more like 'justice for all but phoenix wright' my poor guy gets assaulted HOW many times ... ?
can't even imagine how much more he's gonna go through in the rest of the series ...
jfa is ... interesting as in i feel like it both deserves better and is just okay at the same time ... it felt more often at times a drag to get through but holy shit does the last case fucking slap harder than franziska's whip and make everything worth it to get to that point .



[EPISODE 1-]

the amnesia thing felt kinda dumb it's like ... tutorial for the people who decided to play a sequel before the original ... i don't understand why people do that it's like why are you starting at the middle of a series ... regardless i /might/ be able to forgive it as long as they don't do it ever again . don't do it i swear to god .
this one felt more basic compared to the first trial in the first game it didn't hook me nearly as much ... but it's passable for what it is ... doesn't feel narratively all that important compared the first game's more relevant one as the latter set up wright's character and hints at the class trial ...
large bananas



[EPISODE 2-]

this one is pretty decent i felt a bit fatigued tho i feel like i probably liked this one a little less than others did ? it's far from bad it was just kinda 'okay' to me to where i really just don't have much to say about it ...
the whole setup and culprit are interesting but i feel like morgan's kind of ,.. just there and then she's like 'MUAHAHA IM RAISING MY CHILD TO BECOME THE HEIR TO THE FAMILY FUCK MAYA SHES A BITCH' and then wright pretends like he heard none of that bc he secretly agrees
idrk i just don't have much to say on this one ? it's just okay in my opinion ... pearls is cute and while i like her ... i really try my best to just ignore it but i groan a little bit whenever she ships wright and maya it's like ... in a little kid way it's kinda cute and while i understand /why/ she does that can't they please just explain things to her and make things less awkward ... speaking of uncomfortable 'ship' stuff ...



[EPISODE 3-]

in the words of wright himself - 'absolutely cringe-inducing'
hmm something nice to say ...
uh
it's got edgeworth in the epilogue and i nearly threw up out of shock seeing him in blue
i actually grew to like franziska starting here whereas i was before mostly indifferent and i felt kinda bad for her during this case (bc it's so bizarre and the madman wright is getting away with his outrageous theories again) and then even moreso in the final case and i'll expand on that later
i like the culprit keeping his cool the whole time only to just have tears quietly streaming down his face at the end ... the whole bat and ringmaster thing is just a tragic situation for everyone involved and is rather unfortunate for them so on those two fronts i did like the idea ...
it can be funny sometimes and it's so insane it almost makes sense but that's kinda a given anyway right ...
everything else tho ..,
do you think most of the alcohol used for the writing process was directed for this case ...
i did not much like the characters introduced here and i would prefer not to even think about all the gross age gap stuff involved so moving on
this case got my badge stolen which warrants the death penalty and when it was retrieved it fucked up the evidence slot order briefly un-fucking-forgivable
truly not just a clown , but the entire circus and like actual circuses i don't particularly enjoy them much and kinda view them as a waste of time personally



[EPISODE 4-]

i was really nervous about starting this one bc while avoiding spoilers i heard this was one of the best cases ...
yep
since i started the series i kept thinking 'what'll happen when wright has a client that's guilty' and here we find out what a hell of a ride it is
the stakes are raised immediately and is constantly dangling dangerously over a precipice throughout it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time i was sweating bullets i was so anxious with a constant pit in my stomach and had absolutely no clue what to expect ... then when i was making a dawning realisation on the true culprit i thought 'oh . THIS is what the title 'farewell , my turnabout' means' what a fantastic culprit even when i was interrogating him about his psychelocks a part of me STILL was clinging onto the hope that maybe there's a chance he could still be innocent and i felt the horror and betrayal right with wright and some kind of slight shame when engarde laughs about how overly trusting wright is
i'm curious what majority of people chose for that final verdict ... and the one before franziska arrives ... both times i chose guilty bc while maya's life would be endangered , i had to trust that the police would rescue her , i couldn't just let the real criminal get away and get an innocent party killed and again later i chose for guilty but i suppose that choice kinda didn't matter bc engarde begs for guilty anyway ... i suppose it's nice to have your cake and eat it too with 'got you your not guilty verdict like you asked have fun getting tracked down by an angry assassin ;)' but i didn't know that choice would still push engarde into pleading guilty and even if i initially knew i didn't just want to let him get declared 'innocent' even if de killer would be after him to me that wasn't ample enough justice - to still be labelled 'not guilty' when he was anything but - and i think narratively it works better for wright's character to have him still choose to 'lose' and give up his 'perfect record' which is kinda ironic bc i absolutely abuse my save states and i remember in an earlier case when i made a mistake and reloaded i thought 'no penalties i can't ruin my perfect record- oh .' and i just think that's amazing
absolutely fantastic case and it's well worth all the shit before it
'edgeworth , catch !' cue the greatest animation in the history of ever



[(mostly) EVERYTHING ELSE]

psychelocks are a new gimmick to spice investigations up a bit and while i like that it is rather frustrating having to quit and skip through mounds of dialogue because you picked the wrong profile or evidence ... speaking of i like the addition of presenting profiles it was something i had wondered briefly why it wasn't an option in the original so i was pleasantly surprised to see that was available here

the music definitely isn't as iconic as the first game's but i immediately noticed it felt ... sadder , generally more quiet and reserved as if in lingering mourning - reflecting wright's mental state as he's more bitter and jaded from the loss of his friend who he believes to be dead for the majority of the game and continues to be not doing so good as he negotiates a hostage situation involving another close friend .
while i did miss the original music , shaking it up was a good choice and i like the thematic nature i just described for it here ... i also like it bc the testimony music physically hurts less to listen to something about the original kinda makes me feel like getting a headache like it's good it just kinda feels a bit too loud and buzzy which applies to the psychelocks music too actually ...

as for new characters i have the most to say on franziska ...
i find it intriguing how in a way she's a parallel to wright ... cant remember who said it or when but a character mentioned the two having the same fiery determination and essentially strive for the same thing tho i wish her contrast and comparison to wright was a little more explored upon ...
she also serves as a sort of dark mirror to edgeworth as he has learned what being a prosecutor means yet she's still stuck in the shadow of living up to the von karma name and refuses to let go of her perfectionism until the end where she breaks a little and then my heart softened for her ... she's hardly a legal adult and has been burdened with so much weight of being like her father yet unlike him she also has some sympathy even as she's constantly harassing others with her whip - in case two she wants wright to strive for justified self-defence , not necessarily a fully guilty sentence until wright refuses to play by her rules ... and later in case 4 she can't understand why wright would be so okay with a loss on his record due to everything she's been taught and considers herself a failure for not being able to take her place in court and finally get her 'revenge' and then she's shown a form of kindness from edgeworth and even wright and i'm sure such a thing was probably a rarity for her ... she's been so openly antagonistic yet has the capacity for change ... i've grown to like her more as i came across her each time whereas i was indifferent before but put away the whip physical abuse is not acceptable behaviour



overall , it's definitely hit-or-miss in places but was undeniably still a wild ride , for better or worse and the fourth case again makes it all worth it even if the stuff before it isn't quite as spectacular , i still rather enjoy it although i will become mvk and speedrun big top every time i have to play it again