|
|
| # ¿ May 11, 2024 10:37 |
|
|
Spoilers ahead! Here is a handy link (courtesy of Zulily Zoetrope) that can take you to the start of the first update and view just one of my posts per page. Otherwise you can jump straight to the update you want in the Table of Contents above if you want to avoid what follows in this post. If you're prepared, feel free to scroll down... Cast of Characters  Phoenix Wright (Age: 24) - Our main character, he doesn't get an in-game profile because he's us and we're him. Mia Fey (Age: 27) - Chief Attorney at Fey & Co. My boss, and a very good defense attorney. Larry Butz (Age: 23) - The defendant in Episode 1. A likeable guy who has been Phoenix's friend since grade school. Cindy Stone (Age: 22) - The victim in Episode 1. A model, she lived in an apartment by herself. Winston Payne (Age: 52) - The prosecutor for Episode 1. Lacks presence. Generally bad at getting his points across. Frank Sahwit (Age: 36) - Discovered Ms. Stone's body. Newspaper salesman who saw Larry flee the scene. Maya Fey (Age: 17) - Mia's little sister. Found bent over her sister's body, crying. Dick Gumshoe (Age: 30) - Detective at the local precinct. In charge of the initial investigation. Miles Edgeworth (Age: 24) - A gifted prosecutor, and a ruthless man who'd do anything to get a "guilty" verdict. April May (Age: 23) - An eye witness to the events of Episode 2. Testifies that she saw Maya commit the murder. Marvin Grossberg (Age: 64) - A veteran defense attorney, and Mia's mentor. Bellboy (Age: 26) - Bellboy at the Gatewater Hotel. Redd White (Age: 39) - An eye witness. CEO of the information gathering company, Bluecorp. Will Powers (Age: 23) - The defendant. Action star who plays the title role in "The Steel Samurai" TV show. Security Lady (Age: ??) - Security guard at Global Studios. Claims she saw Powers heading to the scene. Jack Hammer (Age: 37) - The victim. A former big name action star. Played the role of the Evil Magistrate. Assistant (Age: 18) - Name: Penny Nichols. Assistant at Global Studios in charge of large props and set pieces. The Director (Age: 32) - Name: Sal Manella. Creator of "The Steel Samurai." Present on the day of the crime. Cody Hackins (Age: 7) - A big fan of the Steel Samurai. Present at the studio on the day of the crime. Dee Vasquez (Age: 34) - High-ranking producer at Global Studios. Present on the day of the crime. Lotta Hart (Age: 22) - Claims to be a research student. She's camped out to photograph shooting stars. Robert Hammond (Age: 48) - The victim in Episode 4. Also, the defense attorney in the DL-6 Incident. Misty Fey (Age: 46) - Mia and Maya's mother, and a spirit medium. Disappeared after the DL-6 Incident. Gregory Edgeworth (Deceased) - Victim in the DL-6 Incident, 15 years ago. A defense attorney and Miles's father. Manfred von Karma (Age: 65) - Veteran prosecutor who hasn't lost a case in his 40-year career. Edgeworth's mentor. Old Caretaker (Age: ??) - Caretaker of the boat rental shop in Gourd Lake Park. Thinks he runs a restaurant. Ema Skye (Age: 16) - High School Junior and self-styled scientific investigator. Lana Skye (Age: 29) - The defendant. Ema's sister, and Chief Prosecutor for the district. Angel Starr (Age: 31) - Mysterious lunchlady. Witness to the murder, known as the "Cough-Up Queen." Jake Marshall (Age: 33) - A patrolman investigating the incident at the Prosecutor's Office. Thinks he's a cowboy. Bruce Goodman (Age: 36) - The victim, and a good man. Detective in charge of homicide in Criminal Affairs, Div. 1. Damon Gant (Age: 65) - District Chief of Police. Though he might not seem it, he's top dog in the P.D. Mike Meekins (Age: 22) Patrolman with General Affairs. Suspected of killing Goodman in the evidence room. Joe Darke (Deceased) - Serial killer responsible for the SL-9 Incident two years ago. Was given the death penalty. Neil Marshall (Deceased) - Prosecutor murdered two years ago in the SL-9 Incident. Jake Marshall's brother.Soundtrack
Voiced Exclamations The attorneys in this game really like to shout out in court. Here are their voice lines: Phoenix Wright:    Miles Edgeworth: Winston Payne: Manfred von Karma: Sound Effects A handful of sound effects that we've come across so far:
Other Stuff Some funny videos for after you've seen a certain scene in Part 21 / Episode 2: I'll just leave this one right here for those who have seen the first day of trial in Episode 3... (by wologar):  This cute video references something at the end of the first update of the last day of trial for Episode 4. Finally, a merry Christmas wish from an Episode 4 villain (courtesy of GilliamYaeger):  Keeping space free to separate the spoilers above - don't scroll up if you want to avoid them! DKII fucked around with this message at 19:46 on Feb 9, 2024 |
#
¿
Jul 12, 2022 03:50
|
|
|
Part 1: Episode 1, Prologue: A Bloody Opening All right, let's do this! I'm ready to meet the pointing guy.  But first I guess I'll look at the game options? Pretty standard list here I guess.  This page seems more important, not sure I'd figure out which random keys did what otherwise. I'll probably keep this image up while I'm playing.  We've got the first three games in this bundle, but we're here for the original classic. Just, in high-res form.  I can already tell our first case is going to be fun with that cover image. If our theme is going to be "Turnabouts", I gather we're a defense attorney?  Okay, let's go! Music: The First Turnabout Video: Episode 1 Prologue Quick note about music and video links - I put them in Polsy to avoid any spoilers from related links or comments, so if you're trying to avoid those stick to the Polsy page and don't click through to the original YouTube page. The video has the entire opening cinematic for this episode; pretty much the entire update, just without my witty commentary. The video does have full resolution, though....  Looks like... dripping blood?   That's an... interesting murder weapon. Assuming that's what we're looking at here.  Yeah, I've watched enough CSI and Law and Order to recognize a theatrically-posed dead body. The blood pooling is a nice touch, though.  I assume we're seeing the murder happen here as some kind of background for the case? We're not the murderer ourselves right? Though that would be an interesting game - kill people and then defend yourself in court!  The screen shakes as the second line here comes up. The shaking appears to be a storytelling device to convey a shakiness/high emotion level in whoever's speaking; it'll happen a lot, but I probably won't bother to point it out every time. The context already given is usually enough on its own.  Oh are they just going to show us the killer?  At least we'll recognize the guy with the forehead mark (is it a tilak?) later on when we see him.  Well that's an evil-looking smirk.   This screen flashes for half a second, but you can stare at it all you like.  Whoever "HE" is, I'm guessing we'll be defending him. So far this looks like a Matlock episode.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 12, 2022 03:51
|
|
|
Part 2: Episode 1, Pre-Trial: Meet the Cast Cut to... elsewhere. Music: Courtroom Lobby ~ Beginning Overture  Hey that's us! This game is first-person? Also, good time to point out that internal monologue is in parentheses and colored text like in this screenshot.  Looks like we're about to meet Mia.  That's... not even remotely courtroom-appropriate attire. Oh, h-hiya, Chief.Yeah I'm not going to screenshot every single line of dialogue. My text will have no icon in front, game text will have an icon like the one above. And I know we haven't technically seen ourselves yet, but well I already saw this much on the store page when I bought the game so I already know what we look like here; I'll use this generic sprite any time that Phoenix talks and we can't see him. Also, the screen shook here, so apparently we're nervous talking to our boss? Whew, I'm glad I made it on time. Well, I have to say Phoenix, I'm impressed! Right off the bat? Did we just start here?  It says a lot about you... and your client as well. Um... thanks. Actually, it's because I owe him a favor.That must be a hell of a favor...   You mean, you knew the defendant before this case? Yes. Actually, I kind of owe my current job to him. He's one of the reasons I became an attorney. Right about here I notice the commands we have throughout this dialogue, and since I have no idea what I'm doing I decide to check them out now instead of waiting for the proper time.  Hitting "Escape" gives us the same options as before, except an additional line at the time for saving/loading. Apparently we can do that at any time here, which is a nice convenience.  Might as well save while we're here. I guess this really is the trial itself already?  Hitting "Tab" brings up what's basically our inventory screen for the game. That'll come up more later.  We only have two things right now - our attorney's badge (looks like we really are a defense attorney) and the autopsy report for the victim. If these two things are really all the evidence we have as a murder trial is starting, our client is screwed.  Mia is our boss and apparently the named partner of the firm at only 27. Good thing she's here to help us out I guess. We'll look at the other two characters a little later...  I just... really want to help him. I owe him that much. A new voice, with a special colored font! Also, this time parentheses means background voice? It's definitely not internal monologue as we'll see shortly.  ... Is that your client screaming over there? Yeah... it's him.  Heavy screen shaking on this one. This person seems rather upset, if you couldn't already tell from the words. It sounds like he wants to die... Um, yeah. *sigh* Oh lord it's anime crying eyes. And this guy is seriously named Butz? And who's Nick? Hey. Hey there, Larry. What?!  Gimme the death sentence! I ain't afraid to die!Okay we're definitely not putting this guy on the stand. What!? What's wrong, Larry?  I can't live in a world without her! I can't! Who... who took her away from me, Nick? Who did this?! Aww, Nick, ya gotta tell me! Who took my baby away!?I guess we're "Nick", maybe a nickname for Phoenix? Phoe-nicks? (Hmm... The person responsible for your girlfriend's death?) The red text is I guess when something important comes up? We already knew we were a defense attorney and that this clown is our client, but this line confirms that the victim was the guy's girlfriend. And if you've ever watched any true crime shows, you know the boyfriend/husband always did it.  We fade out for a little more backstory... Here's the story: My first case is a fairly simple one. The guy they arrested was the unlucky sap dating her:  I don't know why that text would be highlighted.  He has a knack for getting himself in trouble. One thing I can say though: it's usually not his fault. He just has terrible luck. But I know better than anyone, that he's a good guy at heart. That and I owe him one. Which is why I took the case... to clear his name. And that's just what I'm going to do!Yeah, we will! I'm fired up coach, next time let's show off our supreme lawyerly skills!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 12, 2022 03:51
|
|
|
I've developed some carpal tunnel while writing up the next update, so unfortunately I'm going to have to abandon this LP. Nah, just kidding. I'll have the next update out tonight. I have a bit of a backlog, actually - I'm aiming to get out two updates a week (probably smaller in size like the last two).
