Why Ace Attorney 4 Still Matters
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- Опубліковано 9 чер 2024
- Apollo Justice was supposed to be the beginning of a new era for Ace Attorney, but due to a divisive reception, it remains the odd one out in many respects. Was this game a hidden gem people were too hard on? Or did it take this long to be re-released for a reason? Let's find out.
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CHAPTER LIST:
00:00 - DISCLAIMERS
00:31 - INTRO
02:39 - CHAPTER 1: COURT PREPARATIONS
09:48 - CHAPTER 2: TURNABOUT TRUMP
27:58 - CHAPTER 3: TURNABOUT CORNER
57:36 - CHAPTER 4: TURNABOUT SERENADE
1:36:08 - CHAPTER 5: TURNABOUT SUCCESSION
3:04:52 - CHAPTER 6: COURT ADJOURNED
3:09:50 - OUTRO
#NezumiVA #ApolloJustice #AceAttorney
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*Pinned comment question:* What franchise do you love that went in a different direction from its initial one? Did you like or dislike that new direction, and why?
Honestly kinda hard for me to find examples of series that made such radical changes that I've specifically played, usually series either make iterative changes over multiple entries or if changes are made then the same base framework still remains such as the souls series and their various side entries and clones.
An example I like is the resident evil franchise jump to 3d from og 3 to 4, never liked isometric camera views and tank controls but liked the resource management, sure it eventually led to RE 6 and the capcom drought but the shift to 1st person in RE 7 and 8 was also a really good shift as the horror was more personal, plus the new remakes are also very good, barring the RE 3 remake which stumbled quite a bit but was still decent. We're supposedly getting RE 9 and a re-remake of RE 1 so I'm excited.
A disliked franchise shift would be the paper mario series, specifically post Super paper mario and pre Origami king. Super paper mario was a radical shift but it was very charming and only lasted for one title, but sticker star was a massive black eye for the series with color splash very only slightly alleviating the damage by introducing the papercraft aesthetic that was used in origami king and the TYD remake and even then Reception to color splash was lukewarm at its absolute best. Origami king is a very well made and fun game with amazing music, fun "new" characters and good characterization with their returning characters but still carries some of the negative connotations from the design decisions of the previous two games like a shackle around its ankles, which is why everyone is so excited for the upcoming TYD remake next week, if paper mario is to make a new title after Origami king then it has to reconcile between what made the the first 3 entries in the series great, the mistakes of the 4th and 5th games and the lessons learned with Origami king.
idk if its related but I find Scott Pilgrim to be really interesting case! Each adaptation puts an unique spin on the same story.
The cómics you could tell that the autor wanted to say something, and in the anime the author has grown so much that the old "Scott Pilgrim" doesnt represent him, so he changes the Story while maintaining the charm. In a moment where everything are reboots and what not, the fact that every Scott Pilgrim versión is such an unique experience is refreshing
As I said on the last one FNAF took a new direction after the 4th one, taking it in a new sci-fi aesthetic which was fine somewhat, after HW did what it did with the lore I can't say I'm the greatest fan of the series anymore
Resident Evil for sure. With the introduction of 7, we saw use of first-person that hadn’t been used at all previously. It also became less about mowing down hordes of enemies and instead, focusing on few. I love it though, because it needed to adapt and change in order to survive.
Definitely Persona. The two first games are very different to the three newest and I would say almost all are for the better. The game play flows so much better and it's better integrated into the story and even though Persona 2 has a good story the gameplay is all over the place and is barely playable as a result. (There is a reason why it's joked about, that Persona started with 3)
Emma Skye at her most relatable. Graduated school, unable to work in your chosen field, slumming it in a dead end job and stress eating. I love her.
OMG, she's literally me!
A police detective is not "slumming it in a dead end job" !!!!!!
I LOVE EMA SO MUCH YOU CANT EVEN IMAGINE
@@floris1111 For her, it kinda is. Remember, she studied forensics, so she doesn't have any drive to get promotions etc. as a police-officer because it would drive her even more away from her personal favorite part of the job: the investigations.
So yes, for her, it is a deadend job. I just wish the games would've actually explained how and why she ended up there and not as part of Japanifornias CSI team.
I will come back to this comment when I get my first job!
I remain firm in my belief that Edgeworth was absolutely bankrolling Wright's entire office building for the 7 years after his disbarment. Trucy shows up with like, $75 she got from doing a magic show at a mediocre bar and Phoenix tells her "That's great, with my $34 I got from poker, we should be sorted for rent!" and then immediately goes to cash the $1500 check that Edgeworth sends him every month
Not only that I'm 99% sure he was the one who allowed him to get away with all the Mason program nonsense
How does it feel to be the most clever person ever?
Its literally the only explanation for why they haven't starved. Plus Edgeworth has to be buying Trucy's equipment considering how custom a lot of it is.
Sugar Daddy
I think he genuinely wants to help Phoenix in clearing his name and getting his badge back. He’s so sweet 🥺
Something I just wanna mention is how terrifying Kristoph is in this game. Not only was he stalking Brushel, Pheonix and the Mishams but he is so determined to keep his plan covered up that literally 5 MINUTES after Zak comes out of hiding for almost a decade under a new name he is murdered by Kristoph the moment he is left alone. Genuinely petrifying how Klavier acts in the last trial when Kristoph takes the stand and his breakdown is one of my favorites in the series.
His frowning sprite is burned into my head which is made even worse when you compare it to Klavier's and it is the EXACT SAME.
Quick questions why was he stalking brushel (what was brushel’s connection) and how was killing zak a form of protection?
@@crunchproductions2276 Brushel was there to know everything about Zak (like the shoot-out practice accident) and how he was still alive after he disappeared. He also wants to interview Drew, and some truth might come out.
For Zak, one of the reasons is just pride, to him, he was dismissed because he lost a game of poker. He lost a case to prove himself even greater by clearing the Gramarye name (Klavier told us whoever wins is gonna have unimaginable prestige and it was supposed to be a battle between brothers), it became a battle of fame instead of finding the truth, and he resorts to forging evidence to guarantee his win. Zak saw through this darkness with the poker game and it was given to Phoenix which he doesn't respect so it hurts his ego even more.
@@crunchproductions2276 My guess is that, since it's been implied that he killed Zak simply because of a hurt ego (or could be deeper than that, since black Locks meant that he was not conscious of his own reasons), his desire to kill Zak can go both ways, by simply being alive, Zak can still potentially cause the truth to emerge in a way (which isn't wrong, through killing Zak did the truth emerge, ironically), but also, was a form of "revenge" for turning him down in a way. My guess it's a mix of both.
Kristoph feels like someone who compulsively feels like he should be in control, a two faced Devil who manipulates people and things to go his way while trying to keep his hands clean, and he doesn't show it, but I feel that he fears losing that control and the illusion of him being "perfect". Honestly, the Devil allegory kinda fits him the more I think about it. In Christianity they said the Devil was jealous of God's love towards humans and tried to secure humanity's downfall as a result, and well, Phoenix is a very well liked lawyer with a good reputation, popularity, and well known for actually fighting for the truth, which was the first strike to Kristoph's ego when Zak turned him down in favor of Phoenix, unaware that Zak had read the darkness that lurked underneath him and that's why he rejected Kristoph.
As for Brushel being stalked, Kristoph is most likely paranoid after the trial, one small misstep and the whole truth can be revealed. He can still monitor the Mishams fairly easily since they barely have any intention to communicate with the outside world, Brushel can potentially come sniffing too close (also, he may be unpleasant to look at but we all know that he's honest and passionate in his job as well as having an integrity as a journalist, and his decision to try and track down the Mishams could also set off some warning signs for Kristoph) but Zak. Zak was literally the one rope he couldn't really get a secure grip on due to him being completely missing, with Brushel and Trucy as his only links. I'm guessing the reason why he tried to "befriend" Phoenix was also as a way to keep his enemy closer while keeping an eye on Trucy and Phoenix in case they meet up with Zak again, which then left Brushel as also being another target for him to monitor.
(Edited for grammar)
When you perceive under his blacked out glasses and he's glaring at you like the devil himself. Kinda spooked me first time, can't lie.
@@internetexplorerponythanks!
As I recall, the drink was grape juice just because it was Shu Takumi’s favorite drink, not for any other reason
Yeah, only found out about that later, haha. That I can understand, it's cute.
I wonder if Capcom gave the okay to make it wine but Shu was like "No it must stay grape juice"
@@Lucario1121
Shu: He is a FATHER now! Do you want to make Phoenix seem like a bad father if he drinks full bottles of *wine everyday?*
@@dejaypage1575well the fact they said he's sneaking it into the hospital despite doctors telling him he shouldn't have any...
@@michaellatner975 I was making a joke
Oh boy, an Apollo Justice video, it’s time for my rant over analyzing my favorite character in Ace Attorney!! _Ahem-_
Kristoph’s rage at the prospect of normal people judging him in his breakdown is so excellent because it gets at the central contradiction behind his character.
Kristoph spent his life trying to build an unbreakable illusion of coolness and perfection, the “Coolest Defense Attorney in The West,” but average people see through that because they know nobody is perfect. When Zak sussed out Kristoph’s dark side during that game of poker (leading to him dropping Kristoph as his attorney) it wasn’t because Kristoph messed up - I don’t believe he’d let his mask slip like that so easily - it was because Kristoph plays poker differently than everyone else. Every average person plays by assuming a poker face, by masking their true emotions as they start the game, but when Kristoph plays poker he doesn’t change - he can’t. What Zak saw that day was the fact _Kristoph is always masking,_ he always has a poker face on, and so there were no additional walls to put up. For years Kristoph deluded himself into believing that Zak fired him for losing because he couldn’t bear the truth that his perfect illusion didn’t work, could never work, because Zak Gramarye - the terrible, irresponsible, impossibly affable man that he was - was a normal person.
Kristoph strikes me as someone who developed his persona based largely on what he read in books, and this tracks with a lot of his actions. In 4-1, he constantly undermines his testimony by going on these flowery tangents that inevitably reveal information he shouldn’t have known, all because he decides waxing poetically would make him look good. His obsession with his own public appearance, constantly seeming above everyone else, doomed him. You can actually see his “book-learning” confirmed in a few pieces of official art, two of which show him holding books with legible titles. The titles are “Legal Positivism” and “My Best Friend.” These are PERFECT CHARACTERIZATION for him and really get him down to-a-T. He reads the legal positivism book not because he believes in legal philosophy but because knowing it gives him arguments to make, gives him rules he can bend, gives him a way to feel smarter and more in-control than everyone around him. On the flip-side, he reads the book on friendship in the same way because it’s an alien concept to him - he is studying the idea of friendship just like how he studies legal theory, they’re both just different things he’s learning to manipulate. Kristoph has no real friendship or belief, what his books tell you about him is that he is so disconnected from those things he has to actively learn them.
Coming back to his breakdown, his citation of the absolute law is very interesting, because, as Klavier points out, he doesn’t actually believe in that : Kristoph loves loopholes. He has no genuine political or philosophical conviction, he just claims one’s he believes will serve his ends and improve his image. Kristoph loves absolute laws because he can manipulate them, because he is smart enough that in any system of perfect logic he will be able to engineer a scheme. That’s where he fails, too. Kristoph’s plans throughout the game only seem to be complicated by people acting in ways that aren’t obvious or rational. All of Kristoph’s plans would’ve worked if only people had acted perfectly, but they didn’t. Zak escapes his trial, ruining the guilty verdict (and likely death penalty) Kristoph planned for. Vera and Drew don’t trigger his trap for seven years all due to luck as Vera happens to enjoy the stamp too much to return it. Phoenix refuses to take his loss lying down and spends seven years meticulously trying to prove his innocence. The Jurist System is the final and purist form of this sort of flaw - Kristoph’s perfect legal victory is beaten by the fact people aren’t perfect. People are bad and make mistakes and don’t follow absolute rational reasoning, and people see Kristoph - this ultimately cool and rational being - and they _see through him._ They know there is something impossibly _wrong_ with his perfection and, when he realizes it, he breaks.
God he’s my favorite villain and favorite character in the series ASPD king world masking competition 2nd place finalist (Phantom beat him) Kristoph “Girlboss” Gavin my bELOVED
Oh I _love_ your reads here, this is excellent.
That's one of the best Kristoph analyses I've seen
OP, this is an excellent, excellent analysis of Kristoph's character. I completely agree with everything you said.
A big part of Kristoph's whole problem is that he just can't "fake it" well enough. He can certainly fake it well--just not well enough. Whenever something catches him off guard--when, as you said, people aren't perfect (according to his definition of "perfect")--when he needs to adapt to new circumstances created by their imperfections--when he needs to *change*--he can't do it. His facade crumbles.
I think that's a big part of what makes him such a compelling character--his chronic inability to adapt to the reality of what people are actually like, and his chronic unwillingness to admit to this limitation. In his pride, he refuses to admit to his own shortcomings--his own imperfections. And that is why he does what he does. He needs to prove to everyone and to himself that he is perfect, but he can't do it because, well, he *isn't* perfect. He isn't the god among men he sees himself as--and when Zak Gramarye sees that and dismisses him, he can't accept it. He can't "take the L", as they say. He implodes, slowly, over the course of seven years of paranoia, hatred, jealousy, and murder.
TL, DR: OP, you are so correct. RIP Kristoph Gavin--the discipline of psychology would have loved you.
@@taliajung1553 you’re so right. That fits very well into the game’s theme of succession and change too.
Kristoph’s can’t let go of things, he can’t ever allow himself or be fallible and real like disbarred Phoenix does, he keeps this air of coolness up at at all times at the expense of everyone else. We see this when he rigs the trial that was meant to be him and Klavier - he can’t give his brother ANYTHING, can’t allow him the slightest chance of besting him - and because of his machinations (which eventually turn to destroying Phoenix) Klavier isn’t able to confidently succeed him, even in victory. He turns away from prosecuting, away from the courtroom, because Kristoph’s actions never give an opportunity for change. Only when Phoenix - at his lowest and most imperfect self - produces forged evidence to break Kristoph’s veneer of perfection does Klavier finally return to court. That trial is what allows Apollo to become a genuine lawyer too, giving both of them a chance to see past the perfection and understand the real flaws of the courtroom.
