#aj negative

[waxphilosophicalpowerhour]

I swear, Trucy behaves like a relatively normal kid 90% of the time and then once Phoenix is brought up she suddenly shifts into this state where she’s been replaced with an alien who only looks like Trucy.

There’s keeping your chin up in hard times and there’s...exactly what served as a huge thematic point to be deconstructed in Turnabout Big Top. It’s not cute. It’s creepy and concerning.

Would’ve been really great if they showed us any indication of that, because I’m not buying a word coming from Phoenix, game.

[waxphilosophicalpowerhour]

Why the hell haven’t you told them, Phoenix? At least Thalassa has the excuse of having just gotten her memory and sight back.

[waxphilosophicalpowerhour]

I wanted to wait until the end of the game before I said anything I might have forgotten about but god, they did not set this up well at all. A big part of the problem is that they didn’t set up Klavier’s character itself well up at all--it’s hard to get a read on his main, default personality when it’ll flip from easygoing and chill to petty and arrogant at the drop of a hat.

[waxphilosophicalpowerhour]

Remember in Ace Attorney 1 when there was a whole case dedicated to why using forged evidence is bad and unknowingly using it was what caused Edgeworth to become suicidally depressed? Yeah, neither does this game.

[waxphilosophicalpowerhour]

The problems with AJ surface pretty early on. There’s a distinct lack of need for investment on the part of the player, be they a newcomer or a returning fan--little time is given to establishing the characters for newcomers to get attached, and bombs like “Phoenix is your client who was disbarred years ago” are dropped but quickly handwaved away so as to eliminate any suspicion that “Yes, this will be the story hook” which may turn away fans. This is to say nothing of how surprisingly dull the trial itself is, with too much time dedicated to discussing topics like poker that do little to alter the case itself.

But the biggest problem can be seen manifested here, the seemingly critical moment when Kristoph is brought up as a suspect and Apollo is now torn between figuring out whether to trust his mentor or his client. Except Apollo isn’t torn at all (he seems pretty certain Phoenix is telling the truth), and we aren’t given any prior character interaction that would get us attached to Kristoph as a character or endeared by the Apollo-Kristoph relationship. It’s a very cold-feeling game as a result, in contrast to the very openly emotional first three games.

[waxphilosophicalpowerhour]

Thank you so much. Please continue dragging this unforgivably godawful game. Hobonick was literally written as the most unlikable mentor/parent ever and then had Phoenix's name slapped on top. I don't understand how people hate Dual Destinies for retconning AJ; do they not realize the vitriolic hatred it garnered from the fanbase at the time? Give it all the goddamn retcons.

I’m torn because I’m sympathetic towards fans of AJ who did earnestly love the story and wanted to see what Takumi had originally planned for its follow-up, and I don’t necessarily agree that creators are obligated to listen to their fans (much less that the fans always “know what’s best” for the story)...

...but I also think Capcom’s push for Takumi to include Phoenix in the story when he never intended to had all but spelt impending doom for how well the story would flow both for returning fans and newcomers to the franchise. I understand these are collaborative efforts (much of the first game’s successful and involving characterization can be owed to Kumiko Suekane) and I’ll never know what goes behind the scenes, and that’s really for the best in order to judge the final product on its own merits...but lord, it’s a mess, and I’m rambling, haha. I’m glad you’re enjoying my playthrough of it!

[waxphilosophicalpowerhour]

That’s really fucked up, Trucy.