case by case: GAA 1-2: kazuma of death
I'm not going to ask.
Welcome back once again to Case by Case, my Mondaily series investigating the Ace Attorney series. Last week we embarked on the first case of the Great Ace Attorney Chronicles; this week, it's time to go on a boat! There will be spoilers below.
This case is fascinating for several reasons. The first, and most obvious, is that there is no trial segment; it is entirely investigation. The reason for this, I imagine, is that this case is meant to serve as something of an introduction to our new Dance of Deduction mechanic, about which more later; but also, I think, these games are meant to be a more radical departure from formula than we have yet encountered.
The second reason that this case is fascinating is, once again, just how dark it is. Ryunosuke is stowing away on a steamship; he has been framed for his best friend's murder; and when we finally resolve the murder, it's not the result of some big plot, it's just that someone who was fleeing an abusive ballet company was afraid that she might be discovered and sent back home, and tried to stop him from doing what she thought was turning her in. It doesn't really feel like justice that she will be arrested upon her arrival in London. The ending of this case just feels like a tragedy: like the world is just a little bit worse than it was before it started.
And we are left with loose ends, of course: we don't know what Kazuma wanted to accomplish in London, only that he had some very important mission. The driving force behind this whole journey is gone, leaving Ryunosuke and Susato to figure things out for their own. This serves as a solid anchor for that sense that we will soon be experiencing, of being alone in an unfriendly land far from home.
But also, this case gives us Herlock Sholmes, world-class himbo and extremely bad detective, and the Dance of Deduction mechanic, in which he makes Sherlock-style deductions and we are forced to gently correct him so they aren't completely off base. I can't read this mechanic as anything but a savage burn on the whole concept of "the great detective glances at the room and tells everyone exactly what happens", but also it is a ton of fun. It's fairly guided (though on my first playthrough of this case I did get stuck on a particular part because I didn't realize it wanted me to examine it before presenting it), but it feels a bit like a cross-examination but without the cross-examining. Very well executed mechanic, and the animations are a lot of fun.
And that's . . . pretty much what we got. Not a particularly involved case--this one feels more like a visual novel with some investigation segments thrown in--but it's a good one. It certainly stuck in my memory pretty well from the first playthrough (which, to be clear, is a good thing).
Case by Case will return next week, when we're defending a rich guy nobody else wants to! He sucks so bad. I am looking forward to dealing with him with all of you, friends. Until then.