Ace Attorney Case Files: Turnabout Goodbyes (Part 1/3)

 Warning: Spoilers for the first Phoenix Wright; Ace Attorney follow

Turnabout Goodbyes is considered the best case in the first game, and for good reason. It's an effective climax to the first game by having Phoenix take on his toughest case yet, as well as the final step in his quest to save his old friend Edgeworth. This three-part blog entry will chronicle and discuss this case.

Previously on Ace Attorney

Phoenix Wright's first year as a defense attorney is an eventful one, to put it bluntly. In his first trial, he defends his old friend Larry Butz when the latter is charged with murder. In his second trial, his mentor Mia Fey is murdered, and Phoenix first defends her younger sister, and then himself. The prosecutor is none other than Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix's old friend and a ruthless man who will do whatever it takes to win.

But Phoenix persists, since there is a reason he became an attorney, and manages to expose the true killer, gainig insight into a past unsolved murder mystery in the process. He also bests Edgeworth in his third trial, by which point Edgeworth begins questioning himself. At the end of the trial, Edgeworth asks Phoenix never to show himself in front of him again.

Investigation Day 1

The opening scene shows two men on a boat. One of them is confronting the other over a past incident in which he "suffered.

At the start of the case, Maya pesters Phoenix about whether there are any waterfalls she can use for training. Phoenix doesn't know about any waterfalls, but mentions that Gourd Lake is close, and the TV plays a news story about a Loch Ness monster-like creature called Gourdy being found in the lake. After a couple throwaway lines about Maya's increasingly desperate attempts to find a substitute for a waterfall, the news announces that Edgeworth was arrested for murder at Gourd Lake. Since Phoenix doesn't get many cases, there's only one thing to do- go to the detention center and see Edgeworth.

Edgeworth isn't exactly happy to see Phoenix, incorrectly assuming they came to laugh at him, but then correctly assuming that they have a lot of free time. Edgeworth still doesn't think much of Phoenix despite having lost to him twice, insisting that he got lucky and his luck's bound to run out someday. Edgeworth refuses to explain why he was at Gourd Lake, or conclusively deny his guilt.

Phoenix and Maya head to Gourd Lake, where Edgeworth's subordinate Gumshoe is desperately searching for clues and refuses to believe that Edgeworth is guilty, despite the evidence against him. Edgeworth was in a boat with another man, who is assumed to be the victim, and a witness claims to have seen him shooting the other man.

Despite this, no one is willing to take Edgeworth's case, and not just because of the evidence. Edgeworth has put many defense attorneys' clients behind bars, so they're rather bitter and refuse to defend him. What's more, the case is high-profile and a loss could hurt Phoenix's reputation, despite the fact that courts in the Ace Attorney series are notoriously biased against the defense. It also seems rather unfair that Phoenix has nothing to gain from this trial.

Phoenix and Maya explore Gourd Lake, seeing a Samurai Dogs stand, a closed boat rental shack and a campsite. At the latter location, Maya sets off a popper, resulting in a camera taking several pictures automatically. This gets the attention of the photographer, who's furious about losing a roll of expensive film (apparently, despite being set in the 2010s, she doesn't use a digital camera.) Despite that, she becomes friendlier with Phoenix and Maya, and offers to show them her film.

Phoenix goes to Criminal Affairs and talks with Gumshoe. Even he, despite being not too bright and loyal to Edgeworth, has to question whether Edgeworth might be guilty. Despite that, he claims that Edgeworth trusts the police to do their job, which is why he works as hard as he does to earn a conviction. This comes off as rather naive from Gumshoe, and it gets even worse after "Rise From the Ashes" reveals the extent of the police's misconduct. Gumshoe shows Maya a photo of the victim, whom she recognizes.

Back at the campsite, it turns out Lotta has a photo of the crime. Unfortunately, when it turns out that Lotta did see the murder, she immediately becomes less cooperative.

Phoenix and Maya meet Larry at the lake and asks him about the case. When the subject turns to Edgeworth, Larry gives two startling revelations- he and Phoenix knew Edgeworth as children, and Edgeworth's father was a defense attorney. Edgeworth idolized his father and wanted to follow in his footsteps, but somehow, he changed.

Maya recognizes the victim as one of the lawyers who worked at the Grossberg law office, and Phoenix and Maya meet with Grossberg himself. Grossberg reveals that the victim, Robert Hammond, successfully defended the man who was accused of murdering Edgeworth's father, Gregory Edgeworth. As a result, Misty Fey, who'd identified the culprit by channeling Gregory's spirit, was declared a fraud, and Edgeworth presumably grew to hate defense attorneys.

Phoenix and Maya visit Edgeworth again. Edgeworth's impressed that they learned about DL-6, and becomes a lot more cooperative.  He says that he's sure that the defendant in that case was the one who killed his father, but says that the statute of limitations is about to expire, since it's been almost 15 years to the day since that case.

