Board 8 > Rate the Ace Attorney case: The Final Witch Trial (L-4)

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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 Reclaimed (5-6) - 8.8 (23 votes)
The Golden Court (L-3) - 8.8 (13 votes)
The Inherited Turnabout (E2-3) - 8.5 (16 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 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)
Recipe for Turnabout (3-3) - 6.6 (27 votes)
The Fire Witch (L-2) - 6.6 (13 votes)
Reunion, and Turnabout (2-2) - 6.5 (25 votes)
The Monstrous Turnabout (5-2) - 6.5 (23 votes)
Turnabout Ablaze (E1-5) - 6.0 (19 votes)
The Cosmic Turnabout (5-4) - 5.9 (23 votes)
Turnabout Sisters (1-2) - 5.7 (25 votes)
Turnabout Reminiscence (E1-4) - 5.6 (22 votes)
The Imprisoned Turnabout (E2-2) - 5.3 (16 votes)
The Forgotten Turnabout (E2-4) - 5.2 (16 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 Countdown (5-1) - 4.1 (24 votes)
English Turnabout (L-1) - 4.1 (12 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)

We now had 3 games in a row with a case that has been called the best non-finale case and they all scored roughly the same! L-3 gets praise for Jean, Emeer, and the many twists. Many also said it made PLvPW worth it.

Summary:

This is technically 3 separate cases: The Final Witch Trial, The Last Inquisitor, The First Story. This will just be counted as one total case.

Phoenix takes on Espella's defense one last time as the city prepares to judge the Great Witch, while Layton uncovers the truth behind the Storyteller.

Main Characters: Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey, Hershel Layton, Luke Triton, Espella Cantabella, Eve Darklaw, The Labyrinthian Judge, The Storyteller
Other Characters: The Vigilantes, Kira, Newton Belduke

My rating: 1/10. This is a contender for my least favorite case in the series. For starters, Espella, Darklaw, and the Storyteller are all characters I do not find compelling at all. Having them take center stage is justbad. This is definitely more of a Layton ending than an Ace Attorney ending. While I dont mind Layton endings, the two games styles really clash here. Its also just really long.

1

I remember being enraged at the ending just being fucking stupid and it's probably the reason this is the only game in the franchise I've never revisited, even through an LP

8

It had some serious issues, but it still had some interesting things regardless.

7/10

This is a tough one to rate. Despite its flaws, I generally stay entertained most of the time, so I'm going to give it a good score. It's a bummer that Barnham has no role in the trial at all, but having Layton show up to fill the role of Inquisitor at the end made up for it.

The tricks of how the Storyteller maintained the illusion of magic are absurd, of course, but I guess I have more of a tolerance for it after seeing what some of the solutions for other Layton games are (looking at you in particular, Diabolical Box).

This isn't a case.

9

Dels posted...

This isn't a case.

????

4/10

Certainly not deserving of a 1 in my opinion, but also I get the idea that "this isn't a case" too.

Uh 5 I guess?

6.5/10

LeonhartFour posted...

????

It's a big exposition dump.

Dels posted...

It's a big exposition dump.

I mean the very very end of it is

but there's a lot of stuff that happens before that

That's not really how I remember it (though we've established I don't have a great memory)

Like sure, someone probably died and some witnesses definitely get on the stand, but the "prosecutor" certainly wasn't trying to prosecute your client and most of it amounted to people just explaining the overarching plot to you, not actually getting into the nitty-gritty of a specific murder like in a typical ace attorney case.

Darklaw was absolutely trying to prosecute Espella for the murder of the Storyteller (and in the overarching plot, being the cause of the Legendary Fire)

Layton comes in for the final...maybe 20% of the case? And the Storyteller is maybe there for the final 10% of it. As Bitto said, this is a really long case. In fact, counting the "investigation" segment after the trial segment of L-3 ends, it takes up almost half the game.

Okay I forgot Darklaw was even the prosecutor tbh.

What was she trying to prosecute Espella for though? Like was there an actual crime scene with a set of circumstances and evidence and witnesses to go through, or was it like "well you did this crime and to explain why, I am now going to go back 20 years and talk about the past... (where we also will not get into any particularly ace-attorney-like specifics of the events)"?

