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Finally finished playing Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies! Well I finished the main game like a week ago but wanted to play the special bonus episode before considering it officially done, but whatever. I've not previously played any of the Ace Attorney games post-Investigations because I never had a 3DS, so this is my first time playing it! It was so nostalgic seeing Phoenix and Trucy and everyone again... I mean, I LOVED The Great Ace Attorney games, which I did play a couple years ago, but it obviously didn't have that same nostalgia factor haha.
So, thoughts below the cut! MAJOR SPOILERS for the final case because I went kind of crazy over the twist there.
So, thoughts below the cut! MAJOR SPOILERS for the final case because I went kind of crazy over the twist there.
- Until the final two episodes, I was honestly thinking this game was kind of weak. I wasn't super invested in the first three trials, they were fine but kind of average imo? The last two episodes and the bonus episode were amazing though, like that's what I'm talking about!!
- I loved the characters though, Athena and Blackquill are two of my new faves honestly. So where the individual cases may have been kind of 'eh' the characters definitely improved my enjoyment.
- There's so much I can say about Simon... I love him so much. I love his stupid design and his stupid bird. He needs to spit out that feather before he contracts a horrible disease. Someone needs to condition and comb his hair. I love that he's a bird nerd. I love that he's an ass to everyone. I love his dedication to protecting Athena even if it means he'll be executed for something he didn't even do. 😭 I love the emotional turmoil he must be going through after the results of episode 5 lmao.
I'm so sorry, van Zieks, I think I have a new prosecutor husband. - Athena was a great new sidekick, I think she might be my second favorite after Susato? It's so funny you can just be a lawyer at age 18 in this game. But she's super cute and I think the Mood Matrix gameplay was a fun new addition to the game even though I sucked at it half the time. And of course I loved her backstory and her dedication to trying to save Simon. 🥺
- I'm not sure if this is AA fandom sacrilege or something but I've never been very big on Apollo? He's fine lmao I don't hate him or anything. Klavier cameo in this game made me miss Klapollo a bit. I'm so sorry Apollo you just don't hold up compared to literally everyone else. His dead boyfriend's jacket should've been a permanent wardrobe addition tbh.
- I did get weirdly excited when the Psyche-Locks activated for the first time, I missed you Phoenix 😭 And Edgeworth showing up!!! My guys.... I love Edgeworth's gay little glasses he wears now. Also of course the obligatory Phoenix/Edgeworth content, I miss their court battles!! Phoenix still gets so sad when Edgeworth counters his points lmao.
Love that Edgeworth goes with Phoenix to his daughter's recitals. Because they're married. - And then there's Aura...lesbian queen of my heart. Her design slaps so hard. The fact that she held a grudge against an 11-year-old girl for 7 years was SO funny. Absolutely iconic that she TOOK HOSTAGES in order to force a trial that would put that girl in jail. This is how you write a lesbian longing storyline. They never should've arrested her. Free my girl she did all of it but I don't care.
Summary of Athena and Aura's relationship. - Forgot to say this earlier but I don't like any of the full voice acting in this game sjdhfksjdfs these people shouldn't be saying anything other than OBJECTION or whatever.
- The cheering and confetti when you win a case is so funny. Imagine if they did that in real court. This happening at the end of episode 5 was the real kicker, like IMAGINE being Simon or Athena and going through all that and then there's just cheering and confetti while you were just personally dragged through hell and back emotionally.
- Skipping ahead to the bonus episode but I loooved the orca case lmao. Possibly the funniest thing could have followed the insanity of episode 5. I cannot BELIEVE we cross-examined the orca. I was like no, they already did a callback to cross-examining the parrot as a fun little joke, they won't go that route again. But they did. This is why Ace Attorney is one of the game series of all time.
Phoenix got a little orca kiss and he did NOT like it. :( - Okay, finally episode 5. So I was casually shipping Simon/Fulbright for most of the game--I enjoy a good sunshine/grumpy ship, I'm not immune. But oh my goddd the twist with Fulbright being the Phantom at the end made everything so much better sjdfhksjfsh that shit is CATNIP to me. I cannot fathom people who only ship some AU version of Blackbright with the real Bobby Fulbright because I am living for the angsty shit I've been able to find so far. It's just fascinating to me on both fronts:
A) From Simon's point of view, my god, the angst... Imagine falling for a really sweet and earnest sunshine guy and working with him for a year, and then you find out he's the man who killed your mentor and the reason you're in jail. He killed ANOTHER guy literally while you were working together in order to try and cover up his involvement in the older murder. You never really knew him because he's a master spy who was copying the personality of a man who died a year ago that you never met. Was any of it real? Would you have fallen for the real version of the man you never actually knew? Would he have fallen for you or was it all a trick? The man you thought was a morally upright paragon of justice was betraying you the whole time and wants you deadddddd, the fic potential here is insane.
B) Meanwhile the Phantom's POV is just as ripe for angst because yeah you could go the "he never really felt anything for Simon and it was all a ruse" which is delicious in its own right, yeah. But what if he DID love Simon back? Or did he WANT to love Simon back but was incapable of it because of his lack of emotions/personal identity?? Did he Stockholm syndrome himself into loving Simon back because he spent so long living as Fulbright? DOES THAT COUNT? IS THAT REAL? Again, the fic potential here is insane!!
Honestly the Phantom in general is fascinating to me because they just drop this huge revelation on you right at the end, and of course he has the classic Ace Attorney villain breakdown, but his specifically is like this huge existential crisis, like he's been wearing masks for so long he doesn't even know who "he" is anymore. Does he even have a personality that's his, does he even have a "self", etc. AND THEN HE'S ARRESTED AND THE GAME ENDS and you're like bro hold on? Hold on come back what the hell? Why was that so fucked up what's going on with him?? Oh no okay the game's over?? Ok that's fine.
And then you play the orca defense case jhsdkfjshfksjf
This man is a cold-blooded murderer. - I was sharing all these thoughts with my friend who has only played the first couple games or something and I end this post with her insightful comment in response to the whole Fulbright-Phantom situation:
It's also kind of funny to me just because ace attorney is like the least serious franchise gdhhf like every time you see a screenshot it's like a person wearing a purple clown wig and their name is like Alotta Giggles.
I don't think there's anything else you can really say about Ace Attorney. Yeah. Yeah it's exactly like that.
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I think I've finished the first game and haven't started the second at all. I really liked the characters (Zieks and Sholmes 💖) but the stories were not my favorites. It feels like a lot of open doors but no reel answers, maybe I will like the second one better ? I also have to do Ace Attorney Investigations 2 now that it's available !
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I still have to play Spirit of Justice and then AAI2 as well, but I think once those are done I'll have finally played all of them... We need a new AA game to come soon!!
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Ok thank you for your review ! I kinda wanna know more from Susato and Sholmes.
I don't really have many memories of Spirit of Justice, but I do remember that characters had very funny names.
And yes we clearly need new games ! At every nintendo direct, i'm hoping for a teaser of something...soon maybe !
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