|
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2022 14:53
|
|
|
Part 3: Episode 1, Trial: A Little Test It's 13 minutes later, and we're now in the courtroom to defend our pal Larry Butz from charges of murdering his girlfriend. Wait, did that say August 3rd? Didn't the autopsy report say the murder happened on July 31st? Did our knucklehead of a friend get himself arrested so bad that the trial is somehow starting just three days later?  There we are, in that beautiful blue suit. Odd courtroom layout; is the jury already seated, and split onto two sides?  I love this animation and I will show it off every chance I get. Order in the court! It comes with a nice loud sound effect, too! Music: Trial  This judge looks like he should be meditating at a shrine atop a lonely mountain somewhere.  Payne strikes me as the model of competence, like every prosecutor in a media form about defense attorneys.   Wait, Mia said this was our first trial. She meant with her firm, right? Not that it's our first trial ever? We're just going to jump straight into a murder trial?  The judge apparently slept through the introductions. No, really, his eyes were closed for the that whole line.  Mr. Wright? This is your first trial, is it not? Oh boy, we're screwed, aren't we?  Murder is a serious charge. For your client's sake, I hope you can control your nerves. Thank... thank you, Your Honor. ... Mr. Wright, given the circumstances... I think we should have a test to ascertain your readiness.Yes, it's called the bar exam. Well, I smell a tutorial coming, bring it on. Yes, Your Honor. Uh, are we gonna be okay, here? I hope that was an internal expression to go along with that internal monologue...  One moment, Your Honor.  Look, I have no idea what's coming, all right?  I just saved, so I guess we can check out the joke options. First... are we the defendant ourselves?  I know this is a tutorial and maybe not every player would know this, but really? No one passing the bar isn't going to know this one.  Mia is likewise less than impressed.   You're his lawyer!I like how her sprite flips from sad to mad here. Um, er, eh? Oh yeah, right! Eh heh heh.  You did pass the bar, didn't you? Fortunately, the judge kindly pretends to not hear what an idiot we are and just asks the same question again. This time let's pretend we're stupid enough to think Mia is the defendant:   I have to go home. I'm... I'm expecting a delivery.Mia knows a train wreck when she sees one. Aw, c'mon Chief. There's no need to be going so soon, is there? The defendant is the one on trial--your client!More screen-shaking for the last two lines. I think I'll stop reporting on that now; it's not really adding much. I mean, that's about as basic as you can get! (I put my foot in it this time! I've got to relax!) Sorry, I couldn't hear your answer. I'll ask once more:Same reaction from the judge, and we're back at the same question. Selecting the wrong option multiple times doesn't change any of the dialogue, so let's go with the correct answer this time:  We literally met Larry in the last scene, if the player can't remember that then I doubt the rest of the game is going to be a picnic.   Just keep your wits about you and you'll do fine. Next question:  I think we're going to cover the "Court Record" menu I peeked at earlier. I didn't see a "case report", though. Should I have?  I like how we don't even get prompted yet and we're still freaking out.  (No... no way! I forgot! I'm drawing a total blank here!) I thought we might get prompted and I legitimately couldn't remember this woman's name, so I snuck a peek at the record again. The autopsy just mentions "Cindy", but the profiles here have the full names. Here's our goofy defendant.  And our victim.  The prosecutor's profile is... unkind.  You don't even know the victim's name!? I, um, just forgot. ...Temporarily. I think I feel a migraine coming on.  Just press "Tab" to check it at any time, okay? Remember to check it often. Do it for me, please. I'm begging you.Relax, we've got this.  It's Mia, right?  Um... Mia Fey? W-W-What!? How can I be the victim!? Oh! Right! Sorry! I, er, it was the first name that popped into my head, and--  Same options here. I'm pretty sure it started with a "C", and Cinder Block sounds like the kind of goofy name that'd show up in an anime style like this game, so let's go with that!     A mistake in court could cost you the case.Okay, I get it, the court record is going to be important here.  It's Cindy Stone!  Yikes even when we know the answer he's not real confident.  Now, tell me, what was the cause of death? If you really don't know, go back to the last update and check the autopsy report again. Maybe she was poisoned?    Mia just can't with this guy anymore. Check the court record. (Geez. Give a guy a break!) Let me ask again.Right, how about strangled?    Even the judge has to shake his head at that one.  Ouch. I suppose there's nothing to do but give you another try:And the correct answer is:  Correct. Plus, if we lose, at least our client can appeal on the grounds of having an incompetent defense attorney! You seem much more relaxed, Mr. Wright. Good for you. Thank you, Your Honor. (Because I don't FEEL relaxed, that's for sure.)I'm sure this will go great. Next time: The first witness!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 15, 2022 02:58
|
|
|
achtungnight posted:Your Honor, my client would like to plead insanity. Among the evidence, he hired me as his lawyer. Walla posted:We call the judge Santa. Those are both excellent. Booky posted:tho, if ur cool with it i'd rec turning the textbox transparency all the way up to high in the settings, since otherwise the sprites get blocked off by the textboxes Eh, I"ll try it out but I usually dislike free-floating text even more. It's probably too late for Episode 1 but I haven't seen a lot of important scenery there yet.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 15, 2022 05:58
|
|
|
Part 4: Episode 1, Trial: Should Have Taken the Fifth Well, then...  As Mr. Wright just told us, the victim was struck with a blunt object. Would you explain to the court just what the "object" was? Where does this game take place? It's not exactly following normal criminal procedure for the US, so maybe Japan? In the US we would have opening statements, and then the prosecutor would introduce evidence via questioning the crime scene techs / police officers that found it. I guess we're streamlining a bit for the game format, anyway. It was found lying on the floor, next to the victim. I see... The court accepts it into evidence. No need to show the entry in the Court Record, it's exactly the same as here.  Be sure to pay attention to any evidence added during the trial. That evidence is the only ammunition you have in court. Use "Tab" to check the Court Record frequently.Mia is already regretting hiring us.  Never not going to show it.  Cool, I wonder who we're going to see.  Huh? You, like, can't do that. At least in the US, the defendant has the right to not testify / self-incriminate. There's a whole constitutional amendment about it. I guess Japan is different? Look up "take the fifth" if you want to learn more about it.  Pay attention. You don't want to miss any information that might help your client's case. You'll get your chance to respond to the prosecution later, so be ready! Let's just hope he doesn't say anything... unfortunate.Yeah, let's hope...  Yup we're screwed. "Pay attention" was not the advice I was hoping for. More like, "How do we object to this entire proceeding and make him shut up?"   Ugh, I can't watch.   We were great together! We were Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony!This guy...  Excellent reaction Phoenix, you're doing great, keep it up.  WHAT'S IT TO YOU, ANYWAY!?Just motive for murder, that's all...  In fact, she had completely abandoned you... and was seeing other men! She had just returned from overseas with one of them the day before the murder!Maybe we can make use of that fact - other men means other people involved that could have their own motives. Whaddya mean, "one of them"!?If we could just get our client to shut up. Lies! All of it, lies! I don't believe a word of it! According to this, she was in Paris until the day before she died. More evidence is cool and all, but this passport just proves she was traveling, not what she was doing there. Wasn't she a model? Wouldn't a lot of travel be expected for that job?   Dude... no way... It appears that she had several "Sugar Daddies." Daddies? Sugar? Yes. Older men, who gave her money and gifts. She took their money and used it to support her lifestyle.Objection, counsel is testifying, and assuming facts not in evidence. Seriously where is my "Objection" button?  We can clearly see what kind of woman this Ms. Stone was.I thought it was usually the defense attorney's job to smear the victim?   I don't think you want him to answer that question.  Finally, maybe we can stop this mess!  I really enjoy this animation, too. I was expecting a yell and a point though!  My client had no idea the victim was seeing other men! There's my point! Go get 'em.  Phoenix uses "Point"! It's super-effective!  Effective against the prosecutor anyway. Our idiot client still won't shut up. That cheatin' she-dog! I'm gonna die. I'm just gonna drop dead! I'm going to get to the bottom of this! Okay, that went poorly. What would have happened if we'd just let him respond to the question?  No fun point on this path. Well, Mr. Butz? The rest plays out the same from here. So apparently that choice didn't matter much. I assume we'll have more meaningful choices later?  Maybe? I was pretty convinced he didn't actually know he'd been dumped.  That is not an appropriately neutral comment from a judge, sheesh.  Relax, motive is just one part of the means-motive-opportunity triangle. They still have to prove he could have done it. And they already proved he's too stupid to have done it.  You went to the victim's apartment on the day of the murder, did you not?Oh poo poo I sure hope not. Wait is that who we saw back in the prologue? Gulp! Well, did you, or did you not?  (Uh oh. He went.) Hmm. I think we're fresh out of law school and probably still believe in not supporting perjury and all that, so let's have him tell the truth. They probably know the truth anyway. (I know! I'll send him a signal...) I... have no words. That was amazing! Though it doesn't seem like it would be terribly effective...   The jury of talking heads buzzes with that revelation, complete with a conversation sound effect. All I can think about while looking at that image is the head-in-a-jar museum in Futurama. Order! Well, Mr Butz? She wasn't home, man... So, like, I didn't see her. Hey, there's the "Objection!" I was expecting. It comes complete with a voiced line, too! Weird time for us to butt in though. That voice is more whiny than I would have thought for us, too.  Oh, never mind, it was this guy. Boo. Pretty sure you can't just stand up and declare that the witness is lying, either. That has to be done after providing the evidence/testimony that contradicts what he just said here.  This judge has made it 100 years practicing law without ever hearing of someone lying.  Rule #1 for lawyers is don't ask a question you don't want answered. The only exception to that rule is when the answer doesn't matter; like here, when you have a witness that can make the answer to the question irrelevant and make the defendant look bad either way. Since we told Mr. Butz to tell the truth and he ended up getting called a liar anyway, what happens if we tell him to lie?   ...How is that at all conveying that message?  Ah, the trademark lie of perjurers everywhere.  Well then, we'll just have to remind you! (I got a bad feeling about this...) The rest is the same from there, so let's move on.   Just before making the gruesome discovery...  The jury buzzes again... Or for the first time if you chose to tell Larry to lie...  Mr. Payne, the prosecution may call its witness. Yes, Your Honor. (This is bad...) On the day of the murder, my witness was selling newspapers at the victim's building. I guess we're done with Larry then. Thankfully. Who could this new witness be? We'll find out next time!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 17, 2022 00:27
|
|
|
GiantRockFromSpace posted:I don't see why you're so surprised... Ha! I may have come up with that line after playing through (but not yet writing up, beyond first impressions) the first episode.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 17, 2022 02:01
|
|
|
Yeah, I get it, and I'll be more lax in later episodes once I've called out everything once here. But you want blind first impressions, there they are.  The good thing is these are really minor nits rather than major problems, and serve to be more entertaining than annoying anyway. A good, fun game can allow someone to overlook a lot of things. I put in a longer review of the first episode at the end of it, but it'll be some time still until we get there...
|
|
#
¿
Jul 17, 2022 19:01
|
|
|
Part 5: Episode 1, Trial: A Perfectly Reliable Witness We're really going to have the witness, who "saw" our defendent fleeing the scene of the crime, be named "Saw It"?  Oh, that's the murderer from the prologue. This whole thing is a setup.  Here's the profile for our "witness".    Please tell the court what you saw on the day of the murder. Well, this segment looks special. Music: Questioning - Moderato  During this entire sequence, the word "Testimony" is flashing in the upper-left, to remind us that we're doing something special here.  There's the flashback shot from the prologue. Thinking it strange, I looked inside the apartment. I quailed in fright and found myself unable to go inside. I thought to call the police immediately! However, the phone in her apartment wasn't working. I went to a nearby park and found a public phone. The man who ran was, without a doubt, the defendant sitting right over there.Well, I can find two holes in this testimony right now. How did he know the phone in the apartment wasn't working if he never set foot in the apartment? And he said the time he found the body was 1pm, but the autopsy report said the time of death was 4pm. Also wouldn't there be a record of when the call went in to the police? Music: Silence  On its own though, that testimony definitely shows that Larry had the opportunity to commit the murder. Showing the means is a simple deduction of him having the strength to wield the murder weapon, which was likely nearby at the time. Right now, we're pretty much screwed.  (I can't defend you against a testimony like that!)Oh, relax. We still have our side to present here.  Your Honor, at the time of the murder, there was a blackout in the building. Aren't phones supposed to work during a blackout? Yes, However, some cordless phones do not function normally. This line doesn't quite make sense - Mr. Sahwit saw the phone, but he didn't use it because it didn't work. Maybe a translation error? Your Honor...  Noon to 6pm covers both the 1pm time that Mr. Sahwit said he found the victim, and the actual 4pm-5pm time of death. I actually went and double-checked the time of death from the autopsy here, just to make sure I was remembering right.    I couldn't object during the testimony itself, but we'll still get our chance to cross-examine this sleazebag!  Assuming Mia doesn't kill us first... Music: Telling the Truth  Uh... what exactly am I supposed to do? Lies! What?! He was lying!? Then that witness must have lied in his testimony! Or is your client really... guilty? !!! How do I prove he's not? Compare the witness's testimony to the evidence at hand. I'd like to think that in the real world they would've found this discrepancy long before the trial itself, but here we are.    Um... okay. Okay! I know this is just the beginner case, but knowing where to start here feels good.  Music: Questioning - Allegro  Here's how this is going to work. We repeat every line in the testimony one by one, and can choose whether to "Press" the witness on what he said, or "Present" contradicting information from the Court Record (or do nothing at all). As far as I can tell, these options are mutually exclusive. Now, I could fiddle my way through this cross-examination myself line-by-line, but where would be the fun in that? Let's have you all weigh in here! There are ten lines of dialogue in the testimony, so I need ten inputs from you all. If "Present" is selected, I'll figure out what to present from there myself, or you can suggest options in the thread.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 19, 2022 01:26
|
|
|
GilliamYaeger posted:Yeah the game's designed for you to press all the statements one by one before going ahead to present evidence. I figured this out most of two updates later but decided to keep the votes in for fun. 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 19, 2022 04:34
|
|
|
Nidoking posted:That, and the pacing is going to be pretty sad for you if you stop to do polls for every testimony. Audience speculation about where the contradictions are can be fun, but stopping at every choice to take votes is going to establish a slower pace than you might be comfortable with. You're assuming I actually stopped rather than recording every possible outcome.  Also to some extent I am more interested in how many people would actually vote in ten simultaneous polls. 
|
|
#
¿
Jul 20, 2022 02:17
|
|
|
Part 6: Episode 1, Trial: Incompetent Cross Quick update today while I close the polls and put together the results. So, presenting evidence is pretty simple.  Press "Tab" to bring up the Court Record, scroll around to find the evidence that clearly contradicts the witness statement, and press "E" to present it!  Any time we present evidence, we yell "Objection!", complete with a voiced line from our hero. It's not at all how objections work, but it's still awesome so I don't care.  We also cut straight to the awesome pointing pose!  We're very confident that this Attorney's Badge completely annihilates the witness testimony about what he saw.  The judge is not so sure...  ...Because we're full of poo poo. Not at all. See that bar in the upper-right? Think of it like a health bar, with ten sections to it. We lose two sections every time we present evidence incorrectly. Why do we lose two sections of a ten-section bar, instead of one section of a five-section bar?   Yeah, no kidding....  Interestingly enough, presenting evidence incorrectly still leaves you on the same line of dialogue as before, so you can still "Press" or even "Present" a different piece of evidence. Get it wrong again, though...  ...? It does? I don't see anything contradictory... Objection overruled. Two more health sections gone! (Whoops! That didn't go so well.)We get the same scene the next two times when goofing up presenting. The fifth time gets us a new scene:  ... Unfortunately, I will have to penalize you, Mr. Wright. (Ugh. I must be on the wrong track?)After five failures....  This court sees no reason to further prolong the trial. The defense has failed to give the court sufficient reason to doubt the prosecution's claim. This court finds the defendant, Mr. Larry Butz... Cool effect. Guess we don't need juries when the judge can just declare you guilty!  To be held pending trial at a higher court within a month from today's date. That is all. This court is adjourned!Wait, we get another trial? Maybe Larry still has a shot!   We don't get another shot, though. The gavel bangs and the doors are shut in our face. We're then dumped unceremoniously back to the title screen. I hope you saved recently!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 21, 2022 02:52
|
|
|
Quackles posted:Starting with game, like, 5, they got a lot nicer about this - you get the option to Continue and pick back up from the same testimony. It took five games to figure out to put in an automatic checkpoint?
