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The eponymous ace attorney of the first three games. Easy-going, good-natured and intelligent. Despite that last part, Nick usually ends up using bluffs, manipulation and general making things up in court. Scary thing is, he usually turns out to be spot-on. Between the end of Trials and Tribulations and the beginning of Apollo Justice, Phoenix loses his license due to Kristoph Gavin by inadvertently using forged evidence, and no longer practices law. At least until the end.
Adorkable: If you've seen his college self, this needs no explanation. If you haven't, Feenie spends most of his time on the witness stand with his eyes closed, open adorably wide, or crying. In the Case Book manga, Mia wonders if the Phoenix back then and the Phoenix now are two different people.
Amateur Sleuth: Although sometimes he has Gumshoe's assistance.
Born Lucky: Played straight and subverted, often in the same instance. Phoenix has the tendency to end up in life threatening situations, but come out of them largely unscathed through bizarre twists of fate. Reaches absurd levels by the fourth game: he gets hit full-on by a speeding car, causing him to fly through the air and slam head-first into a telephone pole. His only injury from this? A sprained ankle. Franziska may have put it best in the third game when she said, "As always, it's hard to say whether he should be called lucky or unlucky..."
Another example of his enormous luck is that (and this isn't really a spoiler at all) ALL his clients are innocent. Yes, it's Phoenix's skill as a defense attorney that gets his clients to go free, but the fact that all his cases are innocent people, without having defended a single guilty person, is downright miraculous... Except that ONE time in Case 2-4, and that client never actually killed anyone, but hired an assassin to commit the crime, which still counts as guilty.
Bring My Brown Pants: Case 3 of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, when Phoenix had to confront Furio Tigre in court.
Phoenix Wright: *gulp* Maybe I should have brought a diaper with me today.
Bunny Ears Lawyer: Actually, aside from the use of the pointer finger, Nick has very little leeway in what he can or cannot do in court.
Butt Monkey: Phoenix is ridiculed and mocked by almost everyone and is never in favor of the Judge on a regular basis.
Iron Butt Monkey: All sorts of abuse is heaped upon the hapless attorney on a regular basis. He gets punched by Pearl for "being unfaithful" to Maya, whipped by Franziska, and beaned by Godot's (full) coffee mugs. All he has to say about the latter is "Should I be grateful the coffee's only hot enough to give me first-degree burns?".
The Chew Toy: "Why it is that, lately, the only thing I want to do is cry...?"
And he's in his sweaty face animation so much that it may as well be his default expression.
Phoenix: Nobody loves me...
Courtroom Antic: All of them except one, combined with Indy Ploy (which most of his cases boil down to).
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's like a legal idiot savant; he's always flustered and it seems like he has no clue what he's doing, but he's brought down some legendary prosecutors, including Manfred von Karma.
Until the fourth game, where he vocalises most of his snarkiness. Seven long years after being disbarred can do that to a person.
Determinator: Phoenix sometimes gets down on the dumps when a case is not going his way, but he never gives up on it. He is SO determined in doing what's right that he went through an entire trial, and won, while having AMNESIA.
Gratuitous French: Oddly, Phoenix speaks French once in trial during Case 2-3 as a retort towards Franziska von Karma.
von Karma: That has nothing to do with the question! Phoenix: Au contraire mon frére![1] It does indeed have something to do with the question!
Not as out of place here as one might think. Phoenix is cross examining a French man who frequently throws French into his own speech.
Guile Hero: As a lawyer, he uses his wits, evidence and knowledge of the events of the crime to best the true villain of each case.
Heroes Prefer Redheads: Phoenix's girlfriend in college was the girl with red hair he called "Dollie". [2]
Subverted: the girl he dated in college wasn't really a redhead.
Honor Before Reason: Phoenix is not really determined to get his client to go free as much as he's dedicated to the ideal of justice, and this is never more apparent than in his darkest hour: Case 2-4. A killer (appropriately named de Killer) kidnaps Maya and give Phoenix a mission: have his next client go free in one day in court or Maya dies. Phoenix actually manages to not only get a watertight case in favor of his client, but also to point at Adrian Andrews as the real killer, and she basically breaks down in court and pleads the fifth, incriminating herself even more. The Judge then asks what course of action Phoenix wants to pursue, and he has the choice of asking for the Judge to pass a Not Guilty verdict or allow Andrews to testify in her defense. Phoenix, having already basically won the case, decides he does not want to leave any doubt of his client's innocence nor deny Andrews her right to defend herself through testimony. Andrews then proceeds to not only manage to prove she's not guilty, but she riddles Phoenix's case full of holes, and the Judge decides to extend the trial one more day. Phoenix breaks down in agony, thinking to himself that, had he done what he wanted to instead of what was right, Maya would not be doomed to death.
I Did What I Had to Do: Forging evidence in Apollo Justice just to find the truth largely because the real incriminating evidence had been removed. Taking down the person who destroyed his career and by extension removed said incriminating evidence, Kristoph Gavin, was a bonus on his part.
Idiot Hero: Downplayed. He's not an outright moron, but he can be quite the doofus.
Made of Iron: Phoenix somehow manages to not only survive every serious accident; he usually brushes it off. So his name Phoenix does make a lot of sense: he's seemingly unkillable.
He falls into a raging river early on in "Bridge to the Turnabout", after a wooden bridge he's standing on bursts into flames. As a result of this terrible event, he suffers a cold.
During Apollo Justice, he gets run over by a car, which apparently tosses him several feet in the air. Although he gets taken to the hospital, his only injury is a sprained ankle.
As of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Phoenix enters the arena and survives attacks by trained martial artists, superheroes, supervillians, physical gods, robots, zombies, Galactus himself and rabid raccoons...
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Phoenix" because he always returns from the brink, and "Wright" as in "right" ("Is that right, Mr. Wright?"). "Ryuichi" is simply a Shout-Out to Ryuichi Sakamato from Yellow Magic Orchestra (although the "ryu"--dragon--is played on once Furio Tigre shows up), but "Naruhodo" means "I see", used to the same effect as "Wright" ("Naruhodo, Naruhodou.").
Nice Guy: Phoenix always believes in his clients and will go the extra mile for anyone who is all alone, with no one else to defend them. He's also rather patient, considering how few times he genuinely loses his temper despite of all the crap he puts up with from everyone.
Nice Hat: He gains one in Apollo Justice. It has a hidden camera.
No Indoor Voice: All that shouting sure isn't good for his lungs.
OOC Is Serious Business: He's typically fairly easily flustered for the most part, but tends to remain calm and resolute as he's closing in on the true culprit.
A Protagonist Is Ryu: His name in Japan (Ryuichi Naruhodou). Played upon in the third game's third case, where the antagonist has a tiger motif.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Played with. Phoenix is the red oni to Edgeworth's blue despite the fact that Phoenix wears blue whereas Miles wears red.
However, this could possibly be played straight in Apollo Justice, where he's the blue oni to Apollo's red oni, wearing a blue hat and gray sweater compared to Apollo's red suit.
She Is Not My Girlfriend: In the Case Book manga, Pearl questions him about what Maya really is to him, and is met with five Psyche-locks.
Spotlight-Stealing Squad: In Apollo Justice, he is pretty much this. In the first case, he ends up as the one who takes care of it despite that he hands some actions to Apollo and that he's a defendant of that case. And later, he takes a main role in a flashback and the one who make Apollo's cases a lot easier than they should be. Near the end, the plot appears to revolve moreso around Wright than it does Apollo.
Tempting Fate: In "Turnabout Showtime" in the manga, he's fairly confident in his case, and believes that he has the upper hand on Edgeworth when he proves that Julie Henson couldn't have stabbed Flip Chambers from outside his costume. Edgeworth then reveals that he already knew that, and calls in Raymond Spume to provide a possible way she could have done it.
This Is Unforgivable!: He states "This is inexcusable!" when he finds out that one of his cases involved not only poison, but also betrayal. Poison and betrayal remind him of his ex-girlfriend Dahlia, who first betrayed him, then tried to poison him, then betrayed him again in court. He's also quite angry when Franziska withholds evidence while prosecuting Maya, thinking that she's as bad as her father.
This Loser Is You: Phoenix is put-upon and unappreciated by most of the public, which helps you identify with all the struggles he has to go through to win.
Unusual Eyebrows: The kinked eyebrows variation to be exact. They're not as iconic as the hair spikes, but still recognizable.
The Watson: Phoenix is invariably left in the dark regarding the whole Kurain Channeling Technique thing as well as all these TV shows aimed to kids that Maya always happens to be a fan of.
"Wright? I hope you see the importance of evidence now. Also, hopefully you realize, things change depending on how you look at them. People, too. We never really know if our clients are guilty or innocent. All we can do is believe in them. And in order to believe in them, you have to believe in yourself."
Absolute Cleavage: Not the most blatant in general, but pretty blatant in the series. It especially comes out when she's being channeled through the much smaller-chested Maya or Pearl, whose breasts increase to match hers.
Big Damn Heroes: Maya or Pearl channels her just in the nick of time, nine times out of ten.
Brainy Brunette: Consistently one of the smartest and well-informed characters in the series, she often has the case figured out long before Phoenix does.
