Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “Bridge to the Turnabout” (Trials & Tribulations – Case 5)

After three games and fourteen cases of storytelling, it all comes down to this. “Bridge to the Turnabout” is a fan favourite case, and for good reason – but will it hold up to an intensive retrospective?

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!

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Micro Story

Maya and Pearl visit Hazakura temple to further their spirit medium training, but find none other than Misty Fey waiting for them – Maya’s long-lost mother (even if they don’t know her real name yet). Misty is murdered in the dead of night, Maya disappears, the bridge between temples is set on fire, and Phoenix plunges into the deadly rapids below … my oh my!

There was a lot riding on “Bridge to the Turnabout” – it had to wrap up 14 cases of storytelling and character work, and it accomplishes that with aplomb whilst providing a blood-pumping narrative to boot. This is the most climactic, dramatic and emotionally-investing Ace Attorney case, and the fact it comes at the very end of such an iconic trilogy makes it even better.

Score: 10/10

Macro Story

The main appeal of “Bridge to the Turnabout”, at least initially, is that it wraps up the Fey Clan storyline. Maya’s mother makes her grand yet brief return, and Morgan’s depravity and desperation for power comes to fruition in the bloodiest of ways.

This case also has some fantastic character development – Pearls, Maya, Franziska and Godot all come to the end of their arcs, and we even get to play as best-boi prosecutor Edgeworth for the first Trial. That’s fan service done right!

If you had any questions about Ace Attorney plot threads or overarching narratives going into “Bridge to the Turnabout”, they were all masterfully answered by the time the credits rolled.

Score: 10/10

Mystery

Who killed Misty Fey? Why did they do it? How did they accomplish it without anyone seeing? Where did Maya disappear to? Why is the Sacred Cavern locked tight? Why does Iris look so much like the deceased Dahlia Hawthorne? Why did the Dusky Bridge in “Turnabout Beginnings” become so significant? And why is Larry such a loser?

“Bridge to the Turnabout” keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time, and the sheer bombardment of new mysteries and questions had my heartrate at critical levels for the whole playthrough.

There’s an argument to be made that the culprit is easily guessable once all the pieces are in place, but the journey to the verdict – with all the twists and turns along the way – is what matters most.

Score: 10/10

Side Characters

With all of the madness going on with the plot and the major characters, it’s impressive how the side characters still managed to stand out in their own right.

Bikini is a joy to be around, Dahlia is just as evil as ever, and her twin sister Iris made me second-guess who I was talking to multiple times. The ending where it’s revealed that it was Iris who fell in love with Phoenix at university, not Dahlia, is also bittersweet.

There is one more returning player, a man who has appeared in more Ace Attorney cases than he probably deserves – Larry Butz. I don’t hate him as much as some people, but his artsy-fartsy / lover-boy / thick-skulled persona can get really grating across the case.

Score: 9/10

Soundtrack

There aren’t many new additions to the soundtrack in “Bridge to the Turnabout” – Hazekura Temple and Elise Deauxnim get some fun themes, but it’s the returning songs that steal the show.

“Telling the Truth” hits unbelievably hard as the reveals start piling on top of one another, and “Pursuit: Cornered” returning in the final confrontation is probably the most hype moment in the original trilogy.

Score: 10/10

Investigations

As locations go, Hazakura Temple is one of the most beautiful we’ve seen. Having the two temples separated by Dusky Bridge was also an inspired choice, as it naturally railroads the Investigation as well as adding to the scenery.

The initial exploration of the area was fun, but things really start getting good once shit hits the fan. Maya’s disappearance adds a level of stress similar to (but not quite on par with) “Farewell, My Turnabout”, and Phoenix’s tumble allows Edgeworth to take the reins.

The Edgeworth segment of Investigations in particular is some of my favourite investigating in the series – it’s just fun to see a fresh perspective on something we’ve done a dozen times, and Edgeworth’s shock at the Magatama will always make me laugh.

Things don’t really pick up in the second Investigation, but they don’t slow down either. The bridge being repaired allows for a more thorough inspection of the scene, and “Iris” locking away the Sacred Cavern is a great cliffhanger before the final Trial.

