Ace Attorney Case Files: Turnabout Succession

Spoilers for Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney follow

Apollo Justice is one of the most divisive entries in the series, and it's not hard to see why, especially with what happened to Phoenix.

The last trial is one of the least traditional in the series. While most trials alternate between investigation and trial phases, the final case of Apollo Justice jumps between the present and seven years ago.

Investigation Day 1(Present)

The case begins by showing the MASON system, as well as a series of images- past and present, events you have seen and don't know about yet, while cryptically saying that the story is about to go into the events of the past seven years.

At the start, Apollo and Trucy are watching a TV promo for Valant Gramarye's next show, which will be held at the Sunshine Coliseum in three days. Phoenix arrives and reveals the truth about his "top-secret mission"- it's connected to the "Jurist System," which will bring back trial by jury, a system that Trucy only seems to barely recall. It's worth noting that "Jurist" isn't exactly the right term for jurors- the former refers to legal experts, while the latter is the term for the ordinary citizens who compris juries. Phoenix says they'll use a new murder case to test the system, but warns Apollo not to talk to anyone about it.

After hearing about the Gramaryes, Phoenix gives Trucy an envelope as a present and says not to open it until she needs to.

Phoenix and Trucy visit their client, but only get her to give her a business card with her name- Vera Misham- and the address of the Drew Studio. She also is seen doing her nails, which becomes important later.

At the studio, Apollo finds some paintings, one of which is half-finished and has a rough sketch of a different image underneath it, then realizes it is the crime scene. Ema reveals that Vera is under arrest under suspicion of poisoning her father, Drew Misham. Misham was poisoned when he met with a reporter, the first person other than his daughter he'd met in years, but while the reporter seems like an obvious suspect, he never touched the coffee Vera served Misham. Vera apparently didn't notice the reporter was there when she served the coffee, which might explain why she could have committed the murder with a witness around.

An examination of the crime scene reveals that the mug, not the coffee, was poisoned with atroquinine, and there are traces of atroquinine on a small frame on the desk. There is a suspicious red envelope in Misham's drawer, with a date from seven years ago.

You then use an X-ray machine to examine the envelope, which turns out to be a letter from Misham's client about a payment of $100,000 for a job. The X-ray minigame is fun, but unfortunately requires you to hunt down pixels even if you've deciphered the messages

Ema knows something about Drew but remains tight-lipped, reminding Apollo and Trucy that she's not on their side, even if she knows about the simulation trial. She does, however, give Apollo the business card for the journalist, Spark Brushel.

At the Sunshine Coliseum, Apollo and Trucy meet Valant. He reveals that the world has been waiting for Troupe Gramarye's return for seven years, and expresses his regret that Zak couldn't be there for it. The reason why they waited so long was because Zak, not Valant, had inherited the performance rights to Magnifi Gramaryes magic. Zak, who'd been missing for seven years, was declared legally deceased in the past spring, meaning Valant can now perform the magic.

Valant panics when Apollo shows him the envelope Trucy received from her "daddy"- she means Phoenix, but Zak's handwriting is on the back. He also doesn't seem to like Brushel, saying that he wanted someone to cover his show, but notes that Brushel seemed obsessed with seven years ago.

They find Brushel, quote, "Eccentric Journalist Who Communicates In News Headlines," unquote, trying to talk to Vera, to no avail. Brushel, seems more interested in asking questions than answering them, but tips them off to the theft of an oil painting.

When Apollo shows Ema a painting hidden behind the cabinets, which looks identical to the work in progress on the easel, she admits Misham is a forger who  produces copies of paintings for a living. In fact, she brought the X-ray machine to investigate the paintings for this very reason, and observes that he, unaware of the new technology, draws what he wants as a rough sketch. The X-ray reveals the drawings beneath each of the three paintings, which turn out to be scenes from the game- the card game from Case 1, Meraktis pulling Eldoon's cart from Case 2 and Klavier's guitar being set on fire from Case 3. Apollo immediately recognizes these scenes, which were also shown in the prologue to Case 1, and wonders what connection Misham has to him.

The investigation comes to a halt and a save point is offered.

Trial 1, Day 1(Present)

Vera speaks with Apollo and Trucy. She opens up a bit, and thanks them for taking their case, showing her appreciation by sketching smiley faces.

As the trial begins, the Judge feels intimidated by the significance of the case. Klavier thinks it will be simple, but Apollo is not so sure.

Klavier calls Brushel to the stand, and Brushel reveals he's interested in writing a book about the case. His testimony claims Vera poisoned Misham's coffee, and that Misham died after one sip, but while he could have died from a small dose of the slow-acting atroquinine, it would have taken 15 minutes to kill him.

Brushel claims that Misham sent a letter in a yellow envelope, which was found at the crime scene, but Apollo says the envelope at the crime scene was red and was addressed to Misham. It turns out that Misham did send a letter, and had been searching for a stamp not long before he died.

Apollo uses his Perceive talent to spot Brushel's sweaty armpit and learn that Brushel knew about Misham being a forger, which Apollo claims means Misham had enemies. Klavier denies there's any proof of the possibility, and the Judge orders Brushel to summarize his (until now, unreliable) testimony.

Brushel again asserts that Vera, who served the coffee, is the only one who could have poisoned Misham, but Apollo finds a hole in it- Misham could have ingested the atroquinin while licking a stamp to mail his letter. Klavier says that no stamps were found at the scene, but Apollo says that proves that Misham used the one on the frame where atroquinine had been found. It's more than a little odd that he picked that one stamp on this occasion, especially when you later discover what the stamp is and why it's been there all this time.

Apollo proposes that someone planned to use the stamp to kill the reclusive Misham, whose only contact with the outside world was through mail, and Ema proves that there's atroquinine residue on the letter. Klavier finds it odd that Misham didn't die of the stamp seven years ago, and that's a good question- the letter asked him to send a reply in three days. What's even stranger, Misham had already gotten the $100,000. In any case, the fact that Misham didn't lick the stamp was a mere coincidence.

The Judge is prepared to acquit the defendant until Klavier objects. He then turns the case around by saying it would make no sense for Misham to realize the stamp was poisoned seven years ago and not use it, only to use it in the present. Apollo then realizes that Drew Misham wasn't the real forger- Vera was.

Vera takes the stand and admits to being the forger, throwing the court into chaos and leading to a recess and save point.

During the recess, Vera tells Apollo and Trucy that she's always had a talent for forgeries, both paintings and other works, and did them for her father despite knowing it was wrong, since it made her father happy. You may notice that virtually every defendant in this game is guilty of a crime of some sort, even if they aren't guilty of murder. Apollo brings up the rough sketches, and Vera reveals that her father knows about Apollo.

Vera takes the stand,  and starts nervously biting her nails as she's questioned about her work. She says that she received the commemorative stamp of Troupe Gramarye for her first non-painting job, and chose to keep it.

Klavier takes an interest in the job and demands to know what Vera made. When she admits she made a diary page, he's horrified. Apollo calls Klavier out on badgering the witness, only to learn that the diary page cost Phoenix his career. As Apollo asks Vera about her client's identity, she can only say that it was "the devil" before passing out, stricken with atroquinine poisoning.

Trial 2(Past)

The story shifts to the past, and shows Phoenix winning a poker game against Zak Gramarye. Zak admits he's only lost twice, with the other time being against his mentor Magnifi, and hires Phoenix as his defense attorney.

In the lobby, Zak, whose real name is Shadi Enigmar, says he's confident in Phoenix's ability to defend him, despite the fact that Phoenix only received the files from Zak's previous lawyer the day before, and says it will be "impossible" to find him guilty. Zak's daughter Trucy hands Phoenix a notebook page of unknown origins.

Court begins, and the prosecutor turns out to be a young Klavier. Phoenix is rather dismissive of him, since it's the first time he's facing a rookie. Edgeworth and Franziska had several years of experience on Phoenix despite being the same age as and younger than him, respectively. Manfred von Karma, a 40-year veteran, suffered his first true defeat at Phoenix's hands. Even Godot, a prosecutor who hadn't prosecuted before meeting Phoenix, was an experienced defense attorney.