Buxom Is Better: Played straight in Case 3-3, when Maya channels her so that she can look more attractive in her waitress outfit.
Dude Magnet: Seeing as she attracted the a number of male admirers including Dick Gumshoe and Larry Butz, then, after death, Victor Kudo and possibly Cody Hackins. Just a photograph was enough to trigger an interest from "Director Hotti" and Luke Atmey. She also had a boyfriend named Diego Armando according to Case 3-1 who is shown in-game later on and still seems quite concerned about her memory after her death.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: The first character to do so chronologically. Phoenix likely picked it up from her while working under her.
Technically, that was Edgeworth, but Mia was the first to do so in a legitimate courtroom.
Also technically correct if you mean Gregory Edgeworth.
I Need to Go Iron My Dog: She gives the excuse of having to go home to get a package if you choose her as the client in the first case of the first game.
Ms. Fanservice: Maya and Pearl's robes are designed to be quite modest. It doesn't work as well when Mia ends up wearing them.
Understatement of the year. It's not as bad with Maya's outfit, but in Pearl's clothes, she has to keep her arm pressed against her chest to stop them from popping out.
Even though character's lower bodies are almost never seen, you have to assume that Mia is showing off quite a bit of leg when she's in Pearl's clothes.
The Obi-Wan: She draws countless parallels with Obi-Wan, including her being the protagonist's teacher even after she dies.
Sacrifical Lamb: During the first case, she's set up as one of the main characters. Then in Case 2, she gets murdered.
Sexy Mentor: Though there's no indication of romance between her and Phoenix. She does ask him out for some drinks at the end of his first case, but she perishes before anything much comes of it.
Spirit Advisor: Maya and Pearl channel her to help in cases sometimes, and she'll often offer insight or advice that Phoenix needs. Other times, she seems to possess them without any indication that they were trying to reach her. Sometimes her spirit even manages to communicate brief snippets of garbled information to Phoenix directly when the girls aren't present.
Stuffed Into the Fridge/Disposable Woman: A subversion. Although her murder early in the first game kicks off Phoenix's solo career, it's not there solely to serve as his motivation, and in fact a little thing like death doesn't stop Mia from being a hero in her own right all the way through the first three games.
Weirdness Censor: Played with. Most characters not to notice the changes when she possesses someone (e.g. Miles Edgeworth). Others ask if there's "something different" about whoever she's possessing (e.g. Penny Nichols), and others definitely notice the difference but don't connect Mia and Maya/Pearl (e.g. Victor Kudo).
"It's a nightmare! The Steel Samurai is over! The world is over!"
Mia's little sister, as well as a spirit medium-in-training of and heir to the discipline she uses (Kurain Channeling Technique). She's the main assistant to Phoenix in the first three games, though she decides to accept her role as the Master of Kurain Village at the end of Trials and Tribulations, resulting in her absence in Apollo Justice, which made many fans upset.
Adult Child: While 17 in the first game, she fits entirely for the second and third.
Phoenix's one line about Maya in the fourth game refers to her as "this kid I know".
Break the Cutie: Poor Maya goes through hell in both the first, second and third game. She encounters her own sister's corpse in the first game, and gets pinned as the murderer. In the second game, she's kidnapped by a professional assassin and threatened with murder. Somehow, she has it EVEN WORSE in the third installment, where she's possessed by her evil cousin's spirit... And that's only scratching the surface of it.
Butt Monkey: There isn't a single game in the main trilogy where Maya isn't accused of murder. Or kidnapped. Or both.
Cloudcuckoolander: Half the things she says during investigation are off-the-wall comments.
The quote on top should prove how she fits into this trope.
Generic Cuteness: In the manga, Phoenix notes that she's not all that attractive for someone her age.
Genki Girl: Maya is easily excitable and generally in a chipper mood to the point of wearing out Phoenix.
Hair Decorations: Oddly despite her childish attitude, this isn't an example deliberately invoked to make her look younger but to help hold together her traditional haircut.
Hime Cut: A variation: there are baubles that decorate the sidetails and tie the back together. It serves both to reflect her traditional upbringing and act as a tip-off to her spiritualist job.
Kleptomaniac Hero: If it wasn't for Phoenix, much of the evidence and various possessions of witnesses and suspects would end up in her pockets. She's always eager to get into restricted areas through illegal means, as well.
Leitmotif: "Turnabout Sisters", comes in 2001 (first game) and 2002 (second and third game) flavors.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Maya" and "Mayoi" are the Sanskrit and Japanese names, respectively, for the Buddhist concept of illusion. Meanwhile, the kanji used for the name Mayoi mean "true night", which the director felt suited the setting of "Turnabout Sisters", her debut case.