|
|
#
¿
Jul 21, 2022 03:20
|
|
|
Part 7: Episode 1, Trial: Competent Cross I lied a little bit with the votes. This is still the tutorial episode so our choices don't really matter yet. But I'll grade you all anyway. I was going door-to-door, selling subscriptions when I saw a man fleeing an apartment.We know this isn't strictly true, thanks to the prologue, but we can't prove it.  We could just let it slide, but let's "Press" for more information.  Pressing gets us another shouted phrase, complete with a voiced line again.  No pointing this time, though. I find it odd you would take notice of him... Er... heh. I don't know. He just seemed strange to me, that's all. Like he was mad, and yet frightened at the same time. Just like... a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime!It seems to be optional to press the witness on their statements, but doing so can reveal more about the witness or the testimony sometimes if you need help figuring things out. In this case we know the guy is guilty and I'm pretty sure how to nail him, but I assume later cases won't be so easy to figure out, and this particular "Press" revealed a witness that's both nervous and a little too eager to characterize the defendant as a criminal.  We, of course, are having none of that. The defense requests that the witness refrain from conjecture! Dude you are not supposed to be testifying, the witness should speak for himself.  Each time we press, there is a seamless transition to the next line of testimony. I'm not really sure how these cross-examinations are supposed to work narratively (is the entire testimony given once up front, and then again during the cross?) but this mechanic works better for within a game and is actually quite fun. Anyway, onto the next line.... I thought he must be in a hurry because he left the door half-open behind him. Yeah, we're going to "Press" again here, and I made a nice icon to represent our choice. In fact, at least for this episode, we should really press on every statement. You'll see why when we get to the end. Half-open... you say?Way to really put the screws to him there! Yes, yes, the door was open halfway. Yes. I watched for a moment, but no one came to close the door. "That's odd, in a big city like this," I thought... Thinking it strange, I looked inside the apartment.  Well, the door was half-open, you see. Isn't it only human to want to... peek? We climb mountains because they are there! It's the same thing. (Hmm... why did Payne cut him off so quickly?)Good observation, there. Something to pull at later?  Then I saw her lying there... A woman... not moving... dead!  Are you sure she was dead? W-Well, no, I guess I wasn't.Not when you first saw her she wasn't! But, she wasn't moving at all, and there was blood everywhere. (I guess that would look fatal to anyone...) I'm not sure why we're the one prompting the witness to continue here, but let's move on. I quailed in fright and found myself unable to go inside.  This question seems like a good one to catch him on later, if we can figure out a little more about what happened. Um, yes. I mean no! Nothing.Very convincing.  I thought to call the police immediately! You "thought" to call the police? Does that mean you didn't actually call them!?Ugh, that one's dumb. Guess they can't all be winners.  Didn't we already listen to the rest? I really don't get how this cross-examination works I guess.  However, the phone in her apartment wasn't working. Someone correctly identified a contradiction here, but we don't have anything we can actually present about it. We do get a little more from pressing, however.... The phone in her apartment wasn't working? But you said you didn't go into the apartment... or did you!?Exactly the point I brought up earlier - how did he know the phone wasn't working if he never went inside?  There was a cordless phone on a shelf in the entranceway. I reached inside and tried using that to call... And that phone wasn't working, correct?Objection, leading the witness! Hmm I don't think we can press or present during these parts, actually. Anyway, it turns out that hole has a simple explanation, even if it contradicts his earlier statement that he didn't touch ANYTHING in the apartment. And we know that's a lie anyway, but I don't see quite how to prove it yet.  I went to a nearby park and found a public phone. Why use a public phone? Well, you see, I don't have a cell phone.(Remember, this game first came out in 2001.) And, being the middle of the afternon, there was no answer at the nearby apartments. I remember the time exactly: It was 1:00 PM. Everyone's eager to present here; bear with me a moment while I press for more information first. 1:00 PM! Are you certain? Yes. Absolutely. (Hmm... He seems really confident.)Yes, the one answer he's most confident in is the one we know he's lying about.  Since we're still in tutorial land, Mia is going to help us out. Wright. Doesn't that seem strange to you? Present some evidence to contradict him! Unlike every other time we press the witness, we're brought back to the original statement to get it right this time. I'm actually going to skip it for now, though, and move on to the last line of the testimony. The man who ran was, without a doubt, the defendant sitting right over there. Are you absolutely, 100% positive?That was a waste of a hand slam, Phoenix, I'm not going to keep showing it if you're going to follow it up with a weak-rear end line like that.  The witness says he's certain! Now that we've exhausted all of the testimony without figuring it out, Mia is going to help us out again. There must be a contradiction in there somewhere. Examine the Court Record with "Tab" if something strikes you as being suspicious. Then, find the evidence that contradicts his testimony, and present it to the court! I was kind of hoping that the trial would end there and our client would be found guilty again, but instead we're just brought back to the start of the testimony. Useful if you need to revisit something. Also the reason I held off on presenting evidence on that earlier line; it would lock us out of seeing the rest of the "pressing" dialogue.  I also just realized while writing this update that the middle parts of the testimony are the only dialog boxes I've seen with two arrows. Can we freely navigate here? (Answer after some side testing: Yes!) Well, that changes things. We can press on a line and then go right back to it to present evidence. Or skip a line and come back to it later. Hmm....  All right, let's finally present the autopsy report, which contradicts Mr. Sahwit's statement that he found the body at 1:00 PM. Music: Silence  You're sure?We already asked that, but whatever. Yes. It was 1:00 PM, for certain. Frankly, I find that hard to believe!Music: Objection!  Hold on, I need to make something.  Muah, magnifique!  The autopsy notes the time of death at sometime after 4PM. There was nobody to... er... no "body" to find at 1:00 PM! Triumph!  We're making the guy sweat, now!  Oh, that! Oh, er...Hey, that wasn't me.  That's as bad as some of our earlier attempts. Oh I just realized that our buddy Winston Payne, who serves opposite us in the courtroom, has the opposite initials as our hero Phoenix Wright. That's a cool touch. Oh my god, looking at his face there, his name is actually another pun! Winced-in-Pain!  Mr. Sahwit... Why were you so certain that you found the body at 1:00 PM? I... er... well, I... Gee, that's a really good question! That's all you have to do: point out contradictions! Lies always beget more lies! See through one, and their whole story falls apart!Mia is still pouting at us despite praising us here. I guess we have a deep hole to climb out of with her. The audience votes scored a perfect 100% though! (Okay, the correct answer for the 9th line was really both "Press" and "Present", but I didn't allow that option, so you all get full credit anyway!)  Would you care to give your testimony again?We're not done yet...the witness gets a chance to redeem himself. Next time we'll see if we can really nail him!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 23, 2022 02:41
|
|
|
Haar_Dragon posted:I'm gonna join the echo chamber here, both for "Ooh, blind Ace Attorney!" and "yeah polling every time will become extremely slow." Don't worry about moving slow just yet, we've had five updates in eight days when I was looking to do a couple a week. MagusofStars posted:If nothing else, maybe at least make the polls like a single Google poll with 10 questions rather than opening ten different links. Nah, I probably won't do it that way again. Or maybe not at all. I do like audience-driven narrative but I can find better ways to fit it in.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 23, 2022 05:28
|
|
|
Part 8: Episode 1, Trial: Lies Beget Lies Oh, this should be good. Music: Questioning - Moderato You see, when I found the body, I heard the time. Oh, but it was three hours off, wasn't it? I guess the victim must have been watching a video of a taped program! Terribly sorry about the misunderstanding...I'm not even going to hold a vote on this cross. Come on.  Mr. Wright, you may cross-examine the witness. Mia I think your face got stuck in that expression. You know what to do! I've got this one. Music: Questioning - Allegro I'll start by pressing our witness on every line again.... You see, when I found the body, I heard the time. Yes, heard. All I saw was the body lying there... I didn't think to look at anything else, least of all my watch. Hmm... Isn't that a little strange? So you're saying you "heard" something. But if you were so shocked by the body, you wouldn't hear anything at all!Wrong tree, guy. Let's go bark somewhere else.   It's ludicrous to suggest he "wouldn't hear anything"! Hmm... I have to agree with the prosecution. There was a voice saying the time... It was probably coming from the television. Uhh... Well, no, I guess it might have been a radio. Incidentally, there was no radio on the premises.  I can't put my finger on it, but something about this seems fishy. Something about "hearing" the television...You don't say....  Oh, but it was three hours off, wasn't it? He...explains it in the next line?  I guess the victim must have been watching a video of a taped program! The game doesn't put much effort into these presses, given that most people probably jumped straight to the right answer.... Yes, that would explain why the time was wrong! True, true... Wright! Yeah, yeah, I'm getting there.  That's why I thought it was 1:00 PM! Yes, I can practically hear it now. It was quite clear. Mr. Payne, has the prosecution verified this testimony? I, too, have only just learned that the witness "heard" the time. Terribly sorry about the misunderstanding...  Your words, not mine. Well, we've reached the end of the testimony, what now?  Now that you mention it...  I get the feeling I'm going to use each piece of evidence once here. Except maybe our badge. Anyway, we heard there was a blackout and that's why Mr. Sahwit couldn't use the phone. So how could he have heard the time from the TV? Music: Silence  Pro tip: Don't try to object in a real court by yelling and pointing.  The prosecution has said there was a blackout at the time of the discovery!  Music: Objection!  Gah!!! I... well... urk! Do you have an explanation for this, Mr. Sahwit? ...  W-wait! I remember now! Mr. Sahwit? These constant corrections are harming your credibility.  ..! M-my apologies, Your Honor! It... er, it must have been the shock of finding the body! Very well, Mr. Sahwit.  Let's see how he changes his story this time... Music: Questioning - Moderato  There was a table clock in the apartment, wasn't there! Yeah, the murder weapon! The killer used it to hit the victim! That must have been what I saw.....Huh? That doesn't even make sense. Music: Silence  The defense may cross-examine the witness. Music: Questioning - Allegro Actually, I didn't "hear" the time... I "saw" it! Yes, I can see how you'd be a little doubtful... I'm really sorry. I only just remembered that table clock! The judge is just as confused about this mystery "table clock" as I am. There was a table clock in the apartment, wasn't there!  Yeah, the murder weapon! The killer used it to hit the victim! Am I going crazy here? Wasn't the murder weapon a statue? Yes, the table clock that was used as a weapon! That's what I just said. Did you doze off in the middle of my testimony or something? That must have been what I saw. I guess it just slipped my mind! I'm not really sure how it happened myself... Yeah, nothing more to see here, sure....  On it!  Music: Silence   Now how is this supposed to be a clock?Music: Pressing Pursuit - Cornered   New sprites, we've got him on the ropes now!    Yes, Mr. Payne? The gently caress you say? The neck is a switch. You just tilt it, and it says the time out loud?And how would Mr. Sahwit know that, let alone have pressed the switch?  I see. Well, Mr. Wright? It appears that the witness's testimony was correct. This is a clock. Do you have any problems with his testimony now? Yes, but I kind of want to see how Mia yells at us if I pick "No".  There was a clock on the scene, so, no problem.  That clock doesn't look like a clock at all! The witness couldn't have possibly known it was a clock just by seeing it! He said himself, he never entered the apartment! It was in his testimony!   The only way he could have known the weapon was a clock is to hold it in his hand.Since we end up objecting anyway, no surprise that it's a shorter path if you just say "Yes":  The only way he could have known the weapon was a clock is to hold it in his hand.And we're back together.  Clearly, a contradiction! Hmm... indeed! The witness knew it was a clock, because he... I mean, obviously Mr. Sahwit knew the victim and had been seen it before, that's why he knew it was a clock!  In fact, you were one of her "sugar daddies"! Be frank with us, Mr. Sahwit!Ha! Hmph.  Your Honor. Mr. Frank Sahwit does not appear anywhere.Well where was that evidence in the court record?!   I do love this judge.  I didn't actually lose any health sections for that one, though!   We're automatically brought back to the same choice, so let's pick the correct answer this time. Obviously Mr. Frank Sahwit not only entered the apartment, he handled the murder weapon!  I see why this image has been so iconic in internet meme-land. You were inside the apartment on the day of the murder! This animation showed up a few times now, but here's the best place to really show it off!  Oh yeah? Prove it! Prove I went in there!Technically I don't have to, your credibility is already so shot that there is no shortage of reasonable doubt for getting our client off. I'll do better than that! I can prove you were the one who killed her!   More murmurs from the jury. We really struck a nerve with that one! Order in the court! Yes, Your Honor. (Sorry, had to shrink that one down a bit, but it was too good not to show, even though it's actually the same as the one from the prologue.)    That voice was burned into your mind.Yeah that would be pretty memorable.    This is all baseless conjecture! Baseless...?   Did you strike the victim with the clock? Are you telling it or living it, stay with me here.  Watch out, he's gonna blow!  Music: Silence     I-it was him, I tell you! I saw him! H-he killed her and he should burn! Burn! Give him death! The talking heads converse amongst themselves once more. Order! Order in the court I say! There isn't a shred of evidence supporting the defense's claims! Mr. Wright! Your Honor? Do you have any evidence? (The whole case is riding on this! I'd better think it through carefully!) Y-Your Honor. A fact which is clear if you simply... Hey, the health bar shows up here, I get that means we get penalized for guessing wrong here. Any ideas? DKII fucked around with this message at 03:03 on Jul 25, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Jul 24, 2022 22:47
|
|
|
Quackles posted:Side note: That's not the jury in the stands there. Just the crowd. Yeah I was wondering about that, given everything is judge-driven. I'll probably keep calling them the jury until this trial is over to maintain the initial impression. Selling tickets to a high-profile trial is an interesting idea. Raise money for the victims? Or just bonuses for the prosecution? Hmm...
