Dear forceofnatureandcorn,
...Really?
............................................................Okay, fine.
*Ah-HHHHEM!*
Our good friend Mr. Grossberg is given very little development or backstory in the Ace Attorney series (he sort of disappears after the trilogy, in fact), but I also believe Capcom did a good job of making a lot out of a little with him -- in the first game we see him in, he only has two different sprites, and is never seen anywhere outside his office (not even in cutscenes). In the second game he appears in, he’s given a simple color scheme change, has a button removed, and has two additional sprites, and even in that game he doesn’t go anywhere outside the courtroom and defendant lobby. A character who fits that description might sound like a very minor one, but Mr. Grossberg’s role in the Ace Attorney story is in fact one of the biggest most important ones.
When we first meet him, he seems like a friendly (if a little pompous) sort of fellow.
But there’s at least one thing that can cut his pride down to size a little -- namely, his history with the Fey family.
Phoenix mentioning Maya’s name is enough to make his countenance change in an instant. For reasons he’s clearly afraid to say, he refuses to take Maya’s case, regardless of the fact that he’s her sister’s former mentor. He seems to remember Mia fondly, regarding her as a fast learner and a passionate attorney, so why would he be so quick to abandon Maya?
Luckily for her, Phoenix manages to step in at the last minute, but we’re left to wonder what (apart from his hemorrhoids) could be bugging Mr. Grossberg until after the first session of Maya’s trial. Before seeing him again, though, we learn something about him from an acquaintance of his.
The plot thickens gets more interesting, as they say.
It turns out “Grodyburger” at least had the decency to come to Maya’s trial, but he still refuses to admit why he wouldn’t defend her in the first place. Being the clever lawyer he is, Phoenix finally manages to squeeze some of the truth out of him (sorry to put that image in your head) by connecting him to Redd White after he notices his missing painting.
Phoenix’s timing couldn’t be better, as Grossberg has been dealing with a heavy tough burden for many years, and is now all too eager to confess it to someone.
15 years ago, he made a deal with the devil (or in this case a close relation by the name of Redd White): wealth in exchange for information.
By leaking the fact that the police had used a spirit medium -- who happened to be Mia and Maya’s mother -- in attempting to solve the DL-6 Incident, Grossberg made himself a bit richer, but the money wound end up costing him dearly. When the police began searching for the one who sold them out, White made him another offer.
On top of the immense guilt he’s had to carry ever since then, he’s had to pay off Bluecorp the whole time. Defending Maya would’ve only made his situation that much worse, which finally explains where his reluctance came from.
At this point, it's clear that Grossberg is guilty of being both a greedy rat and a coward, but there’s still a tiny part of me that feels somewhat sorry for him. While he has no one but himself to blame for what’s happened to him, it’s at least good to know that he feels some level of shame for it. It would’ve been nice if he’d felt like doing something about sooner, buuuuuuut it’s better than nothing, I guess.
Thankfully, he has the decency not to leave it there -- he decides to put Phoenix on White’s trail by offering him a hint.
This act of kindness ends up being the spark that ignites Phoenix’s flame, so to speak, and in the end, Redd White and his blackmail-powered corporation are finally stopped in their tracks. (At least I assume so, or else they probably would’ve come up in a future game.) Thus Grossberg turns out to be a crucial ally for Phoenix, redeeming himself ever-so-slightly. It’s a shame we don’t get to see any interaction between him and Mia or Misty afterward, but at least his story ends on a happy note.
...Oh, right. There’s still a bit more to his story, isn’t there? *sigh*
Two cases later, Phoenix pays him another visit, this time bringing Maya along. After some pleasantries between her and Grossberg (whom he apparently knew when she was younger), and some lamenting over a lost painting, Phoenix inquires about a murder victim who happened to work in Grossberg’s office some years ago.
When the DL-6 Incident suddenly comes up again, Grossberg helps Phoenix and Maya connect a few dots, and then we discover one more interesting tidbit about his involvement in it -- specifically with Misty Fey, the woman whose reputation he had unintentionally ruined.
Knowing what we know about how why she needed his help in the first place, his reaction to Maya’s gratitude should be no surprise.
The sad irony gives his words a completely different meaning, doesn’t it? It might not make him any less of a greedy rat or a coward, but I still can’t help feeling the tiniest bit of sympathy for him. There’s no telling how Maya would react if she knew the whole truth, after all.
So, to sum it up, Grossberg is...
...Oh, right. There’s still a bit more of him in T&T, isn’t there? *sigh*
There wasn’t very much different about him five years earlier -- he looked the same, talked the same way, and was just as pompous as he is today.
Nevertheless, he does a fine job of helping a poor, frazzled young Mia Fey make another go at it as a defense lawyer. Much like she ends up doing for Phoenix some years later, he helps her to stay calm, focus on the task at hand, and finally pull off a win (all while explaining some game mechanics to the player). He’s also there to complain when she makes rookie mistakes.
By the way, I love how Mia carries this over to Phoenix when it’s her turn to get bummed out by his forgetfulness.
Just like with two of Phoenix’s cases, Grossberg’s role in Mia’s second case turns out to be crucial as he not only supports her in the courtroom, but does some important research behind the scenes for her. In fact, his general attitude during the case can be summed up in one of his lines:
It’s hard to believe someone like that sold out the police and the spirit medium who helped them, but it’s nice to have a look at his more virtuous side for a change. Could’ve done without all the hemorrhoid talk, but that’s probably where his name came from.
I also happened to notice something about one of his sprites that somehow evaded me before I started writing this essay -- his mustache twitches sort of like a rabbit’s nose.
Whether he smells something or just has sinus issues, we’ll never know (which I’m perfectly fine with), but I just thought I’d mention that.
Anyway, while it’s (*Ah-HHHHEM!*) unfortunate that we don’t get to see anything more of this veteran attorney -- what happens to him after the first game, whether he ever shared the whole truth of the DL-6 Incident with Maya, or the “glorious days of his youth” -- he makes for an interesting side character with a complex story, a jovial attitude, and, er...a rather unusual sense of humor.
Okay, gotta go wash my hands now.
-The Co-Mod