Rate the Ace Attorney case: The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story (G1-5)

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:

Bridge to the Turnabout (3-5) - 9.8 (37 votes)
Farewell, My Turnabout (2-4) - 9.7 (30 votes)
Turnabout Revolution (6-5) - 9.6 (25 votes)
Turnabout Goodbyes (1-4) - 9.2 (32 votes)
Turnabout Reclaimed (5-6) - 8.8 (23 votes)
The Golden Court (L-3) - 8.6 (14 votes)
The Inherited Turnabout (E2-3) - 8.5 (16 votes)
Turnabout Beginnings (3-4) - 8.4 (26 votes)
The Rite of Turnabout (6-3) - 8.4 (22 votes)
Rise from the Ashes (1-5) - 8.2 (28 votes)
The Stolen Turnabout (3-2) - 8.2 (24 votes)
The Adventure of the Runaway Room (G1-3) - 8.2 (19 votes)
Turnabout For Tomorrow (5-5) - 7.9 (27 votes)
Turnabout Memories (3-1) - 7.4 (30 votes)
Turnabout Samurai (1-3) - 7.4 (29 votes)
Turnabout Academy (5-3) - 7.4 (27 votes)
The Grand Turnabout (E2-5) - 7.3 (16 votes)
Turnabout Target (E2-1) - 7.1 (17 votes)
Turnabout Trump (4-1) - 6.9 (25 votes)
The Magical Turnabout (6-2) - 6.7 (22 votes)
Recipe for Turnabout (3-3) - 6.6 (27 votes)
The Fire Witch (L-2) - 6.6 (14 votes)
Reunion, and Turnabout (2-2) - 6.5 (25 votes)
The Monstrous Turnabout (5-2) - 6.5 (23 votes)
The Adventure of the Great Departure (G1-1) - 6.0 (20 votes)
Turnabout Ablaze (E1-5) - 6.0 (19 votes)
The Cosmic Turnabout (5-4) - 5.9 (24 votes)
Turnabout Sisters (1-2) - 5.7 (25 votes)
Turnabout Reminiscence (E1-4) - 5.6 (22 votes)
Turnabout Storyteller (6-4) - 5.3 (21 votes)
The Imprisoned Turnabout (E2-2) - 5.3 (16 votes)
The Forgotten Turnabout (E2-4) - 5.2 (16 votes)
The Foreign Turnabout (6-1) - 5.0 (23 votes)
Turnabout Visitor (E1-1) - 5.0 (20 votes)
The Final Witch Trial (L-4) - 5.0 (13 votes)
The First Turnabout (1-1) - 4.9 (25 votes)
The Kidnapped Turnabout (E1-3) - 4.6 (22 votes)
English Turnabout (L-1) - 4.3 (14 votes)
Turnabout Airlines (E1-2) - 4.2 (22 votes)
Turnabout Countdown (5-1) - 4.1 (24 votes)
Turnabout Corner (4-2) - 4.0 (25 votes)
Turnabout Time Traveler (6-6) - 3.9 (19 votes)
Turnabout Big Top (2-3) - 3.7 (25 votes)
The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro (G1-4) - 3.6 (18 votes)
Turnabout Succession (4-4) - 3.5 (24 votes)
The Lost Turnabout (2-1) - 3.3 (27 votes)
The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band (G1-2) - 3.2 (18 votes)
Turnabout Serenade (4-3) - 2.7 (24 votes)

G1-4 gets a whole lot of meh and GAA1 gets its second case in the bottom 5. People liked Soseki and some were mixed on John Garrideb and the Beates. No one liked Joan Garrideb or the murder mystery.

Summary:

Of the many stories written about the adventures of Herlock Sholmes, only one has never seen publication: the curious case of the Hound of the Baskervilles. And when the manuscript resurfaces in the middle of a murder, it's up to Ryunosuke to uncover the truth and take the first step towards banishing the darkness lurking in London's underworld.

Main Characters : Ryunosuke Naruhodo, Susato Mikatoba, Herlock Sholmes, Iris Wilson, Gina Lestrade, Mael Stronghart, Barok van Zieks, The Judge of the Old Bailey, Tobias Gregson
Other Characters : Pop Windibank, Eggert Benedict, Magnus McGilded, Nash Skulkin, Ringo Skulkin, John Garrideb, Maid Juror, Stereoscope Juror, Doctor Juror, Telegraphist Juror, Vilen Borshevik, Ashley Graydon, "Thrice-Fired" Mason Milverton

My rating: 7.5/10. This is easily the lowest stakes finale case, but I dont really mind that. The game creates stakes in other interesting ways. Susato suddenly having a rift with Ryunosuke was interesting and I especially loved the cast warming up to Gina. The Skulkins are great and I really liked Graydon and Gregsons roles too. I felt like it really made the most of the multiple witness mechanic.

Not sure if anyone did this yes, but I averaged out the case ratings for each game:

Trials and Tribulations - 8.08
Ace Attorney 1 - 7.08
Spirit of Justice (without DLC) - 7
Dual Destinies (with DLC) - 6.77
Investigations 2 - 6.68
Spirit of Justice (with DLC) - 6.5
Dual Destinies (without DLC) - 6.36
Layton - 6.125
Justice For All - 5.8
Investigations 1 - 5.08
Apollo Justice - 4.275

Gave separate rankings for with/without DLC because I feel like people aren't going to consider those cases as strongly when ranking the games as a whole.

Trial and Tribulations is a monster. Its worst case (at a 6.6) is better than half the series averaged out.

Investigations 1 is the only game without a case that scored above 6/10. Truly a consistently underwhelming experience.

Spirit of Justice's average really gets tanked by its DLC.

Layton is propped up by its third case.

lol AA4.

8/10

7

It's fine, but it is easily the most forgettable final case in the series. Even Layton's is at least stupid.

6

7.5

Pretty solid stuff. Definitely unmemorable though.

9/10

The cat door stuff is a bit silly and Windibank's gimmick is questionable but I remember liking it a lot otherwise. Mario and Luigi are two of my favorite witnesses.

7.5/10

It's a lot longer than it needs to be because the lead-up to the actual murder takes forever. Might be the longest amount of time until someone actually dies for a case in the series. The investigation isn't super great either and it has some dumb stuff in it.

But once Mario, Luigi, and the lost Mario Brother take the stand during the trial, it gets really fun. It's a shame Takumi treats this game as a setup for the next game, so these cases don't stand well on their own in many respects.

8.6

I'll go with 7/10 as well.

I remember decently liking it but I can't remember most of the details.

7/10

Yeah, it's alright, innit? It doesn't really feel like a finale case - the whole thing still feels like it's all intended to be prologue for the second game, asking more questions than it answers. This is probably a hot take, but in my opinion, it might actually be the most forgettable case in either game - there's a lot of order of events and things revealed in this case that I can't remember very clearly. But in spite of a dull villain and a lot of a really meaningful overarching plot to get behind, this case is still fun, because at least it feels like GAA has finally hit its full gear, and as usual the main cast is great and all the animations and presentation are top notch.

For me, ranking the games goes like this - 4 is by far the worst AA game by any metric. After that, there's the 'mediocre' trio of AAI1, Layton, and this game, and it's hard for me to pick which one I like the least. GAA1 is better than the sum of its parts due to its excellent cast, animations, and being a good prologue to the next game, but it also has the lowest highs - I like even the finale of AAI1 more than this game. I gave this game's cases 6 5 7 1 7, which is... pretty mediocre. I can see why this game didn't do great - I think I would hate this case a lot more if I had to wait two years for the sequel.

