Why Ace Attorney 3 Is (Almost) A Perfect Finale 

Pinned comment question: What is your favorite finale of any media property?

On the note of Edgeworth not knowing who Godot is, while Atmey insists that he's been recognized by Edgeworth himself, I've always gone with the headcanon that Godot showed up to the prosecution office one day and started talking about how much Wright was the bane of his existence, and everyone immediately assumed he must be with Edgeworth.

THE BIT AT 2:31:13 HAS ME IN TEARS THE DELIVERY OF ".....so have you asked him out-?" "HAVE YOU?!" IS JUST SO FUCKING GOOD IVE LOOPED IT AT LEAST 5 TIMES

Wanted to add the “Gravely roast” thing is also pretty well translated into Spanish. In Spanish, the letter says “Ensalza” as in “Exalt”, but Pearl reads “En salsa” as in “With sauce”, so she smears sauce all over the picture

a thought occurs to me: if it was Franziska as the prosecutor for case 3, there definitely would've been a gag of her whipping Don Tigre into testifying (tiger taming instead of lion taming joke here)

My favorite part of the entire game is when the canadian judge tells someone to take away Franziska's whip, and Edgeworth cuts in and basically says "No, let her keep it. She's a prosecutor, that's her gimmick. I understand, we all have one."

Your analysis of dahlia lowkey made me entirely revaluate her character and almost and made me a bit teary eyed. The story of a woman who was denied love or control no matter where she went and continuously started spiraling down a hole until it got her hanged. You're a great storyteller.

I still remember people begging Capcom not to relocalize the name "Godot", explaining people would recognize the reference, Not only did they, but the judge explained how to pronounce it. It was extremely gratifying to see

You talked about how Dahlia's theme changes as you hear, but I think the same also happens to Godot's. It starts as a silly little song that backs his nonsensical metaphors, but as you learn more about him, you start to hear the pain and longing in it, to the point that it can make you cry when you see his 'tears'

1:38:33 Oh my god, this joke just made me realize that, had this case been placed in its original order within Justice for All, it would’ve created a 3-case pattern: Lions. Tigers. And Bears. Oh my…

I’ve always been a wrightworth shipper and I always will be, but Iris and Pheonix’s relationship is beautiful

One thing about your gripe with the key card still working after Ron was let go a year prior: I always thought that was an intentional choice to show that the company, KB Security, itself had bad security protocols, and that it was kind of a joke. Kinda ties in with the company hiring both Wendy and Larry as security guards. It’s a security company that, in and of itself, has terrible internal security protocols.

3:49:39 The “red on white” part has my jaw drop. I guarantee this was a deliberate choice by the devs to make reference how Godot couldn’t see Phoenix wasn’t the one to blame for Mia being killed.

I actually loved Godot in the stolen turnbout, since unlike all the other prosecutors you've faced he swallows his pride and intentionaly loses his first ever trial just to win his second, and that made a really strong impression on me on my first playthrough

I gotta say, I disagree a bit that Godot's introduction wasn't effective. The thrashing we usually get from prosecutors made me extremely suspicious of how casual and almost disinterested in actually fighting Nick on some points gave me an odd feeling about him, which was then validated by the "thanks for proving him not guilty. Now I can put him in jail for murder instead :)" immediately after. I suddenly felt like I had to really watch my back around him, that where the other prosecutors had been relentless, Godot was playing some kind of long game and anything he said to Nick could not be trusted. I turned out to be... mostly wrong, but it was a striking first impression.

I still remember my first time playing Case 2, I was 100% sure that the big twist was that Desiree is actually the real mask demasque, just from her personality. Thrill seeking, motorcycle riding, confident girl vs. super shy nervous guy... In the end, it was just a red herring.

Always thought of Iris never using her real name and instead only using her Acolyte name is because since she lost her mother and was abandoned at the temple by her father, she has forgone her old now dead name and Iris, the name given to her by the only persin who's ever been a mother to her, is all she wishes to go by now.

I really like the interesting ways Phoenix is able to implicate the culprits in the 2nd and 3rd case, it being a focus on getting people to give information they otherwise wouldn't know. For me it's a sign of his growth and the biggest examples of his bluffing power becoming more refined and useful, unlike the lucky bluffs like on Goodbyes

your comparison of Ron and Desiree to Roger and Jessica Rabbit is so spot on and perfect

With all the solemnity and seriousness of Misty Fey's death while being mere inches away from her daughter that was divested by her disappearance... the way her crime scene was laid out was the most Looney Toons nonsense I've ever seen in a case. Not only was her body was pendulum-swung ALL the way across a burning bridge, forever commemorated by Laurice, I may add. The rope was also tight enough to swing the whole way, but loose enough to fling her right at the apex. Then her body and attached cane LANDED together on the other side, but only the cane's JEWEL came loose, tying the whole case together. Poor Misty. On top of everything that happened in her life, even in death she had no peace.

