Board 8 > Ace Attorney Discussion Topic, Part 4 - Dark Age of the Law Edition

(+) Yeah! (+)

ted tonate's name is ughhhhhhhh.

and yeah, the black psyche locks going up was awesome. they provide a phenomenal anchor for that investigation day, and one of the worst parts of AA6 investigation is the way that they always end with a momentum/drama-killing recap instead of a dramatic discovery like that (echoes of larry's second set of psyche-locks flying up in 3-5...!)
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+1 to that. I usually don't mind the streamlining but that's one spot where the game explicitly tells me what matters. the best part is when there isn't anyone to talk to so they just fetch Ahlbi.
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SeabassDebeste posted...

(though I disagree that the magic panties is so awful - she's on screen WAY more here than in her minor other cases, so I didn't see her in need of rehabilitation.)

You can talk to her at the office in every investigation day and literally every time she swings the topic toward her magic panties in some way or another, so yes, she did need to be made into a legitimate character again. She's great in 5-5, but she's not in it very long either. DD seemed a little squeamish to be too closely affiliated with anything from AJ except for Apollo himself. They played it really safe in that sense. It might have been necessary, but Trucy suffered the most from it. Thankfully, SoJ was a lot more willing to acknowledge AJ's canon (but still no reference to the Jurist System lawl).

I literally didn't even realize there was a "recap" scene in SoJ until you guys mentioned it. I guess it didn't bother me that much.
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I thought the black psychelocks were dumb. Phoenix mentions having seen them before, but they were on Kristoph, and it's clear that the justification for them being black is different, so that makes no sense.

i don't remember returning to the office a single time in any case of aa5. the way they start your investigation on site just had me following the script basically.

Paratroopa1 posted...

I thought the black psychelocks were dumb. Phoenix mentions having seen them before, but they were on Kristoph, and it's clear that the justification for them being black is different, so that makes no sense.

the explanation is terrible, agreed, but the spectacle of it is great

which is also my issue with the recap scenes - spectacle matters
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SeabassDebeste posted...

i don't remember returning to the office a single time in any case of aa5. the way they start your investigation on site just had me following the script basically.

You start in the office a few times, but if you're like me and you want to get all the dialogue you can, you'll go digging for it anywhere you can find it. You rarely need to do anything in the office in the OT either, but why would you pass up on the great stuff you can find there? Trucy can pretty much be optional for most of the game if you want her to be, but that's no fun.

Paratroopa1 posted...

I thought the black psychelocks were dumb. Phoenix mentions having seen them before, but they were on Kristoph, and it's clear that the justification for them being black is different, so that makes no sense.

Well, you've got to keep in mind that DD is written by a different team than AJ. They don't know what Takumi's original intentions were for the black Psyche-Locks (if he even had any other than to be dark and mysterious), so they had to come up with some explanation of their own. Maybe they consulted with him about it, but who knows.

I can buy into them being something so deeply seated that it's difficult to extract it from them under normal circumstances. In both cases, the events of seven years ago are just part of who they are and they're deeply etched into their psyche. You can't expose that secret without fundamentally changing (or damaging if you do it wrong) them. The idea about the person being unaware of the secret themselves is suspect in the case of Kristoph, sure, but that's just a minor quibble, in my book. The explanation satisfies me sufficiently, despite a flaw or two in it.
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yeah, I spend next to no time there. I didn't even know you could be upset about magic panties past 4-2.
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4-2 is the one time they weren't completely terrible!
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Finished trial day 1 of 2-3; I forget if that's the end of the bad part or if the second investigation is also weak.
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Day 2 has Acro as well as a much improved Moe and Max, so it's pretty decent.
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day 2 of 2-3 is really, really good imo

