*Pinned comment question:* What franchise do you love that went in a different direction from its initial one? Did you like or dislike that new direction, and why?

Emma Skye at her most relatable. Graduated school, unable to work in your chosen field, slumming it in a dead end job and stress eating. I love her.

Something I just wanna mention is how terrifying Kristoph is in this game. Not only was he stalking Brushel, Pheonix and the Mishams but he is so determined to keep his plan covered up that literally 5 MINUTES after Zak comes out of hiding for almost a decade under a new name he is murdered by Kristoph the moment he is left alone. Genuinely petrifying how Klavier acts in the last trial when Kristoph takes the stand and his breakdown is one of my favorites in the series. His frowning sprite is burned into my head which is made even worse when you compare it to Klavier's and it is the EXACT SAME.

I remain firm in my belief that Edgeworth was absolutely bankrolling Wright's entire office building for the 7 years after his disbarment. Trucy shows up with like, $75 she got from doing a magic show at a mediocre bar and Phoenix tells her "That's great, with my $34 I got from poker, we should be sorted for rent!" and then immediately goes to cash the $1500 check that Edgeworth sends him every month

They'll never make me hate you Apollo Justice

As I recall, the drink was grape juice just because it was Shu Takumi’s favorite drink, not for any other reason

My hot take is that the stark contrast of seeing Phoenix transformed into this fallen idol works well specifically because it is so upsetting, I felt like it really puts us into apollos shoes, he’s been looking up to Phoenix this entire time only to be faced with this broken man, the anger that wells up in Apollo also wells up in the player and gives the whole story a nice bitter twist that I really enjoyed!! I wasn’t the biggest fan of it at first either but looking back one of the parts I like the most about this story is the lingering tensions between Phoenix and Apollo + klavier, I wish we had gotten to explore these topics a bit more in subsequent games

Why Ace Attorney Apollo Justice is my favourite game in the series, as copy-pasted from a tumblr post of mine The thing I've always loved most about aa4 is how much darker the tone is than the rest of the series in a way that isn't just edgy for the sake of it, but subverts your expectations from the original 3 games in a really interesting way. The trilogy was built upon the trust Phoenix had in others, and it was something we as players could almost always feel certain in. AA4 flips this on its head and makes it so Apollo effectively can't trust anyone but himself. Your mentor, who the in the trilogy was a paragon of wisdom you could always turn to no matter what, gets revealed to be the culprit and sent to jail in the first trial and by the end of the game his list of crimes has stacked high but you still have so few answers on why he did any of it. Your boss, the goofy protagonist of the trilogy, is now inexplicably a washed-up, disgraced, cheating poker player with an implied drinking problem who seemingly found a new hobby in evidence forgery and jury rigging. He has a codependent relationship with his daughter, your assistant, who usually is a completely innocent and hapless victim of circumstance. She sees herself as the provider for the house and will help her father cheat at poker, or forge evidence, or guilt trip the poor attorney they knowingly screwed of out of a job into working for them for dirt cheap. The detective, the only other returning main character, a previous assistant, is completely changed since we last saw her. In the trilogy she was chipper and bright despite the hardships she faced, and now she's unfriendly and burned out, turned bitter by the world. The scene we're first properly introduced to her in Apollo genuinely spends several minutes thinking his boss is making him bribe her with cocaine. Every single defendant is a criminal guilty of something other than what they're charged for. Each case centers around an underground black-market poker ring, a mafia family and medical malpractice, a smuggling ring, and a family of forgers and an incredibly shady troupe of magicians. The one thing all of these people have in common is that none of them will tell you literally anything about what's happening, half of them clearly reveling in being as big of cryptic assholes as possible. The only person who doesn't fit this description is, for once, the prosecutor. Usually your biggest obstacle and the most morally corrupt of the main cast, he's the only person who's both 100% on the side of truth and on the same page as you for the entire game. He's just as clueless as you, being used nothing more than a chess piece just like you are. But the truly masterful thing about AA4 is how morally grey it is. These characters aren't just one note villains. They're not even villains at all. Most of them aren't even malicious. Your boss, for all the low levels he stoops to, is underneath it all the same guy he's always been, doing everything he can to bring a criminal to justice and protect his family. Your assistant is a sweet girl who truly cares about you, she's just prioritizing herself and her fathers safety before anything else. The detective is the same passionate and kind woman under everything else. The rest of the defendants are genuinely well-meaning young people who got involved in shady stuff they didn't fully understand. The game is filled with good people trying to make the best of bad circumstances. The game has just as many fun moments as the original trilogy. For all it's rough appearance, the game has a similar heart. For every unanswered question or unrighted wrong, there's a smile or a hope for a better future. For every bad action, there's usually someone trying their best behind it. The game is melancholic and dark, but isn't afraid to let good shine through. It knows there's no shadows without the light.

apollo truly had the first trial of all time. phoenix defended his childhood friend, athena became apollo's assistant first and then took over when apollo was unable to represent the client. and then here apollo was, getting the front row seat of whatever spat phoenix and kristoph had and basically just third wheeling on their court themed lawyerly breakup/divorce.

Little answer to the question of how nick can set up the misham trial, it's semi retconed/answered in DD that Edgeworth has been also working on that project, it's a narumitsu baby if you will, it's outright stated that miles pulled a lot of strings regarding getting him back in peoples good graces and miles is about 2 months off becoming chief Procecutor so it does track that he might have the power to do that. The language is vague and it's in a lot of blink and you'll miss it lines too but that tends to be the explaination I've seen most fans use. Still not clarified in this game so it's still a fault but if anyone is curious that's the canon/fanon interpretation

I really love how Vera is written. It’s just nice to see semi verbal/non verbal characters :]

The weird prevalence of grape juice in Ace Attorney instead of wine isn't to make Phoenix look more respectable - it's a bit of a meta nod. Being Shu Takumi's favourite drink, he likes to reference it occasionally.

Can’t believe David Kristler of apple street would do all these crimes

That Kristoph scream at the end??? Literal chills. Come for the amazing video essays, but stay for the fantastic voice acting. Keep up the great work!!

1:32:25 You say that Klavier sounds like a disappointed older brother to Daryan but, in fairness, he does know a thing or two about disappointed older brothers

Oh boy, an Apollo Justice video, it’s time for my rant over analyzing my favorite character in Ace Attorney!! _Ahem-_ Kristoph’s rage at the prospect of normal people judging him in his breakdown is so excellent because it gets at the central contradiction behind his character. Kristoph spent his life trying to build an unbreakable illusion of coolness and perfection, the “Coolest Defense Attorney in The West,” but average people see through that because they know nobody is perfect. When Zak sussed out Kristoph’s dark side during that game of poker (leading to him dropping Kristoph as his attorney) it wasn’t because Kristoph messed up - I don’t believe he’d let his mask slip like that so easily - it was because Kristoph plays poker differently than everyone else. Every average person plays by assuming a poker face, by masking their true emotions as they start the game, but when Kristoph plays poker he doesn’t change - he can’t. What Zak saw that day was the fact _Kristoph is always masking,_ he always has a poker face on, and so there were no additional walls to put up. For years Kristoph deluded himself into believing that Zak fired him for losing because he couldn’t bear the truth that his perfect illusion didn’t work, could never work, because Zak Gramarye - the terrible, irresponsible, impossibly affable man that he was - was a normal person. Kristoph strikes me as someone who developed his persona based largely on what he read in books, and this tracks with a lot of his actions. In 4-1, he constantly undermines his testimony by going on these flowery tangents that inevitably reveal information he shouldn’t have known, all because he decides waxing poetically would make him look good. His obsession with his own public appearance, constantly seeming above everyone else, doomed him. You can actually see his “book-learning” confirmed in a few pieces of official art, two of which show him holding books with legible titles. The titles are “Legal Positivism” and “My Best Friend.” These are PERFECT CHARACTERIZATION for him and really get him down to-a-T. He reads the legal positivism book not because he believes in legal philosophy but because knowing it gives him arguments to make, gives him rules he can bend, gives him a way to feel smarter and more in-control than everyone around him. On the flip-side, he reads the book on friendship in the same way because it’s an alien concept to him - he is studying the idea of friendship just like how he studies legal theory, they’re both just different things he’s learning to manipulate. Kristoph has no real friendship or belief, what his books tell you about him is that he is so disconnected from those things he has to actively learn them. Coming back to his breakdown, his citation of the absolute law is very interesting, because, as Klavier points out, he doesn’t actually believe in that : Kristoph loves loopholes. He has no genuine political or philosophical conviction, he just claims one’s he believes will serve his ends and improve his image. Kristoph loves absolute laws because he can manipulate them, because he is smart enough that in any system of perfect logic he will be able to engineer a scheme. That’s where he fails, too. Kristoph’s plans throughout the game only seem to be complicated by people acting in ways that aren’t obvious or rational. All of Kristoph’s plans would’ve worked if only people had acted perfectly, but they didn’t. Zak escapes his trial, ruining the guilty verdict (and likely death penalty) Kristoph planned for. Vera and Drew don’t trigger his trap for seven years all due to luck as Vera happens to enjoy the stamp too much to return it. Phoenix refuses to take his loss lying down and spends seven years meticulously trying to prove his innocence. The Jurist System is the final and purist form of this sort of flaw - Kristoph’s perfect legal victory is beaten by the fact people aren’t perfect. People are bad and make mistakes and don’t follow absolute rational reasoning, and people see Kristoph - this ultimately cool and rational being - and they _see through him._ They know there is something impossibly _wrong_ with his perfection and, when he realizes it, he breaks. God he’s my favorite villain and favorite character in the series ASPD king world masking competition 2nd place finalist (Phantom beat him) Kristoph “Girlboss” Gavin my bELOVED

2:12:22 Something that I think would have made Phoenix’s disbarment a bit more logical is saying that he was accused of being compliant in Zak Gramarye’s disappearance, and since it happened right before Zak was to be declared guilty, it was treated as if he was harboring a fugitive, which would make a lot more sense for him to be barred from practicing law over.

Thanks again for spending so many weeks with us bringing life to so many characters! And congrats to finishing this beast of a video!! Another Nezumi classic!! 🙌

one thing i find fun to look at is, while he's commonly credited as the sole character designer and was the art director for this game, kazuya nuri only actually designed the main characters (apollo, trucy, phoenix, ema, and the gavins) and the gramaryes. the other designs were split between tatsuro iwamoto, akiko nishizawa, and koujiro ogiwara. it was kinda fun being able to tell which characters were designed by iwamoto (daryan, brushel, and drew misham) just by recognizing the way he draws clothing folds lol

This sounds like a fake tumblr post BUT: but i need ms nezumi to know that i was drunkenly explaining ace attorney to my law school friends in a bar last night and pulled up your videos as reference so thank you queen 🫡

Brushel's tell would've been better gameplay-wise if his left arm was more prominently raised when he tapped his brush to his head, and that was the pit that was sweating. It would direct the player's attention towards the tell and make it feel less out-of-place. Still weird, but a less confusing puzzle

I like Apollo Justice. Don't get me wrong, it's messy as hell, and it's a pity that history didn't shape out in its favor, but I still think it deserves to be held up in high regard. For every low, there's a high to compensate for it. It's nowhere near as bad as many people claim it to be, it just doesn't compare to the original trilogy's greatness. Imo it's a microcosm of everything good and bad about this whole series rolled into one package, with thrills enough to balance out the nausea you'll feel on the rollercoaster. also yes i am a simp for klavier and hobo phoenix but i swear that doesn't have anything to do with my opinion on the game i just think they're both really hot ok stop judging me

WE'RE PUTTING THE DEVIL BEHIND BARS WITH THIS ONE! Also hot daddy hobo Phoenix is best Phoenix.

