Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All

Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Release date(s)	Game Boy Advance October 22, 2002 PC Windows March 31, 2006 Nintendo DS October 26, 2006 January 16, 2007 April 13. 2007 [1] March 16. 2007
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	CERO: All Ages (A) ESRB: Teen (T) PEGI: 12+
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance PC Windows Nintendo DS
Media	Nintendo DS Card
Input	D-Pad, buttons, touch screen

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, released in Japan as Gyakuten Saiban 2 (逆転裁判 2, Gyakuten Saiban Tsū^?, lit. "Turnabout Courtroom 2"), is a point-and-click adventure video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo DS video game console. It is the sequel to 2005's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. It was released in Japan on October 26, 2006 and in North America on January 16, 2007 [2]. The game was also released in Europe on March 16, 2007. The Japanese release is region free, and features a Japanese/English language toggle at the main menu.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All is an updated port of the Game Boy Advance game Gyakuten Saiban 2. It features touch screen control like Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney did, but does not have any new cases.

A PC version under the title Gyakuten Saiban 2 PC was released by the Japanese company SourceNext in March 31, 2006. Similar to the PC port of the first game, this is an emulation of the original Game Boy Advance version to be played on Windows based PCs, rather than an enhanced remake like the one that was released afterwards for the Nintendo DS. Again, it was only released in Japan.

1 Gameplay
2 Plot
3 Characters
- 3.1 Returning characters
- 3.2 New characters
4 Release date
5 Trivia
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Gameplay

For the most part, Justice For All plays like its predecessor as a point-and-click game. While the game has been adapted from the GBA version to use the DS touch screen, none of the special investigation techniques introduced in the last case, Rise from the Ashes from the preceding game are used. (See Gameplay in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for additional gameplay information.) There is one new investigation technique (used to sniff for bugs) but this works very similar to the normal scene investigation.

A small but significant change is that a player can now present the profiles of people involved with the case, in addition to what is on the court record, as evidence during Investigation or as material for an Objection during the Court phase. This, for example, allows the player to ask a person about any of the people involved with the case without having a specific option under 'Talk'.

Justice for All features a new gameplay concept called Psyche-Lock, which was not found in the original. Phoenix Wright has to unlock several locks in a witness' mind in order to reveal the truth. The Psyche-Lock occurs only during the Investigation phase, and is observed when trying to following a line of questioning with a person involved in the case. When it is revealed that the person has one or more Psyche-Locks, the player can then initiate breaking of those locks. Typically, the player will be asked to point out evidence or a location to complete a question being asked; if the correct evidence is used, it is likely one Psyche-Lock will be broken or may lead to an additional question. If the incorrect choice is made, the player takes health damage (described below). However, unlike courtroom questioning, the player can cancel the breaking attempt if he feels he doesn't have the right piece of evidence without any penalty; any unbroken locks will reappear the next time the breaking attempt is made, though these will break in exactly the same manner as previously discovered. Breaking all the Psyche-Locks of a person will grant the player half of their health bar back, and will allow the player to question that person further on more details. While this concept is mostly new, a similar concept was used during part of the first game's fourth case, though it was not entirely the same.

Also not found in the original is a health meter as opposed to a miss counter which is depleted according to the risk taken. For example, if the player makes an erroneous claim while the health meter is visible, Phoenix will lose a small amount of health, while accusing someone of being the killer without evidence could empty the meter completely, resulting in the Judge declaring the defendant guilty. The meter is also now active during the Investigation phase, in particular when trying to break Psyche-Locks. Unlike in the courtroom, depleting the health bar during the Investigation phase merely terminates the player's current line of questioning, instead of forcing a restart of the chapter. The amount that will be deducted from the meter will flash when such situations arise, allowing the player to judge how critical certain decisions must be. For comparison, the player can present the wrong piece of evidence as a contradiction 5 times before a full meter is emptied, comparable to the number of strikes allowed the player in the previous game. While the originals miss counter automatically refilled at the start of each new court session, Justice for All's health meter does not refill by itself. It can only be refilled by correctly unlocking all the Psyche-Locks for a given person.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Setting

The setting for the game takes place roughly one year after the events of the first game (based on the ages of the returning characters), and again in Los Angeles, California in the English localization.^[1].

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Case 1: The Lost Turnabout

Dustin Prince, a policeman, is found murdered in a park, thrown from a significant height, and evidence initially points to his long-time girlfriend, Maggey Byrde, who is also a cop but claims they were out on a date, and that he was killed when she stepped away for a moment. Richard Wellington, a high class drifter, claims to be an eyewitness and points out Maggey as the one that pushed Dustin over the edge.

However, it is discovered that prior in the day, the couple discovered a cell phone belonging to Wellington. He had called his cell phone to find if it had been found and Maggey offered to meet him in the park to return it, unaware of whom the owner was. Wellington himself was a member of a large con group and was worried that if the phone fell into the wrong hands, he would be caught and sent to prison. When Wellington showed up, he saw that Dustin was still in his policeman's outfit, and immediately thought that the police had already tracked the numbers down on the phone and was there to entrap and arrest Wellington. Believing Dustin to have the phone, Wellington waited for Maggey to leave his side, then killed him, but was unable to find the phone, as Maggey was still carrying it. Not only that, but his glasses were lost in the scuffle, causing him to search for them for 15 minutes. Wellington then attempted to arrange evidence at the scene to finger Maggey, the only name he knew of the couple.

During investigation, Maggey provides this phone to Phoenix, who then identifies the numbers stored on the phone as members of the con gang. While waiting for the trial to start, Wellington finds that Phoenix has his phone, and strikes him on the head to attempt to recover his phone and delete the numbers off it, giving Phoenix amnesia for the duration of the trial in the process. Unfortunately, he inadvertently grabs Phoenix' cell phone (apparently the same model), wiping the numbers off it without checking it, and doesn't discover this until it is used to prove the case against him. Despite the injury, and with the timely assistance of Maya Fey, Phoenix is able to disprove Maggey as the culprit and identify Wellington as the actual killer during the trial.

Phoenix's amnesia is used to set the stage for a tutorial for the game by introducing the player to the critical elements of the courtroom as if Phoenix has only seen them for the first time.

[edit] Case 2: Reunion, and Turnabout

Case 2 takes place some time before Case 1 (that is, it is narrated at the start as a flashback from the end of Case 1).

Phoenix is asked by a Dr. Turner Grey to travel to Maya Fey's Kurain Village for help in a legal case he is in. About a year prior to the present, 14 patients under Dr. Grey's care died from malpractice, and Dr. Grey firmly believed his nurse, Mimi Miney, had mistakenly switched all the medications. However, before she could be asked, she was killed in a car accident, apparently drugged to sleep while at the wheel, and which also nearly killed her sister, Ini Miney, who was a passenger in the car. Without the nurse, the blame for the patients' deaths has slowly turned back to Dr. Grey.

In the present, Dr. Grey has requested for Maya Fey, performing her first channeling, to channel the spirit of the dead nurse so that she will admit to her mistake and clear his name, and wants Phoenix to tag along as to use the results of the channeling for legal defense. Phoenix is reunited with Maya for the first time since the events of the previous game, as well as Lotta Hart, now a paranormal photographer; he also meets Ini who is also there for reasons related to parapsychology. He is also introduced to Morgan Fey, aunt to Maya, and Pearl Fey, Morgan's young daughter that is already skilled in the channeling arts. Unfortunately, during the channeling ceremony, held behind closed doors where only Dr. Grey and Maya were known to be, shots are heard, and it is discovered that Dr. Grey has been killed, with blood on Maya's outfit and a gun in her hand. She is quickly taken in as the culprit.

Thanks to photos taken by Lotta, Maya's guilt is temporarily waived and it appears that someone else besides Maya was in the room at the time. Further investigation shows that it was actually Ini, conspiring with Morgan, who had hid in the room prior to the ceremony dressed as Maya, drugged Maya to sleep, and stabbed Dr. Grey. While putting Maya's body back where she was hiding as to transport it out later, Dr. Grey shot at her with his gun with the last of his strength, but she took the gun and shot him. Morgan was able to keep people out of the room to successfully make the switch and dispose of the evidence.