day 2 investigation is okay but forgettable, but the trial is fun
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Yeah I remember the Acro testimonies actually being really good
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All right, I've hit the save point in the 5-5 trial, and it's taken quite a while to get here (I'm beginning to wonder if it can top 3-5 day 2 for the single longest trial day thus far), so I figure I ought to sum up the case to this point! Three testimonies so far: One from Fulbright (where he's testifying on Aura's behalf using notes she's compiled about the case), one from Ponco, and an expansive Mood Matrix testimony from Blackquill, with a whopping five contradictions that covers every single thing the mechanic does. It's probably the single hardest part of the game, because there's a part where you have to determine whether the contradiction is in his emotions or in his testimony. There's one in each, and it's one of the rare times in DD where the game doesn't give you a strong hint of which one you need to inspect first. I got hung up a little bit there, but it wasn't too bad.

Anyway, the exploded courtroom setting is fantastic. Atmosphere is a big thing for me, so providing a top notch setting goes a long way, on top of this being Phoenix vs. Edgeworth for the first time since 2-4. So much good fanservice here. Even the Judge gets excited about it! They take some fun jabs at each other along the way, but it's mostly serious business once Ponco (or, as Edgeworth refers to her, "Panko," despite being corrected every time he does it) takes the stand. You see a really good contrast between the way Phoenix and Edgeworth operate here, perhaps better than anywhere else. Edgeworth follows the logic wherever it may lead, even when the resulting truth is ugly and unpleasant. Phoenix continues to believe, no matter how much the deck seems stacked against him, because that's what a lawyer does. Edgeworth thinks with his head and Phoenix thinks with his heart, but they're both very adaptive and willing to change their minds as new evidence and facts present themselves. They both ultimately want to find the truth, although their differing approaches mean sometimes they have a hard time understanding each other. I love it when Edgeworth starts questioning if Phoenix has actually regressed as an attorney because he won't face what seems to him to be a patently obvious fact. That's what makes Phoenix the best. Even when Edgeworth starts questioning him, he presses forward anyway. He never gives up and eventually finds a way.

The Ponco testimony is excellent, one of my favorites in the series due to how unique it is. Ponco states things just as she "saw" them, but since robots don't perceive reality in the same way humans do, you have to do a lot of interpretation to figure out what they mean, and it can be interpreted in multiple ways. Edgeworth does a good job of forcing the logic to go in the direction he wants it in order to paint Athena as the culprit. Eventually, he's got nearly everyone believing what he wants them to believe...

Until Blackquill shows up. He actually stands up really well against Edgeworth and adequately gives alternate explanations for all of his observations of Ponco's testimony. Then he has a crazy Mood Matrix where he's able to confound the system better than anyone has. At two separate points, the Noise percentage actually goes up, which was a "Whoa" moment for me. However, eventually, Phoenix is able to bust his testimony. You know you've hit at the heart of the matter when Blackquill starts using his full name instead of calling him "Wright-dono."
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Yay, all of the cool parts of 5-5!

Blackquill finally tells the whole truth, and it's pretty chilling. All the stuff about Athena attempting to "fix" her mother because she doesn't know it doesn't work that way and the image of her soaked in blood is disturbing. Even Athena is convinced she did it now, as faint memories return, although they contradict the evidence, giving Phoenix new life to strike back. We get an excellent Revisualization where he comes to the realization that Athena did, in fact, stab someone, but it was the real killer, not her mother. With that, we get a great moment where all of Athena's black Psyche-Locks shatter simultaneously, and memories start flooding back. We find an image of the Phantom on the security video, and Edgeworth concedes the match to Phoenix.

However, Apollo isn't ready to concede yet! He busts in right before the verdict, and we hit the save point! Still a ways to go!
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Paratroopa1 posted...

Yay, all of the cool parts of 5-5!

that would be almost all of it...!
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LeonhartFour posted...

(I'm beginning to wonder if it can top 3-5 day 2 for the single longest trial day thus far),

I took this entirely for granted. It would surprise me at least minorly if 3-5 day 2 were somehow longer.

But yeah, the Edgeworth-as-prosecutor part is by far the best of 5-5. Is he still prosecutor during Apollo on the stand?

