Prelude - Case Countdown for the main series. (Not including PWAAvsPL or Turnabout Reclaimed)

So here is the reason why I wanted to make this blog. Someone on reddit rated 20 cases from 1-3 and DD, but I felt like the whole series needed to be tackled and given my “fair” opinion. I’m going to go over story/plot, characters and music themes and so on. I’ll try to give as deep of an explanation as why I believe that the mentioned case should be there and so on. You probably understand by now. And No PWAAvsPL due to the crossover. (and I haven’t actually played it yet.) Same for Reclaimed since it’s a DLC and I don’t have money for it…

So thanks to “FuzzyYakz” from Reddit and please comment your opinions! And SPOILERS, You probably know that already. And if you haven’t played the games yet, why are you even here? Go finish them!

Hope you guys enjoy the read!





SPOILER





33 – At the last spot we have The Lost Turnabout from Justice For All. First of all, the whole plot thing is not total shit, but the way it opens a second game, really throws me for a loop. If it actually was, I don’t know, Apollo’s first case, we would have no idea and then start to realize more and more if we didn’t know that Phoenix is an Rookie Ace Attorney. But seeing as I just came from Rises from the Ashes, The case really felt like a gimmick to me.

Also there is a thing I love in the series, and that is the music. I’m in no way shitting on Toccata in D, but why on Earth is that the thing you’re going to play as a first case? I get the idea that Wellingtons cellphone calls and wakes Phoenix up, but Ace Attorney is known for it’s amazing music and arrangement pieces. And Justice for All is no exception. So why no theme for Wellington so we could relate to him? Other first cases did so, so why not this? Also Maggye, Maggei, MaGAY or how do you spell it again? FIRST CONTRADICTION. It was pretty clear on who did it, but my mainpoint on criticism is the case and how it’s built. The first time playing it I had a really hard time getting around the trail due to the glove and such which really makes the case end up at the last spot. As for Justice for All, it’s actually a pretty interesting arch, as the whole game focus on identity and such. But that doesn’t cover up that this case really is a mess told from a doozy Phoenix that doesn’t even know his name.







32 – And now, let’s reach for the Skyes! It’s Turnabout Airlines! So this case also has a interesting thing going for it, but it really doesn’t add to many suspects so the twist isn’t really that big to be honest. And there isn’t too much to take aim at. The case isn’t good, but it’s not bad either. Also Cammy is kinda interesting I guess? I don’t know guys, there isn’t really that much that stands out here and it’s just a off brand case that tells a little of the story coming along. But my god, Cammy’s theme is fucking hilarious. I seriously had to stop playing just listen to it. It’s so silly and idiotic it’s actually an amazing theme that fit her. At first I thought this was the eccentric theme, but no. She even has it for herself! Also LaBlanc is kinda annoying if we are talking about characters. I mean, his theme is called Time is Money, and he constantly brags that he is in danger of getting killed or something. I really just tried to forget this bland case…







31 – And here we have the 2nd weakest part from investigations, and that is Turnabout Visitor. Edgeworth’s first case returning from vacation takes a turn for the worst. And I mean that literally. As first case standards go, this doesn’t really ease you in. It’s just happens. Logic and everything. But I won’t really shit on this too much, because it’s a rather short case that does actually build on the foundation on the story in the over arching plot. Jacques Portsman is probably the worst pun in the entire series but my god, his sprites is actually pretty fantastic. And the case makes more and more sense through the game when you meet both Jacques and Jim in the Kidnapped Turnabout.

But I guess the theme here is Maggey Byrde (spelled it Wright this time), because during the case she becomes “ a love interest” for Gumshoe. This was also present during 2-1 and 3-3, but here it gets pretty annoying because Gumshoe becomes a whimp after he was first suspected. As soon as Maggey is suspected Gumshoe loses it and tries to confess. This is just stupid to me, because he knows Edgeworth is going to fix shit and so on. But one certain case redeems this case, and it’s mainly the characters that makes this case so boring and stupid. And also bloody writing… Really guys? This had never been done before…







30 – So on the 30th spot, we got the scapegoat of Ace Attorneys main trilogy. Here it is, the low point of the series. Or should I say Big Top?

Big Top turnabout is pretty lackluster when it comes to villain and it makes the whole case feel like a miss in my eyes. The story isn’t half bad, what really makes the case suck is the “eccentric” cast. The story is actually pretty wrenching and to see someone lose it after his brother dies and he is handicapped it really makes the story turn pretty dark. All because of a prank involving pepper. Isn’t that shit actually depressing?

But then we have characters like Ben & Trillo. Holy Shit, this is up there with worst witness in the whole series. His personality trait is that he is a ventriloquist. And only the puppet can talk sense. Or some shit. And then we have Regina, which in this case is so oblivious that it really makes you wonder. No offense against Regina, because I’ll come back to this personality trait later on where it’s used much better. But back on track, Max is a pretty bold guy, Acro is also a pretty lackluster guy and the only thing that’s sad is the ending of the trail when he starts to cry. But there is one more thing…

In west Clownadelphia, born and raised on the playground was where I spent most of my days!

Fucking Moe. Fuck you guys, Moe is probably the best thing about the case even though it’s maybe a little over exaggerated. But Moe is a pretty eccentric, and the mood switching from HUEHEHUE to “I Didn’t see any fucking roses Yo!” actually was pretty entertaining. But that doesn’t save the case, as it’s filled with lies and such, often to the point that it drags out. This is the main complaint when facing Ben and Trillo as he doesn’t just lie, he changes things so ridiculously that it loses it’s value to cross examine him… But yeah, now we got that out of the way, I’ll give Big Top some credit to the theme as such I did with 2-1. It seems like the game had 2 huge ideas and then they had one idea that didn’t really work but fit the bill. As for these huge ideas, you won’t be seeing those for a while.







29 - And now, we bring the WORST GAME IN THE WHOLE SERIES, FUCKING ACE ATTORNEY EVERYTHING. No but seriously, Dual Destinies was actually a pretty good AA game, it just chewed over a little to much. So let’s start off with a summary of this case. We have a murder, and then we have the great Yatagarasu… Wait… Three Highschool students that won’t tell who did what. Yeah seriously, Turnabout Acadamy was pretty dumb, and I would have but Big Top over it if it wasn’t for Robin Newman and Means. Klavier makes a horrible return… But some cases like this have on giant flaw. We know the defendant isn’t guilty, because we already played a case where we are defending her again. But Dual Destinies did one thing right. They made Juniper Woods a good Maggey Byrde. For once she doesn’t come off as so pessimistic, but rather is just unlucky and get caught up in everything. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Hugh O'Connor is a Ben and Trillo characters, meaning he is pretty terrible to cross examine. And to get past it towards your goal, you have the girls make him cry beforehand. Then you can proceed with the cross-examination. The other things Dual Destinies does right here is Aristotles Means. And by that I mean “The End justifies The "Aristotles” Means". And then I realized he was a Kristoph kinda characters. And my god, even though this case is cringe worthy, the villain is actually kinda scary with the Mohawk and some what “creepy grin”. But story wise, this case is pretty far fetched and stupid, even though it’s such an easy plot to comprehend at the end. But the interaction with Bobby in the window was actually pretty funny. But let’s move a step back…







28 - Now before I say more, Dual Destinies was a good AA game, but it happens to be a “Justice for All” kinda game. It shines in some places and then it’s lacking hard in other places. This is what happened in the case. We have “spirit mediums” commits a murder… Wait, a Yokai? What? Why?

The Monstrous Turnabout is a rare breed. And by characters we have Tenma, which is a Yokai and then he is the pretty pissed of Damian that changes a little bit towards Jinxie? Jinxie is also a joke. She isn’t funny, and the Apollo bullying gets old pretty quickly. The forehead joke was a little used by Klavier in Apollo Justice, but here it’s every time. Also Athena is a psychopath sometimes with is actually a little bit funny. And then we have the villain… I don’t mind spoiling it because we already get the memo from the intro. But Florent L'Belle isn’t really that funny or memorable. He just is… A villain… I guess? But One thing… ONE THING makes this case absolute shit.