Plucky Girl: Even after all the stuff that she has to suffer, Maya's enthusiasm never wavers, with the exception of her introduction in Case 1-2.
The Pollyanna: She will mention being accused of murder with a big smile on her face.
Power Incontinence: In the Miles Edgeworth Case Files manga, her powers have developed to the point that when she thinks about Mia while asleep, she often ends up channeling her.
Put on a Bus: Right before Case 1-5, though in the original Game Boy Advance release, there was no Case 1-5 and her reappearance in Case 2-1 came without a break in between.
She also doesn't appear in Apollo Justice beyond having sent Nick some videos to watch, with no explanation of why she left.
Rapunzel Hair: Another tip-off to the fact that she comes from a traditional, high-class background.
Stepford Smiler: At times, as Mia comments that she's more lonely and sad than she lets on. This is especially true at the conclusion of Case 3-5, when despite Maya's mother having been killed, she puts on a strong face and resolves not to cry for Pearl's sake, as Pearl has not only been manipulated by her mother, but also blames herself for the incident being set into motion.
Trademark Favorite Food: Burgers or ramen, depending on whether it's the English or Japanese version.
Miles' old man, and a stunning defense attorney. He was the only one to make a mark on von Karma's performance record (before Nick came bungling along). His English name may come from Gregory Peck, who played Atticus Finch and whom Gregory Edgeworth strongly resembles. Ace Attorney Investigations 2 spoiler: hit the train to Ascended Extra town big-time with Ace Attorney Investigations 2, where he became the main character for a flashback case.
Ascended Extra: The IS-7 case in Ace Attorney Investigations 2.
He certainly acts this way when you get to play as him too. Easily the least eccentric of the playable lawyers, and the only one who isn't a First-Person Smartass either (though he is a lot more blunt in his thoughts).
Origins Episode: The flashback case featuring him is actually his last case, the one where Manfred got a penalty in court and thus led to the DL-6 incident.
The Stoic: Apparently only (nervously) smiles when he gets a penalty.
"I know who you are. You're…You're Mystic Maya's…'special someone!'"
Mia and Maya's cousin, and a spirit medium prodigy. She believes that "Mr. Nick" is "Mystic Maya"'s "special someone", but this is a result of a sisterly devotion to Maya and growing up in a village with a high divorce rate, even for the US. Also, her mother Morgan tries to use the poor little girl to regain her place in Kurain...
Armor-Piercing Slap: She can and will take down Phoenix if she thinks he's "betraying" Maya.
Badass Adorable: The girl can run from her home village to the courthouse. Without getting winded. On a route that takes 2 hours by train. She can also slap a 26-year-old man out of consciousness.
Blush Sticker: Often when in the depths of Phoenix/Maya shipping delusions.
Cheerful Child: When life isn't beating her down, she's generally in a good mood because she's either seeing something new and exciting or mooning over Phoenix and Maya.
Die for Our Ship: In-Universe example. She tends to beat the crap out of Phoenix if she catches him with another woman.
Expressive Hair: The rings in the back of her head perk up or sag with her mood.
Fatal Flaw: Pearl's only true fault is her naïveté. Cool and all, except it allows her to be used as an Unwitting Pawn by Morgan and trigger Case 3-5. And the sad thing is, she really just wanted to help...
Innocent Prodigy: She is very naive, but at the same time precocious.
Japanese Pronouns: "Watakushi" one of the most formal, sophisticated ways to say "I" in japanese. Explains why Phoenix was so shocked about her speech-patern when he first heard her talk.
Shipper on Deck: Pearl is an in-universe Phoenix/Maya shipper. She responds... violently... to any suggestion they are NOT madly in love, at least on Nick's part.
"'Ah... the days of my youth... like the scent of fresh lemon...' you see."
A rotund defense attorney and Mia's teacher. White manipulated him into giving him the inside scoop on DL-6 (which he had because the defense of that case worked for him), and then when it was leaked to the press, Misty was put on trial for fraudulence; Grossberg cleared her name.
Amoral Attorney: Not regularly so, but one has to question his ethics after he accepts a bribe from Redd White for information on Misty Fey.
Continuity Drift: When Phoenix first meets Grossberg in the first game, they don't appear to know each other, but in the third game, Grossberg was Mia's aide when she defended Phoenix. Even so, Grossberg doesn't appear to have the best memory anyway, since later that same game, he has once again forgotten Phoenix and Maya's relation to Mia.