As to the motive, it is further revealed that in the car accident, it was Ini that was actually killed, and while Mimi survived, she had significant facial wounds; the only picture found for reconstruction was that from Ini's license, and thus, Mimi recovered from surgery looking like Ini. When Mimi was released later, she effectively took on the role of Ini, and was able to keep close tabs on Dr. Grey. Once Dr. Grey got the idea to contact the spirit of "Mimi", Mimi realized that her secret would be revealed, and thus took the steps to kill Dr. Grey at the channeling with the assistance of Morgan. Morgan assisted in the plan as with Maya out of the picture, Morgan's daughter, Pearl, would become the next Master of Kurain Village.

[edit] Case 3: Turnabout Big Top

At the Berry Big Circus, the ringmaster is found dead from a sharp blow to the head, hunched over a heavy chest outside the circus performers' residence building. Based on two eyewitness accounts, Maximillon Galactica, a star magician and headliner of the circus, is arrested at the culprit. Max admits he was nowhere near that scene and had absolutely no cause to hurt the ringmaster. While Phoenix is able to show that the eyewitnesses saw someone dressed like Max, they could not identify his face, which clears up Max. Furthermore, Moe the clown indisputably testifies that after he heard a thump and then saw the silhouette of Max over the dead body of the ringmaster through his window, the figure of Max then flew straight up from the scene of the crime. Since flying (despite the use of wires) is part of Max's show, there's several questions that still remain about the case, leaving Max still on the hook.

Two facts are revealed with further investigation. One is that on the day of the murder, a note found its way to the circus cafeteria, and when the ringmaster saw it, he immediately pulled the note down. The note found later asks "the murderer" to come to the residential building at a fixed time, which turns out to be the exact time of the present crime. The note appears to have be written by the acrobat Acro (who is now confined to a wheelchair), snuck into the pocket of Regina, the ringmaster's rather naive daughter, who saw the note, figured it wasn't for her, and put it on the cafeteria bulletin board. This leads to the second fact: that 6 months prior to the events, Acro suffered his disabling accident by trying to unsuccessfully saving his brother, Bat, from being bitten while attempting to put his head in the mouth of a circus lion. Bat suffered massive brain damage and remains in a coma to the day. Acro, who was on the 3rd floor of the residential building, also claims to have seen Max fly away from the crime scene, though his testimony is quickly revealed to be false.

On several wild guesses, Phoenix determines that Acro is the actual killer, despite his disability. Acro admits that Bat was in love with Regina, but Regina, being naive, didn't see it the same way. Bat would try to impress her with various stunts as well as little tricks, such as putting pepper in her food. Regina thought to get back at Bat by pouring a lot of pepper on a scarf she gave to him; unfortunately while wearing the scarf, Bat attempted the lion's mouth stunt, causing the lion to sneeze from the pepper, accidentally biting Bat. Regina, while sad for Bat, had no idea that she caused the incident, though her father, the ringmaster, knew this would be bad for her if word got around, and quickly took steps to cover up the incident. Acro could not forgive Regina for her naivety and held a grudge against her. Thus, he wrote the note addressed to "the murderer", in his mind being Regina, but she had no clue that she was at fault. When the Ringmaster saw the note, he pulled it and went to the spot instead, borrowing Max's identifiable items as to mask his identify from whomever he thought he might meet.

In order to pull the murder, Acro used the circus monkey, who's keen on anything shiny, to bring up a large award with the bust of Max from the cafeteria to his room. He planted the box (with a pepper shaker inside) on the ground outside his window using rope as to provide a target; as the box was heavy, whomever came by would need to bend over to pick it up, and would immediately put their head in the right position. He dropped the bust hanging from some rope once the person was in sight, and then brought the bust back up. However, when the bust hit the ringmaster, Max's cloak got caught on the bust; thus, as the bust was pulled up, it would have looked like the figure of Max and his cloak flying off, as testified by Moe. While the bust, which would have been covered with blood, was not found at the crime scene or Acro's room, Phoenix puts the final piece in place and finds the bust under Acro's wheelchair and blanket, finally putting an end to the case and finding Max innocent.

Meanwhile, Edgeworth calls Gumshoe and announces that he has returned....

[edit] Case 4: Farewell, My Turnabout

At the Gatewater Imperial Hotel, action star Juan Corrida, who plays the Jammin' Ninja, is killed by strangulation, and his rival, Matt Engarde, who plays the Nickel Samurai, is arrested on suspicion of being the murderer. Almost immediately after his arrest, a mysterious man kidnaps Maya and forces Phoenix to get Matt a complete acquittal on the first day of the trial in exchange for her safety. During his first investigation, Phoenix believes that Matt has no reason to kill Juan, and meets Adrian Andrews, who does have a motive for killing Juan, as her mentor, Celeste Inpax, has been Juan's manager before committing suicide. Also, a surprising guest shows up: Edgeworth! However, Franziska is still adamant in being the prosecutor for the case.

On the beginning of the first day of court, the kidnapper states that he has sent Phoenix a "gift"; it becomes apparent right away that the "gift" is the lack of a prosecutor, as Franziska had been shot on her way to court. Edgeworth immediately steps up to take her place as prosecutor. During the trial, Phoenix reveals that Adrian had falsified evidence and tried to pin the murder on Matt, naming her in his place. However, something unusual happens: Adrian is still adamant that she did not kill Juan. Without any decisive evidence, the Judge calls a recess. Phoenix is distraught, thinking that he has failed. Edgeworth then gets very angry when Adrian shows him the card that she has been twirling in her hands. The card has an image of a seashell on it, and Edgeworth explains that it is the calling card of professional assassin Shelly de Killer, and suspects that Matt was the one who hired him to kill Juan.

Phoenix begins his investigation again, learning that Matt had been spying on Juan, and vice versa. Phoenix is surprised when Matt reveals himself to be a sadistic, uncaring person. It turns out that Matt had indeed hired De Killer to assassinate Juan, who was planning to ruin him with Celeste's suicide note. Adrian further reveals that Celeste had once been Matt's manager, and also had a relationship with him before he dumped her for no apparent reason. She then became Juan's manager, and fell deeply in love with him. There were even plans of marriage, but when Matt revealed that he had been Celeste's former love interest, Juan called off the wedding. Unable to take it anymore, Celeste committed suicide and most likely left behind a suicide note which Juan found and hid.

During the second day in court, Will Powers testifies that the bellboy saw Matt with was Shelly de Killer, and that De Killer also handed a bear figurine to Matt after he killed Juan. When Adrian returns to the stand, she reveals that the bear figurine is actually a puzzle, and only herself and Juan knew how to open it. The suicide note is revealed to be inside a cavity within the puzzle and details Celeste's relationships with both Juan and Matt. Phoenix counters by saying that someone else could have written the note, and Edgeworth asks for 30 minutes to check the authenticity of the note. During recess, Gumshoe contacts Phoenix and Edgeworth and tells them that De Killer left behind some important pieces of evidence and that he is on his way to deliver them. However, Gumshoe gets into an accident and loses contact. Phoenix then suggests that they have Franziska locate him and bring the evidence in.

Back in court, Edgeworth reveals that the note is a forgery, and was most likely written by Juan himself. However, it is still enough for Matt to want him dead. Edgeworth then calls Shelly de Killer, the assassin himself, to testify as to who his client is. De Killer responds that his client is Adrian Andrews, and both the defense and prosecution are shocked, as they both know that Matt is the client. Through Phoenix's cross-examination, De Killer slips up by calling Adrian "he". Phoenix then objects, pointing out that Adrian is female, and if she had gotten her hands on the fake suicide note, she would have burned it, as she had wanted to all this time. De Killer realizes that Phoenix is not arguing for Matt's acquittal and requests that Phoenix end the trial in a speedy manner. Edgeworth, unable to put Maya at risk, replies that he has no more questions.

