Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “Turnabout Storyteller” (Spirit Of Justice – Case 4)

Alright. I’ll be honest with you all. Usually when I write these brief introductions I keep my opinion out of it and try to keep specifics vague, but this time there’s no point hiding it – “Turnabout Storyteller” is pointless. It’s a meaningless murder case near the end of “Spirit of Justice’s” runtime. It’s a waste of time and I’ll breeze through this Deep Dive as quickly as possible.

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

A man is murdered at a Rakugo Theatre. Some performers are suspects. Noodles are involved somewhat.

You read that right – this is Case 4 of an Ace Attorney game, the case before the grand finale, and it’s a filler case whose Micro Story can be summarised in a few words. That’s poor.

Score: 4/10

Macro Story

Athena is back and she’s the same as ever. Nahyuta is back and he’s as boring as ever. The saving grave is Simon Blackquill … but he’s the same as ever. I liked having him around, but I tend to score my Macro Story section on character development. So yeah. Other than Blackquill temporarily switching to the defendant’s bench for a bit of fun, there’s no character development to be found in “Turnabout Storyteller”.

The other aspect of Macro Story I always analyse is how the case ties into the overall narrative of its respective game. “Turnabout Storyteller” doesn’t connect to the plot of “Spirit Of Justice” in any way (apart from Nahyuta being there). No Defiant Dragons, no Khura’in, no Apollo or Phoenix. Yikes.

Score: 3/10

Mystery

There’s not enough time for the Mystery to build up in “Turnabout Storyteller”. There’s no Investigation segment (more on that later …), so we have to learn facts as we go during the Trial.

The only real Mystery other than “who killed the victim?” is “who is ‘Owen 4th’ and how do we get Uendo to show his hidden multiple personality?”. A decent question, but that’s not enough to grip me.

Score: 5/10

Side Characters

There are two Side Characters in “Turnabout Storyteller” that aren’t recurring main characters or the Culprit.

Bucky Whet is the defendant this time around, and he apparently knows Blackquill personally. Good for him. He’s a little quirky but he doesn’t stick around enough to make an impression.

The other Side Character is far more interesting – Uendo Toneido. Multiple personalities can be a touchy subject in storytelling but I think “Turnabout Storyteller” handles Uendo’s quirk well. He’s easily the best part of the case alongside Blackquill.

That’s it. There’s nothing to write home about, but the supporting cast is far from the worst thing about this case.

Score: 6/10

Soundtrack

“Strange People” is alright. Uendo Toneido’s theme is decent. I like how Athena’s theme has been touched-up.

Other than that, there’s not many new Soundtrack additions for me to sink my teeth into.

Score: 6/10

“Investigations”

I’m sorry, but not having an Investigation phase in a non-tutorial case is just not good enough. “Turnabout Beginnings” gets away with it because an Investigation would’ve been superfluous and it connects directly to the finale “Bridge to the Turnabout”, and “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” in “The Great Ace Attorney” only works because the case before it was Investigation-only.

When I play an Ace Attorney case, I come for the full Investigation-Trial experience. “Turnabout Storyteller” doesn’t justify its own existence at all. It doesn’t connect to the finale and there’s no reason for it to be Trial-only. This case’s existence detracts from the overall game’s experience.

Score: 0/10

Trial

Considering “Turnabout Storyteller” is Trial-only, you’d hope that the single Trial does enough to justify this case’s existence. It doesn’t.

Blackquill is a surprise first witness, Uendo steals the show with his multiple personalities and finding his fourth personality “Owen” is a decent Mystery, and the Culprit is allergic to buckwheat therefore the murder weapon must’ve been … wait for it … UDON NOODLES! DUN DUN DUUUUN!

So yeah, not a very gripping Trial. Blackquill shaking Athena in the first person is definitely the highlight of the whole sorry ordeal.

Score: 6/10

Case Logic

There’s not much runtime in “Turnabout Storyteller”, so I’m not surprised the Case Logic is fairly watertight. This’ll be the highest scoring category of the lot.

Uendo’s disassociative identity disorder is a bit cliché but I’ll ignore it. Prosecutor Blackquill being allowed to be a defense counsel is a bit of a stretch but I’ll allow it. The cards spelling out the supposed dying message “WHET NO. 4” is a lot of a stretch but I can turn a blind eye.

Lots of the plot beats are circumstantial and derivative, but there’s nothing egregious.

Score: 7/10

Culprit

Yes, Geiru Toneido is the hot clown lady who everyone in the Ace Attorney fandom simped for at one point. Clussy aside, she’s not a great Culprit.

Since there’s just one Trial in “Turnabout Storyteller”, there’s not enough time to establish her personality and motivation. She also gets done in by some udon noodles. Not a very intimidating Culprit.

Score: 5/10

Charm

“Turnabout Storyteller” is supposed to be a quirky one-off experience, I get that. Having Blackquill and Athena – one of the best recent duos – on the defence’s bench certainly helps with the Charm.

There’s one Trial that drags on, and beyond that the case itself is very filler and inconsequential. If Blackquill wasn’t there this could’ve gotten a 2/10 Charm score.

Score: 6/10

Is “Turnabout Storyteller” the worst Ace Attorney case of all time? No, of course not. It’s written decently well and it has some charming moments. But my god, I can’t think of any other case (other than maybe “Turnabout Big Top”) where it could’ve been cut and the overall game would’ve been all the better for it.

FINAL SCORE: 48/100

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