Pre-timeskip Phoenix is, arguably, a really interesting parallel to Kristoph. They’re both at the top of their field, prideful, perfectly composed - Phoenix even condescends to Klavier numerous times during their trial together. He mocks him for being young, inexperienced, and new - and he acts just like Winston Payne does to Apollo, just like Kristoph does to everyone. He’s at a stage of his life wher he thinks he’s done changing, where he won and now gets his eternal reward. Even though pre-timeskip Phoenix never goes to the insane lengths Kristoph does to prove he’s perfect, he does share the same arrogance and refusal of change - and it’s very revealing seeing how the former completely reinvents himself over seven years while the latter refuses to even consider it. Disbarred Phoenix is the ultimate imperfection, he’s lost everything and he’s given up hiding how jaded and washed-up he’s become, and it’s _his actions_ that let Apollo and Klavier become lawyers again. It’s because of _him_ and his complete flawed-ness that things genuinely change. Kristoph can’t produce that kind of succession, nobody can ever measure up to the facade he wears, but Phoenix can give them the ugly truth - and that’s much better competition.
I really like Ace Attorney 4. Also wouldn’t it be sick if Kristoph was Dahlia’s gay best friend? I think they’d get along great
To jump off of this because holy shit, friend you are so right, Kristoph always struck me as a man with an inferiority complex. Someone desperately trying to prove through fame and acclaim that he's better than everyone because he doesn't truly believe or feel it.
I always rationalised this through the lens of Klavier. Many interpret their relationship to be outright abusive but I find that read to be rather boring and unsupported. Kristoph manipulates his brother, yes, but he manipulated everyone and it's not out of an attempt to consistently bully Klavier, it's specifically to prop himself up against the world.
Think about this, Kristoph begins to spiral all because of one forged piece of evidence. Evidence he forged long before Zak dropped him. He's around 7 years older than Klavier (if memory serves), what possible reason could someone of his calibre and talent have to forge evidence against his teenage upstart brother who isn't even that serious about law. Yes, the trial would have afforded untold fame and notoriety onto the victor, and Kristoph cares about that but these accolades are something Klavier already has.
At the tender age of 17, Klavier is a prosecuting prodigy celebrated in the legal world AND a world famous rockstar adored by legions of fans; with 2 platinum singles to boot.
Klavier has already achieved a level of success that Kristoph can't, despite his headstart. Logically, there was almost no way for Kristoph to lose against Klavier in the latter's first ever trial. But the doubt consumes him. The possibility that his younger brother will surpass him again in the same way he likely has throughout their whole life. It eats at him. So he has to forge the evidence.
Zak sees who is and drops him from the case and I also think this complex is what causes him to focus so much on the poker game and who lost. To him, everything is about being better, it's about who looks better; life is poker to Kristoph. Just a game to see who ends up with the most chips. He assumes that Zak thinks the same way he does and so it has to be that him losing is the reason he's denied the case. Phoenix winning the game is confirmation bias.
Phoenix gets the case because he's genuine. But Kristoph can't accept that.
This is another reason, I think, that Kristoph takes such umbridge with how Phoenix gained his prestige and respect. To him, Phoenix is a fluke artist. Someone who stumbled into success and therefore doesn't deserve the lofty praise for everything he did. Kristoph sees his meticulous approach to cases as more intentional than Phoenix' and therefore superior and he can't comprehend why people like Phoenix more than him. He doesn't understand why Zak would prefer Phoenix' approach. It has to be about the poker game. It has to be because Phoenix won.
So he lays the trap again, this time with a different victim and quietly gets back at Klavier for upstaging him all his life by getting him to pull the trigger.
I've believed for years that this is what's lurking behind those Psyche Locks. We later get more of an explanation that black Psyche Locks are a secret that the subconscious is hiding, unlike red ones which are secrets a person is knowingly hiding. Retcon though it may be, it's one of the few that actually brings AA4 into better clarity rather than outright dismissing all of its ideas (what they do next with black Psyche Locks notwithstanding). This means Kristoph's motive, his true motive, cannot be explained even by him. He's not actually aware of why he did things. Why he spiralled into a paranoid serial killer by the end, watching the every move of anyone even tangentially related. Plainly, his image is important to him, but despite him likely not knowing how deep that compulsive obsession for him really goes, I think the reason for it stems from this feeling of inferiority. Beginning with his resentment of his brother's gifts and ending with his 7 year showdown with Phoenix Wright.
They'll never make me hate you Apollo Justice
Same. Both the character and the game
I don't think it's bad, just not as good as the others in my opinion
My hot take is that the stark contrast of seeing Phoenix transformed into this fallen idol works well specifically because it is so upsetting, I felt like it really puts us into apollos shoes, he’s been looking up to Phoenix this entire time only to be faced with this broken man, the anger that wells up in Apollo also wells up in the player and gives the whole story a nice bitter twist that I really enjoyed!! I wasn’t the biggest fan of it at first either but looking back one of the parts I like the most about this story is the lingering tensions between Phoenix and Apollo + klavier, I wish we had gotten to explore these topics a bit more in subsequent games
Yeah it's also how life works, sometimes you get at the top but then things go wrong and you fall. Phoenix had his career and even if he didn't came back to being an attorney and made something else it would've been fine.
apollo truly had the first trial of all time. phoenix defended his childhood friend, athena became apollo's assistant first and then took over when apollo was unable to represent the client. and then here apollo was, getting the front row seat of whatever spat phoenix and kristoph had and basically just third wheeling on their court themed lawyerly breakup/divorce.
Phoenix literally made him present forged evidence in his first case
@@mc-snack3316yea the first case of all time
Why Ace Attorney Apollo Justice is my favourite game in the series, as copy-pasted from a tumblr post of mine
The thing I've always loved most about aa4 is how much darker the tone is than the rest of the series in a way that isn't just edgy for the sake of it, but subverts your expectations from the original 3 games in a really interesting way. The trilogy was built upon the trust Phoenix had in others, and it was something we as players could almost always feel certain in. AA4 flips this on its head and makes it so Apollo effectively can't trust anyone but himself.
Your mentor, who the in the trilogy was a paragon of wisdom you could always turn to no matter what, gets revealed to be the culprit and sent to jail in the first trial and by the end of the game his list of crimes has stacked high but you still have so few answers on why he did any of it.
Your boss, the goofy protagonist of the trilogy, is now inexplicably a washed-up, disgraced, cheating poker player with an implied drinking problem who seemingly found a new hobby in evidence forgery and jury rigging.
He has a codependent relationship with his daughter, your assistant, who usually is a completely innocent and hapless victim of circumstance. She sees herself as the provider for the house and will help her father cheat at poker, or forge evidence, or guilt trip the poor attorney they knowingly screwed of out of a job into working for them for dirt cheap.
The detective, the only other returning main character, a previous assistant, is completely changed since we last saw her. In the trilogy she was chipper and bright despite the hardships she faced, and now she's unfriendly and burned out, turned bitter by the world. The scene we're first properly introduced to her in Apollo genuinely spends several minutes thinking his boss is making him bribe her with cocaine.
Every single defendant is a criminal guilty of something other than what they're charged for. Each case centers around an underground black-market poker ring, a mafia family and medical malpractice, a smuggling ring, and a family of forgers and an incredibly shady troupe of magicians. The one thing all of these people have in common is that none of them will tell you literally anything about what's happening, half of them clearly reveling in being as big of cryptic assholes as possible.
The only person who doesn't fit this description is, for once, the prosecutor. Usually your biggest obstacle and the most morally corrupt of the main cast, he's the only person who's both 100% on the side of truth and on the same page as you for the entire game. He's just as clueless as you, being used nothing more than a chess piece just like you are.
But the truly masterful thing about AA4 is how morally grey it is. These characters aren't just one note villains. They're not even villains at all. Most of them aren't even malicious.
