Ace Attorney Case Files: Turnabout Big Top

Spoilers for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice for All follow.

 Some people describe "Turnabout Big Top" as the worst case in the Ace Attorney series for many reasons, from a lack of impact on the plot to unlikeable characters to frustrating gameplay segments. Those reasons are good, but Turnabout Big Top does have some potential buried beneath its many shortcomings.

Investigation Day 1

The case begins six months after "Reunion, and Turnabout," and three months after "The Lost Turnabout," with Phoenix, Maya and Pearl going to the Berry Big Circus and watching the various acts, among them the world-renowned magician Maximillion "Max" Galactica.

While cleaning the office, Phoenix gets a call from Maya, who has learned that Max has been arrested for murdering the ringmaster, Russell Berry. As one might expect, Phoenix, not having many clients, decides to defend Max in court.

Max doesn't exactly make the best first impression on Phoenix or the player. He flirts with Maya, is dismissive of Phoenix and doesn't seem to grasp why he's being held in the detention center until Phoenix points it out to him. At that point, he breaks down and reveals that his  real name is Billy Bob Johns, a country bumpkin who wants to support his father. Unfortunately, even after becoming aware of the gravity of his situation, Max still isn't fully honest with Phoenix, such as why he met with Russell before the murder.

The investigation begins, and it doesn't help Max's image at all. The rest of the Berry Big Circus, save for Russell's daughter Regina, despise Max for his arrogance. Moe the clown, an old friend of Russell's, gives Phoenix a hint that leads him to the cafeteria, and helps him realize that Max whacked ventriloquist Ben Woodman over the head with a bottle, since they were in a love triangle over Regina's affections. Keep in mind that Max is 21, Ben is 31 and Regina is only 16; the age gaps are somewhat more acceptable in Japan, but this leads Western players to be wary of Max and despise Ben. Finding out Max's bad behavior results in a Magatama sequence in which Phoenix has to call Max out on lying to him. It later turns out that since Ben is so timid he can barely talk without his dummy Trilo Quist, Max hid the dummy to prevent Trilo from confessing to Regina.

Naturally, Phoenix has to find and return the dummy to Ben, then chase down his attorney's badge to the room of Acro the acrobat, who isn't present that day. This ends up being an important clue for later, but as usual, Phoenix has to go into the first day of the trial half-cocked.

Trial Day 1

Phoenix has his rematch in court with Franziska von Karma, who insists that her loss in "Reunion, and Turnabout" didn't count. One reason Justice For All is considered weaker than the previous and subsequent games is that Franziska is one of the least interesting prosecutors. Her character is rather one-dimensional, due to her being obsessed with winning, and she only starts developing at the end of this  game. It's a sad irony that many of her issues come from a desire to surpass her adopted brother Edgeworth, especially since Edgeworth is more popular.

Detective Gumshoe is on the stand first, and delivers the autopsy report. Pressing his testimony reveals that the victim was found over a locked wooden chest that contains a small container of pepper. There are no contradictions to present evidence for, so once you press enough statements, Gumshoe is dismissed.

Ben and Trilo take the stand, claiming to have seen Max on his way to the crime scene, since he saw someone wearing Max's hat and cloak. For reference, Max has three symbols- a cloak, roses and a hat- and the latter was found at the crime scene. Your first order of business is to establish Ben's rivalry with Max and prove that he might have seen Russell instead, since Ben and Max are not on speaking terms, but Ben said hello to "Max" as he passed. After proving this, the court takes a recess and the game gives you a save point.

The recess has Max talk with Phoenix and Maya about how Russell might have worn Max's clothes when he left the office. Of course, Max doesn't know what happened to his cloak, since his hat was the only thing found at the scene.

When the trial resumes, Moe takes the stand, and unable to deal the pressure of being in court, starts cracking inappropriate jokes. His first attempt at a testimony is him lamenting his failure as a clown, and ends with the judge and Franziska telling him to try again. "What You Witnessed" then starts again, with Moe telling about seeing Max strike Russell on the head, but there's a twist this time. If Phoenix presses the wrong statement and causes Moe to tell his awful jokes, the Judge will penalize Phoenix. Since many players press every statement in order to get as much information as possible before presenting their evidence, and there are times when you must press statements to proceed, you can see why this is frustrating. The statements you should avoid pressing are the ones in which Moe is smiling and laughing, but this isn't obvious unless you know in advance or end up making the mistake once or twice.

Pressing Moe's final statement, in which he claims to have seen Max whack Russell on the head, results in Phoenix claiming Max didn't see the murder, and Franziska challenging him to prove that assertion, lest he suffer a penalty worth 40% of his life gauge. This time, you don't need evidence to prove it, but you must have pressed Moe's third statement, and made him elaborate that a loud sound woke him up. The contradiction's rather basic, but given the risk pressing carries, it's possible for some players to press his last statement without pressing his third, and thus end up getting a hefty penalty.

Luckily, Moe is completely serious during "The Silhouette" cross-examination, and the contradiction is easy- prove that Max has three symbols, whereas the silhouette only had two. However, the judge is unconvinced, and declares that if Phoenix cannot find anything wrong with Part 2 of Moe's "The Silhouette" testimony, he will declare Max guilty.

This leads in to the trickiest part of the trial- if you press any of the statements or present the wrong evidence, you will immediately lose. The contradiction is relatively obvious- present Max's hat, which was left at the crime scene, when Moe claims Max was wearing it the whole time- but this is needlessly frustrating. It doesn't help that in previous trials, the Judge's ultimatum of "Find a contradiction or I will convict the defendant" generally led to a standard penalty, rather than an instant game over.

After that, the rest of the trial is fairly simple- present the Crime Photo(which only shows the victim's footprints) when Moe claims Max walked away, then say Max's eyes played tricks on him. Since Phoenix has managed to cast enough doubt on the case to warrant further investigation, the trial ends for the day.

Investigation Day 2

The investigation starts with Phoenix investigating the bad blood between Max and the other performers, and finding out that as egotistical as Max is, he wants to encourage the others to soar to greater heights. Considering their lack of talent, it's hard to fault him for that observation, even if he could be more tactful.

Phoenix encounters Franziska again, demonstrating a device she uses to track Gumshoe that ends up being important in the next case. She clarifies that while she's out for revenge, it's not for her father- it's for Edgeworth, since she blames Phoenix for his disappearance. As usual, Phoenix finds Edgeworth a sore subject, and asks Maya to never bring him up again.

While investigating the cafeteria, Phoenix and Maya find a major breakthrough- a note addressed "To the murderer." Moe says that Russell was furious upon receiving it, and that he left the rest of the note in his tailcoat. At that point, you can finally obtain the rest of the note from his tailcoat and learn that it calls the recipient to a meeting at 10 p.m.

One odd aspect of this piece of evidence is that you can find the note on the first day of the investigation; it's rather noticeable sticking out of Russell's tailcoat. If, however, you try to investigate the note on the first day of the investigation, or before you find the scrap of paper with the salutation "To the murderer," Phoenix will scold Maya for nosing around. Adventure games often railroad players by preventing them from doing things until the game intends for them to do so, but it's rarely this unnatural.

Phoenix can now meet with Acro the acrobat, a calm, mild-mannered man who gets along reasonably well with the others and is indebted to Russell. Despite this, Acro can't stand Regina for some reason although he tries to downplay it. After a fetch quest for Regina, you learn why. Apparently, Regina's lion Leon was responsible for attacking Acro and his brother Bat, an incident that left Acro wheelchair-bound and Bat comatose, and Acro blames Regina. After Phoenix confronts Acro over the incident, Franziska shows up to have Acro testify in the trial, and Acro leaves with her

Trial Day 2

At the start of the trial, Phoenix and Max both seem convinced that Acro is the culprit, which is hardly a surprise. Not only does Acro have an obvious grudge against Russell's daughter, but he's also the last witness to be introduced. The latter may seem like it doesn't prove anything, but in many cases, the culprit is introduced last, often on the second day of the investigation.

Acro is the only witness to take the stand on this day, and the first half of the second day involves uncovering how he killed Russell Berry. He did this by lowering Max's bust onto Russell's head, while using the chest to make sure that Russell's head was in the right spot. By coincidence, Max's cape, which Russell wore to the crime scene, got snagged on the bust, but Max's hat wasn't, which serves two purposes. First, it ended up creating the illusion that Max flew away from the crime scene. Second, Max's hat being left behind, despite the fake Max wearing the hat, proved that the one flying away wasn't actually him. The way the crime played out involved some improbable circumstances, such as the cloak being snagged on the bust, but it's fairly elaborate.

