that is why he should save him. As for his overall attitude towards clients, he states, “I’ve been there before.” By using his own experience with feeling alone, he takes his client’s situation as his own suffering. Therefore, the reason Wright wants to defend people stems from Fi empathy, taking the feeling in as his own first, and then making a decision. Also take note how he processes the memory of the class trial. Fi is sensitive to experiences and emotions they feel, and will try to give a personal value to them so they are better able to clarify their morals and self-understanding.

It is also seen how he likes to reflect on cases deeply moving to him, and oftentimes it results in him coming to some sort of personal judgement about humanity or himself.

Another example on how Wright makes decisions based on how he feels is during the Engarde case in 2-4. As a lawyer, he is supposed to present his case using hard evidence and logical conclusions, so Fi has little room to be used in court, and he relies on his extroverted functions to pull him through, making him seem like one. Yet, when everything is at a loss, and he has to choose between Adrian and Maya’s lives, there is no need for evidence to make that decision.

In this situation, there aren’t external limitations upon his decision-making process, so Wright must decide based on how he would truly act. In this case, Wright shows a preference for deciding based on what’s in his heart than what is in his mind. His use of Fi as his dominant function is a very clearly shown based on the way he makes decisions.

There are two significant moments shown in the game in which Wright overindulges his Fi and fails to make any progress as a result. The most raw example is when he is the defendant to Mia’s second case and learns that his beloved Dahlia is the true culprit. Regardless of the facts, Wright is quick to protect her from this accusation. He does not care when others are put up with his irrationality; it’s only his own personal belief in her that drives him to action. This results in unhealthy exhibition of his inferior Te, in which he continues to stubbornly insist that “his Dollie” would never act in that way. He lies to make the court to act in line with his beliefs, obviously to no avail. When decisive evidence is presented to incriminate her, Wright goes as far as to hit Mia, his own attorney, and eating it to keep Dahlia from being convicted, regressing into aggression, an unhealthy use of Te assertiveness to propel an illogical “fact” (forcing Fi feelings of right/wrong as the facts). Fortunately, Mia is able to find another way to convict Dahlia, and this leaves Wright feeling heartbroken upon learning the true cruel side of “Dollie.” In spite of this, Wright does not give up on his moral value of believing in the best of others. He decides that the Dahlia on the stand is not the same as the Dollie he knows, and is able to escape an Te grip by further focusing his efforts completely to studying harder so he can save Edgeworth, whom he clearly states he believes in, thus getting back in touch with his Fi values. Unfortunately, he does not come away from the experience unscathed. It’s noted that Wright develops a more cynical, pessimistic attitude afterwards and will use sardonic remarks to express this.

What hurts Wright even more, however, is his internal struggle throughout JFA after Edgeworth “chooses death.” After spending much of his college life studying law in order to “save Edgeworth” and freeing him from his fear that he killed his own father, the confused, lost prosecutor disappears instead. This makes Wright feel “betrayed,” when in actuality what happened is Edgeworth not meeting his ideal image of him. As an Fi dominant, Wright wants to believe in the best of others, and so he expects Edgeworth to understand what he must do to move on from his “Demon Prosecutor” past. Part of this is because he hates betrayal thanks to Dahlia Hawthorne, but it is also true that Wright deeply feels that his role as an attorney is to save people who are suffering, which he outright states in 2-4. Because he couldn’t “save” Edgeworth, the dominant Fi feels violated and this brings out his darker inferior Te side. Once again, Wright lashes out against his closest friends whenever they bring up Edgeworth, and he coldly declares “all prosecutors are heartless,” which is an Fi-Te misalignment accepting (unhealthy) feelings as a fact. The inferior function in all types is bought out in times of great stress and turmoil, and during Wright’s lowest points, it is inferior Te that turns him uncharacteristically aggressive and out-of-touch with his sensitive nature.

In order to prevent himself from being too self-indulgent, what Wright needs is to step out and reimagine other possibilities and ideas, which is the role of auxiliary Ne. He utilises this in court well when a situation looks bleak until he reassesses the perspective the court has been using and “turns it around.” However, it is notable that outside of court, where it isn’t a pressing requirement to use extroverted functions, Wright can be somewhat reserved in judgement and action. Oftentimes, when he must take a client who isn’t personally related to him, he is reluctant to do so until Maya pushes him to interview them.

