(Not exactly an ask for the story but for the mods)
HOLY SHIT BATIM/BATDR CONTENT LIKE THIS IN THE YEAR 2026?! PEAK PEAK PEAK!
ALSO I LOVE HOW YOU DRAW HENRY! HE GIVES ME CUTENESS AGGRESSION!
Thank you!! Mod Letter made the design and I basixally just gave it the ok hdjsvdj
We never really liked the og Henry design so it was fun to make something new!
Also yess!!! Batim 2026!!!
We are so glad people are liking the story so far and are actually engaging!!
There's like, 3 other drafts of Henry's design probably sitting in my recycling bin from when we were figuring out what to keep and what not to keep from his canon design. This was the one with the least clothing layers ANDNDJDJD. (Seriously tho why does he have an undershirt, button up, undone tie, overalls, and a suit jacket??? 😭)
The glasses and chain always stayed tho because I liked it too much lmao.
We were actually a tad worried no one would find our blog cause it's batim in 2026 but WE WERE WRONG 👍
Thank you! The parallels are uncanny, for certain.
Just like the real Phoenix, I have proteges to do all the work while I get all the credit. I just hope I can keep from footing the burger/noodle bill.
Dear Certainly Bobby Fulbright,
The tag to send mail directly to me has been returned. Sorry about the slow response to that!
The mods who handled things in my absence certainly did a good job. I’m very appreciative of what they’ve done here. Of course, I’m just a helping hand myself now. Gone are the days of me running things solo. They’re the real team here. I’m just coming back to enjoy the occasional letter because I can.
(Previous Letter)
(Link in Letter)
Dear Guquis,
Emperor of the Universe? That’s a way better title than Mod. I got ripped off.
(Song in Letter)
Dear kichu200211,
I’m not that terrifying.
I’d like to thank everyone who had encouraging and welcoming words in the inbox for my return. It means a lot. Things won’t be like before, but that’s how it goes. The world keeps turning and we must turn with it.
Happy Holidays! Quick reminder, for those who have a Secret Santa, friendly reminder that you have until the 31st of December to give your secret santa to your partner! If you will have trouble with your deadline, please contact us.
Also please tag your gifts as "hl secret santa" so we can compile them easier. Thank you for participating nd have a wonderful vacation!
I'm putting my thoughts below the cut because there will be spoilers. Let's face it, I can't tell you my thoughts on the game without discussing that ending. You know what I mean.
Spoilers below the cut. Don't read them unless you've finished the whole game.
There's something I should say first. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright is the game that drew my attention to the Ace Attorney franchise in the first place. Without the excitement surrounding this game's announcement, I'd have never given AA a chance and I wouldn't be here running this blog. Even if it turned out to be awful, the game turned me on to what became my favorite video game series and for that its existence was justified.
So was it awful? Not even close. I really enjoyed my time with this game with a large amount of thanks just going out to the fact that we got Phoenix and Maya back together. They're the original duo and, let's face it, they're the best. All other opinions are invalid. Every AA game since T&T has been trying to recapture that magic to no avail.
I do believe a different localization team was on this game (not just because it was still in British English instead of American all these months later. What was taking so long!?) but they still did an excellent job. My only quibbles were that so many of the dialogue lines were simply "............" and that Maya sounded a bit more brash than she used to.
She's always been a mischievous little devil, but it seemed more apparent this go 'round. Maybe it's because it's been far, far too long since we've seen her but I think the main reason is because she had more than just Phoenix to support. Maya was forced to play the "comic relief" for three characters instead of just Phoenix who would provide comedy of his own. Moreover, the other two characters were Layton characters. That leads me to things I didn't like about the game.
I'm not an expert on Professor Layton games, I've only played through one, but whenever I look back over PLvsAA, I realize that almost anything I didn't like is somehow tied to that series. Firstly, there's Layton himself, and my complaint was very noticeable when he was along side the AA cast.
I don't know if he's treated like this in his own titles, but I got really, really sick of Layton being revered as some perfect, brainiac god who solved everything. Everyone adored him, he was sought out specifically, he literally had all of the answers in the final trial, and poor Phoenix was left as the butt of all the jokes who was here by accident hahaha everyone laugh at the nerd lawyer. You know what, Hershel? You can take your 101 Puzzles to do on the Toilet books and sit down. Nick's the real deal.