Really enjoy this writeup. This segment of 5-5 is so good.
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almost all of it! too bad the most important part is where it steps back a bit
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I think if the Phantom showdown were like 45% as long, it would be incredible. It really sucks that a case this good doesn't stick the landing.
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5-5 complete! So after the three testimonies from the first half, we added four more: One from Apollo and three from the Phantom (although the game never actually capitalizes the "P" when referring to him). Let's start with the best part: The Apollo cross-examination is a top ten moment in the series for me. It's simple and straightforward, but you get some great stuff from Phoenix and especially Apollo. He's able to match wits with Phoenix as he presents the case against Athena, and of course, Phoenix can't bluff his way past him because Apollo knows how he operates. Perhaps the best moments are the couple of times he does the Kristoph Gavin pose, both oblique references to him. He does it when saying that sometimes people have motives they can't comprehend, and the other is when he says, "Evidence is everything in court." Edgeworth doesn't contribute too much during the cross-examination proper, but he does have one great line when Apollo uses the fact that Phoenix proved the culprit escaped through the Space Museum to corner Athena (since she was the only one captured by the camera coming out): "Having something you proved get turned on its ear and used against you...That is vintage Phoenix Wright."

Then Apollo asks Phoenix if he can think of any other way the culprit could have escaped, and he says he can. Apollo calls his bluff, but says it's fine if it's a bluff because he's desperate to find any reason to trust Athena again. He explains how Athena kept triggering his bracelet during the entire investigation and how he had to wear the eyepatch just to keep himself sane, which makes me sad that we never got that investigation, but I don't know how you have it without giving away the twist at the end of 5-4. Apollo demonstrates the fundamental difference between himself and Phoenix by saying belief and doubt go hand in hand, and he had to face his doubts head on in order to be able to completely, fully trust Athena. Apollo can't believe on blind faith the way Phoenix can. He's similar to Edgeworth in that he needs a basis for his belief. Say what you will about him getting pushed to the side too often in DD, but Apollo killed it when he was on screen, which I think helped to set up his star-making role in 6-5.

Next, Phoenix makes a deduction worthy of Sherlock Holmes: Using only some dead leaves, he throws out the possibility that the door was opened in the middle of the launch pad switch and the culprit made a death-defying leap onto the emergency ladder. I see tran argue sometimes that Phoenix is superfluous and doesn't have a real purpose in DD, but nobody but him could have pulled off 5-5. This is a case he was made for. Nobody does "insane turnabout out of nowhere" quite like him. Bluffing and "talk first, think later" aren't major weapons in Apollo's arsenal. Plus, as he later states, Phoenix (and Blackquill) feel an obligation to be the ones who personally take down the Phantom to atone for the sins of their past. After his doubts have been put to rest, Apollo removes the bandages and Blackquill loses the handcuffs to take over for Edgeworth the rest of the way.

Speaking of the Phantom, the business about the emergency ladder brings one Bobby Fulbright to the stand once Phoenix puts Aura's statement together with the culprit's escape. His first testimony is pretty great because he keeps adding statements to his testimony without being asked and deliberately makes it longer and more complicated to muddle things up. Then the possibility of the lighter being forged evidence comes up, and Apollo's bracelet catches it. Blackquill's finally willing to let him use it, and we're able to discover that the lighter is actually a gun! Spy gadget ahoy!
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Fulbright tries to claim that he's not the Phantom, but he's been working for him because his family held him hostage. Blackquill pulls off his best instance of psychological manipulation by pretending to believe Fulbright to get him to express his emotions (or lack thereof), and Athena picks up on it. We get a couple of excellent Mood Matrices (I guess that would be the plural): One where nothing registers and then one where everything registers, which is super cool-looking and mind-blowing the first time through. I am proud to say that I got that one right on the first try, too!