Phineas Filch. He is a horrible witness, along the lines with Ben & Trillo due to his “nature” of stealing everything. It was funny at first when you meet Bobby who lost his shoes. But now I’ve been impaling this case more then the whole third case. Why is this higher?

Bobby, Athena and Blackquill. Blackquill has an “Aura” (Hehe, get it!?) to him that really made him more scary then L'Belle. And when the prosecutor is more hyped then the villain you are having an issue. But this case is tolerable when it comes to the main cast. And “Go Forth! Great Fox!” was the a Steel Samurai kinda thing that was fun to listen to. But most of this case to is also forgettable. And I’ll come back to why the intro ruined the whole case.







27 - Let’s introduce a new game people. We already shat apon AAI, JFA and Dual Destinies so let’s lets bring the final guy in. GOTCHA! Apollo Justice is really know as the black sheep of the franchise but it isn’t that bad. But it isn’t really that good either. But I had trouble to think about what to put here. But I ended up picking the not so “Great Fox” case. Turnabout Corner tries to ride the MaskDeMasque train with an insane pattern that it makes the thing chaotic. A 3 way incident with a panty snatcher? Hahaha… Ha… Heh… Oh No….

Turnabout Corner smells. Like dirty magic panties… So people rip on a lot of characters from Apollo Justice but Wocky and the whole Kitakis, Weasly and the Detective… Hnnnnnnnnnnngh… I mean seriously. They had so much. They even introduced Ema and kept the story going but they had to give her something. I KNOW. Let her “MUNCH MUNCH” and so on. And Wocky. He is also one of those you hate on the stand. Seems to be a major complaint by me now but the case is so convoluted and so hard to get the grip on that it’s easy to see why this falls so flat in so many eyes. But the twist is actually pretty good when you realize the scheme. Too bad most people don’t get there and when you get there, Apollo already thinks everything through and you just watch. I know sometimes just watching is good, but here they really let the opportunity slip. Had I’ve been able to just figure out things on the stand, this case would Turnabout Trump (hehe) Case 3 from the same game.







26 - So there is a game that’s worse then Justice for All it seems like. Sorry Investigations, but you already half done and we are only on 26th place. Kidnapped Turnabout gets this spot because it acts as the main protagonists 2nd trail. If that makes sense. CUE CHARACTERS!

We get Kay Faraday as a sidekick, we get Lang and Shih-na and we even get Oldback Bag. Wait. Oldbag back, there we go. Yeah, fighting Lance and Mr.Amano was a little fun, this case also really doesn’t stand out. I guess Investigations often have that problem. Here we get a little story plot that isn’t murder to begin with. it’s actually “ransom” set up to fool money from his dad and Deacon is killed because of his blackmail as an inmate and such. Then afterwards Mr.Amano pays to get his son out or not guilty? I kinda lost track here. This is also a confusing thing. I don’t know, the best thing about this is probably the music. And Meekins is kinda annoying? And same goes for Ema? As said, I don’t really know how to put this. The Great Thief segment in this case is cool though… That’s probably the good redeeming factor for this case…







25 - Oh Apollo… I guess I have a little Guilty Love for your game…

So Turnabout Serenade really did something amazing. It made me hate two songs from the soundtrack. TWO! That’s quite impressive when I almost love every track in the franchise. Guilty Love passes because I heard the contradiction early one but the Guitar Serenade… I hate it so much. This is a Rises to the Ashes kinda case, only much worse. Here we have a new gimmick introduced. We can now switch around the sound of your song? And rewind the video to see stuff? The best thing about this case is the twist, which really came as a suprise to me at first. The way Lamiroir just turned the case around because you switched the facts around was actually kinda unexpected. Maybe a little too unexpected. But yeah, I guess there isn’t too much to talk about here either. The case was good, but a little dragged out with segments that really grinds you.







24 - And now, Dual Destinies joins Investigations. Turnabout Countdown is actually a decent 1st case, but there is a problem making this plummet to the 24th place. Ted Tonate is pretty interesting and Candice Arme makes a great pun duo in my eyes. It acts more as a plot arch then a case to me. As first case standards go it’s pretty cool and the bomb threat is actually a nice touch to newer players when they might actually not know if they have to press on. But how many times didn’t we have bloody writing? Same as Turnabout Visitor, it’s not original at all. And that’s why. It doesn’t have any sorta originality to it except the bomb threat. But even we know for sure that the bomb presented isn’t the real bomb? How? Because courtroom 4 is already devastated… So the twist isn’t really that obvious, but Cand(a)ice. But placing it longer down would be a shame, because it’s a better case then the two following. And that says alot.







23 - Aw shit, now we gotta get this over with. Here we get to the next introducton. Larry Butz. Or Harry Butz? Larry is often introduced in the game and the first case introducing everything is actually a pretty good case. With the Toupee Toss from Mr. Did It and the joke on Larry’s line of girlfriends and so on. This case actually has a little something in my eyes. And that’s the weapon. The twist. I couldn’t understand as a first case why I couldn’t see the contradiction. Until I realized we were in LA. As myself, I’m from Europe and in the Paris Timezone. SO I COULDN’T EVEN. (This isn’t a complaint mind you, it’s just retelling my feelings on the matters.)

But yeah, it’s simple and easy and actually eases you in with big contradictions easy to grip because they outright tell you in a non hint way. Learn from this AA6, because Dual Destinies sure didn’t… They just told you straight off that something is wrong instead of all the other characters acting like nothing unsuspecious and “Thats a little weird” and so on. But this is a first case done Wright. And for opening the whole trilogy and main line, it’s allowed to be a little easy.







22 - And so, we continue ahead. Case 2 from the Original game. Often considering to be worse then Big Top or pretty close to it. But I’m here to defend the case, OBJECTION!

No but seriously, this case have a huge flaw, and that is Mia. Seriously. Mia. Mia the motherfucking ghost that have to save the whole thing. That’s what breaks this case. But for everyone going “Ah shit, it shows us the killer, that is no fun. People are probably to stupid to find it out so we gotta help them.” Absolutely no. Because you know what’s the best part about this case? Mind you, I’ll quote the exact part.

Bellboy : She’s just my type of girl, so it was a disappointment, really.

What were you thinking during the case? You knew who the killer was, but unlike case 1, he wasn’t the one on the stand. And during the court you never even saw anything to him. When the bellboy spills it all clicked. This is 5-2 done right in my eyes, because we don’t learn about Redd White and it’s keeping the slowly reveal great. L'Belle for example just brags in and yeah…

And April May losing it on stand was pretty funny. But the execution on how you encounter him was kinda stupid. He just punches you… But yeah, the issue here is that the case is not beatable and you need Mia twice. Once to pinpoint him and then she makes him confess. But it introduces Maya in a pretty weird fashion and by the time of the trail you actually bonded so much to her. By doing that is really a great treat about this case, because 1-5 didn’t to that with Ema. Same goes for Trucy. She just happens to tag along with Apollo. And call him Polly… Like Maya did with Nick…

But 1-2 is actually decent case, with a broken ending. That’s the main problem with it…







21- Here comes Justice, again! So Turnabout Trump isn’t a bad case, it’s actually pretty good. Mainly because of Kristoph Gavin, you co-counselor that turns out to be a murder psychopath of a man. As a case for story, it builds the main motive and characters for Apollo Justice rather well, but the case makes more sense when you travel back in time during the last case. Also Olga Orly is a pretty bland characters, but that isn’t really a problem. In this case it really compliments things when you have big names such as Kristoph and Phoenix on the line. So by keeping it safe it really shines where it needs. But that’s also where it’s faulty. And I felt a little cheated with Phoenix that uses forged evidence to get Gavin. After what the previous game told us through Von Karma and Edgeworth, it felt a little wrong and unethical…







20 - Oh Investigations 2. Oh man, this game is amazing. But the case that really just doesn’t stick is The Forgotten Turnabout. I merely didn’t think too much of this case, but why is this so high up? One guy saves the entire case .