1:29:07 the thing about Letouse writing his interpol number and not the killer's name - I'm pretty sure it's explained in game quite well! He tells Apollo as he's dying that he doesn't know who shot him, he didn't know Daryan or the other band members. Writing his interpol number did however, as a good choice on his part, connect his death to the important context of him as an agent.

I can't believe it took me over half a decade to realize the fucker in the intro to case 1 is drew misham

As always, suggest checking out "how Layton forever changed Ace Attorney" for some information about what happened during the AJ period, and how we got the Great Ace Attorney series. Really hope someday we get an updated re-release of the crossover (along with the Investigation series).

When I get convicted of murder because some guy said I keep gulping(I have acid reflux) Edit: 2:49:09 nah why they turn to me like that, stay focused on the case

Goddamn that nezumi sure can va. Fr tho, everytime I’m astounded by your vocal range with the characters in these retrospectives.

Ooh, really looking forward to this one. By the way, I loved your voicing Valant Gramarye in Save Data's playthrough.

When my dad and I played Turnabout Corner, we replaced every mention of the "p" word with "pastries" and joked that Trucy was a REALLY good baker. On another note, I got into Ace Attorney a little before the pandemic, so when I got to Apollo Justice I already knew that the next two games in the series led with "Phoenix Wright" in the title, which is probably a large reason why I wasn't really upset with how Phoenix was depicted in this game. Normally I hate huge time skips that drastically alter a character's personality, but I think in retrospect that since I had the notion that he would soon return to more like his old self, I was more willing to put up with it and came to really like it with the chance I gave it. I can say now that I would prefer it if Apollo stayed the main character in the *Apollo Justice* trilogy, but I will also say that knowing Phoenix would once again be his more happy, less abrasive self after this game allowed me to appreciate Apollo's debut title more for what it was, rather than how it "ruined" what I was already used to.

AA4 absolutely buckles under its own ambition but I think the crime of being *too ambitious* is hardly a crime at all. While there definitely were some plot details that deserved to be ironed out, the game provides a groundwork for some of the best character drama in the series bar none: Ema’s history with Nick provides an already succinct backstory and combines it with her disgruntled view of the police Apollo shows hints of an actual character with his own morals, as he punches Nick in the opening moments of the game Phoenix does some morally questionable stuff but it’s all in an effort to support Trucy (…or is it his ego?) There’s a parallel of puppeteering between Nick/Apollo and Kristoph/Klavier, and the result is a fascinating proxy war between characters who actually get along very well Yeah, this game is wildly ambitious and sets up some very interesting discussions on morality (namely in 4-4, jurist system)…too bad the game is basically sequel setup that never paid off.