His most defining moment of aux. Ne development is when Edgeworth returns in JFA. He finds Wright being unable to find closure over his feelings of hurt and betrayal, alongside struggling in a moral dilemma of saving Maya or preventing an innocent from being charged. Edgeworth inspires Wright once again, offering help in the search and teaching him about the ultimate “truth” he learned while away. So, for the first time in his life, Wright forgives a person who committed a major wrong against him. He takes Edgeworth’s words to heart and uses this new idea to become more sure about his morals and principles as a lawyer.

His lowest points in his career have been addressed and explained through unhealthy use of Si, but tertiary Si is also of great help in keeping Wright in balance. He can be somewhat scattered, but while investigating for his cases, Wright has a decent eye for details and fact recall, sometimes comparing items or words of others to things he has heard before. This function in INFPs is used to keep them grounded on reality as well. Because this type can sometimes be prone to “daydreaming” or spacing out thanks to Ne. Tertiary Si allows for this type to figure out which ideas are appropriate now and which ones may not be in line with their wants. One can observe this type of behaviour in Wright when taking note of the comments he makes regarding his office. He often talks about wanting to clean up to keep things neat, occasionally scolds himself internally for getting distracted, and oftentimes acts quite self-aware and proper while dealing with clients. However, tertiary Si has an obsessive undercurrent because it does not have the same level of stability as it would in a dominant or auxiliary position. Wright is known to be fussy when it comes to cleaning the toilet, continuously scrubbing it until it “sparkles” even when Maya repeatedly tells him it’s fine, and in case 2-1, is said to meticulously rub at a cell phone because of a few dirt specks on the keys. On the other hand, he can be quite careless and overlook certain details.

Edgeworth

INTJ

He’s an archetypal INTJ. From his main struggle to small character quirks, each is reflective of an INTJ overcoming his internal conflict to ultimately become an inspiring figure, dedicated to his self-defined truth.

Character Path

He’s rational, sure and proud of his path in life. He makes sure to colour his actions with meaning and settles for nothing short of his ideals. He’s in pain, despising all criminals to make up for his own crime. He never fails to get a guilty verdict but at the cost of his moral integrity. Edgeworth is quite the complex character, the supposed “true protagonist” of Ace Attorney. Due to his traumatic experience as a child, it’s important to consider the fact that Edgeworth may have PTSD, which can make it harder to distinguish between cognitive behaviour or those affected by his psychological trauma. However, at his very core, Edgeworth is a person who aspires to achieve large ambitions in order to give his life a sense of driven purpose. In fact, it is so much so that Edgeworth has a tendency to build and define his entire identity around these ideals of who he wants to be. For an Ni-dom, this is how they best function if they can see the positive impact these ideals have on the world, but it can also lead to their most self-destructive behaviour as well.

Early on, Edgeworth expressly desires a “perfect record,” ruthless in his tactics, but after 1-4, it is revealed that his techniques are a product of not only his upbringing with von Karma, but also an attempt to shut off his emotions after his trauma. Although blocking off emotional pain is a common defense-mechanism after facing traumatic experiences, with tertiary Fi, these attempts are amplified since auxiliary Te is more likely to perceive emotions as a weakness. Edgeworth sees his emotions as “unnecessary,” yet his actions are ironically driven by feelings of insecurity and doubt. These point to Ni-Fi loop-prone tendencies, in which he attempts to justify his current path with poor moral reasoning (nobody is truly innocent, so I must get everybody “guilty”) instead of utilising his Te to correct faulty thinking. At the same time, Edgeworth also uses auxiliary Te to compensate for a lack of a meaningful Ni purpose. Under von Karma’s teachings, Edgeworth does decide to become the perfect prosecutor who puts every criminal to justice (at the expense of innocent lives), building a perfect record and seeing himself as a person who fights crime, but he is simply getting recorded results that mean nothing in the end. When he loses to Wright in 1-3, the reality of this fact starts to weigh down on him, bringing out inferior Se conflict. Everything Edgeworth has done revolves around this vision of himself being a “perfect prosecutor,” but when it becomes evident that this image is meaningless, he has no idea how to proceed in his life. Feeling “unease and uncertainty,” Edgeworth attempts to gain some semblance of control through Se, angrily telling Wright to stay away from him, deluding himself into sticking with his path, so he doesn’t have to face his problems. During 1-4, after being arrested for murder, Edgeworth eventually acknowledges and communicates his feelings of pain to Wright but has no idea how to proceed after getting an acquittal. He starts to get in touch with his tertiary Fi, recognising his actions are not in-line with his morals, but he uses it defensively as well, insisting that everyone is turning against him when he’s just trying to help instead of taking action to correct them (in 1-5).

