Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “Turnabout Trump” (Apollo Justice – Case 1)

With the Ace Attorney trilogy coming to its natural conclusion, Shu Takumi assumed that his hit lawyer series was over and done with. But, after Capcom pushed for a sequel, Takumi came back in order to get it right.

The first case of the new Apollo Justice era is “Turnabout Trump”, a murky romp with ace Poker hands and unexpected betrayals – and it’s one hell of an opening statement.

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

Deep in the bowels of the Borscht Bowl Club a game of Poker goes horribly astray. A man who goes by the name of “Shadi Smith” is found dead due to a single head wound, and the main suspect is … Wait a minute, is that PHOENIX WRIGHT?!?

I’ll talk more about the GOAT of videogame lawyers in the Macro Story section, but for now I’ll just say that the initial shock factor is fantastic the first time you play “Apollo Justice”. His elaborate scheme of revenge against Kristoph is a delight to watch unfold, and I love the layered complexity of what is otherwise a simple tutorial case.

A lot of the narrative threads are left intentionally obscure for now (Who is Shadi Smith? Why did Kristoph kill him? What happened to Phoenix seven years ago?) but the Micro Story of “Turnabout Trump” is easily one of the strongest I’ve seen from an opening case. Bonus points for all the clever comparisons between Poker and court proceedings!

Score: 8/10

Macro Story

Lots of excellent new characters and plot threads are brought up – Trucy Wright makes a mysterious first impression as Phoenix’s apparent daughter, and Apollo Justice is charming enough … even if he gets overshadowed in his own game by Phoenix.

And as for Phoenix Wright himself, I was very impressed with how his character developed. Die-hard fans might not like this new version of the famous Ace Attorney, but “Hobo” Phoenix playing dirty, giving Apollo forged evidence and revealing he has a secret daughter was such captivating writing.

The question of “What happened to Phoenix seven years ago that led to him losing his badge?” will drive the rest of “Apollo Justice”, and it’s one of the more compelling overarching plot threads in the series.

Score: 9/10

Mystery

“Apollo Justice” breaks the trend of the opening case simply showing us who the culprit is, so “Turnabout Trump” is already off to a flying start in the Mystery department.

Not only that, but it’s extremely unclear who the culprit is. Olga Orly is a huge red herring, and you would never suspect your own Defence Mentor to be implicated in the crime (at least, not in the very first case of the game!). What makes Kristoph’s reveal so great is that the signs were there if you were clever enough to spot them.

There’s also the tease of Phoenix losing his badge seven years ago, so overall “Turnabout Trump” excels in its Mystery.

Score: 9/10

Side Characters

There aren’t necessarily many “new” Side Characters in “Turnabout Trump”, so I thought I’d talk about some of the returning players too. It’s a new trilogy, after all.

Winston Payne is back at the prosecutor’s bench, and he’s just as spineless as ever. The Judge is still pretty useless too. If nothing else, it’s nice to know that courtroom proceedings are just as wishy-washy in this new era of post-Wright law.

I don’t tend to talk about victims as they are usually dead before we get to know anything interesting about them, but Shadi Smith makes a surprisingly solid posthumous impression. He’s mysterious, that’s for sure, and it’s clear that his story isn’t over yet – why did he have a necklace with Trucy’s picture in?

The last, and I think best, of the Side Characters is Olga Orly – the “Russian waitress” of the Borscht Bowl club. Her shift from frail lady to confident con-woman is lots of fun, and her demeaning attitude – including spelling out her surname’s pun for any who hadn’t worked it out – adds some nice levity to the Trial.

Score: 7/10

Soundtrack

Other than the Great Ace Attorney duology, I think “Apollo Justice” has the best crop of tracks in the series.

The new Objection, Trial, Court, Pursuit, Telling the Truth, Suspense and Cross-examination themes are all exceptional, so my only gripe is that sometimes they used an old music theme or motif – I guess it was to soften the transition for returning players, but since the new music quality is so good they should’ve stuck to just the new stuff.

Score: 9/10

“Investigations”

We’ve reached that awkward point in a Trial-only case where I have to talk about the case’s “Investigations” or – as I’ve compromised – the location of the crime.

The Borscht Bowl Club is one of my favourite locations in the series we never visit – it’s very mysterious, and the dark backstory helps add to the moody aura. I would’ve loved to see more than just a boxy Poker room, however.

Score: 6/10

Trial

There’s just one Trial in “Turnabout Trump”, but the writers sure make it count.

We set up Apollo, Kristoph and Phoenix as major characters, we introduce Olga Orly as a witness and eventual red herring, we investigate the crime scene remotely, and we turn the tables on Kristoph and semi-redeem Phoenix – all in the space of one Trial day!

This Trial is perfectly paced, and even though this is one of the longer tutorial cases it flies by in a flash.

Score: 8/10

Case Logic

For the most-part “Turnabout Trump” is bulletproof in the logic department (probably due to its short length and relatively simple crime) … but I found a couple of nitpicks.

First of all, Winston Payne does some really brain-dead prosecution. I know that’s his gimmick, and I know this is just a tutorial case, but it’s hard to take the “rookie killer” seriously when even I could do a better job. How this man wins any Trials is beyond me …

The other small gripe is how Kristoph’s odd phrasings, like “cards wreathed in blue flame” and “victim’s chinaplate head” (or something to that effect), get him into trouble. They are completely unnecessary descriptions that are contrived to make Kristoph the prime suspect quickly, and the excuse of “English isn’t his first language so he overcompensates” doesn’t really work in visual novel format.

Score: 8/10

Culprit

Going into “Turnabout Trump”, I’d be impressed if anyone sussed out Kristoph within the first hour. I personally never expected the mentor figure to be the culprit in the very first case of the game, so the reveal was shocking.

We don’t know the extent of Kristoph’s villainy just yet, but his quirky personality and fiendish yet simple plan makes him a great tutorial foe.

Score: 8/10

Charm

I, like many other Ace Attorney fans, was hesitant going into this new era. A new protagonist, a new cast of characters, Phoenix coming back yet being so different from what we know and love … and yet it all works brilliantly.

The comedic moments shine just as much as the dramatic ones, the soundtrack is banging, and Phoenix taking down Kristoph is euphoric. It would’ve been nice if Apollo (y’know … the new poster boy and title character) got a stand-out moment, but I suppose we can’t have everything.

Score: 9/10

FINAL SCORE: 81/100

Most fully-fledged cases can only dream of a final score higher than 80, which goes to show that “Turnabout Trump” is the best, most complex opening case in the series.

Aaaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: