Great Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” (Case 1-3)

After two cases which dragged the pacing down, “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” finally kicks things up a gear. This is where “The Great Ace Attorney” begins to find its footing.

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:

EVERY Ace Attorney Case Ranked

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles – Every Major Character Ranked

Great Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “The Adventure of the Great Departure” (Case 1-1)

Great Ace Attorney Deep Dive: “The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band” (Case 1-2)

Micro Story

“The Adventure of the Runaway Room” is all about Ryunosuke and Susato’s first court case in Great Britain. They settle into their new home in England and are eased into their first case after weeks of preparation. I’m only joking, this is an Ace Attorney case – they’re thrown into their first case the moment they land on British soil, before they’ve even found a place to live, and the “Not Guilty” verdict is an implied requirement. This series doesn’t know how to do low stakes.

As for the case itself, it’s quite a simple murder which soon blossoms into a full-blown conspiracy (not necessarily in this case, but by the game’s end it has much more of an impact). A man is stabbed to death in an omnibus and a local philanthropist is the suspect.

On paper, it doesn’t sound like that good of a Micro Story. It’s the execution which makes it great.

Score: 8/10

Macro Story

I always look at two separate topics when talking about a case’s Macro Story – the main characters (their arcs as well as any new ones who are introduced) and the overarching narrative. “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” excels in both.

Let’s start with the main characters, because there’s quite few new additions to get through. Iris Wilson seems like a bubbly little girl but her appearance is just a cameo here. Gina Lestrade is an intriguing “street urchin” but by this point of the game we didn’t know she’d become a main character – she’s a bit rough around the edges, after all. And Mael Stronghart is the Victorian version of Damon Gant – his time-keeping quirk is simple but it grinds your gears. You can tell immediately that his position of power is likely steeped in corruption.

The most notable new main character is obviously Barok van Zieks, the prosecutor for Ryunosuke’s time in Great Britain. The “Reaper of the Bailey” has returned from his legal hiatus specifically to face off against Ryunosuke, but he’s just as sharp as when he left. His vampiric design, his wine drinking, his leg slams and his booming “Objection!” light up the courtroom.

And in terms of our existing main characters, there’s lots of positives here too. Susato is extremely helpful and kind in her first appearance as the court assistant, and Ryunosuke gets put through the ringer in his first real trial. He has to defend a guilty man – a conundrum which Phoenix dealt with much later in his attorney career. It’s an early test of character and mettle, one which Ryunosuke passes with flying colours.

I’ve already talked about it a little for van Zieks, but there are a couple of plot points which will play a major role moving forwards: the “Reaper of the Bailey” plotline and the inherent racism against Japanese people (mainly from van Zieks), the implication being that a Japanese man fell on the wrong side of British law. These are both teased nicely here and will become much more important in the second game.

For a non-finale case, the Macro Story couldn’t have been more perfect. It sets up many main characters and plot themes which will become crucial in the cases to come. And the best part is that it’s seamless with the rest of the case’s plot!

Score: 10/10

Mystery

I don’t know about you, but I never suspected Magnus McGilded as the Culprit until minutes before the reveal. I didn’t think Ace Attorney would draw from the “your client is guilty” well after the Matt Engarde case – and “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” isn’t even a finale case, so I just assumed they wouldn’t do something so crazy in the middle of the story!

The Mystery section is more than just the Culprit twist, however – it’s also about how the information of the case is presented. The events that transpired on the omnibus are intentionally obscured, which means that Ryunosuke is just as much in the dark as we are. The lack of an Investigations phase means that evidence is slowly fed into our inventory during the Trial, and we have barely any time to think too deeply about any of them.

I could sometimes be frustrated by how little we uncovered about the crime. Even by the case’s end, we don’t know why the Culprit did what they did. The Mystery is a bit unsatisfying in that regard but on the whole I enjoyed how shrouded and unclear the court proceedings were. It made for some really intense deductions and accusations.

Score: 8/10

Side Characters

The Side Characters sections are going to be quite messy from now on. There are technically ten (!!!) new characters to talk about here, but six of those are from the new jury. To make matters simpler moving forwards, I’ll talk about the jury members in one go. So that makes five new “characters” to evaluate.

Let’s start with that odd bunch who comprise the jury. My personal favourites include knife-guy, the old lady and the omnibus manager. These jurors set the tone for the wacky juries moving forwards.

And then there’s the trio of witnesses. Beppo is the shivering omnibus driver, Bruce Fairplay is a stern gentleman, and Lay D. Furst loves galloping on the witness stand. They’re all kooky but I can’t say any of them are particularly noteworthy.

Finally, we of course have the new Old Bailey Judge. He’s a bit like the main series Judge except slightly more competent … but he’s definitely a step down from the strict but fair Japanese judge.

There aren’t any characters here which made me roll my eyes (which is a miracle by Ace Attorney standards …) but there was nobody memorable either.