We get one final testimony from Fulbright when Phoenix accuses him of being afraid of the moon rock, and he conjectures that he must've gotten blood on it when Athena stabbed him. By the way, when Fulbright clinches his fist, you can see a mark on his hand that looks like the symbol in the Ace Attorney logo, but in reality, it's probably a scar from where Athena stabbed him. What's with the big bads having weird scars on their hands anyway? It's better than THE DEVIL, at least!

Finally, all the masks start coming off. I still love it when he pulls off the Fulbright mask to reveal Starbuck underneath. It makes me laugh so hard because it's an excellent misdirection because it makes absolutely no sense for the Phantom to be Starbuck, so you wonder where they're going with this until you realize that's just a mask, too. A lot of people dislike this last stretch where he starts pulling off all these masks, but it doesn't bother me. I like when they start talking about what kind of person he is deep down, and Blackquill says, "What do you see when you look in the mirror? Not much, I'd wager." Then there's a great moment when he objects to Phoenix in his voice, and Apollo goes, "...Mr. Wright, did you just object to yourself?"

The final piece of evidence is Athena's earring, so you can prove that the moon rock fragment they found the Phantom's blood on is the same as the moon rock from seven years before. I love the triple point by all three attorneys at the end before the breakdown and the BOOM HEADSHOT! Well, I guess it wasn't a headshot because he survived, but still.

Phoenix and Edgeworth have some cool exchanges after the trial. Edgeworth says he owes Phoenix yet another debt of gratitude, but he replies that he's done his part because he knows he helped him get his badge back, so that's cool. Phoenix also says he should look happy for a change, and Edgeworth's reply is, "So you're saying I should smile more? ...I'll think about it." They missed a great chance to use Godot's classic line, "The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over" when Athena cries at the end, but oh well. It's all good! 5-5 still a top tier case!

5-5 investigation day 1 playtime: 2:02:41
5-5 trial day 1 playtime: 4:13:24
5-5 in-game trial total: 6 hours, 1 minute
5-5 total playtime: 6:16:05

E2-5 - 9:36:06
3-5 - 9:35:46
2-4 - 9:05:21
1-5 - 8:46:43
E1-5 - 8:42:23
E2-3 - 8:09:06
E2-2 - 7:29:23
5-2 - 7:13:40
5-3 - 6:50:24
4-4 - 6:38:01
5-5 - 6:16:05
3-2 - 6:02:56
E2-4 - 6:01:14
4-3 - 5:58:33
3-3 - 5:48:31
2-3 - 5:06:33
1-4 - 4:59:52
4-2 - 4:58:35
E1-4 - 4:58:26
2-2 - 4:47:40
5-4 - 4:27:31
E1-3 - 4:02:16
1-3 - 3:49:35
E2-1 - 3:36:32
E1-2 - 3:15:49
1-2 - 2:40:40
5-1 - 2:19:33
4-1 - 2:11:44
3-4 - 1:54:15
E1-1 - 1:44:51
3-1 - 1:43:09
2-1 - 1:15:57
4-0 - 1:09:44
1-1 - 0:33:35

5-5 takes the title for longest trial day and longest single day from 3-5 day 2! 5-4 and 5-5 would be the longest case by an hour if you want to be one of those who combines them! Probably where 6-5 ends up!

Oh right, the credits lasted for 10 minutes, 15 seconds if you want to clip that off of the overall run time there. DD definitely has the best ending theme, for the record.
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Wow, I actually overshot 5-5. Whoops.

Is 5-2 seriously going to end up being the longest case in the game? 5-6 might beat it, but I don't think it does.

the times are off, but I got the order right so far! I also picked 5-6 to beat them all which was probably a bad move but we'll see.

LeonhartFour posted...