Informed Ability: He's said to be a very good lawyer, being Mia's mentor and all. However, we never actually see how he does his stuff in the Court Room. Even more blatant in Trials and Tribulations, where Diego Armando acts more the part of a mentor to Mia than him.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name/Shout-Out: "Grossberg" may be a play on the German for "big mountain". His Japanese name is both astrology-themed and a reference to two Japanese mystery novels--"Soranosuke" ("star boy") is from The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, and "Hoshikage" ("starlight") is from a Tetsuya Ayukawa novel.
Phoenix: It's not something I can claim to understand... But you and Mr. White are lovers, aren't you! Grossberg: W-w-what! My boy! Phoenix: You sent that painting to him! As a sign! A sign of undying love! Grossberg: M-m-my boy, please! You're letting your fancies run away with you! Where do you get these bizarre ideas? Phoenix: I... I don't understand how you could... Grossberg: That's because I'm not, we're not... Don't be ridiculous! Enough. I'll swallow my pride and tell you all. Phoenix: (I knew it! They are lovers!) Grossberg: N-no! We are NOT lovers!
Mr. Exposition: Provides much of the information about DL-6 in the second and fourth cases of the first game.
Diego Armando (Soryu Kaminogi)[]
Diego Armando (Soryu Kaminogi)[]
"The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over."
A senior member of Grossberg Law Offices, and the best lawyer under his employ. The night before Mia's first trial, Grossberg had drunken himself unconscious and wasn't awake in time to be at the trial, so Diego comes to help the new "kitten" instead. After Dahlia managed to escape conviction in that trial, he pursued her, but she poisoned him, resulting in his death. The poison, however, did not kill him, but put him in a coma and badly damaged his nervous system. Extensive surgery and the scent of coffee revived him as Godot.
Badass Spaniard: Never directly stated, but his name and appearance are very convincing.
Tranquil Fury: He is the one who taught Mia that defense lawyers don't get to cry, no matter how bad things get. At the end of "Turnabout Beginnings", he still has a calm smile on his face after Terry Fawles poisons himself and Dahlia gets away. The only thing that betrays his anger is his coffee mug shattering in his grip.
Apollo Justice (Hosuke Odoroki)[]
Apollo Justice (Hosuke Odoroki)[]
"Objection! O-B-J-E-C-T-I-O-N!"
Phoenix's replacement as the protagonist when he loses his badge. Apollo is passionate and somewhat headstrong, but relies much less on Courtroom Antics than Phoenix did. Naturally, he has most of the tropes that Phoenix did in his lawyer days.
Amateur Sleuth: Although sometimes he has Ema's assistance.
Animal Motifs: Minor example, and also brought about due to localization. In both Spanish and Italian, Justice's nickname "Pollo" means "chicken", since his hair could look like a chicken's comb.
On the Spanish and Italian version, his nickname is switched to Polly.
Ascended Fanboy: Who else stays up at night training themselves to bellow Objection!? Not to mention his extreme excitement at meeting Phoenix for the first time...
Broken Pedestal: Apollo enters his first case absolutely idolizing Phoenix Wright, claiming that no one in his generation hadn't heard of him and his office, and attempting to defend him in court using such logic as "that is a contradiction because there's no way Phoenix Wright would cheat at cards!". By the end of the case, Phoenix has tricked him into using forged evidence, and Apollo is so furious, he decks him. He vows not to take Phoenix's job offer, but winds up having to as an absolute last resort because his old boss is now in prison. Although he doesn't seem to hate Phoenix, it definitely shakes him out his case of hero-worship, and he often thinks mildly disparaging things about his former idol. To a lesser extent, this applies with his former boss Kristoph Gavin, whom he helps get into jail in the course of his first case.
Bunny Ears Lawyer: While we, as the player, always see the Perceive system in action from Apollo's perspective, staring down the witness, saying "You're hiding something", and having the witness admit it must look pretty odd from the sidelines.
When he Perceives, people tend to look at him in shock and say that he was staring so hard his eyes bugged out.
Butt Monkey: Somehow, he manages to get even LESS respect in court than Phoenix did. Even his own mother and little sister (unknowingly) mock him.
Catch Phrase: "Here comes Justice!" He also adds Gotcha! to the set of catch phrases to shout in big red letters.
Character Development: Apollo is initially a pretty stock character, and doesn't succeed in setting himself apart from the protagonist of the previous games, even coming across as Phoenix's Palette Swap at times. Luckily, Apollo's character grows substantially throughout the games he's in, as well as his backstory gaining a lot of depth, to the point he becomes a really fleshed out character; arguably even moreso than Phoenix himself.
Deadpan Snarker: Taking up his mentor's mantle as the game's First-Person Smartass. Although unlike his mentor, Apollo is a lot less internal about his snark, and is far more likely to point out how ridiculous or stupid a situation is rather bluntly. It goes with his Only Sane Man status.
