Manfred also adds that the case are being called "The Second KG-8 Incident." Oh that's just spiffy.'lill Kay looks cute enough to give you cavities.Oh, and there's Mr. Judge, squee. He seems... somewhat more Cloud Cuckoo Lander-ish than usual, as he's on a tangent of sorts about birthday celebrations and poppers or what have you. Seriously? Badd?*looks at the original Japanese names*
Oh, dear...
But more seriously, I quite like Badd. Though his... verbal... tick can... get annoying... very quickly. (Keep that thing out of your mouth when you're talking !)
Well, enough about that, as Yew apparently has a problem with Edgeworth's formal speech, the problem being belly-deep guffawing fits . I take it we're going to be great friends, Calisto.
Calisto immediately got my heart here. Ditto. In this world of What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome? it's nice to meet someone so irreverent.
Regarding Mr. Faraday, I can't believe Manfred would have a problem with a prosecutor indulging in extralegal activities. I mean, it's VON KARMA.
edited 21st Apr '10 2:09:44 PM by Idler2.0
The man was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the best at both killing and not killing - Stranger
I think it's just the impression that there are some villains that CAN'T be caught with the legal system is what ruffles Karma's feathers. Loving perfection in all its forms, it's doubtful he could consider a court case in which he was unable to complete perfectly.
Of course, being Von Karma and all, it's also possible that he's simply nuts. On another note, anyone feel it was surprisingly epic when Von Karma walked in? I mean, it's the first game he's ever appeared in person since the first, and being accompanied by Great Revival was just icing on the cake.
Of course, I've never been able to take the talks between Young!Edgeworth and Karma seriously ever since I realized that Von Karma and Young!Edgeworth have almost the exact same set of animations. At some point, they both stand, looking annoyed with their feet tapping and crossing their arms, almost mirror images. It's hilarious.
Platypus!
You'd almost think the similarity was intentional. But seriously, my take on Manfred's dislike for Faraday's vigilante tendencies is... well, that he might be the most amoral of amoral attorneys, but at least he respects the courthouse and the law... well, the law to an extent, but definitely the courthouse, and merely suggesting that someone could be out of reach of the juridical system, and thus Von Karma's glorious pwnage, is absurd.
I couldn't help but squee a little when Franziska arrived. I must admit, I'm a bit of a Franziska fan, but it also strikes me that there's very few actual law-related characters I'm not a fan of in this series. Well, except Payne, but I realize it wouldn't be the same without him. Meekins, on the other hand...
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That's more or less my own views, really. Thing is, Von Karma was king of the overreaction and had an ego roughly four times the size of a blimp, but he seems to genuinely have faith in the legal system and believe people should be brought to justice through it (and by extension, by him). Just, not him himself.
Actually noticing the similarities between Young Edgey and Von Karma was possibly the most impressed I'd ever been with the game. Ace Attorney on a whole is generally pretty good with referencing past events, but something as subtle as Edgeworth using Karma's mannerisms when he was a greenhorn was quite nearly genius. Especially since the first time we see Young!Edgeworth was in game 3.
Meekins is annoying, but I can live with him. Oldbag is honestly a chore for me every time she's involved in anything, though Edgey's reactions to her are quite hilarious.
Platypus!
Chapter 4 Part 1B: Investigations and pwning 13-year-olds
Well, Badd doesn't think the crime scene is a place for children, but Manfred informs him that he's the boss here and that he will not have any of Badd's foolish chatter. Ah, good old Manfred. He tells his two proteges that he'll go fix the paperwork and that he'll accept nothing short of perfection from the both of them. I'm starting to see more and more why Franziska is the way she is in these games . Anyway, Badd runs after Manfred, protesting that he hasn't agreed to this. Silly Badd, we're talking about Manfred Von Karma here, you agree, you just don't know it yet. Well, Franzy seems to think that this is the perfect chance to prove which of them are worthy of the Von Karma name. It strikes me that Thanksgiving at the Von Karma household probably must suck, a lot. Franziska also has a chip upon her shoulder about the fact that Edgeworth became prosecutor before her. Dude, he's... how many years older than you again? Well, she whips Edgeworth in good old Franzy style, before Badd returns. Apparently, he's been told what's what, and Edgeworth now asks to be filled in on the case. Badd, however, tells Edgeworth to check things out for himself. Well well, that's much more like the Ace Attorney experience, people seldom to never helps you.
It's time to check out the crime scene. Exciting, isn't it? Edgeworth isn't quite sure the two killed each other, and I tend to agree, since nothing is that simple in a Ace Attorney game. I mean, how many times have we proven the innocence of a person who confessed and had evidence stacked against him like all hell? A couple of times, and that's how we roll. Well, Franzy also takes it upon herself to remind us that this is indeed a contest, and that daddy will love whoever figures the truth out first more. Now, considering this is Manfred "Never Lost A Case" Von Karma, I somehow think the truth, per se, doesn't matter all that much to him, but hey. Well, Badd enters the scene and assigns Gumshoe to help make sure the two doesn't make a mess out of the crime scene. Since Franzy aggressively insist that she doesn't need a babysitter, Gumshoe is responsible for Edgeworth now. Oh, and Edgeworth threatens Gumshoe's salary, as pretty much everyone else have done at some point in the series. Poor Gumshoe.
BEGIN INVESTIGATION. Yaaaaay. First, we find out where the murder weapons came from. Faraday had the gun in his bag, as it was a piece of evidence. What? With bullets and stuff? That sounds risky, but ok, wouldn't want to tamper with the evidence, now would we. The gun was the same that was used to kill the guy at the Cohdopian embassy. The knife, Badd knows nothing about, but Edgeworth seems to think that it could've been prosecutoral evidence Faraday had brought. The current theory is that Faraday struck first and that Rell attacked in return, but Edgeworth needs conclusive evidence.
So, since I'd probably forget if I didn't do it right away, I check it out the window, which is, in addition to being in the third floor also has iron bars in front of it. We receive a logic about it. Also, examining the TV tells us that Edgeworth have rather high standards what T Vs are considered, and Gumshoe's TV sucks, well, I'm glad we learned this. Enough of that, let's check out the bodies. Gumshoe reasons that Mr Rell died, and thus fell, first, which makes sense because he's on the bottom of this tiny pile of bodies. Checking out time. First, there's plastic bags all over the place, which we get as a logic. Next up, we check out the gun and knife, and get the evidence version of both. Once done with the bodies, it's time to check the rest of the crime scene. It's worth noting that the table is fairly neat and tidy, we get a logic, and that seems to reinforce Gumshoe's idea that there were no struggle. Well, that seems odd-ish. Logic! Plastic bags on the floor, and plastic bags stacked neatly, that just doesn't add up, as just some of the plastic bags being knocked down doesn't make the least bit of sense. Edgeworth thinks there's some other explanation, and sends Gumshoe to analyze the blood on one of the bags, it turns out to be Mr. Faraday's blood. Apart from that, the bag was otherwise entirely empty. Plastic bag evidence GET.
I'm a little lost, so I return to the body again, and it turns out Mr. Faraday has an ink spot on his left hand, ink spot logic is ours. That appears to be it, though, as Edgeworth recaps. Mr. Rell was shot, but due to the positioning of the bodies, it's kinda hard to tell. Ah, the joys of a fresh crime scene, ladies and gentlemen. Franziska isn't very impressed by Edgeworth having to... you know, actually inspect the victims, and when he points out that this actually is fairly important, and she tends to agree. Well, that's nice of her. So, Gumshoe gets tasked with flipping the victims over. Poor guy, but ey, it's time to check out the victims. Mr. Faraday has a fountain pen in his breast pocket, and we get the fountain pen logic. Hm, I do wonder... Yes, the link between the ink spot and the fountain pen isn't exactly hard to spot. The lab guys does the appropriate tests, apparently, and the ink did come from the fountain pen. Since the ink was on the left hand, Edgeworth notices he probably wrote with it, thus making him... left handed. Oh my. Well, the gun in Mr. Faraday's hand definitely killed Mr. Rell, the ballistics agree.
The gunshot wound on Mr. Rell's chest sadly is on the right side, thus no classic rock reference for me. * Anyway, the lack of gunpowder burns seems to hint that the gun wasn't fired at point blank range. Interesting. Mr. Faraday's knife wound is being analyzed by the lab guys, as you do, while Edgeworth recaps again. Faraday took the gun and the knife from the evidence and shot Mr Rell, who in return grabbed the knife and stabbed in return. Well, that seems a bit odd, to say the very least, and Edgeworth agrees. Gumshoe's about ready to call it a day, but Edgeworth thinks there's still one big problem with all this. The biggest problem I can see is that Mr. Faraday apparently chose to fire a gun with his non-dominant hand. Oh yes, Edgeworth theorizes that there's a third person involved, some shadowy gentleman, or lady, who aims to obfuscate the pursuit of Justice, oh my. INVESTIGATION COMPLETE. Squee.
We get an autopsy report on the two, Mr Rell survived a while after being shot, while Mr. Faraday died instantly upon stabbage. Franziska thinks she's got it all covered, but Edgeworth isn't so certain. Oh, I wonder what this is leading up to. Yes, it's showdown time. Well, Franzys theory is fairly standard, in that Mr. Faraday struck first, Mr. Rell survived long enough to counter before dying, and that's all. Time to pick this apart. Franzy's theory seems to be hinging upon there being an awful struggle, and that just doesn't seem right, since a certain detective did not hear any struggle whatsoever. Edgeworth argues that it's possible that Fishy here lifted the knife from Mr. Faraday's bag and, apparently, shanked him in a quiet, peaceful way. Franzy suggests that Fishy shanked Mr. F and then was shot, which doesn't make sense much, since Mr. F died more or less instantly. However, as you've probably realized by now, that more or less flawlessly leads over to Franziskas initial theory. Well, fiddlesticks. That said, there's a contradiction, namely the order the bodies fell. After all, the guy who died instantly should have fallen before the guy who killed him, don't you think?
