Search This Blog

Thursday, December 22, 2016

My Top 20 Favorite Ace Attorney Characters 10-1

10. Shelly De Killer
Now to the other great character of Justice For All and he also makes an important appearance in Edgeworth 2. Shelly De Killer is a professional killer and the one Matt Engarde hired to kill Juan. What Matt messed up with is he thought he could even control that assassin. Matt was prepared to reveal who he was since he videotaped the murder with a secret camera. There are a few things about Shelly and those would be his rules. He does not like to be deceived, if you are his client, he trusts that you will not try to backstab him. If you do… well let’s just say you become his next target. There is no way out of this either since for the first meetings he always wants a face to face conversation to establish trust. I always do like killers like Shelly, sure they still do murder, but people like him make it classy. It is strange to find it that way, but we have all seen movies where murder is painted in a different image when a hired man is on the job. It becomes an art to them. In the second game that comes true since Shelly got close to the first case when he found out a man who bested him got murdered. Shelly felt that he wanted to find the truth to this fake assassination attempt and he stumbled onto something bigger. Shelly was the first one to see that this was all the work of a mastermind and right before he had a chance to finish his mission, he knew he was being set up and left things in Edgeworth’s hands. What really made Shelly amazing was his confrontation with Sir Dogen a killer who wanted to let someone live and Shelly agrees to this. Shelly De Killer, he might be a killer as so said his name and yet I still find him so outstanding with class even if he pretended to be an ice cream salesman.

9. Bobby Fulbright
I guess I was wrong with not discussing more about Dual Destinies as I was thinking of putting a more reoccurring character. To be honest though her first appearance in the extension of the first game was her strongest debut. I did enjoy Ema Skye in Apollo and Spirit of Justice, but she had some simple gags that just made me remember her. So, with taking her off the list, how about another villain. At first Bobby Fulbright at first looks like your honest cop. I really enjoy his design and personality. He is loud about his path for justice and for the most part he did seem to feel bad about suspecting the wrong person. I even enjoy how he and Simon Blackquill were getting along with each other. As I said before though, this is a villain we are dealing with. This is a huge spoiler for Dual Destinies, but hey all of these paragraphs contain spoilers to many games and if you are this far into this, you know what I am talking about or you just do not care. The real Bobby Fulbright has been dead for a year so who he is actually? Bobby Fulbright is actually known as a famous criminal called the Phantom. Athena remembered in her past of when her mother got murdered (that soon got Simon arrested and a death sentence that almost got carried out) by a mysterious man. The Phantom was a spy trying to stop a space launch with the works of bombs. This was the first part of his plans, but someone was onto him mostly importantly Simon who got Athena’s mother to find something out about the Phantom. The Phantom could not have this come to light since his identity could be revealed. This lead to that heinous murder with the katana and causing both Athena and Simon seven long years of torment. It was not a perfect crime though as his blood got on a famous moonstone. This leading him to throw it onto the rocket since he thought it would never return. To his surprise, it actually did and the Phantom had to act again causing another murder which soon lead to a bombing! The thing with the Phantom is that he does not feel any real emotions. This was surprising because the whole-time Fulbright looked like he was the most emotional person around. The reveal of him being the Phantom came to be a complete surprise and trying to get him with any emotional readings was insane! In the end, he was afraid of being revealed of who he is and he almost got killed by a sniper! Overall, this was a shocking villain that had to think on the fly for two occurrences and they almost worked.

8. Kay Faraday
Originally this character was not on the list, but it is really thanks to Edgeworth 2 that she got on this list. Now on her first appearance from the first Edgeworth game, she was fun. I even like her overall connection with the Yatagarasu. Her father was murdered during that court murder that Tyrell and Edgeworth were investigating. Some years after that, Kay stumbled upon the idea that her father was the Yatagarasu and so in honor of her father she continued his work. With the help of a device called the Little Thief that her father once had she can use this to create scenarios. I even enjoy how Kay takes everything in the end about finding the truth about the Yatagarasu and wants to recreate it completely by finding two other members. Then coming to the second game things get really interesting. For a while things seem the same with her, but case four comes around. Kay is attacked by the mastermind and was planted at the crime scene so that she would be accused of this crime. To top things off she lost her memories and was even doubting herself. Kay was becoming scared and was trying to confess even if she had no memories. Kay knew Edgeworth was fighting for her, but if things keep going on like this he could lose his profession. Edgeworth’s position does mean a lot to him and back then it was his honor to be one. This is now though and Edgeworth does not care where he was at, he wanted to find the truth and so he tosses his badge away to help Kay. Kay even sees that and wants to help because even with her memories gone, she still stayed true to herself and that is to steal the truth to reveal it. When Kay gets her memories back she even helps out Justine to find her son, so Kay is using her father’s title with purpose. Overall, Kay’s light hearted attitude and then shockingly realistic personality when things got hard really impressed me.

