Ace Attorney Case Files: Turnabout Reminiscence(Beginning)
Ace Attorney Investigations is considered the weak link in the franchise, with the overall quality of cases being lackluster. However, the fourth case is probably the best of the lot, since despite its flaws, it has many entertaining moments.
Introduction to Investigations
Before we begin, I should probably point out how Investigations differs from the main series.
For starters, there's more of a focus on the investigation aspect, and you'll spend more time looking at crime scenes and talking to witnesses than in the main series. There are cross-examinations, but these are usually arguments with another investigator who has a different theory as to who the culprit is, or a suspect who's trying to convince you of their innocence.
The cases are structured differently. Unlike the main series, which alternates between investigations and trials, Investigations more frequently shifts between investigation and confrontation phases. Cases in the main series could take place over as much as four days(the first investigation period is its own day, and trials can be up to three days, with all but the last followed by investigations), but in Investigations, cases usually take place over one day, and are divided into Beginning, Middle and End phases, some of which have multiple parts.
Edgeworth's Debut
The case is a flashback to the start of Edgeworth's prosecutorial career, triggered by Kay returning a "cloth" to Edgeworth at the end of the third case.
The case transitions to a murder case, when the defendant confesses to the murder, then accuses the prosecutor, Byrne Faraday of having ordered the killing as the Great Thief Yatagarasu, resulting in the judge calling in a new prosecutor to replace Faraday.
Edgeworth is in the defendant's lobby pondering how his irst case is as a replacement for another prosecutor when his mentor Manfred von Karma walks in. He says that he will accept nothing less than perfection in this case, and Edgeworth agrees, honored that his mentor will watch him. Edgeworth's respect for the man who later turns out to have murdered Edgeworth's father is a nice case of dramatic irony.
Von Karma derides Faraday for failing to bring the trial to a swift conclusion despite the fact that the defendant was caught on tape, as well as for having "been cornered by his very own prey." He also mocks Faraday for talking about those who cannot be judged by courts, and says prosecutors should not concern themselves with those people, and insists that Edgeworth not shame himself in such a way.
Von Karma tests Edgeworth's knowledge of the case, and Edgeworth says that the ridiculously named Deid Mann(Dead Man) was found shot in front of the Cohdopian embassy, which had just been infiltrated by the Yatagarasu. The defendant, Mack Rell, was held for questioning, since he had the gun on him. but he claimed that while he was the Yatagarasu, he didn't kill Mann. Upon being showed the security footage, Rell retracted his statement and admitted to the murder before accusing Faraday of being the Yatagarasu.
Von Karma brings up one detail Edgeworth forgot- people consider this a repeat of the KG-8 incident, which few outside of the police know about. It refers to a scandal in which the Amano Group was connected to smuggling, and a witness, Cece Yew, was killed before she could testify in court. The suspect for the murder, a Cohdopian staff member named Manny Coachen, was arrested but found not guilty of Yew's murder due to lack of evidence. Von Karma scoffs that if he had been charge, he would have done "everything in (his) power"- most likely meaning forging evidence- to prove Coachen's guilt, impressing Edgeworth with his dedication. Just like last time, Faraday was the prosecutor(with von Karma mocking him again), and the victim was a witness who was to testify about the smuggling.
There is, however, one difference between the two incidents- the presence of the Yatagarasu. The Yatagarasu steals evidence of criminal wrongdoing and sends them to the police, and von Karma believes they were after such records from the Cohdopian Embassy. By turning the evidence over to the police, the Yatagarasu essentially incriminated themselves, leaving evidence behind for the first time. Von Karma advises Edgeworth to ask Faraday for more information on the Yatagarasu, since that's his case, just like Rell's trial is.
A girl with a balloon runs up to Edgeworth and von Karma, describing the latter as scary, taking him aback. She then gives Edgeworth some loose change in exchange for a dollar, then leaves, all of which is a good way of innocuously setting up evidence that becomes relevant later. Edgeworth wonders if she's here to see the trial, and von Karma complains about her being disrespectful. The bailiff arrives to let the two know that the prosecutor paperwork has been filed, but while von Karma threatens him with a demotion for his slowness, Edgeworth boasts that not being fully prepared will be "a good handicap" for him.
Murder in the Courthouse
Edgeworth and von Karma proceed to the courtroom, but neither Faraday nor the female defense attorney are present. The judge arrives and after noting that this will be Edgeworth's first trial, asks if someone was holding a birthday party, since he heard something like a popper go off. As the judge begins talking about his grandson, Edgeworth tries to steer the conversation back towards the trial, while von Karma complains about Faraday not giving Edgeworth his evidence.
A familiar trench coat-clad detective barges into the courtroom, knocking over the bailiff, and announces that an emergency has taken place- Faraday and Rell are both dead.