Detective Patsy: A lawyer version, as in the second case, he was hired by the murderer in order to represent the defendant out of the belief that he would lose.
Expressive Hair: It flops forward when he's surprised or disheartened. During his Heroic B.S.O.D. in Case 6-5, it goes completely limp.
First-Person Smartass: Unlike Phoenix, he's somewhat less polite up front and lets more of his snark leave his brain.
Forehead of Doom: Klavier even begins calling him "Herr Forehead" partway through the second case.
Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Just like his mentor and his mentor before him. In his case though, this is a sign of him being a fanboy of his mentor rather than an unconsciously mimicked habit.
Hot-Blooded: A phrase used over and over to describe Apollo is his "passionate heart burning red".
This is even more obvious in "Turnabout Serenade", when Apollo and Daryan Crescend almost duck duke it out if it wasn't for Klavier's intervention.
Hyper Awareness: An explicit ability of Apollo's and Trucy's family.
Idiot Hero: A downplayed example. Apollo isn't necessarily stupid, but he does often end up very flustered, and doesn't often think ahead of time. It's justified as in him being relatively new to the world of defense attorneys, so he comes across as a bit foolish compared to some of the more experienced characters.
Ironic Echo: Minor one if the player thinks about it. At the beginning of the game, where Trucy is revealed to be Phoenix's "daughter", Apollo is somewhat shocked upon realizing that would mean Phoenix would've... you know... at just 18 or so. As for Apollo... well... Apollo's mother is 40, Apollo himself is 22. Do the math.
Leitmotif: "Start of a New Trial", his Objection theme.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: His surname is "Justice". Meanwhile, in the Japanese version, "Hosuke" means "law boy", and "Odoroki" means surprise.
Also, the god "Apollo" was not only the god of truth, but also of the sun and is sometimes attributed with reviving the sun every morning, giving Apollo yet another connection to Phoenix.
Older Than They Look: He's 22 years old during the first game he appears in. Despite that, he still gets mistaken for a high-schooler by other characters. It doesn't help that he's usually accompanied by Trucy, so they often are mistaken as a "bunch of kids" whenever Apollo tries to investigate a crime scene.
Out of Focus: With regards to the series as a whole. Edgeworth has had two games since Apollo's, and Phoenix is about to have another. He's not even present on the series homepage anymore, the 10th anniversary banner having been changed to one featuring just Phoenix and Edgeworth. Whether this trend will be reversed with the upcoming Ace Attorney 5 remains to be seen, since literally no information except the name and logo has been revealed.
Luckily, it did. Sort of. Apollo Justice gets a healthy dose of attention in the following games, and his character and backstory gets further developed. Though he overall is still somewhat left in the background, compared to Phoenix. Some things haven't changed, it seems.
Supporting Protagonist: To the disdain of Apollo fans, and despite the fourth installment in the series being named after him, Phoenix Wright hogs much of the attention throughout the game regardless. Phoenix is also more tied to the overall plot than Apollo is. Especially near the end, Apollo appears to mostly serve as the player character, and not much further beyond that. It does get mitigated by The Reveal that Apollo is Trucy's brother and thus related to Troupe Gramarye, so at least he's not utterlyunrelated to the plot.
It also still applies to the next game in the series, Dual Destinies. Though Apollo's character does get more attention this time around, he's still overshadowed by Phoenix.
This Loser Is You: Wanted to be exactly like Phoenix... and gets called out for being needlessly loud and showy in court.
Trucy Wright (Minuki Naruhodo)[]
Trucy Wright (Minuki Naruhodo)[]
"How can you call someone as good as Machi a "pianist"? Why, that's like throwing him in the same class as Daddy!"
Phoenix's adopted daughter and magician extraordinaire (in training), and the Heir to the Gramarye name. Her best tricks are "The Amazing Mr. Hat", a wooden puppet almost as big as her that she can somehow hide in her cloak, and "Magic Panties", where she pulls out all sorts of bizarre items from frozen turkeys to mops to noodle bowls... all from a large pair of panties. She is Apollo's younger half-sister and daughter to Lamiroir (a.k.a. Thalassa Gramarye), though neither she nor her brother know of this relationship.
Decoy Damsel: Played with. During the middle of the second trial, she kidnapped herself by using her incredible Mr. Hat to stall for time so she can explain the Perceive system. Apollo is understandably angered.
Fan Girl: In regards to Troupe Gramarye and the Gavinners. She even has a special animation when she is "fangirling" on someone.
Genki Girl: Especially if it means an opportunity for her to bedazzle or entertain someone, whether it involves using a magic trick or not.
