Best Ace Attorney One-Hit Wonder Characters

I’ve ranked the main characters, I’ve ranked the defendants, I’ve ranked the culprits … but, as I realised during my recent Ace Attorney Deep Dives, that doesn’t highlight all of the wonderful characters this series has to offer.

There are some side characters who appeared in one case and one case only, and yet made an immediate and long-lasting impression despite not being a culprit or defendant. I won’t rank all of the one-off Ace Attorney characters (as some of them are pretty bad) – just the ones I liked the most.

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

Top 30 Ace Attorney Characters

Every Ace Attorney Defendant Ranked

Every Ace Attorney Culprit Ranked

Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “The First Turnabout” (Phoenix Wright – Case 1)

EVERY Ace Attorney Case Ranked

15 – Sister Bikini (Bridge to the Turnabout)

Sister Bikini is far from the most interesting character in “Bridge to the Turnabout”, which makes it easy to forget just how good of a side character she is.

She’s joyous, a force of positive energy, and it’s sweet how she has the Fey family’s best interests at heart. And she has to stand on a box in court, which I find very funny.

14 – Miriam Scuttlebutt (Turnabout Academy)

“Turnabout Academy” has a fantastic side cast (some of which we’ll see later …), and Miriam Scuttlebutt is among some of the best one-off comic relief characters this series has done.

She’s an investigative journalist, which is good for gaining new evidence, and she’s also a shy schoolgirl hiding in a cardboard box. Solid Snake eat your heart out.

13 – Uendo Toneido (Turnabout Storyteller)

I don’t like “Turnabout Storyteller”, as I made abundantly clear when I looked at it in my case-by-case retrospective. The only good thing about it (other than Blackquill at the defence bench) is Uendo Toneido.

Multiple personalities is a tricky trope to get right, but Uendo’s personalities were varied and entertaining enough that I didn’t mind it. His testimonies, especially when you have to uncover his hidden fourth personality, are a highlight of the case.

12 – Polly the Parrot (Turnabout Goodbyes)

I toyed for ages with including Polly the Parrot on this list. Is this a meme entry? Maybe, as there’s not much of a character to analyze here, but I think it’s what Polly represents that matters most.

Polly’s testimony was a turning point in the series – not only did it make sense within the case’s context and elevate the story, but it set the precedent for all the silliness that was to come.

11 – Herman Crab (Turnabout Reclaimed)

“Turnabout Reclaimed” is such a fun bonus case. I really liked all of the characters, but Herman Crab stood out to me for his eccentric yet endearing personality.

He’s a great red herring (I, personally, was confident he was the culprit …), but it turns out he’s just a kooky vet who loves his animals. What a guy.

10 – Madame Tusspells (The Return of the Great Departed Soul)

I’ll take any excuse to talk about “The Return of the Great Departed Soul”, one of my favourite Ace Attorney cases of all time. As expected, its side cast is phenomenal.

Madame Tusspells runs a waxwork museum and gets Herlock Sholmes to be a live mannequin. She’s mysterious, oddly intimidating and has a really cool design.

9 – Aura Blackquill (The Cosmic Turnabout / Turnabout For Tomorrow)

Yes, I’m counting “The Cosmic Turnabout” and “Turnabout For Tomorrow” as one big case. Sue me.

Aura Blackquill has three main character quirks – she’s a techie, she’s Simon Blackquill’s sister, and she’s bonkers. Combine all of those and you get a robot uprising.

8 – The Skulkin Brothers (The Adventure of the Unspeakable Story)

I guess I could’ve tried picking a single favourite Skulkin brother for this entry … but what would be the point? They’re a package deal and they’d be boring on their own.

Their sole purpose is to throw a spanner in the works in court, and they do it gloriously. Any tall-thin / short-fat duo is guaranteed to be funny. That’s just one of the laws of life.

7 – Robin Newman / Hugh O’Connor (Turnabout Academy)

I’m going to cheat massively for this entry, as I wasn’t sure which student friend to include from “Turnabout Academy”. In the end, I went for both Robin and Hugh – I think they compliment each other’s character.

Robin is a girl struggling with her gender identity, and Hugh is a guy struggling with his academic identity. Both of these inner conflicts are conveyed well, and their friendship with Juniper is the emotional core of the case.

6 – Olga Orly (Turnabout Trump)

Almost every side character in tutorial cases is either a one-note culprit or a forgettable witness, so I was stunned when Olga Orly actually had some depth.

Despite her criminally brief screen-time, she entertains the courtroom with her sudden switch from shy waitress to hardened card dealer.

5 – Yuri Cosmos (The Cosmic Turnabout / Turnabout For Tomorrow)

Few side characters have ever made such an immediate impression as Yuri Cosmos in “The Cosmic Turnabout”.

He rocks up on a scooter looking like the captain of an intergalactic spaceship … which he kinda is. He’s kooky and hiding secrets – a great combination for this series.

4 – Armie Buff (Turnabout Revolution)

When replaying “Turnabout Revolution” I wrongly assumed that all of the best moments and characters were in the second Trial – I’d completely forgotten about Armie Buff!

You’re harassed by an adorable robot for most of the Investigation, and then the reveal that it was a wheelchair-bound girl absolutely melted my heart. We need more young and erratic witnesses in this series (excluding that kid in “Turnabout Samurai” …).

3 – Valant Gramarye (Turnabout Succession)

Is it cheating to have Valant Gramarye in a “One-Hit Wonder” list? A little, as he briefly cameos in “Turnabout Serenade”, but he doesn’t truly become a proper, interactable character until “Turnabout Succession”.

He’s a key part of one of my favourite Ace Attorney sub-plots – Troupe Gramarye – and you can never tell if he means well or if he’s scheming something behind the scenes.

2 – Jake Marshall (Rise from the Ashes)

Considering the Ace Attorney franchise seems to bring back every semi-important OG character for fan service, I’m quite frankly astounded that Jake Marshall is yet to reappear.

He’s a rootin’ tootin’ cowboy detective with a quirky personality, on a mission to avenge his older brother. He’s got everything – a fun screen presence, a great design and an engrossing backstory.

1 – Sorin Sprocket (Turnabout Time Traveler)

Sorin Sprocket is a unique character in the Ace Attorney canon – the entirety of “Turnabout Time Traveler” is effectively written around him, and he isn’t even the defendant or culprit of the case! I can’t recall another time when a side character got such an illustrious treatment.

He’s pretty much the sole inspiration for this list – I was astounded when replaying the case for my Deep Dive just how impactful he is. I love the film “Memento”, so his similar memory loss quirk hit all the right beats. His manic attitude always kept me on my toes. And then, to cap it all off, his romance with Ellen Wyatt is one of the loveliest in all of Ace Attorney.

This series could go on for ten mores games and I still don’t think we’d get a better one-off character than Sorin Sprocket.

Aaaand that’s my list! If you liked this post and want to support me, please consider giving me a one-time donation. Even a few pence (or whatever currency you use) is fantastic! I’ve never monetized this blog before, but it would be great if I could do this comfortably and not have to worry about the yearly website domain costs. Thank you so much!