ACHTUNG, BABY

Hello, I’m a random Greek Myth nerd who would like to offer a little bit of fun input about the allusions in this game. I’m by no means an expert in Greek Myth and I haven’t played the game, but I do tend to notice little things that the devs probably didn’t intend. - Apollo is the god of *a lot* of things. The ones must relevant thus far are truth and reason, being very lawyery things for a very unlawyery god. Apollo is a very versatile god who is able to fit into whatever role you need him to somewhat by design, even among the full pantheon, I find his myths to be the most diverse in subject and direction. It fits pretty well that he was the namesake of our supposedly Everyman protagonist. - The perceive mechanic is quite interesting to me. It seems to have quite a different feel from the lawyery gameplay we’re used to, leaning towards a more magical application. While all Greek gods have some level of omniscience, myth Apollo has connections to prophecy and knowledge that give him an almost casual control over the known universe. I think it’s befitting for this ability to crop up with a character with this namesake, as it feels a bit different from the mystic magic we’ve become accustomed to. - What if I told you Klavier makes a better stand-in for myth Apollo than the guy named Apollo? Blond, pretty, a proponent of the tenets of Rock ‘n’ Roll? That’s a pretty succinct description of AJ’s namesake, if we’re extrapolating. Not to mention his name meaning piano, despite him having zero connections to the instrument other than being a musician. The Klavier reinforces his musicianness. I have some ideas as to a better allegorical character for him that we’ll get to later, but it’d be remiss of me not to mention the pretty clear characterization of our “Rock God of the Courtroom”. - The Wheel of Fate metaphor of Turnabout Corner is of Ancient Greek origin. Just a little fun fact, but the Rota Fortunae/Wheel of Fortune was a symbol of the Luck goddess Fortuna or rather Tyche if we’re being strictly Greek. It represents the random nature of fate and destiny, how one person can randomly suffer while others fall into fortune. The random nature of Fate is a through line of the case, which is why such a cliche metaphor was used as its opening. - I find it interesting that Lamiroir is blind and framed almost like a story teller. I mean she’s a singer, but her lyrics are almost prophetic. The entire Machi Lamiroir vision thing kind of reminds me of Homer, who was likely a blind story teller or a set of poets. - Turnabout Serenade highlighted something interesting about Klavier for me. It really emphasized how he’s both a musician and a lawyer at the same time, shipping evidence while performing at a rock show and all. Myth Apollo is bisexual in a lot of ways, and his metric ton of domains and epithets can be interpreted as a form of his bisexuality, doing multiple things at once until it becomes something unique. So, that’s another point for Klav being closer to myth Apollo than AJ. The power of multi-tasking Bi men. - There’s a very loose mythological parallel throughout Turnabout Serenade. The story (or at least on version of it) goes that two brothers, Trophonius, a son of Apollo, and Agamedes, his human stepbrother, built a treasury for a king and included an exit that only the two of them knew about. The two eventually snuck back in and stole some of the king’s wealth, but the king was on to them and trapped the exit. Agamedes got stuck, and Trophonius was forced to cut Agamedes’s head off so that his identity would remain hidden. Trophonius eventually became an oracle spirit, residing in a cave that shows up in the Odyssey and some other myths. Now, very loosely, you could say that Daryan is Trophonius and Machi is Agamedes, that their muddling of the time was their secret doorway, and that their betrayal was a little like the deaths in the myth. Klav could be Apollo here, as though he has a lot of connections to Daryan, he remains ambivalent. It’s not the best connection, but it makes me feel a little better about why Klav cared so little about Daryan’s incarceration. He may be a Gavinner, but he’s also a Prosecutor, and sometimes that has to win out. It’s tragic, but it makes a bit more sense to me. - This one is stupid, but I keep on reading Gramarye as Ganymede. I know. They’re not even close, but the letters are hitting my brain wrong. Ganymede is a/the cupbearer of the gods, and is considered noteworthy for his connections to homosexuality. I just think that it’s funny that half of the time I try to read an important last name I get reminded that the Ace Attorney series is functionally about a bunch of gay lawyers. - Half siblings! I really like this twist. Greek mythology includes a lot of bastard children, including Apollo, though AJ isn’t a bastard and the offending party is his mother, not father. Still, the theme of complicated familial bonds is maintained here, though Ancient Greek culture treated family very differently to how we do now, so the connections don’t carry over one to one. - I’d like to posit a mythological connection for Trucy now that we’ve discovered her parentage. While not a perfect comparison by any means, none of them are, I think she has a few Dionysian influences. He’s a god of theatre and festivity, generally associated with parties and entertainment. The entertainment part is most relevant here, as Trucy is a performer. The rest of their connection mostly comes from familial relationships, and Dionysus’s rebirth was a part of his worship in some Ancient Greek circles. His mother died while pregnant with him, and he spent the rest of his development in his father’s leg. Trucy’s story is heavily intertwined with her father figures, her dad died, and she had a type of “rebirth” with her life with Phoenix, who’s also connected to rebirth. Secondly, Dionysus and Apollo are half siblings. That one’s pretty self-explanatory, but that’s kind of where the basis for this connection came from. The two are used in some of Nietzsche’s work, but that’s not really relevant here, the point is more so that the two complement each other in a lot of ways. - Ok, very loose anecdote here. I have nowhere else to put it, and apparently I’ll never have the chance to say it ever again, so… I’d like to revisit Klapollo. I love these two and I’ve barely seen any of their moments. Myth Apollo is famously bisexual, or at least, likes men and women. Quite possibly his most famous male lover is Hyacinthus, whose name will show up in nearly every myth compilation or quick rundown you can get. If he and Apollo are ever referred to as “close friends”, the entire book or source you are reading is completely tainted. “Close friends” is beyond incorrect. Back to Ace Attorney, I think there’s a very loose connection between the two couples that’s mostly just the fact that both are gay and involve someone named Apollo. Klapollo kind of sticks out to me due to the fluidity of the roles, how either can represent Apollo or Hyacinthus, either could Defense or Prosecution. I think the game is trying to get at the same thing WrightWorth is, that together they create justice. Klapollo isn’t really a push and pull, a spear and shield warring to uncover truth, but more like a game. They pass evidence and words off to each other, building logic and thoughts and reason in order to get to justice. And in a way, the two have a sort of tragic ending, the tragedy of somehow being forgotten by the very franchise they star in. - We’re at the end of the video now. I didn’t have anything to say in relation to any of the specific events of Turnabout Secession. There’s something to be said about the use of poison, maybe connect that to Achlys or even Dahlia, but that’s not really my area of expertise. Instead, I’d like to reflect on the nature of the story. I really like the majority of the original characters in this game, and I’m saddened by AJ’s sidelining and the implication that he and Klavier will continue to be shoved to the side. From what I understand, it seems these games ushered in a new era and then got scared of all the change and tried to wildly backtrack into more familiar avenues. I love all the PW characters and Gumshoe’s disappearance is a crime against humanity, but I really want to see where *this* story goes, with the AJ characters. Greek Myth is a complicated thing to enjoy, because it’s the religion and folklore of a people that are long gone, but still have immeasurable impact on the places they once inhabited and the world at large. I’m not Greek in any way, I don’t really have claim to these stories, but I want to do my best to keep telling them. All of them, even the stories I don’t like, the ones that make me uncomfortable, the ones that make me think about life and the nature of stories. A sequel is about reflection, doomed to comparison from the moment it’s conceived. Intentional or not, I think that the AJ series has a little bit of the spark that Greek Mythology does, that flame that makes people think and discuss the world, how it was, how it can be. There’s a value in mediocre art, art that has such good ideas but shoots itself in the foot with the stupid details or bad presentation. There’s also a value in ancient art and stories that are so morally different from our world now. I can’t say if I’ll like the AJ games more than the initial trilogy, but I can say with certainty that they’re worth it. Maybe it’s a bumpy ride from here, maybe the destination’s a hellhole, but I think I’ll stick around for a while. I know I’ll be different at the end of the journey.

So I don't usually comment on videos but ever since I watched your retrospectives, I've been compelled to play through the Apollo Justice trilogy, since I basically “knew” all the stuff from the trilogy. This was the best decision EVER since I played Apollo Justice… …and I LOVE it. And then I looked up people’s opinions on each case as I finished them. I was very surprised by how many people hated it. I have been waiting patiently for this video, and I love it! I enjoy perspectives that aren’t solely one-sided, and aren’t aggressively harsh or overwhelmingly positive. LOTS of the Ace Attorney videos I find are like that, especially the ones ripping Dual Destinies a new one. Ever since this was in production, I was daydreaming about making a response like this, especially since you both got me OBSESSED with Ace Attorney and I love Apollo Justice so dearly. I had a lot more thoughts and anecdotes to share, but I believe it was too long. It might have been 8000+ words. It was. So I’ll just leave it as this: thank you for all of these retrospectives. If it wasn’t for your videos, I probably would have more difficulty sleeping at night and I would have never played the Ace Attorney games. Stay safe, don’t overwork yourself, be gaming, and thank you!! Also, I need Kristoph Gavin to be real so that we may repopulate the village. Oh, and Lamiroir needs to explode.

