Mia Fey
Mia Fey is a famous defense attorney known for her belief in her clients' innocence.- Determinator: Lampshaded by Hazama. She refuses to give up.
- Dude Magnet: Mia was married to Diego before his death, attracts attention from the gallery, and earned the affection of the murderer himself.
- Happily Married: With Diego Armando, until his death a year prior to the case.
- Hello, Attorney!: She’s a very attractive lawyer, which Hazama uses for potshots at her expense.
- The Hero: Mia Fey works tirelessly as a Crusading Lawyer and takes Nick Burg’s case to prove his innocence in Larry’s murder, even after it is realized that he is guilty of assault.
Phoenix Wright
Phoenix Wright is one of Mia's old friends, an ex-defense attorney who worked at her firm who lost his badge six years prior to Turnabout of Courage. When his friend Larry received a letter for a trial of courage, he acted as the trustworthy witness that would endure he respected the terms, bringing Mia along with him. However, when things take a turn for the tragic, he tries to do what it takes to bring his friend's killer to justice.
He is the true killer. For more details, see Spoiler Character 1 below.
- Deadpan Snarker: Quite the witty assistant, much like his canon AJ-era self.
- Disappointed by the Motive: He’s let down by the fact that he lost his badge over getting a case someone else wanted.
- It's Personal: Larry was a dear friend of his, and Phoenix will find the truth behind his death.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He disturbs the crime scene by searching Larry's body for anything that could turn up a clue.
- Walking Spoiler: The very fact that Phoenix Wright is the murderer requires a separate folder to draw suspicion away.
Larry Butz
The victim. Larry Butz was a childhood friend to both Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth who was described as an idiot who was usually responsible for everything, earning him the saying "When something smells, it's usually the Butz". Desperate to enter a relationship with a woman, he undertook a "trial of courage" that proved fatal.
Larry never made it to the tower. He, Phoenix and Edgeworth conspired to have the latter disguise himself as him and take his place in the tower. Instead he showed up at Phoenix's home, where he was killed. His corpse was later placed before the church tower.
- Casanova Wannabe: As usual. The latest woman he is enamored with is the reason he decided to take the trial of courage.
- Dead All Along: The "Larry" seen at the beginning of the case is actually Edgeworth disguised as him. Larry is long dead, as he was killed in Phoenix's home.
- Killed to Uphold the Masquerade: He spotted Phoenix poison the coffee at Diego and Mia's home. Phoenix blew it off as a prank that had gone horribly wrong, though Larry later wrote a letter to him saying he couldn't keep it a secret very longer.
- Not the Fall That Kills You…: How he's killed: dropped off a height of at least 7 meters, instantly dying on impact.
Miles Edgeworth
Miles Edgeworth is a famous defense attorney and the son of Gregory Edgeworth. He lives in the same house as Larry, who insisted on sharing his lottery winnings after using the 38$ he tried to give him back after the second DL-6 trial.
He, Phoenix and Larry conspired to have him take Larry's place in the tower. Unaware of Larry's death, he arrived a few minutes earlier due to his wristwatch being ten minutes faster. He was later knocked out by Peter Burg while making his way out, and he was disposed of by Phoenix in the 35 minutes in which he called the police. His body was later found by one of Gumshoe's colleagues in a nearby river.
- Dead All Along: He went missing after leaving his house shortly before the beginning of the case. He was in fact the "Larry" that was seen atop the church, but was knocked out by Peter Burg and later disposed of by Phoenix.
- Unwitting Pawn: Had no clue about Phoenix's plan. As far as he knew, he was just helping out Larry with his trial of courage.
Peter Burg/Wesley Stickler
Real name: Wesley Stickler. Peter Burg is a devoutly religious man who has bought the old abandoned church, now re-baptized the "Holy Stickler Church". He is the defendant after confessing to hitting the victim in the head with his Bible in an exorcism attempt.
- Killing in Self-Defense: Subverted. He never even touched Larry. However, he did knock out Edgeworth.
Dick Gumshoe
The main detective on the case, he's met both Phoenix and Mia numerous times before.