(At this point, the player is given the opportunity to change the plea for their client: they can plead "Guilty" and uphold justice while sacrificing Maya, or plead "Not Guilty" and save Maya's life but let a killer go free and implicate an innocent woman. The choice has no bearing on the outcome of the game, but Mia Fey will later remark that the player's choice here demonstrates "what being a lawyer means" to them.)

Before the judge can declare a verdict, Franziska storms into the courtroom with the evidence in hand; a pistol, most likely the one used to shoot her, a video cassette, which most likely contains a record of the murder itself, and a bellboy's uniform, used by De Killer on the night of the crime. The judge, however, refuses to accept the evidence as none of the item can prove once and for all who De Killer's client is. Phoenix then asks to show one item to one person, and the judge accepts, giving him only one chance. Phoenix shows De Killer the videotape, arguing that it contains the murder itself and that the client was going to use it as blackmail against him, as Phoenix knew that Matt did not trust anyone, which included De Killer. De Killer becomes enraged, dissolves his client's contract and declares that his next hit is his former client.

The judge prepares to announce his verdict, while Matt trembles in terror on the witness stand. Before he declares his verdict, the judge again asks if the defense wishes to change their plea. Phoenix can plead "Guilty," telling Matt that his image is destroyed and that he can no longer hide his true guilt, and if Phoenix pleads "Not Guilty," Matt will overrule him and beg to be put in prison, knowing that he will be a dead man the moment he leaves police protection. In either verdict, Matt screams that he's "Guilty" and rips new scars into his face and Maya is returned safe and sound.

Franziska, outraged by the happy scene that takes place after the end of the trial, declares that her career is over, and attempts to run away. Edgeworth confronts her, telling her that if she is to leave the path of the prosecutor, then that is where they would part ways. Franziska, overcome by tears, returns to Germany, and vows to improve her prosecution techniques before she faces Phoenix again. Franziska reveals on her plane that she kept the fourth item that Gumshoe found at Shelly de Killer's hideout: the drawing of Phoenix that Maya made on a Shelly card while in captivity.

However, if the player presents the wrong person and/or evidence, Matt will be declared not guilty, and Phoenix will leave town, never hear from Maya again, and discover that Adrian was found guilty of murder.

[edit] Characters

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All has a variety of characters, several which span multiple episodes.

[edit] Returning characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

As with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, names from the original Gyakuten Saiban 2 have been significantly converted into more common English names for the release of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All. Characters are presented with their English and original Japanese names.

Phoenix Wright / Ryūichi Naruhodō (成歩堂龍一 Naruhodō Ryūichi) - Age 25

With a few more cases under his belt, Phoenix continues to be undefeated as a defense attorney, though he still struggles at times against overwhelming prosecution and difficult cases.

Maya Fey / Mayoi Ayasato (綾里真宵 Ayasato Mayoi) - Age 18

Maya has spent the last year at Kurain Village improving on her channeling skills, and is set to become the next Kurain Channeling Master. However, she still has her youthful, playful approach to life as well as her voracious appetite.

Detective Dick Gumshoe / Keisuke Itonokogiri (糸鋸圭介 Itonokogiri Keisuke) - Age 31

Still working in the police department, Gumshoe is usually the first to arrive at the scene and is in charge of investigation under the prosecution. However, he's got a soft spot for Phoenix, and appears to be working with Miles Edgeworth in Phoenix's favor.

Miles Edgeworth / Reiji Mitsurugi (御剣怜侍 Mitsurugi Reiji) - Age 25

Shortly after the last case in the first game, Edgeworth wrote a note that said "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death". He hasn't been seen since, presumably dead. Phoenix refuses to talk about him when his name is mentioned, despite Edgeworth being Phoenix's inspiration to become a defense lawyer.

Mia Fey / Chihiro Ayasato (綾里千尋 Ayasato Chihiro) - deceased

The spirit of Phoenix's dead boss can still be channeled by both Maya and Pearl to assist Phoenix out of the most difficult situations.

Lotta Hart / Natsumi Ōsawagi (大沢木ナツミ Ōsawagi Natsumi) - Age 23

Lotta's continued to work in the photography business, mostly for tabloids, though she's moved away from the paranormal to more down-to-earth subjects, like celebrities. Her photography still ends up as critical evidence in many cases.

The Judge - Age unknown

The Judge remains vigilant over the courtroom, though is still easily swayed by the strong-willed...or weak-willed...well, anyone. He's begun to pick up on a few of Phoenix's tricks, such as stalling and bluffing, and doesn't go as easy on Phoenix when he employs these tactics. He doesn't like long trials.

Winston Payne / Takefumi Auchi (亜内武文 Auchi Takefumi) - Age 53

The meek prosecuting attorney is a by-the-book lawyer, and is easily flustered when a revelation comes up in the courtroom. He's yet to be a match for Phoenix.

Will Powers / Saburou Niboshi (荷星三郎 Niboshi Saburō) - Age 24

After the conclusion of the "Steel Samurai" series, Powers became the host of a kids' educational fitness show, though he still gets some of the spotlight from Global Studios. His face is said to scare kids, so he still wears a mask.

Wendy Oldbag / Kaoru Ōba (大場カオル Ōba Kaoru) / - Age unknown

Fired due to (allegedly) budget cuts at Global Studios, Oldbag has found a new job as a security guard at the Gatewater Hotel. She's still enamored with the actors of kids' action programming, and still very very talkative and condescending to "young whippersnappers" such as Phoenix. For some reason she wears a space man costume and wields a toy ray gun.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] New characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Franziska von Karma / Mei Karuma (狩魔冥 Karuma Mei) - Age 18

Franziska is the daughter of Manfred von Karma (from the first game) and a child prodigy, having begun her legal career in Germany when she was only 13. She has come to the United States in order to get revenge, not only for the blemish on her father's record, but what happened to Miles Edgeworth; he was like a brother to her during his training by Manfred. She strives for the same amount of perfection that her father has, and extracts even more attention from the court by frequent uses of her whip. Unlike Edgeworth, who would often co-operate with Phoenix when it became obvious who the real killer was, Franziska is unduly obsessed with her record, and is quite willing to see the wrong person convicted if it wins her the case. In the Japanese version, Mei Karuma was practicing law in the United States, and comes to Japan for revenge.

Pearl Fey / Harumi Ayasato (綾里春美 Ayasato Harumi) - Age 8

Pearl is cousin to Maya and Mia, and while younger than either, has very strong channeling capabilities, and is able to channel Mia at any time in contrast to Maya only happening to do so. Until meeting Phoenix, she had never left their family training grounds and is unfamiliar with most ways of the modern world, and is rather shy towards strangers. She's rather quick to pick up on many of Maya's mannerisms quickly. She often thinks that Phoenix is Maya's "special someone", and even hits him when he tries to deny it. She often punches Phoenix.

Maggey Byrde / Mako Suzuki (須々木マコ Suzuki Mako) - Age 22

Maggey is the defendant of the first case. She was dating the victim, Dustin Prince. Maggey is a police officer who always seeks to help those she sees is in trouble. Maggey has terrible luck which earned her the titles "Goddess of Misfortune" and "Lady Luckless". Her bad luck started when she was six months and fell nine stories off a building. In a reference to the first game, she is seen wearing a t-shirt with the Blue Badger on it at one point.

Richard Wellington / Takamasa Moroheiya (諸平野貴雅 Moroheiya Takamasa) - Age 22

Wellington is a selfish, gaudy, and arrogant person. He will go to unnecessary lengths to get what he wants. He usually wears glasses due to his poor vision. He frequently puts down others for having what he calls a 'third-rate' education, even though he has yet to pursue any education whatsoever. He also claims to be a "college student in transit."