|
|
#
¿
Jul 25, 2022 05:56
|
|
|
Part 9: Episode 1, Trial: Not Guilty The choice is clear.  Ignore the disappearing health sections; I played through a few times to get all the extra dialogue. I did pick this option the first time through, since I was too afraid of getting something wrong to explore the dialogue trees. I wasn't really sure how sounding the clock was going to help, but it's really the only one of the three that at least kind of makes sense.   Angrily pointing at the judge to make a polite request seems a bit off.  Music: Silence   Music: Pressing Pursuit - Cornered - Variation   So, we've heard the clock. What are your conclusions, Mr. Wright? Mr. Payne... can you tell me what time it is now? Ack! Precisely the discrepancy between what Mr. Sahwit heard and the actual time of death!quote:I'll be posting alternate dialogue in these quote boxes, so you can skip past it if you like. So it seems we got it right on the first try, but what happens if we don't? What about those batteries?  I'd kind of forgotten this guy was still missing his hairpiece. The court just let that go without comment, huh? Try to talk your way out of this one! ... ...Hah! Hah hah! You forgot one thing!  It proves nothing! How do you know it was running three hours slow on the day of the murder!? What am I, the prosecutor? Do I really have to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that Mr. Sahwit is the killer just to get Larry off? ...! (Dammit! I was so close!) Mr. Wright? Man, screw you, I got my client off like two updates ago. ...! Yes, Your Honor. This means I cannot let you indict the witness. Unfortunately...Music: Silence  Wait, that's it?  You treat me like a criminal! A criminal! You lawyers are all slime!  (Sorry, Larry... I failed you.) (There's nothing I can do about it now...)Music: Pressing Pursuit - Cornered - Variation  Mia's here to save the day! Cue reaction shots!   Listen up, Wright! But, Chief, it's over. Nobody can prove that!Is there no chain of evidence in this fantasy legal system? Did someone tamper with the clock-statue while it was in police custody for the whole three days leading up to the trial? Why would the clock be any different now than it was then? Um... well, yes. "Thinking out of the box" in adventure games usually means "try everything in your inventory until something randomly works". Don't waste time doubting the facts. Assume the clock was three hours slow and... Think through it! Figure out the reason, and you'll have your proof! Right, Wright? Can you think of a reason as to why the clock would be three hours slow? I have no idea but picked "Yes" anyway because logic! ... Wait! You must have evidence somewhere that can prove it, Wright! Find it and let them have it! You say the clock was already running slow on the day of the murder... Have you found evidence to support this claim? Of course. For once he feels more confident than I do at this point. To be fair I hadn't looked at the Court Record in a long time and hadn't written up any of these updates yet.  quote:But first, what if earlier we'd said "No", we had no idea why the clock would be slow?   The only two things we haven't used yet are our attorney's badge and this passport. I can't imagine the badge being useful. The passport at least shows that the victim was in Paris, which could be a different time zone?  No matter what evidence we pick, we get another voiced line here, kind of funny. I didn't do it this way originally, but here's what happens if you get it wrong:  Notice the lack of a health bar here. I can't see what that evidence has to do with the clock. You're welcome. One more chance... Give me just one more chance! Be quick about it.Despite that statement, we get as many chances as we need to try out everything we have, as many times as we want even. The dialogue never changes. I also let the game sit on the evidence screen for several minutes and it never did anything. Anyway, the correct answer...  As we all know, the time difference between here and Paris is nine hours!Have we ever figured out where "here" is yet? Apparently Paris is nine hours ahead of Los Angeles, and the US west coast in general, among other things. So maybe there, or somewhere else in California? I could imagine the courts being this screwy in Los Angeles.  The key revelation here, is the clock never actually says AM or PM. Despite Mr. Sahwit saying he clearly heard "1:00 PM", our experiment with the clock earlier showed otherwise.  I admit I didn't really see that coming, but this case is pretty forgiving at least. I get the feeling I won't have as easy a time of it in later episodes.  That's why the time you heard when you struck her dead in her apartment was wrong! Ooh, snap! I didn't expect the game to just call out the pun in his name like that.  Music: Silence  Oh poo poo I think we killed him!  The jury/crowd/whoever treats the spectacle the same as any other big reveal; that is, with mild interest and murmured conversations.  We fade to black, and then come back, apparently some time later? Did the guy get taken off to a hospital? Or a morgue? Music: Trial  This case has certainly turned out differently than we all expected. Mr. Payne... Your witness?  Probably cuffed him in the ambulance while he was unconscious. Very well. Mr. Wright? Yes, Your Honor. I have to say, I'm impressed. ...and find the true culprit at the same time!According to the start of the update, it's still before lunchtime on the first day of the trial, less than three full days after the murder. Thank you, Your Honor. This court finds the defendant, Mr. Larry Butz...Music: Silence  We did it!  There's a confetti shower for a "Not Guilty" verdict? Are they that rare in this court? There's also a cheering and applause sound effect to go with it! Turns out that's not the jury at all up in the stands, but an audience? The judge here seems to be the whole arbiter of guilt in this game, anyway.  GG everyone, see you all in Phoenix Wright 2!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 27, 2022 03:06
|
|
Y-Yes, Your Honor! A-as I was saying...!
|
Tokyo is 7 hours ahead of Paris. That means the localizers tampered with the evidence! I'm sure 2001 was a different era and they didn't want to take a risk, but I really wouldn't have minded if they'd just left it as set in Japan for the localization.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 27, 2022 03:50
|
|
|
Part 10: Episode 1, Epilogue: Celebration and Foreshadowing He posed as a newspaper salesman to check and see when people were out of the house! That day... After he left, Mr. Sahwit let himself in to do his dirty work! Flustered, Mr. Sahwit grabbed the nearest blunt object he could find...   Same day, we're back in the lobby a couple hours later... Music: Victory! The First Victory  Me either!  Congratulations!Even Mia is happy!  Literally. Even if we made every right choice, it's Mia's intervention at the end that kept us from giving up.  It's been awhile since I've seen a trial end on such a satisfying note! (I've never seen the chief looking this happy...) (If she's this glad, imagine how Larry must feel!)Oh, no...   Aww, Nick... Man wtf with this guy.   ... But... but my Cindy-windy's gone, man! Gone forever! (Larry, she was a... Nah... Never mind.) Now who doesn't know our client's name, hmmmm? H-Harry...? Did we switch places or something? Also, Harry Butz, Hairy Butts, haha. I don't usually find those funny but this game has broken through to me.  I won't forget this, ever! Let's celebrate! Dinner? Movie? My treat!  Dude Larry would have been executed by sundown without Mia keeping us in line.  Oh, hey! ...Larry how did you get your hands on the murder weapon, and why do you think it would make a good present for someone?  Wait... Wasn't this the evidence that... I made one for her and one for me.It's hard to see but Larry's left arm is swinging back and forth in this sprite and appears to be missing a hand. What the hell? Actually, let me go into my second file with the transparency maxed out and snap it:  Weird, right?  ... Well, thank you. I'll keep it as a memento.The last girl he gave one to wound up dead....  What is with this dude pulling out new sprites at the last minute? One sec...  Can you believe it? I was so into that chick... And... And she was just playing me for a fool! Don't that make you wanna just cry? *sob* Larry... ... Ex-squeeze me? I think she thought quite a lot of you, in her own way. Nah, you don't gotta sympathize with me, 'sokay. Isn't that right, Wright? Don't you have something to show your friend? Something that proves how she felt about him? H-huh? Oh, yeah, right! This guy just won a murder trial, everyone.  Obviously we're showing him the murder weapon/statue/clock.  Huh...? What about that clock?Wait, why do we have the murder weapon? Eh, never mind.  And she took it with her when she traveled. You think so? It's a pretty heavy clock to take traveling. ... Well, make of it what you will. ... Hey, Nick. Really, I am. Thanks. quote:I played this so long ago I forgot this scene was even here. Let me get my other file up to this point to intentionally fail it and see what happens. Music: Silence  I hope you see the importance of evidence now. Also, hopefully you realize, things change depending on how you look at them. People, too. All we can do is believe in them. And in order to believe in them, you have to believe in yourself. Wright... Listen. Learn. Grow strong. Music: Victory! The First Victory  Yeah, I guess so! We'll drink a toast to innocenct Butz! Yeah! You were saying part of why you became a lawyer was because of him. Er, yeah. Part, at least.  Larry slapped me on the back and said, "Gee, Nick, it's good to have friends!" But I'm pretty sure he's not going to pay us. Unless you count the clock he gave Mia. ... ...but that clock was soon going to be at the center of another incident.You better not kill Mia, game. Music: Silence And my promise to tell the chief about me and Larry... ...Dammit.  That's the first episode (finally) complete!  And a new one unlocked! Music: Jingle - It Can't End Here  We get prompted to save, so I take advantage of the opportunity. Episode 1 review: Despite some cringeworthy moments and a legal system that doesn't seem to make sense, the game is both charming and fun. (The legal system is a lot closer to that of Japan, despite seeming to take place in the US west coast area, and wow does that look horrifying if you're actually innocent.) Phoenix is actually a relatable main character as a fresh attorney thrown into a murder trial right out of law school in order to defend his best friend. The gameplay conceits, despite not making sense sometimes, actually work to make for an enjoyable experience, and I'm looking forward to more complicated cases later on in the game. Now I have to sidetrack on some excerpts from that Wikipedia article I linked there:
That's more of a culture shock to Americans in particular than necessarily bad. Japan also has an incredibly low incarceration rate (37 per 100,000, compared to a staggering 358 per 100,000 in the US), the prosecutors have a lot of discretion to not try cases at all, and an accused that isn't brought to trial has their identity kept secret so they can more easily re-enter society. The Japenese government also only employs 2,000 prosecutors for a population of 125 million (compared to almost 10,000 prosecutors for a population of 330 million in the US), so prosecutors are motivated to only spend their limited time on trials where they are certain of guilt and a conviction. Anyway, back to the game. One thing I can point out now after the fact: For the main contradiction on which we originally caught out Mr. Sahwit, the time being 1:00 PM (and specifically him hearing it), the witness wasn't actually lying! He was wrong, but that line was the only substantial part of his testimony where he wasn't lying, and the one he was most confident about, and it's what we used to unravel his whole story. That's a well-crafted narrative, and impressive for what's really more of a tutorial episode. I can also see why these are so hard to LP. That episode took me a half-hour to play through the first time, without exploring any of the extra dialogue. Yet actually posting it all took up 10 updates and more hours of re-recording footage and writing it all up than I'm willing to admit. Luckily I have an efficient workflow I worked out while LP'ing another visual novel, and doing this game blind means I'm still looking forward to experiencing the rest of the game (at least so far). I'll try and keep it up! Next time, we'll dive into Episode 2!
|
|
#
¿
Jul 29, 2022 02:29
|
|
|
Part 11: Episode 2, Prologue: Sister Act Welcome back, let's continue on to the second episode! Music: Silence  We start off this episode, not with a movie, but with a phone call.   This scene insists on using "???" for this character even though she clearly introduces herself.  Music: Turnabout Sisters Ballad  Sorry, I've been so busy. How've you been? Well, LONELY. And it's all YOUR fault. Nah, I'm just teasing. I've been great! I'm finally getting used to having my own place. That's good to hear. I know, I know. You want me to hold evidence for you? Sharp as always! There's a lot of buzz about the upcoming trial... I just don't feel safe keeping the evidence here. It's... a clock.No... A clock? No! I thought you might like it. You always liked toys. Hey! I'm not a little girl anymore, Sis!So I guess Mia and Maya are the "Turnabout Sisters" from the episode title?  Ah, I should probably tell you, the clock isn't talking right now. Huh? It's not working? That's lame! I had to take the clockwork out. Sorry. I put some papers inside instead. Papers? Is that the evidence, then?Cool way of hiding stuff though.  I'm pretty sure that should be Mia's line? Makes more sense that way, at least. Can you come by the office tonight, say 9:00, to pick it up? I'll be in a pretrial meeting until then. Okay, Sis, but I expect dinner! Something good! Like... burgers! I could really go for a good burger. Okay, okay. We'll hit the usual joint. Okay, Sis, see you soon! Yep. I'll be waiting, Maya.   Music: Silence  A little more than a month after our last episode. It's almost 9pm, time for Maya to visit Mia?  This mystery voice doesn't have quite the same feel as Maya...  Miss Fey, you are a poor liar. Why, I see it right over there... That must be "The Thinker" that swallowed those papers. Ho hoh. You are not cogniferous of my background?That's...not a word.  I.. I should have been more careful. Ho hoh. My dear Miss Fey... I am so very sorry. But I am afraid I must ask you for one more thing.Music: Suspense  !!!That wasn't exactly subtle foreshadowing last update, but I was still hoping I was wrong...   Man, gently caress this guy. We once again can recognize the killer on sight, and also know he somehow heard the phone call between Mia and Maya.  We leave off with what might be a clue? No idea who said it. If it was even someone speaking.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 31, 2022 00:21
|
|
|
Part 12: Episode 2, Investigation: My Nemesis, Hunt-the-Pixel Music: Silence  The time is now 11 minutes later than the last update.  Our hero arrives, just too late to do anything useful. Huh, that's strange. Guess the chief left without me. She said her sister was coming over so we should all go out for dinner... ... Blood...?Music: Suspense   I was wondering if this game was really going to be all courtroom, but it looks like we get to move around and investigate in some scenes, too.  Clicking "Examine" gives us a little magnifying glass to go pixel-hunting for clues. Right now though everything we click gives us the same text:  I have to check and see if Mia... the chief's okay!I took a 3-day break from playing here because I didn't want to see what happened next. Eventually though we have to "Move" on...  We've given a list of destinations; right now our only option is to go into the office. Music: Silence  ...The killer's still here! *sob*Never mind, it's probably Maya, she was supposed to meet us around the same time, too. Sis... Phoenix is refusing to look around and I understand completely, but now...    Chief? Chief...? We fade to black for a moment, and I almost stopped playing again.   ...A crash, and we fade to black again...  (I went back to the chief where she lay under the window.) (I could feel it when I held her shoulder.) (Then, all too quickly, it began to fade...)  Just in case, like me, you were still holding out hope. Apparently we only deal in murders here. So are we going to jump in cold on whatever trial Mia was worried about, or is Maya going to be accused of Mia's murder?Music: Investigation - Core  I know it's a trope for the older mentor character to be killed early on so that the young hero can come into their own, but I was not expecting anything like this until the game started dropping hints at the end of the last episode. And even then I kept hoping I was wrong.  Time to investigate! To my delight, the magnifying glass changes color when there is something worthwhile to see! You can just click anywhere to move the magnifying glass and click again to examine something. You can also sweep the magnifying glass around with the arrow keys to look for where it lights up.  Like this nice window!  The "Gatewater Hotel." A nice, luxurious place.Seems to be a play on "Watergate", an American political scandal involving, among other things, using the federal government to spy on political opponents, that eventually wound up with the sitting president resigning from office (the only one to ever do so). Here the reference could just be flavor text, or could be a hint that someone was spying on the Fey Offices? We saw that the earlier phone call between Mia and Maya had been recorded by someone else, after all. I'm probably reading too much into it.  This game really is user-friendly. Once there's nothing more to see at a particular spot, the magnifying glass gains a checkmark. Further clicks just repeat the previous text.  No, I'm not avoiding looking at Mia, I'm just being... thorough.  They seem to be the remains of a glass light stand. Fine, fine. If you've played through any crime adventure games of this nature, examining the victim is usually pretty high on the priority list.  It's hard seeing her like this, but if there are any clues here... She was struck on the head with a blunt object. She probably died instantly. Again.  Up until now, the Court Record has just had our attorney's badge and the profile for Mia. These investigation scenes seem to allow us to collect new evidence on our own, rather than just relying on what the prosecutor gives us.  We're not done yet - the glass shards we looked at earlier are suddently relevant now.  I didn't actually click on the light again, this text just continued automatically.  Not sure how these will fit in yet. But you can often reconstruct what happened during a crime like this one, by where the debris ends up, and more importantly what's underneath vs on top of it.  This statement is incorrect. Can you see it?  A piece of paper! It must have fallen from Mia's hand! What could it be? We actually have to click on it this time. ! "Maya"...? Did Mia write this?Okay we're totally going to be defending Maya.   Looks like we have a common theme of the actual killer framing our client once again here. Writing someone's name in your own blood... easy interpretation is that they were identifying the killer! Except we just saw that it seemed like Mia was killed instantly...  (I'd better call the police...) The game also helpfully identifies when you've found everything important in a scene.  We're not actually forced out of the investigation though, so we can continue to collect flavor text. Some evidence will have slightly different dialogue the second time you click it, so the magnifying glass stays lit up without the checkmark in that case.  How ironic that this became the murder weapon... again.Just in case you had any doubts that this statue/clock was the murder weapon again. Though to be fair, this particular statue/clock is not the same one that was the murder weapon in the first episode; this one is the second copy, given to Mia by Larry.  It's painful to look... but I have to, for Mia's sake. Looks like she was hit in the head with a blunt weapon. She probably died instantly.Eh that one was mostly the same. One more here:  The chief's chair. A simple, functional design. Feels pretty good to sit in, too. If you click somewhere that isn't lit up...  Thanks.  Anyway, now we're done. Wait, what's that "Slide" option?  Oh, we get to see the rest of the office. This part must be how we call the police. I'll leave the phone until last though. First, the shelves here. All the chief's important documents are packed in here. This is where she filed her case records and recent rulings. Any interesting data in the computer itself? Surprisingly, the chief was never good with machines. About all she used this PC for was e-mail. She picked up this ancient model at some garage sale for practically nothing.Apparently not. Moving on...  How about the desk? A perfectly normal office desk. The chief had a very particular policy about office décor: "Spend big on stuff the clients use, but keep your own stuff simple." Looks like this book can be examined separately... The Fey & Co. ledger book. Everything is written in the chief's ultra-neat handwriting. It's a small office, but it makes a good bit of money.Nothing there either. Does the ultra-neat handwriting match the bloody receipt? Eh, even if it didn't, I guess the trauma could explain that.  Let's finally look at the phone.  ...? That's funny... It looks like someone was halfway through taking it apart.Despite that interesting revelation, we don't get to take the phone into evidence, because...  We're interrupted! Please, come quick! (Wh-what was that!?)  ...! She's staring right at me!Well, that wasn't suspicious at all. A lookout for the killer maybe? Would fit in with the hint in the name of the "Gatewater" hotel. More evidence that will no doubt be used to frame our client again.   Fade to black, and we're back at the investigation screen. Let's see what the phone has to say this time. The phone receiver is missing a few screws. I'd better not use it.But it's not evidence for the court record? Eh, whatever. Maybe the killer got interrupted taking a recording device out of it?  Looking out the window again doesn't do anything, so it's time to head back to the main entrance...next time!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 2, 2022 04:46
|
|
|
Blaziken386 posted:not sure if OP is planning on blind playthroughs of the other games....[/spoiler] Yeah I'll clarify - please no spoilers on future games either.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 4, 2022 02:40
|
|
|
Part 13: Episode 2, Investigation: Meet Maya Music: Silence  (That girl just now... where'd she go!?) (Uh oh... I hope she didn't run on me.) The girl pops up on the screen, apparently frightening us half to death. (Don't scare me like that...)Music: Investigation - Core  Excuse me but, who are you? She can't be worse as a client than Larry, but she's not doing us any favors so far. I'll cut her some slack for having just found her sister's murdered body though.   Maya Fey. Maya... Fey?Music: Silence ("Maya"...?) (Maybe I should show her the receipt?)Music: Investigation - Core   Looks like we have some more options for this investigation now.  So of course we're going to goof around poking at everything in the lobby instead. A small writing desk cluttered with office supplies. You couldn't cram more legal books in here, even if you wanted to. Few can gaze upon the shelves without feeling insignificant.I think Phoenix has some confidence problems.  The door to the chief's office. It's slightly open. I'd better not touch the door knob.That might be the smartest thing we've said all game. And yet...if we work here, wouldn't our fingerprints already be expected to be everywhere?  A large painting. I guess you'd call this "modern art". I, on the other hand, call it a mistake.I wouldn't be surprised if that line was a writer taking a dig at something he saw in some bigwig's office at the studio.  This sofa is for clients. It's leather... a real luxury model. The reception desk. I usually sit here.Phoenix, you're an attorney, and you... sit at the reception desk? How many people work at Fey and Co., anyway? Was Phoenix the first hire Mia had made, and the place here only had the one office?  Enough looking around, let's see what Mia has to say.  Looks like we only have two relevant topics here. Might as well start at the top.  Um... excuse me? Can you tell me what happened?  I came in... The room was dark. And Sis... Sis...! Assuming we trust her, anyway. Luckily the game already showed us the killer, and it's definitely not her.  Once a topic is exhausted, we get a convenient check mark. I'm really liking this investigation interface. Anyway, next topic!  Sister. I'm her younger sister. And you were here... visiting? This late at night? Evidence...? Yes... I-it was that clock... It was "The Thinker". That's it for conversation, let's go and shove all our inventory in her face now.  We still have our badge, for reasons unknown. I kind of hope this thing never gets used anywhere in the game. Anyway, we can "Present" it just like in court last episode.  Fair, fair.  How about these glass shards?  I know. I saw it there too. I thought they might be pieces of the light stand. Hmm. Maybe. (Never heard of a glass light stand before...)Phoenix you said you thought it was part of the light stand last update! Don't flake out on me now, you're doing so much better this episode!  Maybe she can tell us more about the statue/clock?     That was... Oh, Sis! *sob* Sure, it was a little insensitive, but we got two new sprites out of it.  I doubt this one is going to go much better...  She wrote it on the back of this receipt. ! Th-th-that's MY name! W-why!? Why would she write my name? W-why would Sis write my name? (Uh-oh. Now I've done it...) Sirens start playing over the music here. This scene starts playing once we've both attempted to use the phone in Mia's office (to see the scene with the caller from across the street), and shown Maya the receipt with her name in blood. If you show Maya the receipt before checking the office phone, then this scene instead plays as soon as you come out of Mia's office again after looking at the phone. !   A common theme in Japanese detective stories is an incompetent police force. I'm not sure if that's a parody or more reflecting reality, but let's see what we're dealing with here...  Both "Dick" and "Gumshoe" are old American slang terms meaning "detective". It's a double pun! (Gumshoe...? What an odd name.)He probably changed his name when he got that job.  I already like this guy's expressions. Got a person saying they saw a murder. Now that I take a closer look, she seems to resemble the killer that we saw briefly a couple updates ago. Definitely related somehow.  (Great. Just great.)Detective Gumshoe disappears, probably headed into Mia's office.  We're quick to dismiss the obvious conclusion. Phoenix doesn't have the advantage of seeing the murder happen like we do, but it's pretty easy to see that Maya's innocent here. Unless she's a sociopathic killer, of course.   Eek! ...! That's my name...   Gumshoe tends to look around a lot while he's talking...  It's a cool "thinking" animation, as Gumshoe speculates on what the bloody note means...   Yup, it's going to be one of "those" police forces. Although, while "case closed" might be a little premature, it certainly seems fair to bring her in for questioning at this point.  Music: Silence  I was taken in for questioning and didn't get out until the next morning. My eyes were heavy... but I couldn't sleep. I sat around, waiting for visiting hours to begin at the detention center. Looks like next time we'll be headed to the detention center! In the meantime, some new character profiles for you:  Haven't seen that smiling sprite yet. Hopefully soon!  This guy already looks clueless. DKII fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Aug 4, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Aug 4, 2022 04:18
|
|
|
SMaster777 posted:Friendly PSA: Thanks. That probably won't be the last time I get the wrong name in there. To make matters worse, in a few updates a third similar name will get thrown in.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 4, 2022 05:38
|
|
|
the holy poopacy posted:Sure, but there's different levels of competence. Usually the point of a detective story is that the crime is particularly unusual and tricky, you can have the police be pretty good at their jobs and still fail to solve it (especially if there are time sensitive elements.) Yeah I don't have a lot of breadth of experience but it seems to me like the Japanese flavor on these stories is usually over-the-top comedic incompetence in the police. I mean, it's not a problem, it's still entertaining. I'm also probably more used to detective stories where you're working with law enforcement to solve a crime, which is really a whole different genre.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 5, 2022 06:08