Blaise Motherfucking Debeste, Sebastian’s father. What an absolute bastard of a man. He spawns the whole time line and creating some of the best cases as of such. But AAI2-4 is all there. Because the mystery with Kay gets pretty confusing and the game still manages to keep it’s wrist tight and pull this through. There aren’t really anything bad with this case, it’s just that so many cases surpass it by just quite in my opinion. We are talking small lines now but I can’t really praise the game to much while I nearly ripped apart other games that are actually good. But the breakdown with Blaise Debeste was amazingly funny and ballsy Edgeworth disbar himself to save Kay with that bitter sweet “I know I’ll make it” feeling. The case is a little sweet, but at this standard it isn’t really an issue, because Edgeworth and Fey connects in another way then love. It’s more about a relationship where they act more like little sister and such. It’s a nice touch, because it pulls it off rather well. And it preps up the next case rather well…







19 - And here comes the last game to be entered here. And that is Turnabout Recipe. All the way up here? Yeah, because of Furio Tigre and how the case takes place. The start really throws you for a loop and is actually pretty funny and well crafted. Unlike characters like Lisa Basil and Glen Elg where they had to go for palindromes because there were no puns left or something. But Victor Kudo was also a pretty pain but at the same time a little funny. And Viola was tolerable.

But Tigre is the show. Riding the Vespa as a storm and then hurting someone he shouldn’t have, it’s really the charade of chaos during the case that makes this so great. He is a personal roller coaster, losing his shit in one moment then the name “Cadaverini” is called out and he becomes more scared then a pussycat. And him looking so maniac like in some sprites with the tongue hanging out and impersonating Phoenix Wright with a cardboard badge is actually pretty funny and creative. There are so many people that try the best to cover up with different shit. But this guy just goes the line with “Fuck you, help me or I’ll fucking lose my shit” and then roars, extremly long. When I first encountered him I had to put down the DS and just laugh. Because it was so obvious. Redd White obvious, but much funnier because everything you uncover seems to be his scheme made by everyone else. And when Glen Elg switches sides after the debt, everything has to be manipulated to his advantage. That’s the main thing why Trials and Tribulations is so great. Because they re-invented the bad guys. Often they are really sly or smart, but Tigre rolls and takes the problems when it happens unlike Kristoph who tries to think ahead all the time. I can go on hours with why Tigre really saves this case, but I’ll just let it slide. And this is the tolerable case with Maggey Byrde. And Jean Armstrong isn’t that bad guys…







18 - And going back to the first game. Here is the steel Samurai! So why is this case so high up? Well, Turnabout Samurai did something unexpected. Or rather, turned the whole case on the head when it was first introduced. Will Powers is suspected for the murder of Jack Hammer. But is that the case? Not at all. We got everything wrong from the start. The location, the weapon and the suspect. And the cast. My god, the cast. You guys can shit on Sal Manella and Cody Hackins but the roaster in this case really compliments each other. Unlike Oldbag in Investigations, here she is just stressing around and occasionally hitting on dear Edgey-Poo with makes the scene even more hilarious. And Dee Vasquez… Holy shit, this is a villain done so extremely well. No motive. No huge emotions. But that’s when you fight her on the stand, and she breaks the pipe. She even uses Sal Manella to her advantage and doesn’t fuck around. And the anger when she know she fucked up. No howling scream like some people, just a simple teeth grinding look that is so amazing. Seriously, I just laughed because it’s like : «Oh fuck, he got me!»

But there is mostly where things stop to be good, because Cody Hackins alone is pretty horrible on the stand, we got Penny Nichols that doesn’t really do much, Sal Manella that is funny in shorts burst (probably because when I’ve watched Arby and the Chief and then reading Sal in the text of Microsoft Sam…), and Oldbag is doing her thing. But this case is actually not as bad as everyone says it out to be, even thought the cast sometimes is a little problematic. But combined, they make a strong 3rd case, which is why it beats out Big Top and Recipe. They have some funny and cool characters like Tigre, but they doesn’t work to well together (Big Top). I mean I laughed pretty hard when Oldbag was chasing Cody and fell. And “Whippersnappers” was actually not that annoying in this case because Oldbag actually felt something instead of being all “Duuuuuh, I Like Edgey-poo, WHIPPERSNAPPERS!”. She actually felt stuff and had a reason to hate you after you tore her apart in court. But yeah, this case actually is pretty good in my eyes.







17 - Talking story wise, a pretty huge revelation is going to drop now. Here we have Turnabout for tomorrow. Sorry guys, but DD’s 5th case wasn’t bad. The words I’m looking for is “improperly paced with too much going on”. To me this case felt so over present of known characters. The best thing is that they kept Edgeworth in a little of the style from AA. Because we never fought a bloody logical Edgeworth in quite a while. But when you are introducing Edgeworth and Pearls, for the love of god why didn’t you put Maya or Gumshoe in again? It just felt so weird to play like half the old cast was dead or something. But for the actually story it’s pretty twisty. A hostage situation is setup to change Blackquill’s guilty verdict and he’s walking one day from death. Everything is uncovered and then Athena is pinpointed as a culprit again. Keep digging and we get the shame of an potential mastermind that was not so great. The Phantom could’ve been so amazing, but they didn’t think shit through. His theme is pretty fucking fantastic and possible one of the best themes in the game, even though I can’t remember any melody line from it. Problem is that we never got to interact with the real Phantom. He was always in another form. And when you were battling “Phoenix” I kinda lost the whole thing. Spirit mediums might be rare and strange, but that at least held you engaged in the game. Here I totally lost the immersion and just ended up presenting shit to get past stuff. But I suggest take lesson from that AA6. Because if you introduce a gimmick, you don’t have to make the villain immune or and opposite of that. And don’t try to make all the cases connect at some point. The only thing that felt OK was the moon rock that was blasted in the courtroom bombing. And why did split this case? I’ll come back to that later, but for now we move on.







16 - Please don’t kill me… But Turnabout Memories isn’t the strongest 1st trail in the series. There. I said it. But this case is actually pretty interesting and building on the foundation from the 2 previous games. But does it make it or fail? It surely does so pretty well. First of all we begin with Phoenix on the stand and learn he isn’t the best witness in the world. Playing as Mia for the first time was quite cool, but we have a characters that really steals the spotlight here. I can say Kristoph is an amazing villain. But Dahlia runs deep. And when she enters with that chilling theme I already sensed something huge and scary about her. Easing you in was the “First Turnabout” job, you haven’t forgotten how to defend and such. But it’s still not impossible and treats you fairly and that is why it beats out so many other cases. Because it’s still a first case, that really builds on the foundation. Even better then AA’s first turnabout and much better then DD and Investigations first trials.