Morgan Fey / Kimiko Ayasato (綾里キミ子 Ayasato Kimiko) - Age unknown

Mother of Pearl Fey and the Aunt of Maya. Overshadowed by her sister Misty Fey, the Master of Kurain Village. Morgan is extremely possessive of Pearl not wanting her to talk to any outsiders or leave the village. Morgan, through her love for Pearl, set up the framing of Maya so Pearl would become the next master of Kurain Village. Pushes on outsiders to use the title "Mystic" when saying any channeler's name, ie. "Mystic Maya." She seems to like "green tea so bitter you lose your tongue and jaw-droppingly large strawberry desserts".

Ini Miney / Nodoka Hanaka (葉中のどか Hanaka Nodoka) - Age 21

A student of the paranormal, who is apparently visiting Kurain Village at the time of the second case. Her sister, Mimi Miney was killed in a car crash that also badly disfigured Ini, though her face was eventually restored through surgery. She spends much of the time in a perpetual daze, only having a vague idea of what's going on around her, but paradoxically seems much more intelligent when under pressure. Ultimately, it transpires that Ini is quite literally not the person she appears to be.

Maximillion Galactica ( マキシミリアン・ギャラクティカ Makishimirian Gyarakutika) - Age 21

The defendant of the third case. In the English version, his real name is Billy Bob Johns though his greatest fans call him Max. In the Japanese version his real name is Kōhei Yamada (山田耕平 Yamada Kōhei). Max is quite self-centered and only cares about himself, he also sees himself above others, for example it is shown that he thought we was above the law and it was a great shock when he was finally told he had been arrested. Max also won the Magician's Grand Prix earning him a trophy and a Bust of himself which he shows off to the rest of the circus, thus annoying them and feeding their hatred. In reality he only wants the other performers to strive to become as good as he is.

Moe (Lawrence Moe Curls) / Tommy (Matsuo Tomida) - Age 46

Moe is the clown of the Berry Big Circus, and maybe the only on with sanity in him. He has a great love for the circus, and apparently hates Max. But since nobody laughs at his jokes, he has to laugh at them himself. He thinks of the Ringmaster as a brother, they have been friends for 20 years, so he's been at the circus for most of his life! He also mentions having a daughter named "Larina", so that means he's probably married. And in the end, he decides to be the new Ringmaster.

Matt Engarde / Shingo Ōtorō (王都楼真吾 Ōtorō Shingo) - Age 21

A seemingly careless young man, famous hit star of the Popular kids show The Nickel Samurai. He seems to have no control of his own life, always contacting people to answer questions for him, he doesn't seem too bright either. However, he has a much darker side, apparent once he moves his hair from his face revealing four scars down his face, The "true" Matt Engarde is an evil manipulative man with no regard for others and only sees their purpose as things to be used. Matt used to date Celeste Inpax in the past and Matt is a prime reason why she committed suicide.

Shelly de Killer / Sazaemon Koroshiya (虎狼死家左々右エ門 Koroshiya Sazaemon) - Age unknown

A professional assassin and the murderer of Juan Corrida (Isao Fujimino (藤見野イサオ Fujimino Isao)), de Killer is only seen by Phoenix when he is in disguise (First, a bellboy and then a butler). de killer appears in court though he is only seen as a two way radio, though the radio has the same physical characteristics as de Killer himself. de Killer is an assassin of honor and the one thing he values most is the trust between him and his clients, as a result of this de Killer has a large hatred of back-stabbers and traitors. Phoenix also occasionally says that his face looks like a baseball. Though his real name is never given, in the English version, his alias as a butler is John Doe, and in the Japanese version it is Tarou Tanaka (田中太郎 Tanaka Tarō), an extremely common Japanese name.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Release date

The Japanese version of the game (titled Gyakuten Saiban 2) was released on October 26, 2006 and includes the full English localization. The North American release was on January 16, 2007; the localization in this release remains almost unchanged from the previous release, which contains some errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and word usage. These have generated complaints in some reviews.^[2]

[edit] Trivia

The English translation of the game includes many humorous references to TV shows, movies, other video games, and pop culture references, placed in the dialog by the localization team.^[1]