Klapollo canon

TRANSMASC APOLLO TRANSMASC APOLLO TRANSMASC APOLLO

Honestly, i love how the jurist system was presented. To me, it felt like Phoenix hijacked a genuinely better system in order to get back at kristoph. There's a reason it doesnt come back, and that's Phoenix. it's because of how sketchy he was about handling it. Khristoph won in a way. He got Phoenix to play on his level in order to finally get exposed.

Something I actually like about the HD artstyle of Apollo Justice is that they kept the MAGNIFICENT sprites of the 3DS remake, I would be lying if I wasn’t scared the second trilogy would give AA4 the original HD trilogy’s wonky artstyle

I just graduated high school, and now Imma bout to sit down and watch a video essay about the first Ace Attorney game I ever played by one of my favorite content creators. Life is good

2:43:37 I do also want to point out that their Japanese surname 或真敷 (ある・ま・じき｜Aru・ma・jiki) _could_ be interpreted as "possibly magic(i)", so I'm not sure why they didn't leave it up in the air. Also, Valan → Baran (balan), Zak → Zakku; Balanzakku → Balance act (that or it's a reference to a bar in Tokyo named "Bar Ballan Zack")

Gavin felt like the ultimate conclusion to Phonix arc. A character much like himself but never learned the lessons of AA 2.

I love seeing Phoenix out of his head. It’s so nice to be in the head of someone else and not seeing Phoenix’s thought processes and feeling just as confused as everyone else is in the previous trilogy but amplified because Phoenix is fully different and not afraid to bend the law a bit

I disagree with your point about the disbarment. We know, from aai2, what caused Manfred's penalty and it wasn't forgery. As for edgeworth's implied forgery, that was simple gossip, and even ignoring rfta, nothing was ever proven. In Nick's case, however, he was immediately and unequivocally proven to have presented forged evidence. I could see that (with a bit of pressure for kristoph) causing him to get disbarred immediately.

the fact that zak tries to take down, in any way, a guy who defended him in court, got disbarred for it, then RAISED his daughter for 7 years, is fucking nuts or stupid. pick your poison.

One of the most misunderstood games of all time. Also maybe it's because of who I hang out with but I swear the people that I've seen that genuinely like this game happen to be Gen Z.

I absolutely agree that Apollo and Klavier court room dynamic is such a nice breath of freh air for the franchise! Klavier is much more playful than the rest of the prosecutors, happily taunting Apollo while still working with him to solve cases, and it's so satisfying going from case to see Apollo just peeling off all of Klavier's layers from his rockstar persona. Also I agree that the "unbeatable prosecutor" was really starting to feel played out, and even aa5 and aa6 kinda suffer from using this trope a lot BUT (kinda minor spoilers about the great ace attorney) I think how they realized that trope with Van Zieks it's so clever! He's the scariest prosecutor not because he always win, but because even if he does one way or the other the accused will receive his judgment, so it makes you stay on your toes even if you win.

The more I look at the series as a whole, the more I see parallels between certain characters, and I noticed a pretty big one in this game: Kristoph Gavin is to defence attorneys what Manfred von Karma is to prosecutors. They’re both extreme perfectionists, driven almost entirely by their egos, willing to do whatever is necessary to get the verdict they want, and seeing the rest of the courtroom as obstacles in the way of that verdict. They’re both so obsessed with their “perfect” image, that they’ll defend it by any means necessary, and unfortunately, Zak Gramarye and Gregory Edgeworth both experienced first hand what “by any means necessary” really means to these people.

Wow!! I haven't watched one of your retrospectives in a minute, but this one seemed above and beyond in terms of quality. The humor in particular was so on point. Can’t believe I got transmasc rep before the first half hour was out! But in seriousness, I can tell a lot of love and effort was put into this. So much so that I completely understand you pulling back to only do a few of these per year. If this level of quality is anything to go by, it's more than worth the wait.

I don't care what anyone says I love the 3D model video in Turnabout Serenade it improved the experience for me it's so funny every time I watched it I giggled. (Also I didn't mind the flashbacks but that's just because my memory is terrible and I genuinely needed it as a reminder LMAO)

Can we talk about how Phoenix didn't even need to present the forged evidence? He literally could have just pointed out that the next page in the journal was clearly ripped out, and that Klavier's point was therefore moot. That made me so mad when I played this game. At the time, I thought that maybe I was _supposed_ to feel mad. But no, at the end they try to redeem Klavier's bullshit by making it Kristoph's fault. That injustice is never truly rectified, and that anger is never acknowledged.

the non stop repeating of the flashback of LeTouse's final words are what made one of the best jokes for a youtuber I watch, where when flashbacks, things or facts are repeated too frequently he will go "SI... RE... NA..." (sirena is "siren" in spanish, the youtuber is spanish btw.) (If anyone knows what youtuber im talking abt feel free to comment :D)

Ace Attorney 4, as has always, and will always, be my favorite entry in the series- you did bring up a lot of interesting points that I never took the time to think about, and I agree with the notion that not everything in this game had to be such a grand spectacle, even if it came after AA3- I really wish the series got the chance to go and build off the ideas of Apollo Justice, because it feels like how Sega did with Sonic 06; trying to scrap up and write off its ideas because it didn’t do well enough- I really wanted a proper trilogy for Apollo, and it really is a shame that so many people scoff (but justifiably) at this game just because it doesn’t perfectly land its ideas This was a good video! I can’t wait for the next one when it’s done 🙏

This game has made me imagine a spinoff. Basically just Miles Edgeworth Investigations but with Klavier as the lead instead. However, in this theoretical spinoff...people just give Klavier all of their info immediately cause he's just that good. Sucks to suck for those killers though.

