#wolfiered23

So...Phoenix and Maya.  There’s not a whole lot to say about their relationship in DD, except that it obviously hasn’t changed much.  Even with the sudden drastic change in Phoenix’s life, he and Maya remain as close as ever, even if their communication is mostly done in secret.  Sadly, she had to stay out of the picture for pretty much the entire game, most likely to make room for the new characters and their roles in the story.  But she isn’t entirely left out -- we at least get to see a nostalgic picture of her to throw things back in time for a few seconds.

Sure, it’s not quite the same as seeing her in a new, grown-up, three-dimensional form, but I’d say the game made up for that pretty well by bringing back a different character in an older form -- one whose adorableness rivals Maya’s, both now and back then.

But then...hoo, boy...then comes SoJ, where we (and Phoenix) finally get to see just what she’s been up to for the past few years, and what about her has changed.  Not right away, though -- first we have a few teasing animations of her, then...well, then we give the new characters some time to shine.  But then...

The wait...is over.

So, after Maya finishes messing with Phoenix and they have some time to catch up, the two of them continue right from where they left off.  Maya’s still a sweet, sassy, and sometimes overbearing young woman to Phoenix, and he’s still a brave, heroic dork to her.  But most importantly, they’re still the closest pair of friends in the entire series, and nothing about their time apart has changed that in any way.

That’s very fortunate, by the way, considering everything that happens next -- Maya getting accused of murder AGAIN (two murders this time, in fact), another hostage situation, and a big, hulking legal revolution and all the struggles that come with it.  Some might argue that the first two have been happening so frequently that it’s becoming hard to take them seriously now, and...well, I can’t say I disagree.  However, all three of these events made something very intriguing possible -- a chance for us to see just how strong Phoenix and Maya’s friendship is, and how it made them able to take on even worse situations than they’d faced before.

In the first event, Phoenix comes to Maya’s rescue once again, which isn’t surprising -- in fact, I imagine he would defend her even if they hadn’t met before then.  But then, something unusual happens.  Something that hasn’t happened since Turnabout Goodbyes.

Phoenix Wright strikes out.  Add to that the DC Act and a second murder charge, and you’ve got quite the conundrum.  But even as a “dead lawyer walking”, and even after Maya’s suggestion to let go of the case in hopes that his sentence will be commuted, Phoenix refuses to give up his chance to prove her innocence at least one more time.  In fact, much to the Royal Priestess’s surprise, his and Maya’s friendship and resolve are only strengthened by these unfortunate events -- so much so that the events hardly make any difference to them.

In the second event, Phoenix is, in a similar fashion to Farewell, My Turnabout, conned into acting against his morals to save Maya’s life.  This time around, however, there’s another layer added -- he’s also forced to act against his very own protege, Apollo.  If we were talking about someone else (or the hostage was someone other than Maya), they might have refused to do it, but Phoenix?

It’s both concerning and amazing to see how much stronger a bond he has with Maya than with his fellow attorneys.

And finally, when Khurain’s revolution reaches its peak at the face-off against its Queen, Maya once again watches as Phoenix’s life hangs by a thread.  Unfortunately, we don’t get to see her reaction from the gallery for ourselves, but we do get a pretty vivid description of it from her, as well as from someone sitting close to her.

And if Athena is the only thing holding someone back, you know they mean business.

And let’s not forget the one final adventure the two of them embarked on -- Turnabout Time Traveler!  It could be called a fan service episode for those who missed the fun of seeing a level-headed Attorney and a scatterbrained young spirit medium work together to solve a case, because that’s exactly what it is, and personally, I couldn’t be more thankful to Capcom for creating it!  Even with the theme of a legal revolution in a foreign country removed, it’s just as charming and hilarious as any case I’ve seen in the entire series, old or new.  In fact, unless I’m mistaken, some of Maya’s lines when you ask her questions are exactly the same as the lines she had in the trilogy games, ad verbatim.  But whether or not you’re familiar with their previous adventures, this case did a great job of showing how much fun Phoenix and Maya can be together, no matter what situation they’re in.

So, will the unbreakable bond between these two iconic characters ever go beyond simple friendship?  For now, it seems like that decision is up to our imagination.  Capcom sure isn’t going to tell us anything, unless the wedding was supposed to be some sort of subtle foreshadowing.  (Of course, if that was the case, you’d think she would’ve caught that bouquet...)  But one thing’s for certain at this point in the series -- whether it’s as a couple or a crime-fighting duo, these two make the perfect team.

-The Co-Mod

- jezail brett

after the incidents revolving around jezail brett, the japanese intelligence department tried to look into who she was. what they found was that “jezail brett”, in fact, does not exist anywhere in britain

the only things the intelligence department could find were that 1) her identity as an exchange student is an utter fake, meaning there was some strong force backing her; and that 2) her real name is “A. Sasha”, which is also the name that appeared in the morse code we learnt about in the very last moments of the previous game

speaking of the morse code, we also have...

- john watson

this is less about john and more about baskervilles, but eh, it’s the same since john was the one who wrote that one

according to susato, before she left for london, she was cleaning her father’s study and found the manuscript of “the hound of baskervilles” sitting on the table. she only got to read the title, since her father walked in and stopped her very quickly, prodding her on how much she saw. he told her to forget about it. that’s why, when susato heard sherlock and iris talk about baskervilles in the previous game, she couldn’t help but blurt it out.

later when she returned from london, susato tried to ask mikotoba again and again about the manuscript. however, not only does her father refuse to answer her, the manuscript went missing from the study.

- asougi kazuma

after the trial of jezail brett a. sasha’s murder, susato went to the detention center and asked mamemomi what he was trying to say about asougi in the defendant lobby. the reporter explained that after docking at hong kong, asougi was supposed to be sent to the japanese consulate there. however, his body never reached the consulate.

the japanese government hid this truth from the light of day. they erected a grave for him at the cape in his hometown, but there is no body there. mikotoba also knows about this, and they are still searching for his body.

ryuu can’t help but wonder, but susato tells him to stop thinking about the possibility that asougi is still alive. if asougi ultimately turned out to really be dead, then they’ll have to experience that hellish suffering again, after all.