Score: 9/10

Trials

Usually when I talk about the best Trials, like in “Rise from the Ashes” and “Farewell, my Turnabout”, it’s the second Trial day that gets all the plaudits. But in the case of “Bridge to the Turnabout”, both Trials are excellent for vastly different reasons.

Trial one is the comedy / fan-service installment, where Edgeworth faces Franziska as a defence attorney for the first time ever. The whole saga of Larry’s fiery painting and trying to decipher what the hell’s going on is some of the most fun I’ve had in the series.

The second Trial, however, will be the one to get your pulse racing. Phoenix and Godot battle it out once again to finally determine Misty’s killer, and the sheer number of plot twists and character moments had my jaw on the floor on multiple occasions.

Dahlia’s back! Maya survived! Godot is the killer! Mia’s back to deliver one final, spiritual objection! It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, and few gaming experiences have ever topped it.

Score: 10/10

Case Logic

I’ve been very generous with my high scores for this case … but logic is ultimately where “Bridge to the Turnabout” stumbles.

Let’s start with the big one – the corpse pendulum. I don’t care if the dead body swinging from one end of the ravine to the other is “scientifically feasible”. It completely breaks immersion when you see it, a bit like the cape attaching to Max’s bust in “Turnabout Big Top”, and this case would’ve been much stronger without it.

A second big one that I see sometimes (that I also happen to agree with) is that Godot and Misty’s plan is stupid. Once they uncover Morgan’s plot to use Pearls for evil, why do they feel the need to let it play out? Just nip the evil scheme in the bud before any unnecessary bloodshed!

The third and final logic lapse is one I don’t see cited very often, but it’s one I personally can’t look past. There’s a big moment in the first Trial when Edgeworth surmises that Larry must have drawn the “floating fiery lady” painting while lying upside down … so why didn’t Larry just, y’know, roll over so that he was right-side up? Just Larry being Larry, I suppose …

The only real plot hole is the second one, however. It’s a very contrived way of getting the murder to happen, but once Misty is murdered the writing is quite bulletproof. Apart from the pendulum. That stupid pendulum.

Score: 7/10

Culprit

Up until “Bridge to the Turnabout”, Godot is just another prosecutor with a weird hate-boner for Phoenix. But after this case’s credits rolled, he became one of my favourite anti-heroes (or anti-villains?) in gaming.

His plan to stop Dahlia and save Maya – Mia’s little sister – is both selfless and ultimately selfish, and it becomes even sadder once you realise that Godot and Mia were an item back in the day. Even near the end of the Trial Maya begs him to not give himself up, but he knows his sins. When he sees Mia’s spirit helping Phoenix, that’s when he breaks. A lawyer can only cry when it’s all over.

I also adore how they teased the detail that “Godot can’t see red on white backgrounds” across Trials & Tribulations, as that leads to one of the most insane culprit twists in the whole series.

Score: 10/10

Charm

For how serious “Bridge to the Turnabout” is with its tone and storytelling, I love how goofy the writing still manages to be.

All of the characters and interactions are really charming, and I couldn’t stop playing once the murder happens and Phoenix fell from the bridge. It keeps the intensity sky-high at all times, and you can only breathe a sigh of relief once the credits roll.

Score: 10/10

FINAL SCORE: 95/100

As suspected, “Bridge to the Turnabout” has an overall score that other cases could only dream of.

To refresh your turnabout memories, here are the scores for all five cases in Trials & Tribulations ordered from highest to lowest :

1 – Bridge to the Turnabout [95]

2 – The Stolen Turnabout [77]

3 – Turnabout Beginnings [75]

4 – Turnabout Memories [71]

5 – Recipe For Turnabout [61]

Easily the most consistent set of cases so far. And here are the average scores for every game in the original trilogy:

1 – TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS [76.0]

2 – PHOENIX WRIGHT: ACE ATTORNEY [68.4]

3 – JUSTICE FOR ALL [62.3]

Aaaaand that’s my list! I’ll probably take a break from Ace Attorney for a while to focus on other things, but until next time you can check out some of my latest blog posts below: