Stunning. Absolutely stunning. There was about an hour of game left, and it really did feel like the end of an epic story. I can’t really say much else, in case I spoil it for you, the reader of my diary.
I will say this though: I’m really excited for Apollo Justice – the next game in the series, and the start of what I hope will be an equally amazing trilogy.
It seems I was a bit wrong when I said there can’t be long left now. I played solidly for three hours tonight, and still there’s more!
This time, however, there really can’t be much left. I know who did it. Everyone has testified everything. All I have to do is prove who it was.
I have to say, I’ve been throughly gripped throughout the whole final case. It has been huge, yes, but well worth playing through. All the loose ends from the entire series are being tied up, and it truly feels, well, epic. Not bad for what is essentially a game of multiple choice!
Ah! I’ve just realised – Iris didn’t fly over the bridge at all! When Larry saw it, he was upside-down, so she actually fell from it!
Of course, it doesn’t help that Iris couldn’t physically be in two places at once, nor that although I found that Dahlia is her twin, so it could happen, Dahlia is in fact dead. Oh.
Anyway, most of today’s play (at least two hours!) was spent on investigating some more around the scene – this time as the now-recovered Phoenix. As expected, this case is typing up everything together. And I mean everything. Misty Fey, Morgan Fey, Iris, Dahlia, Mia, Maya, Edgeworth, Franziska von Karma, Larry…
So now I’m back in court, and am cross-examining Iris. Can’t be long left now…
Well. That was bizarre. Edgeworth was clearly somewhat confused the whole way through the first day’s trial, but I’ve managed to finish it with things just even more complicated now than they were previously.
Most confusing was the picture that Larry (“Laurice”? Pff) drew – It appears Iris can fly. Er, yes.
I was right – I didn’t win. There’s a bit of a plot hole left now too, as Dahlia’s poison from the first case was around a year beforehand, and she’s killed three times now. Hmm. Anyway, Case Closed!
And then, Case 5? So much for everyone saying there were only four. Tch.
And it’s a big wrap-up case too. I can see it – there’s more about Misty Fey. Dahlia isn’t dead (even though she’s been banged up on death row) and seems to be in a “channeling dojo” where Phoenix, Maya and Pearl have gone. Larry is back again, there’s another murder, and the dojo is next door to the bridge from the previous case. Dahn dahn daaaaaahn!
And! Maya and Pearl are missing, and Phoenix is in hospital! So who is representing the defendant? Miles Edgeworth. No, really. That’s who I am at the moment. And! Franchesca von Karma is prosecuting – at Edgeworth’s request?!
WHAT
Well, this case certainly seems a lot shorter than I was expecting for a final case, which is a shame. Of course, there’s still a chance for a twist at the end, but I’m not sure how there can be one.
I’ve exposed the girl’s true identity (which was blatantly obvious, but only to the player as the cases in this game are played out of order), and I know she did it, but the thing is – I know that I can’t win this case. In a previous case, Mia says she didn’t win her first case (which is this one), and the prosecutor is Edgeworth (in his first case too), and in the first Phoenix Wright game Phoenix was the first person ever to “defeat” Edgeworth. So I must lose. Anyway, Fawles has taken the stand now, so we’ll see…
Case Closed!
I was right with who was the killer, and the reasons why. I was half expecting Violetta to come in at the last minute as a witness though, but that didn’t happen. Surely she’s got to turn up again later in the game? All that story about her and her mafia family surely needs to be explored further?
Now I’m on to Case 4, which, if the conversations on ugvm and rllmuk are to be believed, is the final case. And… I’m Mia again. Not only that, but it’s her first case, and her mentor in it is not entirely unlike Godot. Hmm.
So far, we’ve established that a guy who was sent down for murder five years ago (11 years ago really, if you’re on “current Phoenix time”, as this case is 6 years ago in the game…) escaped, and the police woman who testified against him was murdered – in the same place as the previous murder. I can see some holes already (from the bridge where the murder took place to where the police picked up the defendant takes 30 minutes to drive, yet that would have left no time for the actual murder, if it happened when it appears to have done), but I can’t see how to present the evidence in a relevant matter.
Dug up some more evidence, and un-Psylocked Basil at Blue Screens, Inc. Seems Glen was a gambler (which was obvious anyway). Found a CD with the MC Bomber virus on it too, which now means I know for certain both who killed Glen, and why.