Franzy's not happy about this, and who can blame her. As things are now, Mr. Rell died first, which seems odd, to say the very least. Her new theory, however, seems to state that Mr. Faraday fell on top of Mr Rell by mere chance. Yes, by chance gravity had a different grip on these two men, or something. Well, it would seem that she also thinks Faraday attacked Rell with both knife and gun in hand. I didn't think lawyers did CQC, but hey, he's also a master thief. Well, he shot Mr Rell, but he grabbed the knife and stabbed him before collapsing, thus explaining the positioning of the bodies. Not bad Franzy, not bad at all. However, there is a problem here, now isn't it? Yes, the close range doesn't fit with the lack of gunpowder burns. This is a bit of a contradiction to say the least. Franziska demands to know who initiated this murderous melee, and who could it be? Mr Rell or Mr Faraday? Edgeworth says neither. Back and to the left! :o Uhm, I mean... Edgeworth notices that this doesn't make sensep retty much no matter who we claim intitated the attack, which can only mean one thing, namely that there was a third person in the room at the time of the murder, and the Great Revival's blaring, good times.
However, all is not good, heavens no, it's too early for that, as Franzy, being the typical Ace Attorney opponent that she is, demands evidence. Edgeworth thinks he has the piece needed to prove the involvement of a third person and thus... well, turn the case around, as it were. The evidence here is the plastic bags. Edgeworth reasons that it wouldn't make sense for just some of the plastic bags being spread all over the place... unless someone placed them as to suggest a struggle took place. Also, using the bag to make sure he or she left no fingerprints on the knife used for the shanking of Mr. Faraday. Badd at this moment suggests that we've got a good bit of investigation left, since we've got a whole new suspect and all. Before we can get any further though, an unfamiliar-sounding OBJECTION lets us know that a challenger appears.
Oh, it's Calisto Yew and Judge, together with a nice jazzy theme I assume is Calisto's. She's here to advise Badd to place Gumshoe under arrest. Apparently, she claims he has been lying vis-a-vis his whereabouts, and her witness is Judge, who claimed that there was a time period in the recess when there were nobody in the place Gumshoe claims to have guarded the entire time, hmm. Well, that sorta invalidates Gumshoe's testimony and thus gives our theory a swift kick in the throat, bummer. Edgeworth, though, isn't going down without a fight. Before Badd takes Gumshoe away, Edgeworth has a question or two to ask. Take it away, Frills. Edgeworth's question seems to be a question about why Gumshoe would want to ice Faraday and Rell. I'm honestly a bit surprised this is an option, as motive only is a factor when it makes things more difficult for you in these games.
Gumshoe claims he has nothing against either of the vics, something Calisto doesn't believe for a moment. This, of course, leads to a showdown between her and Edgeworth. Alright, first Defense lawyer we've encountered in this game, let's dance, put on your red shoes and dance. Uhm, sorry, little Elite Beat Agents flashback there, let's continue. Calisto recalls Faraday threatening Gumshoe with a salary cut. Poor Gumshoe, always with the salary cuts. However, if such action could make Gumshoe a murderer, Edgeworth would be dead several times over, but I somehow doubt that argument will work, as it's a bit... meta and relying on time-travel, but let's not dwell on that. Anyway, there's a problem with this, me and Edgeworth agrees. The most poignant question is probably why Gumshoe, if this were the case, would kill Mr Rell too. Calisto doesn't have an explanation for that, and Edgeworth is quick to let her know that sort of sillyness is not accepted. Calisto laughs at Edgeworth and the trademarked Von Karma pretentiousness, coming dangerously close to starting a catfight between Franziska and herself.
Calisto's new explanation is that there's nobody with a grudge against both the vics, so whoever killed them must've killed the one he or she didn't have a grudge against to make it look like they killed each other. However, there is one thing these two have in common that someone might have a grudge over, isn't there? Just in case we forgot, Edgeworth has a little internal monologue about the KG-8 incident. That's our cue, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, the suspect in the original KG-8 incident, the guy who visited Ms (?) Yew just short while ago. Mr. Rell killed another Embassy employee, while Faraday was the prosecutor of the original case. No sir, no grudge material here at all. Anyway, this incident seems to be where Gumshoe got his plus-sized Man Crush on Edgeworth from. Anyway, Edgeworth is, this being his pre-character development self, only interested in perfection. Edgeworth sends Gumshoe to investigate Mr. Coachen, but Badd apparently will have none of that, since pretty much every cop in the courthouse had been keeping a close eye on him since he arrived, thus giving him precious little time to murder.
So, if there was any doubt, it's Gumshoe's ass we'll be saving today. It's either some case-specific woman, Maggey Byrde or Gumshoe, shippers take note. Edgeworth doesn't believe Gumshoe is guilty, since he'd lie to protect himself then. Well, Gumshoe gets taken away for questioning, Franzy goes to report to satan Daddy Von Karma, The Judge goes to do... judge stuff, I guess, leaving Edgeworth and Yew. She's about to make like a banana and split, but Edgey has a question or two for her first. So, the KG-8 incident. Edgeworth wants to know what Calisto knows about the proper KG-8 incident, but she claims to know nothing. Oh oh oh, Calisto, you can't laugh your way out of this one. The evidence we've got is the newspaper clip telling us that the victim's last name was Yew. After some fooling around, Calisto admits that indeed, the whistleblower and victim in the KG-8 case was indeed Cece Yew, her sister. OMGNOWAI, I would never have guessed that. Well, according to Calisto, Faraday had the piece of evidence he needed to send Coachen to the slammer, but a man in black took it away. Hm, a man in black, you say? This sounds ominous. Anyway, turns out the Amano smuggling ring was in cahoots * with Coachen, as they bailed him out and all. Calisto chose to be the defense attorney in the so-called "Second KG-8 Incident" to try to learn more about the original, but so far she haven't found anything.
When it comes to Coachen, he apparently came to watch the trial, and taunt Calisto. Her response? Slapping him. Ok, I must admit, I'm no Calisto Yew fan, but that is kind of awesome. Also, there's apparently many witnesses to him looking at the court, so at this point there's not much evidence to link him to this. That's a bummer. Anyway, Edgeworth appologizes for dredging up all of this, to which Calisto replies by laughing and telling Edgeworth to lighten up. Ok, it's nice you're slightly out of tune with the general mood of the series, miss, but this is starting to be annoying, coping method or no. Speaking of coping methods, Edgeworth appears to be on the other end of the spectrum, as he "have no need for Laughter. Poor poor Emoworth.
Well, Edgeworth is stilll convinced that the KG-8 Incident is related to this case somehow. Of course, being Genre Savvy, I agree. But we'll have to figure that out later, because it's TO BE CONTINUED-tiem nao.
edited 26th Apr '10 12:28:33 PM by slowzombie
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The gunshot wound on Mr. Rell's chest sadly is on the right side, thus no classical rock reference for me.but I somehow doubt that argument will work, as it's a bit... meta and relying on time-travel, but let's not dwell on that.
Platypus!
Well, Franzy also takes it upon herself to remind us that this is indeed a contest, and that daddy will love whoever figures the truth out first more. Now, considering this is Manfred "Never Lost A Case" Von Karma, I somehow think the truth, per se, doesn't matter all that much to him, but hey.It's probably more like "Daddy will love whoever figures out how we can successfully pin this on a possibly-innocent bystander first".
Yew's objection voice is, in my opinion, terrible. It just sounds...ridiculous.
By the way Slowzombie, sorry to tell you this but there is a new chapter of Light And Dark The Adventures Of Dark Yagami awaiting your comic touch.
edited 26th Apr '10 1:12:17 PM by Idler2.0
The man was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the best at both killing and not killing - Stranger
Platypus!
I was planning on doing it today, but it's getting late, and my Script Frenzy script requires my attention, so tomorrow I shall once again dance with devils, and by devils I mean horribly life-draining fanfiction.
Platypus!
Chapter 4 Part 2: The Swiss Roll Case
Hey people, I decided to move my second attorneying day to Thursday, mostly since Wednesday is a rubbish day for me to do anything, but enough about that, it's time to resume Turnabout Reminiscence. We rejoin the Dysfunction Junction that is the Von Karma family/prosecutor team, where Edgeworth wonders what'll happen to the trial about the Cohdopian Embassy guy's murder. They're in a bit of a pinch, since both the suspect and the prosecutor is dead. Wait, wasn't Edgeworth supposed to prosecute that case? Well, he's alive, so I assume he's talking about Faraday. Anyway, Von Karma senior assumes the case will be dismissed, and Franziska gloats that Edgeworth won't be able to have his prosecuting debut just yet. Right, come back to us when you've passed your bar exam, you little brat. Wait, technically... nevermind. Anyway, Von Karma sr. plans to transfer Edgeworth to another case, while Franziska still tries to wring something comparable to fatherly affection out of her father, without all that much luck, but I'll give her points for persistence. Anyway, Edgeworth would rather be investigating the current case than to be thrown over into another, he wants to find "perfect proof" of Gumshoe's guilt, either that, or he really really likes investigating. Well, to each their own. Von Karma will have none of that, though, as he apparently thinks perfection is out of Edgeworth's league.
Franziska steps in, though, and argues for how it'd be an useful experience for any good, nay, perfect, prosecutor to investigate crime scenes. Von Karma agrees, stating that it's his goal to make Edgeworth the best prosecutor he can be, adding that "It wouldn't be very fun otherwise." Which certainly should send a chill down the spine of anyone who's played case 4 of the first Ace Attorney game. With those words, Von Karma heads home, leaving the two young prosecutors to do their thing, this thing being investigating. Of course, one could argue that's not a very prosecutor-y thing to do, but in this 'verse, it is, and you probably should know that by now. Well, our order of business now is to talk to anyone related to the case, and, if necessary, show them everything related to the case and then use the screwdriver. * First order of business is probably to quiz Gumshoe, so let's get to that. Gumshoe insists that he didn't do anything, and Edgeworth (not so) subtly hints that talking to him in his current mental state might be less than helpful. Well, ok then I guess. How about Calisto? Maybe she can help us? Well, first of all some introductions, Calisto have never met Franziska, something Franziska thinks Ms(?) Yew should be disbarred for *. When Calisto points out that Franzy isn't a prosecutor, and thus not very well known in a courthouse, Franziska replies by whipping Edgeworth. Well, it's nice to see that she can whip him too, considering he was one of the people she just wouldn't whip in the other AA game. Well, him and Godot.
Calisto, after laughing at Edgeworth some more, divulges that she was in the defendant lobby, which is right next to the crime scene, apparently Badd was there too. But why? Let's quiz her a little on the topic. Apparently, Badd was connected to the original KG-8 Incident, why am I not surprised. Badd was in charge of protecting Cece, Calisto's sister lest ye forget, from harm in connection with her witnessing in the case. Needless to say, he didn't do quite as well as he could. Also, Badd and Faraday had a tendency to "meet up" every time the Great Thief came knocking. Badd being there is natural, since he's the head man on the Yatagarasu case, but Faraday... gee, I wonder why he was always around. Let's ask Giggles here what she thinks of the three-legged crow. She doesn't know too much about it, but certainly more than Franzy, who seems to be locked out of the loop on account of her living abroad. Edgeworth warns Franziska not to whip Calisto, so she whips him instead, well, that was actually kinda funny, I and Calisto agree finally. That said, Edgeworth wonders why his "pain give them delight" Uhm... Edgeworth, that's not half of it, but let's not dwell on that. Onwards! Anyway, Giggles' recap of the Yatagarasu is pretty much what you've heard before, steals information, vigilante justice, the terror that flaps in the night, all that jazz. Anyway, Giggles was supposed to talk to her client, Mr. Rell, but Faraday dragged him away, acting threatening. So, rather than, you know, trying to get her client away from the man he just minutes ago accused of a serious crime, thus increasing the odds he'd live long enough to see the verdict, she took a chat with Badd instead, and by chat, I mean she insulted him. Well, this woman certainly don't have a grudge or anything, heavens no.
Also, we (re)learn that the evidence was pretty tightly stacked against Rell, and that his claim to being the Yatagarasu was what we in legal terms would call "complete and utter crap." So, the two Von Karma kids team up to make a point of how detestable defense lawyers are, at least compared to the glory of Von Karma. Yeah, quite Lawful Good, the lot of ye. Anyway, Calisto isn't impressed either, so I guess that makes us agree on not one, but two accounts, so yay for that. Anyway, the reason Giggles was defending Rell was to possibly learn more about the KG-8 incident, and that's it from her, Edgeworth's internal monologue tells us that it's Gumshoe time, aight. Gumshoe insists he didn't do it, as one might expect a suspect in a double murder case to do, but let's see if there's anything actually useful to get out of him. First, we ask him about the scolding he got from Faraday. Apparently, Gumshoe was too late on his first day, which lead to Faraday chewing him out. Oh Gumshoe, you chew toy of the Ace Attorney-verse, you. When it comes to his positioning on the day of the murder... which is today, kinda hard to get used to, that, was Badd's doing, he had put Gumshoe to guard Mr. Faraday to make sure nothing ill came to him. Also, Gumshoe apparently received his bonus recently, his bonus being all of five dollars. That's bad enough, but I get this sneaking feeling it has only gone downwards from there, Gumshoe being Gumshoe and this universe being so cold and uncaring towards detectives as it tends to be. Anyway, Gumshoe's about to be taken in for questioning, but Edgeworth wants to confirm his explanation first. Gumshoe sticks to his guns, despite Edgeworth being quite adamant that he's hiding something. Before Edgeworth can get to investigating or anything, young!Kay wanders in and... kicks Edgeworth. Judging by his reaction, she kicks pretty hard to, either that, or Edgeworth's a bit... delicate, what do I know? Before blowing a raspberry and darting off, dropping... something, which we quickly find out is a Swiss Roll, whatever pastry that might be.
So, Franzy and Edgeworth heads out to the hallway connecting the main lobby with the crime scene, where we find Badd and the Judge, who are currently discussing who saw what and what have you. After they're done, Judge leaves and encounters Edgeworth & co. Introductions are passed out, and Judge apparently has no problem discussing his testimony. That was nice of him. Let's hear what he has to say. Edgeworth asks him where he was at the time of the murder and the judge, being about as lucid as he usually is, thinks he's being suspected. Anyway, apparently Judge here was at the restroom, and a window allowed him to see the hallway in question. He saw Gumshoe stand by the vending machine, and the next time he looked, he was gone. Hm, well, that's one puzzle piece I'm fairly sure I know where fits. That's all from Judge, though, as he goes back to doing whatever Judges do when they don't judge. Ok, investigating time. First, I want to check out the vending machine Judge talked about.. The vending machine is exactly what you'd think it is, it's a machine that sells snacks. I'd call them overpriced, but I come from Norway, and most of the items would cost more over here. Speaking of price, I notice that a Swiss Roll costs 6 dollars, I'm sure that won't mean anything later.
Next up: The window, nooks and crannies of the suspicious sort is to be inspected. Edgeworth manages to prick his finger on a cactus, something most people who know anything about cacti can avoid with relative ease, but I digress. Franziska thinks this cactus is unrelated to the case, but Edgeworth seems to disagree, Cactus logic GET. Another noticeable thing is some shredded pink rubber, and we get a logic out of that too, gee, rather logic-heavy, this investigation, eh? Also, of note, there's a handprint in some sort of sticky substance * which Edgeworth arranges for a forensic guy to lift some usable prints off. It would seem that Franziska takes offense to this untidyness, but I'm chalking that up as yet another manifestation of the dangerously high focus on perfection in the Von Karma family. Anyway, the prints belonged to Gumshoe, and litter on the ground appears to be the remains of a swiss roll, which further enrages Franziska, which means more whipping for Edgeworth. I must say, Edgeworth seems to be taking more whippings than a Castlevania game in this case, but then again, so did Phoenix back in JFA, so I guess it's the universe readjusting itself or something like that. Ok, with the odyssey in litter over with, let's talk with Badd, it's Badd time.
Badd is, as usual, not intimidated by the Young Mr. Edgeworth, but cooperates, as Edgeworth still has the investigating authority. Anyway, Badd summoned Gumshoe to protect Faraday, Franziska points out that that did exactly fuck-all, and for a brief moment, it looks like Badd might snap, before Edgeworth steps in and makes Franziska apologize. Gee, I wonder if people he's supposed to protect dying is a bit of a sore spot for our dear Badd. Continuing on, Badd used a phone on the first floor, called the precinct and told them to send someone over, this someone ending up with being Gumshoe. So yes, when Gumshoe arrived, Faraday had just dragged Rell off, and made it perfectly clear that he did not want to be disturbed, so therefore Gumshoe was left to stand guard. Badd has a guard claiming that Gumshoe never left the hallway, but Judge saw him gone, so him entering the murder scene seems to be the only option, that is, unless I'm right, and I'm fairly certain I am, but let's not dwell on that, onwards!
Badd heard the gunshot and arrived at the scene about a minute later, due to his proximity, making him the one discovering the bodies and all that. Also, Franzy tries to whip him, but, get this, Badd actually manages to get her to back down, admittedly, he had to threaten her with arresting her, but damn, not all that many people that can intimidate Franziska Von Karma, people. Anyway, Badd heard the gunshot just when the court was about to start up again after the break, and we get his testimony for our troubles. That's about it, though, as Badd doesn't have anything more to say to the troublesome two. Now, I think it's about time to connect some pieces here. Logic!
First off, the pink plastic thingie, it resembles a murdered balloon, and as we all know, the common household cactus is one of the common balloon's most deadly predators. And yes, indeed the thingie used to be a balloon, which met its unfortunate end at the hand of the cactus. Hm, I do wonder... well, I'll get back to that. Also, the swiss roll carcass quite possibly came from the vending machine, rather basic logic there, but ok. It also strikes me that this machine takes credit cards, something I frankly didn't think all that many vending machines did. So yes, from these facts, Miles Edgeworth: Superlogic constructs the following scene: Gumshoe sat on the bench, eating his Swiss Roll before losing it, creating a mess. Riveting, isn't it? From the illustration photo, this apparently also made him short enough to not be visible from the window. Isn't it nice when things come together like that * Well, this all is nice and good and well and joyous and all, but there's a contradiction here. Yes, let's have a look at that vending machine again. The swiss rolls cost 6$, and gumshoe had only 5 dollars on him, and yet he most likely bought one, exciting isn't it? INVESTIGATION COMPLETE.
I know all of this will probably pay off, but this investigation phrase felt a bit... eh. Anyway, Edgeworth suggests that the two compare notes, but Franziska, being... well, Franziska, will have none of it until the contest is settled. Edgeworth agrees to at least give his version of events, but first, it's time to correct Judge's testimony. Yay. So, it's time that we come face to face with the judge. So yes, his story is much the same as last, but now, we know what's wrong with it, and it's time to fix it. So yes, Edgeworth gives the explanation I mentioned above, with the sitting and what have you. Franziska apparently couldn't see out of the window, thus establishing its height, this was apparently another of those things I could've examined back in the investigation phrase, but didn't have to, lucky that I figured it out by myself. Oh, and like most short people in fiction, Franziska doesn't like being called short, so she, you guessed it, whips Edgeworth again. Anyway, Judge apparently isn't quite done yet, so another round, good times.
Apparently, Judge seems to think that there's no evidence that Gumshoe was sitting during that precise time, and adds that he heard a gunshot, which was a little like a pop, apparently... Hmm, I wonder. Apparently, Judge went to the restroom 20 minutes before the court was scheduled to reconvene, which does clash somewhat with Badd's testimony that the gunshot rang out just before the court was to reconvene. Judge hardly believes it, but Edgeworth has a piece of evidence that can explain this. Balloon piece, I choose YOU. Edgeworth explains it nicely, Judge heard something he thought was a gunshot, while in reality, it was a popping balloon. Take that indeed. Judge seems to think this explanation is good enough, and adds that popping balloons is not something one usually does in a courthouse... whereas gunshots are normal? I dunno, we flashback to when Lill!Kay met with Edgeworth for the first time *, and Edgeworth realizes that her balloon was the guilty party in the whole popping thing.
Judge is about ready to release Gumshoe, but Edgeworth wants to talk to him a little first. Enter stage middle, Gumshoe. Edgeworth tells Gumshoe that he's being questioned as a part of the investigation rather than as a part of a trial, so he might still be found innocent. Hm, I'm guessing it's the Von Karma moral that shows up around here, but nevermind, let's move on. Testimony time. Gumshoe's testimony is much the same, he was summoned by Badd, he never moved from the spot, didn't do it, DID NOT MURDER HIM, that kind of stuff. Let's see what's wrong with this here. Pressing a little has Gumshoe tell us that he didn't move an inch, well, we know there's something wrong with this, now don't we? Let's demonstrate. Oh Gumshoe, Gumshoe, why lie? I mean, I would goddamn do what Badd told me to, but come on. Anyway, Gumshoe confesses to this little nothing of a sidetrack, but maintains that is all. Edgeworth isn't quite happy with that, since the price doesn't match with what Gumshoe had on him at the time. You could say the price... was not right. Ok, no more of that. Anyway, Gumshoe maintains he bought the Swiss Rolls all by himself, but Edgeworth has evidence! Ho yes, the Swiss Roll dropped by Lill!Kay.
At this point, the little rascal enters the courtroom and gives Edgeworth's shin another little kick, and yes, it's Kay, Kay Faraday, her themesong plays and everything, cool. Anyway, the reason Kay is kicking Edgeworth all the time is because she's of the impression that he's the one responsible for arresting Gumshoe, or Gummy as she calls him. Edgeworth wants to ask Kay a couple of questions, but she's somewhat less than friendly towards us, however, as we all know, Swiss Rolls can pacify even the most problematic little one * so let's hand her this neutral spin. This calms her down just nicely. She's saving the Swiss Roll for her daddy... oh, nobody told her yet, I see? Ehm... ok, awkward. Edgeworth, being the paragon of social interaction that he is, tries to break it to her, but Gumshoe tells him IX-NAY. However, it turns out Kay knows, as she overheard talk. Aww :( Well, Edgeworth sympathizes, which is not odd, considering the similarities, although I think Manfred Von Karma isn't involved in this case... or is he? Well, Edgeworth offers Kay a handkerchief and she... blows her nose in her cravat. Hehe, as sad as this is, that was pretty funny. Bittersweet case, this. Anyway, let's talk to Kay. She's, according to herself, OK, although both I and Edgeworth doubt she's 100% A-OK.
Kay regards her father as a "Hero of Justice" and supplier of her favorite treat, Swiss Rolls. Apparently, they had a sort of shared diary/rule book going, which is added to our evidence. Yay Evidence. Also, Kay talked with Gumshoe during the recess, thus confirming that she was there, right. Also, she and Gumshoe bought a twopack of Swiss rolls together, which was why she needed a dollar earlier. Spiffy. This is all well and nice, but guys... we have a murder to solve here, double murder, actually. Well, Edgeworth gives, no wait, allows Kay to borrow one of his cravats. Franziska thinks this is all good and well, but that there's no explanation for why Gumshoe lied. Edgeworth, however, has an explanation, namely the promise notebook, yes, Kay was reluctant to accept anything from a stranger, but Gumshoe tried to cover for her. Oh Gumshoe, you... idiot. Don't get me wrong, he's a very noble idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. At last, Gumshoe gives us the whole story.
For maximum enjoyment, please read the following in your best Don La Fontaine/Trailer voice: He was getting hungry, but a dollar short, she had a dollar and the best of intentions, they pooled their resources. She broke the rules, He promised not to tell, but some promises are; made to be broken. Ehm, yes. Anyway, Gumshoe also split his roll and shared it with Kay. Aww, that's... just... cute. Anyway, Kay popped her balloon, Gumshoe dropped his roll-piece, tragicomic, I guess. Also, Kay allows Edgeworth to keep the swiss roll until Gumshoe is entirely acquitted. I'm guessing this'll be useful later.
Just as things are winding down and Edgeworth claims that Gumshoe was in the hall the entire time and thus couldn't have done it, in comes Giggles, who points out that if nobody passed Gumshoe, he was the only one who could have killed the two people he guarded. Bummer. Oh, and just in case you forgot who's the antagonist here, Calisto gets a bailiff to take Kay away after laughing at Franziska a little. To be fair on the last bit there, the thought of someone commenting you about manners also whipping people left and right is a bit off. Anyway, Giggles here says that Gumshoe will be formally charged, and then leaves. Edgeworth won't give up just yet, though, as there's one place he haven't checked out yet, namely the lobby where Badd and Giggles was. TO BE CONTINUED
edited 30th Apr '10 2:46:18 AM by slowzombie
Liveblog | Deadblog
This kind of stuff is why I found the Logic mechanic so disappointing : it's always obvious, and rarely allows you to reach a conclusion you wouldn't have otherwise.
Continuity Porn watch : see that fire extinguisher in the hallway ? Remember JFA case #1 ?
I love your nickname for Calisto.
This investigation did seem a bit...inane, it must be said. All that just to prove that Gumshoe ate a meal.
The man was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the best at both killing and not killing - Stranger
Even so, that case is probably my favorite just because it was at near Baddass Max Capacity with both Von Karma making his first non-AA 1 appearance, and Badd appearing.
Platypus!
Chapter 4 part 3A Transforknives: More Than Meets The Eye
Heya guys, I'm back, and depending on how long this last bit is, we might finish the mystery surrounding the second KG-8 incident today, or, knowing this game's fancy tricks, merely uncover an even greater mystery that we have to solve in case five. We rejoin our pulsating knots of daddy issues and frills as they enter the second lobby. Edgeworth notices an apparently very strong smell, which Franziska seems to think is flowers. Oh, and mini!Kay is there too, hanging out with "Uncle Badd," I'm guessing that's the "affectionate name for close friend of the family"-uncle, but I can never be sure. Kay has found what looks like a perfume bottle of some sort, which Badd allows her to keep, also giving her a Swiss Roll. Well, I'm guessing one of these things are going to be important, and if it turns out to be the swiss roll... well, let's just say I hope it isn't the swiss roll.
Edgeworth wants to know why Kay haven't gone home yet, she claims it's because she's Detective Badd's assistant. Huh, I guess Badd's qualified to be a Ace Attorney main character now, in that he's working with Law-related matters, and that he has a young female sidekick. Of course, he's not an attorney per se, but it can't be that hard to pass the bar, I mean, Payne did it. * Anyway, Badd keeps Kay around because there ain't no rule, as they say, about investigating outside of the crime scene itself. Well, Kay wants Edgeworth to catch the real bad guy, because she knows Gumshoe is innocent. While Edgeworth ponders how he's going to perfect his ass out of this mess, she wanders off. Oh well. Our turn. Yay :D
So, the first thing I check is the window. Iron bars, but it's open, despite the airconditioning being just ok. Hm, I wonder. Well, onwards. Let's chat with Badd. Edgeworth wants to know what Kay is searching for, but Badd maintains his whole "I have nothing more to say to you"-thing. Edgeworth, however, maintains that he has questions that needs to be answered. First of all, he wants to know what's the deal with the smell. Well, isn't it obvious? It's Badd's cologne. No wait, it's Giggles' perfume, my bad. She spilled some of it in this room, and Badd's attempts of dispelling it by opening a window apparently didn't do much. Franzy thinks that the perfume probably is a ripoff, due to the persistent and, one assumes, overly sweet, smell of it. Badd, however, says that this is some expensive stuff from across the pond, something that apparently pisses Franzy off. I didn't know she took pride in her knowledge of perfumes, but I guess that's what GaidenGames are for. Badd apparently has a bottle of the perfume that Yew gave to him, and he gives it to Franziska, one assumes out of the goodness out of his heart. Yeah, I know, who'd think that a grizzled badass like Badd had a heart of gold? Franzy, being... well, Franzy, is reluctant to accept this obviously inferior product, but, accepts it anyway, and again being Franzy, graciously allow her sorta-brother Edgeworth to "Hold on to this bottle without fail!" Oh Franzy, you know you've got it bad when even Edgeworth, who is only slightly better than her at this, comments on how a little openness wouldn't kill her. Well, either way, this means evidence for us, Ms. Yew's perfume.
Badd's pretty keen on going away and doing anything but talking to the pair, but Edgeworth isn't quite done yet. First order of business is to quiz Badd a little about his whereabouts during the recess. Apart from his quick call summoning Gumshoe, he was in the waiting room the entire time. Edgeworth also notices that prior to Gumshoe's arrival, Giggles and Badd were in two different places. Franzy assumes, correctly, if one is to believe Badd's reaction, that Calisto doesn't like Badd all that much. Edgeworth reasons that this might be because it was Badd's job to protect her sister, a job he failed at, oh, but not only that, he also was the head investigator of the KG-8 Incident. Edgeworth has had enough of this flimflam, and demands to be informed about just what's up with Badd, Yew and Faraday and the KG-8 incident in general. Badd says that now that Edgeworth has dug that deep, it couldn't hurt too much to tell him more. Well, that's nice of you Badd, almost too nice, but let's move on. Badd's info isn't common knowledge, in fact, Franziska and Edgeworth will be the two first people not directly related to the KG-8 incident that actually learns of it. I am positively tingly with excitement.
As Badd begins his tale of "The honest truth behind the KG-8 Incident," he takes out the thing in his mouth that i up until this point have assumed was a toothpick, revealing it to be a lollipop. Hm... ok, well, that's a speck of color in Badd's otherwise monochromatic color scheme I guess. Well, Faraday and Badd were hot on the trail of a smuggling ring, this being the one with the Amano Group, and Mr. D being framed for it and what have you. The case went to shit when the witness, Cece Yew, was killed. Mr. D confessed, probably under pressure from some big earlobewig at the Amano corp. Edgeworth, on his side, refuses to believe that long-time friend of his father, Ernest Amano really can be a crook. You will learn, Young Edgeworth. Anyway, Manny Coachen walked due to a missing piece of evidence, and Badd thinks this is his fault, something I guess you could be allowed to angst over, a little a least. Turns out about half of the bullet holes in his jacket come from his failed attempt to protect Cece. A quick look at the jacket tells us that the assilant can't have been a very good shot, either that or Badd had his plot armor on. Anyway, Badd carries his battered jacket to this day, not because it makes him look like a badass, although I'm certain that doesn't hurt, but to remind himself that he sucks. Calisto appeared in the courtroom after the death of her sister. Badd apologizes for screwing up, but Calisto doesn't think an apology is good enough, so... she slaps him. A lot of off-screen slapping for Calisto, huh? Franzy thinks Calisto went light on him, and that in her position, she'd deal out well over a hundred lashes. Oh Franzy, whipping solves everything, doesn't it?