A problem with Turnabout Succession that i haven't really seen anyone talking about is that for a final case, it doesn't really grip you in at the start. Turnabout Goodbyes had you defend the prosecutor you've been the rival of for the game and that you recently found out had a past with Phoenix, Farewell my Turnabout has you defend someone not necessarily just because you believe in them, but also because Maya's been kidnapped and you're being forced to do it, and Bridge to the Turnabout has Maya and Pearl go missing and the defendant is someone that like, everyone i've seen play the game (including me) was convinced it was the woman who murdered two people and tried to murder you.

trans Apollo is so real - short king, does his voice training every day, frequently mistaken for a teenage boy.. and just look at him. Come on. The tboy swag just oozes out of him

My headcanon of how Phoenix was able to work so closely to make the jurist system is link to "Rise from the Ashes" case. He help purged corruption from the cops and the legal system. Despite what happen, they knew Phoenix was a good person and they would of worked with him on the jurist system.

Also here’s a funny thing with Apollo’s name? Apollo the god was literally one of the *Earliest Lawyers in legend.* He acted as a defense to a prince’s defense against the Furies

A detail I really like about Kristoph is that he is one of the few villains to foil the protagonists abilities specifically. Kristoph can read people, not as well as Apollo mind you, but he was able to deduce the perfect way to poison Vera discreetly by abusing her habit to bite her fingers. Its really minor, but its cool way to make Kristoph feel bigger than just a schemer.

Totally understand your need to take a step back from this kind of content which is very intensive. Take all the time you need, we will still look forward to all of your content! Your retrospectives are some of my favourite I've seen and I'm stoked to see this video in my feed today!

AA4 is a game I respect for what it tries to be as opposed to what it is, but unfortunately the end result is pretty underwritten and hard for me to go back to It has a strong start, but it peters out toward the end pretty hard. Take Apollo for instance. To say he doesn't contribute to the final case's outcome would be inaccurate, but it's hard to feel like he's the main character. Compare to Phoenix in Turnabout Goodbyes. While he does recieve plenty of help from Larry, Maya, Mia, i never feel like he was at any point overshadowed by them. But Apollo feels like a supporting character in the finale of his debut game, which is where you don't wanna be Even discounting the direction of later games, Apollo Justice feels incomplete. It doesn't stand on it's own to the degree that AA1 does. In fact, some aspects of it are written like a first draft, as harsh as that may sound. Zak Gramarye's confusing character (further tarnish the rep of the man that YOU partially fucked over, and then beat the woman you hired when you fail??), much of Case 3, the last trial of Case 4. It's a shame, because there could've been something special here, but this game kind of annoys me if im being honest lol

With the grape juice, I believe it’s just Capcom being funny rounding the corner of blindsiding your expectations. Tyrell from Investigation is similar, with the lollipop instead of it being a cigarette. Knowing Dual Destinies case 5, I don’t think Capcom made the grape juice to censor LOL (Edit: I had forgotten this is Shu’s favorite drink LOL, but the point still stands)

wish the series stayed 2D, AJ's artstyle looks so damn good. (havent played TGAA yet which ive heard uses the 3d well)

There’s always been something about AJ that’s just made it stand out for me. From its tone, to its characters, and even story beats, there almost a subtle melancholy to it that helps makes it feel distinct from the rest of the series. Even now it’s still hard to put into words why I love AJ so much, but flaws and all, I still love coming back to this point in their series life and thinking about where this world could have gone had DD been done a little different. Probably helps the OST is fire.

I havent watched the full video yet, and it will probably come up in there, but i love how the first game to feature a jury is so focused on presentation and performance as a motif. Really makes me wish for an aj2 to this day, would love to see Klavier do crowdwork on an in-person jury.

AA4 was my first-ever Ace Attorney game. Since the English versions don’t have numbers in the titles, my dad thought it didn’t matter which one he got and just got the most recent one at the time. I knew what Phoenix Wright looked like beforehand, so seeing him in this game’s intro was still strong enough to hook me, a total newbie to the series. Apollo is a compelling protagonist and my personal favorite lead in the series. Trucy is a contender for the best assistant in the series, and Klavier is one of my favorite prosecutors in the series. While I will be the first to admit this game is far from perfect and I understand anyone who isn’t a fan of this game, it will always have a soft spot in my heart. And I have it to thank for getting me into this franchise I love dearly. I’m so happy to have watched this video. Your video essays always open my eyes to other points of view and give me a more objective look on pieces of media, and this was no different. Your voice acting and your way of explaining points is fantastic. I look forward to seeing you continue your endeavors with video making.

I agree that Big Top (minus the love sideplot) goes over Serenade for me due to the villain in Big Top. Both have terrible leaps in logic however. I do like how in the Ace Attorney Anime they basically removed the love sideplot entirely and made Max's motivation to be to encourage the other circus members to be better performers, which makes him WAY WAY more likeable. Anyways, I am a rather new fan to the series, starting with the trilogy remaster, and in the end I do really like the story they were trying to tell. In my opinion Phoenix probably should have been disbarred six years ago instead of seven because I find it absolutely wild that it happens a month after Bridge to the Turnabout and a WEEK after AAI2. I appreciate the more mature tone where they show how the system was broken (even if I have gripes with how the MASON system was implemented). Thank you for this wonderful retrospective!

"But this is the first time I've felt this way with a man" excuse me Prosecutor Gavin 🤨🤨 would u like to repeat that 🤨🤨

This was an excellent video and I cannot wait to see you complete the rest of the series for Ace Attorney 5 and 6.

Great video! This was a tough watch for me personally 'cos I *really* love this game and love the angle they take with Phoenix, so hearing you point out your problems with his arc had a bit of a 'No, not my baby!' effect. I can't really argue with your points, and will more stand by... I like where he ended up? The game wants to leave the backdoor open for his return, but Nick being the guy who'd do what was needed for justice to be done fit him well to me emotionally. He's had his day in the sun, and even if he's a bit more cynical now, it's for the sake of building something better for those who follow him. I feel this incarnation of the character is a really good mentor figure and... well, I'd argue that the later games of this 'trilogy' lost that vibe, but that's subjective as hell. REALLY looking forward to you talking Monkey Island! Been peripherally aware of those games for yonks, but never got into 'em.