7. Dick Gumshoe
If Gumshoe is not on your list then there is something wrong with you, pal! Gumshoe has been around since the beginning and so far, he has not only appeared in Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice. Other than that, he has been around. Gumshoe is not the brightest bulb of the police department and sometimes he does know that. He will still help when things get rough though in his own special way. To be honest he does do good to honest police work. He can stumble a bit and jump to conclusions. He does try to learn from his mistakes and he does. So far, his best moments had to be when he risked his job in Rise From The Ashes, risked his life in the Goodbye My Turnabout, and The Grand Turnabout in general. From that first case, Gumshoe did almost lose his job since he helped Phoenix and Ema investigate Damon’s office. In the second one I mentioned, Gumshoe was putting his life on the line for Maya that he was not really following traffic rules and got into a bad accident. Still the evidence he gathered was picked up by Franziska. For the Grand Turnabout, this just highlights the relationship he has with Edgeworth. Since Gumshoe was working with Edgeworth he always wanted to help him since Edgeworth saved him before. Even if Edgeworth did not want him around, Gumshoe was there to help. When Edgeworth tossed his badge away he told Gumshoe not to hang around him anymore since he was no longer a prosecutor. This then lead to Gumshoe to do his own investigations. Later on, he does regroup with Edgeworth and Kay and even helped Kay find John Marsh (Justine’s adopted son). Gumshoe was also the true hero in taking down the mastermind behind everything that happened in Edgeworth 2. This soon leading to Gumshoe getting his first pay raise! Gumshoe is simply the underdog type of character, he always has to deal with harsh comments or even whip lashes and yet he sticks it out and things really work out for him in the end.

6. Shi Long Lang
“Not so fast!” Out of the new phrases that could be said in Ace Attorney, I absolutely enjoy Lang’s shouting. His high-pitched voice while screaming that out just rings with me. Now this character was going to be on the list regardless of Edgeworth 2, but that game did get him into a higher spot. From his first appearance, Lang was in Edgeworth’s way of investigating because of how much he hated prosecutors and there is a good reason for that! Still, Lang did not have much harsh feelings towards Edgeworth and later on he even admits that Edgeworth played a crucial role in finding the truth. Even with the hatred he had to the profession, he got to respect Edgeworth. That is Lang in general, he holds respect for anyone. Even when he found out his partner was actually a criminal and still active one who was Yew the same woman that tried to kill off the Yatagarasu. Lang took all the backlash from being with her. This caused him to be stripped of his title and even his men that respected him. He took the blow from Turnabout Ablaze so that no one else would. Lang still had some unfinished business though after the smuggling ring was taken care of. He looked into an old case that affected his clan and this is where everything came to light for him. The truth of an important case is that the president of his country was murdered and a body double replaced him. Lang did not know of this, but he knew that case was not finished yet mostly because of how his father did not stop looking. The truth was blinded because of Blaise Debeste who worked with an orphanage owner and the body double to hide everything and this man was a prosecutor. Lang knew that man was hiding evidence and he knew of Patricia Roland as well. Lang never let go of what his father did because of his pride of the clan. I also really enjoyed when he returned in the final case because how he talked with Edgeworth and even argued with him was just to find the truth. Lang was not doing this to increase his ego, he just wanted the truth of his past twelve years brought to light.

