Funny / Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

Cracker, a reliable witness to rival the likes of Polly.

"You have strayed off the topic at hand. This is a courthouse, not an inn. Save your... thrilling stories for later."

— Zacharias Barnham, Chapter 4: "The Golden Court"

Labyrinthia is an incredibly bizarre land, and among its quirky residents, one is bound to find no shortage of amusing interactions.

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Prologue Chapters

• The game opens with Layton explaining the witch trials of the medieval ages and how there weren't really any witches. Enter the Damsel in Distress, and then the pigeon that transforms into a clawed one-eyed thing that blows up the office and kidnaps their client.
  Luke: What was that?!
  Layton: (calmly and with utter confidence): That, my dear boy, was a witch.
  • And a little later:
  Luke: Espella's been kidnapped!
  Layton: [Flatly] Yes, that was careless of us.
• Maya conking Phoenix on the head during the first trial session of the game to see if she could hit the back of his head while he was facing her.
• As Olivia begins to get flustered, she tries to chop the head off an eel. It dodges every attempt.
• Olivia's breakdown: After she's outed as one of the jewel thieves, she tries to cut into a giant tuna. It quickly dodges and knocks her to the ground by slapping its tail into her face. She has the mark on her face for the rest of the prologue.
• The sudden opening of the secret underground passage is briefly interrupted by the stairs appearing halfway of where Luke is standing, causing him to fall down them bouncing on his butt.

Arrival in Labyrinthia to End of Fire Trial

• Wright greeting Layton: Not some normal conversation, but instead, WELCOME!, even with the according Objection-like speech bubble and a desk slam... and a cloud of flour, as he's working in the bakery.
  Phoenix: Our bakery uses only the finest ingredients! Upper-crust goods for not much dough!
  • When he's giving Layton some walnut bread, he slams the desk again (kicking up another flour cloud) and shouts TAKE THAT! at him, then points as the Objection theme plays. Maya tells him to cut it out, and he switches to embarrassed mode as the music dies.
    Phoenix: I don't know why, but... I just get the urge to point and shout like that sometimes...
  • Luke and Layton's perplexed reactions to this.
  Layton: Talented...and highly enthusiastic, it seems.
  • The context also matters. At that point in the game you're just supposed to take refuge in some bakery with Espella, as you're hunted by the guards, and then the aforementioned WELCOME! bubble speech suddenly pops out, and you realize that Wright and Fey were the bakers.
  • Shortly after all this, Layton and Luke try and phrase "Fey and Wright are really friggin' weird" in the most delicate way possible without actually saying it.
  • In the background, you can hear Phoenix loudly pounding the dough all through the conversation... possibly with a hammer, by the sounds of it.
  • Maya telling Phoenix "bad, Nick, bad!" like he's a badly behaved puppy she's getting after with a squirt bottle.
• The entire scene where Layton is trying to explain puzzles to Maya and Phoenix, who are completely bemused by the concept, most likely because they're still hypnotised at that point. Worth noting that neither of them have really even heard of what a puzzle even is up until now. Layton's obviously eager to introduce his new friends to the concept of puzzles, it's one of the rare times where his tone clearly changes from placid and calm to outright excitement, even if it's just text and beep-de-beeps. It's really cute.
• If you inspect the big door at the back of the Great Archive, the party notices that it doesn't open. They think that it's unlocked by a puzzle, only for Layton to discover that the door just wasn't fitted properly.
• The start of the first Witch Trial, where Phoenix is told to introduce himself... "My name is Phoenix Wright, ace baker!" What's better? The line is fully voiced.
• The constant Lampshade Hanging of Giving Someone the Pointer Finger during the trial. At one point Phoenix even remarks, to himself:
  Phoenix: I could point at witnesses till the cows come home.
• At one point in the trial, Phoenix tries to use fingerprints to prove whether the defendant really held a certain piece of evidence. Cue Stunned Silence as no-one in Labyrinthia has any idea what he's talking about.
• At another point every witness on the stand has a Wild Take in turn. The first three are brief and fairly mundane by Ace Attorney standards, but Wordsmith's consists of him suddently flying away like a deflating balloon. No-one says anything about this and it's never mentioned again.
• The end of the first part of the first witch trial. The case seems all but won, but then there's a "HOLD IT!" in a voice you've never heard before. It turns out to belong to... some guy in the gallery. No, really, his actual name is listed as "Some Guy". He loudly and hammily proclaims himself to be the "fifth witness" who will singlehandedly-save this trial, and calls the other witnesses into a huddle. The Judge, Prosecution and Defence are all equally baffled.
• Said "Some Guy" manages to be the cause of many, many Funny Moments during the second half of the trial. Such as when he claims he heard a woman's voice call his name, which prompts the two female witnesses beside him to both loudly proclaim no woman would ever be interested in someone like him, to his face.
• Layton's Dull Surprise and ever-placid tone make for quite a few moments. After the culprit of the second case tells the defense they lost in the smuggest tone imaginable, the camera shows the defence bench. Layton's eyes are slightly narrowed and he looks thoroughly unimpressed and slightly peeved, while Phoenix is in the background, glaring intensely.

