Ace Attorney Case Files: Turnabout Trump

Welcome to the inaugural installment of the Attorney Case Files. Like the Danganronpa Case Files, this will look at a case in the series.

 Apollo Justice is one of the more divisive entries in the Ace Attorney series for many reasons. It takes place seven years after Trials and Tribulations, introduces a new protagonist, has previous protagonist Phoenix Wright return as more cynical and morally gray than before and makes other changes fans were hesitant to accept. The third and fourth cases were relatively weak in certain ways (I may do an entry on either one in the future)

That said, the first trial of Apollo Justice is considered to be the best case in the game (which, admittedly, doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment), largely because of the twist involving the culprit's identity. There's a bit more to it, though, so I'll explore why it's a fairly strong first case.

The First Half

The first half of the case helps establish the basic facts and serve as a tutorial for cross-examinations, pressing and other mechanics. Ace Attorney has a slower pace than Danganronpa, forcing you to think more carefully, but without the pressure of a timer.

The tutorial is a bit more abridged in this installment. Unlike Phoenix's first case the Judge does not ask Apollo questions to evaluate his readiness for the trial, as a tutorial for multiple-choice questions. The first cross-examination consists purely of pressing statements, unlike in the first game, in which the first case could be completed without pressing a single statement. Overall, the case is significantly more complicated than the unplanned murder stemming from a failed burglary that kicks off the series.

To begin with, there's the first witness, Olga Orly, who seems like a natural choice for the culprit. The previous three games' first cases generally had the culprit turn out to be the only witness who took the stand apart from the defendant (in Justice For All's case, Detective Gumshoe also took the stand). Orly has a meek and unassuming facade that gradually gets worn down. She also gets caught in several obvious lies, such as claiming that the victim had been strangled when the autopsy report showed that he had been bludgeoned on the head, a common early-game contradiction that must be pointed out. After being pushed far enough, Orly drops her facade entirely, like the initial culprits of the original game and Trials and Tribulations. She even goes as far to change her appearance to better reflect her true self, throwing off her heavy coat to reveal a card dealer's uniform.

Of course, while Orly is far from innocent, she isn't a murderer. She merely cooperated with the victim, Shadi Smith, to try to frame Phoenix Wright for cheating at cards, and it's gradually revealed that the killer was a third party who wasn't in on Smith and Orly's scheme. Despite this, getting the right verdict requires leaving no stone unturned, resulting in the player having to look into every detail about that evening, no matter how minor.

The process of doing so is fairly entertaining and a good challenge level for a first case. Some of the evidence prompts are a bit more elaborate than one would expect of a first case in Ace Attorney such as calculating the value of the chips to find that Phoenix was winning at the time of the murder. Others make use of the DS' touch screen and more advanced graphics; the first three games had originally been released on the Game Boy Advance in Japan, hence why their original DS releases look a bit less polished than Apollo Justice. For all its flaws, Apollo Justice does improve on its predecessors in some regards.

The True Killer

Eventually, the time comes for the defense to find the true killer, and the finger of blame falls on none other than Phoenix's friend and Apollo's mentor, Kristoph Gavin. In the context of the trial, Kristoph ends up outing himself by offhandedly referring to the cards being blue at a time when they'd only been shown in a black-and-white photograph, but he'd slipped up even earlier than that. After murdering Smith, Kristoph had received a call  from Phoenix, and referred to Smith's bald head despite Smith having worn a hat.

Naturally, the rest of the trial involves taking Kristoph down, and it's no easy task. It requires rethinking how the deceased was positioned at the time of his death and the positions of the furniture in the room to unravel the lies in Kristoph's testimony. A search of the club uncovers a critical piece of evidence- the bottle where Phoenix hid the card that Smith and Orly had tried to plant on him- and helps finally prove Kristoph's guilt. Kristoph admits defeat, but refuses to disclose what motive he had to murder a man he had apparently never met before the fateful evening.

The victory is a bittersweet one. Phoenix has avoided an unjust murder conviction, but he is still unable to practice law. Apollo won his first case, but his mentor has been arrested and he himself is out of a job. This leads Apollo to reluctantly join the Wright Anything Talent Agency, an unlikely start to his legal career. Perhaps him joining up with Phoenix Wright seems like a foregone conclusion, but having the player character's mentor turn out to be evil, unlike Mia for Phoenix and Grossberg for Mia, is a welcome twist that subverts expectations in a good way.

Shortcomings

I would be remiss if I did not point out one of the more controversial parts of the case. The key piece of evidence to taking down Kristoph- an Ace of Spades with a drop of the victim's blood on it- was actually a fabrication, since Kristoph stole the real card. In fact, the fabrication worked to Phoenix's advantage, as Kristoph's protestation that the card was  fake only helped prove that he was the killer.

This tactic was apparently necessary to ensure Kristoph's conviction, but at the same time, it's somewhat disturbing to see Phoenix stoop to such depths after being critical of prosecutors who tried the same thing. This development is foreshadowed when Damon Gant asks Phoenix Wright if defense attorneys can also forge evidence, but since Phoenix was never seen in the seven years between his last trial and being charged with Smith's murder, it's harder to accept him gradually changing. Compare Miles Edgeworth, who gradually came to see the error of his ways as the "Demon Prosecutor" over the course of the first game, and returned as a changed man near the end of Justice For All.

For better or for worse, this shift in Phoenix's personality seems to be mostly forgotten about. Phoenix never does anything this questionable for the rest of the game, and by the time he gets his badge back in Dual Destinies, he's mostly back to his original personality. In some ways, that's a welcome development, but from a writing standpoint, it's a bit disappointing that this personality shift seems to be little more than a phase.

Conclusion

While Apollo Justice is not one of the stronger Ace Attorney titles, it does get off to a good start. One of the game's strengths is how each case feels relevant to the overall narrative, so it's good that they start the game with a case that has an excellent twist, and also has more significance in the context of later cases. The later cases don't quite live up to the first one, but it's still a fun start to the game, and a good example of how to begin an Ace Attorney sequel with a new protagonist.