LogFAQs > #979909071

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 Goodbyes (1-4) - 9.2 (32 votes)
Turnabout Beginnings (3-4) - 8.4 (26 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)
Turnabout Target (E2-1) - 7.1 (17 votes)
Turnabout Trump (4-1) - 6.9 (25 votes)
Recipe for Turnabout (3-3) - 6.6 (27 votes)
Reunion, and Turnabout (2-2) - 6.5 (25 votes)
Turnabout Ablaze (E1-5) - 6.0 (19 votes)
Turnabout Sisters (1-2) - 5.7 (25 votes)
Turnabout Reminiscence (E1-4) - 5.6 (22 votes)
Turnabout Visitor (E1-1) - 5.0 (20 votes)
The First Turnabout (1-1) - 4.9 (25 votes)
The Kidnapped Turnabout (E1-3) - 4.6 (22 votes)
Turnabout Airlines (E1-2) - 4.2 (22 votes)
Turnabout Corner (4-2) - 4.0 (25 votes)
Turnabout Big Top (2-3) - 3.7 (25 votes)
Turnabout Succession (4-4) - 3.5 (24 votes)
The Lost Turnabout (2-1) - 3.3 (27 votes)
Turnabout Serenade (4-3) - 2.7 (24 votes)

E2-1 lands right among the other highly praised Case 1s. Most people liked the energy and ambition, with some not even considering this to be a tutorial case. Knightley is also very well-liked. Some people praised the pacing, with the implication that all the other AAI2 cases are poorly paced. Edgeworth not knowing who de Killer is was brought up as an issue, but it didn't seem to impact ratings too much.

Summary:

When Edgeworth heads to the detention center to question his latest trial defendant, he learns of a murder that's taken place right inside the prison! No choice but to solve it, right? But then a new judge and prosecutor take to the scene, and they are determined to make Edgeworth's job as difficult as possible.

Main Characters: Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, Kay Faraday, Raymond Shields, Justine Courtney, Sebastian Debeste
Other Characters: Simon Keyes, Anubis, Horace Knightley, Jay Elbird, Frank Sahwit, Patricia Roland, Sirhan Dogen, Regina Berry

My rating: 4.5/10. Some really cool ideas here. Knightley is a fun victim in that his strong characterization from E2-1 is carried over to this case too. This is one of the rare cases where there are multiple suspects and the culprit isn't obvious...assuming that you don't metagame and think "why does this character have animations when she speaks 20 lines of dialogue". The motive is super interesting, basically become some level of psychological warfare and gaslighting. We have an OT cameo but they're not ruled out as a suspect...in fact, they're an accomplice. Courtney and especially Debeste make a strong first impression.

But this is also the biggest example of pacing issues in AAI2. I...feel there's a big difference between pacing in AAI2 and other games, though. I feel like the bloated cast really causes the pacing to come to a crawl. Something bad happened! Edgeworth's immediate reaction. Gumshoe's reaction. Kay's reaction. Courtney's reaction. Debeste's reaction. Shields's reaction. Witness's reaction. Edgeworth comes back with a nuanced take. It's just...a lot. And while I like Courtney, I don't like her announcement of taking away Edgeworth's badge. It happens basically immediately and comes up for the next few cases. And again, it's one of those things that just keep coming up...and up...and up.