Well, Calisto didn't want to talk to Badd ever again, but Faraday and Badd kept together and... fought crime. However, they never managed to catch the real mastermind behind all of this. Oh gee, i wonder if we'll have to face off against said mastermind? Anyway, it while still working on the ring, they encountered Calisto again, this time defending a smuggling suspect in a case that Badd witnessed in and Faraday prosecuted. Yes, she's defending these people to gain their trust, and thusly information about the smuggling ring, cunning, of questionable moral status, but cunning nonetheless. Franzy seems to think that helping criminals in any way is despicable, which I guess doesn't quite rhyme with the various legal rights suspects have, but whatever, a little balance from showing Prosecutors as complete monsters for the better part of three games is ok, sorta. Badd thinks Franzy's worldview is... a little simple, something Franzy doesn't take all that well. Yew also felt, a notion she no doubt shared with the two others, that these people seemed above the law. Edgeworth, however, objects, on the ground that HE IS THE LAW... ok, not really, but that if the smuggling ring is out of the reach of the Law, that only means that our motley crew here is "doing it wrong" as it were. Badd, coming from a good bit right of Edgeworth and Franziska on the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism, thinks that the two above-mentioned are young and dumb, and will learn. Well, last time I checked, this 'verse was fueled by rule of awesome and logic, but hey, maybe Investigations is the secretly the cynical installment in the series, with the potential to usurp T&T's ending in pure bittersweetness, but we'll see, now won't we?
Back on the topic of asking about stuff, Badd apparently have known Faraday since he was a rookie, and Kay since she was tiny. It strikes me that Kay is one more of these Attorneyverse characters that only have one parent, well, one parent we know about... well, one dead parent, the list is actually quite long. Rape Is The New Dead Parents doesn't quite work here, I see. Anyway, Franzy also remarks that they kinda screwed up on finding the Yatagarasu, but Badd'll have none of that, as nobody knew more about the Great Thief than him and Faraday. That's why he was here, to tell the court that there was no way Rell was the bird. After Rell changed his testimony, Badd was supposed to testify as to if he was full of shit or not this time too, but... well, that won't happen, now will it? Edgeworth apparently isn't quite happy with this onslaught of exposition, and plans to prod Badd a little more RE: The Yatagarasu. Badd doesn't quite see the importance of this, but Edgeworth points out that it might be a point of interest how both victims were offed after one of them accused the other one of being the Yatagarasu. Badd agrees to tell them why catching the Yatagarasu is a pipe dream, apparently there's three reasons. Basically, they all boil down to one fact, the Yatagarasu is good, really fucking good. Also, Badd thinks that the Yatagarasu would never stoop to committing murder. Also, what's new with the Yatagarasu's MO this time is that he sent evidence concerning the smuggling ring directly to the police rather than going to the mass media. The information he sent was something only Faraday, Badd and "A select few other" knew about, and it was identified as Big Y's work thanks to the Yatagarasu's calling card. Said card is of an unique sort, namely the Yatagarasu sends a white card, along with something else, which Rell failed to mention in his testimony, thus warning resident Big Y expert Badd that Mr. Rell was out of it. Exposition time is apparently over, as a bailiff enters and tells Edgeworth that the Judge is ready to transfer the evidence from the case to Edgeworth. Before he goes, Edgey asks Badd what the law means to him, and Badd answers that finding the answer is the one thing he lives for. Either that, or he wasn't being metaphorical, and he's just waiting to break down in the court, forgive his nemesis and then die... or not die, or be put in prison, or something... but I guess they kinda used up their quota of that earlier in the series. For the record, Edgeworth is more of a "prove 'em guilty and let god sort them out"-kind of guy in this part of his life. This is, for the record, an Edgeworth we haven't seen since the first Ace Attorney game
We move on to the courtroom, where the Judge is feeling a little down for providing sub-par testimony, but Edgeworth tells him to not worry about it. The judge seems distracted, no surprise there, but he snaps out of it long enough to give Edgeworth the evidence for the case he was supposed to do and the current case, including the knife, the gun, a folder and Mr. Faraday's organizer. Time to check these babies out. The folder first. It recaps the case where a cohdopian embassy member was shot through the heart *, Rell was more or less caught instantly due to being captured on film while doing the deed. Next up, we have the gun, which Rell was found with, and ultimately caused his untimely demise. Next up, the knife. Not much to say, Franzy waxes poetically about how it's a shame how a piece of art like that could be used to kill, to which Edgeworth replies by thinking to himself that Franzy uses her crop wrong too. Well, I'm no riding man but I'm fairly certain there are people who disagree with you there, Edgeworth. * And then, for what we in Norway would call the rasin in the sausage, yes, that's a real expression, ask a Norwegian, namely the organizer. In this organizer, Rell wrote down his plan for success in nailing Rell for the murder. I didn't think you'd need all that much of a strategy with that much evidence, but Faraday here apparently did not believe in the Indy Plot. Oh, but that's not all, he apparently had evidence that Rell was not the Yatagarasu, yes, Rell didn't have a snowball's chance in hell as long as Faraday had the "Yatagarasu's Key." The book also holds a picture, I'm assuming of the actual Yagatarasu's Key. Wow, and here I thought it was something more ominous, but ok, it's a key, I can roll with that. Edgeworth also notes that Badd referred to evidence the Yatagarasu had sent to the police, and just in case we forgot, we flash back to it. Ok, that's just annoying. I mean, yeah, an occasional flashback is ok, but that was... minutes ago, really, there's a lot happening and a lot of talking in these latter cases, as I want it to be, but there's no real need to have the main character recap to himself in that way, but I'm just dragging it out here, let's move on and see if I can make it to the next To Be Continued without my brain turning into fuzz.
With all that over and done with, one question remains, namely where the knife came from, as the prosecutor didn't bring it as evidence. Franzy suggests that Rell smuggled it into the courthouse somehow, but Edgeworth maintains that this is unlikely, thanks to very tight security. As she tends to do, Franzy mocks Edgeworth's lack of a clue vis-a-vis where the knife really came from, but trust Edgeworth to know more than he lets on, leaving it up to us to catch up to him. Turns out that the handle of Big Y's key has pretty near identical design, and Edgeworth thinks they are part of the same contraption, or what have you. So it's a key AND a knife? Spiffy. Well, let's examine it to find out. A little prodding reveals that with a single click, the knife transforms into the key-form seen in the picture. Well... I didn't see that one coming, actually. Since Faraday didn't mention the whole transformation thing, Franzy thinks that only someone who knew could have been the killer, thus putting the Great Thief, The Yatagarasu, in the position of suspect. It can't have been Mr Rell, as pretty much everyone is convinced that Rell was full of shit when he said he was the Big Y. Well, Edgeworth seems to think that this key is the metaphorical key to the case, before noticing that there's a piece of evidence missing, namely the surveilance tape. Don't worry, there's probably a button on the gun that flips it hypercube-style, revealing a VHS tape somewhere in it... or not. Let's just ask the judge instead. The judge doesn't quite know where the tape is, but suggests the crime scene. Spiffy.
Enter the scene of the crime again, where Badd is together with some new officer in a fancy uniform. Say, that hair looks familiar, and that themesong sounds mighty familiar. Well, I guess it's time to go say hi. Mr. Question Mark here doesn't like prosecutors all that much, gee, I wonder who this guy might be. After that, he leaves, though, that's a shame, he really brightened up the room, well his theme did. Oh well, let's go talk to Badd. He seems distant, but guy's got control, citing the "eyes in the back of his head," or his mirror, as it is. Well, that explains the mirror, I guess. Anyway, yes, that guy was Agent Lang, angry youth straight from the best homes of Zheng Fa, you know him, you love him, he's a man with two names that describes considerable lenght *, Lemon writers take note. Badd also notices that Lang has a slight chip on his shoulder. Gee, Badd, you think? Well, I'm about done for, so I'll finish this part of tomorrow, hopefully.
edited 3rd May '10 3:25:22 PM by slowzombie
Liveblog | Deadblog
I wish I had a badass key-knife. It has so many uses too!
Vampire Hunter
I guess that makes it a keyblade.
Wizard Needs Food Badly
The key-knife is absolutely —ing awesome. Best piece of evidence in the game.
Badd's exposition is fascinating when you re-read it knowing the full plot.
Platypus!
Chapter 4 part 3B: LOGIC... and some flashbacks
Heyo, it's investigations time again as we tackle part two of part one of the end. So that would make us just about halfway through the beginning of the end... right. Let's just get on with it, huh? We left off just before Badd was going to tell us that we were a pleasant bunch of teenagers our two heroes, or something similar I'm sure, let's ask him about stuff. He's... about as forthcoming and friendly as one expects, but Edgeworth isn't one to give up, he wants more info out of Badd, I hope he has a juice press hidden somewhere on his person. Apparently not, let's just ask him about stuff, shall we? Edgeworth wants to know what happened in Lobby #2 at the time of the murder, but Badd doesn't want to answer. Hm, well, ok. Edgeworth suggests that showing Badd the keyknife might be an idea. Well, ok Miles, let's do that. Badd did know about the Big Y's key, but not about its secret stabbyness. Badd was searching for the key because he promised Faraday that he'd keep it safe, and that it mysteriously vanished after the murder. Well, that's a mystery we solved without knowing it was a mystery, damn, we rule. After this righteous pwnage in the name of perfection justice, Badd finally agrees to tell us more about lobby #1 during the time of the murder. Fuck yeah, progress. Let's see what we can get out of this statement.
Apparently, Yew and Badd were talking about nothing important in Lobby #1 until they heard the Gumshoe, they heard the gunshot and rushed to the scene, picking up Gumshoe along the way. Well, that seems to make sense, let's press a little and see where we go from there. Anyway, Badd didn't hear any other strange or strange-ish sound until he heard the gunshot. Oh Hai, contradiction. Pink Balloon Corpse! Go! So yes, Badd, how come you didn't hear the popping balloon, huh? It's not like the doors are soundproof or... no wait, they are... bummer. That's, in fact, also a bit of a doubleplus ungood bummer, since soundproof rooms mean that Gumshoe wouldn't have heard a struggle anyway , but let's move on. Oh, the whole soundproof thing raises an interesting question indeed, namely... how did Badd hear the gunshot? We get a little flashback to the talk about Yew's ultra-flowery perfume, and the dissipating smell logic. Humm, we also get a flashback about Lobby #2's television, which was quite loud, loud TV logic get. Hm, I'm glad I got that second flashback, because I don't remember that, also, a third flashback about the missing surveilance video, and the Missing Evidence logic. I'm starting to feel the Logic thingie is handled a bit poorly here, but if that's the final flashback in a row, I'm willing to let it slip. Yeah, that's all, apparently, because it can be logic tiem nao.