15 - Finishing up one game already is kinda frustrating, but here we have The Cosmic Turnabout. The last case from Dual Destinies is something to behold, but the way this is crafted, it actually surpasses it. Here we have the best characters from Dual Destinies introduced, a man so full of himself that he is the pinnacle of eccentric. Yuri Cosmos is hands down amazing and reinvents the Lotta Hart factor where he covers up everything because he believe he is the best man in the world. And when the best thing? Everyone knows it. Like seriously, Aura Blackquill tells you before the trail that he is just faking shit up to his reputation. And when he enters the court? Theme and everything stops dead when Blackquill is interruppting with : “Everyone already knows how brilliant you are. Even I am trying to hold back my tears at seeing such a great man standing before me. So could you please proceed directly to your important testimony?” And then Yuri Cosmos laughs and brings the best line in the entire game. “I see this fine young lad has a proper appreciation of greatness!” I again had a moment where I had to stop dead in my tracks and just laugh. I cried in laughter because of how rude we all know Blackquill can be, but the director doesn’t even understand it and thinks that Blackquill is praising him. And his theme is possible the best thing about the whole man, and it’s really here where the orchestrated music pieces from Dual Destinies shines. Hands down better then Pursuit and Objection themes, it’s so grand and pompous and really fits the man. And the case is actually pretty interesting as time goes on, the only thing that kinda frustrates me is that Phoenix kinda tells you all the details, like the different numbers on the corridor floor and such. But the case really lead you off, because everything you know from the get go is turning out to be wrong. The switching of the launchpads, the gun shots, who arrived at the scene, who was shot and such. Here we also have a moment were Yuri Cosmos really saves the case. Unlike Tigre that sticks to his guns, Yuri Cosmos is a fragile man, but he has real emotions and even goes as far to stage something to save his members and bring Solomon Starbucks dreams true. And the dispear when you tear him a new one actually gave me a really bad feeling and when he doesn’t wanna talk to you the next time you meet him felt really genuine and I felt bad for him. Because he wasn’t a person that was doing schemes to hide something about him, he just wanted everyone to get the best outcome. And his segway breakdown was pretty hilarious. But that’s really what sets this case up along. Because the story and twist are pretty tight, and Yuri Cosmos seems to be a witness you’ll soon hate, but he is rather not because he is so interesting and changes drastically during the 2 final cases. But he is rather non apparent during 5-5 and the reveal comes to quickly. Here we slowly changes things around and seeing the Edgeworth effect on Blackquill when the witness tells lies and changes on the spot was pretty funny. And also the Apollo is a worthy mention here. Because we see him not saying anything in the intro for the first case, and we learn that his best friend is killed. He does like Edgeworth and leaves because he needs to find out his path in Justice. This is actually done rather slowly and revealed to us in a pace that it feels natural.







14 - And so, we bring out the best first case. Turnabout Target is something to behold. The games starts with an intro worthy of praising. Being quite long, it’s tense yet mysterious with “ We need that man, Miles Edgeworth!” line. As you arrive, the game takes a much more AA approach then AAI did, where Edgeworth have to believe in the people that are accused. This isn’t apparent in AAI, because we already know Byrde and Gumshoe. Here, we have Nicole, a reporter with bear traps on her backpack. And as it turns out, we thought the president was murdered, but instead it was the bodyguard. And what happens? We get a suspect too, that isn’t Nicole. John Doe… Wait a second.

So when De Killer appears, most of his cases becomes gold. Having only 2 cases under his belt, I’ll say that this statement is true. When you start of with an assassin as suspect and pulling it off well, that’s a huge improvement over AAI’s first case that just introduces the basics and then tells the story. While the case turns around we meet Knightly, an obsessed lifeguard that is had enough of his partner Rooke. And his grudge is easy to understand, but so well performed that it seems so likely. With Di-Jun Huang’s statement on wanting to understand Rooke’s death and Knightley’s comeback with : «Rooke This, Rooke That» really make the grudge clear. But he is so sly, and when you finally get him, he counters with switching the guns, giving you the short stick. And the way he portrays himself as superior to Rooke that stopped De Killer really makes this case. Because Knightley kills because he feels threatened. This is already done, but they really nail it on this case. And the we can’t forget Di-Jun Huang. He got an amazing theme song. It’s dark and gritty and sounds like an oppressive march and really compliments Zheng Fa, a country that’s had many tragic incidents. But the president is a strong and hard-boiled man. Most people have a break down, and then change back to their usual. But when you break Huang, and Knightley pushes on, Huang stays as a blob, a fat piece of insignificant no one. And he is afraid of gunshots, whilst pulling the image of the strongest characters in the world. But when he loses it, it felt so funny, yet so tragic. Because he tried to be so cool-headed and the mourning president you see is just as fragile as his abs. The character development here is amazing, and the cast is really the best from any first case. And being so long at it is, it’s really the best intro to any game. But I believe I’ve said enough. Lets move ahead.







13 – Shit, Knightley dies!? Yeah, moving right along to AAI2’s second case, The Imprisoned Turnabout. Here we have an interesting set of characters and possible the derpiest theme for Strange people and Sebastians theme. I can say right off the bat that I had low expectations for this case when I started, but hell if this case doesn’t pull shit through. The murderer is supposed to take place in the detention center, but when we realize that Knightley’s corpse is found in the main prison, we have something new on our hands. We have Roland that is a strange woman that is unnerving and even sets Ray out of play. Also Ray, possible the best sidekick to come as an «opponent». Fitting the role much more then Klavier, because he has threads to Edgeworth and even owns the business after Gregory is killed. But he is such an goof that is interesting to watch. Here they also keep his treat as a flavor, as he wants to hug people when they are greeted, sad and so on. Always is a better word. But this is where Roland takes his offers and makes him really uncomfortable. This is relations done right, because this was really funny. Also we have the grudge against us, because he believe we still are under Von Karma’s law view to get everyone convicted guilty. But the turnabout here is also great, because Ray doesn’t know much of Edgeworth’s past after 2001. So it’s so understandable and the grudge becomes so more justified then other grudges.

And we also get an interesting witness, under the name of Sahwit. What!? Yeah, he makes a Toupee Toss again, and it hasn’t lost it’s charm at all. And we have the boxer Jay Elbird, who has a story on his own trying to escape the prison twice, which ultimately helps us in the investigation. This is a subplot done right. And then we meet a familiar face, we haven’t met. But Edgeworth have. Enters B-055, Sirhan Dogen. The true culprit it seems like, which is Knightley’s chess player. Here we also have a moment of 1-2 and 5-2 were the killer is shown. But this time, it’s not the killer. Anubis didn’t do so, but as you uncover and believe so, it’s turnabout time. This turnabout hard to explain, but it works well, when you don’t realize you’ve made an complete 180 at first. You really have to play this case to understand just how amazing this is.

And I have to mention Sebastian and Courtney, your prosecutor rivals. Courtney usually is your main rival, because Sebastians logic is fragile and quite broken to the point that it is funny. This is one of the best filler cases as it’s progressing the story, with Roland, Dogen and Knigtley. Also Simon Keyes is just watching this whole case, as you ultimately get’s him off the hook for now.







12 - Turnabout Beginnings… Lower your pitchforks please. This is somewhat hard to set words on, but I believe the gameplay and length of this case is very narrow. But for story, this case beats out huge cases when it’s actually supposed to just give us back story. By beating out over half of the cases, you sure are doing something remarkable right. And this case is short. Like under 45 minutes short. I can’t really remember much of playing it because of the story. Your co-counselor Diego Armando loses his shit and Terry, Fawles from the witness stand and dies. I’m pretty sure everyone agrees on this, but this point led me to stop thinking and just see what’s going on. All the games were well thought out but the raw emotion shown from Fawles really is the thing that makes this case so amazing and memorable. As for gameplay, it’s a story driven case. And to see someone so reliable lose it because their only partner is going against him, really drives this case home. And how Dahlia just walks out of the courtroom really puts things in perspective on the whole game and series. Doing that in such a short trial needs deductive work and an amazing written case. This is probably the best case that is so short. And it really compliments the following case.