This leads to Se grip-like behaviours, in which he becomes uncharacteristically reactionary and explosive, only for these impulses to result in failure later on. For instance, Edgeworth had a “temper tantrum” when Meekins attempted to deliver some files and decided those files were irrelevant to the case without any basis (but they turned out to be a key point and resulted in Edgeworth getting reprimanded by Chief Gant). His lower functions acting up is the result of Edgeworth lacking proper dominant Ni functioning. All of his identity was built around false standards of success, ignoring the fact that they are neither realistic nor purposeful.

Eventually, Edgeworth realises something is missing from this delusional conception, causing his carefully-built identity to fall apart. He then tells Wright that something in him has died. Unable to find a clear path for him to pursue due to feeling like he lost everything, inferior Se demands action in order to regain control over his life. Therefore, Edgeworth decides to “choose death” in order to rediscover the true meaning of his life and career. During this time of isolation, he comes to realise “in a moment of clarity” that it is the trust Wright has in his clients that allows for him to determine the truth. Edgeworth concludes that, in order to uncover the truth, there needs to be a trust in a partner or team, and draws the connection to his and Wright’s working relationship. Thus, Edgeworth’s “Great Revival” begins. He rebuilds his sense of identity and makes it his sole mission in life to uncover the truth, no matter how difficult it may be, thus getting in touch with dom Ni.

In JFA, his return home results in meeting with a broken, distraught Wright. Edgeworth realises what Wright needs is to understand the nature of trust, and where he must place that trust in order to draw out the best outcome for this high-stakes case. Throughout this case, Edgeworth’s dominant Ni shines through in the way he is perceptive about how events will take place and what Wright needs to understand in order to become a better lawyer. His newfound idealism motivates him to uncover the truth so that he may build a better world and achieve tangible progress (refining Te-Fi values in order to effectively and realistically actualise Ni visions, satisfying inferior Se needs). Although Edgeworth is sufficiently developed by the end of JFA, T&T shows further evidence of dominant Ni usage. He is quick to identify Iris, Wright, and Maya’s deeply-rooted personal struggles even without clear evidence and immediately knows the best way to resolve those issues.

Function Notes

NOTE: These function notes simply provides evidence and a more detailed description of the cognitive functions used by each character. They are not necessary for reading, since the basic information explained above will be redundant. [Go back to view Wright’s MBTI Type.]



Ni dominants want to lead their lives independently, yet also be guided by a self-conceived overarching “truth” about the world. This truth is found by their passive observation of underlying meaning and patterns in the environment around them. However, because this process is usually unconscious, it can be hard to easily spot Ni at work. In fiction, Ni would translate into a character who is perhaps driven and ambitious towards a fuzzy “vision” of what they seek to achieve, with a penchant for thinking in abstract concepts to predict future outcomes. They look for the big picture of situations and are therefore perceptive in figuring out people and systems alike. With Edgeworth, his “Ni visions” can be observed by how he tends to build up his identity around a single concept. In the first game, he mistakenly identifies himself with the “perfect prosecutor” image, trying to get every defendant convicted no matter the method. When Wright destroys his record, Edgeworth is completely lost. Infamously, he declares that thanks to Wright, he is “saddled with unnecessary feelings… unease and uncertainty” that get in his way. If there is anything that makes or breaks an Ni dominant, it is their level of certainty in their ideas of future developments, supported or thwarted by facing the reality of the situation. Edgeworth has essentially built up his entire sense of self around the concept of a “perfect win record,” and uses poor moral reasoning to justify it (nobody is truly innocent, I hate criminals after DL-6, this is my own punishment), resisting correcting a faulty belief by using tertiary Fi to stick with his unrealistic worldview, only to become less confident in himself.