Your boss, for all the low levels he stoops to, is underneath it all the same guy he's always been, doing everything he can to bring a criminal to justice and protect his family. Your assistant is a sweet girl who truly cares about you, she's just prioritizing herself and her fathers safety before anything else. The detective is the same passionate and kind woman under everything else. The rest of the defendants are genuinely well-meaning young people who got involved in shady stuff they didn't fully understand.
The game is filled with good people trying to make the best of bad circumstances. The game has just as many fun moments as the original trilogy. For all it's rough appearance, the game has a similar heart. For every unanswered question or unrighted wrong, there's a smile or a hope for a better future. For every bad action, there's usually someone trying their best behind it. The game is melancholic and dark, but isn't afraid to let good shine through. It knows there's no shadows without the light.
I love this breakdown of the game. While I definitely understand a lot of the criticism of this game, I really how layered a lot of the characters were. Even people like Spark Brushel who I thought was going to be just another played-up goofy Ace Attorney witness has more depth to his character. And Klavier is one of my favourite characters ever after playing this game. I've seen people say he's a weak character because he doesn't have a character arc across the game, but does he really need to? The original trilogy set up the idea that the lead prosecutor starts out bad or mean but learns to respect Phoenix and become nicer or learn somethong about themselves, etc. It's refreshing how Klavier isn't out for your blood or trying to preserve a winning streak, but someone who genuinely wants to find out the truth, which is the ideal that the games present as most valuable in a lawyer. It breaks the bias the games have in presenting prosecutors in a negative light and defense attorneys in a positive light by having the Gavin brothers represent opposite ideals. I especially love his interactions with Kristoff in the final case because it reallt demonstrates his authenticity in finding the truth - even when he doesn't want to believe that Kristoph did it, he is still analyzing Kristoph"s testimony and finding contradictions in his testimony. Overall, Iove how he makes the playing field seem equal, while still being intimidating through his cool demeanour, but not so intimidating as to be unfriendly. One final thing I liked is when he called Apollo by his actual name in the final case, I anticipated such a moment but it was still a neat touch.
Yes this! All of this!!!
YOU GET IT!!!
such a great explanation of this game. this is exactly why i love aa:aj (and the next two games).
Yeah 100000% agree with you here
The weird prevalence of grape juice in Ace Attorney instead of wine isn't to make Phoenix look more respectable - it's a bit of a meta nod. Being Shu Takumi's favourite drink, he likes to reference it occasionally.
Little answer to the question of how nick can set up the misham trial, it's semi retconed/answered in DD that Edgeworth has been also working on that project, it's a narumitsu baby if you will, it's outright stated that miles pulled a lot of strings regarding getting him back in peoples good graces and miles is about 2 months off becoming chief Procecutor so it does track that he might have the power to do that. The language is vague and it's in a lot of blink and you'll miss it lines too but that tends to be the explaination I've seen most fans use. Still not clarified in this game so it's still a fault but if anyone is curious that's the canon/fanon interpretation
Ahhh, I see. Yeah, definitely gonna have to see how I feel about this retroactively when that gets brought up in AA5, lol. I was convinced, the way people talk about it, that it was largely a community headcanon, interesting to hear it's spoken about though.
@@NezumiVA I will be completely honest that its a very much up to interpetaion thing to an extent, as i say its vauge references to Miles pulling strings and helping him but the wiki at least is confident that he helped with the jurist. He is said to be actively involved in legal reforms to stop the dark age of law that starts with the disbarrment and while the jurist system isnt mentioned in DD because of the spoiler rule it doesnt take too much of a leap to say that given the jurist sytem seemed to be targeting that same thing, he would be active in it and is very close to getting that promotion. Its an extrapolation to an extent but not a hard one and fills in the plot hole nicely, It does also say nick pushed him away in that time but they were working together in europe at the same time because thats how Nick meets athena so I always took that to be a finacial and emotional support thing rather than a professional one.
also absolouetely great video
@@SnowCat-nu7gjWouldn't trust the (FANDOM) wiki more than you can throw it--it's got misinformation on a certain deceased musician's character page, where it references translated dialogue.
i like how whenever there's a "how could have phoenix possibly done this shit" the answer is always "his sugar daddy helped." men see his puppy dog eyes and crumble
i had a feeling that might have been the case. i felt it would only make sense for nick to go to edgeworth, gumshoe, and basically everyone he knows in the legal system who can pull strings for him. maybe players are actually better off playing Rise from the Ashes directly before this, but i wonder if they could have done themselves a favour by actually having more of the characters from that case return or at least get little cameos or mentions just to address the ways they chipped in, even if it's only for a single scene. (i mean the fact that we STILL haven't seen Lana skye or even had Ema mention her in passing at all is a crime in itself.)
Klapollo canon
TRUE
I wish it was, it would have made Turnabout Serenade so much more palatable.
Real
@@jovindsouza3407GOD serenade was such a missed opportunity to really expand on klavier’s character and i stay mad about it
@@starlesscitiessreal we were robbed
Can’t believe David Kristler of apple street would do all these crimes
I really love how Vera is written. It’s just nice to see semi verbal/non verbal characters :]
2:12:22 Something that I think would have made Phoenix’s disbarment a bit more logical is saying that he was accused of being compliant in Zak Gramarye’s disappearance, and since it happened right before Zak was to be declared guilty, it was treated as if he was harboring a fugitive, which would make a lot more sense for him to be barred from practicing law over.
oh interesting. i really don't believe it's intended but it's very clever, and given how he's meeting shadi smith, it's actually a little bit true he's helping a fugitive not facing justice.
My headcannon was that, unlike the other times before, there was technically "proof" that Phoenix actively forged the piece of paper he used in the trial. Other times, most often, it came down to withheld and/or ignored pieces of evidence, which could be interpreted as being either overlooked, or, in the worst case, a bit of incompetence/someone did a bad job.
Here though all signs pointed towards Pheonix actively cheating in a trial with forged evidence, followed up by his client succesfully fleeing the courthouse. The later could also have been a part of Phoenix disbarrment, because you could say this was done because the department of justice wanted to make an example out of him (plus Phoenix also dug up tons and tons of dirt up about the prosecutors office, so there is also a chance they might've pushed for him loosing his badge, because this all happened way before Miles came into power and cleaned up Japanifornias Prosecutors office.)
That Kristoph scream at the end??? Literal chills. Come for the amazing video essays, but stay for the fantastic voice acting. Keep up the great work!!
I can't believe it took me over half a decade to realize the fucker in the intro to case 1 is drew misham
Hey if it makes you feel better I only just realised the 'sham' pun in the mishams names somehow. I will never stop newly realising obvious puns in this series, apparently
Yeah, his musical theme is also tied to the Case 1 intro theme!
@@diarawisteria2218 THANK YOU for mentioning this. I LOVE this detail so much.
@@emidemi7211You're welcome. The Mishams are fun.