Zvarri! The truth has once again been elegantly revealed to me! An expert VA and incredible summary of T&T, I take it?

something that keeps the pedophilia angle w/ fawles from bothering me too much is how much he reads like someone like lenny from of mice and men to me ... which is to say, it reads to me as a dated way to establish him being _too mentally incapable and infantile_ to understand the problem with dating a minor, which also slots directly into how a 14yo girl would so easily yank his chain so, yeah, the problematic aspect of the case is masked by an _entirely different_ problematic aspect, which is about as much of a defense as whatever the hell tigre pulled as phoenix :v

I really like that moment when in "Bridge to the Turnabout" where Dahlia is testifying, and confesses that she doesn't fully know everything that happened, and wonders what could have happened. I really like this becaue, for just a moment, everyone tries to figure out the truth. The Attorney, the ghost/killer/witness, the prosectutor to an extent. Even the Judge is oddly interested. I just really like that moment

While I do heavily agree on the Fawles situation where you can't blame this teen for seducing this grown man, he should have known better, I feel like a lot of the sympathy of his death is less about that he died thinking such a way about himself, but more thinking how that could have been Phoenix. Had the poison not expired in that little necklace he ate, that could have been him slumped over, dead at the stand. That's at least the way I see it, this dude did also conspire with two Hawthornes to fake a kidnapping and steal a diamond from their father.

The Top 3 Rules of Ace Attorney: 3) *_Never_* Press Moe 2) *_Always_* Press Gumshoe 1) *_We do not speak, of Daliah Hawthorne_*

Having watched up to the plot twist, I can safely say that the reveal of Dahlia's and Iris' relationship to [the village] might be one of my favorite plot twists in a piece of media ever. It feeds PERFECTLY into Morgan's character in the second game, recontextualizes Dahlia's naturally sadistic self as a byproduct of her environment, and builds off of established information regarding the men of [the village]. I'm shaking and shouting out, "OOOOOOHH!!" this reveal was so good!

I also enjoy the judge in that last case. I know he's a goof, and sometimes rather slow, but in Bridge to the Turnabout, he doesn't really feel like a grand authority we must impress, or convince. At the end there, he genuinely wants to find the truth, like all of us. The "Unlimited Penalty" isn't even his idea, it's Godot's. And when asked why is he going along with all this spirit mumbo jumbo, I love his small speech about how "every case is its own world, and we must immerse ourselves in it. This is what me and my brother disagree on."

Larry clearly did get a downgrade in this game but i actually kind of like his art persona, mainly because it seems like he's actually good at it. Assuming the images in the credits are his work. I don’t know after a trilogy of this guy being incredibly wishy-washy it's nice to see him land in a profession he actually seems to give a shit about.

Re: Maya not knowing about the urn, she wasn’t in the courtroom for that particular explanation. From memory she was undergoing questioning again. Ace attorney court rules: there are no real rules!

The especially annoying thing about Larry being Flanderized as some sort of incel creep is that his art is really damn good! He always paints ACCURATELY! The issue is that people's first interpretations are usually wrong - but just turn the picture around like you would any other part of the damn case and look, Larry was spot on. Even in the DLC case for Spirit of Justice, his art comes in clutch. Larry also very obviously loves Phoenix and Edgeworth like hell, why else would he consider calling Edgeworth FIRST THING when Phoenix went down? The other two might find him annoying, and hell who wouldn't be with that creepy behaviour? But he was not nearly like this until after Cindy's death (and even then the relationship with Kiyance in 1-4 seemed to be going OK), and even _then_ his clear artistic talent and his love for his besties never went away. I love this game to bits but good lord Larry deserved better.

Your analysis of Dahlia's character is utterly fascinating! When it's all laid out at once, it really hits hard how truly awful her life was. Like you said, it doesn't excuse her actions, but her circumstances HAD to have had an effect on her. It's just a shame what happened to the Fey family.

About Maya and the urn: while she does go ‘wow, I wonder how it got like that, huh pearly?~’ she does it in a very teasing manner, heavily implying she already knows and is just humouring pearl thinking she doesn’t, which is confirmed at the end with Misty’s picture, as she and Mia also broke it, along with the fact that Misty seemed unbothered by it being broken and just took a picture, leads to the head canon that everyone breaks it when they’re young, including Misty and Morgan and maybe even Iris and Dahlia Additionally, with Iris’s name, based on the fact that Dahlia uses it I always assumed that the whole ‘that’s my acolyte name’ thing was a lie to keep her identity a little under wraps since her name would be in Morgan’s divorce records alongside Dahlia, so after Dahlia was literally convicted of murder she and Bikini started saying it was a pseudonym when it wasn’t

Omg this thumbnail is so cute.

Luke Atmey is my favorite name of the series so far it’s literally “Look at me” which is obviously about how eccentric his ego is but also looking at his design and then his name is just funny to me

I’m not unsympathetic to Dahlia, but something to remember is that she still decided to go through with getting revenge on another dead person after her death. We don’t know what the afterlife in AA is like, but, if Mia seems rather normal all things considered, it’s reflective of Dahlia that instead of moving on (after all, both she and her rival are dead and gone), she decided to try to take her revenge on Mia by harming the living.

Wow chapter 6 is almost 2 hours on its own. Amazing work.

Your analysis of the cases, themes and characters in this game were so thorough that it opened my eyes to all the reasons why I love (and sometimes hate) this game. I got to see the details that make the parts I love shine, and I had some new flaws pointed out, along the ones I was all too familiar with. But, most importantly for me, I was able to fully see the characters I loved and all their dimensions. Especially Dahlia and Digeo. This video has inspired me to work more on my own ace attorney project thats been on hold for a while now, so thank you.

Can I just compliment you in general? I love your presentation style, your humor, your opinions, and it seems like we basically have the fandoms/interests. I just really like you’re videos, their the only like, 2 hour+ videos that I wouldn’t get bored out of my mind half way.

“He’s waiting for Godot just as much as anyone, but that arrival will never come to pass, not while he’s waiting for something that’s already passed him by” I’m ugly crying right now, what the hell. What a beautiful analysis of one of the most tragic characters in the series. This whole retrospective has been an absolute treat, just… *wow*.

3:55:24 I think the reason the Coffee sprite looks off is because it’s based on the Confidant/Smug sprite, but they changed his expression to be more sour, really put how bittersweet this ending really is.

3:41:59 what's extra brilliant about this moment is that this initial dialogue by Godot is the same no matter what evidence you pick. But if you pick the right evidence...only then do you get the rest. It's a great trick by the game!

Absoluletly LOVED this series! Kinda sad to see the trilogy retrospectives come to an end.

My biggest pet peeve with Recipe for Turnabout is the fact so many locations feel frozen in time for the case. Tres Bien, Blue Screens, even Tender Lender all feel like it’s been just a day seen the crime and trial. Why isn’t the crime scene cleaned up for use by Jean? Why hasn’t Lisa cleaned up her dead employee’s desk? Why hasn’t Tigre thrown out his incriminating costume of Phoenix? It’d make so much more sense if some evidence was lost to time, or even some memories, like Victor having even fuzzier recollections of the case. But as it stands, it feels like the Appeals portion of the case is forgotten. Shame, as it was a legitimately cool concept.

I'm kinda surprised by all this people seeing Dahlia in a new light. For me she was always just as much a victim of circumstances as the rest of the Feys, just one that unlike Iris or Pearl or Maya decided to take her anger against the world and always spoke to me that even if life kicked us repeatedly we still have to strive to be better people.

That fucking "You did ask him out!" Killed me. It makes want a Phoenix Wright abridged type thing just so edge worth and iris could go full harem anime over Phoenix

My favorite part of this game is how the "filler" cases still have relevance to the ongoing Phoenix/Dahlia/Mia story. I know for myself that I wouldn't have so quickly come to the conclusion about the twins if the game hadn't been priming me with stories about doubles and fakes and people being in two places at once.

i don't think i can ever hold back from crying at the picture of mia and maya at the end, it's just so perfect.

Fun fact: Waiting for Godot, the play itself, is still technically not allowed to be preformed by woman due to the misogynistic wishes of the playwright in most places/iterations. I like to think thats where Godot got that character flaw from.

Your voice acting for that one dahlia scene in 3-5 was so good!! genuinely gave me goosebumps lol

So much of the last case makes me cry, but I think my favorite is the picture of mia and maya fixing the urn. It's so sweet and cute and links everything together.

while it doesn’t bug me too much because fawles and dahlia are written well enough for me to believe dahlia has always been a demon in disguise and fawles is written to seem as though he truly did not know better, the way I choose to see it myself on repeat playthroughs, and what doesn’t make sense to me is why not just make him like 16… being young stupid and in love he fell for her wiles and then they could have just added some text to state he was tried as an adult due to the severity of the crimes. Writing it that way removes nearly all controversy and doesn’t diminish the story being told, if anything it makes fawles more sympathetic and gets the point across stronger than it does as written. And as I stated, when I replay the game I use that mental framework to help ignore the obvious poor choice in writing.

she trials on my tribulations till i coffee

Marcie I really can’t thank you enough for all the commitment you place into every retrospective continues to enrapture me, and in one of the most miraculous things I can remember with me finishing every game in the Ace Attorney trilogy on the exact days you release these I couldn’t think of a greater miracle to close this out. You are so meticulous, thoughtful, ubiquitous and outstanding in everything you tackle it’s everything I always aspire to be and everything you do continues to lighten my spirits, and everything I feel about Ace Attorney you convey masterfully. I can’t ever thank you enough for everything and I eagerly look forward to the future you have in store as always.

i always love your ace attorney videos, the voice acting is impeccable, the analyzing, script, editing and the video in general are always such a pleasure to watch, not only from ace attorney. I watched your danganronpa V3 vid in 1 sitting

I honestly can't wait for when you do The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. Not only is it my favourite Ace Attorney game, it's my favourite game, ever.

First of all, after watching the whole video, AMAZING amazing work. The series is very special to me, and each of your videos made me think of the games in ways i haven't before which is the only thing a person can ask from such meticulously crafted work that you did. Can't wait to see your takes on the future games, even if of course the wait will be a bit longer than that. The only thing I want to touch upon from the video (at least right now, it IS very late for me oop-) is in regards to Dahlia and your criticism in regards the "tone" of her portrayal from the game itself and its characters. In my opinion though, I feel it was a pretty deliberate way they decided to show her and imo works pretty well with what the game was going for. Like we can all agree, she hurt a LOT of people through her actions, whether first or second-handedly. But like you amazingly explained, her motivations weren't necessarily, at first at least, from strictly "she was born evil" reasons. It doesn't change the fact though in how many negative ways she has impacted Mia, Phoenix, Godot at least. Regardless of Dahlia's history, she didn't give any reason for any of them to look deeper and say like "yeah, she poisoned my boyfriend, but lemme think of how does SHE feel", when a)none of her actions in the game itself are really for any noble reasons however you cut it, and b) Dahlia herself when her "mask" comes off doesn't try to seek out any sympathy from anyone, which is ironically enough complete opposite of her "persona" she manipulates people with. When all is said and done, she doesn't see herself as the victim, and even more so doesn't want others to be seen as one when she lets people in behind the facade. The only person who ever gives her the benefit of the doubt is her sister- someone who knows the situation Dahlia was in, her life, the people around her. Regardless of Dahlia's attempts to push her away, she can't hide "the truth" away from her- things that impacted her but she had no control over and therefore can't hide behind some mist or facade. In the end, the way people view Dahlia shows her duality and duality of all people- how some people's view of someone (Dahlia manipulating everyone around her for her own gain, willing to do anything just to save her own skin even if it means hurting multiple in the process without any remorse) can coexist with another's view which may seem completely different (Dahlia was a victim of her communities inherent harmful traditions and politics, had essentially no family close to her that loved her after Iris was out and was left to fend for herself to achieve anything in her life) and they both can be "the truth" at the same time- the truth that the other side doesn't have to seek out because what they have and know is true as well. Like I said it's pretty late for me, so i'm sorry if any of this is rambly or incoherent lmao. In the end, your analysis of Dahlia was absolutely amazing and you have noticed so many interesting things about her that didn't even occur to me, and i don't disagree with all your criticisms you had in the way she was handled (the Terry Fawles situation and the age gap and Mia vilifying Dahlia in Turnabout Beginnings before it felt completely justified just to keep building up Dahlia as the "big bad" of the game.), I wanted to explain why I view some of the ways she was written as a strength rather than a flaw. I do think it could've been written where Dahlia's multidimensionality was more in outwardly pointed out, but I don't think a more subtle approach was a bad call at all. Again, AMAZING work, can't wait for what you have coming next and wish you hopefully a good rest after a long and hard job that you did,

I think Iris and Dahlia are my favorite characters in the series and how their story resembles the consequences on the cycle of abuse. And how Iris, despite resembling Morgan the most, ended up the one escaping it in the end and being described as being unable to commit an evil act at all despite her mother being MORGAN FEY. Also I do believe that Iris’s hair was naturally red which would match her father’s. And why Mr. Fey Dad gave Iris away was because she looked like Morgan and reminded him of his failure. Meanwhile, Dahlia resembled him more so he decided to keep her as some form of narcissism (especially since the woman he married already had a child who wasn’t his). Your analysis of Dahlia really brought some things to light too! Even back in the day, I was the biggest Fawles hater because if he was such a “good guy” why was he attracted to a 14 year old. But also… yeah. Where the hell would Dahlia have gotten poison? Unless the Hawthorne family has some sinister connections, it only makes sense that Fawles would be the one to get it and delusionally tell Dahlia that they will take it if they lose faith in each other.

After hearing your analysis of Dahlia's character and the inherent tragedy of how she is the sum of the sheer lack of love and control in her life, I desperately want to see someone write a fic exploring those themes. Like yeah, Dahlia and Mia SHOULD have known each other (maybe Mia no longer recognized her cousin due to her having a different name and it having been too long since she last saw her), and that would have been a potent source of drama, and it might have explained some of Mia's immediate vindictiveness in Turnabout Beginnings (or maybe it even more contrived? Considering Mia clearly loved Morgan). And yeah, the whole thing with Terry feels deeply gross and I'm choosing to interpret him as being not as innocent and pure as the narrative wants us to think -- maybe Dahlia and Valerie's scheme was in part a way for Dahlia to be rid of the man, since he was clearly in a position of power over Dahlia. Maybe the game should have aged him down, or maybe it should have leaned into the fact that Terry was just another sick tragedy in Dahlia's life, just part of the chain of events that ultimately led to Dahlia's descent into villainy. Either would have been an improvement, and you've got me thinking a lot about the missed opportunities. I also need someone to write a fic about Maya trying to change her clan's traditions for the better to break the cycle of abuse -- there's a lot to work with here since most of the clan remains faceless throughout the whole series, aside from the few key characters we meet. Like, who were the people who scorned Morgan and stoically maintained tradition despite the obvious tragedy it causes, even in the face of the clan being ostracized by society? Are they still in the picture -- would Maya and Pearl be forced to deal with them now, now that Morgan's in prison and the cause of two murders due to her desperate grasping for power, and now that Maya is the leader of the clan? How would a young girl like Pearl deal with the trauma that her mother used her and almost made her commit murder as part of a bitter power grab? Even in a position of power, how much CAN Maya even change when seemingly Misty didn't or couldn't protect her sister from that scorn (assuming Morgan wouldn't have rejected or only further resented Misty outright if she had shown Morgan kindness). Maybe the reason we see Morgan in a position of power in Reunion and Turnabout was because Misty gave her that power out of sympathy for her sister (which Morgan would have undoubtedly would have resented and thought as little more than table scraps compared to the position and prestige she was denied), or maybe Morgan simply took on power after Misty left post-DL-6 because she was the master's elder sister. My mind is RUNNING with the possibilities.

Girl!! Are you serious!!? That was you doing ALL the voices so far!!? I'd been thinking to myself "hm, these must be from so playthrough she did with someone. I wonder who he his. He sure does a good job with a bunch of these man voices. And she's good as the women voices too. The two of them are so good at this" but they were actually just ypu doing all of them!!!? I'm deceased. I literally feel like i must be misunderstanding something because of how unbelievable it is that all the voices aside from Tigre were you.

the premiere hasn’t even started yet and i can already see the effort you put into this, especially the transition from the hd trilogy to the original graphics at the Phoenix and Mia objections *mwah* this is going to be amazing!! im so excited for it!!

Your work ethic is crazy how do you make these so quickly and yet have them be thoughful and thorough?

I can't imagine the amount of work that's gone into this series. As someone who loves these games, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I love the way the original graphics were used for the flashback cases, the way you make the game greyscale while highlighting certain features of the characters, the liberal use of anime footage, and, of course, the voice acting is an utter delight. These have been a wonderful love letter to this series, and I'm glad to have stumbled across this channel in time to see them all premier.

Regarding the... mess that was Dahlia and Fawles' relationship, I unfortunately don't think changing the ages would have really been possible without some major rewrites. If Dahlia were several years older, she'd have been the wrong age to start dating Phoenix [at least if they were both supposed to be young college students], and of course you can't retroactively make Phoenix older to match, because we're two games into the series. If Fawles were younger, it's doubtful he still could have been Dahlia's tutor, but it's also hard to believe he'd have been sent to prison for his role in the crime, because he would have been a young teen. That's not to say the writing shouldn't be changed at all here, obviously. In this case I think removing the romantic aspect altogether would have been FAR preferable. Fawles is presented as that kind of mentally disabled gentle giant stereotype, which I really don't like, but it would at least make sense for him to have formed a friendship with Dahlia and become extremely protective of her, considering how young she was and especially how bad the Hawthorne home life was implied to be. The poison-drinking pact becomes a little less sensible if you remove the romantic aspect, but it's definitely much easier to suspend my disbelief for that one thing, and if Fawles simply cared platonically about Dahlia it would become MUCH easier to sympathize with him as much as Mia does, and be more affected by his death beyond the shock factor of what's happening. Problem solved, I think.

The worst thing about the Terry-Dahlia romance is that, unlike with Turnabout Big Top, it can't even really hide behind the (flimsy anyway) excuse of Japan's unique cultural landscape. Even in Japan, an adult dating a 14-year-old would still be considered totally unacceptable. It was technically legal up until very recently, but everyone acknowledged that it was a stupid law and most Japanese people just acted like their AoC was 16 instead (which is still not good, mind you, but it's at least less bad).

I think my favorite aspect of this game is the music... from emotional pieces like Godots and Dahlias themes to goofier ones like Mask Demasques and Atmeys, and even the Objection theme. Probably my favorite OST from the series.

Sister Iris’ name is literally just Sister Iris. She just chose her ‘temple name’ to be her real name She doesn’t even have a surname like Fey or Hawthorne, her legal name that the Judge says in court is ‘Sister Iris of Hazakura Temple’. (and yes that DOES mean that is her legal name. The only defendant with a pseudonym name (that i can think of lol) is Max Galactica and the Judge calls him out by his legal name Billy Bob Johns when he calls for his trial. So when the judge calls for the trial of “Defendant Name”, that is their legal name.)

also i gotta say, while this entire series has been A Lot, this one has definitely been the most A Lot and is just. such a great culmination of your insight and interests and how they all overlap plus your phoenix, diego, and franziska really do put the va in nezumiva

What an incredible series of videos. The quality of everything has been incredible. The way you delve into the characters and themes of the games has seriously improved my opinion of many of them. Godot, Dahlia, and especially Franziska are just a few examples that come to mind. I thank you for showing me new perspectives on what was already my favorite media franchise. I can't wait for you to cover the others :)

I'm so glad it's finally coming out! I've been playing the trilogy for the first time recently while watching your retrospectives after each trial. Love the way you present these. I just finished watching the Rise from the Ashes part of your first one (because I've been told to play that case last) and I cannot contain my excitement for the T&T video now!!

"Do have you asked him out?" "HAVE YOU!?" *Later* "OH SO SHE DIIIID ASK HIM!" I love it!