Gumshoe takes the scene, confident he'll "win" against Phoenix. Magnifi Gramarye, the victim, died of a gunshot wound to the head in his hospital bed, having been hospitalized for terminal liver cancer and had chronic diabetes. Klavier is unsure why the killer would murder a dying man, but Gumshoe says a letter ordered Zak to shoot him in the head at 11:05, saying there was a reason Zak could not refuse.

Phoenix questions Gumshoe on why he thinks Zak did as the letter ordered, and while Gumshoe smugly chides Phoenix for getting others to do his thinking for him, Phoenix realizes that Zak found a loophole in the note, and shot a doll near Magnifi. After all, the letter said to shoot one shot in "the forehead," not Magnifi's forehead. Gumshoe tries to insist that Zak shot twice, but the guns only hold one bullet each.

Klavier, who's significantly more arrogant than his older self, refuses to concede defeat, and calls in a witness to prove Zak's guilt, leading to a recess and save point.

In the lobby, Phoenix calls Zak out on withholding information, but Zak says he wanted Phoenix to discover it for himself. Zak is similarly uncommunicative about the leverage Magnifi has on him, but says that it means he'd follow his mentor's orders at the cost of his life, and that he isn't the only one to bear the burden.

Zak admits to coming to his mentor's room at the appointed time and seeing two pistols- one was his and the other was Valant's. He claims that he contemplated killing Magnifi, who'd blackmailed him before, but shot the clown and took the other pistol away, noting that the rifling marks on the bullet in Magnifi's head are different than the bullet in the clown. Zak mentions that Magnifi woke up- or rather, stopped pretending to sleep- and had a 5-10 minute discussion with Zak about a subject he refuses to disclose. Zak is easily one of the least helpful witnesses, and it only gets worse from here.

When court resumes, Klavier says that another bullet was recovered from the clown, but the court hasn't analyzed the rifling marks. He then calls Valant to the stand.

After Valant introduces himself, Phoenix remarks that it's odd for Valant to be in the hospital that late, long after visiting hours are over. Apparently, Magnifi expected his apprentices to break into the hospital, supposedly using their skills as magicians. Valant confirms this, and the court receives a letter calling Valant into Magnifi's room at 11:20, 15 minutes after Zak. One has to wonder what would have happened if Valant had shown up early. Valant also admits that Magnifi had leverage on him, but refuses to say what.+

Valant claims that he arrived after Magnifi died and was the one who shot the clown, before reporting the crime. Unfortunately for him, the rifling marks on the pistol at the scene match the bullet in Magnifi's head, not the one in the clown. Klavier, however, claims that the weapons are unique and the rifling doesn't prove anything, before asking Valant for more testimony.

Valant says that the IV drip was the proof of his innocence. It's installed every half hour, has 30 minutes worth of fluid in it, and was disconnected at the murder, thereby confirming the time of death to be 11:10, when Zak was there. How do you disprove this claim? By proving that Valant was wrong about the fluid being his lucky color, yellow, when it was actually green. This is easily one of the strangest contradictions in this game, and Klavier manages to poke a hole in it by saying the bag is blue. Phoenix then asks how Valant could have known the liquid's true color, and arrives at his answer- he used the IV fluid to artificially establish a time of death.

The judge is about to ask for another day when Klavier pulls out Magnifi's diary. While it doesn't reveal the blackmail material he had as leverage against his disciples, the last page with writing was written on before Zak's arrival and says that Magnifi may live or die based on Zak's decision. Phoenix then grows desperate for evidence to show, and is forced to present evidence, lest the judge convict Zak then and there.

At this point, you are forced to present the diary page. If you say there's "No need" for evidence or try presenting something else, you will be kicked back to the previous screen. To make matters worse, the game does not assign penalties for this, so it's impossible to make mistakes and empty your life gauge to get a conviction for Zak.

Phoenix starts with the obvious observation that a page has been ripped out of the diary, something the judge and Klavier should have noticed. He then shows the diary page, confirming that Magnifi was still alive. Valant is horrified to see the page, and one might think it was because he knew it would mean his conviction.

