Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “The Cosmic Turnabout” (Dual Destinies – Case 4)

Dual Destinies began with an explosion, so it’s only fitting that the finale kicks off with a bang. Though this isn’t the final case, “The Cosmic Turnabout” is the first part of a fantastic climax.

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

Clay Terran, an up-and-coming astronaut, is killed after a deadly explosion at the Cosmos Space Centre. What’s even stranger, however, is that he wasn’t killed in the blast – he’s found with a knife in his chest, and his mentor and fellow astronaut Solomon Starbuck is the prime suspect.

Apollo is initially the one at the defence’s bench as Clay was his childhood friend, but after a courtroom bombing (as seen in “Turnabout Countdown”) it’s Phoenix and Athena who take over. But Athena seems to have more ties to the Cosmos Space Centre than she’s letting on …

The explosion and high stakes across “The Cosmic Turnabout” make it an excellent introduction to the finale, and I was excited to keep playing to see where the story would go.

Score: 8/10

Macro Story

There’s not much going on in the “Cosmic Turnabout” Macro Story department. There’s no mention of the Dark Age of the Law, but it’s said that Blackquill is hunting some kind of “Phantom” – more on that plot development in the next case.

The biggest faux pas is that Apollo is sidelined for Phoenix (for the second game and finale in a row), but Athena being generally mysterious helps to keep her character engaging.

Score: 6/10

Mystery

Where “The Cosmic Turnabout” falls flat in its Macro Story, it more than makes up for with its Mystery.

We have no idea who the culprit is or their motivation, or why Yuri Cosmos switched the rockets, or what Athena is hiding, or just what the hell is going on with this case.

Add to that the amazing cliffhanger of Athena’s fingerprints being on decisive evidence and you have one of the best single-case mysteries in the series.

Score: 9/10

Side Characters

There are a fair few new characters in “The Cosmic Turnabout” that should’ve been annoying on paper, but they all became quite endearing by the end.

Aura Blackquill is the least memorable of the side cast – despite being Simon Blackquill’s sister. She’s a stern mechanic who created both Ponco and Clonco (two robots who have bubbly personalities to contrast her dour one), and you can tell she’s hiding some dark secrets.

The defendant of this case, Solomon Starbuck, was a lot more intriguing than most of the previous defendants. His long sighs could get annoying, but otherwise his backstory with the doomed space mission and his desire to get back on his feet again made for some compelling B-story drama.

Weirdly, my favourite character from this case was the kooky space centre director Yuri Cosmos. He speeds around on a segway and is overly dramatic at every opportunity, which is always highly entertaining. The twist that he switched the rockets was also an intriguing play that I can’t wait to see the motivation for.

Score: 8/10

Soundtrack

The opening cutscene has some dramatic music, but otherwise the Soundtrack in “The Cosmic Turnabout” was nothing of note.

I liked Yuri’s and the space centre’s themes, I suppose, but nothing stood out to me particularly.

Score: 7/10

Investigation

I really liked the Cosmos Space Centre as hub for the Investigation. I wish we got more Ace Attorney cases set in futuristic / sci-fi locations, as I feel it allows the designers to go all out with the backgrounds – and within Dual Destinies it meant we got some cool 3D models!

Since Phoenix is in charge of the only Investigation segment that also meant we saw the return of Psyche Locks yet again. We don’t do much with them, but they’re always a welcome addition.

Score: 8/10

Trials

We’re launched straight into the first Trial with Apollo, and I love how we learn information about the case while dumped into the thick of it – I wish more cases did that … Oh, and the explosion at the end certainly piqued my interest.

Phoenix and Athena take over the second Trial, and it’s somehow even crazier than the first. Cosmos switched the rockets and Athena might well be the culprit after all. Things are heating up, y’all!

Score: 9/10

Case Logic

I didn’t notice any major logic pitfalls in “The Cosmic Turnabout”, but a couple of things made me roll my eyes.

I can’t believe nobody noticed the two rockets were switched, and Cosmos’s badge stopping the bullet is a cliché that made me groan. Ace Attorney will be Ace Attorney, I suppose.

Score: 8/10

Culprit

For the first time ever in this Ace Attorney retrospective series, we don’t know who the culprit is by the time the case ends.

We also don’t yet know the motive for murder or the space centre bombing either – I’ve decided to score that in this case’s favour, as an unknown culprit is actually quite a cool feature of “The Cosmic Turnabout”.

Score: 7/10

Charm

An unknown killer, a cast of kooky characters, explosions left right and centre, and Athena is revealed to potentially be the culprit … oh my!

“The Cosmic Turnabout” comes out the gate swinging, which I appreciated greatly.

Score: 8/10

FINAL SCORE: 78/100

While not necessarily the longest and most impactful case due to how it’s effectively a “part one” to the finale, “The Cosmic Turnabout” does a lot right in a short span of time.

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