and other stories of how this case broke me ☆
how do i even begin to describe the actual rollercoaster which was this case? this was such a beautiful way to end the trilogy and the way everything from every game was tied together was so perfectly done and the amount of twists this case had?? genuinely surpassed all my expectations about this case, even when i knew this would be the best case of the game before i even played it because literally every last case of this trilogy has been such a pleasure to experience. . IT WAS JUST THAT GOOD i dont think theres any words can describe how much of an amazing case this was.
i was thinking of starting apollo justice a day after i finished trials and tribulations but im not sure if i wanna start it just yet so that i can have more time to process everything that happened in this case. . i loveloveLOVE how much they fleshed out so many of the main / supporting characters in this case,, i was most pleasantly surprised by franziskas reappearance cause i was wondering how shes been since jfa (and because of the lack of franziska mentions during the previous cases. .) and how they tied together everything about dahlia :')) IT WAS SO GOOD and even at the end i found it really interesting how iris still forgave dahlia despite how poorly she treated her cause it really showed how theres really no black and white explanation for everything
playing through the investigations with franzy as a somewhat "companion" was actually so fun (oh and with gumshoe as a companion during the time where you play from edgeworth's perspective too) i was honestly really surprised that she didn't mind going with wright that much even if sometimes it came with the price of her whip but thats OK. . and how she was willing to help with the trick locks too,, AND how she started to warm up to wright at the end of the case?? SHES GROWN SO MUCH SINCE JFA i hope capcom still makes her a somewhat prominent character in the apollo justice trilogy !!
i felt so bad for maya throughout the entirety of this case :(( but at the same time it was so poetic seeing how the trilogy starts and ends with maya somehow being accused. . not to mention the bloody writing which is literally the most obvious reference to turnabout sisters which they could've shown (in the best possible way !!) even if i somehow predicted that it was gonna be misty fey who died (just from the opening sequence. . or maybe that was supposed to be obvious ?) i was kinda surprised that they actually went through with killing her and bringing her back,, it was so sad seeing maya find out about elise's true identity especially since she had to find out at the brink of exhaustion after channeling dahlia for 2 whole days. . oh maya fey you deserve the world
speaking of the feys!! im so glad with how relevant mia was in this case and how she let phoenix finish the case on his own (┬┬﹏┬┬) seeing that was literally the biggest testament of phoenix's growth throughout the trilogy even if hes probably gonna have his "defense attorney phoenix wright chooses death" moment cause of his reflection on being a defense attorney weren't we doing this in jfa too or am i misremembering things seeing how much maya trusts mia was so sweet too :(( she really was an eternal mentor, not just to phoenix, but to maya too they care about each other so much fey sisters you mean the entire WORLD to me its not even a joke. .
and the twist that iris and dahlia were actually morgan fey's daughters?? i genuinely didn't expect it,, let alone for morgan fey to be mentioned post jfa. . it was so sad seeing how much she didn't care about pearly and how she was just planning to use her to become the next kurain master while pearly trusts and cared about her so much that she'd follow what she told her even if she didn't understand why she was asked to do what morgan asked to completely. . as much as i appreciated dahlia as a character in this case morgan fey you better watch out cause youre about to experience the same fate as dahlia hawthorne !
THE TWIST WITH GODOT TOO??? before part 4-3 started i was thinking that misty's death would somehow be a "suicide" in order for her to protect maya from dahlia but then finding out that iris, misty, and GODOT OF ALL PEOPLE planned everything in order to protect maya?? even if he was somewhat misguided in his actions and blinded from the grief which came from mias death i cant blame him for how he viewed wright cause he truly cared for mia so much like if i woke up from my coma just to find out that the person who changed my life died i would never recover actually. . also can i just mention how surprised i was to see how mia pieced together everything so quickly?? how is she just THAT good of a defense attorney if anything the ace attorney title should be going to her not phoenix cause he literally just got off his training wheels sorry phoenix WHAJSHDASJKHDSA
this was honestly the first case where ive actually cried. . seeing maya be strong just for pearlys sake genuinely broke me SHE WENT THROUGH SO MUCH AND SHES STILL SMILING?? she really is mia's sister huh :') shes the strongest girl ever phoenix you better give her all the burgers she could ever ask for after this case. And join her in her training. And give her your credit card too
Can i just mention how quickly phoenix recovered from dropping from a burning bridge onto a freezing cold river with an insanely rapid flow like how did he survive that and only come out of it with like a cold. WHICH HE RECOVERED FROM IN A DAY TOO?? okay phoenix wright i see you with your main character energy whatever. . at least he passed it onto the judge's brother somehow WHAJSHDJADSA that was probably the funniest part of this case (not like theres much competition considering everything that happened in this case anyway. .)