Klavier then says that Phoenix "couldn't resist" presenting the page, and it's not hard to see why. Considering that the judge often demands that Phoenix present evidence lest he declare Phoenix's client guilty, it's not hard to see why Phoenix often seems as though he's bluffing his way through the trial, and is desperate to take advantage of any contradiction he can find. Some people claim this shows that Phoenix is incompetent, but I think his struggling proves just how hard the defense attorney's job is compared to the prosecution's.

Klavier insists on calling a witness, and says that five minutes will be enough, while Phoenix realizes he walked into a trap. The judge clears the courtroom to bring in the witness, Drew Misham, on Klavier's request. Misham testifies that he made the diary page, and Klavier reveals that a tip to the prosecutor's office tipped him off about illegal evidence in the trial. Misham claims that he didn't meet with his client, and that he puts a certain mark on his works.

The Judge asks Phoenix to explain himself, but is honest enough to admit that they wouldn't hear him out if he chose to speak. He then says that this does not bode well for Phoenix or his client, and Klavier says any lawyer who relies on forged evidence must have a guilty client. Misham is dismissed, and asks for Phoenix's name on the way out, claiming not to have met anyone like him.

The judge says Zak has the right to a new attorney for his appeal, but Zak pulls a literal vanishing act, escaping the court.

The entire scene comes off as rather unfair. Phoenix loses his career over one piece of forged evidence, while Manfred von Karma only got a penalty over the same thing. Worse, no one tries to defend Phoenix or even hear him out.

Of course, Phoenix is rather negligent himself, not only accepting a torn diary page from a mysterious girl, but failing to point out the more obvious problem with the torn page and indicate that someone removed the last page, which should be enough on its own. And, of course, the person who removed that page is at fault for all this.

Essentially, a lot of people have a problem with Phoenix's disbarment because of the circumstances surrounding it, and given how foolishly many of the individuals involved acted, it's not hard to see why. One has to wonder what direction the series would have gone if they hadn't used the disbarment plotline, and I suspect the series might have been better off that way.

The Mason System

After a brief monologue about how the mysteries of the past affect the present, Phoenix introduces the Mason System as a "game" for exploring the events of the case. He says he will be the guide and the Magatama will be the means by which he reveals the truth.

Wright & Co Law Office(Past)

Two weeks after Zak's disappearance, Phoenix takes Trucy into his office, and says that in absence of other living relatives, he'll look after her, resulting in her calling him "Daddy."

Trucy proposes rebranding the law office as a talent agency, and shows him a magic trick-with Mr. Hat, her dummy.

Trucy reveals that her mother was Thalassa Gramarye, but she's now missing and possibly dead. After a bit of conversation, the section ends

Defendant Lobby No. 2(Past)

Phoenix feels pangs of self-pity over losing his badge, then encounters Mike Meekins, a former police officer and now bailiff who let Zak escape. You might remember Meekins from Rise from the Ashes, the bonus case from the first game.

Meekins says that he was fired for losing his case files repeatedly, but took his uniform as a "souvenir," likely to justify reusing his sprite from Ries from the Ashes- the only difference is that his hand is no longer bandaged. He claims that Zak vanished, but is evasive about the details.

Two Psyche-locks appear, and Phoenix breaks the first one after Meekins admits to seeing a girl, whom Phoenix knows is Trucy. Phoenix explains that Trucy used Mr. Hat to pose as her father's decoy to trick Meekins into following her into Lobby #2 when Zak went into Lobby #1.

The sequence ends and unlocks the first present day segment.

Borscht Bowl Club(Present, Part 1)

Phoenix works at the club as a pianist/card player when Shadi Smith and Spark Brushel arrive. After a moment, Phoenix recognizes Smith as Zak, the one who "ruined (his) life."

Zak/Smith asks Olga Orly to prepare the Hydeout for their game, then speaks to Phoenix. He asks if Trucy is well, and came back, three days from being declared legally dead, to settle matters and get a rematch with Phoenix.

