Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “The Stolen Turnabout” (Trials & Tribulations – Case 2)

“The Stolen Turnabout” is a filler case, no doubt about it, but it remains one of the fanbase’s favourite filler cases in the series. That being said, I have my personal gripes …

I’ll be deconstructing the case in ten distinct categories and giving a score out of ten for each. This will give a definitive score out of a hundred, if the maths checks out!

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Micro Story

The Kurain exhibition has come to town, but tragedy strikes – the Sacred Urn gets stolen right under security’s noses, and legendary thief Mask DeMasque is held responsible.

What makes this case of theft especially strange, however, is that the supposedly “real” Mask DeMasque hands himself over to the authorities immediately. Ron DeLite is far from the suave thief you’d expect, but he’s adamant of his own guilt. Working alongside bizarre detective Luke Atmey, can Phoenix track down the Sacred Urn and put the true perpetrator behind bars?

If this case of theft sounds like a breath of fresh air, think again. It quickly turns into yet another murder case when Kane Bullard is found dead in his office, and the theft aspect is dropped almost entirely. I like how the writers subverted expectations, but I was disappointed when “The Stolen Turnabout” became a standard Ace Attorney whodunnit once again.

Score: 7/10

Macro Story

“The Stolen Turnabout” has very few links to the overarching story within Trials & Tribulations, but one very important character is introduced.

Godot, the prosecutor for this case, immediately has a cool design and a funny backstory. He has a revenge boner for Phoenix, that much is clear, but it also becomes apparent that he’s never prosecuted a case before. He does have some court experience, though … so just who the heck is this mysterious man?

If I’m evaluating Godot based on “The Stolen Turnabout” alone, he won’t score very highly. He’s quite amateur compared to the prosecutors we’ve faced before, and it’ll be a couple of cases before his backstory becomes truly interesting. But the suave mannerisms and rampant coffee-drinking were instantly appreciated.

Score: 6/10

Mystery

“The Stolen Turnabout” is quite unique in this category, since it has two differing halves each with its own distinct mystery.

The first half asks the question “Who is Mask DeMasque?” whilst the second half asks “Who killed Kane Bullard?”, and both throw out their fair share of twists and red herrings.

Neither answer is particularly enlightening or hard to decipher, and it’s pretty clear who the overall culprit is early on, but in fairness Mask DeMasque’s true identity threw me for a loop on multiple occasions.

Score: 7/10

Side Characters

This case has exactly what every Ace Attorney case should have – a cast of zany characters that you want to spend more time with.

Ron and Desiree DeLite are just about the most adorable couple ever. Desiree’s pure love is so heart-warming, and Ron’s desire to become a grand thief in order to impress and give Desiree nice things is one of the funniest criminal motivations in the series.

The other notable side character also happens to be a returning player, although she’s not as impactful this time. Adrian Andrews now works in the Kurain exhibition, but all of her flaws and past tragedies that made her such a compelling character in “Farewell, my Turnabout” are nowhere to be seen. It’s nice to see her doing well, I suppose, but her character in this case got nerfed big time.

Oh, and Larry Butz is back. Simping for Desiree. Doing badly at his security job. Never change, Larry, never change …

Score: 8/10

Soundtrack

The three major soundtrack additions in “The Stolen Turnabout” are all character themes, and they’re all awesome.

Both Atmey and Ron’s themes are a delight, but it’s Godot’s theme “The Fragrance of Dark Coffee” that deserves all the plaudits. It’s immediately slick and suave, but it will get darker and more bitter as the game’s narrative goes on.

Score: 9/10

Investigations

While it was cool to investigate a theft rather than a murder (at least for a little while), I still think the Investigations were lacking that special something.

The crime scenes themselves aren’t particularly noteworthy, and it’s a shame we revert back to a bog standard murder investigation by the end, so it’s the characters and their interactions that have to carry the segments outside of court.

Score: 7/10

Trials

“The Stolen Turnabout” being split into two distinct halves leads to what must be an oddity in the Ace Attorney series – we actually win in both Trials.

The first Trial sees us catching Mask DeMasque (okay, it was a wrong conviction, but at least it led to a more exciting first Trial than usual), and the second Trial has us pin the murder on the true culprit whilst unravelling their admittedly clever scheme of Double Jeopardy.

Score: 8/10

Case Logic

For the most part, the logic within “The Stolen Turnabout” was pretty sound. That being said, there were a couple of things I wanted to draw attention to.

Atmey’s initial alibi revolves heavily around the fact he got knocked out by Mask deMasque, but in hindsight I suppose that means he knocked himself out? Granted, it’s not entirely clear whether he actually fell unconscious, but it’s a funny plot hole when you think about it.

The other genuine plot hole has to do with Ron’s keycard – Atmey gave the keycard to Ron so that Ron could enter the building, but in that case how did Atmey have access to the building? Did he have a spare keycard? Did he climb in through the window?

These are two small gripes, though, so overall I don’t have many logical complaints.

Score: 8/10

Culprit

By far the best part of “The Stolen Turnabout”, as many would agree, was its culprit.

Luke Atmey’s bizarre mannerisms and genius plan make him unbelievably memorable, and I love the thought of a private detective pining after a goofy thief as his life’s ambition. The scheme was a little too convoluted for my liking, but I respect the planning and execution of the Double Jeopardy.

If I had to summarise the culprit in a single word? Zvarri!

Score: 9/10

Charm

I may be this case’s biggest critic, but “The Stolen Turnabout” still charmed me thoroughly.

The theft aspect is immediately intriguing, the new soundtrack additions are awesome, the culprit is intensely memorable, and Godot sets the groundwork for becoming one of my favourite characters in the series.

Score: 8/10

FINAL SCORE: 77/100

For as grouchy as I was about some of this case’s pitfalls, this overall score proves that “The Stolen Turnabout” is still a really good filler case.

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