Edgeworth rushes to the defendant lobby and sees the defense attorney and a grizzled-looking detective there, the former of whom refuses to let him access the crime scene. The detective from earlier catches up and tells Edgeworth off for running in the courthouse.
Edgeworth sets out for some "civil discourse" with the witnesses, starting with the detective who delivered the news. He asks the detective his name and when the detective demands that Edgeworth give his name first, he complies. The detective is none other than Dick Gumshoe, Edgeworth's bumbling partner, and a new detective. Detective Gumshoe is none too happy about having to answer Edgeworth's questions, but notes that Detective Badd, the older detective, is responsible for the investigation, and that Gumshoe was just guarding the door. He didn't see anything, but "freaked out" upon hearing a gunshot, which doesn't impress Edgeworth, although he privately recalls that he knows what it's like to hear a gunshot. He mentions that Badd came running, and they entered the scene to find both Rell and Faraday dead. Gumshoe claims not to have heard any sounds of a struggle during the entire time he was watching the hall.
Edgeworth then talks to the defense attorney, who isn't terribly impressed by him, a novice prosecutor who takes himself overly seriously. When he introduces himself as von Karma's disciple, she doubles over laughing, finding his red suit, blue waistcoat and white cravat ridiculous. To be fair, his outfit is significantly more gaudy than what he wears in the original trilogy- a red suit without the black and gold lapels with a black waistcoat and white cravat- or the modified version he wears in the 3DS games.
The woman introduces herself as Calisto Yew and reminds Edgeworth that she was to be his opponent in court. She denies knowing anything about the crime, suggesting that Edgeworth ask the detectives for more information, then laughing when Edgeworth bluntly demands to know why she's even here. She responds by noting that her prosecutorial opponent had been murdered, so she can't act like nothing's happened. Edgeworth apologizes to her.
Edgeworth then speaks to the older detective, Tyrell Badd. Edgeworth asks how Badd got to the scene before he did, and Badd replies that Faraday asked him to testify. He refuses to speak with Edgeworth, calling him a "kid," and when Edgeworth points out that he's Faraday's substitute, Badd condescendingly asks if he needs to teach Edgeworth how to talk to adults.
Badd reaches into his coat, and Edgeworth assumes he's going for his gun until Badd produces a small hand mirror. Badd then reveals that Faraday was stabbed to death and had a gun in his hand, while Rell was shot dead and found with a bloody knife. Since Gumshoe was the only other one in the vicinity, Edgeworth puts two and two together to assume the two men killed each other.
Edgeworth asks why he wasn't informed about Badd testifying, but Badd notes that he isn't just a homicide detective- he also handles the Yatagarasu case. When Edgeworth concludes that this means that Badd was to testify to disprove that Faraday was the Yatagarasu, Badd is almost impressed.
After Edgeworth finishes questioning all three of them, a bailiff informs Yew that Coachen is here to see her, prompting her and Badd to immediately react. Edgeworth notices the change and remembers Coachen's name. Yew had no desire to see Coachen again, but agrees to step outside with him for a brief conversation.
Von Karma walks in, and is unsurprised that Badd would show up in a Yatagarasu-related case. Von Karma recognizes Coachen as the suspect in KG-8 and mocks Faraday for letting him get away, offending Badd. Von Karma then places Edgeworth in charge of the investigation, when a familiar sounding "Objection!" sounds.
Manfred's daughter Franziska walks in. Despite being a teenager and a student who hasn't even passed the bar exam, she claims that she has seniority over Edgeworth. She protests her father's decision to give Edgeworth the case, claiming she can do a much better job. While Edgeworth is exasperated, von Karma agrees to let Franziska investigate, and orders Badd to give them access to the crime scene over Badd's objections. He leaves, demanding nothing but perfection from them, while Badd follows him out.
Franziska declares this to be a competition of who will be more worthy of being the von Karma name and whips Edgeworth with her riding crop when he asks if she could say hello.
Badd comes back, complaining about having been "reduced to a babysitter," having been forced to agree to von Karma's demands. Rather than give Edgeworth his information, he invites him to see the crime scene himself.
Edgeworth enters the defendant's lobby and sees Faraday's corpse laying on top of Badd's, bloody plastic bags scattered around the scene. Franziska reiterates her challenge, saying she will find the truth first, but Edgeworth resignedly tells her to do what she wants, which Franziska takes as him accepting the challenge. Badd warns the "kids" not to mess with his crime scene and gives Gumshoe the job of watching them. Gumshoe agrees, and is not shy about expressing that he thinks of Edgeworth a child, even after Edgeworth proceeds with his usual threat to cut his salary. Considering that Gumshoe is so respectful to Edgeworth in the original trilogy that he's borderline sycophantic, it's interesting to see that he didn't always respect Edgeworth.