Zak explains that he chose Phoenix in a poker game by noticing Phoenix's character. Zak has the ability to perceive others as they play poker, but says Trucy is even better than he is. Phoenix is well aware, as he uses her to help in his games. This power in the Gramarye bloodline was the reason why Zak lost to Magnifi, but he refuses to say more about it, hiding the secret behind three Psyche-Locks.

Zak shows Phoenix the real piece of paper torn from the diary, one that says that Zak received Magnifi's performance rights, and says Magnifi gave him the page. Phoenix calls him out on not giving him the page, and Zak apologizes, saying that he has a successor.

Zak asks Brushel to sign a document transferring the rights to Trucy, since Brushel is a notary.  He says the reason is because otherwise, Trucy can't inherit the rights to the performances despite being his next of kin, since the transferal had no witnesses.

Showing Zak Trucy's locket strikes a nerve, since the person in it is Trucy's mother, Zak's wife and Magnifi's daughter.

With his business concluded, Zak intends to disappear forever, but seeks to best Phoenix one more time, simply because he hates losing. He insists that Brushel take his leave, threatening to punch him again if he doesn't. At this point, Phoenix has all the evidence he can get from here, but you aren't done with this location.

Solitary Cell 13(Present)

Phoenix meets Kristoph in a luxurious solitary confinement cell, with the latter dripping with contempt for him. Kristoph denies knowing that Shadi Smith and Zak were one and the same, even though Zak recognized Kristoph.

Surprisingly, Kristoph was the sole dissenting opinion among the bar association as they voted to punish Phoenix, despite later revelations about his role in all of this. One has to wonder why Kristoph did such a thing. Kristoph believes Phoenix suspected him all along, but Phoenix claims he sought out Kristoph as his defense attorney because he had helped him.

Phoenix asks why Kristoph killed Zak, and gets a surprise when not only do five Psyche-Locks appear, but they're black. This is never explained for the rest of the game, but Dual Destinies reveals that those who possess them aren't consciously aware of the secret. Whatever the case, Phoenix doubts he can break them at this point.

Phoenix takes a look around Kristoph's luxurious prison cell and sees a bottle of nail polish and a familiar yellow envelope. Once again, you've gathered all the evidence you can for the moment, and will have to leave.

Drew Studio(Past)

Phoenix meets Misham at his old studio, and sees his daughter Vera for the first time. Misham admits that he's somewhat impressed by Phoenix's composure, and Phoenix is magnanimous to avoid letting his bitterness get the best of him. Misham is a down-on-his-luck painter who never succeeded at selling an original painting, resulting in his wife leaving him; one wonders why she didn't take Vera with her.

Phoenix does, however, call Misham out on forging evidence, even if Misham claims he never imagined it would be used in a murder trial. Misham says he was well-paid, and that unlike previous requests, it's not copying, but imitating handwriting based on the requester. Despite that, he claims he never met the client.

A sequence with two Psyche-locks ensues, but Misham isn't lying about the client's name. Rather, he's trying to conceal the fact that his daughter is the forger.

Misham says that Vera is a genius forger, which Phoenix realizes is not so different from how he (and likely Zak) feel about Trucy. The client refused to show Misham his face or meet with anyone besides Vera.

Misham reluctantly agrees to let Phoenix speak with Vera, but Phoenix can't get through to her. Phoenix looks at the desk, where you can see the red envelope, the nail polish, a family photo and a commemorative stamp in the frame. The latter is familiar on two levels- the stamp is of the Gramarye Troupe and the frame is where the atroquinine had been found in the present. Presenting the stamp causes Vera to open up, and changes the BGM to the upbeat Troupe Gramarye theme.

Vera talks about herself, particularly how she's normally scared of going outside, but she enjoyed seeing the Gramaryes with her father. Ironically, her forgery "was the last nail in the Gramarye coffin." She took the commemorative stamp from the client, not knowing she was supposed to mail it back. Vera mentions her client gave her a "good-luck charm," but doesn't say what it is.

The time comes to break her two Psyche-locks, and the first one breaks with the bottle of nail polish, a piece of evidence Phoenix got from seven years in the future. Phoenix then reveals Vera's client- Kristoph Gavin. Vera won't reveal his name, but Phoenix is sure of it. Unfortunately, he doesn't become aware of Kristoph's plans for Vera until it's too late.

Detention Center(Past)

Despite being the first location on the list, this is actually the last place you go among the past locations, which is more than a little counter-intuitive.

Phoenix meets with Valant, who's being held as a suspect in the detention center. Valant's bitter about Phoenix going free, even if neither got off unscathed. Valant's convinced that Zak is guilty, and hopes to return to the stage after he's released.

Phoenix questions Valant about the leverage Magnifi had on him and Zak, but sees four Psyche-Locks guarding the secret. Knowing that this is an uphill battle, Phoenix realizes he'll have to investigate.

To break Valant's four Psyche-locks, Phoenix has to prove that Magnifi blackmailed him and Zak over the accident in which Thalassa was involved. One problem with the cross-examination is that you don't immediately present Thalassa's profile even though she's the answer to the question- you have to first present the locket, then the Troupe Gramarye stamp, then say she's the person who Magnifi used against his disciples. The latter only works once you've spoken to Zak in the present and learned that Thalassa is Magnifi's daughter.

Valant reveals that Magnifi covered up his daughter's shooting for the sake of the troupe and used it to blackmail him and Zak, something Valant is quite bitter about. Valant reveals that Zak often spoke with Brushel, and Phoenix sets out to find him.

Drew Studio(Present)

Phoenix meets Brushel in the Drew Studio, seven years after the meeting with Valant in the Detention center.

Brushel claims that just as Zak had felt as though he'd been watched, he, too, felt the same way, noting how strange it is that Zak was killed after meeting with him. Brushel mentions getting to know the members of Troupe Gramarye back before Thalassa's accident, and "befriending" Zak in a sense, despite the latter punching him.

Brushel feels a certain amount of pity for Valant, who can't perform Magnifi's magic as long as Zak is considered alive, and lost Thalassa to Zak. While discussing Thalassa, he casually drops a major surprise- Thalassa has another child with her first husband.

While it isn't officially revealed until the credits, that child turns out to be Apollo. Unfortunately, even as of the end of Spirit of Justice, Apollo still doesn't know of his parentage, or the fact that Trucy is his half-sister. This is one of a few plot threads that hasn't been followed up on, which is quite a shame.

Phoenix says he won't be the one to bring down the curtain on this story. Brushel remarks that Trucy has Magnifi's power to detect lies, and while Zak had "good eyes," he couldn't compare to Thalassa. The section ends here, and is the first present day section to be completed.

Borscht Bowl Club(Present, Part 2)

Phoenix asks Zak about Thalassa, and reveals that Zak refuses to talk about her because of the accident, despite Zak's protests that he didn't do it. Phoenix reveeals that Apollo is Thalassa's son, who inherited her power and one of her bracelets.

Zak decides to tell Phoenix everything about Thalassa and her powers, particularly how they relate to vision and the role the bracelets play in them.

Zak finally speaks about the fateful night, about how as cruel as Magnifi was, he couldn't shoot him. Magnifi congratulates Zak on his decision, saying that if Zak had refused to shoot, Valant would have gotten his chance, while if Zak had shot Magnifi, he would have been fine dying by his hand. Magnifi seems oddly contrite about his treatment of Zak in his final hours, for a man who seems as cruel and manipulative as he does.

Phoenix concludes that Magnifi wanted Zak to succeed him, hence why Zak got his turn first. Zak realizes that Valant is waiting for him to "die," and that Valant's reputation was ruined because the public assumed him to be guilty. Zak then writes up a confession letter falsely claiming to have killed Magnifi in order to exonerate Valant, but dies before he could get the chance. Considering everything Valant tried to do to Zak, it's odd that he'd warrant such magnanimity from Zak.

I've heard that Zak is the most hated character in Apollo Justice, and it's not hard to see why. He bears much of the responsibility for what happened to Phoenix, simply because he refused to share the diary page with him, and willingly abandons his daughter. His motives are rather inconsistent, especially when he tries to ruin Phoenix's reputation as a poker player out of a sense of wounded pride.

In any case, the Borscht Bowl sequence ends here.

