Everything Wrong With: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

Episode Two: Turnabout Airlines

"Opening narration." *ding

"Game flashes back to two days ago, then has the audacity to pretend for even a second like Edgeworth was the victim of the case. Anyone who's played the first case knows he survives this, so what did they think they were accomplishing, here?" *ding

(Gameplay begins) "In the cutscene, the spilled grape juice is right next to Edgeworth's head. Here, it's several feet away." *ding

"If Edgeworth is this reluctant to get on an elevator, how did he get down here in the first place? We later can assume he took a staircase down here, but if that was the case, why doesn't he take one back up? This is never explained." *ding

"Edgeworth narrates to himself about the DL-6 while (thinking he's) alone. Why would he do this? He's not even expositing to the players. It would still be a sin if he was, but at least it would make sense." *ding

"The one time Edgeworth decides he should overcome his fear of elevators is the time he opens the elevator door on a dead body. Talk about shit luck." *ding

(Edgeworth's face upon seeing the body) "This closeup." *ding

"Where did all these passengers come from? The lounge was deserted a literal minute ago." *ding

"Wow. I knew first class was nice, but do they really let you drink two dozen bottles of alcohol in one flight? Damn." *ding

"No plane has this much free room and turns a profit, even in first class. I don't even think a plane like this is capable of flight, so.. let's get this sin out of the way now." *ding

"Rhoda Teneiro's hair." *ding

"Why does the suspense theme play when Edgeworth is accused? Anyone who's played the first case already knows he beats the rap for this. Did this case just forget?" *ding

(Grape juice instead of alcohol) "Obvious substitution of alcohol is obvious. I get the strangest feeling I've written this sin before. Can't say where." *ding

(Zinc Lablanc's character design) "This feels racist somehow." *ding

"Also, this guy. Where is Borginia even supposed to be located, anyway? Machi, Hicks, and this guy all have Northern European features, but Lamiroir and Lablanc's clothing (not to mention Lablanc's theme) appear to be inspired by the Middle East. So... which is it?" *ding

"Hey, whatever happened to staying in our seats? Teneiro told everyone to, then Edgeworth argued with her, and now both he and Lablanc can wander around wherever? The fuck?" *ding

"If anyone really suspected Edgeworth of killing an Interpol agent, what good does supervision by small woman do? She's unarmed and easily overpowered. If Edgeworth could get Hicks they way they currently suspect the murder happened, he could take Teneiro no problem. Good thing he's not the culprit, huh?" *ding

"If the in-flight meal is lobster, where did this guy get a giant steak? Do they really have both on board ready to serve? What kind of fantasy plane is this?!" *ding

(Investigating the louge) "Edgeworth takes time out of his crew sanctioned investigation to speak with clouds. Maybe that turbulence took a little more outta him than we thought. *ding

"What does Teneiro put in her laundry to make it smell like bloody grapes? I would say it's never explained, but I'm not quite sure I want an answer this time around." *ding

"The slicing sound effect with Rebuttals is not synced with the slicing of the word in half. This bothers me more than it should." *ding

"Cammy Meele is allowed to come to work without a bra and part of her uniform missing. I am okay with that. And I am not okay with that." *no sin

"Also, Cammy Meele's theme. It suits her fine, but it's annoying as fuck." *ding

"Edgeworth is flying from Germany (well, Borginia. Must have been a layover) to California, but the plane flies over Asia. Seems logical." *ding

"This time contradiction is cool and all, but it relies on Lablanc not realizing over three hours have passed between the announcement of the murder and his sighting of the victim. Even if his watch is wrong, his sense of timing shouldn't be. Well, unless he's from the trilogy, I suppose." *ding

(Meele tells Edgeworth Hicks was alive at five am before he suspects anything) "This, in retrospect, was actually pretty clever of her. Couple this with her half-decent frame job of Teneiro, and Meele is a pretty competent killer considering she never planned to do any of it. Now if only she were less boring..." *ding

"Cammy Meele has no pupils. This bothers me in ways I can't describe." *ding

(Investigating the in-flight shop) "Airline company sells life-saving devices in case of an emergency instead of providing them, because fuck the poor. I'm with Edgeworth in wondering how they haven't been sued already." *ding

