Rate the Ace Attorney case: Turnabout Beginnings (3-4)

Rules:

1. Rate each case on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. Anything above 10 gets rounded down to a 10, and anything below a 1 gets rounded up to a 1.
2. Anything beyond one decimal point will be rounded accordingly: .04 and below will be rounded down, .05 and up will be rounded up.
3. You may grade on any criteria you like.
4. You can rate cases from previous topics if you miss a topic.

Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PiEuURt1qf19VoYzcFCU1EFa8uqs2teJiVcip7JmjDw/edit?usp=sharing

Previous Results:

Farewell, My Turnabout (2-4) - 9.7 (30 votes)
Turnabout Goodbyes (1-4) - 9.2 (32 votes)
Rise from the Ashes (1-5) - 8.2 (28 votes)
The Stolen Turnabout (3-2) - 8.2 (24 votes)
Turnabout Samurai (1-3) - 7.4 (29 votes)
Turnabout Memories (3-1) - 7.4 (30 votes)
Recipe for Turnabout (3-3) - 6.6 (26 votes)
Reunion, and Turnabout (2-2) - 6.5 (25 votes)
Turnabout Sisters (1-2) - 5.7 (25 votes)
The First Turnabout (1-1) - 4.9 (25 votes)
Turnabout Big Top (2-3) - 3.7 (25 votes)
The Lost Turnabout (2-1) - 3.3 (27 votes)

3-3 finishes just above JFA's second best case. People praised Tigre and Tender Lender...sometimes because it's the only thing that's really appealing about the case. It is just a fun case. Meanwhile, 3-2 gets a big jump, now tying with 1-5. Sometimes, the biggest steal is the one that happens right in front of you.

Summary:

Another flashback case--this time, it's Mia's very first case, and it's against none other than rookie prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.

Main Characters: Mia Fey, Diego Armando, Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, The Judge's Brother
Other Characters: Terry Fawles, Valerie Hawthorne, Melissa Foster, Dahlia Hawthorne

My rating: 7/10. An excellent start to the "penultimate" case trend. Mia continues to be great and we get a really solid return of Miles von Karma. The ending to the case is a real gut punch. I unfortunately have to dock points for Terry and Dahlia's relationship, even if it's not at all painted in a good light. I did it to 2-3 and now I have to do it to 3-4.

8

9

9/10

It shows just how great a trial-only case can be. It's also the only case in the series that you know you can't win going into it, so that's hanging in the air the entire time, wondering how it's going to end. And what an ending it is. It's still one of my favorite moments in the series. Miles von Edgeworth is fantastic, as is the Judge's Brother.

9/10

Love both the Mia cases in three, but I give this one the pretty clear edge.

7.5

8

the ending to this case is still probably the most surprising moment in AA history

8

Very good short case

9...... point five

9.6

My favorite non-final case in the original trilogy (and possibly the whole series)!

6.5

Not as good as some make it out to be, but the ending is great.

9/10

Spectacular case in ways that are unique to the franchise. I think the most interesting thing about this case is that there's so few pieces of evidence, and the murder is small in scope, but unlike tutorial cases where the contradictions are obvious, this case is legitimately challenging, one of the trickier brainteasers in all of the franchise probably. Using that map over and over again and wringing as many contradictions out of it as you can is really satisfying. The murder setup is so simple yet so interesting. Dusky Bridge is a spectacular setpiece. 3-4 is one of the only cases that's genuinely interesting from a puzzle game standpoint.

Besides that, the story setup here to 3-5 is amazing. The case is so star-studded that it's kind of amazing - it's almost easy to forget until you think about it that we get Mia, Godot, Edgeworth, and Dahlia all in the same courtroom together. Getting Mia vs Edgeworth, and Edgeworth's first appearance, is strangely easy to take for granted given that Diego, Dahlia, and the Judge's brother are all kind of stealing the show alongside him.

The atmosphere to this case is unique too. It's not devoid of humor - Edgeworth and the Judge's brother are there to provide some hits - but this one is a lot moodier than most cases. Using the fact that you know Edgeworth had never lost a case prior to Phoenix is brilliant foreshadowing - they never bring this fact up directly, but if you've been paying attention you know it can't end well (not to mention the fact that Dahlia is still free and all the bad vibes set up in 3-1 in general).

3-1, 3-4, and 3-5 make for a hell of a sum of a whole and there are times where I could convince myself 3-4 is actually better than 3-5, but I do still have to give it to 3-5 in the end.

9

You know what, change my vote to 9.

8

8

8/10

8.5

It's so short, so it's not as high up on my case rankings as it maybe should be, because the tiny story it does have to tell is riveting .

9

Really, really solid. Engaging the whole way. Dahlia is a fantastic villain.

8

9/10

A brilliant usage of a scenario we know we ultimately cannot win.

Also, irrelevant to rankings, but can anyone remind me whether this or E1-4 takes place first?

9/10

Hard to imagine how this could be better at what it does. The ending is one of the most spectacular moments of the whole series.

7

Much better than the opener but yeah still don't get the hype

kevwaffles posted...

9/10

A brilliant usage of a scenario we know we ultimately cannot win.

Also, irrelevant to rankings, but can anyone remind me whether this or E1-4 takes place first?

E1-4 is first.

8.5/10

Really great case with one of the most socking endings in the series. The only mark against it is that the mystery itself is a little thin but it does its job as a setup case.

Why, Mr. Edgeworth... I'm not sure I like you wagging your finger at me as though I were some hoser!

Mr. Armando, thanks for the coff...ee...

8/10

It's good

I'll bump this one just so it's above the other topic

Whoops!

That warrants an Edgeworth finger wag