6/10

If it wasn't a finale case, maybe I'd bump it up, but it's so so bad as a finale that I can't help but hold that against it. The villain is just.... there. The surrounding cast is just...... there. When I ranked G1-3, I talked about how it showed you but didn't tell you something about a big twist and that I didn't think anything but 6-5 did that, but now that I think about it, the cat flap is another example. It's a cool twist, but it's definitely the high point of the case, but that's kinda embarrassing for a finale.

This is our main foray into Shady Gregson, though, which is the best Gregson, and is why I like his character so much. And the list of names you get right before the credits is a hell of a cliffhanger to leave you on. I am certainly glad we got G1 and G2 at the same time, or otherwise I would've been pissed .

7

8/10.

Its very good but does feel a bit like it lacks that finale oomph in part because, well, its not really a finale. However, I actually thought that in hindsight, the slow start that is basically its own self-contained story was actually kind of genius, as it both gives the characters a lot more time to develop and then ties in towards the end in a really satisfying way. When I was playing it I was a bit why is this taking so long and then at the end I was like ohhhh. Plus it has the Skulkin Brothers.

G1-4: 6
G1-5: 2

always liked G1-4 despite being so freaking weird

G1-5 is just disappointing

meh

6.5

G1-3: 8
G1-4: 5
g1-5: 6

7

Cat flap is bad but I had fun

This one will stay up an extra day.

9/10

I really like this one! It goes on for a long time, but I was never bored. I liked spending time with the GAA crew for so long before things hit the fan.

The cat flap may be a bit silly but I'm happy Susato finally takes a step out on her own here and loses faith in the legal system so much that she messes with a crime scene. This isn't satisfactorily followed up on in the sequel but that's the next game's problem. In her absence we get assistant Iris, who is a ton of fun. She's given an unexpected amount of depth here, and it's her best showcase in the duology.

I see some complaints that this doesn't feel like a finale, but personally I disagree. Graydon is merely decent but the real final boss is Gregson and by extension the British legal establishment, I love everything about Shady Tobias on the witness stand. No GAA case uses multiple witnesses on the same stand better than this one. And this is a killer case for Ryunosuke, despite the second game's subtitle his resolve is on full display here and I think it's a more satisfying personal climax for him than the second game's (where he plays a much smaller role and the final blows are dealt by someone else):

By fair means or foul, you're determined to due your duty. Well... by fair means or foul, I'm prepared to do mine! I will stop at nothing to protect my client! I don't care who I make an enemy of!

Come on, the guy risked his own livelihood and openly blackmailed the British government in court purely to protect a young girl who the world had given up on. What a badass!

I've not even mentioned the Russian juror and his mouse, more McGilded fun, or my favourite comedic witnesses in the entire series: the Skulkin brothers. Sure, Windibanks isn't great and I never want to view things stereoscopically again, but I had an absolute blast with this case!

Oh yeah I love the sightseeing Russian tourist.

I will be heading to see Crystal Tower after this

Am I the only one who actually liked Cat Flap. Show you an innocuous thing early in the case, then after you've forgotten about it the instant they show it in the climax you have that instantaneous epiphany of what it was used for, how you'll win the case now, and the implications for what the suspect knows. That epiphany moment was one of the highlights of the case imo.

Being cynical about the "silliness" of it in an Ace Attorney game is something I don't get lol. My only issue is how it was designed in the actual anime scene because that seemed a bit inconsistent with how it's portrayed in-game.

8/10 from me I guess. Enjoyable enough

I like the cat flap, I don't have any issues with it

My only issue with the catflap thing is that apparently no one could hear Iris making one during the trial. That thing is super loud.

Andy's post is the closest to my feelings. This is the GAA cast (it's strongest suit) in full form finally solving a real case - which makes it a good experience. I'd call this case very underrated based on the posts here, and I wonder how much of that is because people went into it wanting a "finale" case when it's really more of a case 3.

I honestly don't mind this case as a finale - it hits a lot of the beats of one, and it's almost certainly the highest stakes for the game.

Yeah, I don't think it's lacking as a finale necessarily. I think the entire game is a bit lacking because it's just treated as the prologue to the next one.