Next, Phoenix makes a deduction worthy of Sherlock Holmes: Using only some dead leaves, he throws out the possibility that the door was opened in the middle of the launch pad switch and the culprit made a death-defying leap onto the emergency ladder. I see tran argue sometimes that Phoenix is superfluous and doesn't have a real purpose in DD, but nobody but him could have pulled off 5-5. This is a case he was made for. Nobody does "insane turnabout out of nowhere" quite like him.

eh, my complaint is that him and Apollo are duplicative in AA5. they don't really differentiate the two of them. Apollo does a lot of what you say in 5-2 - and sometimes he's totally wrong! but he also nails who wore the mask and the hair dye at the end of 5-2 which is equally nuts. in truth, 5-5 should have been Apollo's case, especially after 5-2. they made it about Phoenix and Edgeworth when the real meat of the story is Apollo, Athena and Blackquill. Phoenix and Edgeworth have no real ties to that case at all but it ends up working out because they're good characters and it's a good case.

they were in the same situation with AA6 but they made the choice to go all in on Apollo instead of sidelining him. they also do a much better job of differentiating the two characters. having them face off and then work together in 6-5 trial day 2 really helps with this.
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Eh, I don't view Apollo in 5-2 in the same vein. The conclusion about the mask makes sense once you realize who the Amazing Nine-Tales really is. He makes some crazy theories, but it doesn't feel the same as Phoenix to me. I see more distinction between the two in DD than you do.

As far as personal significance goes, that doesn't bother me too much either. Phoenix is fulfilling the role he never fulfilled in AJ by being the good example, boss, and leader he should have always been, both to Apollo and Athena. I know you say you don't see that in him here, but I definitely see him acting as "the wise sage" to two young lawyers who need it. The case is more significant to Apollo, but he's not prepared to handle it yet, so Phoenix helps to bring him along and get him ready for SoJ. Without Phoenix in 5-5, there's no Apollo in 6-5. That's how I see it, at least.
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For the record, I think the whole 'Phoenix is a craaaazy bluffer' thing doesn't really come through nearly as much in the original trilogy. It feels more like an AA5 exaggeration and that's one of the problems with AA5.

He isn't given 'distinguishing' characteristics like that there, because he's a player avatar. A very cool player avatar with a lot of personality, but not one with specific quirks that differentiate him a ton from Apollo in AA4, for instance.

The issue is more 'too many cooks in the kitchen' than 'Phoenix is bad.' AA6 recognizes this, so it gives Athena the shaft during the game and gives Apollo the boot afterward.

On a more positive note (since I seem to trend negative talking about AA5 and especially Phoenix), I really do like 5-5. Phoenix actually does feel in some ways like the right guy for the case, because he's the leader. Neither Apollo nor Athena is ready to take on a case of this magnitude yet, and Phoenix (built up properly by the otherwise crappy 5-1) does feel like the master of these ridiculous turnarounds. It's the failure of the phantom to be a great opponent that highlights the tenuous Phoenix connection. Phoenix vs Edgeworth is fireworks, for example.

I'd say Phoenix is probably a bit more out of place in 5-4 (and maybe 5-6) than in 5-5, where the Phoenix-Athena pairing is much weaker than Apollo-Athena.
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Well, Phoenix was exactly what I wanted him to be in DD and I wouldn't change it for anything. He's a large reason why it's my second favorite game. And yeah, Phoenix bluffs less in DD, but he doesn't need to do it as much because he's just a better lawyer now. He's effective when he does it though. He's better now at the ridiculous turnabout. The one at the end of 5-6 might be just as good as the one in 5-5.
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honestly, even though it's by far the worst case of the three phoenix cases, 5-4's turnabout - the moving stations - was the one that got me most excited. 5-4 > 5-6 > 5-5 for biggest surprises, imo.
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I really wanted to like 5-5 but the ending was so anticlimactic that it really killed the whole thing for me. I don't suppose we're expecting any spy shenanigans in AA7?
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one thing I don't like about aa5/6 is that they openly mock Phoenix for just making shit up. it didn't feel that way in the OT, not to the extent that they do it in the 3ds games. Phoenix is accomplished but also feels far more desperate. it doesn't jive super well. some of that is just the expanded dialogue that you get with those games. the OT was more to the point and didn't focus on the back and forth quite so much.
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transcience posted...