11 – I’ll just hide now. Rise from the Ashes. The first and probably only case to no feature a turnabout in the title. But my god, does this have a turnabout. Here, there’s also one guy saving the entire case and that is Damon Gant. And we already have the suspect ready, Lana Skye which is the older sister of Ema Skye. As this case is great, I don’t believe it’s pure gold. Marshall was fun but some of the contradictions are far from good and often leads the player to present shit to get further. I ended up with a walkthrough ready, and I rarely do so, because it’s not hard like Trials and Tribulations. It’s just not possible to understand what to present where sometimes. The gimmicks for the DS also felt like it kept the case as a show-off, and when the next game is JFA it felt so stupid. Had they put it at the end of TT it would make sense because Apollo Justice had it going. But the timeline is also sorta fucked up. Maya is gone for some reason, Edgeworth comes back after his case and then leaves again and so on… It’s a cluster in an otherwise awesome timeline, which really grinds me. This case have so many flaws, yet it’s such a good case for some reason. When you uncover more and more the case get’s better and better but it doesn’t change the fact that they should have thought things through here. And I for once have to disagree with you guys, because Marshall isn’t that strong of a characters in my eyes. I felt like he was a gimmick, for western audiences to relate to. I mean he is cool and all, but the eccentric factor goes a little overboard when you look at Starr and Gant. But that is a minor nitpick and doesn’t add of that Marshall is a good characters over all. But the way they make Gant so extremely relatable and yet so twisted was something that really helps this case. He has quirks that make you entertained but can manipulate everyone with that cold ass stare. Seriously, it’s just a tad too long that it’s getting unnerving and that’s the best part. But is this a bad case? Hell no, it’s not even a good case, it’s great. But the minor issues such as immersion, is why it doesn’t make it up to the top 10s.







10 – Now it’s really hard to pick. I mean I had problems from the start putting stuff in order, but now it’s close to impossible. But I’ve decided to put my second favorite filler case here, because it’s not as good as I want it to be. The Lost Turnabout was something that I really didn’t like at first. This is probably due to me starting with Trials and Tribulations before Justice For All. And here we have a case that can really ride on the foundation of other games. Stuff is flashbacked, but most of the time is directly described so great you could have missed the game before and actually don’t know. I mean it didn’t really spoil Adrian thank god. But here we have interesting characters. Let’s start of with the familiar Larry. He makes a great return in this game and it’s great to see him before his huge role that I’ll come over to later in this list. This is also how you introduce a characters again. Unlike Adrian, where there is a little jump and such. But then we got the villians. MaskDeMasque and Luke Atmey. MaskDeMasque or Ron Delite is one of the most interesting characters, because he really goes an extra mile secure money to his wife Desirée, who just shrugs it of that he is a thief for her sake. When you have to maintain everything and believe in what you get, this case gets interesting confusing. And when Ron actually goes like Gumshoe did when Byrde was accused, it felt so great because you actually saw their relationship where they argued and have different views on life. Making the cast so much interesting. And then we have possible the weirdest man on the list. Luke Atmey claims to be an Ace Detective, he just didn’t get his spin off game yet… No, but Luke Atmey is a man to behold. He starts blackmailing Ron to steal stuff from him and eventually ends up in a blackmail triangle much like Tigre experienced. Kane Bullard, Ron’s former boss blackmails Luke Atmey about his blackmailing and ends up dead by murder. To secure his money and not losing his reputation, he secretly tries to pin Ron, and tricks you into believing that he is in fact MaskDeMasque. When the confession is out, you believe that you caught the man, but he just got away. Because now Ron is taken for murder. And you have to turn shit around, because you made this mess. This case is really one of the best in the series, just with how chaotic it is with an cast that doesn’t disappoint.







9 – And here comes Turnabout Reminiscence! Yeah, haven’t seen you in a while Investigations…

Turnabout Reminiscence is something special. We have been teased that the Great Yatagarasu is pulling strings for quite a while, but then we discover that the father of Kay was killed in a double murder, were both the defendant and prosecutor was killed and both being suspects of being the great Yatagarasu. Edgeworth steps in, and we don’t even get a proper introduction to Von Karma that uses you as an apprentice. But do we need so? No, because we know what he was and what he did, so there is no reason for it. That is probably one of the great things from this case, because you see old Edgeworth again, someone that doesn’t match at all to the one you are playing as. Plus points here, because we realize how much he changed over the years. But enough of that, we uncover that Gumshoe isn’t the murderer and that there was forged evidence to push the timestamps of the murder further away from the actual killing. And we meet Tyrell Badd, a man so experienced that he calls you a child that isn’t supposed to play around in the courthouse. He also changes quite a bit, and joins Edgeworth when he finds out it’s the defense attorney that killed Byrne and Mack. She is Calisto Yew, someone that also despise you because of Von Karma and believe that you are totally unworthy (hehe) of being the main prosecutor. And we even get a rebuttal from the Judge, which was pretty interesting. But this gets the higher spot from Beginnings because of the length and gameplay aspect. This feels so much better even though it’s a defeat for us, as Yew gets away.







8 – And now, another grand case to enter is Turnabout Succession. Now here we have the grand case of Apollo Justice. And damn if it’s not great. First of all, I thought the intro was going to make this as gimmicky as Rise from the Ashes, but man this is probably the best case to introduce something new of an mechanic. The time travel was done so extremely well, only problem is that sometimes it’s a little easy to get lost and remember where to go. But unlike Rises from the Ashes, this case make it’s easy to understand where you are going, without revealing what’s going on to quickly. And the suicide of Magnifi really makes the gritty theme of Apollo Justice shine. Because this case is horrible gritty. And it doesn’t hide it from being so. We have Kristoph in his final form, and we have Vera that is a wreck because of his father. And Drew is a strange man, and this is also where the time travel helps us. We understand more of Drew and why his behavior is so interesting. After all, he sketches 3 pictures from the Apollo cases because he «loves» Wright in some sense after what happened. And then we have the Gramarye. All 4 of them. And at first, it seems like they are something weird and not to significant to the story, but the way you unravel it through Phoenix is amazing. I won’t actually spoil this, because I was really shocked. And when they don’t pay you off, it makes the twist even better. Here, they knew how to keep it interesting. Too bad most people lost it during case 2.

But with everything going on, the sore thumb about this case is the same as Turnabout Trump. I felt cheated to know Phoenix Wright is planning shit ut to get Kristoph in jail and further make his mistake cleared up as a faulty mistake. I mean, this game is gritty, but why did they call it Apollo Justice? They could have called it «Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Featuring The new Apollo Justice» in th way they portray this. It feels so unprepared and scared when they don’t really wanna bet all this. In a way it works, but I really wished they stuck to their guns with Apollo Justice. That’s probably why don’t get a second game from Apollo Justice. Because we never really had a first one in my opinion. But make no mistake, play this game and this case. Because this is possible one of the best in the series, and they way it portrays everything is something else. If it wasn’t for some of the issues I already presented, it could beat out several more cases and been in the top 3. But unfortunately that’s not the case…







7 – Lets bring Lady Justice in again. Like Apollo Justice, JFA had some bad moments, but there a quite many good ones. Reunion and Turnabout is one of those. Probably he grittiest opening in the whole trilogy, this takes aim with a more moral dilemma. After the intro that really turns the fun factor around we meet Turner Grey. The short period we have him alive, he turns out to be a rather peculiar asshole with a personality that’s really something you don’t want around. He needs you to join into Kurain because Maya is going to channel Mimi, Turner Grey’s subordinate at the Grey Surgical Clinic. He wants a confession from Mimi that she was the one responsible for the incident that killed 14 people. But here is the twist. Because Mimi isn’t dead, so Maya can’t channel her. Why? Because she was ended up as Ini, her sister. How? Turner Grey made a car crash by drugging them, were Ini was killed. And Mimi just survived and had to undergo facial surgery, ending up mixing her to Ini to give her a new start. Holy shit, this is convoluted, but so well told. Here we really see amazing writing, because everything is done so extremely well. And the twist is horrifying to say the least.