|
|
|
Part 14: Episode 2, Investigation: Enter the Detention Center It's the next morning, and we're down at the detention center. I gather we're here to talk to Maya?  Yes, she was arrested, that's what happens. Anyway, here's some sad prison music for you: Music: Detention Center - Jailer's Elegy  It's you! The lawyer... G-good morning. Good morning! Finding your sister has been murdered, getting arrested for it, and then spending the night in jail doesn't sound like an easy night's sleep to you? Um... Nope just here to look Mia's killer in the eye and go take over her business! We've got another trial to get to.  Another choice that appears to be just for flavor. Pick your conscience. For me, really, the choice is up to Maya.  It's up to you. Up... to me? Yes. I don't think this is something I should decide. ... They're never going to believe me... are they? quote:How about the joke option? "Sorry, not a chance." quote:The gung-ho option: "Of course I will."  It's probably a natural reaction? After the initial shock anyway, seeing a stranger in there would tend to provoke a "What did you do?!" response.  I-it's okay. I understand. ... Ah, there's the smile! Heard...? Heard what about me? Music: Silence  We're her junior partner? There really was no one else at this firm? Wow! Really? How'd that go?  "Honestly, I was on edge the whole time. It's been a while..."A while since what? Since Mia was in court herself?   Did we watch the same episode? "One of those 'strike fear into the hearts of evil' types..."   Huh, sounds like it was fun! Well, I know who to go to if I ever get into trouble now! "I don't know, Maya." "That is, unless you want to be found guilty."Hey now. I mean, fair, but still. Unfortunately, Maya didn't get in trouble three years later, but just a month after our first trial.  ... I didn't mean to insult you... No, it's okay. It's true, I guess. When I think of the person who did this to Mia... ... Music: Detention Center - Jailer's Elegy  Looks like we're free to explore again. I can't imagine what we'd get out of examining the visiting room at the detention center, but let's start there anyway.  Pretty empty room, as one might expect. The camera here lights up, though.  Sheesh that wasn't even funny.  How about this guy?  He hasn't moved an inch. A real pro, this guy.Is that a joke about having a static background for this scene? Eh, let's move on to conversation.  We've got a couple new options here. Maybe we can learn a little bit more about our prospective client.  Yes? What's with that outfit?Somehow I managed to avoid commenting on the outfit at all; I guess it didn't really phase me compared to everything else we've already seen.  This is what all acolytes wear. It's my uniform, you could say. A-acolytes? Like people in religious training? What is it you do? I'm a spirit medium. ...In training. A s-spirit medium!? (I'm pretty sure that qualifies as strange.)Phoenix is mirroring my thoughts perfectly in this conversation.  We could follow up on spirit mediums right away, but I am compelled to complete this checklist in order.  Yes!  Let's see... That morning, I got a call from my sister. She wanted me to hold onto a piece of evidence for an upcoming trial. Evidence? (The one Larry made...) How could that have been evidence in a case? ... Do you want to hear it in her own voice?Are you going to...commune with her?  Yes. Oh, that's much less weird. Though why are you recording phone calls with your sister? Wait, was Maya the one who made the recording from the prologue? No, the killer had to also have one; otherwise how did they know about the statue holding evidence, and when to show up to frame Maya?  Yeah! I forgot how to delete those things. More conversation topics open up as we discover more information. Now let's follow up about the cell phone.  Let's hear it! Right! Oh! Sorry. Oh, right. (Of course...) I'll write you a note so you don't forget, okay? Sure, thanks. This piece of evidence seems like an awkward way to be able to "present" evidence that is just "hey this other person said this", but I guess it works?  The checkmark is gone on this topic, I guess that means she has more to say now?  Sorry... I know it must be hard. No, it's okay. I've kind of gotten used to it... She wanted me to hold onto a piece of evidence for an upcoming trial. (That's "The Thinker" clock that Larry made.) It practically qualifies as a serial murderer by now.)Isn't it actually the second statue? Anyway...  It was right around 9:00.That time is eight minutes before our arrival, and three minutes after the killer showed up. Pretty tight window all around there.    That's all I need to hear for now. Okay, we'll finally follow up on this spirit medium business.  That's right. Wait a second, you said the "Fey Family"? So, Mia was into this stuff too? She left the mountain to "follow her career," she said.The mountain?  Powers?  Hmm... Wait...! What? Yes. ...In training. Well, can't you contact Mia's spirit, then? We can just ask her who killed her!Phoenix is very open to the idea of spirit mediums, apparently.  I-I'm sorry... I couldn't do something on that level... (Hmm... I thoguth that would be too easy.) ...Seriously I am way too in-tune with Phoenix for these conversations. Half my comments I just deleted because Phoenix said almost the exact same thing in the next screen. I'm not sure if that's a good sign or a bad one. Here's one that didn't get deleted, but maybe should have been given the thread already made this joke earlier: Sounds like Maya is a mini-medium! Say, that reminds me of a joke: What do you call a psychic dwarf who escaped from prison? A small medium at large!   Huh? Something the matter?Once you've gone through all four conversations, Maya starts up her own topic here.  ...? My sister gave me this a long time ago. She said if I was ever in trouble, I should call him. And, well, I'm in trouble. That's a little cold, asking a defense attorney to go contact another probably better defense attorney to represent you. Granted, Mia did literally tell her to only let us represent her right now if she wanted to be found guilty.  I'm pretty sure Phoenix would accept, let's go with that.   Instantly made her day.  For a moment, anyway. ...? Say, what about your parents? ... ... ...  Holy poo poo this trial is moving even faster than the last one. That's, what, 37 hours after the murder? W-what!? Tomorrow!? Tomorrow. What if this guy refuses!? When will that happen? They're giving me until 4:00 this afternoon. Right, I'll be back!quote:What if we had refused?  Before we run off, we can throw our evidence in her face again.  Poor Sis... *sniff* (Hmm. Better not ask her about this now.)We haven't officially learned that the statue was hollowed out to hold the evidence yet; I guess we need to go get that cell phone recording first.  I saw that too. They said they thought these were pieces of a broken light stand. Yeah, that seems about right. (Though I'd never heard of a glass light stand before this...)Subtly different from when we showed the same thing to her the night before, but no new information.  Y-you mean the one with my name on it? Any idea why she... Absolutely none! Um... Uhh, sure? Interesting to get a dialogue choice in what I thought was going to be a throwaway evidence reaction. I trust you. Why? Don't you think I did it, too? No, I don't. That detective thinks I did it. ...quote:Alternate dialogue, if you prefer being a heartless monster:  The last piece of evidence is the new note we just got.  That detective took it when they brought me in. (I'll have to try to get it back next time I see him...) I think we've exhausted everything we can do here. Time to go somewhere else!  We can head back to the crime scene, or go check out this other lawyer she wanted us to find for her. We also have to locate Detective Gumshoe at some point to ask about Maya's cell phone, but I don't really see an option for that. I assume we'll have to visit both of these places at least once, and there's probably a more efficient order for it, but since I have no clue which one to pick, why don't you decide?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 5, 2022 23:27
|
|
Good one.
I-I'm sorry!
|
Part 15: Episode 2, Investigation: An Empty Office Maya's on a tight deadline to find a better option for a lawyer than us, so let's head over to their office first.  Note how since we haven't been there, we just get a big "?" for the location preview, with a fancy static effect. Music: Silence  Fancy.  (She couldn't say when he'd be back.)Whelp, guess Maya's out of luck then. I knew we should have gone down the location list in order!  (Not to mention run an office like this.) (I guess I'll just have to come back later.) We're still given free reign to snoop around, so let's get that out of the way now while we're here.  I thought I was clicking on the lamp here, but...  Hmm... Funny... They don't look like they've ever been read.Apparently the highlight was for the bookshelf behind the lamp instead.  How about the desk? A solid mahogany desk. The wood's been polished to a deep luster.Bo-ring.  Maybe this painting will induce a better comment. That painting has been bugging me ever since I stepped in here. The oil paint is so thick it's practically giving me a stuffed nose. I'm sure the price is nothing to sneeze at either, for that matter.Is that a thing? I guess I don't hang out enough around expensive oil paintings to know.  An expensive potted plant. No idea what kind of plant it is, but it's probably the most expensive one available.No idea here, either.  A table for clients. Hmm... an elegant ebony case, and if I'm not mistaken, that lighter's made of solid gold. Even I can tell someone here's got money to burn.If you're interested, I found a solid gold lighter online for $18,000. Can't imagine it's all that durable, either.  Nothing really to do here, so I guess we were supposed to head over to the crime scene first after all. Though I suppose we could head back to the Detention Center to give Maya the bad news. Take your pick. Your punishment for choosing incorrectly is a short update today, sorry! I'll make it up by posting the next one tomorrow.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 7, 2022 23:18
|
|
|
Blaziken386 posted:i dont recall the specific details of every case, but i assume that going to see maya right now will result in a big fat "you can't talk to her again until you've finished investigating, dummy" message. so, y'know, maybe go poke around the office I'm not totally sadistic, I won't put up an option for voting that has zero new content. There just might not be a lot of new content. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 8, 2022 05:56
|
|
|
Part 16: Episode 2, Investigation: Back to the Scene of the Crime Let's head back to the crime scene and see if it looks any different in the daylight.  Looks quite a bit cheerier in here, with the bright sunlight and the lack of a dead body.  Oh maybe that detective we need to find is here.  I suppose I should find it heartening that they're still looking for clues after arresting someone they're already sure is guilty, and is going to trial tomorrow morning.  Whoops, busted. We're at an active crime scene, I suppose; are we even allowed to be here?  Not sure what's with the "???" again here, didn't we meet this guy last night? He's not one I'm likely to forget, either.  He doesn't really remember us, either, I guess.  What?! No! Frankly I'm insulted.  Maybe this detective also questioned Larry last month? But still, he's as bad with names as...well, we are.  At least this guy is a good bit friendlier today.  (He WAS proven innocent...) I'm going to play this one straight, even though I really want to see what he says to "Suedeshoes". Um... Gumshoe, wasn't it? Dick Gumshoe?  I enjoy the many faces of Dick Gumshoe. quote:All right, let's call this guy "Detective Suedeshoes": quote:How about "Detective Gumtree"?   And don't go calling me "Dick"... Okay, that one was funny.   B-be right there!Who's the boss of the detective? A captain? Would they normally be at a crime scene the next day?  I don't know what brought on that animation, but this guy is adorable, can we keep him?  You're her lawyer, right, pal? If you got business here, you'd better do it quick! That little lie of omission probably won't matter, right?  Time to investigate! Music: Investigation - Opening  I imagine the police have already found everything that could be a clue here, so let's get looking around out of the way first. Mia's favorite potted plant. I remember it had this bizarre name no one could ever remember. "Cordyline stricta", pal! (Who was that!?)Cordyline stricta: An evergreen Australian plant, also known as the Slender Palm Lily or Narrow-leaved Palm Lily.   The sky is blue, and so am I... There's that hotel, right across the way. Mia's desk. Perfectly clean, as always. The only thing it's missing is... Mia.  There's a horrendous amount of legal books here. Scarier still is that Mia probably read all of these.Mia was only 27. Most people are, what, 25 when they get out of law school? Phoenix I think you need a better work ethic.  An old movie poster. Apparently, this was the first movie that made Mia cry when she saw it. I'll have to check it out one of these days.The movie poster was in the scene last time we were here, but wasn't clickable. The plant has made quite the recovery since last night, however; it was looking a little ragged earlier.  We're more likely to get information out of this guy, so let's chat him up first.  Hmm? You want to know the results, eh? ... ...What's with the puppy dog look yourself?  It's no use! Alright, alright. You can see the report, but that's all! Not that we're ready for trial yet, but I think we're ready for the first contradiction, at least. quote:I missed it the first time around, but despite the topic getting a check mark, this conversation changes if you select it again. Something to do with not being able to receive the autopsy report twice, maybe?  Um, about Maya... Sorry, pal, but this is one trial you aren't going to win! W-why do you say that?Music: Silence  That name looks familiar. I think he gets his own games later? I wasn't expecting to see him in this one, let alone so soon. (Edgeworth...) I'm sure you know what that means, you being a lawyer and all.Music: Investigation - Opening  New topic to ask about the edgy guy! Prosecutor Edgeworth...  Technically, no, not really... Never heard of him. Only barely. Did you see us at our last trial? About four years ago, this Edgeworth guy became a prosecutor at the age of 20! Everyone says he's a genius. Surprised you don't know him!Dude, we didn't know who our client was last trial.  Never mind, Phoenix is just too good at "playing" dumb. (He's a cold, heartless machine who'll do anything to get a "guilty" verdict!) (There are rumors of back-alley deals and forged evidence...)quote:We really do know him, apparently, so let's just go with that here.  I bet he's not fond of defense attorneys, either.  Settle down, Maya's still trying to hire that other guy. Gross-dude.  We're out of conversation topics, so let's head into our evidence collection now. I'm going to try this badge on everything until it works! Hmm? What's that? Sorry, pal, but I got no info for the likes of you!I think that was a generic "no info" response, or was it Gumshoe declaring he doesn't talk to defense attorneys?  I was wondering, do you know anything about this? That statue? That's the murder weapon. (Huh? He thinks the clock is just a statue, too...) (I'm starting to wish I'd never seen this thing.) There was broken glass at the crime scene, right? Hmm? Oh, that? We're given a flashback to the crime scene as it was the night before. Mia's legs appear to be on top of some of the glass shards here. So did the light stand fall over first? Seems like a glass stand next to the victim fell over. The glass shards were pieces of the broken stand. There was a piece of paper next to the victim, wasn't there? Yeah. The one with the killer's name written on it! Are you sure that Mia wrote it herself? Given the condition of the writing, it's hard to say if it's her handwriting or not. (So there's no proof that Mia wrote it.) I don't really expect much from showing him the evidence he just gave us, but I feel compelled to see what he says anyway... Thanks for this! Don't mention it, pal. There is no way that's true. (I don't know how I feel, seeing everything written up like this...) (It makes Mia's death seem so... routine.) We've done literally everything else possible, let's get what we came here for. I was wondering... did you see Maya Fey's cell phone? Should call this guy "Glumshoe" with that face. Do you think you could give it back?  