Sunshine Coliseum(Present)

Phoenix finds Valant after seven years, bitter about how the public still suspected him of Magnifi's murder.

Phoenix sees two Psyhe-locks that prove Valant is hiding something. He uses the Transferal of Rights to destroy one of them, along with Valant's belief that he can now perform Magnifi's magic on stage. Phoenix then shows Valant Zak's false confession, shocking him.

Valant then says that by process of elimination, either he or Zak is guilty of Magnifi's murder. He admits that he was jealous and desperate for the rights, but denies shooting Zak. Valant says that while there was no third disciple(which ends up being contradicted when Spirit of Justice introduces a disowned third disciple, Mr. Reus), there was a third person who could have shot Magnifi- Magnifi himself.

Phoenix apologizes to Valant for suspecting him of murder, but Valant says his crime was worse. Valant confesses that he knew Zak had been invited first, and wanted to shoot Magnifi to frame him, but couldn't do it. Magnifi reveals to Valant that he had chosen Zak over him and asked Valant to assist Zak, then shot himself as Valant left. Valant, consumed by envy, then chose to frame Zak.

Valant, overcome with guilt, decides to turn himself in. He remarks that he thought a "dead man" had ruled his life, but that Zak was alive, and perhaps Thalassa is, too. He then wishes to apologize to Zak, not knowing Zak is dead.

Considering that Valant was technically the culprit of the past trial, this is a rather anticlimactic conclusion to the battle of wits with, although having him accept responsibility for his actions is a good end to his character arc.

Solitary Cell 13(Present, Part 2)

Phoenix decides to pay Kristoph a visit, only to be told that Kristoph is occupied. He takes advantage of the opportunity to take a look at the yellow envelope, which turns out to be a letter from Misham to Kristoph asking him to release the "spell" on his daughter. Kristoph arrives and convinces Phoenix to give back the letter, unaware that Phoenix took a picture of it.

The MASON Sytem sequence then concludes, and Phoenix charges you with finding the truth.

Trial 1, Day 2(Present)

At the beginning of the trial, Klavier gives the court news on Vera, who's on death's door, and that they need to conclude while she's still alive. His position is that she killed her father, then ingested atroquinine to kill herself over the guilt. Klavier challenges Apollo to disprove his theory, and says that requires proving who killed her and how.

The method is obvious enough. Since Vera bit her nails not long before her collapse, the nail polish was poisoned. After noticing the bottle, Klavier becomes disturbed, as if he knows who is responsible before Apollo makes his accusation- Klavier's brother Kristoph. Klavier finds it hard to believe, but calls Kristoph to the stand.

Kristoph is rather confident, and uses psychological warfare to shake the resolve of his former subordinate and younger brother. When he testifies, Klavier becomes more effective than usual, and shoots down all of Apollo's arguments. The only way forward is to Perceive, and the demon face on the back of Kristoph's hand (held up close to his face) is one of the more obvious tells in the game.

Apollo then proves that Kristoph poisoned Misham with the stamp, but Kristoph counters he had no way of knowing Misham would use it. Klavier calls Kristoph out on trying to change the subject, but then Apollo must prove Kristoph's motive- silencing the person he hired to forge evidence for him.

Klavier claims that Phoenix could be considered a suspect for the same reasons, but Apollo points out that with Phoenix suddenly having been made Zak's lawyer, he couldn't have ordered a forgery, making an observation that should have been made seven years ago. He says there's only one person who could fit the bill as Zak's former defense attorney- Kristoph.

Kristoph asserts that since attorneys are registered the day before the trial, there's no record of it, but Klavier says otherwise, and insists Apollo find it. The evidence exists- the letter Misham sent to Kristoph, which Phoenix photographed and reproduced for Apollo. As it turns out, this is the final evidence presentation prompt in the game.

Unfortunately, the judge declares it inadmissible, leaving Apollo at a loss. When all seems lost, Klavier intervenes and says the time has come for the truth. He asks Apollo, who's watched Zak's trial, about whether anything seemed strange, and Apollo says Klavier was well-prepared, as if he knew Phoenix would present the page. Klavier reveals that Kristoph visited him before the trial, warned him that Phoenix was untrustworthy, advised him to call Misham and gave him Magnifi's diary. Klavier is rather upset about being used.