Perfume + Windows= The windows were open. Astounding, isn't it? Now, combining that with the loud television... Yes, thank you Edgeworth, sound can indeed be heard through a barred window, and since both Gumshoe and Badd was in the proximity of an open window, yes, they could both have heard it. Now only remains the question of the missing evidence... hmm. Logic! Edgeworth reasons, with the at the moment kind of weird logic of hearable gunshot + missing evidence, that Faraday had the evidence with him during recess, which is reasonable, and since it disappeared during the recess, it must have disappeared from Faraday's possession somehow. Edgeworth thinks he knows where to find the missing piece of evidence, namely... the TV. Ok, I think I know where you're going, Edgeworth, dude, but I'm not quite sure if I know which way you're planning to use. BEGIN INVESTIGATION. Wheeeee. Apparently, the TV has a VHS player... ohhoho, I see what you did there. Well, time to rewind the tape and checkit. Huh, whaddya know, it is the surveilance video, well, that's good for us. Even better, Badd seems distressed, as he has found the source of the ticking... I mean gunshot. Yes, Edgeworth has it all figured out now, and he's ready to deduce the living hell out of this case... in somewhat more Edgeworth-y terms, of course. Let's see if I'm following here.
Yes, Edgeworth has it, ladies and gents. Why would the killer open the window, allowing half the courthouse to hear the precise moment of the murder, attracting loads of unwanted attention in the process? Oh, there can be only one reason, yes, only one reason, namely that the killer wanted to manipulate our impression of when the crime took place, using the video surveilance tape with its unrealistically crisp sound quality. That's... actually quite clever, I think we're dealing with a crafty bastard here. This places the murder at some time earlier, probably before Gumshoe even arrived. So, all that's remaining is to find the one who didn't have an alibi for that part of that part of the recess and Bob's your uncle. Before we can get to that, though, a bailiff appears saying that Giggles has identified the murderer and is now waiting in the courtroom to clarify something with Edgeworth. It's closing in on endgame for this flashback, stay tuned, because it can be TO BE CONTINUED time now.
Liveblog | Deadblog
I think we're dealing with a crafty bastard here.
Platypus!
Chapter 4 part 4: Calypso with Calisto
Hey people, I hope you're ready for the thrilling conclusion of this case. Personally, I'm thinking the Swiss Roll might be the perp in this case, but who knows, maybe the game's just winding up for a Shocking Swerve, huh? Well, enough of that sillyness, it's time to get dangerous and face off with the woman they * call Giggles. Our heroes, this being Edgeworth, Franzy and Badd enter the courtroom, Kay joining them shortly thereafter, apparently still investigating. Edgeworth tries to tell her that they've found what she was looking for, but Badd tells her to pay no heed to the frilly one and continue investigation, he does so to keep her in the dark, thus shielding her for the gentle gutpunches of reality a little while longer, that's nice of him. Giggles here have been expecting Edgeworth. She thinks he has the case in the bag, but Edgeworth thinks that depends on her logic, and if it's good enough.
Calisto's confident, she's taken testimonies and gathered equipment like nobody's business. Well, too bad we'll have to see about that, huh? Argument time! Yew basically states that everyone else has an alibi from the time of the gunshot was heard and that there was no way of getting out of Lobby #2 without passing Gumshoe's all-penetrating gaze, so all signs point to the gazer being the killer. Hmm, press time! Edgeworth argues that gumshoe had an alibi, but Yew points out that this was during the first fake gunshot, and that he doesn't have squat past that. Calisto's case seems pretty solid thus far, and pressing her have revealed precious little new info, I'll give her that, giggly or not, she's not stupid. Anyway, Edgeworth notices that he'll pull out the aces when the time is right, but that he still needs to know a little something about Calisto's argument. He wants to know why he or Franzy wasn't asked for an alibi. Well, apparently Manfred Von Karma vouched for them, and I'm fairly certain Manfred Von Karma could vouch for himself * and come out on top. Edgeworth also wants to know if Calisto have inquired about people's alibis from before Gumshoe arrived. That, she hasn't. Well, Edgeworth argues that the gunshot she heard was... well, take it away, Admiral Ackbar
. Yew objects... and my, her objection doesn't sound very good at all, kind of bored-like. One think she, of all people, would sound more mirthful.
Calisto, of course, wants to see how one could fabricate a gunshot, and who are we to deny her the right to see this? VHS tape, go! Giggles here is surprised by the surprisingly high sound quality and volume of this VHS, and for just 19.95 plus shipping and handling, you can too. ... Yeah, sorry about that. Calisto argues that we couldn't have heard a gunshot on VHS through the soundproof courthouse walls, well, this is true, but the decidedly un-soundproof open window might have allowed the sound to carry, how about that? Edgeworth adds that there were windows open in both of the lobbies, despite both having excellent A/C. The one in the crime scene must've been opened by the killer in order to set the master plan into motion, but who opened the window in lobby #1? And why? Giggles thinks it's just a coincidence, but Edgeworth doesn't think so. This being an Ace Attorney-game, we too know that it's no more a coincidence than... something that's not a coincidence at all. Edgeworth thinks someone did something to get that window opened. The question is "Who is Calisto Yew?" the answer was "Who is the real guilty party in window-opening and possibly muder."
Ah, this is what I like, shocked reaction shots while our hero stands as a calm island of kickass, oh, and the music's in on the asskicking, as it should be. Calisto isn't impressed, but she says she's enjoying this dance so far. Well, then, Giggles, I guess that makes this time to Face The Music And Dance! Rebuttal. Basically, she wants evidence that the tape was used to fake the time of the murder and/or that she manipulated the window open in some way, shape or form. Right, ask and ye shall receive. The perfume, yes, the one she spilled in lobby #1. Spilling it would make Badd open the window, thus furthering her gambit. Calisto claims that this is merely a happy coincidence, but Edgeworth thinks it all lines up just nicely. Calisto does her "oh shit" animation, a mere misapplication of lipstick, here's hoping her breakdown is epic. Not anything special with Calisto, I just like epic breakdowns. Calisto claims she couldn't have killed Mr. Faraday, and Edgeworth wants her to testify as to why that is. Calisto says this is the last testimony. Well, ok, one more for the road, eh? Her argument relies on her lacking knowledge of where the knife came from. Well, chick's got a point, gotta admit. Still, let's see what we can make out of this, press time!
Pressing regarding the knife causes Edgeworth to tell Calisto that the murder weapon was taken from Faraday's evidence bag, and that the evidence was something he hadn't yet presented. Calisto states that the only thing Faraday had left in his sleeve was a key, and the thought of murdering someone with a key is absurd. * That gets added to the testimony, which means it's time for some more evidence. Yatagarasu's key, go! Calisto claims she was told about the key by Faraday, thus explaining why she knew about it, he also told her it was a knife. Waitasecond. Yes, that's right Edgey, not even Faraday knew about the knife-transforming trick. Edgey also argues that since Badd, the leader of this entire investigation, didn't know that the key was indeed a knife, why should Faraday tell Calisto, his opponent, about it? The argument is that only one person could've known about the key/knife thing, namely... the Yatagarasu, or should we say... Calisto Yew? Calisto takes it well, which is to say that she laughs... and laughs... and laughs, it'd be creepy if she didn't look so... I dunno, nonthreatening. But yes, Calisto is the Yatagarasu, I'll be honest, I had pretty much assumed that Yatagarasu Inc. was a family business, but apparently not? Well, Faraday was hot on Calisto's trail, so she planned to shift the blame over to him using Fishy, but that went tits-up when Faraday had a private chat with Rell, so... she stabbed him, transforming the key to a knife without Faraday noticing before shivving him. She got Rell to help her rig the crime scene before shooting him, using the videotape to fake the time of the murder. Hm, crafty. Speaking of crafty, Calisto also hired Rell to kill Deid Mann, the victim of the initial trial, in order to prevent him from going public with info on the smuggling ring, which she also apparently is a member of. I dunno why, but I feel this is coming out a bit easy. I mean, no frenzied twitching? No death threats? Giggles, is this a fact, or a clever ruse?
Franzy expresses dissapointment over the Yatagarasu being a simple murderer, and by Giggles' reaction, I kinda get the feeling she thinks that's just A-OK. She also tells us why the Yatagarasu has three legs, and that's because... it always has a backup plan, an extra talon, so to speak. With these words, she pulls a pistol on Edgeworth. Well fuck me, where did she get THAT? Is that the murder weapon again? Someone should secure those somehow. Calisto also gloats that Edgey just handed the Yatagarasu's key over to her... oh, she IS crafty. Apparently done with monologuing, Calisto fires, the Von Karma sorta-siblings gets down, well, that is to say Franzy does while Edgeworth freezes up. Everything goes white and Kay warns Edgey to get some dodging done. Right. Yew flees with Badd and lill!Kay in hot pursuit. Edgeworth gets up and does a quick inventory of non-holey body parts and sort-of-sisters. A gunshot rings out. A little time later, Judge, Badd and Gumshoe enters, Badd is apparently ok, only another hole in his jacket and potential PTSD to show for it. Calisto got away, though. Oh, and if there was any doubt, our two heroes are unharmed. In what I can only describe as what must be a most rare act indeed, Badd lets Gumshoe off the hook for the whole "lying in a testimony"-thing, on account of him doing so for Kay. That's all for Badd, though, as he leaves to start the investigation proper, find Kay, catch Giggles and what have you.
Gumshoe's impressed by Edgeworth's work, I'd say "as usual," but it hasn't become a habit just yet, while Judge is feeling glum on account of his troublesome testimony, he'll get over it, I think. Now that all this is done, Edgeworth remembers another task, namely delivering Kay's Swiss Roll to Gumshoe. Oh joy, another Swiss Roll sighting, it's fairly touching, though, so I'm not complaining. With that over with, we come to the moment where Gumshoe officially declared himself to be Edgeworth's comedy sidekick. Edgeworth is... about as approving as an Edgeworth can be. End flashback, Edgeworth waxes poethically about the woes of having Gumshoe as your personal puppy-dog detective, and we return to Gatewater land. So... Edgeworth forgot all that? What Kay should do was just wave a Swiss Roll in front of the guy, that'd bring him back, either that or make him go into breakdown mode himself
Anyway: Loose threads time. Kay lived with some relatives of her mother from far away somewhere, but Edgeworth still has questions. First, why is Kay here now, and why is she calling herself the Yatagarasu? What sort of daddy-issues would taking the moniker of the woman who killed your father classify as? I'm not sure I want to know. However, it turns out that when the REAL Yatagarasu was asked to please stand up, that would be her father. Kay found his secret diary, you see, his diary and his security system-jamming supecomputer, which he apparently used too. So... that thing must have been ridiculously high-tech back then, which is bad, considering how ridiculously high-tech it is today. Anyway, Kay has noticed the Yatagarasu popping up, and since she's the Yatagarasu and she has done no such popping, she thinks there's a fake running around somewhere. That's why she searched for Edgeworth, because if someone can straighten this mess out, it's Edgey. Yes, she wants Calisto, who apparently still is at large, under lock and key. Edgeworth, being ever the gentleman, agrees to help her out, and there was much rejoicing, much to Edgeworth's puzzlement. Oh Edgeworth. Case closed, next up is Turnabout Ablaze, which sounds more like a Phoenix Wright case, but it's not like they'd let us play as Phoenix for half the last case in Edgeworth's game... I mean... who'd do such a thing
Well, a guy can hope, right? Seeya next time as we start the allegedly monumental task that is case 5.
edited 6th May '10 2:52:32 PM by slowzombie
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Oh god, case 5.
It Just. Won't. End.
Trust me, the final boss approaches Gant-levels of annoyance trying to get them convicted.
Case #4 surprised me by having the guilty party make a clean get away... But then, it was kinda needed for T&T #4 to still be Edgeworth's first case.
This is the point where I stepped back from the game for a few minutes, reflected about the implications of everything we'd seen until now... and had a realization that Giggles was even more of a crafty bastard than it's been openly stated until now.
Platypus!
Chapter 5 part 1a: Old Friends and Bitchin' Tunes
Hey guys and gals. Got myself a bitch of a cold, and it's tag-teaming with my finals, but I think I can crank out at least one update this week, which would be this. Let's start Case 5, Turnabout Ablaze. We start with Edgeworth narrating over someone's fingers holding a match, talking about two cards, one black and one white, two countries and other ominous stuff. The hand drops the match, starting a fire, revealing a... winged human figure standing crouched in the room, before cutting to Edgeworth standing outside of a burning building, I assume the one lit by the wayward match, cursing the Yatagarasu. Hm, ok, I'm not quite as confused as the intro to case 1 in Apollo Justice *
Anyway, we rejoin our frilly prosecutor eight hours earlier in his office, where he's enjoying himself a cup of tea. I'm guessing this is what happens after him pwning Portsman back in case 1. I must admit, Edgeworth's had one hell of a day so far. First a murder on a plane, then a murder with goddamn badgers and then a flashback before defeating a goddamn flapping... flapper, the guy's almost more efficient than Jack Bauer, hell, Jackie boy solved maybe one crisis per 24 hours, Edgeworth has solved three. *.
Edgeworth recaps a little, talking about... well, the troublesome few days he's had, before thinking to himself that along as he has today in peace and quiet and tea, he'll be OK. Interrupting disaster in 3...2...1.. Hm, my timing was spot-on, as Kay bursts into the office. She's talking about something big, and apparently it's so big she's surprised that Edgeworth , aren't positively giddy with excitement, despite, one assumes, not knowing what the hell she's on about. Anyway, apparently it's about the fake Yatagarasu. Edgeworth thinks the person who held him up during case 1 was the fake Yatagarasu, and that they've got a lot of investigating to do before they can get anywhere. Says you, I think he's just eager to get back to the other half of his OTP, his beloved tea.
Kay, however, has exciting news. The Yatagarasu sent a card to... some embassy, stating his, or hers, however that might end up working out, intent to steal the dirtiest secret contained therein, and that it's going to happen March 13, this being the current date. Oh my. Edgeworth acknowledges that this indeed is incentive to put down the tea and get to it, but he also remarks that they need to know which embassy the fakebird is going to, and Kay doesn't know. I'd think the newspaper clipping would mention that at some point, but hey, with people like Spark Brushel in existence in this 'verse, lacking journalistic standards doesn't surprise me. Anyway, Kay wants to know why Edgeworth is so "lackadaiscal" today. Oh, I don't know, Kay, he's probably just glum due to recent developments in the Antidisestablishmentarianism movement.
Anyway, Edgeworth tells Kay to relax, but Kay isn't having any of that, as she's preparing to find Calisto Yew and tell her . 'Hello, my name is Kay Faraday, you killed my father, prepare to die.' Yeah, I'm not sure that'll happen either, but it'd be kinda cool. Kay is also infuriated because Calisto isn't doing it right, the Yatagarasu sends in the calling card only after the deed is done, I mean, who does she think she is? Mask☆DeMasque? Anyway, Kay is just about ready to go out there and kick some feathery tail, but Edgeworth says there's preparations to be had first. First of all, he's noticing that the card found in his office and the one delivered to the embassy are identical, except one is black on white and the other is white on black. He doesn't tell Kay about this, at this particular moment, though. The two head out, TO ADVENTURE!
We move to Theatrum Neutralis, wherever that might be... HOLY SHIT, its the steel samurai, and the steel samurai theme song, I love that one. Apparently this theater is in a foreign embassy, and someone in there must've been a S. Samurai fan as big as Edgeworth, because they're hosting a steel samurai show. Oh, but it's a very special embassy too, because two countries share one building. I'm no expert on international law vis-a-vis embassies, but that sounds a little strange to me. I guess our heroes somehow have narrowed it down to one of these two embassies, or even one of them. Either that, or Edgeworth wanted to catch the show... or he realized that whenever anything related to this show happens, people die under confusing circumstances.
Hm, ok, according to Edgeworth, the two countries share the embassy grounds as neutral ground of sorts. Hm... okay then, how's that working out for ya? Anyway, the show was sponsored by one of the nations, Allebahst, whereas the other nation, Babahl, is sponsing a Jammin' Ninja show. Hm, I get the feeling I'll have to refer to these two countries a lot, so I think I'll just begin to call them A & B right away. Kay fangirls a little over The Jammin' Ninja before getting us back on track, reminding Edgeworth of "The Kingdom of Allebahst versus The Republic of Babahl Goodwill Jubilee," an event of some sort. Oh, and A & B are apparently European, although they don't really sound like it name-wise, and they used to be one country named The Principality of Cohdopia. Hm, Cohdopia, you say? So I guess C here went the ways of several middle-European countries after the fall of the Soviet Union in the seven years since the murder case. I get the feeling this will be important. Hm, bringing (fictional) politics into all of this, now are we, Capcom?
Well, Edgeworth recaps that whole Cohdopia/KG-8-business for us, before we resume discussing the jubilee. A&B has some bad history, but they're trying to play nice now. Some of the beef seems to stem from the question about who has the real Primidux Statue, a national treasure from the Cohdopian days. There's two of these, one assumes one is real and one is fake, and today is the day they'll have them evaluated and ask The Real Primidux Statue to please stand up.
Well, it's time to check this place out, and look for cameos while I'm at it. Oh, in a corner of the lobby-ish thingie, I spy with my little eye a certain red-haired photographer. Let's go say hi. This unnamed camerawoman is, for those not well versed in Pre-Investigations games, Lotta Hart, frequently uncooperative witness and intrepid reporter from the deep deep south. She's looking for her scoop, and Edgeworth decides to not talk to her, without elaborating. Edgey, without her you'd be in the slammer for murder, but I guess the same could be said about Phoenix Wright, and you haven't mentioned him, so I guess... eh. We also encounter a TV-crew, an odd lot, but nobody with portrait sprites or actual names yet, so I guess I'll keep up the search for... stuff. Also, a fan of the S.S and her friend badmouth the show we just didn't see, and a guy who seems to be wrestling with his OCD, trying to work up courage to ask one of the abovementioned fangirls out, let's leave him alone, huh?
Checking out the doors on either side reveals that they lead to the two embassies. The B-guard seems rather friendly, whereas the A-guy seems like more like an asshole. I'm just wondering when the murder victim of the day is going to turn up. Trying to goad the point'n'click god to let us progress, I also discover some information on the embassies. Apparently, the building is cleft in twain, the theater acting as a neutral zone between them. I must say, these people were fairly civil about this whole "country torn in two"-thing, you'd think there'd be more property damage involved, but then again, I don't imagine embassy employees being of the most passionate and violent of folk. We get the guide pamphlet for our troubles, and after that, it would seem the plot finds it fitting to show up again, as the Steel Samurai and his son, Iron Infant (no joke) oh, and the rocking theme. The orchestrated version is really awesome too. Let's do a little experiment. How will Steel Samurai fanboy Edgeworth react to meeting the Steel Samurai? Let's find out.
The Steel Samurai doesn't say much, but he's writing a note, an autograph from "Steel Samurai Daddy: Married Man of Neo Olde Tokyo" I get the feeling the fans weren't thrilled about that development, the Iron Infant strikes me as someone who could be somewhat of a Scrappy. Anyway, Edgeworth seems pleased, and adds the autograph to his organizer. The Samurai is then called off to meet the ambassador of A. Next up is the Jammin' Ninja show, Edgeworth is about ready to give that a miss, but Kay pulls him along.
After the show, Kay fangirls a little more over the ninja before planning to hoard herself some merch. Edgeworth wants to go home, since it looks like the fakebird is a no-show. Dude, you've been to two superhero stage shows, and you're dealing with a master thief here, or a fake master thief anyway, by the time you know anyone's been anywhere, your shit is stolen good. Oh, not quite master thief, anyway, as two guards run in, stating that the Yatagarasu has been spotted in the Allebahst part of the embassy. RED SPY IN THE BASE.
Kay is already warming up her "Hello, my name is Kay Faraday"-bit as she rushes towards the door, but the guard doesn't want to let her in before he have properly searched her. Oh, I bet you want to "search" her alright... uhm... moving on with all speed. Kay decides to enter B instead and climb her way over. Edgeworth tries to avoid creating a diplomatic clusterfuck, but Kay will have none of it. Edgeworth pursues her to an open-air stage-kind of thing, where two guards are staring in powerless awe at a fire, the fire from the intro, it would appear. Fade to black
New scene, we're now in a burnt-out room of some kind, Gumshoe, Lang's secretary and Kay are all here, and as far as I can tell alive. Shih-Na seems to have apprehended Kay for the whole fire thing, or wait, maybe the fresh corpse is more likely the crime? Yeah, the corpse looks fairly familiar too. Anyway, Kay didn't do it, she says, he was dead when she got there. She was following a mysterious stranger in a hood. Well, damsel in distress, you know what this means, it's The Pink Prosecutor to the rescue. Edgeworth asks Shih-na on what evidence she's arresting Kay for, but she basically tells him that he doesn't have the authority to demand an answer from her, due to his lack of investigative authority.