After Fire Trial to End of Golden Trial

• At the end of Chapter 3, there's a cutscene as a group of characters rush to the scene of a crime. Two of them are people you saw in front of the house a few moments ago, so that makes sense... but behind them is Emeer. There was no indication he was even in the area beforehand, he hasn't appeared at all since the last trial, and he's just suddenly there in the cutscene!
• Layton being turned to gold is added to the Mysteries section. In a bit of dark comedy, it still has a "Layton's Thoughts" text box.
  Layton: [Visible Silence]
• In the second witch trial, Layton is turned to gold, and his arm snaps off as he hits the ground. Later in court, Phoenix wonders aloud where the Professor's arm could have gone... and the camera pans to Emeer, who is wearing considerably more bling than the last time he stood in court.
  • When the golden Layton is brought in, the Judge has him added to evidence. Phoenix's commentary and expression sells it:
    Phoenix: (The poor professor who, while searching for evidence, became evidence...)
• At the end of the first witch trial, Layton and Wright dramatically point together as Back-to-Back Badasses. For the second trial Layton is a golden statue, so it doesn't seem like this'll happen again... until the moment comes for the dramatic accusation, and Luke and Espella turn the statue in time with Phoenix's movements.
  • On a similar vein, choosing a wrong answer at certain point causes everyone around Phoenix to stare silently. The camera pans to the judge, then to Barnham and finally to statue, who is even given his own "..." like the rest of the characters.
• At one point in the third trial, Emeer interjects on one of Birdly the Bard's statements. If you choose to question him on this, it turns out he just wants to hire Birdly as his personal bard to sing the praises of the great Emeer Punchenbaug the First. Birdly obliges. One overly long song later, and everyone in court realises that was pointless, and the Judge agrees to pretend it never happened.
  • It's even better if you didn't go down that path... because when Emeer returns to the witness stand later in the third trial, Birdly is standing at his side, constantly singing whenever he says something. And periodically insulting him as well. It's a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment if you didn't see Emeer hire Birdly, which just makes it even funnier.
• The entire parrot cross-examination scene in the third trial. Barnham completely loses his composure at the thought, but the Judge allows it because he believes there's no way the trial can possibly get any stranger. And then there's the actual testimony... which is fully voiced, and mostly consists of Saying Sound Effects Out Loud. "Clang."
  • The lead-up into this is quite humorous. Barnham mentioned that magic has a way of confusing people's memories, causing Luke to realize that there's someone here who isn't human.
    Phoenix: This situation seems oddly familiar...
• Inquisitor Barnham valiantly attempts to stop Phoenix from inquiring about the Alchemist's neighbour, who turns out to be Emeer. The reaction when Emeer takes the stand, from both Barnham and Nick, is absolutely hilarious.
  Phoenix: (Oh dearie ME.)
  • Similarly when you disprove his testimony:
    Phoenix: That gem was useless.
    Barnham: Pssh. Just like everything else this witness says.
  • Pretty much every instance of Phoenix and Barnham tag-team insulting this character is comedy gold.
• Lettie Mailer's loudness:
  Mailer: SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!
  SFX: [microphone feedback tone]
  Phoenix: (I wish I had some earplugs with me...)
• When Lettie Mailer introduces herself as a courier, Phoenix Wright says, in his mind, "A courier?" Espella then explains to him what a courier is before he tells her he already knew that. After that, he says, in his own mind, "Stop misreading my mind."
• During the third trial when inquiring to Emeer about Layton's broken-off golden arm, Phoenix can ask how much did he sell it for. There's silence in the court until a shocked Emeer asks if Phoenix plans to sell the whole body! Cue reactions of horror and derision from everyone around Phoenix.
• The first (and only) person to say the good professor's catchphrase, "That reminds me of a puzzle!", is Phoenix, who is the only person out of him, Maya, Luke, and Layton who has not solved a puzzle yet.

