Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “Turnabout Revolution” (Spirit Of Justice – Case 5)

It all comes down to this – after four cases of Defiant Dragons teasing, it’s finally time for Dhurke and his crew to take centre stage in “Turnabout Revolution”. Can “Spirit Of Justice” end with a bang?

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

Weirdly, “Turnabout Revolution” is split into two unique parts – the Civil Trial in Japanifornia and the Murder Trial in Khura’in. I’ll look at both Micro Stories individually.

The Japanifornia Trial is an odd one. It’s a Civil Trial to work out who the Founders Orb belongs to (and someone dies … because this is Ace Attorney), as it was supposed to go to the Defiant Dragons but it got stolen. It’s a fun first Act to the story, even seeing Phoenix on the Prosecutor’s bench … so I can’t help but wonder why they didn’t make this Case 4 instead of “Turnabout Storyteller”.

The story takes a much more interesting turn in Khura’in, where Minister Inga is found dead after a botched hostage exchange. There’s lots of political tension across this portion of the game, and Dhurke does some heavy lifting as the defendant.

Both parts of “Turnabout Revolution” come together to create a really cohesive and engaging narrative. “Spirit Of Justice” may have had its flaws, but I can look past most of them when the finale is as bold and brazen as it is.

Score: 9/10

Macro Story

Most of the main characters don’t get much development here. Athena and Trucy are still around. Maya, Pearls and Edgeworth make cameos, and they’re the same as ever. Phoenix, surprisingly, doesn’t have much to do. Huh. There’s one more attorney I haven’t mentioned yet …

Apollo is finally relevant! He leads the case and he’s put in some really tight situations, and him deciding to stay in Khura’in at the end is a sensible choice for his character. Nahyuta finally does something interesting as well by rejecting Queen Ga’ran and backing Dhurke and his revolution … but it’s too little too late by this point of the game. I’m not surprised he got demoted as the final case prosecutor in lieu of a more interesting foe.

As for the Macro Story, i.e. the overarching narrative threads, it all comes to a head in “Turnabout Revolution”. We finally get some answers about the Founders Orb and the Defiant Dragons, and we even get some new information about Apollo’s real father. Other than Apollo not meeting Lamiroire yet, everything in “Spirit Of Justice” is wrapped up in a neat bow.

… Although, it must be said, “Turnabout Revolution” doesn’t exactly tie together the “Apollo Justice Trilogy” in the same way that “Bridge to the Turnabout” completed the Original Trilogy. I find it better to treat these Apollo games as an ongoing saga rather than three finished titles, as I’m sure the story will continue in Ace Attorney 7.

Score: 9/10

Mystery

There actually aren’t many Mysteries in “Turnabout Revolution”. The Culprits are both pretty obvious, and the main objective is to topple a fearsome regime rather than unlock the Mysteries of the case.

The Founders Orb is one big Mystery I suppose, Dhurke has many secrets about his wife and potential children, and Nayna disappears at one point. These add up to a greater intrigue, but the individual Mysteries aren’t too captivating.

Score: 7/10

Side Characters

Is it just me, or does “Turnabout Revolution” have some of the best Side Characters in the series?

I’ll start with Armie Buff, the main witness in the Civil Trial – and easily one of the best one-off characters I can recall. Her military lingo and her mini drone are super Charming, and the reveal that it was a sheltered girl behind it all is such a neat twist.

Over in Khura’in, we get some bombshell reveals about the royal family. Rayfa is Dhurke’s daughter all along, Minister Inga has prosopagnosia (where he can’t see faces), and Nayna is actually the previous queen Amara in disguise. It’s a series of charactierizations in a row which help to flesh out the Khura’inese cast.

But my favourite characters (other than Armie Buff) belong to the Defiant Dragons – Datz is as goofy as always, and Dhurke is the MVP of “Spirit Of Justice”. He’s such a badass through and through, and his care for his children is always on the forefront of his mind. His death was easily one of the saddest Ace Attorney reveals.

There’s no weak link here. Everyone is distinct, and characters like Armie and Dhurke bring the Charm. The Khura’inese cast besides Dhurke could’ve maybe had more time in the spotlight but that’s my only complaint.