And with that, you've covered the first 3 games in 3 long, FANTASTIC videos. Even after playing the games multiple times I was still captivated and had so much fun watching this in the premiere. 4 hours well spent I'd say, your videos never miss!! 💖💖✨

"So, have you asked him out?" "HAVE YOU?!" I laughed waaaaay too hard at this part! That whole exchange was fantastic, but that last part really tickled me! This retrospective is so good! You've done an amazing job!

3:17:17 holy shit. I really wish this happened in the original game, i got chills just watching this. Mia's cocky response pairs perfectly with the music you chose.

The most entertaining piece of this game is how the final act literally has Phoenix banish a spirit to hell with the power of his accusation, and that's not even the actual conclusion to the case

I just wanna say that going back to GBA graphics whenever you covered Mia’s flashback cases was brilliant, excellent work Marcie

1:44:21 I had never heard about "Recipe for Turnabout" being a case for the second game, so WOW watching the conclusion with that knowledge really re-contextualizes that scene and the case in general. Seeing some of the questionable actions Phoenix makes in this case make a lot more sense, considering originally he was still going through a character arc of wanting to win all his trials. Yes, he was impersonated and trying to clean up his public image, and he was helping an innocent woman not be arrested for murder; but the way he caught Tigre is similar to something the prosecutors of the previous games would've done. It's almost a little chilling to watch Phoenix lay into Tigre at the end with that knowledge. Tigre absolutely deserves it for all the horrible things he's done (your overview of the whole trial really shed light on just how much of an jerk Tigre is for me, to put it mildly)... but seeing Phoenix start to play the same mind games as the prosecutors he said he hated the tactics of before (? I think? Might be wrong on that)... makes you think. And of course, it all comes to a head later down the line. I'm only just finishing Recipe for Turnabout, but this has been a excellent ride along with your other two Ace Attorney retrospectives. Your character analysis is on point, your humor is amazing, and I'm just having a blast. *Extremely* excited for Beginnings and Bridge, and I'll probably editing this comment with my thoughts on those when I finish those. Just wanted to get my Recipe thoughts down first.

absolutely fantastic retrospective! i especially loved your deep dive into dahlia as a character. i've always loved her and found her really compelling, but you made even me see her in a new light, and view her with even more sympathy (even if her characterization and presentation didn't quite stick the landing). overall, the way you presented everything gave me an even stronger appreciation for a game i already adore and consider a masterpiece. the way you talked about godot, and maya, and iris and dahlia really brings a tear to my eye. you do really incredible work and your passion for the media you cover is always palpable. i've enjoyed the hell out of every minute of these ace attorney retrospectives and this was a fantastic finale!! thank you for such an amazing video!!!!

The reason why they never went over the murder weapon in Case 2 is because of how clear it was. Atmey obviously stabbed Bullard with his nose.

A thought on Edgeworth not knowing Godot; assuming that Atmey isn't completely useless as a detective, he may have sussed out Godot's identity, and thus this may be a nod to Edgeworth having met and respected Diego Armando. Thus saying that Edgeworth had recognized him as a skilled Lawyer would technically be true.

I actually loved how Adrian was treated in 3-2. The fact that she's more clumsy and more visibly distressed over way more petty things in comparison to 2-4 is almost relieving to me, because it's as though nothing is burdening her anymore and she can let herself be seen as, I'd say, a little bit goofy. I think if they'd said that Atmey took the Chihishito with him to kill Bullard the two "plotholes" you mention would've been solved even if it'd sound like such an out-of-left-field thing. For Recipe for Turnabout, I am so so glad they didn't have it in Justice For All, because even though I'd have loved some lion taming with Franziska's whip, I just *know* they would've treated her pretty badly in that case, what with Victor Kudo around. I'm surprised to hear you - or anyone - like it as much here because I feel like 2-3 and 3-3 are usually regarded as the worst cases in the trilogy. Almost done with the Turnabout Beginnings segment - I think Terry Fawles is one of the worst characters in the entire franchise because of all that you mention. I don't think the game should've tried to paint him as a sympathetic character, I wish the whole "20 and 14 year old" ordeal was acknowledged more and the game let itself JUDGE the guy more: even when he was very clearly set up, he's a whole six years older than a literal teenager who he doesn't have the self-control not to date? It comes off as really gross and it's upsetting that they didn't learn from Big Top at all. But likewise... I don't think Dahlia's like, a good person, ever? The game sure does love making Dahlia, who is very clearly a *victim*, having been abandoned by her father, neglected by her mother, and then put into a very uncomfortable relationship, seem like a living demon, but it's not completely unfounded, in that she's very much an irredeemable villain throughout the entire game. However, T&T does not give itself or the player a single second to question if what she's done all along may or may not be a consequence of her poor upbringing and all the trauma - let's be honest, living through what Dahlia had to would leave you at least a little messed up in the head. I feel like if they'd focused on *her* perspective more, instead of reiterating Phoenix, Mia and Godot's points of view over and over across three cases, she'd have ended up a little bit sympathetic: of course those three are going to hate her, but is it really necessary for the game's narrative to do that too? Most other Ace Attorney games don't have this issue because the likes of Von Karma and Gant are just genuine pieces of trash, while the 3DS games have less realistic main antagonists for a visual novel about lawyers. And of course, all of them save for Dahlia are grown adults, aged 40+, with far more agency than a fourteen/nineteen-year-old could possibly have in their respective positions, with the exception of AAI2. And that game actually does the sympathetic yet still rotten type of villain quite well, with its final case antagonist not only having suffered a lot in life, but with main characters, mostly Edgeworth himself, ACKNOWLEDGING that that's exactly what led them down the path that they follow. It's kind of super weird to me that Trials and Tribulations is considered one of if not the best Ace Attorney game by many when it's pretty transparent about demonizing a 19-year-old who, despite having done some really nasty-at-best things and committed quite the heinous crimes at worst, is also very much a victim of her environment from the moment she's born. ESPECIALLY when both Justice For All and Trials and Tribulations give us a lot of information on Kurain Village and its structure to make us do more than raise an eyebrow: sometimes you'll look at one thing or another Kurain and think, "that's kind of messed up I wish I could take Pearly and Maya so far away from them." If there's one time where I don't question the game's treatment of her, it's in the fact that she agrees to cooperate with Morgan beyond death just so that she can have her revenge - "if you do the crime be ready to do the time" and whatnot -, but even her final breakdown and exorcism feels like it's in really bad taste.