Kristoph reveals that Zak fired him as his attorney after beating him in cards, which Trucy says was because Zak saw Kristoph's true self. Zak, furious that he would be replaced by someone like Phoenix, sought revenge, but while he says Phoenix and Zak got what they deserved, he denies the forgery. Klavier and Apollo observe that the trial didn't go as Kristoph hoped, but he was afraid of his forgery coming to light for seven years, watching everyone involved and having those who knew silenced. 

Apollo then reveals that Zak Gramarye's other identity was Shadi Smith. He hesitates for a moment while looking at Trucy, but she insists that Apollo keep going, likely already aware that her father is dead. Knowing that whoever defended Zak would become famous, Kristoph had asked Vera to forge evidence for him, and set two traps for her- the stamp and the nail polish. If Vera or Drew tried to claim receipt of the payment, the former would do them in when they licked the stamp. If Vera tried to go outside, her nail polish, her "lucky charm" would kill her if she bit her nails. As it turned out, both "time bombs" went off simultaneously. This would have been a good opportunity for an evidence presentation, even if it's what the player knows already.

Kristoph still denies his guilt, as well as knowing Zak's identity as Shadi Smith. He insists on staying silent, since Vera is the one on trial. The Judge concludes that evidence is everything, and the current evidence can't conclusively prove Kristoph guilty. Klavier agrees... but says this trial is the exception, since a jury is voting. Kristoph loses his temper, declaring that the public, whom he considers ignorant swine, has no place in the court.

Apollo gives Klavier one last push by mentioning how Phoenix set this up. Kristoph mutters, then screams Phoenix's name, before angrily declaring that the law is absolute. Klavier and the judge disagree, noting that it's full of loopholes and must be refined over time. Klavier adds that Kristoph, who refuses to change, is no longer needed. Apollo remains silent, considering himself too inexperienced to speak.

The judge declares the trial has gone on long enough and asks for the jury's verdict. The scene cuts to Phoenix advising the jury, at which point Juror #6 asks if she should be there, whereupon Phoenix says that since she has no connection to the development of the case, it's fine.

Of course, the juror turns out to be Lamiroir, also known as Thalassa Gramarye. There seems to be no good reason why, out of all eligible jurors, Phoenix picks the defense and cocounsel's mother, as well as the one person whose "death" set the entire chain of events in motion.

You then choose the ending. If Vera is found guilty, it will result in a hung jury, and she will die, resulting in the verdict being postponed forever. If she is found not guilty,  Klavier breaks out in insane laughter, and Vera pulls through.

As Vera recovers, she has an emotional reunion with Apollo and Trucy. She thanks them for their help and expresses regret for what she did to Phoenix. Trucy reveals that she knew her father was alive, since she helped him escape and heard him promise to return to her. Not only did he fail to fulfill that promise, but he apparently had no intention of fulfilling it anyway. She then is content to have Phoenix as her father.

Phoenix speaks with Lamiroir, whose memory has returned. She promises to visit her children, Trucy and Apollo, when the time is right. Apollo then has a brief monologue about hope, and the ending credits play, showing the fates of every living character who didn't go to jail.

In the end, there are only three evidence presentations and one Perceive in this trial, making it a rather disappointing finale from a gameplay perspective.

Conclusion

In the end, this is a disappointing conclusion to one of the weaker Ace Attorney entries. Its primary problem, apart from being tied to controversial developments in Apollo Justice, is that it not only has two murders, but tries to fit in all the backstory of Apollo's Perceive ability alongside the Troupe Gramarye story, Phoenix's disbarment and the story of the Mishams, into one case. As a result, some

That said, the case effectively ties all the plot threads together, and shows that relatively insignificant events throughout the game had importance for the overall narrative. For all Apollo Justice's shortcomings, it has one of the best constructed stories of the series, with each trial advancing the narrative and all the cases tied together in some way or another.

In conclusion, this case leaves much to be desired, and is one of the weaker final cases, but like the rest of Apollo Justice, isn't entirely bad.