Edgeworth finally asks Phoenix to defend him, and Phoenix can say yes, hoping to repay him. If Phoenix says no, he'll try to play it off as a joke, but Edgeworth is clearly hurt.

An earthquake rocks the detention center, causing Edgeworth to curl up into a ball on the floor. Obviously, something has traumatized Edgeworth since his elementary school days, but Phoenix doesn't say what.

Now for a brief note on the localization. As you may have heard, the Ace Attorney series takes place in Japan in the Japanese version, but moves to California in the U.S. version. For the most part, the change isn't too hard to accept, until later installments add more traditionally Japanese settings like Kurain Village, Hazakura Temple and Nine Tails value, but this inspires one very important question. While earthquakes are mostly ubiquitous in Japan, one has to wonder why Edgeworth chose to become a prosecutor in California.

Trial Day 1

The day begins with Edgeworth mentioning who will be prosecuting him- legendary prosecutor Manfred von Karma, who has never lost a case in his 40-year career, and is even more ruthless than Edgeworth at his worst. He's also Edgeworth's mentor, as well as his legal guardian.

One has to wonder why von Karma would be allowed to take this case, given he has a blatantly obvious conflict of interest, and he might deliberately lose to save his ward and student. Of course, the opposite is true- he wants to win at all costs- but considering that Edgeworth and von Karma aren't the only two prosecutors on the circuit, one would think that they could bring in someone else.

Von Karma lives up to his reputation, as when the judge asks if the prosecution and defense are ready, von Karma condescendingly asks if the judge thinks he'd come here if he weren't.

Gumshoe takes the stand and gives a recap of what we know so far. While Lotta witnessed the crime, another witness, who is male, was the one who called the police. Gumshoe is clearly unhappy about having to testify, knowing that what he says can only make things worse for Edgeworth, but von Karma insists he leave his feelings out of it. Ordinarily, this would be perfectly reasonable, but von Karma's desire to convict Edgeworth has nothing to do with justice.

The gun is considered decisive evidence, since it has Edgeworth's fingerprints. As it turns out, the rifling on the bullet found in Hammond's body matches the gun found at the scene of the crime, and the judge has to explain rifling for Phoenix and Maya's benefit. The judge is prepared to declare a verdict, but decides to hear von Karma's witness first, leading to a brief recess.

During the recess, Phoenix confers with Edgeworth, and is not happy that Edgeworth's fingerprints were on the gun. All this seems to confirm Edgeworth's guilt, but while Edgeworth's memory of the shooting is foggy, he's convinced he didn't do it.

Maya is feeling rather depressed, considering herself useless, since she doesn't know anything about the law or solving crimes, and she can't even reliably channel a spirit.

Lotta takes the stand, and after she delivers her initial testimony, the judge is prepared to find Edgeworth guilty. Phoenix insists on a cross-examination, and von Karma threatens to find him in contempt of court if he does.

Phoenix goes through with the cross-examination, but fails to get anything. At a few points, Lotta nearly lets slip the truth- she was watching for Gourdy and hadn't seen the moment of the murder- but von Karma's interference prevents her from saying anything that would undermine her.

Before long, the cross-examination ends, and the judge holds Phoenix to his promise. As the judge is about to declare his verdict, Maya speaks up, and calls Lotta out on her unreliable testimony. Lotta lets slip that she supposedly saw Edgeworth. Maya is arrested for contempt of court, but her outburst allows Phoenix to find a weakness in Lotta's testimony- she couldn't have seen Edgeworth because of the fog. After another round of testimony, he proves that Lotta was searching for Gourdy, something she kept secret so as not to lose her scoop, and that she wasn't paying any attention to the boat when she heard the gunshot, something that would have come out sooner if von Karma hadn't stopped her.

It turns out that Lotta had her photo enlarged, and it reveals a crucial detail- the shooter fired with his left hand, but Edgeworth's fingerprints came from his right hand. Phoenix manages to get another day to investigate the case.

In the lobby, Edgeworth and Phoenix briefly discuss where the case stands. Phoenix then goes to check up on Maya, and Edgeworth, after a long pause, tells Phoenix to tell Maya to "watch what she says in court." Phoenix, convinced that Edgeworth isn't at all grateful to Maya, is offended.

Phoenix asks for a transcript of Lotta's testimony. Like with many witness testimonies, her testimony only has a single useful detail- the "bang" she heard.

The Case So Far

"Turnabout Goodbyes" is a significant step up from other cases in a few regards. It has more personal stakes, considering Edgeworth is the culprit. It's also much more challenging, since the evidence against Edgeworth is more damning and von Karma is more obstructive than other prosecutors. The case gets off to a strong start, even before you uncover the backstory behind it.