It's not just me liking Phoenix more. I just don't like "perfect" characters as protagonists. Remember the last perfect character we had in AA who had all the answers? It was Manfred von Karma. He was evil, so the story had us as the underdog overcoming impossible odds. We were rewarded with defeating him using our imperfect protagonist and we got to watch as his years of plotting crumbled around him. Layton was on our side, so when he showed up with "push button and win game" all we were rewarded with was the worst explanation for magical happenings I've ever heard in my life.
I know Layton games are known for their exceptionally stupid explanations but wow holy crap what. It’s not really magic because that would be silly nonsense like channeling spirits or talking to animals. It’s actually just invisible people following preordained witches around that listen for magic words so they can render everyone unconscious with silver bells because of water induced brain tumors or whatever so they have time to set up a fireworks show or literally sculpt you out of gold because that makes PERFECT SENSE. Layton, you sound like a conspiracy theorist. That top hat must be lined with tinfoil.
Oh, and we can’t forget, “I was going to finish the story because I’m dying of an incurable illness. Just kidding, I’ll be fine. I just wanted to worry my daughter for about ten minutes.” Argh. That was just. So. Dumb. I loved this game. Honest, I did. I was having so much fun and then the Storyteller starts telling us how we were all drugged by the Umbrella Corporation and stored in a warehouse filled with black hole metal machinery.
Look, I'm sorry, I don't mean to keep dogging on Layton and his games. I feel like I'm going to have to Dzibilchaltunchunchucmil myself in my room for safety at this point. I've said before they aren't my cup of tea (get it?) but I wasn't prepared for this. I've always felt the puzzles broke the flow of the story but by the time the final trial was winding down I was ready for a puzzle to just stop the insanity for a couple minutes.
So when you ask me if I liked PLvsAA, the answer is pretty much "Yes, except for the Layton half." Purely my opinion, I swear, but geez. Ace Attorney games always built up to this big, climactic battle with a huge villain breakdown at the end. Instead I just got rambling that went well beyond where my disbelief could suspend itself. I didn't dislike Luke, at least. He showed actual emotion and flaws. Good on you, kid.
If it makes Layton fans feel better, my last gripe had nothing to do with him. It was how Barnham was just written out entirely. I liked him because he was a sensible enough guy who actually listened to reason while still being a threat in court. He was a cool dude and him being of no consequence whatsoever was a big let down. He just chilled in a dungeon until it was time to change into his tourist clothes and pilot a speedboat back to the mainland. Sorry you didn't matter at all, buddy.
If I do have one really nice thing to say about Layton's side of things, it's how much I loved the puzzle artwork:
I would buy a million copies of a game in this storybook art style.
So with my complaining out of the way, it's time to talk about the good half; the Ace Attorney half. The witnesses this time were glorious and memorable, particularly the two from the prologue and our favorite "Some Guy", Emeer Punchenbaug. I also have to mention that huge line up, the Vigilantes. All those witnesses and all those gag testimonies really brought things to life.
I also really enjoyed the witness groups because that was a whole new mechanic for trials and I fear we'll never see it again. Comparing and contrasting a bunch of unprepared witnesses is something I feel could add a lot of depth and new elements to an already enjoyable experience. The main game play of Ace Attorney is found in the trial segments and anything that adds a fresh feel to it (without being a dumb gimmick) is a bonus.
Also seeing the contrast of the silly witnesses and our beloved goof Phoenix being a goof in court with watching the convicted witch immediately be executed in the flames was a seriously dark turn. Like I've said, I don't know how dark Layton games can get, but even Ace Attorney usually keeps the death and violence off screen. This was a new direction and I think it was a real wake up call for both sides of the cast.
Then when we hit Layton being turned to gold and Maya being dropped into fire with Phoenix unable to do anything but watch, we got to see some real, raw emotion. These generally happy characters are wrenched open and to see that in what was supposed to just be a fun crossover was unexpected but welcome. When was the last time we saw Phoenix inches away from someone, yelling in their face, ready punch them out? Never. We've never seen him so angry. I can't speak for Luke, but I also get the feeling we've never seen him so upset he'd turn on a supposed friend in hopes of procuring justice.