Also I was one of the people who watched the YouTube LP of this game and had to wait however long that was before the official English release to see what happened next in GAA2.

Those two statements clearly contradict... the idea that all I do is pit jurors against each other!

Leonhart4 posted...

Also I was one of the people who watched the YouTube LP of this game and had to wait however long that was before the official English release to see what happened next in GAA2.

How satisfying was it to get to G2-2 and realize that there was a reason G1-4 existed

G1-5 is definitely lacking as a finale because of its super-weak villain

Paratroopa1 posted...

How satisfying was it to get to G2-2 and realize that there was a reason G1-4 existed

I was honestly kinda disappointed at first we were doing a follow-up flashback case to G1-4 in particular as the first full case when I saw what it was!

Thankfully, it delivered!

G1-4 - 5.5

Oops I had some bad health days! Thanks again for letting us rank previous days. I'm probably overrating this one by a smidge, because I am very much in the Joan Garredib is one of the worst AA characters of all time camp. To the point that I ended up ALSO seeing Patricia's animations as more abusive than the devs probably intended. But damn, I love Tobias Gregson and Soseki Natsume, perhaps too much. Also the crime was laughably bad, but at least there's payoff in the second game.

G1-5 - 8

I'm kind of in the "this doesn't feel like a finale" camp, but that doesn't really bother me as I went in treating both of these games as one entity. It's weird because on paper it DOES feel like a finale, but playing through it is a bit of a different beast.

Windibank is a good character that's ruined by a single gag. Just why with the weird suicide joke don't do that. Don't ever do that again. Graydon is good! I love how he follows up on G1-3's mystery. His friendship with the Skulkins was kinda cute too.

I didn't mind the cat flap thing, but overall I wasn't really a fan of Iris at this point in the story. I think it is because I always felt like this game was more subdued, at least aesthetically, than the other titles in the franchise. Gina, however, was the star. Ryunosuke's defence of her was incredibly touching. And Susato! I wish she had a stronger payoff in the second game, but I love how her story ended in this one.

8.0

It was just a good, solid case. It obviously isn't meant to be a super epic final case because the GAA games are structured to be a continuous duology, much more than the Phoenix Wright/Apollo Justice trilogies. This was just a good halfway point case and the most expansive case in the first game. But because of that role, I also can't really rate it higher because there are more interesting non-final cases in the series IMO.

Looking at GAA1 separately, it doesn't seem like a strong game. But it's a fine setup for the entire story spanning 2 games and 10 cases.

Technically it was supposed to be the end of the first of three games. So at the time of creation, it wasn't meant as a halfway point. Things were just getting started.

SpoinkRulezz posted...

But it's a fine setup for the entire story spanning 2 games and 10 cases.

Okay but imagine if GAA1 and GAA2 didn't release at the same time. That's what happened in Japan the reception was apparently a tad dire.

I've said this before, but I read somewhere that Shu Takumi's initial plan for the first Phoenix Wright game was for 1-2 to be the finale case of the game, but producers/editors told him to pick up the pace.

So GAA1 is what happens when he's established himself enough that no one gets to tell him what to do anymore, apparently.

(I actually don't know how I'd speed up GAA1 anyway - cases 1 and 3 are necessary, and 2 is mostly necessary as well, at least for Kazuma and the introduction of Susato and Sherlock), and I think G1-5 needs at least one normal case in Britain before it, but maybe that's not true and it could've worked as a case 4, with a real finale case as a case 5.)

Takumi wanted to write a detective mystery novel, and the first third of a mystery novel is the setup. There's no sense of urgency or the necessity to write a complete story because you know you've got at least one more game.

Yeah, I basically felt while playing it that he had a story he wanted to tell that didn't really "fit" into the ace attorney format but he had to make it fit anyway.

Well, GAA1 is essentially the only Ace Attorney game that was made with the expectation that there would be another one. With the rest, there was no guarantee it wouldn't be the last one, so they had to make sure they told a complete story.