I think the guy in the Case 2 intro is also Drew Misham, given that he's waxing on about "the wheel of fate" and none of the characters in the main cast who we know are poetic like that.
one thing i find fun to look at is, while he's commonly credited as the sole character designer and was the art director for this game, kazuya nuri only actually designed the main characters (apollo, trucy, phoenix, ema, and the gavins) and the gramaryes. the other designs were split between tatsuro iwamoto, akiko nishizawa, and koujiro ogiwara. it was kinda fun being able to tell which characters were designed by iwamoto (daryan, brushel, and drew misham) just by recognizing the way he draws clothing folds lol
This sounds like a fake tumblr post BUT:
but i need ms nezumi to know that i was drunkenly explaining ace attorney to my law school friends in a bar last night and pulled up your videos as reference so thank you queen 🫡
I like Apollo Justice. Don't get me wrong, it's messy as hell, and it's a pity that history didn't shape out in its favor, but I still think it deserves to be held up in high regard. For every low, there's a high to compensate for it. It's nowhere near as bad as many people claim it to be, it just doesn't compare to the original trilogy's greatness. Imo it's a microcosm of everything good and bad about this whole series rolled into one package, with thrills enough to balance out the nausea you'll feel on the rollercoaster.
also yes i am a simp for klavier and hobo phoenix but i swear that doesn't have anything to do with my opinion on the game i just think they're both really hot ok stop judging me
Lately, I've seen some more positive discourse on AJ, but there will always be nay-sayers.
@@Kuronosa Personally, I think the biggest negative of AJ is not really fault of its own, it's that the sequels didn't really continue building upon it as a foundation.
As always, suggest checking out "how Layton forever changed Ace Attorney" for some information about what happened during the AJ period, and how we got the Great Ace Attorney series. Really hope someday we get an updated re-release of the crossover (along with the Investigation series).
Brushel's tell would've been better gameplay-wise if his left arm was more prominently raised when he tapped his brush to his head, and that was the pit that was sweating. It would direct the player's attention towards the tell and make it feel less out-of-place. Still weird, but a less confusing puzzle
Heck, maybe he brushes his hair different, maybe his knuckles are white, maybe he bites his tongue - it's so ridiculous that it's pit sweat, since that's a one and done unless you're burning up so much it's turning to steam as you stand, which has a bunch of other problems...
Ooh, really looking forward to this one. By the way, I loved your voicing Valant Gramarye in Save Data's playthrough.
Thanks again for spending so many weeks with us bringing life to so many characters! And congrats to finishing this beast of a video!! Another Nezumi classic!! 🙌
Eyyy, thank you so much!! 💙
WE'RE PUTTING THE DEVIL BEHIND BARS WITH THIS ONE!
Also hot daddy hobo Phoenix is best Phoenix.
When I get convicted of murder because some guy said I keep gulping(I have acid reflux)
Edit: 2:49:09 nah why they turn to me like that, stay focused on the case
Something I actually like about the HD artstyle of Apollo Justice is that they kept the MAGNIFICENT sprites of the 3DS remake, I would be lying if I wasn’t scared the second trilogy would give AA4 the original HD trilogy’s wonky artstyle
the non stop repeating of the flashback of LeTouse's final words are what made one of the best jokes for a youtuber I watch, where when flashbacks, things or facts are repeated too frequently he will go "SI... RE... NA..." (sirena is "siren" in spanish, the youtuber is spanish btw.)
(If anyone knows what youtuber im talking abt feel free to comment :D)
Sabes que es lo mas popular con los niños estos dias? COMER NIÑOS eso es!
HOLYSHIT UNA RANGU REFERENCIA!?
Si... Re.. Na...
Rangu top
No esperaba encontrar otros fans de Rangu por aquí, qué ilu :D
Hilarious that NicoB also fits that description, he also had a joke related to flashbacks of LeTouse's final words.
1:32:25 You say that Klavier sounds like a disappointed older brother to Daryan but, in fairness, he does know a thing or two about disappointed older brothers
One of the most misunderstood games of all time. Also maybe it's because of who I hang out with but I swear the people that I've seen that genuinely like this game happen to be Gen Z.
I've never talked to you in my life but I am, conservatively speaking, the biggest fan of Apollo Justice that has ever lived and will ever live and also Gen Z so I think your theory has potential merit 🤔
Honestly the themes of AA4 are pretty resonant for a lot of Gen Z, who I feel like generally ruminate on legacy and the world they're inheriting moreso that even Millennials. At least, that's my take as a Gen Z cusper myself. Game has its problems, but I can't help but love stories about flawed legacies and trying to make flawed systems better.
as a Gen Z AJ defender, i feel like a big reason a lot of us like it is because THIS is the Ace Attorney we grew up with, this was our first exposure to the series and we didn't have any preconceived nostalgia for the trilogy going into it. also personally a lot of the characters feel way more relatable both back when i was a kid and now as an adult, and i still feel salty about the way Capcom just completely ignored the AA4 cast and plot afterwards
As a Gen Z myself (albeit on the older end of the scale)…perhaps you’re right 👀
To further prove your theory: I'm a millennial and AJ is pretty definitively my least favourite game in the franchise. I still like it though!
AA4 absolutely buckles under its own ambition but I think the crime of being *too ambitious* is hardly a crime at all.
While there definitely were some plot details that deserved to be ironed out, the game provides a groundwork for some of the best character drama in the series bar none:
Ema’s history with Nick provides an already succinct backstory and combines it with her disgruntled view of the police
Apollo shows hints of an actual character with his own morals, as he punches Nick in the opening moments of the game
Phoenix does some morally questionable stuff but it’s all in an effort to support Trucy (…or is it his ego?)
There’s a parallel of puppeteering between Nick/Apollo and Kristoph/Klavier, and the result is a fascinating proxy war between characters who actually get along very well
Yeah, this game is wildly ambitious and sets up some very interesting discussions on morality (namely in 4-4, jurist system)…too bad the game is basically sequel setup that never paid off.
Yeah I can't speak for *everyone* but I feel the criticisms for the game would be more subdued/tempered if it had more time to cook and was more of a standalone game like AA1 instead of having a bunch of sequel bait at the end.
I just graduated high school, and now Imma bout to sit down and watch a video essay about the first Ace Attorney game I ever played by one of my favorite content creators. Life is good
Congrats on graduating high school. Now you have to start adulting. Have fun 😉
Thanks man!
congrats on graduation! enjoy life!
I’m done in under a month… just have my A Level exams left!! (British equivalent of finals I think)
Yo same, I graduate tomorrow
I love seeing Phoenix out of his head. It’s so nice to be in the head of someone else and not seeing Phoenix’s thought processes and feeling just as confused as everyone else is in the previous trilogy but amplified because Phoenix is fully different and not afraid to bend the law a bit
So I don't usually comment on videos but ever since I watched your retrospectives, I've been compelled to play through the Apollo Justice trilogy, since I basically “knew” all the stuff from the trilogy. This was the best decision EVER since I played Apollo Justice…
…and I LOVE it.
And then I looked up people’s opinions on each case as I finished them.
I was very surprised by how many people hated it.
I have been waiting patiently for this video, and I love it! I enjoy perspectives that aren’t solely one-sided, and aren’t aggressively harsh or overwhelmingly positive. LOTS of the Ace Attorney videos I find are like that, especially the ones ripping Dual Destinies a new one. Ever since this was in production, I was daydreaming about making a response like this, especially since you both got me OBSESSED with Ace Attorney and I love Apollo Justice so dearly.
I had a lot more thoughts and anecdotes to share, but I believe it was too long. It might have been 8000+ words. It was.
So I’ll just leave it as this: thank you for all of these retrospectives. If it wasn’t for your videos, I probably would have more difficulty sleeping at night and I would have never played the Ace Attorney games.
Stay safe, don’t overwork yourself, be gaming, and thank you!!
Also, I need Kristoph Gavin to be real so that we may repopulate the village. Oh, and Lamiroir needs to explode.