Happily Adopted: Calls Phoenix her father like he sired her himself, and the two of them obviously have a very close relationship. In Case 4-4, Phoenix has adopted her, and says she can call him "Daddy" moments later. She does so with no problem, and only just met him, with a smile on her face.
Honor Before Reason: Trucy refuses to reveal the secrets behind a magician's trick. Even when her partner Apollo needs to know how a magic trick works in order to save someone accused of murder.
Kid Sidekick: At age 15, she fills the role in Apollo Justice during Apollo's investigations and trials. Also does this occasionally in the later two games, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: "Trucy" comes from "true" and possibly "see true"/"see through". "Minuki" means "seeing through" (just so you know, the Perceive System is called the Minuku System in Japanese).
Also considering her legal surname: her full name resembles "True See Right". To see the right(eous) truth.
Nice Hat: She's never seen without at a magician's silk top hat, even as a child, except when her puppet Mr. Hat is wearing it.
Plucky Girl: Trucy powers through several horrible experiences like a champ.
The Pollyanna: Although not to the same ridiculous extent as Maya during the previous games, Trucy also has plenty of bad things happening to her. Nevertheless, she remains a cheery girl.
"Silly Me" Gesture: She puts the knuckles to her hat instead of her head though. Don't worry though: the cuteness still shines through.
Stepford Smiler: A far less drastic version, but nonetheless, she feigns a cheerful smile when she tells Apollo that Zak was so good at making things disappear that he made himself disappear, but Phoenix knows the truth.
"Well, well, well. Whoever heard of a thief in jail?"
Apollo's mentor and Phoenix's friend since the end of Trials and Tribulations. He's the "coolest defense in the west", and plays a key part of the Apollo Justice game. Specifically, he's the murderer of Shadi Smith and Drew Misham.
Amoral Attorney: Plans to use forged evidence to get his client a not guilty verdict. Oh, and he murders some people, which while not technically having anything to do with his duties as an attorney is still a fairly amoral thing to do.
Big Bad: He uses the forged evidence to get Phoenix disbarred when he takes Zak's case instead, murders two people, tries to kill a child... all happening in a pretty severe case of Disproportionate Retribution, which most of the fourth game revolves around.
Disproportionate Retribution: His reason for killing Zak and getting Phoenix disbarred? Zak ended up not hiring Kristoph as his lawyer. That's... kinda harsh.
Griefer: He has absolutely nothing to gain by being so obstructive in the final trial, being in prison for life on one murder already, but does so simply to make Nick and Apollo lose.
Hidden Depths: There's a reason his entry is spoilertastic.
Laughing Mad: "The record will show that when the verdict was announced, special witness Kristoph Gavin... laughed. A laugh louder than any ever heard before... or since. A laugh that echoed in the halls of justice, lingering for what seemed like hours."
Manipulative Bastard: Forges evidence to win cases and eliminate a rival, and attempts to murder his forgers (one of them a young girl who was an artistic prodigy) by giving them a postage stamp and nail polish laced with poison.
Villainous Breakdown: Rather spectacular even by the standards of the series. You can't even really tell it's the same person after he's done, his appearance has changed so much.
Villain with Good Publicity: One of the most respected defense attorneys after Phoenix is disbarred, with no one knowing he was responsible.
"Even in the depths of night, when no other bird dares to take flight... one alone soars to shine the light of righteousness on the world's blight! And that one is me, for I am the great thief Yatagarasu!"
Edgeworth's assistant in Ace Attorney Investigations, who serves the same in-game purpose as Maya in the Phoenix Wright games and Trucy in Apollo Justice. Described as a "mysterious thief".
Bandage Babe: In Ace Attorney Investigations 2, when she fell from a skyscraper rooftop, she ended up like this, losing her memory on top of it. Fortunately, the bandages turn out to be just a unnecessary precaution and her injuries weren't that serious.
Fan Girl: She claims to be one in regards to the Jammin' Ninja.
Genki Girl: Possibly even more so than Maya or Trucy.
Highly-Visible Ninja: Questionable. A review in a recent Nintendo Power referred to her as a Ninja, but the Ace Attorney wiki uses the phrase "mysterious thief" and has her occupation listed as vigilante thief, suggesting she's more of a Highly Visible Phantom Thief. This is, of course, possibly even worse.
Edgeworth begins to wonder if Kay's real goal is actually to become a ninja and not a thief when Kay starts showing her preference for the Jammin' Ninja over the Steel Samurai.
And to expound on the high visibility, she's not at all averse to loudly declaring her role as the Yatagarasu with law enforcement personnel in immediate earshot.
Identity Amnesia: In Ace Attorney Investigations 2. She even believes herself to be a murderer.