And here we get probably most living case. Because all the cases from before had a bad guy that was really clear. This is the first case that shows the revenge part from someone that ruined the life of someone. Is Mimi doing something wrong? Of course she is, but after Grey blamed her, killed her sister and nearly her in a car accident and then want’s to blame everything on her so he get more patients, can you say that it’s she in the wrong doing? This is possible why Justice for All is so strong. Because looking at JFA, it’s the weakest in the bunch when it comes to branching storyline. But AA and TT can go to bed when it comes to themes. TT is more of a story driven game, and AA has some themes but also heavily focus on story. But you really gotta deliver Justice in this game, even if you don’t want to. And that’s why this game is so fantastic. And when we are talking of which is the best in the series, I can’t say because of this reason. Talking originality this is probably one of the most original games there is. And just to say when it comes to building cases from the ground, this one did it best. No matter what TT prepared, this game lingered it long before it was ever going to happen. And what Morgan Fey did in this trail was cruel, but it made her personality perfectly clear, that she is something to fear. And I’ll come around to this later on. But when people say JFA is a game with horrible cases, I believe they stopped before this case.







6 – And here comes the baddiest of them all, Turnabout Goodbyes. Now we are really getting tight in. This case is amazing. I don’t believe I have much to mention here, but I’ll try to get everything out there. First of all, we have Edgeworth that is suspected for murder of Robert Hammond. Gumshoe tries to prep you up and save Edgeworth and you start digging. Then you meet Larry again and Lotta, who are the eccentric cast. And Lotta is a witness that isn’t really dependent at all, and proves worthy for us during Von Karma’s case. Oh, I forgot to mention Von Karma. He haven’t lost a case. In 40 years. Which is never. Do I need to say more?

Von Karma is debatable a jerk, only beaten by Blaise. But Von Karma strives to be the best. And he doesn’t win cases for the prosecution or for the sake of court, he just fucking hate everyone. He just want to be number 0001. Like his credit card pin. And he wants to put his apprentice guilty. Miles Edgeworth seems to be doomed if you don’t step in. Maya also helps, leaving more for Gumshoe to explain and giving Edgeworth a more filling back story. And when Maya and Larry chats about Edgeworth, Phoenix doesn’t say anything. This is immersion, because we get to unravel the story of Miles through the case. And we happens to get Gourdy as a problem, until Larry debunks it to be an air tank. (Poor Lotta.)

But the cast doesn’t stop there. We have Yanni Yogi, and old man that is the happy owner of a pasta shop. Oh wait. A boat rental shop. And his parrot is named Polly. Because of his dead wife. This is also the famous scene where Phoenix cross-examine the parrot and ends up finding out that Von Karma retrained it to not respond to anything related to the DL-6. Oh, the DL6 incident. I forgot to tell you there too. It’s only the case from 15 years ago that killed Gregory Edgeworth. As you unravel more and more the case gets better and better and I felt a sting in my heart when Yanni Yogi confesses to court about killing Hammond. Seeing the pain Von Karma made during his years really perfects this case. Von Karma lives from pure revenge. He killed Gregory Edgeworth to erase the man that set a penalty onto his record. And then he takes Miles under his wing to train him to be a fierce prosecutor like Von Karma. This case builds so many cases and relationships that it’s quite a feat to be the first. The only thing that is a little problematic is the Von Karma Redd White moment. He actually tases you so he can steal your evidence. But you prove him to have given Yogi the instructions. Oh I also forgot. Yogi is an old baliff, the subject of the killings for Gregory. He was pronounced insane after oxygen shortage in the elevator where the murder took place. And he lives a life where he is found innocent because he is insane. His wife commits suicide and leaves him to be. And he kills the Attorney that did this to him, Robert Hammond.All to Von Karma’s plan. This subplot here is pretty fucked up, yet it’s so real and unnerving. Like JFA did with 2-2, this case really makes the matter in your hands stand. It feels a little easier here though, because you are trying to get Von Karma, the man behind the strings. But Yanni Yogi lost everything, to save Von Karma’s record.

And when you reveal that he killed Edgeworth and his breakdown comes around, it didn’t feel funny. It felt damn satisfying and creepy. Because you just made the truth clear. A man that suffered a penalty, killed another man to make his career seem better. And he took vacation and didn’t get his bullet removed, just to get clear from the murder. And you end up proving that Miles shot him from the elevator, finally ending Edgeworth’s nightmares. And you learn of Misty Fey, the leader of the Kurain channeling. And that she was found out to be a fraud because Von Karma couldn’t be seen due to Gregory being passed out and such. And this cases ties so much together. The whole first game leads up to this, and it doesn’t disappoint at all. It ties up the whole case except for one thing.







5 – Did you think Von Karma was an ass? Then you haven’t met Simon Keyes. Yeah, I’m putting The Grand Turnabout here. Calm down people. We are in that stretch where we are talking super small details. Grand Turnabout got everything. Themes and characters that seem so alive. We have two sets of kidnappings and we have possible a better turnabout then ever. Starting of with characters, we have John Marsh, a little kid actor playing in the new Moozilla movie by Global Studios. It’s discovered that the president of Zheng Fa is killed. Having no clear alibi, people suspect Marsh early on, even if it’s just a 13 year old boy we are talking about. He is kidnapped and Courtney suspends the trail because she believe they kidnapped Marsh to stop Roland’s trail. Turns out she is the adoptive mother and we are getting some more back story. Are people related to the case? Certainly, because Huang turns out to be Marsh’s father. But the Huang we knew is dead. Wait. We knew? Yeah. We are talking body double shit here. End we are taken back in the style of AA to investigate the SS-5 incident, where a photographer was killed. Same for the real Huang, but it was thought as a kidnapping. And then we understand that there is more going on. Because the SS-5 incident happens to include Debeste, and then we have Sebastian Debeste being kidnapped because they mistook him Marsh. And where does he end? In his own garage, because Blaise order it out. He experienced much trauma and became a prosecutor to get his fathers approval. 1 point of theme. Marsh also kidnapped as stated and Courtney suspends and believes that Blaise took Marsh. And then we find out that the case from before is related, because we were bugged by the real killer on the Yatagarasu badge. This is were it gets interesting, because we start to realize that the main antagonist for the game is related to all the cases. And he subsequently was the killer all along. Thanks to Roland finishing of Knightley, he didn’t have to interfere and we made his name clear. If you played AAI2 -2 you now by now who the villain is. And the realization is stunning, because it makes so much sense. Those cryptic hints from case to case, we get the ultimate wrap and a showdown worthy of the number 5 spot on this list. At this point I wish I could include this at the number 1 spot, but I can’t really do that. But a short memo about Keyes. He is a perfect mix of Kristoph and Engarde. He is circumspection and manipulates like Gavin. And his behavior is similar to Engarde, when he totally loses his cool under the rebuttal. It eventually leads to his downfall when everything tuns on him, similar to Engarde’s case. But let’s move on now.







4 -And so we conclude yet another game, but here you really have to hear me out. After I started writing this and took over this case I realized that I’ve had a grudge with this case because of a minor nitpick. So here we go. Turnabout Ablaze. Holy shit, this case is a something. I’ll start from the beginning here. We enter the embassy to Allebahst and Babahl, where we get to know that the countries are going to possibly reunite to Cohdopia. But enter the Yatagarasu and two people are killed on the spot. And then we uncover that half the embassy on fire and shit is all around wrong. And we now know that The real Yatagarasu is Byrne Faraday, because Calisto Yew is posing as it. And you work around the embassies and discover the weak old man that is the Allebahstian ambassador and Palaeno who is the Babahlian ambassador. And when Kay is suspected of murdershit’s gets interesting, because you don’t get investigations rights to the embassies because they have different rules, leaving it up to Lang and Shih-Na because they are from the Interpol. And then we start to unravel key figures. Manny Coachen that is the counterfeit printer of the Babahlian ink, something worth a lot of money. This lead to the discovery of the story arch in this game. The smuggling ring that Von Karma is on because of Interpol. We then learn of the real mysteries of the Yatagarasu Key, with both emblems leading to the Cohdopian years. And the key leads to a safe, where they find papers leading to the deduction of Coachen as the head. And then we meet Larry and Oldbag again and we finally deduce the old oak tree to be something of much more importance. Enter the theme, the Man that surpasses the Law. Alba, rises up and becomes a strong opponent to bring down. But this is the minor nitpick I had earlier. Alba is tough, often making the game come to a halt before you understand the contradiction. And you’ll seriously need everyone to get him into a corner. And it drags on way too long. But then I remembered the reveals they drop here. And then I understood that I was being to harsh on this case.

So major spoilers from here on out. We start to question Shih-Na and how the Yatagarasu got away and eventually leading to Kay getting framed. And then it happens. Shih-na loses it into a laughing sprite we all remember from before. And seeing it side by side, both sprites laughing that uncontrollable laugh, and every characters remembering it. And the best part? The music. Not the theme for Calisto, but confess the truth. The song that is a direct parallel to the great Thief, Yatagarasu. But she doesn’t give in, and we drag her out slowly until she finally loses it. And then in the heat, she threatens Kay and ask us : Do you know why the Yatagarasu have three legs? And then we get another reveal, possible the best one in the game. We get sent back to the second KG-8 incident where Badd again tells us why the Yatagarasu is 3 steps ahead. First, it knows the location. Second, how to disarm the security and we never got the third reason in the flashback… but then someone takes over. Because we deduced that Faraday and Yew were the Yatagarasu. And then we get the final statement, because the Yatagarasu never leaves behind any evidence. Then we hear the loading of a gun and we see Yew holding Kay hostage. Then it pans around to reveal the last leg. Tyrell Badd, the great detective that told you about the Yatagarasu years prior. And then we have the chilling moment where we don’t know if Shih-Na or Badd shot, wounding either Shih-Na or killing Kay. But everything is good, because ballsy Lang enters and gets shot in the foot. And we are at the end, putting Yew as the killer. But Yew is a crafty person, and has motives that are strong and tied to the ring. And she greets you farewell with one final hint. She didn’t kill anyone. And then Badd also bids us farewell after giving back the files from the first and revealing everything about Shih-Na and the great Yatagarasu. And we start the grand fight. This case is so amazing, even after the failures from the 2 first cases. I can go on and on, but people that doesn’t like AAI never understood this case in my eyes. It’s possible one of the best in the series, even if they dragged it a little too long. But that is not something I’ll allow to drag this case down. I inserted it at around spot number 15, but as I wrote this, I knew I was doing something wrong. This is a long case, and the best of the game. And for flacking it on the long explanations is something that really makes it shine compared to Turnabout For Tomorrow where everything happens and we never get any verification because of why. So I’ll give this case some peace, because it really deserves way more praise.







3 – Hohoho, Now we are in some serious trouble. The next on the list also closes yet another game. And here we have the reason why I’ll be the victim in the next Ace Attorney game. Farewell, my friends. And Turnabout. OH SHIT!

Now now, calm the fuck down. This case isn’t number 2!? No, as I said we are talking minor stuff here. But I tried to replay this, and realized that we might have golden it a little too much. But is this case bad? No for fuck sake, there is a reason why it’s number 3. This case barely beats Ablaze because of some minor issues with pacing there, but this is actually pretty amazing. And let’s start of with the recurring characters. We get Global Studios Will Powers and Wendy Oldbag making a pretty strong return. Unlike in Investigations third case… And then we have the new cast with Adrian and Engarde leading the case. And the way you uncover Corrida’s murder it throws in something new. Your sidekick get’s kidnapped by someone that wants you to acquit Engarde for Corrida’s murder. No problem right? Then we are on Adrian’s tail and trying to break her in court with the help of the returning Edgeworth. Seriously, it’s great and all because I got kinda annoyed with Franziska to be honest. But the case takes a while to get around to and we even get Lotta into shit again. And Adrian is about to break when we realize that we are in the wrong. Enter Engarde. While talking to him in the detention center he acts way of guard with seems weird. But is his name something? Of course, because the Engarde we meet is detached and in a showbiz persona. He then tells us to meet him, and breaks all the Psyche-locks. Is this important? Of course, because Psyche-locks are secrets, covered up with lies. Phoenix asks Engarde earlier if he killed Corrida and got no psyche-locks?

This is a mechanic gimmick done correct. Because Engarde is immune to this by that question, much like The Phantom is to the mood matrix. Why? He didn’t kill anyone. He just hired a hitman and had him take Maya so he would be saved by us. When this hit the shelves, you got a moral dilemma like Reunion and Turnabout. Because you have to acquit Engarde, who is guilty to save Maya. But then you have to go fourth and get Adrian convicted. As the title of the game implies, you really gotta deliver Justice for All, but that means losing Maya. And Pearls doesn’t seem to happy about that. And while we are at it, Adrian is flipping a card all around and Edgeworth ask where she got it. Then she confesses about that and Edgeworth loses it. We have no clue, but it turns out that it’s the deed of an assassin, called Shelly De Killer. A feared assassin that have top priority to his clients like you have. But as you continue to unravel the case it’s gets more and more frustrating. You have to push Adrian to the edge in order to get stuff underway. Here we also have Gumshoe saving the day. He doesn’t let anyone else know and start the investigation on finding De Killer. And you soon discover that Engarde’s cat leads you straight to him. But he is always one step ahead and already gone when you come back. And we get some interference with Maya so we can relate to the place.

This is also a reveal done right. Because we know how it looks, so when we find out it’s Engarde’s mansion we have all the hate for him. And then we discover the golden snitch. Engarde is secretly taping the incident in order to blackmail De Killer later on. But this proves faulty when De Killer is testifying in court over a radio. As De Killer is betrayed, he claims to kill all opposing enemies that try to play unfair game. And Matt Engarde is one of those. Having given him this information, he releases Maya and you can finally kill Engarde’s image and reputation. But this case is so great because of Engarde. Engarde really is a Von Karma reincarnated. He kills Corrida to retrieve a suicide note from his former lover, Inpax. Why? Because she said that he was a douche. And this helps him for what? Keeping his image strong. Holy shit, have you ever heard of someone this egocentric? He nearly puts Von Karma to shame after what he did. Because Von Karma at least did it at his own risk. Engarde is a selfish prick that doesn’t even want to get his hands dirty. He just calls in De Killer and THEN HE BLACKMAILS HIM! What the fuck, How!? How do you get the balls to do that!? But I’ve gone on this for long enough. We have to get moving to the next spot on the list.







2 – So who could possible beat out 2-4? I have a pretty strong fascination of repeating stories. Themes going across the game. More back story to previous cases and thing that happened. This is why I like 2-4 and 1-4 so much. But is there a game where this is more apparent? Take a look at Simon Keyes. He is arrogant and believes that he is the ultimate man with no real concerns for other people. He uses a cat as armrest and does what ever he wants. What a great villain. And then we have to call back to the DL-6 incident. A case that is sealed but ultimately gets reopened just before the statue of limitations expire. And then look at Quercus Alba. A man so powerful law enforcement can’t do much without the help of Interpol and Palaeno. Why do I bring up this? Because on the number two spot we have the best filler case in the series to date. The Inherited Turnabout.