Honestly, i love how the jurist system was presented. To me, it felt like Phoenix hijacked a genuinely better system in order to get back at kristoph. There's a reason it doesnt come back, and that's Phoenix. it's because of how sketchy he was about handling it. Khristoph won in a way. He got Phoenix to play on his level in order to finally get exposed.
That would also explain why Phoniex claimed he had a "Part in the Dark Age Of The Law": He set up the most obviously rigged trial of all time, to convict someone who was extremely popular and beloved to the public, over a seven year old grudge.
People could have blamed Phoniex for "Driving Kristoph to madness", rather than accepting Kristoph is truly a monster.
That would also explain why Phoniex claimed he had a "Part in the Dark Age Of The Law": He set up the most obviously rigged trial of all time, to convict someone who was extremely popular and beloved to the public, over a seven year old grudge.
People could have blamed Phoniex for "Driving Kristoph to madness", rather than accepting Kristoph is truly a monster.
When my dad and I played Turnabout Corner, we replaced every mention of the "p" word with "pastries" and joked that Trucy was a REALLY good baker.
On another note, I got into Ace Attorney a little before the pandemic, so when I got to Apollo Justice I already knew that the next two games in the series led with "Phoenix Wright" in the title, which is probably a large reason why I wasn't really upset with how Phoenix was depicted in this game. Normally I hate huge time skips that drastically alter a character's personality, but I think in retrospect that since I had the notion that he would soon return to more like his old self, I was more willing to put up with it and came to really like it with the chance I gave it.
I can say now that I would prefer it if Apollo stayed the main character in the *Apollo Justice* trilogy, but I will also say that knowing Phoenix would once again be his more happy, less abrasive self after this game allowed me to appreciate Apollo's debut title more for what it was, rather than how it "ruined" what I was already used to.
A problem with Turnabout Succession that i haven't really seen anyone talking about is that for a final case, it doesn't really grip you in at the start. Turnabout Goodbyes had you defend the prosecutor you've been the rival of for the game and that you recently found out had a past with Phoenix, Farewell my Turnabout has you defend someone not necessarily just because you believe in them, but also because Maya's been kidnapped and you're being forced to do it, and Bridge to the Turnabout has Maya and Pearl go missing and the defendant is someone that like, everyone i've seen play the game (including me) was convinced it was the woman who murdered two people and tried to murder you.
I mean I wouldn't really call that a problem, just a difference in style
ACHTUNG, BABY
Goddamn that nezumi sure can va. Fr tho, everytime I’m astounded by your vocal range with the characters in these retrospectives.
2:43:37 I do also want to point out that their Japanese surname 或真敷 (ある・ま・じき｜Aru・ma・jiki) _could_ be interpreted as "possibly magic(i)", so I'm not sure why they didn't leave it up in the air.
Also, Valan → Baran (balan), Zak → Zakku; Balanzakku → Balance act (that or it's a reference to a bar in Tokyo named "Bar Ballan Zack")
Gavin felt like the ultimate conclusion to Phonix arc. A character much like himself but never learned the lessons of AA 2.
1:29:07 the thing about Letouse writing his interpol number and not the killer's name - I'm pretty sure it's explained in game quite well! He tells Apollo as he's dying that he doesn't know who shot him, he didn't know Daryan or the other band members. Writing his interpol number did however, as a good choice on his part, connect his death to the important context of him as an agent.
Can we talk about how Phoenix didn't even need to present the forged evidence? He literally could have just pointed out that the next page in the journal was clearly ripped out, and that Klavier's point was therefore moot. That made me so mad when I played this game. At the time, I thought that maybe I was _supposed_ to feel mad. But no, at the end they try to redeem Klavier's bullshit by making it Kristoph's fault. That injustice is never truly rectified, and that anger is never acknowledged.
No, it's a bit more frustrating. I'm pretty sure that Klavier preemptively tells you that you can't present the diary on its own. But it feels like a loose band aid.
I genuinely thought it was going there too. If Klavier refuted with the fact that since the page is missing, we don't know what exactly its contents were, Phoenix could have countered with the fact that no one in their right mind would rip out a blank page. Therefore, it must have something incriminating written on it.
The more I look at the series as a whole, the more I see parallels between certain characters, and I noticed a pretty big one in this game:
Kristoph Gavin is to defence attorneys what Manfred von Karma is to prosecutors.
They’re both extreme perfectionists, driven almost entirely by their egos, willing to do whatever is necessary to get the verdict they want, and seeing the rest of the courtroom as obstacles in the way of that verdict.
They’re both so obsessed with their “perfect” image, that they’ll defend it by any means necessary, and unfortunately, Zak Gramarye and Gregory Edgeworth both experienced first hand what “by any means necessary” really means to these people.
I disagree with your point about the disbarment. We know, from aai2, what caused Manfred's penalty and it wasn't forgery. As for edgeworth's implied forgery, that was simple gossip, and even ignoring rfta, nothing was ever proven. In Nick's case, however, he was immediately and unequivocally proven to have presented forged evidence. I could see that (with a bit of pressure for kristoph) causing him to get disbarred immediately.
YEP even the case makes it clear that he was disbarred for PRESENTING that evidence, not necessarily for forging it. Whether he did the latter or not...he still did the former, and THAT is the fatal mistake
wish the series stayed 2D, AJ's artstyle looks so damn good. (havent played TGAA yet which ive heard uses the 3d well)
2D definitely looks better but the 3D grew on me, I haven't played TGAA yet either but I thought SOJ took really good advantage of it and I didn't mind it in DD either
I played TGAA and his 3D is REALLY good, the animations, cameras, etc. manage to use 3D very well, it is definitely the most beautiful 3D game in the franchise
The series eventually manages to get the 3d down but it sure takes a while
The 3D starts out clunky because i'm pretty sure DD's and Phoenix vs Layton's animations are hand rigged, plus the models are a little...lifeless.
However the next 3d game they did, which i believe was the first Great Ace Attorney, they used a theater troupe for mocapping and GOD does it bring all the characters to life. It's like night and day compared to Dual Destinies frankly stiff animations. I'd almost put money on the Dance of Divination happening in SoJ SOLELY because they had the mocap to do it.
I think herlock sholmes is the best example of this. He is possibly the most expressive character in the franchise just through his movements alone and is one of the many reasons why he's so memorable.
Wow!! I haven't watched one of your retrospectives in a minute, but this one seemed above and beyond in terms of quality. The humor in particular was so on point. Can’t believe I got transmasc rep before the first half hour was out! But in seriousness, I can tell a lot of love and effort was put into this. So much so that I completely understand you pulling back to only do a few of these per year. If this level of quality is anything to go by, it's more than worth the wait.
the fact that zak tries to take down, in any way, a guy who defended him in court, got disbarred for it, then RAISED his daughter for 7 years, is fucking nuts or stupid. pick your poison.
There’s always been something about AJ that’s just made it stand out for me.
From its tone, to its characters, and even story beats, there almost a subtle melancholy to it that helps makes it feel distinct from the rest of the series.
Even now it’s still hard to put into words why I love AJ so much, but flaws and all, I still love coming back to this point in their series life and thinking about where this world could have gone had DD been done a little different.
Probably helps the OST is fire.
I absolutely agree that Apollo and Klavier court room dynamic is such a nice breath of freh air for the franchise! Klavier is much more playful than the rest of the prosecutors, happily taunting Apollo while still working with him to solve cases, and it's so satisfying going from case to see Apollo just peeling off all of Klavier's layers from his rockstar persona.
Also I agree that the "unbeatable prosecutor" was really starting to feel played out, and even aa5 and aa6 kinda suffer from using this trope a lot BUT (kinda minor spoilers about the great ace attorney)
I think how they realized that trope with Van Zieks it's so clever! He's the scariest prosecutor not because he always win, but because even if he does one way or the other the accused will receive his judgment, so it makes you stay on your toes even if you win.
With the grape juice, I believe it’s just Capcom being funny rounding the corner of blindsiding your expectations. Tyrell from Investigation is similar, with the lollipop instead of it being a cigarette. Knowing Dual Destinies case 5, I don’t think Capcom made the grape juice to censor LOL
(Edit: I had forgotten this is Shu’s favorite drink LOL, but the point still stands)
AA4 is a game I respect for what it tries to be as opposed to what it is, but unfortunately the end result is pretty underwritten and hard for me to go back to
It has a strong start, but it peters out toward the end pretty hard.
Take Apollo for instance. To say he doesn't contribute to the final case's outcome would be inaccurate, but it's hard to feel like he's the main character. Compare to Phoenix in Turnabout Goodbyes. While he does recieve plenty of help from Larry, Maya, Mia, i never feel like he was at any point overshadowed by them. But Apollo feels like a supporting character in the finale of his debut game, which is where you don't wanna be
Even discounting the direction of later games, Apollo Justice feels incomplete. It doesn't stand on it's own to the degree that AA1 does. In fact, some aspects of it are written like a first draft, as harsh as that may sound. Zak Gramarye's confusing character (further tarnish the rep of the man that YOU partially fucked over, and then beat the woman you hired when you fail??), much of Case 3, the last trial of Case 4.
It's a shame, because there could've been something special here, but this game kind of annoys me if im being honest lol
My headcanon of how Phoenix was able to work so closely to make the jurist system is link to "Rise from the Ashes" case.
He help purged corruption from the cops and the legal system. Despite what happen, they knew Phoenix was a good person and they would of worked with him on the jurist system.
I havent watched the full video yet, and it will probably come up in there, but i love how the first game to feature a jury is so focused on presentation and performance as a motif. Really makes me wish for an aj2 to this day, would love to see Klavier do crowdwork on an in-person jury.
This game has made me imagine a spinoff.
Basically just Miles Edgeworth Investigations but with Klavier as the lead instead. However, in this theoretical spinoff...people just give Klavier all of their info immediately cause he's just that good. Sucks to suck for those killers though.
that's very compelling idea, but they better give us our game queen her game first!!!!!
57:35 "Third case syndrome ! Does turnabout serenade break the curse ?"
Oh boy does it not
Ace Attorney 4, as has always, and will always, be my favorite entry in the series- you did bring up a lot of interesting points that I never took the time to think about, and I agree with the notion that not everything in this game had to be such a grand spectacle, even if it came after AA3- I really wish the series got the chance to go and build off the ideas of Apollo Justice, because it feels like how Sega did with Sonic 06; trying to scrap up and write off its ideas because it didn’t do well enough- I really wanted a proper trilogy for Apollo, and it really is a shame that so many people scoff (but justifiably) at this game just because it doesn’t perfectly land its ideas
This was a good video! I can’t wait for the next one when it’s done 🙏
Nick/Miles jokes are killing me lol
I headcanoned that Nick is creating the MASON system as part of his PHD thesis- 7 years sounds about right for such a thing and just because you are disbarred it doesn't mean your University diploma is taken away.
How can Nick spare time and money for furthering his education? Well, obviously he has a very supportive husband! /j
Also, Klavier is right next to Barok when it comes to my favourite AA prosecutors 💖
I don't care what anyone says I love the 3D model video in Turnabout Serenade it improved the experience for me it's so funny every time I watched it I giggled. (Also I didn't mind the flashbacks but that's just because my memory is terrible and I genuinely needed it as a reminder LMAO)
TRANSMASC APOLLO TRANSMASC APOLLO TRANSMASC APOLLO
REAL REAL REAAAALLLL
he puts the T in chords of sTeel
Totally understand your need to take a step back from this kind of content which is very intensive. Take all the time you need, we will still look forward to all of your content! Your retrospectives are some of my favourite I've seen and I'm stoked to see this video in my feed today!
I agree that Big Top (minus the love sideplot) goes over Serenade for me due to the villain in Big Top. Both have terrible leaps in logic however. I do like how in the Ace Attorney Anime they basically removed the love sideplot entirely and made Max's motivation to be to encourage the other circus members to be better performers, which makes him WAY WAY more likeable.
Anyways, I am a rather new fan to the series, starting with the trilogy remaster, and in the end I do really like the story they were trying to tell. In my opinion Phoenix probably should have been disbarred six years ago instead of seven because I find it absolutely wild that it happens a month after Bridge to the Turnabout and a WEEK after AAI2. I appreciate the more mature tone where they show how the system was broken (even if I have gripes with how the MASON system was implemented).
Thank you for this wonderful retrospective!
LOL yeah they didn't even let my man Phoenix enjoy his time in the sun. He just came into his own, he just started standing up for himself and not be bullied by the prosecutors all the time. But no, as soon as he became somewhat skilled and experienced, they kicked him to the curb.
Great video. I appreciate someone evaluated this game more objectively, especially considering product of what time it was. But I wanted to add 3 more points.
1) I really like how Trucy (I just now realized her name is pun on "Truth") wears Zak's red in the past, but switches to Phoenix's blue in the present. It never stated outright, but I really like this small moments of visual storytelling.
2) When Capcom makes AA7 (Please, I beg you.) I believe they will finally introduce Jurists back into the plot, because GAA already has Jury so going back on it would be a bit weird.
3) Maybe you haven't yet played or didn't want to spoil Dual Destinies but expanded lore on Black Locks presents Kristoph's breakdown in a new light.
P.S. Klavier is my favorite Prosecutor in a series. imo, He is an actual person rather then personification of character arc. He has his strengths, weaknesses and skeletons in the closet. I really liked his dynamic with Apollo, not ruthless careerist, but an attorney pushing his "Truth" against his opponent's "Truth" until they arrive at ultimate conclusion.
The only miss in this entire video is the lack of respect for the perfection that is the sound effect that plays when Emma throws snakaroos at Apollo *Ka Tonk*
Also here’s a funny thing with Apollo’s name?
Apollo the god was literally one of the *Earliest Lawyers in legend.* He acted as a defense to a prince’s defense against the Furies
Would ya look at that, my new obsession for the month!
AA4 was my first-ever Ace Attorney game. Since the English versions don’t have numbers in the titles, my dad thought it didn’t matter which one he got and just got the most recent one at the time. I knew what Phoenix Wright looked like beforehand, so seeing him in this game’s intro was still strong enough to hook me, a total newbie to the series. Apollo is a compelling protagonist and my personal favorite lead in the series. Trucy is a contender for the best assistant in the series, and Klavier is one of my favorite prosecutors in the series. While I will be the first to admit this game is far from perfect and I understand anyone who isn’t a fan of this game, it will always have a soft spot in my heart. And I have it to thank for getting me into this franchise I love dearly.
I’m so happy to have watched this video. Your video essays always open my eyes to other points of view and give me a more objective look on pieces of media, and this was no different. Your voice acting and your way of explaining points is fantastic. I look forward to seeing you continue your endeavors with video making.