Franziska von Karma
Franziska von Karma is the prosecutor who was first assigned to the case. The daughter of Manfred von Karma, she has never lost a trial and still has a perfect win record. She was supposed to face off against Mia, though at the last minute she was replaced by Hazama.
- The Unfought: She is never faced at any point in the case.
Luke Atmey
- "Zvarri! The truth has once again been unelegantly revealed... to you!"
A former self-proclaimed "Ace Detective", Luke Atmey is CEO of Cool Company and the husband of the owner of Cool Company, Luna von Doppelbohringen.
- Catchphrase: He uses "Zvarri!" again when lapsing into his "Ace Detective" persona.
- Great Detective: As it is an Alternate Universe, it is unknown how well he actually did. However, he set aside his Ace detective days when he married Luna and became CEO of her company. Though he allegedly continued his detective work behind her back.
- Happily Married: He and Luna seem quite happy together.
- Hypocrite: He confesses to the murder when it seems like it will make him well-known, but in the True Ending he calls the plan absurd and claims he would have seen through it in an instant.
- It's All About Me: Still as self-centered as always. Which, in the Bad Ending, results in him taking the credit for Larry's murder due to the whole "locked door" murder scenario which only he could've set in motion. Just as Phoenix planned.
- Laughing Mad: When falsely confessing to the murder.
- Red Herring: He and everything related to Cool Company have absolutely nothing to do with the murder.
- Unwitting Pawn: He is not actually the murderer, but a proxy set up to take the credit and the fall.
- Villainous Breakdown: In his fake breakdown when outed as the murderer, he declares the murder method (planting dry ice from his company, Cold Company, in a cage in the tower to knock Larry unconscious with the carbon dioxide it created, resulting in him falling out of the window) to be "ingenious" and proceeds to take credit for it, reprising his original "tragic clown" breakdown from Trials and Tribulations.
Luna Atmey
- "Would you like me to elaborate?"
Birth name: Luna von Doppelbohringen. Wife of Luke Atmey and owner of Cool Company, she has a penchant for over explaining things to the minor detail.
- Berserk Button: She does not like it when someone refuses to listen to her elaborations or falls asleep during one. Hazama cutting her off changes her attitude to a more haughty tone.
- Character Filibuster: She elaborates. And elaborates. And elaborates. On every single detail, no matter how distant in time it is or how irrelevant it is to the question at hand.
- Red Herring: She and everything related to Cool Company have absolutely nothing to do with the murder.
Maria
The maid hired to work in Larry and Edgeworth's home. "Maria" is not her real name, though she refuses reveal it.- Alliterative Name: Her real name, revealed in Turnabout Pairs: Larissa Lawin.
- Jerkass: Makes it clear early on that she doesn't like Mia, or anyone else for that matter.
Hazama
- "Keys, anyone?"
Real name: Yuuki Terumi. The acting prosecutor due to Franziska von Karma's absence, he is the self-declared king of Trollvania. Per the title, he is a massive troll whom Phoenix says only entered the court to mess with the trial.
- Graceful Loser: Quite accepting of the verdict in the end.
- Jerkass Has a Point: "Keys, anyone?"
- Troll: Lives and breathes this trope. For example, during a recess he threw an anonymous letter saying that he had crucial information about the case, only to say that he was kidding and signing his name.
Spoiler Characters
WARNING: MASSIVE UNMARKED SPOILERS AHEAD!!Phoenix Wright
- "OK seriously? Accusing me is like the worst joke ever."
The true murderer of the case. Broken by his perceived betrayals from his friends, the woman he loved and the loss of everything else he cared for, Phoenix plotted to fight for what he wanted. A year prior to the case, he poisoned Diego Armando to get Mia's affection instead, though he was spotted by his friend Larry. Though he managed to keep Larry quiet by saying it was a prank, he knew he would eventually speak about it, and when Larry sent him a letter stating he couldn't keep the secret much longer he began to plot another murder.