Gumshoe demands to know what foolishness this is, but Edgeworth fills him in. Technically speaking, this murder happened on B's soil, and thus, as an American attorney, Edgeworth has precisely squat in terms of authority. Oh, and a little X-Files reference from Gumshoe there. Anyway, it looks like Edgeworth doesn't have anything to do here until... Franziska arrives at the scene, whipping Gumshoe for good measure. Hoh yes, Franzy has gotten permission from the B ambassador, a certain Mr. Palaeno who... wow... hair, rivers of hair. Ehm, anyway, the victim, Manny... I knew he looked familiar, was Paleano's secretary, so Mr. P wants to have the case solved just right. Edgeworth also requests to be able to investigate this case, as Franzy's assistant. Now there's swallowing your pride 101 folks.
So yes, Paleano agrees, so Edgeworth is now Franziska's subordinate, although I'd be careful with using words that contains "sub" in too close proximity to Franzy, but that's me and my dirty mind. BEGIN INVESTIGATION... next time folks.
edited 11th May '10 4:43:29 PM by slowzombie
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I'm sorry people, but I won't have a complete chapter today, much thanks to school and scriptfrenzy-related activities. However, I do have a little part prepared, so enjoy that. I might complete the chapter in a special out-of-schedule update later this week.
Chapter 4 Part 1A: Out of the frying pan, into the fire *
Gentlemen! * It's time to resume the attorneyism, mid-flashback even. We're in the middle of a court case, you see, where the defendant is accusing the prosecutor, namely a certain Mr. Faraday, of being the Yatagarasu. Hmm, hmm indeed. Well, back to the somewhat younger Edgeworth, who's in the 3rd floor lobby of the court. If I recall correctly, this means we're meeting Edgeworth back in his asshole days. Ooooh, fun times, he's got his nifty pre-horrible-defeat jacket too. It's Edgeworth's job to take Mr. Faraday's place, since a prosecutor can't go around prosecuting when he's accused by the defendant of something. Huh, ok. But before we get that far... oh christ, it's him. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it's Manfred Von Karma, this can't be good. Well, Manfred here isn't as openly hostile to Edgeworth as to... well, everyone else thus far, but he'll have us make no mistake, Manfred Von Karma accepts nothing short of perfection. I'm inclined to humor him in this regard, as he just might eat me, and I'm not taking that risk.
Ok, it's time to make like a tree and get the hell away from Manfred Von Karma and check this place out. A preliminary scan tells me that we're in that typical point and click situation where we have to find the correct action to trigger some sort of progress under the guise of "waiting." Spiffy. Well, checking out the people in the waiting lobby reveals... exactly nothing. Oh great, this means that I have to talk to Von Karma again, doesn't it? Well, he recaps the case as follows: Pretty much an open/shut case, as the perp was caught on a security camera, and the only reason we're still working on this is because he claimed that he was blackmailed by the prosecutor, Byrne Faraday. Apparently, Manfred here doesn't like Mr. Faraday much, possibly due to his vigilante tendencies, speaking of "those that can't be brought to justice." Von Karma also lets it slip that there might be such people, hmm... talking about old Greg Edgeworth, are you Manfred? Or is there something else insidious at work here? You see, I flat-out refuse to believe Manfred Von Karma would ever admit to his absolutes not being... well, absolute just like that.
Well, enough of that, time for Edgeworth to recap the case so that we know what we're dealing with here. Apparently, a fellow named Deid Mann * was murdered in the embassy for made-up country #2, Cohdopia. The perp, Mack Rell * was found with the murder weapon, a gun. Well, that sounds like an open/shut thing. Anyway, Yatagarasu, one assumes Yatagarasu the first, was infiltrating the embassy at that time, and Fishy here initially claimed to be the Yatagarasu, but changed his statement after seeing the security video of him shooting the victim. Manfred also adds that the case are being called "The Second KG-8 Incident." Oh that's just spiffy. Anyway, Manfred gives us a newspaper clip, apparently about a murder case three years prior. The murder was of a certain Ms. Cece Yew, who was the sole witness to the Amano group's smuggling, but was killed by an employee of the Cohdopian Embassy. Also, Mr Faraday was the prosecutor in the case too. The threads certainly have started coming together, and I'm certain I'll have to work every one of these threads into the ground over the next two cases. Well, history is repeating itself, as the current vic also was scheduled to witness against the smuggling ring. Now that is interesting. The major difference between these cases apparently is that the Yatagarasu was involved in this case, having stolen a... something from the embassy and sending it to the police, thus also placing the bird-thief-thingy at the scene of the crime.
Before we can get more info, though, a little girl runs into the mentor/snarker tag team, perfectly summing up my thoughts on Von Karma in one little sentence. Well, the little miss wants Edgeworth to exchange some loose change for a dollar. Edgeworth, obliges. It must also be noted that like most children in this 'verse, 'lill Kay looks cute enough to give you cavities. And yes, I know she hasn't been identified yet, but if that isn't young!Kay I'll... say "Ok, I was wrong" and continue with the liveblogging, partially since I do not particularily feel like eating my shoes and/or hat. Oh, it would seem that Manfred Von Karma has a cane, which does make him a little pimp, but mostly just more like a man of wealth and taste. Anyway, a bailiff informs our merry duo that the transfer paperwork is complete, but apparently this should've happened much sooner, and Mr. Von Karma chews him out for it. Edgeworth says 's cool, though, as "not being completely prepared could prove to be a perfect handicap." Wow, Edgeworth dude, no offense, but younger!you was kind of a wanker.
Oooh, we're back in the courtroom, where Mr. Faraday, our opponent du jour is nowhere to be found. Oh, and there's Mr. Judge, squee. He seems... somewhat more Cloud Cuckoo Lander-ish than usual, as he's on a tangent of sorts about birthday celebrations and poppers or what have you. Before he can get much further, though, a scruffy-looking man in a fairly un-scruffy-looking coat bursts into the room. If there's any doubt, it's Gumshoe, and he's got the following to say, both Mr. Faraday 'and Mr. Rell is found dead in the hallways. Well blimey. Edgeworth rushes to the crime scene, but is stopped by a rather large fellow in a grey coat and white tie. If anything, he looks a bit like someone tried to catch a wild werepirate with a white tie and failed. He's also accompanied by a woman of some sort, wasn't she the other attorney in the beginning? Yes, turns out she was his Defense Attorney. Well, Edgeworth notices that he'll get nowhere fast this way, so he decides to quiz the people present. Gumshoe first, and he's... fairly unhelpful. Right, because a certain Mr . Badd * is in charge of the investigation. Gumshoe was at the time guarding the door to Defendant Lobby #2, he heard a gunshot, and Badd came running. Together, they found the bodies. Apparently, Gumshoe heard no struggling or similar, so either both men were ninjas, or they didn't fight prior to shooting eachother, being shot, or however that turned out.
Ok, time to check out this werepirate. Turns out, no surprise, that he's Badd, Tyrell Badd, homocide detective, and he has his own theme song, so I'm guessing he's not just passing through. Edgeworth is somewhat confused about how Badd could come to the crime scene so quickly, it turns out that he was supposed to witness, so he was already on his way. That said, Badd more or less says that he has nothing to say to a young whippersnapper like Edgeworth. When assholes clash, ladies and gentlemen. Edgeworth argues that he has the right to know, being the prosecutor, to which Badd replies by reaching into his coat and... pulling out a small mirror. Right, this guy looks like he's from the "Discarded: Too gritty"-pile on Frank Miller's drawing board, and he carries a mirror, I see what you did there, game. Well, Badd loosens up a little, telling us that Mr. Faraday was stabbed several times and was found dead with a gun in his hand, while Fishy was found with a bullet-sized hole in him and a knife and a good helping of dead in his person. According to Gumshoe, nobody entered or exited the room during the time. So, we have a closed circle flashback case. Isn't that super-spiffy? Edgeworth seems to think, as it might be reasonable to, that they killed eachother, while Badd isn't quite so sure. Know something we don't, eh, Badd? Also, Badd's job here in the court today was testifying about the yatagarasu, as to clear up if Mr. Faraday was the real raven-thingie after all, and that's all from Badd, let's ask Ms. Defense Attorney-thingie.
She's... not really keen on talking with Edgeworth either, and she also pretty much respects Edgeworth as much as Phoenix is respected in PW 1-3, well, it's a welcome change, I guess. Edgeworth will have none of this disrespectin' though, as he was trained by Manfred Von Karma himself. Ms (MRS?) Defense Attorney begins laughing rather heartily. Uhm... woman? This is MANFRED VON FREAKING KARMA we're talking about here. Apparently, it's the frilly duds that has her in stitches. I tend to agree, as Edgeworth's current suit is much nicer-looking than young!Edgeworth's clothes, but enough about that, Defense Attorney girl is called Calisto Yew. Wait... Yew you say? Well, enough about that, as Yew apparently has a problem with Edgeworth's formal speech, the problem being belly-deep guffawing fits . I take it we're going to be great friends, Calisto. Upon quizzing her about the crime scene, we're told she knows nothing, well that's nice. At this point, a bailiff informs Calisto that a Cohdopian Embassy staff member by the name of Manny Coachen, the man I'm noticing was the same man who got off the hook for killing another Yew, possibly Calisto's sister, three years ago. Coinkidink? I think not.
Now, Calisto gives him the cold shoulder, but he wants her to step out and have a chat and she agrees. Well I can't see this end badly at all. Anyway, Von Karma arrives and he and Badd have a little thinly veiled animosity going on before Manfred here places Edgeworth in charge of the investigation. We're interrupted by a familiar-sounding objection. Ooooh, hey, look, it's young!Franziska, lookit her, so cute, she's even got a little riding crop instead of her bull-whip. The minuscule sadist isn't quite content with Daddy Von Karma handing the job over to sorta-brother sorta-rival Miles Edgeworth. Franzy's home on summer vacation, and she and Edgeworth exchange some rather polite trash-talk. Anyway, Franzy wants to do the investigation since she's almost a full prosecutor by now and she thinks she can do a better job than Edgey. In a surprisingly democratic compromise of letting them both work on the case. Either that, or he's planning to see who does best and be not-so-subtly hostile towards the other.
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