I started watching this expecting to simply relive my favorite game of all time, but you managed to make me look at it in new ways that I never have before. I was thoroughly impressed by your analysis of Godot, especially in spite of how often Franziska fans tend to overlook/hate him due to their most notable interaction being one in which he berates her in a blatant and unforgivable way. I've seen people write off his entire character as just being a misogynistic prick that Mia should never have dated and that the series would be better without him. Even if it breaks my heart when I see people look at him from such a shallow perspective, I can at least understand why they may feel this way. Even if he has always represented so much more to me. It was incredible to hear you go into detail about the play that inspired his character and it brought a perspective I've never heard before. But there's still a lot of nuance to his character that I feel is worth discussing. Diego Armando is a pillar of support made whole by his love for Mia, but when Diego dies and Godot returns in his place after the world has passed him by, he is an empty husk that requires 17 cups of coffee just give him the energy to get through a trial. He's more specter than man at this point in his life, which to me always aligned with the otherworldly description he tends to receive. Before you know anything about him, Luke Atmey shrouds him in praise, calling him this legendary prosecutor - a phrase the player has heard time and time again to describe Von Karma and *both* his successors in demonstrating a merciless degree of perfection - but when the time comes to finally meet Godot, the first thing you learn about him is that he has never prosecuted a case before. Godot's legend is not that of a hardworking and cunning tactician of a lawyer, but as a man who shouldn't even exist. This mythical opponent who somehow has more to prove than anyone who came before him and whom even the format of court changes around. His experience is irrelevant as he patiently shrugs contradiction as normal human error, fills the courtroom with endless philosophical metaphors about coffee, and refuses to even give an opening statement. All he cares about is exposing weakness in Wright and finding the truth. Excluding Payne, he is the prosecutor who uses the least underhanded tactics in the entire trilogy. He doesn't forge evidence or encourage his witnesses to lie because he doesn't care what the outcome of the case is. All he cares about is chasing the delirious goal of proving to himself that the man named Phoenix Wright is the same lackadaisical bumbling oaf he'd watched swallow the necklace. That the man Mia decided to take under her wing was completely unfit for the court of law. And that this same moron betrayed Mia's trust in him by failing to prevent that which could never have been prevented. The only thing Godot can feel is a burning hatred for the person responsible for his lover's death. He cannot see Red (on) White, only the blue of Wright's suit. He is granted vision in the darkness but only sees the woman who made him this way. And finally, he fails to see that he himself could not do anything about his lover's death nor can he do anything about it now. This last lesson is only learned when Godot is so confident in Wright's incompetence that he stops the trial from ending prematurely just to see if Wright can prove that he was the one who had killed Misty Fey. It is in this final moment that he sees Mia's spark within Phoenix, as he stands moments away from being declared guilty of her mother's murder. And much like Godot, I only ever saw Dahlia as the woman responsible for it all. While I still do not believe Dahlia was _written_ to be any more than a morally detestable "final boss" of sorts for the trilogy - fueled only _partially_ by her troublesome upbringing - I cannot deny that her story is arguably just as sympathetic as Godot's. Thank you for this incredible series of videos. You have an unparalleled amount of talent in both analysis and voice acting and I hope you continue doing incredible things.

As always this is an amazing retrospective, but the thing that really blew my mind was figuring out you did all the voices yourself! Holy heck youve got some range, I thought for sure there was a whole team behind the voices

Great work as always, Marcie! I always have loved your coverage of AA and DR, and this is no exception. I always love how well you go over all the themes so thoroughly as well as still manage to throw in comedic bits and keeping it entertaining. I’ll be honest, if I hadn’t checked the timer at the end of the video, I would have thought it was two hours, and it helped me escape my current tooth pain. Time flies when you’re having fun, I suppose… Now… where’s that damn fourth chaos emerald? :)

Oh my goodness I had no idea you were the one who voice acted EVERY character with this series! I always assumed you had a few other voice actors for this project with just how completely distinct each and every character was voiced, so it totally blew me away when you said you played everybody up until now! I'm a trans woman who is hoping to get into voice acting so this really inspired me. Absolutely wonderful work!