Since I started playing Ace Attorney when I was already a young adult, I have no particular nostalgic attachments to the original trilogy, so I never joined the "bring X back" crowd and was pleased that the series moved on to new characters instead of dragging the old ones who already had their stories concluded. Still, when I first played AA4, I still resented seeing what they did to my boy Phoenix, because being young, we're resistent to the idea that good people can be screwed by life. The same goes for Ema's situation. After replaying the game 2 years ago, as a 30-year-old, I got a lot more appreciation for the direction the series tried to take in this installment. Hobo Phoenix and adult Ema became my favorite versions of these characters, the darker and more jaded tone (which never lets go of the classic AA optimism) seemed more interesting than the overly naive tone of the previous games, and Klavier looked more like an actual professional instead of a cartoon villain.
However, the plot holes and clumsy writing is hard to ignore. In the mystery-solving department, this game drops the ball a little too frequently. I still think it's a lot more interesting than the original trilogy. It's fun to discuss this game's plot and characters with the fandom, since there's more to talk about, as things are not so black and white. I still have a lot of respect for everything this game does well, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm now old enough to be attracted to DILF Phoen- I mean, hobo Phoenix.
Ahh! Thanks for including my silly little judge drawing in the beginning of the video! Absolutely amazing retrospective, I loved your analysis of Kristoph and your rendition of his scream. Your voice work is SO good!!
Great video! This was a tough watch for me personally 'cos I *really* love this game and love the angle they take with Phoenix, so hearing you point out your problems with his arc had a bit of a 'No, not my baby!' effect.
I can't really argue with your points, and will more stand by... I like where he ended up? The game wants to leave the backdoor open for his return, but Nick being the guy who'd do what was needed for justice to be done fit him well to me emotionally. He's had his day in the sun, and even if he's a bit more cynical now, it's for the sake of building something better for those who follow him. I feel this incarnation of the character is a really good mentor figure and... well, I'd argue that the later games of this 'trilogy' lost that vibe, but that's subjective as hell.
REALLY looking forward to you talking Monkey Island! Been peripherally aware of those games for yonks, but never got into 'em.
"But this is the first time I've felt this way with a man" excuse me Prosecutor Gavin 🤨🤨 would u like to repeat that 🤨🤨
I've never player AJ. Looked for an interesting analysis of the game for way too long (cuz I ain't playing it anytime soon), and ended up never finding anything that satisfied my tastes. That is, up until now, for I believe *this* is what I've been looking for.
in the same boat here!
Great video! Loved it. Can’t wait for Dual Destiny’s and Spirit of Justice that really shine a spotlight on Apollo and his (many) backstories.
The way Apollo was shafted in this game honestly does a lot for his character for me, especially with the added dual destinies context. He's bitter about being sidelined and cheated and struggles to deal with those feelings and I kind of like it. Please capcom give us more Apollo 🤲
Machi needs all that money because he has Machi Tobaye (much to buy)
God my favorite entry!! im so excited this is going to be fantastic
You never disappoint with these long-form retrospectives, thank you so so much for all the time and effort you put into them. They're always worth the wait!! The Gavin voice acting at the end in particular gave me chills, very well performed. ❤
I'm surprised to hear you haven't really touched the 3D titles though, this isn't me suggesting them for their own videos obviously just on your own time, but (and this goes for anyone reading really) I highly recommend checking out The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles! As a spin-off/prequel, while it's completely disconnected from the mainline games, the games make for an incredible duology and in my opinion consistently offer some of the highest highs the franchise has to date (where third cases have the quality of final ones if you can believe it). Fantastic experience to any fan of the series!!
Wanna say how much i LOVE your ace attorney videos!! Eventho theyre hours long they are my comfort watch and i love rewatching every single one every now and again! I dont think i can get this high quality video essay with top notch voice acting (your phoenix wright voice is my headcanon now), such funny yet truly thoughtful script, and amazing video and audio editing with such high level of detail like listing the soundtrack playing and transitioning through points as if we were playing the video game! Im always amazed at the quality of your vids even after tons of rewatches! Also was really excited when you announced you were going beyond the og trilogy cause it feels like no one talks about it! Anyway thank you so much for your amazing hard work! Take your time on the next installments- your videos are worth the wait!
The Apollo Trilogy is starting! I can't wait!!!!
I love how you bring up disability issues such as auditory processing disorder. I wish more reviewers brought that up.
IM SO READY NEZUMIVA MY GOAT
Hearing you talk about trucy's design reminds me of how i cant see her earrings as anything else other than revives in pokemon
as someone who'sa only ever heard about ace attourney games like third or fourth hand I'm most shocked that Trucy being Pheonix's daughter is canon, it just seems like regular old fandom stuff to read that into a regular friendship
apollo justice is so about phoenix it’s almost comical, but the unintended foreshadowing for how apollo’s treated for the rest of what’s supposed to be *his own trilogy* is kind of heartbreaking 😭
i loved hearing your insight on all this tho! i’d been looking forward to it since i saw your videos on the original trilogy not too long ago, and i really appreciate your approach to these games! dual destinies and spirit of justice are definitely… interesting to put it kindly, but i hope you have some fun with it if you decide to play them for yourself
(it was a joy seeing you as a guest on the save data streams as well lol, y’all are great)
A detail I really like about Kristoph is that he is one of the few villains to foil the protagonists abilities specifically.
Kristoph can read people, not as well as Apollo mind you, but he was able to deduce the perfect way to poison Vera discreetly by abusing her habit to bite her fingers. Its really minor, but its cool way to make Kristoph feel bigger than just a schemer.
"....and their pet demon who lives in my walls" made me laugh so hard
the final case with the mason system is so amazing with the time travel
Turnabout corner would in my books be an amazing case bc I love the cases where a random thing happening to some other character somehow holds an absolute wild coincidence that links it to the case but ohh in this case it feels like too much
Only a little way through the video, but have to comment that I LOVE the new style and seeing you in it!
what an incredible video!! i feel like i say it often, but your videos really make me engaged and invested in parts of a series that i hadn't ever planned on touching. plus, your voicework in this video was phenomenal! your REACH is AMAZING!! i really hope you're proud of your hard work in this video ❤
One bit of logic that always bothered me about Magnifi's death is the pace machine going flat. Usually they're connected to a central monitoring unit though one could say in the AA universe, maybe they aren't- fine. But... if Zak shot Magnifi, it going flat would've been noticed for a long time because I never recall Zak confirming he unplugged it or anything like. The crime scene photo also makes it clear everything else in the room is still on. Thus, if Zak shot Magnifi and the staff didn't hear the shot, they DEFINITELY would've heard the flatline especially if it was over the course of TWENTY MINUTES.
Yo that Kristoph scream was absolutely chilling. Fucking brilliant. Absolutely killed it.
I was thinking about Save Data's jokes then it hit me, YOU WERE THERE! Then you mention them and i was like YEESSS!!!
LOVED your guest appearance and you do an amazing job! Keep it up! 👍🏾
I’m so happy to see content from you, and hope you’re continuing to take time for yourself and your healing
I'm less than 20 minutes in and it's already such a funny and cool video. Also love your voicework! Thanks for this video!
Amazing job on your retrospective. I only got introduced to your content this past month but its been a thrill watching your content. Looking forward to seeing much more :)
You follow your passions, and take as much of a break as you need! I look forward to more of your work!
these are some of my favorite videos ever but I'm also hyped for the next upload about something you love
Spectacular video, really reminded me of what made me love this game so much. The script was hilarious and witty and your voice acting was fantastic as always :)