So how do I put this? The Inherited Turnabout is having so much of everything. First of all, we have a Turnabout Succession moment, only without backtracking and such. This is a point already, because this is a filler case with final case gimmicks used. And it’s are possible the best use in the series. And then we have the case with most hype behind it. The case directly starts the DL-6 incident leading to several plot points and character development. All because of this one case. The IS-7 incident. This is a gem that you do not wanna fuck up. And they didn’t at all. The managed to save the hype here make this gem something totally amazing. That is not easy, and not something you suspect them in doing under a filler case. But we open with Piece of Cake, a show with hosts Jeffrey Master and Katherine Hall. The introduction is rather cherish. But then we understand that’s someone is watching it on a TV. And then Ray Shields enter with a monologue that is actually pretty sad. And Iwadare sure did an amazing job here, because the motif used here really drives this intro home. We see Gregory and Ray on a picture together from 2000, where both were still alive and young. And we meet up with Ray there and get a flashback straight away to the battle between Gregory and Manfred Von Karma. Names that are by now burned into our soul. And straight away we are taken back to Christmas of 2000. In the detention center we meet Gregory. And we see a tall figure of pride, with a black afro, our defendant Jeff Master. He breaks out into his theme song and even get Ray pumped. And Gregory states that he’ll bring him to justice and save him from the matter. Already we have everything laid out. This opening is just so phenomenal. Because we know Gregory won’t let Jeff down. But in the end we already know the outcome. And this is why this case is so darn impressive. We never lose immersion and the game holds us tight during the whole intro. No 5-2 or 1-2 intro here. This is one of the reasons why this case is so great. Even the theme song singing twice in a row doesn’t get old, because it’s so charming. But let’s move on to the summary.

We learn of the incident and head over to the mansion were we discover the competition. 4 people are in the finals, one of them was the victim of the case. Jeff is suspected because they found the body in his room. Jeff is clearly innocent and you start looking around. We also get to meet Badd again, who we never suspected back. We meet him with black hair and a coat that is still fully intact. And we get Ray’s little quirk, as he eats memos to make sure he doesn’t forget them. And Badd has a grudge towards defense attorneys. So he becomes your investigations partner. We also meet Dane Gustavia, a man also in the contest. Further more we have Scones and then Von Karma is on the scene. As we unravel more and more we start to understand more and more and we get to know that a falsified autopsy is in the hands of Von Karma. This can’t be possible, as Dover’s body was never found. This leads to the penalty I talked about and then the DL-6. Moving on to the present, we learn that the cast is back and Gustavia was nearly killed in a gas attack set off when he tried to retrieve the body. Turns out he is the killer, after some serious investigation. And during the present we also meet Larry again. As more and more issues come to light during the case, it’s get pretty darn deep, with Dovers body coming into the fountain of the main hall. Kate is suspected trying to kill Gustavia and with Courtney to back him he puts up a hell of a fight. But the journey is quite grand and we end up at the last knowing of his disorder. He can’t taste and had to bring his son over to taste the treats. He was also a great friend with Dover’s son. But Dover turns out to be the sculpturist Paul Holic, a man known for the sculptures in the gallery. He left the deal of being in with Gustavia in the contest and sealed away the kids in a frozen car. Gustavia ended up killing him and putting the blame on Jeff. And we also discover Holic’s kid to be Knightley.

Which means… Oh dear, Simon Keyes is Gustavia’s son. But he doesn’t show remorse for him. He was just a stupid child of no power. This leads to the game taking place, because Simon tries to kill everyone on the list because of what happened on christmas of 2000. He believed that Knightley tried to kill them, when it was actually Dover. And why is this important? Because you see the likeness of Simon in his father. Simon is true to Gustavia without even knowing it. The parenting theme in this game is really something, but the way both characters believe they are safe and golden, they make the same fatal mistake. All because they are so good and full of themselves. Speaking of Gustavia, he has possible a better moment then Alba. Because he confesses to killing Dover. Why? Because the statue of limitations is expired. Like the DL-6, the IS-7 was closed on December of 2016. And he laughs right in your face. Like Matt Engarde did years prior. This man knows that he is boss, until you prove that he is being set for his trial. Because of Von Karma. Gustavia knew that leaving for Zheng Fa would make this limitation expand, with three years. But we are still 4 months too late until we realize that Von Karma actually helped us. Making Master as an accomplice got him a guilty verdict, but expanded the expiration date further. Enough for us to use Gustavia’s confession against him. This is Tigre style, and it felt so amazing when you actually discovered that you just solved the old rebuttal that led to the death of Miles father and the start of everything. And then we end with a Ray paying his respect to Gregory, after his son finally avenged him and rescued Master. Master’s sentence had taken it’s toll on him, leading him to a weak figure with ghostly white hair. And Kate is taken into custody and the moment were Master swears that he’ll wait like she did for him, it really makes this case so great. If you haven’t play Investigations 2, I seriously suggest you do. It’s a shame that they didn’t localize it for the west. But I’ve praised this case enough. But to make one thing clear. There are two cases that made me cry afterwards. This is one of them, because you get everything wrapped up, but the relations that are established are so strong and emotional that it’s really something. Everything is here, well thought out characters and a story that not only builds, but wraps up so much. This could easily been a final case for Investigations 2, and the number 1 spot. But it’s not. So let’s close the Edgeworth curtain and return back to the main trilogy where our number spot waits.







1 – So here we have the grand case that pretty much everyone loves. And for good reason, I don’t even have to explain much here. We have the build up from all the cases from earlier and everything wrapped nice and tightly. We travel to the Hazakura Temple where we meet Iris, Bikini and Elise. And shit unravels. Elise is killed, and we understand that Dahlia is still pulling strings, even though she was killed earlier. We also meet Larry again and we get to know that some serious shit was going down. But when Phoenix tries to save Maya he falls to the bottom of lake, making the return of Edgeworth as a defense attorney to save Maya while Wright is in hospital. And things gets out of hands here. We understand that Morgan Fey and Dahlia wanted to kill Maya and reclaim the title of Master to Pearls. And to top it of we fight off Dahlia who is inhabiting Maya’s body. We eventually get Mia’s help to make Dahlia look at her failures and ends up in exorcism from Maya’s body. And then we had to take on the real killer of Elise, also known as Misty Fey. And when getting there you end up being taunted by Godot. Because you were never like Mia Trite. And then we get the moment everyone is loving. We get to hear Godot’s inner monologue for the first time and came to the understanding that he sees Mia in Phoenix. Seeing his defeat he explains everything. And then we see blood dripping from his mask, and people claim it to be the wound from earlier. But Godot is sure. Red doesn’t exist in his world so this must be my tears. And then we get the quote.

«The only time a lawyer can cry is when it’s all over.»

This section of the game is carefully planned. Here we have the best music cue in the entire series. As Godot is brought to justice, the Court Begins theme rings out.

As I wrote this I was listening to a mix of Objections, where we the remix from Gyakuten Saiban 3 is played out. And as I wrote the quote, the cue came perfectly again, just like the game. I can’t exactly describe why this case is so great. It’s just something so beautiful about the series. I’ve come to realize that these games are rather amazing, but I never expected that I would shed tears as I wrote about this case. But I did, and that says much about this case. It’s so close to my heart that I had to put it on the number one spot. And I will not continue to explain why this case is amazing. If you never played the trilogy, pick it up in the 3DS store or Appstore. I’m sure you’ll not regret doing so. Because is truly something special. And if you played this you know why.

And the amazing build up over 3 games is so elegantly put to rest, that I never want them to introduce Godot again. It’s so well tied up that nothing can make this stand so great. When it comes to series and often TV-shows, they drag the series on for too long. The trilogy is a piece of history that can expand, but not change. And they all have to except that. Mia is gone, and so is Misty. Morgan Fey is locked away again, Maya have to be strong for Pearls that nearly killed her, Godot have to go to jail for his crimes, and an era comes to a close.





And so does this countdown. Ranking in at around 14000 it has truly been a roller-coaster. I’ve come to realize that we often shit on the games and cases. But I felt like I was putting good cases on here ate spot number 29. Ace Attorney is a series so dear to me that I really wish I could forget everything and play stuff over again. I hope I gave insight about why I love certain cases and so on. It’s 4 in the morning and this probably took around 20 hours of writing non-stop. But heck if I didn’t enjoy it.