After Golden Trial to End of Game

• Maya and Luke interacting like brother and sister as they do is both adorable as hell and funny; at one point, they come across glowing moss. Maya, predictably, pokes it and discovers it makes her finger glow. The next logical step for her is, obviously, cover Luke in moss for the sake of a Visual Pun, so he can be as "bright" as the professor. Luke reacts as you'd expect, and the amused Layton and Wright just leave them to their own devices. No points for guessing what happened in the end.
• The aforementioned Giving Someone the Pointer Finger gets lampshaded mercilessly throughout the game, culminating in a Tear Jerker / Moment of Awesome / Funny Moment scene where Layton apparently uses it to save Eve and Espella from falling to their deaths. It's only funny because how how much lampshading the entire pointing thing gets given over the game and how it gets used even more in this game than in either of the home series games.
• Not long into the final witch trial, the leader of the Vigilantes insists on taking the stand, with his three minions backing up everything he says. The Judge agrees, and asks the Vigilantes to introduce themselves. The leader does so, as does the first of his minions, and the second, and the third, and then a severely-injured man, and then a rather... distracted-looking guy followed by a woman sitting on the stand in "armor" with her legs crossed, followed by another man staring at her, followed by a short guy with an accent named Dzibilchaltunchunchucmil followed by Wordsmith, the aforementioned balloon-deflating old guy. That's right, folks: TEN MAN CROSS-EXAMINATION.
  • Not to mention that the Judge continues to refer to the Vigilantes as skilled and professional despite the fact that two of them are blindly in love with a third, one of them can barely stand, one of them thinks he's testifying about the first witch trial and one of them locked the entire group inside of the bell tower by swallowing the key. True professionals, indeed.
    • The sound of their "unison" shouts of "Objection!" getting a little out of sync is pretty hilarious.
  • Oddly enough, pressing one of the statements reveals that the Shakey, the aforementioned constantly-collapsing injured man is actually the fastest runner out of all of them, and was the first one to reach the scene and apprehend Espella. Phoenix is appropriately surprised.
  • Phoenix (understandably) struggles to pronounce Dzibilchaltunchunchucmil's name, but Maya gets it right no problem.
  • At the end of this cross-examination, Phoenix finally breaks it and proves his point... leading to the ENTIRE LINE of witnesses being knocked over one at a time... all from a single finger point.
  • Blink and you'll miss it, but when everyone gets knocked out, Wordsmith deflates like a balloon again.
• The Professor attempts a courtroom Big Word Shout, but is a little too polite to pull off a "Take That".
• If the Professor presents the incorrect piece of evidence during "The First Story", Phoenix will finally be able to do unto the inquisition what many prosecutors before Layton did to Nick when HE screwed up.
  After presenting the wrong evidence:
  Prof. Layton: HAVE A LOOK!
  Phoenix: OBJECTION! Yeah, that was random... Or, is the Inquisition just "testing the waters"? (Cue smug look on Phoenix's face.)
  Maya: What's with that satisfied look on your face, Nick?
  Phoenix: I've always wanted to do this. Everyone's always poking fun at me if I present the wrong evidence. It feels so good to do it to somebody else for a change.
  Judge: Unfortunately, Inquisitor Layton, I fail to see a connection between the matter at hand and the evidence you presented. (Layton is then penalized immediately after.)
  Layton: ...Ekhm... Well, if you don't test the waters, you won't know if you're out of your depth. I'll present the correct evidence next time.
  (Phoenix still has that shit-eating grin on his face.)
  Maya: You're looking very happy again, Nick...
  Phoenix: It's music to my ears. Someone other than me making a silly mistake and coming up with lame excuses.
  Maya: You know, maybe you could use some time off. So that you can release your pent-up frustration.
• After it becomes increasingly evident that the game have several anachronisms, this exchange occurs at the trial:
  After the inquisitor presents a photography as evidence:
  Maya: But, aren't pictures against the rules? I mean, this is a medieval setting.
  Phoenix: Meh, who cares.
• Edgeworth's cameo scene at the end of the game. Also doubles as a moment of awesome.
• It's dark humour...but it's still funny: When investigating The Legendary Fire, the team move to a vantage point to help them visualise how it must have appeared to one particular witness. Maya notes that to really put themselves in the witness' shoes, the whole town should be on fire. She then offers to go and get some matches.
• At one point, Maya has to wear a helmet (specifically, she filched Barnham's) to conceal her face. Phoenix tries valiantly to handwave it to the best of his ability on the spot, leading to this:
  Phoenix: And um... don't comment on the helmet, please... She really wouldn't, err... like to have her face seen. How can I put this gently... It's not something you'd want to look at.
• "The inquisition has ingeniously solved the query by disregarding it."
• Another moment of Black Comedy occurs in the final trial, where the Judge says he does not condone violence... the burning of witches being an exception, of course.
• If Phoenix questions the Storyteller at the wrong moment, he'll go off in a tangent, complimenting him on Labrelum's brand of flu medicine. The Storyteller then sings its jingle and proudly says he wrote it himself.
• Phoenix constantly hanging a lampshade on how utterly ridiculous, outlandish, convenient, and handwave-y the usual Layton-style reveal actually is compared to the ones in his home series.
  • Pressing the Storyteller's first statement of the reveal shows Nick shocked, sweating face before he gives out a bewildered scream of incomprehension. His internal monologue says it all.
    Phoenix: [sweating].........(Uhm...)
    [screams](This is too much! I don't even know where to start!)
• During the ending, where everyone is standing at the docks waving goodbye to Wright & Layton and co., Emeer can be seen in the back, hopping to get a good view. Poor guy can't catch a break.

