The “Cough-Up Queen” is on the stand, but her testimony so far has left much to be desired. Hopefully though, we can extract something useful out of all of this before exposing her lies to the light of truth.

And just like that, the lunch lady’s been served, but this case is far, far from over. We still have another witness left to cross-examine. Inching ever-closer to the truth, we’ll prove our client’s innocence to the best of our ability next time, on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Rise From the Ashes.

Most people don’t look forward to facing trial. It’s intimidating to defend oneself against accusations of heinous crimes…

…unless you’re me playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Then, it’s easily the best part of the game.

The coolest part of having Edgeworth serve as prosecutor for this case is watching the way he’s grown subtly as a result of the first game. Looking closely, you’d see that he’s only interrupting and mocking us when we’re starting to veer off the rails. And when we’re onto something, he’s more than happy to follow through on our logical thread.

The Demon Prosecutor of the past is gone, and in his place is a man who’ll make men and women equally swoon over him.

Next time, the trial continues.

Our “scientific” investigation is underway, and who else would prosecute this case other than Miles Edgeworth himself?

We certainly have our work cut out for us.

I don’t know what that hilarious dancing monstrosity outside the police station is, but there’s no way that it’s a blue badger. I refuse to believe it.

What I do believe though, is that this case we’ve barely scratched the surface of what this case has to offer. Right now, we’re still setting the scene more or less. Since there are so many new faces, we need to introduce them before they can show their true colors later.

So for now, let’s enjoy the set up, because things are going to get nutty.

We did it. We solved the DL-6 Incident and the murder at Gourd Lake, proving without a shadow of a doubt that Miles Edgeworth was innocent in both cases. With that, we’ve beaten the first game in the Phoenix Wright trilogy.

Wait… Then why is there another case!? And what the heck is scientific investigation!?

Welp. Guess we better get busy.

As I mentioned before, this is a unique case in the original Phoenix Wright trilogy. Though it canonically takes place two months after the first game, before Justice For All, it was developed after the complete trilogy was finished for the Game Boy Advance.

It wasn’t until the Nintendo DS game out that the series would get localized here in the West, and when it did they added this case as DLC. Even without knowing that, there’s a stark difference between this and the first three cases that even a layman like myself was able to identify.

Immediately, in the very first sequence before the case formally begins, seeing 3D animation for the first time in a game that has always used 2D sprites caught me completely off guard. In addition, since the developers had access to DS hardware for this case, gimmicks like rotating and manipulating evidence, that simply weren’t possible on a GBA, become a focal point for our investigative gameplay here.

Other distinctions separate Rise From the Ashes from the rest of the cases in this game, but we’ll come to those later. For now, we can focus on the new investigation tools and cast.

We’ve done it. We’ve figured out who killed Gregory Edgeworth. Now, we just need to get over the finish line.

We’re so close!

When you think about it, there could be no better way to end this case than by having Von Karma be the guilty party. As a rule, in a “fair” murder mystery, the culprit needs to have been a character introduced early on. Therefore, the pool of available suspects is vanishingly small, just that it only really contains a handful of people. Since he’s obviously villainous, and in that pool, Von Karma is the best person to finger for the murders.

With that, everyone has a wonderful and happy ending… for now. But next week, another case awaits us as we Rise From the Ashes!

Let!
The Parrot!
Take!
THE STAND!

If you have not seen any of the many “Real Lawyers React to Phoenix Wright” stuff floating around YouTube, I do at least recommend this compilation video of those various channels reacting to this scene, just because of how many of them lose their minds almost instantly. It’s important to remember that this game’s legal system isn’t a one-to-one recreation of any one legal system, but since the developer is Japanese they are more likely to borrow from what they know. As long as we know this is all in good fun, it’s okay to playfully riff on some of the odder aspects of the rules here.

And immediately afterward, the true finale commences. As always, the development team deftly weaves every element and detail they’ve seeded into a stunning finale. That big reveal that Von Karma was the one who killed Edgeworth’s father, the culmination of all those threads, is so satisfying.

Next time, we take this case, and this game, all the way to the finish line.

Looks like Edgeworth has some deep-seated emotional turmoil he’s carried with him for a long time, whose roots lie at the heart of this case and this trial.

We’ll need to keep our wits about us to help him process that while also figuring out who set him up for this murder trial.

For those who have never seen it, this “Detective Death Note Tier List” I was talking about comes from a Reddit post. Apparently, the original creator of the post disagrees with my assessment of Phoenix Wright’s skills. While we both agree that Wright could solve the Death Note case, I posit that he could also intuit how the Death Note works and they do not.

That said, this next episode is one of the most absurd things I have ever seen in a courtroom drama, so I implore you to join me as Phoenix Wright cements its legacy with one fell swoop.

Let.
The Parrot.
Take.
The Stand!

The parrot-owning proprietor of the boat rental shop has flown the coop. Until he’s recaptured, we have one final day to conduct an investigation.

Let’s make it count.

The most important takeaway you should have from this episode is that fast food and retail are thankless jobs. Also, fuck Arby’s and fuck Best Buy. Both those places suck to work for.

Are you ready for the most quoted line from any Ace Attorney game!? I know I certainly am!

Not a holiday season goes by where I don’t quote the phrase “Almost Christmas means it wasn’t Christmas” in condemnation of all the holiday-themed paraphernalia that makes itself known as early as September these days.

And likewise, this is where all of the information we gleaned in yesterday’s investigation comes into play. Or at least, it starts to. Just wait until next week, when Phoenix Wright finally jumps the shark.

The next trial is set to start soon, so had better find out all we can, both about the circumstances of the case and our mysterious new witness to the crime.

This is one of those moments in the investigation where all of the things we’re learning don’t make much sense right now. However, these segments are always in service to the trial that follows, laying the groundwork for the discoveries that we will be directed to later on.

In this first game, the development team is skilled in their ability to control the flow of information to the player, both to preserve the suspense and intrigue of the case while still offering satisfying opportunities to deduce what happened on our own, with a bit of guidance from the writing, as I’m sure we’ll find out in due course.