Tricky lawyer! On to what? We just directly asked him for it. Anyway, Gumshoe has been good to us with the autopsy report, so I guess we'll be straight with him here.  Or we would, if the game let us... Something the matter? Oh, no, it's just... You know, Detective! Nope. I know nothing, pal! A cell phone holds all a little girl's sweetest and spiciest secrets!This is telling him straight?  Sorry, pal. I already checked all the numbers in memory! Impressive! You're quite the detective. Uh huh. Oh, here, you can have the phone back. What would even qualify as a suspicious call here? quote:And if we're not-so-straight with him... (Seems he didn't notice the recorded conversation...)  We get our first piece of evidence that is more than it appears. We'll look at it in a moment.  Getting this far triggers an extra conversation. You all done, pal? Um, yes, thank you. I'll be heading out now. Oh, wait. I don't suppose you're planning on talking to that witness.I wasn't, until you brought it up. How could we, anyway? Anyway you'd better not. ... The... witness? Lawyerly tricks #1: Acting confused so the detective volunteers information he shouldn't. Also, April May? What's the killer's name, Mr. June July? I'm sorry 'bout this... But I can't tell you anything about her! (Well, you just told me her name. Miss May, huh?) So, you've sent her home already, then?  She's not to go outside her room until the trial!Lawyerly tricks #2: Saying something incorrect so that the other person will correct you and give you the real information. That one's actually not bad; most people can't resist showing off something they know. Detectives I would think would be a bit too experienced to fall for it, though.  Looks like we've got another location to visit!  You got that right, pal! (Time to pay a visit to Miss May!) First, let's present the cell phone back to Gumshoe, just for kicks. (Seems he didn't notice the recorded conversation...)Not much there, but did you notice there's something more we can do with that evidence with the "Enter" button in the previous image? Let's do that now:    It's just the same as what we already saw in the prologue, but now Phoenix knows what we know. The statue/clock was hollowed out to hold evidence, that evidence is now missing, and only someone who had heard this phone call would be able to know that. (Right now, that kind of implicates Maya more than anyone, doesn't it?)  That's all for the crime scene redux. I'll caveat that Grossberg is still unavailable, so we have two options. We can go try and track down the witness at the hotel, or go back and see Maya. Where should we go?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 9, 2022 04:24
|
|
|
Part 17: Episode 2, Investigation: Two Brick Walls  Off to the hotel! Another location we haven't been to yet.  Finding the room was easy enough, I guess. Maybe we counted windows. Music: Happy People  Wow, ok. I'm going to skip commenting on that outfit. What's with the hands up in almost a boxer ready position, though? Umm... hi. (Smooth, Wright, real smooth.)Focus, dude.  He said, "Don't say nothing to that lawyer, pal!" Tee hee! (Memo to self: thank Detective Gumshoe for making my job harder.)Looks like Gumshoe may have out-maneuvered us here. She doesn't seem to be taking it seriously, though.  It's all so exciting I can hardly contain myself! Ooh! Let me go freshen up so I can look the part of the beautiful eyewitness!This entire episode has me suspicious of everyone, but so far April May is doing a convincing job of playing an airhead.  Gee, I wonder who that's going to be?  We're left free to examine the scene. There's an obvious drawer with something sticking out of it; I'll leave that until last. The flowers are fake, as expected. I know sunflowers and tulips, but that's about the extent of my floral knowledge. Flowers and paintings; one of these days they will reveal something useful! Ah. A still-scene painting. Wait, should that be "still life"? Whatever. One of those is hanging on the wall. The late summer sunlight streams through the window. There's the Fey & Co. Law Offices building, of course. You can see the inside of the room pretty clearly from here. I think it would be a little difficult to recognize a face from this distance, though.Good to know, hard to prove. Not that it matters when the police caught us with Maya at the crime scene anyway.  A simple bed. It's been recently made. Nothing eye-catching here. A bottle and two glasses are on the table. Somebody must be staying with her.Good information, if we can figure out who "somebody" is at some point.  Okay let's get a look at that drawer now. (There's a screwdriver stuck in this drawer.) (I wonder what's inside? Let's take a look...)Music: Silence   Well the pose is the same but that expression is a bit more maniacal.  Oooh. Bad boy! You wouldn't want to make me upset, would you? (Upset!? I thought she was going to explode for a second there!) (I wonder what could be inside the drawer?)Music: Happy People  We're actually free to continue examining the room, but that drawer remains inaccessible... (Hmm... what's inside I wonder?) *cough* *cough* (Maybe later...) Instead, let's see if we can pry more information out of her directly. Do you think you could tell me something?  I like a man with a big... vocabulary. (Umm... *gulp* Better not encourage her.) What did you see when it happened? I don't suppose you could tell me about it? Pretty please? If you want to know, you'll just have to come to court tomorrow, Mr. Lawyer! (Oh boy.)Yikes. That was a bust.  Maybe we can get her to open up about herself instead? Um, could you... just who exactly are you? N-n-no! Hey! I'm just doing my job here! Tee hee! You know, you're cute when you blush. Umm... eh heh. Right... can you just tell me what it is you do? Well... (Oh boy.)Strike two.  April's airhead act is clearly flustering Phoenix, but she's smart enough not to give us anything. I have the feeling we'll have to come back later, but let's keep trying. I see there are two glasses on the table. Is someone staying here with you? You must be one of those famous detectives, like on television! Oh, no, not me, I'm, er, just a lawyer! Miss May doesn't like nosey little lawyers... Hmph! (Oh boy.)Well talking didn't work.  We've got some evidence, but...  How could I possibly give you any information in good conscience, hmm?Anything we present just results in these same lines. April is definitely smarter than she's putting on here.  Probably. Definitely probably.  Well, that was pretty short. Let's give Grossberg Law Offices another shot. Music: Silence  (Well, maybe I should just wait here for him to come back.)With no other options for this investigation, Phoenix is just going to wait around I guess?  Luckily, we don't have to wait long. (If that wasn't the most over-the-top clearing of the throat I've ever heard!) (We get this line even if we haven't been here yet to look for him.)  Hmm...? That badge on your collar...? Ah, so you're a lawyer, are you now? Y-yes, well... yes. And what do you want? I'm not particularly busy these days... Please, proceed!He's not busy, so surely he'll take Maya's case on no notice?  That's a good point, too. Maybe everyone in this game is just full of poo poo. Hmm? Something the matter? Well, here I am, boy! What do you want? Out with it! Um... w-well, sir, actually, it's about Maya. Maya Fey. Well that's not a concerning reaction at all.  Ah... yes. Maya Fey. Go on. A-cha-cha. I'm really quite busy here, son.Didn't you just say you weren't busy?  Maya got arrested last night, it's not like anyone had any notice! W-wait a second! How did you know the trial was tomorrow!?Ooh, good catch!  A-anyway... What a jerk. He's probably one of those lawyers concerned about win rates and doesn't take loser cases like ours. (What's going on!? He refused me before I even got a chance to ask him!)Well, it was kind of obvious what we were going to ask him, wasn't it? (What do I tell Maya...?)Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution  Marvin gets his own soundtrack... though the title is somewhat concerning. There's nothing new in the office to examine, so let's just try talking to this guy.  Let's get straight to the point.  Hmm? Eh, ahem! Well, you see it's just... I'm busy, you see! Hmm... ahem. Mia trusted you... She knew her sister would be in good hands. However! I'm sorry but, I must refuse. Sorry. Good-bye.Good-bye!? Are we getting kicked out early because I picked the wrong option first?  Fine. *grumble*... Think not.Excuse me? Are we about to get locked in here?  Music: Silence  Wh-what do you mean? I'm terribly, terribly sorry. Oh, no physical danger, just a citywide (at least) conspiracy. Terribly sorry, m'boy. Why!? I... I cannot say. ... What the hell is going on with this case? (What's going on here!?)Dammit Phoenix is mirroring me again. Music: Marvin Grossberg ~ Old Age, Regret, Retribution  Apparently we're allowed to keep pestering this guy anyway.  ... She... worked here. A long time ago. Quite the apprentice, that one. Did you harp on her about the Court Record all the time? She left one day, quite suddenly... She had a mission, you see. A "mission"? You could see it in her eyes.  So confused right now. I don't expect this last topic to uncover anything, but here goes... That's... quite a painting. Ahah! You noticed! Geez, man, it's a painting. It's nice, I guess?  Each of these exclamations came with a screen shake. Guy really likes the painting. It's worth at least three million. I have no intention of parting with it, of course. No, I won't sell it! Not even to you! (I wasn't interested...) It's not for sale! Spending three million on a painting doesn't seem like a sound business practice. Maybe wealthy clients are more likely to sign on with you if they're impressed with your fancy office?  I tried presenting some evidence...  But got hit with the same brick wall as April. Mr. Grossberg has nothing to say about anything we can show him here.  I realized I'm behind on showing profiles, and what do I discover here but a surprise from a couple updates back. We only heard this guy mentioned briefly by Gumshoe, but apparently he's important enough for his own profile already.  Our totally geniune and not at all creepy witness.  And a rather senior attorney who doesn't seem as shaken up about Mia's death as he should be.  Mia's profile changes slightly to reflect her new status for this case.  Maya likewise has an update as we've discovered more about her.  Anyway, we're out of new locations to visit, and we haven't gotten any new evidence in awhile. I guess we should go tell Maya the bad news?
|
|
#
¿
Aug 11, 2022 03:34
|
|
|
kvx687 posted:If you think April May is an odd name, you haven't seen anything yet. Ace Attorney loves its punny name and takes them to ridiculous extents. This one is at least something an actual human being might be called, some of the later ones don't reach these lofty heights. To be honest, after "Mr. Sahwit" I was expecting worse, but this episode hasn't been bad yet. April May is a bit odd but not really a pun, unless I'm missing some reference to calendars in her personality. Marvin Grossberg is downright normal, as is Maya Fey. Detective Dick Gumshoe is a wonderful double-pun that also doesn't sound out of place as a name. Plus, Gumshoe is awesome and can call himself anything he wants.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 12, 2022 03:20
|
|
|
anilEhilated posted:Grossberg's name is meant to emphasise he's A Big Deal, it's German for "big mountain". Mia and Maya's surname straight-up means having supernatural powers or being clairvoyant. I never picked up on that meaning of "Fey", that's a pretty good one.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 13, 2022 04:50
|
|
|
Part 18: Episode 2: Investigation: Bad News Maya - We're Your Lawyer Back to the Detention Center we go! Music: Silence  It's almost time for Maya to receive a court-appointed lawyer. And we have completely failed at securing her a better option. Hiya. Did you find the lawyer?Yes.... Um... well... (What do I tell her?) Well, see... (Just be honest!) He... didn't seem healthy. He was all skin and bones!Uh that guy was the opposite of all skin and bones. ... ... You don't mean... He refused to help? Urp. ... I see. quote:If we had visited Grossberg Law Offices while it was empty, and then gone back to see Maya again, we'd get this conversation instead: Music: Detention Center - Jailer's Elegy  Maya doesn't have anything to say about the autopsy report, but we can show her the cell phone.  Oh! Say... Music: Silence  ... (Before long, tears began to roll down her cheeks.) ... Music: Detention Center - Jailer's Elegy  There's a new conversation topic here for us to explore. Note that this conversation was also available after we visited Grossberg's office the first time. What about your family? I only had my sister. My father died when I was very young. (Don't know...? So she could still be alive?) Yeah let's pull some more on this thread.  They say a lotta spiritual power runs in our blood. About fifteen years ago, our family was involved in an... incident. There was a man, and he... he... ("Ruined"...?) After that, she disappeared. Several years after that, my sister announced that she would "become a lawyer" and she left the mountain. ... So, you live by yourself? Oh, also... I had to become independent, or I would lose my powers! (I feel bad for her, all by herself up on that mountain...) Not sure how her "powers" work, but a family enemy seems like a good lead for finding the real killer here.  About 15 years ago... there was an unusual murder case. It made quite a stir, everyone was talking about it, apparently. The police were running out of leads, and they were getting desperate... Wait... they didn't use a spirit medium, did they? Wow... So, what happened? The case was solved... we thought. You "thought"...? ...! The police's consulatation with a medium had all been carried out in secret, of course. But... A man found out about it and leaked it to the press. She... my mother... became the laughing stock of the nation. I see. ...Music: Silence  Excuse me? White? That was his name. My sister told me. White? Hmm...Be on the lookout for someone named White, I guess. Is that person the wrongfully-accused or the one who leaked it to the press, though?  Once we've both been rejected by Mr. Grossberg and heard about Mr. White, a new conversation starts up. A smiling Maya doesn't seem quite appropriate here. Are we really just going to let that happen? ... (4:00 PM. Time's up.) (What should I do?) I've been playing it straight for awhile, but I can't resist seeing what "Go home" looks like.  (She'll be better off with a state-appointed lawyer.) I think I'd better get home now.  Music: Recollection - Heartbroken Maya  Oh, we're really doing this. The result of the trial was in the newspaper. "Guilty." I'll probably never meet her again. Did I make the right choice? Will I ever know? ...Music: Silence   Psych! We don't get kicked back to the title screen. Instead it was all in our head or something. I'm not leaving here until she takes me as her lawyer!quote:There's no alternate dialogue for choosing to "Defend Maya" instead - you just skip that whole previous scene and move straight along to the next one! Music: Investigation - Core  I'm going to defend you whether you want me to or not! ! Why? We could go all touchy-feely here, but with what we know about the bloody note and the autopsy report, someone else has to be the killer.  H-how do you know? I, um, I have a hunch... (But there's something about this whole thing that smells fishy.)    (I know... I've been there. A long, long time ago.) Quick flashback to...something?  (Because someone has to look out for the people who have no one on their side.) quote:Let's tell Maya we just can't abandon her instead. quote:What if we don't know why we're going to defend Maya?  ... That's so kind of you... *sniff*... ...  Let's fight this one and get you out of here! (Whew, she smiled at last. She looks like an entirely different person!) One last question... You are innocent, right?  And I trust you... So you trust me, too, okay? It's a deal. (There's something that's been bugging me...) (It was when I tried to look into the drawer that she got all defensive.) (There has to be something in there!)Have you figured out how to get rid of her so we can look? Because I haven't.  No, really, that's it here? I kind of thought we'd be going straight to trial now. There's nothing new to examine, talk about, or present. So I guess we just start revisiting places to see if anything has changed?  Bonus content: Visiting Fey & Co after talking to Grossberg. Music: Silence  (Looks like Detective Gumshoe has gone home.) (The police are still keeping themselves busy in the chief's office.) (No one has time to talk to me. Guess I'll head out.) Despite that dialogue, we can still look around. Almost everything is the same, but this plant has a new line:  I guess I'll have to water it now... We've exhausted every other option again. Grossberg has nothing new, so I guess we'll take the giant hint the game threw at us and head over to the Gatewater Hotel again!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 13, 2022 04:57