Special Episodes / Miscellaneous

• When Phoenix messes up a puzzle, sometimes he'll scream "I'M NOT GUILTY!"
  • Other times, he'll say "This is more of an Edgeworth thing anyway".
• After beating the game, the bonus episodes have absoultely No Fourth Wall whatsoever.
  Maya: Ease up, Nick! Sometimes a little self-awareness is fun. Isn't that right, avid video game player?
• Phoenix and Maya struggling to cope with the sheer amount of tea Luke and the Professor give to them in the first bonus episode. Even Maya's iron stomach can't handle it!
  • And then Maya notices something. In total, everyone at the reunion drank 17 cups of tea. So she thinks, maybe Layton has a rule about tea. Maybe he always has 17 cups of tea with every puzzle. Ace Attorney fans are doubled over in laughter about now. And then Phoenix quips that that particular Ace Attorney reference probably isn't appropriate, as the reference is about a big coffee drinker.
• In Special Episode 1, the car crash from the prologue is brought up. Maya suggests that maybe Carmine Accidenti should change his name because "Clearly it's totally jinxed".
  Phoenix: (I don't think that's how it works, Maya...)
• In Special Episode 4: Barnham working in the bakery. Even he fears Patty's wrath.
• In episode 5, all the townspeople start complaining about their unimaginative names... especially Kira.
• Eve's dramatics, and Mr. Cantabella's hospital chapter in the third special episode.
  • In episode 6, Eve is talked into doing her own puzzle-solving animation, and it is just as over-the-top as you'd think it is.
• Constantine, Barnham's dog, delivers a few of these, especially with his vehement denials (via Luke's translations) that he is friends with Eve, Espella's cat. Gets doubly funny when, in the special episodes, when Barnham gives an almost identical denial over his obvious affection for Eve, the person. All present are deeply amused by the similarity.
• In the special episodes, Layton's love for puzzles leads to a few moments.
  • In episode 6, his birthday present for Eve is a puzzle, which he solves as he is giving it to her.
  • In episode 7, when Ms. Primstone derides puzzles as only leading to trouble, he doesn't hesitate to verbally tear her a new one, (gentleman-ly, of course,) along with fellow puzzle-freaks Ridelle and Jean.
  • And in episode 8, he interrupts Barnham's flashback to solve a puzzle that Barnham had received back then, and agrees to keep Constantine's backstory a secret in exchange to solve the 'More Chalices!' puzzle that Barnham was having trouble on for the past three days. (Perhaps he's jealous that Phoenix got to solve it in the main game?)
• In Special Episode 7, the party is short on money. Maya suggests that the party sell something valuable to the pawnbroker... while staring directly at Layton's right arm. At least Nick's not the Butt-Monkey this time...
• Special Episode number 11 starts off with a black screen. All of a sudden, you hear the three tick "puzzle-solved!" jingle. Who's the one doing the pose and one-liner? Edgeworth. Completely unexpected and hilarious.
  Edgeworth: I object... to objectionable puzzles!
  • At the end of the special episode, it's revealed that everyone in the group will be taking part in the Great Witch Bezella pageant. Including Phoenix, who has been signed up without his knowledge. After a few lines rubbing it in, Phoenix feels a familiar urge to say a certain word...
    Layton: Overruled.
• Phoenix has a new, cocky pose where he places his left hand on his hip and looks pleased with himself. It just oozes sass.
• In Special Episode 9, Foxy shows up again. And when she flips her legs the camera doesn't pan up. Then Layton, of all people, says this:
  Layton: It would seem Miss Foxy, too, is enjoying the world from a much higher perspective. I must say, it is quite fascinating.
• Espella reveals that Eve is nervous around crowds,, which is why she introduces herself as Bezella in her first appearance in the Special Episodes. What crowd is Eve so nervous around? The approximately five million people who played the game.

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