The bit at around two and a half hours in with Iris and Edgeworth was hilarious. Also, you happen to have posted this a few days before me finally completing every Ace Attorney game.

First it was Maya, then it was Adrian, then it was Desiree. These love scenes are getting better each time.

About the episode 4 problem... I was thinking of a way that the relationship between Terry and Dahlia could be removed from the story, without changing the case too much. I believe it would have been more fitting for Terry to date Valerie instead. Valerie would be the mastermind behind the staged kidnapping, having convinced both her boyfriend and her little sister to participate. Her betrayal would have hurt Terry even more in that case, which is what prompts him to escape from jail and ask to speak to her. He desperately wanted to hear her reasoning for the betrayal. That change does come with two inconsistencies, however: 1. How could Terry not remember the face of his ex-girlfriend? 2. Why would he poison himself? To fix the first issue, have Terry say he can't see well from a distance, and that it's always foggy on that bridge. To fix the second issue, have Terry explain that he is devastated to learn that he never actually spoke to Valerie. As he couldn't get the closure he expected in life, maybe he can talk to her in death.

So incredibly excited for this! I've been eagerly waiting since the jfa video, and have watched both retrospectives on the series multiple times since. this trilogy of retrospectives is amazing and masterful art, and might just be my favourite thing on RU-vid :3

Ace Attorney is the ONLY time I can think of where a slow-motion finger point has been the most hype moment in a game. The sound design in the moment is excellent too, calling back to the Kurain village motif as a drone to hit you back with the Cornered ~ 2001 reprisal. God I love these silly lawyer games

…also Phoenix is stupidly indestructible. Dude gets a solid punch to the guy without a bruise, takes several electric shocks from a tasers, gets beaned by a METAL FIRE EXTINGUISHER, gets attacked by a Tiger, gets scalding coffee thrown at his face, eats a glass and metal necklace and *falls into a raging river from a burning bridge and only gets a cold and a few bruises*

I’m going through a custody battle for my daughter right now, and I’ve found a lot of solace in Phoenix Wright. The humor and good vibes from it just makes everything a little less terrifying. Obviously it’s not a murder trial, but having this engrossing experience lend a lot of levity to an otherwise terrifying prospect is doing a lot of heavy lifting in keeping my head above water. Anyway, since I can never experience these games for the first time again, being able to listen to your retrospectives on these games has helped a lot.

Honestly, how you put out the story of Dahlia, it makes me appreciate her character even more. You said pretty much everything, so I'm gonna leave with just a little comment of mine: It's okay to hate someone and feel a sympathy to someone - Dahlia in this case. It's not the feelings that can't be put together. Dahlia was both tragic and hateable and the decision behind how the story was laid out is actually ingenious. I think we weren't supposed to fear her. We were supposed to see her as pathetic, but still a force to be reckoned it - a highly lethal and impulsive storm that has no masterful plans behind it, it still doesn't undermine any of the tragedies she both fell under and created herself.

This trio of videos was a massive highlight of my year, which i hope says a lot considering ive never played the ace attorney games. every video you release is an event for me that brings geniune joy and a highlight to my week. so excited for the shadow the hedgehog vid!!!

40:54 I kind of don’t agree with the idea that they “changed” Adrian Andrews’ character When we first meet Adrian, she was suffering from massive suicidal depression from the abuse from Matt Engarde so it’s entirely possible that Adrian was someone who was a big lovable klutz before she became so subdued and conservative with her feelings I don’t think they are leaning too much into it whenever our first encounter with her was so intensely driven in the opposite direction

I really wanna say how stellar the video is, I really appreciate all the work put in and the videoessay format really speaks to me. Also the "Waiting for Godot" breakdown really is spot on that being said the Edgeworth-Iris bit got me cracking up way more than it should have

It's a testament to how great this game is that I've played it like dozens of times and still I sat through an over 4 hour long analysis of it, and I enjoyed every second of it.

absolutely stellar voice acting in this one, especially the final scene with dahlia's spirit

I'm always so excited for your analysis videos! They're very fun but my FAVOURITE and I think an underrated part of them is your voice acting I love it sm!! Edit: the back and forth skit with iris and Edgeworth was so funny I'm laughing so hard

I would like to point out that it seems Mia willingly chose to go along with the whole Kudo waitress thing to get info out of him considering how calm she was in the scenes you showed, and I could really see her wanting to do it for shits and giggles too. To be honest, it kinda adds some funny characterization to Mia by expanding on her ability to scheme and trick people in really out-there ways.

This game is a display of GBA mastery. But it also has more beautiful artwork because its simply a larger game cartridge. Larger cartridges cost more to produce, so its a sign of the series success that they were comfortable springing for the more expensive carts.