"If the Ifly piggy bank fell through the glass in turbulence, why did nothing else come loose? Turbulence on a flight is a common enough problem that everything should be bolted down in just such a case, so... who the fuck messed up on this one? More importantly, why?" *ding

"Meele can sleep standing up. Is she related to Yanni Yogi, by any chance? Part horse, perhaps?" *ding

(The hideous suitcases) "These exist." *ding

"Twelve hundred dollars for suitcases as ugly as sin?! The fuck?" *two more sins

"Edgeworth thinks a grown man would fit inside this suitcase. Even if one folded his body up, that one must be a lot bigger than any of my suitcases. I don't even think you could fit a child in them." *ding

(Meele actually does a decent job framing Teneiro) "Why is a flight attendant better at frame jobs than a corrupt prosecutor? I get Portsman was a tutorial villain, but between him and Meele, I was not expecting Meele to be the more competent of the two. Shows what judging by appearances gets you." *ding

"This game will label chapters of cases things like 'Middle: Part 1', but they don't always include a 'Middle: Part 2' when doing so. Why can't they just call it 'Middle' and be done with it? Was this case originally longer than it is? How did that work, exactly?" *ding

(the plane lands) "Sal Manella in a background cameo. I did not need to be reminded of his existence, goddammit." *ding

"Franziska Von Karma." *removes a sin

(Franziska is upset to see Edgeworth accused of murder, saying she can't believe a disciple of the Von Karma house would ever do such a thing) "Irony." *ding

"Franziska's whipping animation. And I thought the walking pixels were bad." *ding

(Second round of plane investigation) "How does Franziska know we found the cloth inside the suitcase? She hasn't seen the in-flight shop yet, and we never told her. Did Meele mention it? If so... why?" *ding

"Franziska's second argument relies on Edgeworth willingly using an elevator for any reason. How well does she know her 'little' brother, again?" *ding

"If the killer went back and forth from the elevator after the turbulence, why are there only grape juice footprints going one way and not both? Did the killer avoid stepping in it all but the first time? Why can we still not inspect shoeprints (or even just shoes. I'm confident Meele was never given a chance to properly dispose of hers) as evidence? It pisses me off that we were given a decently good bit of forensics in AJ and only used it for one case. Especially when there are so many cases written after the fact that could stand to benefit." *ding

(Officer says they found nothing else that could be used as a murder weapon in this lounge) "How about that green bottle on the floor? I've seen one just like it used in a murder before. Can't say where, though." *ding

(Franziska accuses Teneiro) "We're never given a clear reason for Edgeworth defending Teneiro in this case. He himself was suspicious of Teneiro before Franziska even showed up. Does he just like to argue with his sister? Is he receptive to Teneiro's crush on him? Does this game series not know how to write a character in a believable 'investigating prosecutor' role and has to rely on its defense attorney roots for a good story? We never learn where Edgeworth got this 'devil's advocate' idea from, and it's only developed recently. Was that half case of acting like a defense attorney really enough to change his outlook forevermore? At least the sequel is capable of providing reasons for this behavior, goddammit." *ding

(Teneiro's been buying all her suitcases) "Since when does a flight attendant make enough to drop over a grand on an ugly suitcase? Are we sure Teneiro isn't also secretly in the smuggling business? The fuck is she getting the money for this?" *ding

(In the cargo hold) "How did Lablanc and the officer get down here? Neither one of them was given access to the flight attendant's room, and that's the only way down here at this stage of the case. Did Meele really let them through? Again: why?" *ding

(Edgeworth figures out the real murder weapon) "This chain of logic is... actually, pretty well done. I really liked how multiple quotes from various people come together, and unlike the next case, it's also easy to understand. Almost like a prototype for the Thought Routes of Yamakazi's 3DS titles." *removes a sin

"I really should have asked earlier, but why does this game need two Trick themes?" *ding

"Neither prosecutor gives any fucks that Lablanc fell beyond proving the real murder weapon. Some caring citizens they are!" *ding

