case by case: 3-1: a hard pill to swallow
April foolin' can't stop me. It's another week, so that means there's another murder to sove in the grimdark world of Ace Attorney's Japanifornia! Last week we ruined a popular television series for the kids; this week we get to go back to the past, where we get to play as Phoenix Wright's mentor and frequent ghostly companion, Mia Fey. I know I'm excited; spoilers below.
This is an introductory case that is actually setting up the major plot threads that will drive this game; the others were largely self-contained (with some minor bits of continuity). It does share a commonality with the other two in that the murder was committed in order to conceal another crime; and, of course, our opponent is Payne. This is the case where his toupee is destroyed with facts and logic.
So here we get to meet Dahlia Hawthorne. I think this case is pretty close to the Platonic form of the Ace Attorney series' whole deal with pretty lady on the witness stand (but she's evil!), and the most charitable thing I can say about that is that that whole trope hasn't aged well. And because this is an introductory case it's sort of the standout feature here, so there's not much else to say about it.
Seeing young-and-useless Phoenix Wright is fun; there aren't a lot of surprises to be had, except that some of the characters and events that are first established here will keep coming back later on. I feel like that shows some trust that the audience is here and paying attention already; this case still has the obligatory "here's how you play the game" bits but it doesn't feel quite as... tutorialish as the other two introductory cases (and I'm never going to fault a game for opening with a refresher on how things work (ask me for my opinion on Twilight Princess's extended tutorial segments sometime)).
Anyway, that's this case wrapped up! Thank goodness we were able to save Phoenix from being falsely accused of murder, thereby freeing him up to be a defense attorney next week, where there will be some gentleman thievery going on, allegedly. I'll see you then, probably!