Nick/Miles jokes are killing me lol I headcanoned that Nick is creating the MASON system as part of his PHD thesis- 7 years sounds about right for such a thing and just because you are disbarred it doesn't mean your University diploma is taken away. How can Nick spare time and money for furthering his education? Well, obviously he has a very supportive husband! /j Also, Klavier is right next to Barok when it comes to my favourite AA prosecutors 💖

Would ya look at that, my new obsession for the month!

Great video. I appreciate someone evaluated this game more objectively, especially considering product of what time it was. But I wanted to add 3 more points. 1) I really like how Trucy (I just now realized her name is pun on "Truth") wears Zak's red in the past, but switches to Phoenix's blue in the present. It never stated outright, but I really like this small moments of visual storytelling. 2) When Capcom makes AA7 (Please, I beg you.) I believe they will finally introduce Jurists back into the plot, because GAA already has Jury so going back on it would be a bit weird. 3) Maybe you haven't yet played or didn't want to spoil Dual Destinies but expanded lore on Black Locks presents Kristoph's breakdown in a new light. P.S. Klavier is my favorite Prosecutor in a series. imo, He is an actual person rather then personification of character arc. He has his strengths, weaknesses and skeletons in the closet. I really liked his dynamic with Apollo, not ruthless careerist, but an attorney pushing his "Truth" against his opponent's "Truth" until they arrive at ultimate conclusion.

considering the shit von karma, ex-von karma, and von karma pulled and yet still maintained their highly respected reputation, i always got the feeling that phoenix's use of forged evidence leading to his retirement was less about him ruining his name beyond repair and more about him _himself_ losing respect for himself as a lawyer. certainly, it still would've been something that impacted how others saw him, but more as a single black splotch on an otherwise spotless record rather than something that made him utterly contemptible in law esp. since, in all likelihood, the two von karmalings would've supported his endeavors to re-involve himself in law. hell, i could see the judge giving his backing to nick, considering no other man has more thoroughly witnessed the miracles he pulls off. there's also peeps like grossberg and such; dude's got a _lot_ of allies with a whole diverse set of reasons to want to see him back in action it's just one of those things where the series' frequently cynical and always fast-'n-loose perspective on the legal system makes itself pretty strongly known. phoenix working in forged evidence in apollo's first case isn't such a jerk move because it's intrinsically a career-ruining move, it's because it's _apollo's first case_ and so the rookie lawyer has no reputation or built-up good will to lean on for getting the higher-ups to look the other way ( plus, there's the whole matter of apollo's own feelings towards the truth, too ). and, frankly, it's one of those things i wouldn't be surprised is actually less fast-'n-loose and _significantly_ more cynical than it might come across to us, considering japan's infamous 97.8% conviction rate. certainly the type of context where forged evidence would be an effective tool so long as the _public_ isn't made aware of the forgery at the very least, y'might notice i said 97.8% instead of the oft-quoted 99%. turns out the lay judge system has had an immediately noticeable ( if only because of the severity of the numbers, but still ) impact on the legal system's ability to chase "bulletproof" cases, which certainly feels appropriate for a radical law reform championed by ace attorney and especially apollo justice in particular

57:35 "Third case syndrome ! Does turnabout serenade break the curse ?" Oh boy does it not

The only miss in this entire video is the lack of respect for the perfection that is the sound effect that plays when Emma throws snakaroos at Apollo *Ka Tonk*

Since I started playing Ace Attorney when I was already a young adult, I have no particular nostalgic attachments to the original trilogy, so I never joined the "bring X back" crowd and was pleased that the series moved on to new characters instead of dragging the old ones who already had their stories concluded. Still, when I first played AA4, I still resented seeing what they did to my boy Phoenix, because being young, we're resistent to the idea that good people can be screwed by life. The same goes for Ema's situation. After replaying the game 2 years ago, as a 30-year-old, I got a lot more appreciation for the direction the series tried to take in this installment. Hobo Phoenix and adult Ema became my favorite versions of these characters, the darker and more jaded tone (which never lets go of the classic AA optimism) seemed more interesting than the overly naive tone of the previous games, and Klavier looked more like an actual professional instead of a cartoon villain. However, the plot holes and clumsy writing is hard to ignore. In the mystery-solving department, this game drops the ball a little too frequently. I still think it's a lot more interesting than the original trilogy. It's fun to discuss this game's plot and characters with the fandom, since there's more to talk about, as things are not so black and white. I still have a lot of respect for everything this game does well, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm now old enough to be attracted to DILF Phoen- I mean, hobo Phoenix.

I love how you bring up disability issues such as auditory processing disorder. I wish more reviewers brought that up.

Ahh! Thanks for including my silly little judge drawing in the beginning of the video! Absolutely amazing retrospective, I loved your analysis of Kristoph and your rendition of his scream. Your voice work is SO good!!

first of all i have to say i love your analysis so much! your channel is one of my favorites. it may be an unpopular opinion, but i think i like aa4 phoenix better than i liked him in the original trilogy. i feel like him becoming a sly bastard after being disillusioned with the legal system feels right. one of the biggest character traits phoenix had was his unwavering faith in people, not only in his clients, but in everyone around him. phoenix always hoped for the best, always tried to see the bright side, tried to understand that even if people make mistakes they still have reason for it, they must be innocent somehow. this belief is challenged back in farewell, my turnabout, but i feel like it reaches a boiling point after phoenix is stripped of everything by someone who is the personification of everything that was wrong with their legal system. i believe that a lot of this new sly persona is a facade. i think phoenix couldnt find it in himself to pretend to be strong, so he chose the opposite direction. he pretends to not care about himself or about being disbarred because it would be easier to pull strings like this, if people didnt see him fighting for it anymore, especially considering he kept a friendship with kristoph during all of those years. but what really charms me to aa4 phoenix is honestly how fucking hilarious he is. i feel like hes trying to mimick all the mysterious people he knew during his life and pulling it off in the funniest way possible. i feel like apollo was fighting for his life every time they had a conversation. anyway, great video as always! thank you so much for the work you put on this. take all the time you need to work on your content but know ill always be eagerly waiting for your next project!! ^^