5. Simon Keyes
I have discussed of villains before and there is one in particular I did not get to, until now. Simon Keyes at first seemed he was an innocent man who had no connections to any murder. Edgeworth even helped him and found out that Patricia Roland was the true criminal of that case. Sadly, Edgeworth just helped him out though. Simon Keyes was the actual mastermind behind everything in Edgeworth 2. As a child, he was affected by the IS-7 case that Gregory took apart of since both him and Horace Knightly were going to freeze to death. Thanks to Dogen the boys were saved and taken to an orphanage. This soon leads to the presidential assassination and while the plan was to kill Dogen to keep him silent, Simon appeared before him and helped out. After being found out, the woman known as Roland interrogated the poor child. Since the police failed to do their job before and Simon’s father never coming back to help him, he took matters into his own hands for revenge. His first target of revenge was Horace Knightley who was his friend during the IS-7 case, but because of their fathers he betrayed poor Simon and almost lead both of them to their deaths. By having Knightley arrested, he planted a chisel onto him which made Roland who was a prison warden at the time, think Horace was working for Dogen leading to her murdering him. Things even get worse since Simon remembers an innocent bystander being murdered during the presidential assassination and told the woman Jill Crane that to get her revenge she needed to go after Blaise. Simon then tells Blaise about Jill and leading to case four where he also dumps Kay at. So, with both Roland and Blaise arrested there was one more person left, the body double. Simon murdered him with a hot air balloon and planted the body to make it look like poor John Marsh did it even if it was an accident. Now his plan was not perfect by any means as he was not expecting to be suspected as a murderer, but again Edgeworth helped him out of that. Simon did not even want to murder the body double, but in self-defense he had to since he was fired at during the time he was trying to plant Kay at the scene. Still trying to nail this guy was so rewarding. He brought a tough fight meaning he knew he had to be ready to defend himself when Edgeworth comes around trying to arrest him. The sad part about his story is that all of this could have been resolved if there weren’t corrupt people in his life. His father, Dane Gustavia only had his son around to taste his deserts since he could not taste them himself during that time. Simon even believed he was Issac Dover’s son originally the man Dane murdered in the IS-7 case. Then we get to how he was tortured by a woman who should have been brought to justice. Both of these cases also had their share of corrupt prosecutors like Von Karma and Blaise. The only person that helped him was Dogen an assassin. If someone was actually there to help him things would have turned out differently which Edgeworth sees as his motivation to continue as a prosecutor so that no one has pain like that again.

4. Maya and Pearl Fey
Just like with Gumshoe, if Maya is not on your list there is something wrong with you, pal! Maya Fey is the younger sister of Mia Fey, Phoenix’s mentor. When Mia was murdered, poor Maya was taken in as the culprit. Phoenix quickly helped her and it got him to become the suspicious party of the trial, yea Phoenix had to defend himself in his second case, that is impressive. While winning that trial, Maya decided to stick around to help Phoenix since he is now in charge of the company. Maya is seventeen and later on becomes nineteen in the third game, but she is very much a young child at heart. She loves shows like the Steel Samurai and always begs Phoenix for things like a child. Maya is even the reason why Phoenix gets involved in cases both voluntary and involuntary. Then there is Pearl Fey who is the young cousin to Maya. Even if Pearl’s mother, Morgan Fey hates Maya, her daughter does not. Pearl loves Maya and wants to help her in any way possible. This is why I put these two at the same spot because of how natural the two felt when they were together in an instant. Maya pretty much treats Pearl like a little sister and it easily reflects on how Maya can be mature like her older sister. The best moment is when Maya learned of the death of her mother and the truth of the final case of the third game, Maya stayed strong for Pearl. Since Pearl was part of that plan originally to kill Maya even though she had no idea what that plan actually was. Another reason to like Pearl is that she is crazy strong for a little girl as Phoenix fears for when Pearl is going to attack him. Pearl can be funny with how she fantasizes that Phoenix and Maya are this perfect couple. Personally, though I see Phoenix and Maya more of being close friends than anything, but I would not be shocked if the two did become a couple. The things those two have been through were crazy and Phoenix saved Maya in many dangerous situations. To me though still, Phoenix helps Maya just like he did since the beginning, he hates when the innocent is being labeled as murderers and he knows Maya is the most innocent person around.

3. Roger Retinz
Out of all the villains in the series, this is surprisingly the one that had the most near perfect plan. I am not kidding at all and how he hid himself was fantastic. I remember going through the second case of Spirit of Justice and I had to defend Trucy, Phoenix’s daughter. I can only imagine if Phoenix was actually there, you know he would have been the defense on that in an instant. Still going through that case got me filled with hatred and most of it was Roger himself. He pulled many dirty tricks that got Trucy eligible for the show going bad and he produced it. He had Trucy sign a contract that forced her to pay three million dollars! Since she did not have that, this would mean that the Wright Agency had to pay and they were going to lose everything. Roger even had the media labeling Trucy as a criminal and this was getting me furious. Roger is easily the villain that got me angry the most. He did so many dirty tactics to get what he wanted and at first it did seem like it was for money alone. Then the truth comes to light. The man who was murdered was called Mr. Reus, a magician that once preformed for Troupe Gramaraye, the same troupe that Trucy gained rights from to perform under that name. What happened though is that Mr. Reus was kicked out due to an accident of a trick that could have been chaotic if it truly got out of hand. The troupe kicked him out since it could hurt them literally or hurt the troupe’s image. Figuring things out though the Mr. Reus that was killed was simply an apprentice to the real one, Roger Retinz. When finding him out, he shows off his magician persona. Now this series has shown people hiding their true characters before, but Roger’s was the subtlest. The scummy television man became this sly magician and it still felt like him overall. This also changed my hatred for him for a quick moment because of how cool he actually was. He did coin tricks all the time, an amazing head trick with his cape, and even preformed amazing fire tricks. Things even got crazier when we find out how he did everything and created himself a perfect alibi. Roger was not at the moment of the murder, but what he did was plant a weapon somewhere where no one would see. When the magic was happening, Roger had his own tricks in store. Now everything does not go according to plan and that is the only reason he was caught! The first mistake was one of his performers messing up where the trick should be happening, the other was when he was forging evidence. If things happened as he expected them to, his forged evidence would have worked and with that alibi he had would make him look innocent by the judicial system. Even when he lost then, he took victory from it since Trucy never stopped him or saw his tricks. Roger defeated the troupe that humiliated him making him the better magician in his own eyes. This guy had a slight change of hand for who he is, but what a truly complex character that is the smartest villain of the series. Literally Roger is on the same level as Kristoph Gavin!