"The Republic of Zheng Fa uses Chinese characters to label their cargo, further lending credence to my theory that Zheng Fa is supposed to be the in-universe equivalent of Taiwan. Also interesting to note is the particular characters chosen to represent Zheng Fa (政法） translate to "politics and law", this game's two biggest obsessions. Finally, cool bilingual bonus that can't be passed off as a potential localization error." *no sin

(The fake Alif Red) "If a statue is named for its red eyes, who the fuck got every aspect but the eye color correctly? This seems like a very obvious thing to miss." *ding

"Wait, I'm confused. Edgeworth claims the true Alif Red was never on board the flight, so what did Lablanc think he checked in? Did they leave the real one in Borginia? My impression on previous playthroughs was always that they had the real one at liftoff and switched it with the fake in Zheng Fa. Hicks was killed while the switch was still under way. Shows how well I remember this case." *sin on me, I guess

"Meele's testimony. Much like Miney, I would like this villain a lot more if her fake persona weren't so goddamn annoying. Or, I don't know, interesting?" *ding

"When did Teneiro show up down here? Last I heard, she was taken down to the station on Franziska's orders. Edgeworth doesn't have the authority to overturn the investigating prosecutor's direct orders no matter what he says. Why is she still anywhere in the area?" *ding

"When Meele reveals her true nature, she gains pupils. I'm glad for her, but... why?" *ding

(Meele blows bubbles through a pipe) "Obvious allusion to smoking is obvious." *ding

"The AAI Fate theme. Sure, it's no Hotline of Fate, but at least they didn't feel the need to steal from previous titles, and it does the job fine." *no sin

(Franziska's phone and Hicks's phone look the same except for color) "Obvious palette swapping." *ding

"Hicks's phone will ring forever if you let it. In the real world, most phones take you to voicemail after a minute or two." *ding

"Game's characters think you can't use a phone with a broken screen. I'll let the proud owners of the iPhone handle this one." *ding

"And in the end, the move that seals Meele's doom... is her choice of blood-wiping materials. If she had gone with her first language and used bedsheets, Teneiro would've been fucked." *ding

(Meele's breakdown) "Where are the new bubbles coming from? Meele only blew so many." *ding

"I just noticed: no matter what a character looks like or where the light sources in the room are, their shadows are always perfect circles beneath their feet. This bothers me more than it should." *ding

"Edgeworth says it's been a while since he and Franziska last met, but it's been a month at most. The last time one disappeared from the other's life to search the world, they left the other thinking they were dead for nearly a year. Edgeworth ha no room to pester Franziska on the matter." *ding

("Hmph. Until only a little while ago, I was but a wretched mutt who was always losing to you. A dancing pierrot living her life on the name and fame her invincible father built!") "Has this changed? I know Franziska does some good work with Interpol in these two games, but every time she and Edgeworth investigate together, it's Edgeworth who ends up being right about a case, not Franziska. The most she gets to do is share his victory. And yes, we saw her better side a bit clearer in Bridge to the Turnabout, but nothing enough to cause this dramatic shift in maturity and character. I love it, but where's all this coming from?" *ding

"Franziska doesn't remember how her own father's life ended. Considering this was such a huge motive for her character in her first game, this strikes me as extremely odd. The only reason this bullshit exists here is to avoid spoiling other games in the series, which is not a good enough reason to sacrifice characterization." *ding

(Franziska hints that Edgeworth may run into Lang one day) "Foreshadowing." *ding

"Gumshoe's new theme. The original is infinitely better." *don't fight me on this

"Ending narration." *ding

Total Sin Tally: 63

Sentence: One Million Cents

A/N's: This is a relatively short review for a relatively short case. There wasn't really any ups and downs in my feelings toward it: the case was okay, if unremarkable. Not as annoying as the next case, but the next case also has characters like Kay and Lang. None of the new characters here left much of an impression.

But wow. I never quite realized how many aspects of AAI3 were inspired by this game until I went through the sins for it. It's pretty impossible to come after AAI2, so our project has more in common with AAI and AJ. Working on the fourth case of that now as well.

Hope you enjoyed this, don't forget to leave your thoughts below, and I'll see you on the far side!