You know its something that should be pretty obvious but somehow I don't see more people talking about it, maybe I just need to look more idk, but people in the AA fandom very rarely bring up how the Fey women are the crux of the OG trilogy.
Spoilers below for the Phoenix Wright Trilogy (AA1 to T&T)
Like straight up, Phoenix maybe the protagonist but the struggles, triumphs and tragedies of the Fey clan are the thing that shape the overall narrative the most especially once we hit T&T.
From the profound bond between him and Maya, the will and principles he inherited from Mia, the paternal role he takes with Pearl, the hurt he suffered at Dahlia's hands, the affection and belief he holds towards Iris even the empathy he shows towards Misty.
From start to finish the path Phoenix takes and MANY of the crucial plot points and deep emotional beats of the story in the og trilogy are centered on its female cast and the women of this family in particular.
Thats not to say other female characters aren't memorable or important, Oldbag may have been flandarized later on but in AA1 she was genuinely complex beneath her bit and of course Franziska is the best.
But the Fey women in many ways helped shaped the direction the story took all the way from Misty gaining the position of Master over Morgan and her channeling of Gregory allllll the way to the two plots at Hazakura temple both centering around Maya and both motivated by their respective masterminds connection to another fey woman (Misty and Mia respectively).
Even before Phoenix ever had Maya as his co-managar, even before he studied under Mia, even before he became entagled with Dahlia and Iris. The Fey clan had already become inextricably connected to him by virtue of their role in DL-6 and consequently of the decision Phoenix would make later down the line to reach out to Miles.
People sometimes say the women of Ace Attorney aren't important or try to diminish their importance compared to others (usually Miles, sorry man I love you but discussion dies when you're involved) but honestly I'd say besides Phoenix himself the women of Ace Attorney (Especially Maya) are some of the better written parts of the narrative. Are there problems in their writing ? Duh obviously, Dahlia in particular stands out on that front, but I feel it doesn't diminish from their overall importance and how they as individuals have all become iconic and memorable characters who have their own strengths, flaws, quirks and much more.
Maya alone leaves a lot of female characters in the dust with her characterization of being someone who's very emotionally mature but doesn't allow that to stop her from being goofy and upbeat. She can be strong when she needs to but eventually allows herself to relax around the people she's close to (Particularly Nick and Pearly).
And thats what I particularly like about the Fey women. They're people, it would have been incredibly easy to just write them as plot devices (and if you believe certain people they are nothing more than that) but they're not, they're actual people with bits and pieces of their personalities we see across the games and through different interactions as well as from what others tell us.