2:23:13 "Obviously, Phoenix is down" I see what you did there. *Final Fantasy intensifies*

IM SO READY NEZUMIVA MY GOAT

I think the roughest thing about Apollo Justice is the fact that Phoenix’s disbarment takes up the entire game’s focus. From the moment that Phoenix is revealed to be the client in case 1, the player is going to have questions. “Why isn’t Phoenix an attorney anymore?” “Why does he have a teenage daughter?” “Why is Phoenix okay with presenting illegal evidence?” “Where the hell are all of Phoenix’s friends?!” And this makes sense - we just finished a trilogy of games with Phoenix as our main guy and dammit we are attached to him and wanna see him happy and figure out what happened to make him so…sad. Unfortunately this means that as players, we don’t get invested at all in Apollo. We learn nothing about him in his introduction game. Well almost nothing. We learn he has a bracelet that lets him pick up on subtle changes in body language and that “I’m fine” is a catchphrase of his. I mean sure we get a twist reveal at the end that Apollo and Trucy are related but that doesn’t tell us who Apollo is. It’s disappointing because I really wound up liking Apollo but that’s mostly because of what happens in the follow up games Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. So when I replay Apollo Justice, I have the benefit of hindsight. But that’s not a point in the game’s narrative favor.

Wanna say how much i LOVE your ace attorney videos!! Eventho theyre hours long they are my comfort watch and i love rewatching every single one every now and again! I dont think i can get this high quality video essay with top notch voice acting (your phoenix wright voice is my headcanon now), such funny yet truly thoughtful script, and amazing video and audio editing with such high level of detail like listing the soundtrack playing and transitioning through points as if we were playing the video game! Im always amazed at the quality of your vids even after tons of rewatches! Also was really excited when you announced you were going beyond the og trilogy cause it feels like no one talks about it! Anyway thank you so much for your amazing hard work! Take your time on the next installments- your videos are worth the wait!

Machi needs all that money because he has Machi Tobaye (much to buy)

Always remember that your mental health will always matter more than content. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for the future! Also thank you for properly introducing me to the…. interesting… world of ace attorney!

God my favorite entry!! im so excited this is going to be fantastic

I've never player AJ. Looked for an interesting analysis of the game for way too long (cuz I ain't playing it anytime soon), and ended up never finding anything that satisfied my tastes. That is, up until now, for I believe *this* is what I've been looking for.

35:44 showing Miki for this is so ungodly perfect

1:50:38 Can't say I was expecting an Expiration Date reference when I clicked on this video.

Considering this an early birthday present ❤. Looking forward to rewatching this one throughout the week

You never disappoint with these long-form retrospectives, thank you so so much for all the time and effort you put into them. They're always worth the wait!! The Gavin voice acting at the end in particular gave me chills, very well performed. ❤ I'm surprised to hear you haven't really touched the 3D titles though, this isn't me suggesting them for their own videos obviously just on your own time, but (and this goes for anyone reading really) I highly recommend checking out The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles! As a spin-off/prequel, while it's completely disconnected from the mainline games, the games make for an incredible duology and in my opinion consistently offer some of the highest highs the franchise has to date (where third cases have the quality of final ones if you can believe it). Fantastic experience to any fan of the series!!

Yo that Kristoph scream was absolutely chilling. Fucking brilliant. Absolutely killed it.

Hearing you talk about trucy's design reminds me of how i cant see her earrings as anything else other than revives in pokemon

Honestly the biggest problem with Phoenix's fall was thay the whole trilogy was based on presenting evidence you either found or was given to you. Its not like he always checked for authenticity. He was just doing his thing and its surprising he was never handed fake evidence before this. Also somewhere out there, in another universe theres an actual well thought out Apollo trilogy where the last case here is the final case of game three, and Gumshoe's a badass police chief or something lol

Currently cleaning a thrifted keyboard and this is the perfect thing to watch during it.

The Apollo Trilogy is starting! I can't wait!!!!

Ema Skye is hot here. Thank you for listening to my TED talk.

what an incredible video!! i feel like i say it often, but your videos really make me engaged and invested in parts of a series that i hadn't ever planned on touching. plus, your voicework in this video was phenomenal! your REACH is AMAZING!! i really hope you're proud of your hard work in this video ❤

My biggest problem with AJ is that it’s ultimately not Apollo’s story. Apollo does the legwork, but it’s really Phoenix who wins here. After Kristoph is put in prison Apollo has no more personal connection to what happens. He’s just along for the ride, a pawn in Phoenix’s chess game with Kristoph. That could’ve been interesting if the game explored his feelings on being used like that more, but it doesn’t. After the opening of Case 2 is done Apollo is just on Team Phoenix and that’s it. That leaves only Cases 2 & 3 to flesh out his character, and neither does a great job. He feels less like a distinct character this time and more like a younger, slightly brasher version of the OT Phoenix. Say what you will about Duel Destinies, but they at least gave him more of a unique personality in that game. Unfortunately, this time Apollo feels like a sidekick in his own game. It’s a shame because there was a great opportunity here, but it wasn’t taken.

In my opinion the reason Phoenix got disbarred for presenting forged evidence actually holds a lot of water. The judge has seen people like Von Karma get away basically with a slap on the wrist for doing so and how repeatedly it just contributed to muddying if not even full scale corruption in the justice system and even the infamous dl6 incident. Given that whole development and dealing with that for literal years with Phoenix being actually a core piece in highlighting said corruption and it's consequences I'd wager it's absolutely understandable that due to wanting to maintain law and order the penalty would actually be so high this time to basically prevent such further festering within the system. Given that it does really undermine the reason why he would be allowed to continue working with the law system but Im pretty sure a certain red coated and cravat wearing boyfriend is behind the scenes which ecen is implied by further titles (post game fixing of a plot hole - sure but still not an unbelievable idea for people playing since the first game to make imho).