He typed a letter to Larry, making him believe it was from Luna Atmey, a woman Larry had become infatuated with, claiming that he had to undertake a "test of courage" by staying in the tower room of the Holy Stickler Church just out of town from midnight to 1 AM. Prior to the murder, he came into possession of one of the keys to the church and planted an empty cage in the area, planning to shift the blame onto Luke Atmey of Cool Company, husband of Luna Atmey. He then suggested that Larry and Edgeworth change clothes and spots so it'd be done easier, and so Larry met him at his house earlier before going. There, Phoenix killed him, dropping him from a height of 7 meters before ensuring that there were no traces. He then brought him behind the church, where he left the body before meeting with Mia to establish his alibi.
Unfortunately, there was an unplanned factor: the owner of the church, Peter Burg, noticed the light coming from the tower and made his way there, meeting Edgeworth in the darkness and knocking him unconsciousness in the belief that he was a demon. Edgeworth's watch had also been running ten minutes faster, resulting in the early discovery of the corpse. Phoenix was then forced to leave to find Edgeworth, taking 35 minutes to find him, dress him in his clothes and dispose of him in a nearby river before calling the police.
- The Bad Guy Wins: In the Bad Ending, Luke Atmey "confesses" to the murder of Larry Butz. Peter Burg still goes free, but Phoenix remains unpunished for killing Larry and Edgeworth, and his involvement in Diego Armando's death remains unknown.
- Big Bad: He's behind nearly everything involving the case.
- Big Bad Friend: To Mia.
- Broken Pedestal: It all started when he learned that Larry was the one who stole Edgeworth's lunch money in elementary school, and the latter declined having it returned. Then, Larry used it to buy lottery tickets, and won. He insisted on sharing it with Edgeworth, eventually buying a mansion for the both of them. Phoenix is a bit miffed due to the traumatism he felt due to the class trial, and so he drew closer to Mia. It was broken yet again when she married Diego Armando, who had returned as Godot.
- The Chessmaster: Planned the entire murder, up to the fake murder method. To a more literal degree, his inner monologue at the start of part 3 uses various chess metaphors.
- Hidden Disdain Reveal: Phoenix admits in the closing stages of the trial that he thought Larry was an idiot and never really forgave him for stealing the lunch money.
- Love Makes You Evil: He fell for Mia during the trial for the murder of Doug Swallow. He later murdered Diego to have Mia for himself.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Poisoned the coffee at Diego and Mia's home, confident that the quantity would be non-lethal for Mia while being enough to finish off Armando.
- Sanity Slippage: Judging from his actions, he was clearly already insane, but from the moment he gets on the witness stand he slowly starts showing his true colours.
- Serial Killer: He killed Diego a year before the story started, and kills Larry and Edgeworth to try and keep this a secret.
- Slasher Smile: He begins pulling these once he's finally on the ropes.
- Villainous Breakdown: He has a truly spectacular breakdown. When his plan starts falling apart, his voice starts cracking, his iris shrinks creepily and he starts sporting a major Slasher Smile. When Mia blows apart his claim that it was Edgeworth's plan, he screams "Hold it!" and "Objection!", screaming that it's a conspiracy against him, just because he's Phoenix Wright, and later yells about how his "perfect plan" was ruined by unknown factors. He begins his Motive Rant, and when finally rejected by Mia begins Laughing Mad for several minutes while shaking. His laughter subsides for a moment, and the background turns to flames as he begins laughing anew while sinking, giving the impression that he's being lowered into hell itself. He's finally dragged out of the courtroom, with Mia doing her best to control herself.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Tries to pull one off on Mia when she puts him on the stand.
Diego Armando/Godot
Mia's late husband. Once a successful defense attorney, he was poisoned during an investigation and remained in a come for several years before stirring once more. Returning as "Godot", he later married Mia. Sadly, he was murdered one year prior to the case, through poison in his coffee.
- Happily Married: With Mia. Even from beyond the grave, his voice is still there to help her along.
- Posthumous Character: Died a year prior to the case.
- Spirit Advisor: His voice guides Mia when Phoenix is on the stand. He's the one who tells her to do the "Supra-Objection". He later speaks to her again to comfort her at the end of the trial.
