Episode 3

(This crowd is entirely too happy with a magic show that consists solely of a guy flying in the air, then disappearing. We later learn that Galactica is the main attraction of the circus, which makes this act all the more of a letdown. If I went to this circus for Galactica and saw that, I would want my money back.)

"This is not the entirety of the performance. Max flies about the crowd for a good amount of time. We only see a few second of it. Why? Because we only need to understand what he can do and the game doesn't need to waste time with a long flying performance that serves no purpose." One sin added.

(Max Galactica: the greatest magician.) I thought the Gramaryes were the greatest magicians of this universe. Chronologically, the AJ flashback takes place sixteen months after this case, so the two groups were likely performing at around the same time, and as much as the Gramaryes were a bunch of assholes, I do have to agree that they are the better magicians. Sorry, Max.)

"You are manipulating this scene. You are making it sound like Galactica being the greatest magician is the prevalent opinion around town. It's not. That's what Maya says after they leave the circus. He is most likely the only magician she has seen in her life, unless Houdini took a tour to Khurain, and so, she says he's the greatest because she has no other point of reference. This gal seriously just asked Maya to say the Gramaryes, a group she has never seen nor heard of, are the best magicians. Grow up!" One sin added.

(TV news continues to report solely on what is pertinent to the characters at any given time.)

"Because this case is called: Turnabout big top! The focus of this case is to investigate the circus and the events that transpire inside it and that's why we have Phoenix take this case. You are literally asking for a bunch of unnecessary fluff in an already 4 and a half hour case." One sin added.

(Phoenix acts shocked that Maya wants him to take Galactica's case, but…um, as far as we know, he hasn't defended anyone in four months. He should be relieved he'll be able to pay next month's rent.)

"Those things are unrelated to each other. If someone called you in the morning and told you to be at the detention center in 2 hours to defend a magician accused of murder, would you be like "Okay, sure." Or would you actually act surprised like a human being?" one sin added.

"Also, you say it's been four months since the last case, but…the lost turnabout happened in September. Now it's December. That's three months. I may be splitting hairs here, but that the same thing you do." One sin added.

(Phoenix and Maya walked onto what they themselves said is a very small stage, and somehow failed to notice the tiger until it roared at them. Phoenix and Maya are unobservant.)

"This is done purely for comedic effect. What you and many fans of the series fail to understand is that this series is like a cartoon. Think about it: you constantly complain about Phoenix not getting killed, and characters surviving improbable odds. Yes, that is true. But it's because the series follows the cartoon way of their characters getting in real trouble just for fun and walking out of it almost unharmed. Besides, the tiger might have been behind them, which is why they never see it. In either case, they are not as unobservant as you try to make them out to be." One sin added.

(Game confronts characters with a tiger, then goes to black screen just to fuck with us. Because, you know, I really thought Phoenix was going to die seventeen minutes into the third case.)

"This scene creates a lot of tension. Even if you know Phoenix will live, you cannot know how it will turn out. You know he won't die, but to say this scene does not matter is a big lie!" one sin added.

(Regina Berry.)

"Sinning Regina. Regina is honestly very misunderstood. I know she seems lost in her own world and irresponsible and she is. But that is part of her character. She was sheltered by her overprotective father and think everything in life is innocent and a game, like in the circus. This sets the events of the case in motion and Regina has a whole arc by the end of the case, where she shows true remorse for what she has done. In other words, she is a very important character. I cannot take all the undeserved hate this case gets. It's not perfect, but it is a very good case and most of the characters are nice." One sin added.

(Talking to Woodman) this stuttering fucker]

"Pierce just shit on people with speech impediments. Wow…" three sins added.

(Do you know why I, Phoenix Wright, am a great lawyer? because I'm right all the time!) Really? You are a regular sarcastic bastard whenever your text is in blue, but put it in white and this is the best you got? The fuck?)

"I really like the wording you used there…"whenever your text is in blue." That is ironic, since that is literally the reason he is terrible at this. He is shown to be great with puns and sarcasm inside his mind. And I believe everyone is that way. But getting that sense of humor out and have it work…it's a bit challenging. I mean, the nervousness of people liking your joke puts enough pressure on your already. There's a reason few people are capable of becoming successful comedians. Also, Phoenix's sarcasm stems from people making remarks he can sarcastically respond to. Since when had Phoenix been shown to make good jokes on his own? Exactly." One sin added.

(Phoenix hates being Galactica's sweetie so much.)

"Okay…what the f… was that? You just described what is going on at the screen and sinned the game for it? What?! Guys, I suspect Jeremy from cinemasins has kidnapped Pierce and replaced her. How else can I explain their continuous annoying similarities?" one sin added.

[(Trilo references Taxi driver-1976-and Moe references the fresh prince of Bel-air-1990-1996) For a game that supposedly takes place in 2017, this references are pretty dated, even by 2005 standards.]

"And "Seven" was made 1975 but is still influential in crime movies. "Twelve angry men" was made 1957 and is the most influential movie ever made. Are you sinning the fact amazing movies and series still affect the world regardless of their age? I thought that was a measure of good aging." One sin added.

(Phoenix gets assaulted by a monkey) …anyone else wants to take up sinning this case? No? Goddammit it!]

"Sinning this scene. That's a sin. Name one person other than yourself who didn't laugh at this." One sin added.

(How did money swap an entire tuba? Or the bust later? That never gets ex….nope, never mind, I don't need it explained. This case is long enough.)

"It doesn't need to be explained. You are greatly underestimating the upper body strength a monkey possesses. According to a dependable study, monkeys are about 1.35 times more powerful than humans." One sin added.

[(Maya sends we don't have to worry because we don't have a magician on our side.) Yeah, try saying that two and four games later. Unless it's Trucy, that never ends well.)

"And Maya would know that…how exactly again?" one sin added.

(In the courthouse.) Galactica went to his own trial completely shirtless and naturally no one-not even the old man or the uptight prosecutor-gives a shit)

"That's his outfit. You wanted the developers to draw a completely different outfit to match with real-life court proceedings. This is not real life! When will you get anything is allowed here?! People are allowed to bring bombs, drones and animals in here! All that is fine, but you decided to draw the line at the fucking shirt!" one sin added.

(Galactica suggest Phoenix flies into the courtroom from above.) Phoenix does not do this.]

"Oh, so I ask again: people flying inside the courtroom are cool, but people not wearing shirts are over the line! Make up your damn mind!" one sin added.

(Gumshoe says money stole his wristwatch, but we went up to see money's hideout yesterday. There was no watch on that pile.)

"And how do you know that? Do you have ex-ray vision? Maybe it was buried under the tuba or some other large item. Sinning the game for things you cannot know." One sin added.

(If the box only had pepper inside, why the fact was it so heavy? What is the functional purpose of possessing a box that's heavy when it's empty?)

"Have you seen the size of that box? And it's made of wood. Wood is heavy, genius. Boxes like that exist in real life. You talk about practicality…but who said anything about humans being practical?" one sin added.

[(Regarding Woodman and Trilo on the stand, Franziska says: "You won't get anywhere trying to figure out this witness") Is Franziska speaking to the judge or the player? I can never be sure on this one.]

"The judge. Next question." One sin added.

(Trilo's damage animation shows his head flying off, but in the next shot, It's been reattached. How and why would anyone want to reassemble this puppet so quickly? Or at all?)

"Taking ace attorney damage sprites at face value. If you cannot suspend your disbelief even for that…get outta here." One sin added.

(Back to investigating) Maya has no idea how the removable thumb trick works, even at age eighteen. If this were Pearl, I might let it slide. Maya? Not a chance.)

"So you are shown this is part of Maya's characterization, that she is gullible and falls for the simplest tricks…but you still refuse to accept it Why? You are saying it is impossible for eighteen-year old Maya to fall for it…but the game literally shows you right now it is not! You can't balk at the explanation the game gives you and call it a sin!" one sin added.

(Galactica forces people to look at and worship his enormous bust on the daily. Because that is not pervertedly worded.)

"No…it's not. If it's a literal bust he won at a contest…making people look at it is just a sign of vanity and pride. Those are sinful…but there is no indication of Max being a pervert here. This case gets a lot of hate, but you don't have to come up with excuses to sin it every moment. And that fact you actually thought hard enough about this to come up with it makes me worried." One sin added.

(Also, Galactica's bust.)

"Sinning the bust. I get having a problem with the bust itself…but since this turns out to be Chekov's gun that cracks the whole case open…it should get a pass." one sin added.