But there's no point in answering me, I really don't remember the details of the case. I don't even have any clue what the three different components listed in the OP are. All I definitely remember is that while playing it, I felt like it was just the end of a Layton game where they explain all the mysteries and stuff, but they had to have a courtroom and a judge and a "murder" but it wasn't at all the most pressing part of the case.

Yes, there was a crime scene, evidence, and witnesses (ten of them at once!). It transitions into a Layton game at the very end when, well, Layton shows up.

Okay! I'll have to see when I replay it if I had a mistaken impression or for what reason that part of the case didn't land for me!

English Turnabout: 6.

I thought I ranked it.

Final Witch Trial: 2

Its kind of hilarious how Barnham ends up being completely useless, except for driving a boat in the ending to remind us that he exists.

Barnham deserved better.

1

It sucks.

Like, it's not even that it's a Layton plot explanation, although it is that, and it's kind of ludicrous, but I did know that that was what I was getting. But it just takes SO LONG to get through it all, and I found the emotional core at the heart of the story completely lacking, especially compared the previous case. And the actual Ace Attorney part of it is like... bad? You spend a LONG time on it but there's not really anything to prove at the end of the day aside from Darklaw carrying Espella up the tower I guess. But by the time you feel like you're starting to unravel the mystery it all comes out that the whole thing was fake anyway. It kinda makes you feel like you wasted your time. Especially cross-examining the goddamn guards, which are just like... oy.

Yeah, I don't know. I want to like it because like, I love the setting, the court looks super awesome, and everything's set up for an exciting finale and there's just nothing there. It's a huge letdown that takes like 10+ hours to slog through. I hate it.

L-1: 5
L-2: 6
L-3: 6
L-4: 4

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7

I mentioned before that I'm just immune to Layton plot bullshit. Is it stupid? Yes. Do I care? No. Do I understand why other people hate these sort of twists? Yes, absolutely. The one big aspect of the ending that I didn't care for was Espella attempting self game over. I honestly think that the ending would sit better in me if she considered it but slipped and fell instead. Just a specific peeve of mine ig.

I like Layton in the prosecutor role, and tolerate Darklaw, but I wish there was a more satisfying conclusion with Barnham. He does well enough in the puzzle/investigation sections of this leg of the game, but then just ... disappears. And the thing is, Luke also just disappears! Though I wouldn't want this trial to last too long, I do wish they managed to bring these two characters into the fold before the final cutscenes roll.

The Vigilantes are ... wild lmao. A Professor Layton game utilizing "step on me, mommy" as an aspect of the greater mystery? This trial would be banned by Fandom for hornyposting.

The meshing of both games doesn't stick the landing perfectly, but I was still satisfied.

Honestly I went in this ranking expecting to be the odd duck simp for this game, and this case is definitely why.

https://youtu.be/ej6ryLn54J8?si=Zg1TrGN0NnRbt1OW

Layton's theme when he shows up at the end is so good

Also if you've never seen any of Layton's wrong answer dialogue, look it up. The sheer delight Phoenix displays when he finally gets to tell someone else they're wrong is so great.

Also it's too bad we didn't get the story they teased in the original reveal trailer

9/10. I actually liked it and thought it was a decent way to not have anyone die. Kira is cute. Backstory is tragic. Storyteller is tragic. Layton's boss battle with knights had awesome music even though it made no sense.

I like that Wordsmith came back as a Vigilante. He was my favorite of the random witnesses.

SoJ will go up later today.

She Dzibilchaltunchunchucmil'd herself!

Oh yeah, speaking of Layton being "prosecutor", his wrong answers are absolutely hilarious. I don't care about the picarats, I always make sure to get them all wrong in every run besides my 100% run. The only way to get Layton's damage animation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnBk4JHC1tk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlyP0NXq_bc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seSLngaZjdI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxTSCnaQmOs

Thats pretty great! PLvPW is one of two AA games I dont own, so I didnt get the chance to see the wrong answers the only time I went through the game.