Japanese Pronouns: Usually uses watashi. In the second game, when she loses her memory, she switches to the more strictly-feminine atashi, in addition to acquiring a personality that is more Yamato Nadeshiko than Genki Girl. When she starts to say "atashi", then stops herself and goes back to "watashi", you know she's cured.
Kleptomaniac Hero: Surprisingly averted. Despite calling herself a thief and making jokes about stealing various items, the only thing she steals are Edgeworth's lines, and her biggest passion/goal is to steal (or rather try stealing) the intangible, such as the truth (or Gumshoe's support role).
Lady Thief: Repeatedly compares herself to Robin Hood. The Yatagarasu is explicitly called a gentleman thief in the Japanese version.
Kay states that the only thing the Great Thief Yatagarasu should never steal, is a life.
Magical Computer: Little Thief, a device that Kay uses to virtually reproduce crime scenes, even ones she can't actually access, by inputting data that Edgeworth gives her.
Meaningful Name: Chances are, Little Thief has been used for less scrupulous goals than reproducing crime scenes. It doesn't work in real time though, so this fails to explain how Kay deals with the whole "highly visible" thing.
When she first uses it, Kay explains that it's used to 'simulate' potential heists. Which makes it perfect to reproduce a crime scene.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: With the exception of the romantic angle, the main entry description pretty much nails Kay's and Edgeworth's relationship.
Phantom Thief: Moreso a wannabe, since she doesn't actually end up stealing a lot.
Shoo the Dog: She tells Edgeworth to forget about her when defending her causes him to lose his badge and later, he gets himself detained for helping a fugitive.
Stealth Pun: She wears a key as a hairpin; in the world of fiction, hairpins are frequently depicted as infallible lockpicks.
Take Up My Sword: Little Thief actually belonged to her father, a prosecutor who used it to infiltrate companies with suspected criminal ties and steal anything that incriminated them.
The Thief Who Doesn't Do Anything: Shortly after her introduction, she declares to Edgeworth that she has never actually stolen anything.
Zettai Ryouiki: Right on the borderline. Official artwork shows a C-grade, which is not considered true Zettai Ryouiki, but her in-game tiny sprites make it seem like they have crossed the threshold into a successful B-grade.
A skilled attorney who appears in case four of Ace Attorney Investigations. While she is usually very composed, she breaks into fits of hysterical laughter at someone's character tics, such as Edgeworth's constant seriousness and fancy way of talking. She was one-third of the Yatagarasu group, specialising in information gathering. Alas, she was actually a mole sent by the same crime ring that the Yatagarasu was created to bring down, and was forced to kill Faraday when he got too close to the truth. "Calisto Yew" is merely a pseudonym; her real name is unknown.
Amoral Attorney: She's seen defending a clearly guilty murderer Mack Rell supposedly as a means of closing in on the smuggling ring that killed her sister. She turns out to be completely amoral in many ways outside the courtroom.
Dark Action Girl: Pulls a gun and manages to escape the courtroom in Case 4 of Ace Attorney Investigations.
Dead Little Sister: Subverted. She isn't actually related to her supposed Dead Little Sister, she was just pretending to be in order to facilitate her infiltration of the Yatagarasu.
Meaningful Name/Punny Name: Calisto is also a species of butterfly while Yew is a species of tree, hinting at her Cohdopian roots. Did we mention that yew leaves are extremely poisonous? Himiko was a somewhat mythical queen of ancient Japan.
Also, most of the characters refer to her as "Ms. Yew". Say it out loud. There we go.
Not to mention, she's pretty "callous to you".
YMMV, but Calisto and her sister Cece could be Calipso and Circe, both 'villains' in The Odyssey.
Some characters scream "Yew!" when they're particularly angry with her. Particularly Badd and Kay.
Incidentally, they DO end up meeting in the fourth case. And they even go up against each other in court in the fifth.
Bunny Ears Lawyer: Contrasted with the people he works with, he tends to come off as this. Bonus points for being an actual lawyer!
Deadpan Snarker: His older self has a biting sense of sarcasm.
Economy Cast: He's the defense attorney of Manosuke Naitō, Sōta Sarushiro, Tsukasa Oyashiki, Kay Faraday, and when Marī Miwa's supposed lawyer was killed, he took over her case.
Note that only one of them was innocent. Also, Tsukasa didn't commit a murder, she only tampered with the crime scene.
Extreme Omnivore: His past self. Well, with paper, at least. He used to rip off a page in his notebook and then swallow it in order to remember the info.
Fan Boy: His past self, of Dansweets. He even sings the show's themesong along with its two presenters when meeting them for the first time.
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