2. Trucy Wright
Now for another magician on this list here is Trucy the defendant herself. Now based on her first appearance in Apollo Justice she would have been on this list. A strong girl at the age of fifteen that grew up under Phoenix Wright. Originally Trucy was the daughter of Zak Gramaraye, but when he vanished from his court hearing, Trucy had no father (terrible father, I know). Phoenix takes her in and she even helps out with keeping his company alive, even though it became a talent agency. Her first appearance was giving Apollo evidence against Kristoph Gavin, but it was illegal evidence which is something Gavin had her do at her father’s trial. Later on, Trucy became Apollo’s assistant pretty much as he helped her finder her panties… magic panties. Do not worry, they are like big bloomers, but still hearing panties again and again was hilarious. Trucy surprisingly has huge wit and comedy like her adopted father as even she can turn cases on their heads. Trucy even gets trials extended thanks to her magic. Trucy is just another person fighting for justice at the Wright Agency. Later on, in Dual Destinies, she is just around for the most part. Then comes Spirit of Jusitce and I talked about Roger already and his hatred for Gramaraye, but how Trucy took this case was heartbreaking and then uplifting. At first, she was doubting herself and she thought she did kill the magician during her show. This causes Trucy to cry right in front of Apollo and Athena. Trucy usually hides her feelings since part of her magician’s creed is to keep smiling. What happened though broke Trucy and considering she has dealt with her father leaving and even getting murdered later on. Trucy shows that courage again in court as even if people were yelling at her and calling her a murderer, she still stayed strong to how she did things. To even prove herself innocent she performed a trick and won the audience over, the same audience that was yelling at her. Trucy started to doubt herself again though since she did lose to Roger, but Apollo shows her that she kept true to the Gramaraye creed of always smiling. Trucy dealt with one of the hardest cases as there was barely anyone on her side she had to deal with the past of someone else’s mistakes. Trucy is a strong girl that will keep on smiling and that is how I want her to stay. I do have to say though she gets rather crazy with her tricks later on, poor Athena…

1. Raymond Shields

Man, I cannot believe I was not going to play the second Edgeworth game originally. I usually am against using emulators and such. Now I will still get a legit physical copy of this game regardless if it was not localized or not because of how great that game was. To me this was the best Ace Attorney had to offer. Regardless I get to see many amazing characters from this game. To be fair I tried to not have every big character from that game, but man that was hard. From Sebastian and his father, to how they improved Kay as a character, giving Shelly another appearance, having Gumshoe doing things on his own, learning of Lang’s past, and to seeing the genius mastermind that was Simon there were many great choices here. In the end, I had to go with Raymond Shields for many reasons. One of the first reasons is that I love his design. Ace Attorney designs usually likes to stick with normal yet exotic look. Also, it does follow in some anime like designs. Raymond though looks like a normal dude! I just always have a fascination when character designs just start to look like real people. It is surprisingly hard to do this task because of how animation works and how some characters need to fit a theme. I can say there are others who do fit that bill, but Raymond has it down the best. He has the fuzz on his face, the big puffy hair, a simple color design of grey, and his overall way of expressing himself. All of these just come off to a normal looking guy. Now to his story, Raymond got his start by working with Gregory Edgeworth and after Gregory’s death he continued the law office for him. Gregory also came to help Edgeworth multiple times in the second game and he did try to have Miles become like his father and be a defense attorney, but he was never forcing him to do that. Raymond simply saw the potential that Miles had to be following in his father’s footsteps. Something that really touched me was that he kept on a case for over eighteen years because of what his mentor promised his client, Jeff Masters. This not only a great bond between those two, but along with Katherine Hall. Then even if this guy is all about hugs and jokes, Raymond really does prove himself as a strong defense attorney. He kind of keeps it a secret in a way for some reason. Now I am not putting him in my favorite attorney’s list because you never face him or ever play as him. Now if he ever did become playable, I would so be over that! 

No comments:

Post a Comment