Score: 9/10

Soundtrack

The “Spirit Of Justice” soundtrack is generally on the weaker side overall (by Ace Attorney standards), but this case is where some of the previous tracks – like “Pursuit – Cornering Together” – finally hit me.

The new tracks like Dhurke’s triumphant theme and Paul Atishon’s sleezy theme work well, and it was great to hear “Khurain Village 2016” once again.

Score: 8/10

Investigations

I like how varied the Investigations are – specifically how we explore Kurain Village in Japanifornia at first and then Khura’in on the following day.

Kurain Village has a fresh new coat of paint, and Buff’s Office is a neat little location. Khura’in, however, is much more visually appealing. The various temples and interiors are always so vibrant, and the hostage exchange scene in the Tomb was thrilling.

Score: 8/10

Trials

As I’ve mentioned before, there are two very different styles of Trial in “Turnabout Revolution”. Despite their differences, I think both are great when viewed in conjunction.

The First Trial is the Civil Trial with the Founders orb, and like I said previously Armie Buff is such a joy with all the mayhem she causes. It ends up being a murder case yet again, which is a twist everyone was expecting, and Paul Atishon gets his just desserts. The only downside of this Trial is Phoenix’s motivation for being a Prosecutor – Maya got kidnapped. Again. It’s a tried and tested way to add tension to the courtroom, but needless to say it worked a hundred times better in “Farewell, My Turnabout”.

The Second Trial is all about the murder of Minister Inga, and boy is it a doozy. It’s twist after twist – Inga can’t see faces (that Divination Seance is haunting), Queen Amara is still alive, Dhurke has been dead for days, and Ga’ran has no right to the throne since she can’t channel spirits!

I can’t recall many other Trials that had me so hooked. The Dhurke twist in particular was a plot development that I didn’t see coming and made me really appreciate the boldness of the writing. The intense Second Trial alone is deserving of the perfect score.

Score: 10/10

Case Logic

There’s a lot of malarkey about Spirit Channelling and other spiritual stuff to that effect, but this is Ace Attorney so I’m willing to let those leaps in logic fly.

Amara hiding in plain sight as Nayna is a bit of a stretch. She looks pretty different, sure, but it’s astounding how nobody (particularly people in power, like Ga’ran) outed her.

The other Case Logic that fell laughably flat was the idea that Inga might not have known if he was stabbed in the back, as “he was taking back pain medication”. Be real, Ace Attorney. This series is a suspension of disbelief, sure, but this isn’t a time for make-belief. You have to a least try to be medically realistic.

Score: 8/10

Culprits

Since we had two wildly different Trials, it’s no surprise that we had two Culprits on opposite ends of the spectrum. Well, I guess they were both people who misused political power, but I think they went about it in very different ways.

Paul Atishon, the Culprit of the Civil Trial, is definitely the less interesting of the two. He’s a political grifter who uses any chance he can get to rise up the social ladder. He had a funny breakdown, and he was a conniving nuisance in court, so on the whole I enjoyed his screentime.

The real star of the show is definitely the Khura’inese Queen of Evil herself, Ga’ran Sigatur Khura’in. She wears her wickedness on her sleeve, and it’s fascinating to face a prosecutor who can announce guilty verdicts and change her country’s laws on the fly. She’s a bit too cartoonishly evil to be truly great, but I can confidently say Phoenix and Apollo have never faced such a powerful foe.

Score: 8/10

Charm

“Turnabout Revolution” has it all – amazing Trials with lots of twists, quirky characters like Armie Buff who are memorable in their own right, and even returning fan-favourite characters like Pearls, Maya and Edgeworth.

I think the true MVP has to be Dhurke. He’s a badass of a father, and he taught us all the most important lesson in life – A Dragon Never Yields.

Score: 9/10

FINAL SCORE: 85/100

This was such a great finale case, on par with the original trilogy’s endings. “Spirit Of Justice” was a bit hit-or-miss across the prior cases, but “Turnabout Revolution” ties it all together with aplomb.

Aaaaand that’s my list! Just one more Ace Attorney Deep Dive to go … until then, you can check out some of my latest blog posts below: