Board 8 > Rate the Ace Attorney case: The Imprisoned Turnabout (E2-2)

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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.

4/10

Definitely the weak link of the game. AAI2 is a really long game, but this is the one case where I feel its length. I don't find Roland or Dogen particularly compelling as antagonists. Debeste and Courtney get better later in the game, but they're mostly just time wasters here in a case that already goes too long.

That being said, I really like Ray here. The prison is a cool setting, and the Sahwit and Missile cameos were highlights.

2/10

Agree on this being the worst one in the game.

4

It's fine. Not great, but fine.

Haven't played AA2, but I was watching an LP of this game and this case was so obnoxious that it prevented me from watching the rest. Felt like vintage AA1!

6/10

Yeah, I like the unique setting. Also now that I think about it, the character designs in AAI2 are generally a massive improvement over AAI1 (though I admit I probably put more emphasis on that compared to others). The case is fine, the length is a bit unwieldy especially for a second case but it's not too bad.

5/10

The pacing of this one IS rough. It goes on a lot. I think the biggest problem with it is how many new characters it has to introduce. This case has a LOT of introductions to get through that are important for various reasons but hoo boy. That said - prison's still a cool location and I do love the weird AA1 callbacks with Sahwit showing up and the return of Gumshoe's three secret weapons. By the way, did you know the detention center and the prison are NOT the same location?

Paratroopa1 posted...

By the way, did you know the detention center and the prison are NOT the same location?

Yeah, I think this was the most mind blowing part of this case.

I mean...isn't that true in real life?

5

Weakest case in the game, and I second that Courtney and Debeste got better in later cases. But it has enough things I like about it to keep it from getting a low score.

4/10

Very long, not great payoff. Some cool animations though, especially the animal robe.

Bitto posted...

I mean...isn't that true in real life?

Ace Attorney often doesn't imitate real life...!

Kind of surprised by the low ratings here, though I don't know if I disagree with them. At the time, I remember still riding the high of how good case 1 was and even this case still just felt better than AAI1's cases did. But in retrospect, that's a pretty low bar, and this case wasn't particularly special or memorable in any way. I think if you asked me after I played it I would've been like "7/10! That was pretty good!" but I don't think I'd feel the same way now that I'm not coming out of the AJ+AAI dark ages.

KamikazePotato posted...

Haven't played AA2, but I was watching an LP of this game and this case was so obnoxious that it prevented me from watching the rest. Felt like vintage AA1!

I mean I don't blame you if E2-2 feels like more of the same, but the last three cases are all quite good and feel like an altogether superior experience to AAI1.

5.3

Most of AAI2 drags on, but this is the only case where you can really feel it.

5/10

Cool premise that doesn't really shine as much as I would have hoped.

And yeah Courtney and Debeste have perhaps the worst introductions of any major characters in the entire series.

4 - it's not bad, but it just overpromised a bit. no need to act like it's that epic, none of us expected it to be epic anyway!

6

6.5

now i know why i kept coming across ship art of knightley and keyes. finally, i can rest in peace knowing this great mystery has been solved.

joking aside (though i'm not joking that much, i really did see a remarkable amount of ship art of those two back in the day!) this was a pretty ok case, but it does do some heavy hitting reintroducing old characters and introducing new ones. still not done with the game, but i'm far enough along to know that ray, courtney, and sebastian return. and first impressions are ... not great. they aren't all bad - if sebastian's story goes the way i expect, ill love him, and courtney has a great theme and design that makes watching her kind of entertaining. and im far enough in the inherited turnabout that ive changed my mind about ray by now. pacing is just rough introducing all these characters and set pieces.

but, i think the bare bones of this case is good. the addition of animal characters is the right kind of bonkers. it offers more dimensions for solving a crime, but doesn't have a level of suspension disbelief as a supposed blind kid shooting a man fatally. i honestly loved the new characters and felt sorry for roland. probably the first time i really felt bad for a culprit since bridge to the turnabout! i even retroactively felt a little bad for knightley because of keyes. a top ten comedy moment in the series is seeing the gang all nervous about meeting a prisoner ... only for him to be frank fucking sawhit. god, so damn good. it was even nice seeing regina again. i hoped for some more maturity from her, but at least she doesn't think that knightley's a star in the sky .... which is improvement!

debated ranking this one higher, but i can't justify it with the knowledge that it slogs a bit and wouldn't be so fun on replay.

6.5/10

Enjoyable enough and man AAI2 just has leagues better character designs than AAI (though I admit I probably put more emphasis on them than most other people). The length is becoming a problem, especially since it's only the second case, but I don't think it's quite bad enough.

6/10

The case goes on quite a bit too long, and it almost felt like it was going to try and approach I-5 for most dragged out case when I played it. Courtney and DeBeste are both at their most obnoxious, and I don't find Dogen or Roland that interesting, but the most offensive thing about this case is just how long it is. At least we get to see how Frank's doing, and Shields is just a delight.

9/10.

This is one of the few cases in the series that actually surprised me on who the culprit was and with tthe continuity with the preceding case got me to realize that AAI2 was going to be something special.

GiftedACIII posted...

This is one of the few cases in the series that actually surprised me on who the culprit was and with tthe continuity with the preceding case got me to realize that AAI2 was going to be something special.

tbf i agree with both of these, but the case itself is still becomes a bit of a drag

7.5

(Wait! There's no way I'll be able to interrogate a dog!)

Ace Attorney cases are certainly not political.

Truly we are in the dark age of Gamefaqs.

Raka_Putra posted...

6/10

Yeah, I like the unique setting. Also now that I think about it, the character designs in AAI2 are generally a massive improvement over AAI1 (though I admit I probably put more emphasis on that compared to others). The case is fine, the length is a bit unwieldy especially for a second case but it's not too bad.

Raka_Putra posted...

6.5/10

Enjoyable enough and man AAI2 just has leagues better character designs than AAI (though I admit I probably put more emphasis on them than most other people). The length is becoming a problem, especially since it's only the second case, but I don't think it's quite bad enough.

Raka, you rated twice. ...I'll go with the 6.5 since it's the more recent of the two, but let me know what your final take is!

Oh sorry I thought the previous message wasn't posted. I'll go with the latter one!