Investigating the Crime Scene
The investigation begins. Edgeworth asks Badd about the gun and the knife that were apparently used in the murder, then asks where they got them. Badd replies that the gun came from Faraday's bag, since it was a piece of evidence presented in the trial, but he hadn't heard anything about the knife, which has a short blade and a long handle, and since Rell was in police custody, he couldn't have brought it with him. Edgeworth asks if Faraday smuggled it in while passing it off as evidence. Badd is semi-impressed, and proposes that Faraday attacked Rell first with the gun, only for Rell to counterattack with the knife, which he says is the only logical conclusion. Edgeworth, however, is unconvinced.
Edgeworth investigates the window, which is barred, meaning that no one could have left the room. There is also a flowery scent in the area.
Checking the table, Edgeworth finds some plastic bags and a tea set, neither of which has been disturbed. Gumshoe decides that the people involved in the murder "were super quiet" while scuffling, while Edgeworth makes the more reasonable conclusion that the plastic bags on the floor are a diversion.
As Gumshoe inspects the large TV, it turns on without warning, and displays static.
Edgeworth inspects the bodies, noting the gun and knife as pieces of evidence, as well as the ink on Faraday's hand and the plastic bags around the corpses as bits of logic information.
Their investigation complete, Edgeworth realizes that he'll need to investigate the fronts of the bodies to see whether they died of wounds to the chest. After the lab tech finishes taking pictures of the crime scene, Badd orders Gumshoe to turn the bodies over and chides him for getting emotional when he apologizes to the dead Faraday. Considering that it's later revealed that Badd was close with Faraday, it's amazing that he's so stoic in the face of Faraday's death, even to the point of suspecting him of the murder.
With the bodies now face-up, Edgeworth inspects them and finds a fountain pen in Faraday's pocket. Faraday's knife wound matches Rell's knife, while Rell's gunshot wound lacks powder burns, so the shooter was at least a yard away.
Edgeworth comes up with a theory about Faraday getting out the evidence and then shooting Rell, who stabbed Faraday with the knife before the two men collapsed, but is less than convinced by his own theory. Nevertheless, he feels as though he is starting to grasp the events.
The time comes for Edgeworth to use Logic, a mechanic in which he connects two bits of information that will result in a breakthrough with the case, often leading to a new piece of information. For example, Edgeworth combines the fountain pen with the ink on Faraday's left hand to conclude that the ink stain came from the fountain pen and that Faraday is left-handed. As a result, Faraday's fountain pen becomes evidence.
Edgeworth connects the plastic bags on the table with those around the body, and concludes they weren't scattered in the struggle. Noticing the blood on one of the bags, he asks for a test, and the blood turns out to be Faraday's.
Gumshoe is convinced Faraday and Rell killed each other, but Edgeworth believes there's more to the case than that. He notices that the gun being in Faraday's right hand is contradicted by Faraday being a left-handed person, concluding that someone else put the gun in Faraday's hand after he died.
The investigation sequence then concludes. If you made any mistakes up to this point, you will receive some of your health back.
Badd comes back with the autopsy report, which suggests Rell might have lived for a little while after being shot. Franziska is convinced that Faraday tried to kill Rell over Rell accusing him of being the Yatagarasu, resulting in both men killing each other, but Edgeworth is unconvinced.
Now the first argument begins, which is the rough equivalent of Ace Attorney's Cross Examinations. Usually, you face off with your investigative rival or the culprit, as opposed to cross-examining a witness with the prosecution interjecting.
Edgeworth vs. Franziska: "What Happened"
Edgeworth vs. Franziska: "What Happened, Pt. 2"
Franziska demands that Edgeworth back up his theory with evidence, and Edgeworth presents the blood-soaked plastic bag, which, combined with the gun in Faraday's non-dominant hand, proves that someone else was the killer. Edgeworth points out that if Gumshoe didn't hear a struggle, then someone else scattered the plastic bags after using one to catch the blood splatter.
Badd is convinced that the investigation is far from over, but then Yew yells "OBJECTION!" and comes in with the judge, before asking Badd to arrest Gumshoe. Badd doesn't understand why, to which Yew responds by taunting him before saying that Gumshoe lied about being by the door. Yew says that the Judge didn't see anyone in the hallway for a certain period of time during the recess. With this remark, Franziska and Badd believe Gumshoe might have killed Faraday and set up the crime scene. Franziska taunts Edgeworth about his theory being proven false, but Edgeworth wonders if Gumshoe really lied.
Edgeworth then steps in and orders Badd not to act without his permission, saying that if he wants to do the investigation perfectly, he must get to the bottom of what happened. He asks about Gumshoe's motive, with Badd chiming in to ask about whether Gumshoe had a grudge against Faraday, and Gumshoe says no, but Yew and Franziska believe he's lying. Edgeworth challenges Yew, and Yew agrees to testify about Gumshoe's motive.
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