When Edgeworth returns in JFA, it is his turn to guide Wright away from his faulty thinking. He does so rather cryptically, speaking with words that convey a refreshing idealism yet not giving away exactly what he is thinking.

“The answer to that… is something you will find out on your own. I have faith you will see it before the verdict is read tomorrow. But if you can’t, then you will be powerless to change the ending of this story.” -2-4

He is talking about the truth he found, of course, and it is one that he sticks with valiantly. One could even see how he has a bit of a “blind faith” towards pursuing that perfect truth.

“But we will always eventually reach that single truth. This I promise you.” -2-4

So, ultimately, Edgeworth comes back from a journey of self-discovery and reveals that he has found a refined, more honourable outlook for himself. It is one that he proudly, confidently rebuilds his self-concept around, seeing himself as a person who will carry with him the dedication to reveal the ultimate truth. No matter his role- be it a prosecutor, a stand-in defence attorney, or an investigator- this ultimate vision of what he is truly aiming for is unchanging.

Another thing this type does is look at things for underlying meaning, extracting symbols from the ordinary. Edgeworth has a tendency to talk in more abstract metaphors and is quite proud of his profound insights, which points to an Ni style of thinking.

There have also been times when the player has had access to some of Edgeworth’s hobbies out of work, namely his chessboard and the Steel Samurai. It’s interesting to take note of what makes him so interested in such things. For the chessboard, he has one custom-made to represent his courtroom battles with Wright, and when talking to witnesses, he tends to visualise his conversations as a chess match, symbolically representing his strategic style in and out of court. As for the Steel Samurai, Edgeworth gleans meaningful messages out of the pop-culture program, and it’s implied that the show feeds his interests in the concept of justice vs. injustice.

Furthermore, in case 3-5, when Edgeworth defends Iris in Wright’s stead, Franziska points out that he “looks like Phoenix Wright when he is cornered.” He then thinks:



Because right now, I am Phoenix Wright, and I am indeed cornered…!

Note that Edgeworth does not say “I am like Phoenix Wright” or that he must be like Phoenix Wright, he is saying he is Phoenix Wright. The name “Phoenix Wright” has, in Edgeworth’s eyes, transcended the man himself and becomes a symbol of everything a defence attorney must stand for. Ni users have this tendency to abstractly view physical things, adding a layer of symbolism to it so that their perceptions are less about the object itself and more about its underlying meaning.

Also, in spite of his social awkwardness, he is quite perceptive at reading other’s underlying motives. He reads Wright very well, but is also able to pinpoint the motives of people he just met, such as Iris. In 3-5, although he does not know Maya well due to his absence, Edgeworth is the first person to realise the real reason why she is so cheerful after all the tragedy that happened to her. Not even Wright could figure it out until Edgeworth gave him a hint in the right direction.

So, with an eye for observing underlying meanings and a focus on personal visions, Edgeworth is dominantly an Ni user.



Yet, Edgeworth has his lowest points, in which he isn’t able to find a meaningful vision to pursue. When this happens in the first game, the inferior function Se can be seen making way to the surface. When Wright defeats Edgeworth in court, his self-concept of being the “perfect prosecutor” is taken away from him. After this point, Edgeworth’s actions gradually become more “extreme,” getting angry and even explosive, especially towards Wright (shouting at him to leave in 1-4, deciding he can’t become a prosecutor due to not knowing what it means for him anymore in 1-5), which points to inferior Se rising in place of broken Ni. What Ni dominants need to feel confident in themselves is assurance that their actions and ideals are meaningful to them, so they tend to have very lofty goals that gives them self-fulfilment. If that goal is unrealistic, it gets to a point where being unable to get closer to realising that goal results in feeling a lack of purpose in what they want. In Edgeworth’s case, that road to the perfect prosecutor is blocked off, so he feels as if he lost everything. This eventually leads to him realising just how devoid of inner-purpose he is, so he “chooses death.”