one thing I don't like about aa5/6 is that they openly mock Phoenix for just making shit up. it didn't feel that way in the OT, not to the extent that they do it in the 3ds games.

yeah, this is what i was getting at, with post 326

transcience posted...

some of that is just the expanded dialogue that you get with those games. the OT was more to the point and didn't focus on the back and forth quite so much.

i thought the OT had a ton of amazing banter and dialogue, but a lot less reacting to the reaction of the reaction to something. blackquill's breaking out of chains animation is great, but every time he does it, everyone gets all shocked and reacts for about 45 seconds. godot's biggest move is his coffee-throw, and that only happens twice and takes like 30 seconds before he moves on to his point.
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Phoenix has the reputation of being a bluffer both in - universe and out, so I don't mind it being a bit exaggerated now. That's how legends work.

Also, the only extended freak out when Blackquill breaks the shackles is 5-2 day 1, so you're just wrong on that front. The Judge is the only one who freaks out after that and it takes five seconds.
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I can't really talk about the dialogue and the nuances between OT and AJT. But Phoenix definitely gets a lot more flack for his bluffing than in the OT and they exaggerate how much Phoenix bluffs. Maybe it's because they need a way to differentiate Phoenix from Athena and Apollo and "bluffing" kinda became Phoenix's "thing." Maybe it's because Phoenix has more people to work off of now - it used to be just the prosecutor and judge that made fun of Phoenix's bluffing in the OT, but now you got Athena and Apollo poking fun at it too. Maybe it's just one of many changes that came with the AJT. It's a little bit of a sour point, but it's a pretty small detail.

Reading that write-up on 5-5 makes 5-5 look really good. 5-5 is just such a weird case. It's a really good case all around, but it never quite reaches epic tier due to its brevity and its ending. I actually like the whole Phantom thing (starbuck mask is a top 10 humor moment in the series) and I am still so-so on 5-5.

It's interesting that 5-5 is just barely out of reach of 4-4. Does that say more about DD or AJ?
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Well, 4-4 and 5-5 are the most unique epic cases in terms of their format. The MASON System gives 4-4 a large chunk of its length. It's a short case without it.

But I love 5-5 and DD as a whole. If I didn't know better, I'd swear the game was made just for me. It hits all the right points. I can't praise it highly enough, as I'm sure my writeups have made clear.
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LeonhartFone posted...

Phoenix has the reputation of being a bluffer both in - universe and out, so I don't mind it being a bit exaggerated now. That's how legends work.

Also, the only extended freak out when Blackquill breaks the shackles is 5-2 day 1, so you're just wrong on that front. The Judge is the only one who freaks out after that and it takes five seconds.

hmm, guess i'll find out whenever i replay the post-OT games

fedorafreak posted...

I can't really talk about the dialogue and the nuances between OT and AJT. But Phoenix definitely gets a lot more flack for his bluffing than in the OT and they exaggerate how much Phoenix bluffs. Maybe it's because they need a way to differentiate Phoenix from Athena and Apollo and "bluffing" kinda became Phoenix's "thing." Maybe it's because Phoenix has more people to work off of now - it used to be just the prosecutor and judge that made fun of Phoenix's bluffing in the OT, but now you got Athena and Apollo poking fun at it too. Maybe it's just one of many changes that came with the AJT. It's a little bit of a sour point, but it's a pretty small detail.

totally agreed with this. also, i don't think phoenix has chemistry with apollo/athena the way they do with each other, partially due to his being established and athena just being kind of a wacko.

Reading that write-up on 5-5 makes 5-5 look really good. 5-5 is just such a weird case. It's a really good case all around, but it never quite reaches epic tier due to its brevity and its ending. I actually like the whole Phantom thing (starbuck mask is a top 10 humor moment in the series) and I am still so-so on 5-5.

5-5 is 20% longer than 1-4 - you might have reasons not to consider it among the greats, but i don't think brevity ought to be held against it. and if you enjoy the phantom mask stuff then that overcomes the weakness of the non-reveal face, i think - the problem for me is more with the phantom mask stuff period.

It's interesting that 5-5 is just barely out of reach of 4-4. Does that say more about DD or AJ?

says more about the trend to the uber-long trial days than about 4-4, i'd say. the fact that 5-2 dwarfs 4-4 is the more eye-opening statistic.
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You can argue Phoenix and Athena lack chemistry, but not Phoenix and Apollo. They're great together. It's probably because they save it just for really special occasions, but Apollo with Phoenix as his partner in 6-5 is excellent. I don't think that case is as good without that dynamic. They're great together in 4-1 and 5-5, too.
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pitted against each other, sure (and 4-1 apollo/phoenix is somewhat antagonistic too).

but yeah, this is a criticism of AA5 phoenix - AA6 fixes it nicely
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Also, legends tend to get exaggerated as I said. SD has been perpetuating an exaggerated legend about Blackquill this entire topic series and DD isn't even four years old...!

It makes even more sense in SoJ because you have a culture that's been indoctrinated to believe all lawyers without exception blatantly lie and make stuff up.
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SeabassDebeste posted...

pitted against each other, sure (and 4-1 apollo/phoenix is somewhat antagonistic too).

but yeah, this is a criticism of AA5 phoenix - AA6 fixes it nicely

It's only antagonistic at the end when Phoenix reveals the bloody Ace was fake and Apollo punches him. He's a super hardcore Phoenix fanboy the entire case up to that point (he literally turns on his boss in favor of Phoenix), and Phoenix is actually helpful for the only time in the game.
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2-3 beated

It really wouldn't be a bad case if it wasn't for day 1!
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It's mostly just day 1 Moe!
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(trilo quist)
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(Regina Berry)
(Max)
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transcience posted...

(trilo quist)

Great!

transcience posted...

(Regina Berry)
(Max)

Inoffensive
Good, although noticeably improved on day 2!
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5-6 investigation day 1 complete! We get a fully voiced intro from Phoenix to open this case, as well as a cutscene of the Swashbuckler Spectacular. Phoenix is excited to have his badge back, but Athena is more excited about the aquarium show. He finally manages to get their attention and flashes his new attorney's badge at them. Just like riding a bike! It doesn't take long for the first new client to roll in looking for Phoenix Wright. Unfortunately, she starts making terrible fish puns left and right, so it's not a good first impression. I love puns, but you can't force them the way Sasha does! Phoenix isn't sure his reputation precedes him or not when she makes a bad pun off of his last name, too, but eventually we find out that it does when we learn the client is an orca. Apparently, Sasha is familiar with his case involving Polly. Athena's reaction to finding out about it is great. Those moments where you know something from the OT that Athena and Apollo don't are fun. I imagine Apollo knows about Polly though...! (See sig for details)

Anyway, I love Shipshape Aquarium as a location. The backgrounds are just plain gorgeous. In terms of pure aesthetics, the Aqua Tunnel might be the best looking locale in the series. Everything turns a weird shade of orange when Pearl's Psyche-Lock activates here later, too, which really makes it seem like a psychedelic clock like Athena says...! 5-6 really feels like they took the extra time to make it look better and do more "special" things with it, like the fully voiced intro. 6-6 is a different story, but more on that when we get to it.

Turns out this isn't being treated as a homicide case, but as a case of negligence and accidental death, so we've gotta find proof that Orla didn't kill the victim in order to prevent her from getting put down. It's an interesting approach to a case, looking for evidence of foul play at all. Investigating the orca pool is fun, because there are a lot of neat props around. There's a giant octopus thing that Athena comments would be a fun challenge...in court, and Phoenix points out that it has too many arms for her to out-objection it.