|
|
|
Part 19: Episode 2, Investigation: A Wild Bellboy Appears! We got a pretty heavy hint last time that we need to go back to the Gatewater Hotel. We couldn't get into the drawer with the screwdriver before, but somehow we're going to be allowed to do so now I guess.  And lo and behold we have a random encounter with a hotel bellboy either inside or just outside Miss April May's room. Excuse me, you are...? Ah, I beg your pardon, sir! Oh, right. I've just come up to deliver room service, sir. This guy gets his own profile entry, too. Um... do you know where Miss May might be? If you've no need of anything, I'll be taking my leave.Yes, please go so we can poke our nose in that drawer.  Yeah... Wait... no! Hey! ... I guess the bellboy thinks we're here for an investigation of a more romantic nature? (Wait... now's my chance to snoop around a bit!) Surprise! He's back, very suddenly. Gah! Y-you came back quick! Please tell her that Mr. White, of Bluecorp phoned. Oh, right. Sure.Mr. White, you say? Maya told us about a Mr. White. A common enough name, but I don't believe in coincidences in this game.  C'mon Phoenix, you can do it! Rub those brain cells together...  We're sent into a brief flashback... That was his name. My sister told me. And apparently he wasn't satisfied with just their mother, either. Or maybe Mia's "evidence" that she was trying to hide in the statue-clock was related? (Could it be a coincidence?)I wonder if we'll start getting red herrings in this game, too. That could make things fun. "Actually, it turned out to be a totally different Mr. White." or "It turns out Mia was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Music: Investigation - Core  We're finally free to look around. Everything else is the same, so let's just take a peek in that drawer...  Now's my chance to see what's inside! ...! What do we have here!Music: Suspense  I am moderately impressed that Phoenix can recognize a wiretap on sight. I sure can't. What would a woman like her be doing with a thing like this? I could see this little piece of evidence being used to connect some dots later. The statue-clock was hollowed out to hide some evidence. That information was mentioned in the phone call between Mia and Maya. And this wiretap could have recorded that phone call. I think we're still missing a couple pieces, though.  Why would she have something like this in her hotel room? There's a story behind all this, I know it! Alright... For Maya's sake... Phoenix is still saying this all out loud, with April in the bathroom. Maybe we should skedaddle?  Yeah, time to make like a tree and get outta here. (Uh oh, time to scram!) (In court!)  We appear to have obtained all the information we need. The investigation phase is finally over. Music: Jingle - It Can't End Here  We'll take the given opportunity to save, and then next time: The trial!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 14, 2022 22:54
|
|
|
Part 20: Episode 2, Trial: Difficulty Increase No pre-trial chats today, we're headed straight into the courtroom (finally)!  The crowd is buzzing; that's the new hotshot prosecutor over there. Music: Trial  I missed you, Judge!  Our opponent: Mr. Miles Edgeworth, dark and broody. Literally no smiles in his sprite sheet.  We seem a little more sure of ourselves for trial #2. (Miles Edgeworth...)  Oh, we're going to have a proper opening statement this time?  The prosecution has evidence she committed this murder... and we have a witness who saw her do it.  I see. Thank you, Mr. Edgeworth. Let's begin then.Hey, where's my opening statement!?  The prosecution calls the chief officer at the scene, Detective Gumshoe!  He looks ready for this.  Mr. Edgeworth seems like he'll be a lot harder to rattle than Mr. Payne was. Sir! My name's Dick Gumshoe, sir! Detective Gumshoe.  Music: Logic and Trick  A new track plays, and we get a diagram of the crime scene up on display during Gumshoe's explanation. And the cause of death? Loss of blood due to being strick by a blunt object, sir! A small triangle representing the murder weapon is added to the diagram here.  Note that we haven't entered the official "Testimony" phase yet, so we can't object to any of these statements. Nothing too bad here so far, anyway.  Music: Silence   Yeah, even the judge doesn't remember that this thing is really a clock.  More evidence for our collection! We have quite the growing list, now.  Uh-oh, he's about to pounce. Y-yes sir!  Can you tell me why? Like hell you did. Hmm... Detective Gumshoe.   Okay, pay attention, there will be a quiz later. Music: Questioning - Moderato  There were two people there already: The defendant, Ms. Maya Fey, and the lawyer, Mr. Phoenix Wright.   I'm not seeing any contradictions here yet... Music: Silence  Oh, we're done already. Just six lines there, and other than the witness clearly lying, everything Gumshoe said here appears to be as it happened.  So, what do we do here?  (Cross-examine what...?) (I couldn't see a single contradiction in that testimony...)Phoenix is just as lost. And we don't have our support partner anymore...   (Hey! Maya just threw something at me...)Is she in the crowd or something? She wasn't in the wide courtroom shot we got at the beginning of this update.  ("When my sister couldn't find any contradictions in a witness's testimony") ("The witness always slips up and says something wrong...") ("It worked lots of times!")Just in case we hadn't figured it out last episode, the game freely tells us to press on every statement now.  (Alright. Let's give this a try!)  Hmm this update has been a lot shorter without all the tutorials, and we're apparently just going to press on everything anyway. Let's keep going!  Time to put the screws to the Gumshoe! Music: Questioning - Moderato As soon as the phone call came in, I rushed to the scene! Hey pal, don't play dumb! You know who! I don't show a lot of the plain talking animations, but this one's a good one. Heavy-breathing enthusiasm for some of this testimony.  Right. Please continue.In order to get to the trial, we have to have already talked to Miss May, so nothing really new here. Let's keep going! There were two people there already:Yes, we can press even on partial statements like these.  between you receiving the call, and your arrival at the scene of the crime? Hmm, right... I'd say it was about 3 minutes! Th-that's pretty fast!I didn't notice it right away, but 3 minutes would place the phone call at 9:05 PM, and about 8 minutes after the murder actually took place, and 5 minutes after Maya showed up. The autopsy report also placed time of death at 9:00 PM, but how precise is a time of death like that?  That's how I got there before the killer got away! Indeed! Yes, sir! The defendant, Ms. Maya Fey, and the lawyer, Mr. Phoenix Wright. ....What? He literally arrested Maya on the spot. And no one else can pull off that blue suit. Listen pal, your dumb act will only get you so far! With her funky hippie clothes and your spiky hair? Ouch, okay, fair enough. (Well... he does have a point about her.) (She is pretty unmistakable.) I will continue to press on every statement until I stumble into a glorious land mine that I'm sure the developers planted somewhere. I immediately arrested Ms. Maya Fey! Oops, another false press that just leads us into the next line of testimony. Why? We had a witness account describing her!Music: Silence  The music fades away, hinting that we've hit on the right line here. Y-yeah? If I heard correctly... ...He does, kind of. The bloody note? I guess he never did mention it. Huh? I heard you say it! You did say it. You said it. Seems like an odd way to force the witness to talk about the evidence that we know is faulty, but okay. Wh-what!?  W-well, I guess she is pink... Do you have any more solid proof other than her claims, Detective? Umm... ... Yes. (Gah!)Phoenix you know all about the note, you were there when Gumshoe asked us about it.  There was something I should have told you about first, Your Honor! Very well, Detective. Let's hear your testimony again. Round two! Music: Questioning - Moderato  I found a memo written on a piece of paper next to the victim's body! Lab test results showed that the blood was the victim's!To be honest, that's more due diligence than I expected out of the police here.  Someone else could have used her hand like a paintbrush though.  I suspect here's where I should point out that the autopsy report says that Mia died instantly.  We get a moment to ponder how best to fling this testimony back at him.  Going to wipe that smug look off your face, pal! Music: Silence Hmm... Y-Your Honor? Why didn't you testify about this vital piece of evidence the first time!?  Try to be more careful! Very well, the defense may begin its cross-examination.All right, seems like we're at a good point for a quick break. I'm pretty sure we have to present the autopsy report here, but which line is the best point to do it for maximum impact? quote:There's actually one more line of original testimony that we missed: quote:If we exhaust all of the original testimony without pressing at the right time...
|
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2022 03:52
|
|
|
Part 21: Episode 2, Trial: Turnabout is Fair Play? I kind of gave it away in the last update, but the audience vote is unanimous here (and correct).  Still, let's press first on everything anyway. Music: Questioning - Moderato After securing the suspect, I examined the scene of the crime with my own eyes. Not all of these presses are going to be good for us. Now, now, don't jump the gun on me, pal. Just listen. I'm getting to the good part! I found a memo written on a piece of paper next to the victim's body! Yeah, you tell him! Though I think some evidence would be more persuasive here. Ho hoh! Then who did write it, smarty-pants? Well, the killer, obviously.  Hoh. Uh, no. She was framed! Hold on. How come the prosecution makes legitimate objections, while I can only yell it out when I'm presenting evidence? Ah... (Urk!) Edgeworth can hardly contain his disdain for us.   Those without evidence shouldn't open their mouths, Mr. Wright.I got the feeling there was some history between these two earlier when we were digging for info on him with Gumshoe, but it seems the hostility goes both ways here. Yeah, pal!Quiet, the grownups are talking.  These presses are at least good for revealing more Edgeworth sprites. He comes off like a smug rear end in a top hat in every single one though. quote:Maybe Miss May wrote the note? quote:Let's confess to writing the note ourselves!  On it, the word "Maya" was written clearly in blood! Of course I do, pal! (Uh oh... he sounded pretty confident. This might not be good...) Lab test results showed that the blood was the victim's! Huh? What kind? Umm... well... No, keep going, you're doing great. Hermo... goblins... hobgob... Er...? Herma-goblin bobbin... I'm no expert on blood tests!   These animations are too fun to not show this update, #sorrynotsorry.  Y-yeah? Geez, what a dick. Prosecutors shouldn't antagonize their police witnesses. ...O-oh... (That was a mess...) Also, there was blood found on the victim's finger! The right hand! (Hmm... she WAS right handed...)Yeah, that one would've been too easy.   Before she died, the victim wrote the killer's name! Detective Gumshoe! Sure! It happens all the time in books and the movies! This isn't a movie, Detective.That's right, it's a video game, and that wasn't in your list! Oof! Let's talk about reality, shall we?  Especially the name of her own sister? Ah, yeah, actually, you got a point, pal.There's our hint that there's a contradiction to be found in this line. Of course, Edgeworth isn't about to let us get any more free shots in here.  Your pointing pose is nowhere near as cool, dude.  The witness's opinion on the matter is irrelevant!  And your slam is lame too! So there. The victim told us the name of her killer! The crowd's not impressed with us here. Order! Order! Settle down, man, we've got this!  Well, we're at the end, does Phoenix and/or Maya have any more sage advice for us?  (Okay, there has to be a contradiction in there somewhere. Let's find it!)Just a reminder that we need to do more than press this time. Guess we'll present some evidence!  Screwing up the evidence in this trial just gives us the same warnings as last time. If we lose all our health sections, we get the same text for the guilty verdict as well, just with Maya's name switched in for Larry's. We do get a somewhat-unique image of Maya for some reason at the witness stand as she's pronounced guilty, though!  I'm sure I'll still have to twist into a pretzel to prove someone else did it somehow, but at least we can get this note quickly thrown out. There's no way Mia wrote the note if she died instantaneously! Music: Silence  Detective Gumshoe!  That she was accusing the defendant, Maya Fey? That's really what you're saying? Of course she wrote it! Who else could have!?  B-backwards?Here it comes! Music: Objection!  "Immediate death due to a blow from a blunt object." But...! No "but"-ing your way out of this one, Detective! Order! Order! The defense has a point. Take that, "hard evidence"! Mr. Wright. What's it to you, we tricked it out of Gumshoe fair and square!  I didn't really forget, but why does it even matter? I'm... sorry, I forgot. Hah! Forgot, you say? I knew that! I was just...testing you. I was the one who handed it to him myself! Personally! Oh. R-right.quote:Instead of forgetting, what if we get the question wrong and say we got the report the day of the murder? quote:Get it right, and we cut straight to the chase:   I have a bad feeling all of the sudden.  Outdated? This was yesterday! Wh-what!? Like hell it was.  "But there is a possibility the victim lived for several minutes after the blow."Holy poo poo, did this guy just fabricate evidence against us? So not only is the witness framing our client, the prosecutor is straight up making poo poo up too?     He's even wagging his finger at us. This guy.  Did he just take a loving bow at us? They seriously made him a protagonist later? (No, don't tell me.) What an rear end in a top hat.  That is all. I see! (drat you, Edgeworth!) Well I'm pretty stumped on what to do now, so I guess we'll just let the rest of this scene play out. I have never wanted to punch a video game character this much. Why, Mr. Wright, you look shocked! I probably shouldn't, but gently caress you Edgeworth! Mr. Edgeworth...    No matter, Your Honor... Mr. Wright. quote:You know what, this is really all Gumshoe's fault. He gave us a bad report! quote:Maybe we're the sham... Your Honor, I submit this report to the court. U-understood. The court accepts the evidence. What utter bullshit. Did he just turnabout our turnabout with some made up garbage? Well, Your Honor? I suppose that's the obvious conclusion, yes.This motherfucker takes another loving bow, I can't even. Music: Silence  The prosecution would like to call its next witness.Well, Gumshoe was a disaster for us. Next time we'll get a chance to redeem ourselves, with...  You guessed it...  
|
|
#
¿
Aug 19, 2022 02:59
|
|
The witness was in her hotel room, not the office.
Well, Detective? Tell us what was written on that memo you found.
No, no, no, I'm just saying it COULD have been me!
|
|
| # ¿ May 11, 2024 10:37 |
|
|
You know, I should have expected this format to result in fanart videos vs drawings but I am once again taken by surprise. Those were fantastic, I shoved them into the front page here.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 19, 2022 16:01
|
|