Off into the next day of the trial, then, and I’m already about to prove the real killer guilty. If only I can figure out what bit of testimony to press him on, as the judge has decided that he’ll penalise me if I press unnecessarily. Pff.
So the trial consisted of Gumshoe (who wasn’t really much use), and then Kudo (the old bloke who likes pigeons). There wasn’t anything too difficult to put together, which is good considering at the start of the trial every possible chink in the evidence was patched over by Godot.
There was some confusion over the ear Glen had a radio in, and the hand he used to drink his coffee, neither of which seem that important at the moment (although they’re very odd, nonetheless).
After the first day of the trial, I’ve spent a while back at the restaurant, and have gone to Blue Screens, Inc – the programming company Glen worked for. His boss, Ms Basil, is amazing. The dialogue there was great too, with Ghost in the Shell and “This is Sparta!” references. Also, I think I know now why the real killer killed Glen…
Forget what I said yesterday about there being no real “characters” in Phoenix Wright 3. Case 3 has already thrown up not one, but TWO amazing people.
First off is Jean Armstrong, camp chef extraordinaire. The way he… minces is quite something. Secondly, is Kudo, who feeds pigeons. Well, throws seeds at pigeons, anyway. He’s a regular at Armstrong’s restaurant, although he only goes there for the, uh, attractions.
Namely, the attractions of waitress Maggey Byrde (she of previous games, and the accused in this case).
Of course, Kudo is a grumpy old sod so won’t speak to me. Or Maya, even when she’s dressed up in “revealing” waitress attire. He longs for something with a bit more “plumage”. Much like his pigeons, I suppose. The solution? Well, Maya channels Mia of course, since Mia is rather more impressively endowed. Genius.
Anyway, the first day of the trial is about to start. Incidently, I suspect the victim’s name is going to cause a twist (literally) in the case somewhere – it’s Glen Elg. Which also happens to be a palindrome…
Case 2 COMPLETE! I still get the feeling something is missing though. Like, not much was made of the broach. But anyway.
I’m finding that PW3 is somewhat more difficult than it’s predecessors, but not because the cases are more complicated, more because the obvious conclusions I come to don’t manifest as evidence I can present. It’s difficult to describe without spoilers, but I knew there was a contradiction regarding the blackmail letter. However, I couldn’t present that, as I had to present something else (which didn’t make as much sense).
Anyway, the game is still fantastic. It is missing some great characters though. Godot is good with his coffee fetish, but where’s the Sal Manela? Where the Moe the Clown?
So I’m defending DeLite again now, this time for the murder of the CEO of the security company he used to work for. The investigation was slow going as I’d missed showing one person one piece of evidence, so was stuck for a while, but now I’m up and flying again.
I did have to barge into another courtroom (complete with Payne as prosecutor and a different, but surprisingly similar, judge) to stop them sending Atmey down for theft, as he’d been accused of murder.
Yes, all very confusing!
Well, I was right. I think. Certainly, Atmey was found to actually be Mask deMasque, but I’m not actually all that convinced any more. But, that was the end of the trial and Ron DeLite was found to be Not Guilty.
However, that wasn’t the end of the chapter, as Ron has now been accused of murder! A murder which occurred at exactly the same time as the robbery he didn’t commit.
OK, so there’s a twist already. Basically, Mask deMasque has been “caught”, but it’s not actually him. It’s someone who thinks he’s Mask deMasque. Which means that Ace Detective Luke Atmey is still my main suspect – not least because, after searching his “office”, I find he’s trying to become famous for, well, anything. I’m betting he created this character Mask deMasque so he could then “capture” him, making him famous. Or something.
Apparently one of the treasures stolen by deMasque was the “Jewel of Emanon”. Emanon being “No name” backwards. Hmm…
Also, there’s been a lot of flashbacks and plot filling relating to Maya, Maya’s mother, Pearl, and the Kurain Village in general. I expect some sort of tie-in (aside from the stolen urn) at some point. Perhaps with Misty Fey (Maya’s mum) returning? We’ll see!
Hurrah! Case 1 WON! I’m surprised, actually, that nothing more was made of the umbrella that Doug was holding, as it was very much like Dollie’s… anyway.