Score: 7/10

Soundtrack

Due to the plethora of new main characters, we were also treated to a wonderful crop of new character themes – Sholmes, van Zieks, Stronghart and Gina all get their own songs which get stuck in your head for days.

I also really like “Suspicious People” (which also doubles as McGilded’s theme), as well as the new “Summation Examination” theme. I think I also forgot to mention the new Pursuit theme “The Great Turnabout” when I reviewed Case 1, so let me give my quick thoughts here – it’s awesome! One of the best Pursuit Themes in the series for sure.

Don’t be surprised if the Soundtrack scores are all sky-high for every case moving forwards. These games have some phenomenal OSTs across the board.

Score: 9/10

“Investigations”

“The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band” was Investigation-only, so to make up for that the writers made “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” Trial-only. Surprisingly, however, there is still some investigating to do during court proceedings.

Van Zieks pulls his own version of the “updated autopsy report” by having an “updated crime scene report”. He transfers the omnibus – the very scene of the crime – into the courtroom for Ryunosuke to inspect. That’s a series first. Unorthodox crime scene investigation aside, the omnibus is okay but nothing special.

I also use these “Investigation” segments to talk about the scenery and locations, and in this case it’s the new British courtrooms. I really like how austere and historical the Old Bailey feels … But, like the omnibus, it’s nothing to write home about.

Score: 5/10

Trial

“The Adventure of the Runaway Room” has one Trial and that’s it … but what a Trial it is.

It’s an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish, whether it’s van Zieks bringing the omnibus to the courtroom or Gina setting off smoke bombs to make her failed getaway.

The moment in particular after the smoke bomb where you slowly realise that the crime scene has been altered was one of my favourite moments from this duology. This whole case is excellent when it comes to the sense of dread – you begin to understand that all is not as it seems, and your blind trust in your client may have been misplaced.

I also have to give credit to “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” for introducing the jury system, as well as the Summation Examination gimmick that entails. I love how the first time you do a Summation Examination it’s just as much of a surprise to the courtroom as it is to the player – Ryunosuke has to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. It’s proper edge-of-your-seat stuff.

Cool new mechanics, a feeling of dread and some shocking moments – this Trial was on par with a lot of the thrilling finale cases this series has procured.

Score: 9/10

Case Logic

My Case Logic sections are always full of nitpicks, even if there aren’t any plot holes to be found. For “The Adventure of the Runaway Room”, however, I’ve got nothing. I think this is the first time in my Deep Dive series where I’m genuinely at a loss.

The “Phoenix Wright Omnibus” easter egg breaks canon a little but I can forgive the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it fan-service. Van Zieks drinking wine during Trials is obviously odd but I think it’s a brilliant character quirk – it didn’t disrupt my immersion at all. The only real logic leap is that a member of the jury brings a knife with him to court … but this game is set in London, so that checks out.

But one aspect of the Case Logic which I rarely get to talk about is the positives – in other words, when a case is watertight. I really like how the courtroom (mostly because of van Zieks’ excellent questioning) explores all the various possibilities of murder. All the explanations and new theories are logical and feasible, which is something this series can sometimes fall short of.

For the first time maybe ever, I’m happy to give this category a perfect ten score.

Score: 10/10

Culprit

The Culprit of this case is none other than Magnus McGilded, the very defendant you’ve been protecting the whole time. Both of the times this series has done a defendant twist like this it’s always been a massive shock.

He starts the case as a kind philanthropist. He’s a bit of an eccentric Irishman, sure, but it seems he has a heart of gold … but that soon turns sour as the case goes on. You realise it was all an act. You begin to understand that this man, a rich aristocrat who has weaseled his way to the top of society, is corrupt to the core. And the worst part? He almost gets away with his crime scot-free.

He gets the “Not Guilty” verdict after tampering with the omnibus evidence, but he meets an untimely (but deserved) end when he’s set on fire in the very same omnibus he committed the crime in. That scene of the omnibus burning, with van Zieks watching on, is the definitive image of this case.

As a result, however, we don’t get to spend much time with McGilded. “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” is a very short case which doesn’t bother to set up McGilded’s motivations. We’ll find out why he did the things he did in Case 5, but until then he’s a Culprit who has maybe half an hour of screentime.

To his credit, however, I’ll never forget the betrayal I felt when it was revealed my own client was the Culprit. I can’t believe this series has pulled the rug over my eyes twice!

Score: 8/10

Charm

I was critical of both of the previous two cases, but “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” is when this game finally comes alive.

Van Zieks is an amazing new prosecutor who commands the courtroom. The Culprit twist absolutely floored me during my first playthrough. The new jury system is where “The Great Ace Attorney” finally sets its Trials apart from its predecessors.

This case is a non-stop thrill ride once the Trial begins, and it sets a new standard for cases in this duology moving forwards.

Score: 9/10

FINAL SCORE: 83/100

Damn, I forgot how solid this case was – that’s one of the best scores of any non-finale case in the series. When I ranked the cases a while ago I put it 22nd, but it should probably be in the Top 15. I might need to update that list in the near future …

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