(Franziska appears before Phoenix to discuss her motivations) Why does Franziska come with a warning beacon on Gumshoe? I'm not denying its practical uses…)

"You just answered yourself. Franziska planted it on Gumshoe to keep track of him. She has become aware of Gumshoe's tendency to leak case information to the defense since the previous case and has decided to keep an eye on his actions. Gumshoe hasn't realized that. He only knows there is a beeping noise whenever she is nearby. He never takes off his coat, which is why this works. And this turns out to be important for finding Gumshoe in the next case, so…Chekov's gun again." One sin added.

(Franziska calls "the Edgeworth is still alive" plot point a case before such a point is relevant.)

"Really?! Did you miss the scene at the end where Edgeworth makes his grand return?! How would that scene fell if we hadn't had this bit of conversation?" on sin added.

"Also, this conversation reveals the basis of Franziska's motivations. The reason she wants to crush Phoenix and have it be broadcast on national news is because she envies Edgeworth. She always felt he was better than her and wanted to prove she was superior by defeating the one man he couldn't. She knows Edgeworth is alive somewhere and wants him to see the little girl he left alone to go on his journey has risen higher than him. There is a reason Franziska is the most beloved characters by a majority of the fanbase. The sin is she doesn't get as much attention as Edgeworth." One sin added.

(Acro willingly tells his tragic tells his tragic life story to people he just met at the drop of a hat.)

"I'm not even surprised you are just making things up at this point. Acro does not tell his whole story when he first meets Phoenix and Maya. The have to go around and find enough evidence to crack his three psyche-locks before he can learn that story. I know you are not this dumb! Why do you pretend to be for these fics?!" one sin added.

[(Regina doesn't realize that Acro gave her the note and posts it on the bulletin board.) Regina is an idiot.]

"Acro didn't give her the note. At least not in the way you mean it. When she brought him his breakfast, he slipped it in her pocket. She found it later. How could she have known who it was from and where it got there? And Acro is to blame here. He wrote: to the murderer. Did he really think Regina would realize it was referring to her?" one sin added.

[(The accident from six months ago) Incident from x years ago is related to today cliché. For the second time this game.]

"Sinning Acro and Bat's backstory. This is one of the most tragic backstories and the strongest part of this case. Big top is a flawed case, but it also has a lot of good things going for it. And this story is one of them." One sin added.

(Animals are filed under the evidence section of the court record in this game, but in the character section in Dual destinies. Why does that change from 2002 to 2013?)

"Nobody cares!" one sin added.

(Why did Acro take the birds with him to court? Won't they just get their feather and shit everywhere? I pity the janitor that cleans up after the witnesses in this series, I really do.)

"Still unable to suspend our disbelief, are we? Tell me: you are sinning witnesses for strange behavior that would never happen in real life. But since that's what we are used to in this series, I wonder how you would react if in AA7 we get a normal witness with a shirt, jeans and glasses. Wouldn't that feel even stranger? If so, that means you need to get used to the strange because that is the new normal here. Sounds good on paper, right? I've been thinking about this for a long time." One sin added.

(Did Arco train the hummingbird to peck Phoenix?)

"Yes. Next question." One sin added.

[(Acro and Bat worked at the circus at ages nine and five respectively.) Well, that doesn't sound legal.]

"I take it Pierce has never heard about family circuses." One sin added.

(Three games before Dual destinies and we already have eighteen-year old female attorney trying to build a case based on heartfelt emotions. Not what I would have expected out of Franziska, but an interesting tie nonetheless.)

"You know, I have played this case a lot of times and…honestly I cannot see a similarity between Franziska and Athena. Seriously, what does random throwaway line have to do with Athena's mood matrix? And where exactly is Franziska basing her entire case on emotions?" one sin added.

"Also, she said the tie is interesting, so…Pierce sins something she likes cliché" one sin added.

(Murderer intended to kill someone else, a la…Not gonna lie, the first thing I thought was legally blonde when I got to the part of the case. But it's probably not a reference to that, so...let's just go with murder mystery fiction in general.)

"So you are saying mystery stores borrowing elements that have worked in others and still work is a sin? Why? They all have a common premise, they can share elements. It's called talking something and expanding on it." One sin added.

"Also, don't think I forgot about that pop culture reference." one sin added.

(Franziska objects for the sake of objecting.) Frivolous objection cliché…)

"Skip!" one sin added.

(Why does Acro give Franziska credit for catching him? She wanted to win, with Galactica declared guilty.)

"Well, the reason Acro is caught is because Franziska ordered a surprise search of his room, forcing him to hide the bust under the blanket on his wheelchair and he was later caught carrying it. He thinks she did it on purpose. That she knew he was guilty and pulled that trick to expose him in court. Okay, he was wrong, but he doesn't know that." one sin added.

[(Acro crying) Sad scene and all, but it I utterly ruined by the creepy ass animation. His eyes look like they are glowing white. And yes, I am an asshole for sinning this.]

"Agreed." One sin added.

(Phoenix says Acro has no desire of revenge on Regina…after just proving in court that Acro wanted to murder Regina. And all I can think about is how sympathetic Acro would be seen as if he hit his intended target and actually killed a legal minor. If he didn't want to get caught for Bat's sake, he shouldn't have tried to murder the girl his brother was in love with. I'm sorry, I genuinely feel nothing for this guy. If it makes his fans feel better…)

"Way to miss the whole point of this scene. Acro was blinded by his anger for what happened to his brother. You are all "Talk to her, be reasonable" but try to get in his shoes. Would you be reasonable and try to talk it out with Regina if she had accidentally caused your brother to fall into a coma? You all talk and talk behind your computer screens, but when the time for actions comes, you separate the whiff from the chuff! Acro only realized his folly after being caught. He realized what he had done and felt truly sorry for it. The only reason he didn't want to get caught is because he wants to be by his brother's side when he does wake up. I didn't sin you above for misunderstanding Acro's character and pain and still sinning him…but I am now." Fifteen sins added.

(Also, I know Moe says he is going to become the next ringmaster, but seeing as Regina was Russell Berry's daughter, shouldn't she inherit the family business? Was Moe a co-owner of the company?)

"Pierce thinks the owner and the ringmaster of a circus have to be the same person. She also wants a recently traumatized sixteen year-old to be put in charge of an entire troupe. Pierce would be terrible at circus-ing." One sin added.

[(Edgeworth is revealed to have been the one pulling the strings behind the case the whole time.) I don't know how to feel about this scene. Does that mean Edgeworth was the one who ordered the surprise search and not Franziska? If so, why did Franziska claim responsibility for it? Is Edgeworth, someone the people who know him best believe to be dead, allowed to give Gumshoe orders on a case that isn't his? If he has been giving Gumshoe orders for at least a day, what was that first phone call like? How long has Gumshoe known Edgeworth is still alive? If he knew, why didn't he say anything to Phoenix or Franziska, both of whom clearly care about the guy and would love to know that he's okay? Why does Edgeworth confide in Gumshoe, but not his sister? Did he ask Gumshoe to keep it a secret? If so, why? I'm happy to see Edgeworth, make no mistake, but I am genuinely too confused to remove a sin for this appearance.]

"Pierce makes Way too many arguments at the same time here. I got a headache just trying to separate when she goes off on a different topic. I have to sin them separately or everyone will wind up as confused as I. First, there is a way to explain this: Edgeworth told Gumshoe to organize the search. Gumshoe had been keeping him updated with the developments of the case over the phone and he managed to work everything out because…he is Edgeworth! Gumshoe brought the idea to Franziska and she agreed with it. He also phrased it in a way that made Franziska think it was her own idea. That's what I believe happened. Sure, there is no way to be sure, but we don't need to. As long as there is a plausible scenario, you cannot call this nonsensical!" one sin added.

"Then, Edgeworth is believed to be dead. Gumshoe is canonically the only one who knows until the next case. Why? Because he is his most trusted companion and the only person he would trust with this knowledge. This is very important. It shows that Edgeworth does value Gumshoe as a partner and friend no matter how much he wants to hide it. That's why he trusted his secret to him." One sin added.

"Furthermore, it's implied Edgeworth heard about Franziska's exploits in America after the Khurain case, so he called Gumshoe and asked him to keep him updated on the next case Franziska takes. That's how Gumshoe found out. He must have been very shocked at first, but he slowly accepted it. The reason Edgeworth didn't tell Phoenix or Franziska he was alive was because he imagined they would both have a lot of questions and he knew they couldn't talk about it over the phone. They had the right to look him in the eye when he explained his decision. That's why Gumshoe was asked to keep it secret. See? You pile on a bunch of random argument to make us think your logic is perfect. But once we break them apart and examine them individually, their flimsiness becomes apparent. Not unlike the prosecutors' cases in this series." One sin added.

"And one last thing before I go: sinning this scene!" thirty sins added.

Total sin tally: 89

Sentence: made to listen to Moe's jokes for four hours.