So Case 2 then. So far, I’m convinced the Ace Detective bloke (“Luke Atmey” – ha!) is actually the same person as Mask deMasque. The urn (Mystic Ami’s urn, from Phoenix Wright 2) has been nicked, and Adrian Andrews is back too. Not a murder then? Well, yet…
This isn’t really a suitable game to play in short bursts. It certainly isn’t how I played the previous two in the series, anyway, but for some reason I’ve only been grabbing 30 minutes here and there. It’ll make the game last longer, for sure, but it’s also making remembering facts so as to find contradictions somewhat harder. Maybe I need a notebook?
Wait! Make the next game have a built-in notebook like in Hotel Dusk! Genius!
Anyway, I’ve got Dollie (not Dottie as previously reported) on the run now, having tied her to a previous murder. Can’t be long before I’ve “won” this case then, yes?
Yes, it is going very slow. Partly because I’m not playing for long each sitting, and partly just because that’s how the game is.
Still great so far though! Phoenix has been dropped in it a bit by his girlfriend Dottie, who was supposed to be defending him but ended up making it worse. Mind you, I’m with Mia in that she was clearly pretending to cover for him, and now she’s lying.
Mia doesn’t like her either, as she isn’t too keen on the way all the men in the courtroom are fawning over her…
Hurrah! It’s Phoenix Wright!
Playing this was very odd. Firstly because it’s exactly like the others in the series -the same art, sound and even characters. Secondly, because the first case is set before the first game, with me as Mia Fey (who is killed at the start of the first game) defending a young Phoenix. It feels very strange, to say the least.
I’ve not played much yet, though, just enough to get through the first two testimonies. I kept failing on the second one, because I forgot to re-press on one statement and choose the other of two options open to me. Tch, eh?
Surprise last minute witness! I won’t say who, but it is most bizarre.
The last hour of play twisted the plot all over the place. One minute I was defending my client, the next accusing him, then back again. Then Edgeworth was on the same side as me, we swapped sides, swapped back, and then von Karma joined in! Confused? You will be!
And then I had a choice of two routes to take – declare my client guilty or not-guilty. I suspect one gives the “good” ending, and the other the “bad” one. I chose correctly for the best, and then I won! Hurrah!
And now there’s some more investigationing. I’ve been everywhere again, found some interesting evidence which makes my client look somewhat guilty, been to where Maya is (but didn’t see her!) and have broken some psyche-locks on Engard. Yeah, that means my client had a secret. A nasty one at that.
I won’t spoil it for my readers by mentioning it, though. That would be evil…
I now have to break Adrian’s psyche-lock too, and I assume I have all the evidence needed since the game has forced me back to where she is ready to have a crack at it!
Finally, I’ve finished off the first day’s trial. It seemed to go on and on forever, and just when I was about to get the Not Guilty verdict, it all went horribly wrong and I didn’t. The trial is going to be extended by another day (which is bad for Maya – for reasons I won’t spoil), and Edgeworth is at his most strange at the moment.
It’s all still good though!
Good grief. This trial really does go on forever! Having cross-examined Gumshoe for quite some time, hours seemed to go by with questioning Wendy Oldbag. There haven’t really been any twists so far, and I was quite pleased with some of my deductions – especially those to do with the next witness after Oldbag. It’s all getting quite interesting now too…
Finally, I’m into the trial on Case 4. It took ages talking to people to get the evidence needed to move on, and it all got a bit odd when Edgeworth returned. Phoenix seems to hate him, but I can’t recall why from the end of the first game – especially since Edgeworth essentially handed the final case from that over to Phoenix. Perhaps my memory isn’t all it once was…
Much of this trial looks like it’ll rotate around some stuff that happened to the lovely Adrian Andrews, the defendant’s manager, a couple of years ago. And yes, she is lovely, as you can see from the picture…
Anyway. I’ve just heard Gumshoe’s testimony, and am now about to start on the cross-examination.
Blimey. It’s taking a while to get anywhere with this one. I’ve spent quite a while talking to the accused, examining the crime scene, talking with some witnesses, and all sorts, and I’ve still not even started the trial yet.
And three people have psyche-locks on them. Two of them have FOUR locks. This case is going to take forever, isn’t it? And why is Adrian Andrews a woman?
After this weekend’s dual diversions of Elite Beat Agents and Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, it was back to the serious matter of acquitting people of murder.
I’ve made a start on Case 4, the last one in the game. So far, I’ve been at a fancy awards ceremony, someone has died, Maya has been kidnapped, and lots of people from the previous game have reappeared. I haven’t even started investigating the murder yet, and I’ve been playing for about half an hour. I suspect this case is going to go on a bit longer than the others…