What I'm saying is this game wasn't afraid to be a unique experience instead of just a fan service vehicle. I bought my 3DS for this game even more than I did Dual Destinies and I don't regret the purchase for an instant. It wasn't perfect, no, but I legitimately enjoyed it (except the explanation at the end) and I look forward to the remainder of the special episodes. I hope future AA games take a lot of cues from this title as well, such as voice acting and unique animations for important scenes, using contradicting testimony as a tool, and a "hint coin" style system for trials so people can still get help without DD's hand holding automatically being part of the dialogue.
I'm not going to give the game a numerical rating but I am going to give it a huge thumbs up. Maya, never leave us again.
Before I get to the letters addressed to me, I would first like to address each and everyone of you. Yes, you, sitting right there. Time permitting, I would type all of your names individually. This is that critical.
Something very important happened at E3. The focus on it was extremely brief. In fact, I'm sure many of you didn't notice it or did not truly understand its impact. That is why I have typed this preface.
Yes, we finally got our PLvsAA release date of August 29th. We also got the 3DS Smash Bros. release date of October 3rd. Both are big; huge in fact, but there was something else before Nintendo even took the virtual stage.
What I assumed impossible, what I have wanted for many years now, is coming true. I had thought it only a silly dream. I was long beyond imagining the world could ever house such benevolence. I had already mourned gaming's peak back in 1998 and had resigned myself to riding the out the tides as mankind fumbled in futility to reclaim the perfection achieved by one man and his team.
That man was Tim Schafer.
That perfection was Grim Fandango.
You can take Citizen Kane and burn it. You can take the collected works of Shakespeare, stuff them in a bag, and drown them in the river. Those were not but practice as humanity worked its way towards the pinnacle of entertainment that Lucas Arts unwittingly released upon the world 16 years ago.
Unable to surpass such glory, the gaming industry was at a loss. Yes, we've have many excellent games both before and after Grim Fandango, but its combination of dark comedy and film noir, its blend of art deco and calaca inspired characters, remained unmatched. So there was only one thing that could possibly be done.
It has been announced that the game is being remastered. The technology to fully represent the impeccable style of Grim Fandango simply did not exist at its release. Now, they are trying again. The one flaw in the title, its dated graphics, is being removed. There has never been a better time to be alive.
The remastering is currently being developed for PS4 and the Vita. A PC release has heavily been suggested. That is the game's home, after all. Adventure games belong on PC.
Finally, after all these years, my dream is coming home. As a personal favor, not to me, but to yourself, purchase this title. Thank you for your attention.
Dear Anonymous,
I probably have to go with Adrian's infinite glasses supply.
Look at her go.
Dear Anonymous,
I probably am, but that's one of those things that just sort of developed more on this blog than in the games, much like how Protective Dad Phoenix came out of a single line about Trucy not being allowed to wear makeup.
People write in regarding those things a lot and, admittedly, I just think they're funny so I'll use them as punchlines a lot. Apollo has a real short temper at times, and mocking his height is just an easy way to get a rise out of him.
I'll keep an eye on it. I try not to over do things, but making fun of Apollo is a weakness of mine.
Dear Nameless Face,
The rerelease has the "HD" sprites like the iOS version, but with actual animation this time. I think they fied some (but not all) typos too.
I think they might be adding bookmarks like in DD so you can jump into any case in the middle, but I'm not positive.
Dear AceSchlagsahne,
Negative, I am a meat popsicle.
(Original letter)
Dear Readers,
None of that general outline was set in stone or completely thought out. It was just a skeletal idea that still required a lot of work... work it probably won't ever get.
It started out with me wanting to tie up loose ends and have certain conversations that weren't had. It just started fleshing itself out until I wrote myself into a corner which is generally how it goes. Getting out of that corner, even if you have to smash through a wall, is the real trick.
So in that regard, I don't really have more answers about the whole thing. I never even had solid methods or motives. I had Morgan Fey waiting in the wings to be a quasi-helpful character in regards to Kristoph's black locks, but I had no idea what I was doing with her.
That said, if Capcom took anything from this blog, they're more than welcome to it and I'd be super honored. I'm pretty sure the chances are nil, though.
-The Mod
P.S. I have seen Gurren Lagann. It was entertaining, but I felt like the rules of the universe changed every episode, though, especially at the end.