The second half of the second day discusses Acro's motive. Since he loves Russell like a father, he has no reason to want him dead- rather, he killed him by mistake while aiming for Regina. Phoenix must then shed light on the accident from six months ago, as well as how Acro had given Regina the note, only for Russell to go to the meeting instead. Acro was unable to get up to check who had taken the bait, and ended up killing Russell by mistake, even though Russell was the last person Acro would want dead.

However, there's one piece of evidence left- the whereabouts of the bust that serves as a murder weapon. After a search fails to find it in Acro's room, you must decide where it is- the correct answer being in the courtroom- then identify the exact location, for which there are three choices.

1. The prosecutor's seat. One could imagine that Franziska might have been involved in covering up the crime given how obsessed she is with defeating Phoenix, but this isn't true. If you accuse her, Phoenix gets a 50% penalty.
2. The judge's seat. Obviously, this means accusing the judge of being at minimum an accomplice to the murderer, so he doesn't take it well, giving you a 45% penalty and then a 50% penalty in one of the funniest moments in the trial. See for yourself here.
3. The witness's seat. This is the correct answer, since it's the only place Acro could have hidden the bust after the sudden search of his room.

Acro admits defeat after Phoenix requests a search of his wheelchair. Acro compliments Phoenix and Franziska for cornering him, although Franziska isn't happy about the loss. He then admits that he was bitter about what Regina did to him and his brother, since while he knew it was a prank that had gone wrong, her naivete and ignorance of the consequences infuriated him. That said, he admits that regardless of his justifications, he's a murderer, and there is only one reason he tried to escape justice.

In the aftermath of the trial, Max and Moe, who is now the ringmaster of the circus, make amends and promise to work better together. Regina is overwhelmed by emotion after learning about Acro's desire for revenge, and the optional evidence presentation has Phoenix show why Acro won't be coming after her- he wanted to stay around to see Bat come out of his coma. Regina offers to visit Bat in Acro's stead to atone for what she did.

Elsewhere, Gumshoe talks with someone about the surprise investigation on Acro's room, which wasn't Franziska's idea. The one who proposed it is none other than Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix's missing friend and rival.

Conclusion

Let's address each of this case's main shortcomings.

The first is a lack of impact in the story, as barely anything is relevant to the overall plot. The case sets up Franziska keeping Gumshoe under surveillance, reinforces that Edgeworth is still a sensitive topic for Phoenix and finally reveals that Edgeworth is, in fact, alive, making this one of the more extraneous cases in the series.

Second are the case-exclusive characters. Some of them, like Max and Moe, have at least some hidden depths that round out their characters, but the majority of them make a bad first impression on players, and some, like Ben, never get over that first impression. Acro is rather affable and doesn't have any annoying quirks, but a good portion of the fanbase understandably can't forgive him for trying to murder a teenage girl who's his benefactor's daughter, even if that girl unwittingly ruined his and his brother's lives.

Third is the gameplay segments, particularly Moe's testimony, which I mentioned above. One could make an argument for later games in the series, especially Dual Destinies and the first Investigations game, being too easy by virtue of most penalties averaging being 10% of your life bar rather than 20%, but that doesn't mean that the game should arbitrarily give out more severe penalties. The best way to make the games challenging is to force players to think carefully about their evidence presentations and dialogue choices, without being too counter-intuitive.

The anime, however, addresses these problems. Not only do you not have to play the case, but the infamous first trial day is reduced to a few minutes in the second of three episodes devoted to the trial. Max becomes a bit more likeable in the anime, especially since as a condition for getting a raise, he offered to split his salary with the other performers. The only thing that the anime doesn't address is the lack of relevance to the overall plot of Justice For All, but the case is only three episodes long, the average length of a case in the adaptation.

After watching the anime, I gained a greater appreciation for "Turnabout Big Top." Despite its problems, it's also a genuinely tragic case in which most parties have the best of intentions, but cause others to suffer through their own mistakes. It's not the best case in Ace Attorney by a long shot, and probably deserves to be considered the worst in some circles, but it had potential that the anime manages to realize.