“That’s why I left the prosecutor’s office. I felt that I couldn’t stand in a court of law until I knew what a prosecutor really was. And now, Wright… it’s your turn.” -2-4

Nothing scares an Ni-dominant more than not knowing the best decisions to strive for, so at their worst, they will revert to taking extreme action in order to find it. Sometimes, this can also result in misinterpreting the reality of a situation, looking for a future outcome or underlying meaning when there is none. Edgeworth fixates on one such outcome after the trial in 1-5, and in an attempt to prevent his supposed premonition from happening, he resorts to doing something to prevent it due to inferior Se, unintentionally giving Wright grief in the process.

In his lowest points in life, Edgeworth fails to find a meaningful direction for himself. This in turn leads to the extreme, highly reactive behaviour perpetuated by inferior Se. This is only resolved once he finds prevailing truth for himself, one which he continuously strives for no matter his role.

However idealistically Edgeworth may believe in his truth, he is not exactly the classic romantic in his pursuit of it. Thanks to his upbringing in the von Karma household, Edgeworth has had many an opportune to finely hone his use of auxiliary Te. It helps bring him utilise the objective facts of a situation, to work within a structured system, and efficiently set goals. Sometimes, however, overuse of auxiliary Te can result in Edgeworth having an absolutist or adopting a “the ends justifies the means” mindset.

In this case, tertiary Fi steps in to help the strict Te see the moral complexities and shades of grey. Edgeworth can be surprisingly empathetic at times, by offering to cover other’s expenses or providing valuable advice. As a matter of fact, a majority of Edgeworth’s character development during the first game focuses primarily on tertiary Fi. Because he is haunted by the traumas of the DL-6 incident, and also the fact that he was raised under the strict, “perfect prosecutor” teachings of Manfred von Karma, Edgeworth turns to reaping Te accomplishments to make up for his inability to find a more personal life purpose. This makes him appear cold, ruthless, and rubs Wright (a feeling type by contrast) the wrong way, but in actuality these attempts to build a “perfect record” are caused by emotional turmoil and a hatred of criminals (lower Fi). When Edgeworth decides to aid the defence by keeping Vasquez on the stand in 1-3, it is at this point that Edgeworth realises he trusts in Wright’s judgement, so he can’t let an innocent person get declared guilty when the true culprit is right there. This way, Edgeworth is getting in touch with his sense of morality which overuse of Te tries to override. In 1-4 and 1-5, Edgeworth gradually exposes his more emotionally warm side and rediscovers his moral beliefs that he’s attempted to bury.

An Ni-Fi loop dynamic oftentimes consists of a “self-centred paranoia.” They observe things from a “this impacts me me me” perspective, while lower Fi makes them feel insecure, so they often assume others are out to get them for no apparent reason.

So you’ve come to laugh at the fallen attorney? Go on, laugh! Laugh! Why aren’t you laughing?! -1-4

~

It seems everything in this case is designed to cast doubt on me. -1-5

As a result of this self-centred focus, Ni-Fi in a loop also tends to blame themselves for a negative situation out of their control, shifting the impact of said situation solely to their own. This may then lead inferior Se to act up. They feel completely convinced that their view is the only correct outcome, and this can result in extreme or reckless action to fix it.

Concluding Notes

So, I have gone over the main character developmental arcs and explained each major portion using MBTI theory. With Wright, he ultimately wants to follow his core values and emotions, being dominant Fi. What he needs to learn to do is have a good handle on the details of each case to defend his client (tert. Si), but also learn to adopt and utilise new perspectives (aux. Ne) in order to best accomplish his goals (inf. Te). Edgeworth, the tragic character, loses his father in the DL-6 incident, and as a result is taken into a household that teaches him faulty concepts of success, in which his dominant Ni deludes him into feeding his aux. Te desires. However, this is not who he truly is, and by becoming aware of his moral fallacies (tert. Fi), he rediscovers a more meaningful life purpose and identity for himself in order to truly make real progress in the world (inf. Se).