We meet Norma DePlume in the infamous PUB O'DANGER. She has a Psyche-Lock...but unfortunately, the Magatama has run out of juice. Fortunately, in fiction, you can have happy coincidences, so who should also happen to be at the aquarium at the same time but Pearl! She gets her own intro cutscene, to boot! 5-6 being this DLC case you can play any time makes this weird because you could have already met Pearl in 5-5 or this could be your first time. It makes interactions with Fulbright interesting, too. It's weird thinking that Pearl is an adult now and she's only a year younger than Athena. It doesn't seem right. I love the remix of her theme in DD, too. It's just fun. I'm really glad they brought Pearl back, even just as a harmless cameo in both games so far. She's just so charming and pleasant that it makes me happy just to see her and talk with her.

During the investigation, Phoenix manages to get all of the females involved in this case angry with him, wondering if anger is the only emotion he inspires in women. I hear ya, buddy! There are some fun interactions with Pearl and Athena. If you show her the fish, she asks Phoenix if he's been fishing, which is silly, but her naivete is part of the charm. He mentions that they're for Rifle, and Pearl wonders if the penguin would let her feed him. Phoenix says he thinks Rifle would take a fish...from Pearl. Athena catches the drift and says what Phoenix really means is that Rifle wouldn't take a fish from her. He denies it and says, "No, no, that's not what I meant at all," but in his mind, he goes, "That IS what I meant though." So good.
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I'm going out of order a bit here, but let's talk about Rimes a little bit. His rapping gimmick is pretty great, and that's how we're introduced to him here as Phoenix just hears someone rapping out of nowhere and wonders what the deal is. He asks us to find Rifle and Small Fry for him, and that's how we got the fish. He's also clearly very fond of Sasha, which does not escape Athena's notice. She apparently eats this stuff up, so she asks Rimes point blank if he likes Sasha. He denies it in a way that essentially confirms it, by saying stuff like he really respect her even though they have different taste in music (Sasha is supposed to represent a punk rocker, as per the art book, after all).

Anyway, once the Magatama gets charged up again, we can break Norma's Psyche-Locks and find out she's investigating the orca's so-called violent history. She's a non-fiction writer. Apparently, Athena is familiar with her, as she goes, "Oh, you're THAT Norma DePlume." However, when Phoenix goes, "So...big fan, huh?" she fervently denies it. She's not fond of being referred to as "yellow girl," I guess, but I can't blame her!

After one last quick investigation of the orca pool, in which Athena takes a volleyball straight to the face from Orla, we manage to find a golden pirate coin with blood on it, which points to a possible human culprit. When we ask Sasha about these coins, I hoped she would tell me there were 882 pieces of gold in all, but there's only 300. Missed opportunity there! We posit the possibility of someone putting all the coins in a bag and bludgeoning the victim to death. It's a slim chance, but Blackquill apparently thinks it's enough to take the trial to court, so we're on!

I'm going to mention this now before I forget about it, but I thought for sure we were going to get an Orla testimony with a Mood Matrix at some point! It felt like a natural match since she can't actually talk and Athena claims to be able to understand her emotions. Another missed opportunity in my book! Oh well.
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Something I've been wondering about 5-6 - do we definitively know when in the timeline it occurs? It MUST be after 5-2 (Apollo and Athena have met) and MUST be before the start of 5-4 (Apollo is not yet wearing an eyepatch), but do we know if it takes place before or after 5-3?

Also yeah no Mood Matrix for Orla DOES seem like a really big missed opportunity. That's pretty weird.

5-6 is so delightful

day 1 isn't all that special, though
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Yeah, we do. 5-2 takes place in April. 5-6 takes place in July. 5-3 takes place in October. 5-1, 5-4, and 5-5 all take place in December. Phoenix doesn't have his badge yet in 5-2 (as you can see on his suit), and the reason they're at Themis in 5-3 was because he was invited to speak due to his return to the legal world.
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