OH AND ALSO. IRIS WAS THE ONE DATING PHOENIX??? HES ONLY MET DAHLIA TWICE??? HUH??? that was literally the biggest twist ever NO WONDER SHE SAID SHE KNEW HIM BUT HE PROBABLY DIDNT KNOW HER. . it probably sucked for her knowing that she dated and had feelings for him for the 8 months that he dated "dahlia" and that he'd probably never know the truth :( although seeing her call him feenie was so weird even if it made sense i wish we got some sort of internal monologue of how he felt whenever iris called him that,, also can i just mention how it was kinda cute seeing how iris described his visits for her in the credits,, pearly getting mad at him was the cherry on top though
going back to godot cause i wanna mention him again: it was so cool that we got to see his perspective (even if it was super quick) when he saw the spirit on mia living on through phoenix and how that was when he realized everything,, i really hope his character comes up again in the later games even if hes in jail. . like he has the prosecutor card thats basically close enough to a get out jail free card right. Right
also this wont be the last time we see mia right?? i really hope they dont sideline her in the later games (although its kinda inevitable considering that the apollo justice trilogy focuses on a different batch of characters no. . ?) HER AND MAYA MEAN SO MUCH TO ME but whatever even if they wont bring her up as much she'll always be in the games to me in spirit at least !
oh can i also talk about the case in general too Whoops i accidentally ended up yapping about the characters instead of the case my bad. . this is probably the third time ive said this but EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS CASE WAS SO GOOD. it had the magic trick that turnabout big top wishes it had honestly like i thought that misty's body had the bruises because the killer somehow managed to throw her body across the 20 yard long burning bridge and thats why larry saw iris flying but the pendulum reveal was actually so smart
and the reveal that there were two irises too?? Wait is that why they named her iris. a literal eye joke. ANYWAYS that was probably the most insane way to bring dahlia back into the story but at the same time it worked out so well especially with all the references to turnabout beginnings and turnabout memories?? probably one of my favorite reveal scenes from this game honestly it was executed so well i loved seeing the switch from dahlia's iris persona to her having her usual characteristics when she admitted that she wasn't actually iris
ohmygosh imagine how awkward it mustve been for phoenix to realize that when he asked iris about what dahlia thought about her college boyfriend he was actually talking to dahlia and not iris. . i mean at least he got the answer right from the source,, at least it was the truth albeit served in a boiling hot cup of coffee thrown at his face. . metaphorically
SPEAKING OF EXECUTED WELL the scene where dahlia's spirit left maya's body was actually so crazy it genuinely gave me chills like ohmygosh??? it was so haunting and the sprites that they used too?? it was such a good scene i genuinely movedeven if dahlia kinda looked like ash baby while she was leaving maya's body
i love how in the beginning you think everything that happened in the case was just an insane coincidence but then as it goes on it showed that literally nearly EVERYTHING. as in EVERYTHING that happened was planned in advance even if a lot of it didn't go as planned in the end like no wonder pearls was the one who planned for maya's stay. CAUSE THATS WHAT MORGAN WAS PLANNING FOR HER TO DO.
and also the earthquake scene??? first of all: dl-6 mention i love how much it was brought up in this case (even at the expense of edgeworth,, sorry edgey-poo WAJSHDAJKHDA) and SECOND OF ALL. PHOENIX WAS READY TO HUG EDGEWORTH AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE HAPPENED??? HELLO??? AND HOW HE INSTANTLY THOUGHT OF EDGEWORTH TOO???? wow they really are such dear and indispensable friends to one another aren't they (not to mention franziska IMMEDIATELY knowing that phoenix was thinking about edgeworth after the earthquake LMAO)
im actually still not over this case its been a few hours since ive finished it (as of the time of me writing this blog) and its genuinely the only thing thats been haunting my mind. . that just goes to show how good of a case this was cause i actually have no idea how long ive spent just sitting here writing my thoughts about this hauntingly amazing case WAHJSDKHAJ im so sad ill never get to play it for the first time again but at the same time im glad to have had the chance to play through it without getting spoiled for the most part at least. .
this case was incredible in every aspect!! even if i wasn't able to finish it in one day like i was planning to i still had so much fun playing through it,, i honestly think it was for the better than i didn't complete it in one day cause i was really able to take my time playing through the final trial :D anyways! as for my gameplay stats for the trilogy after finishing it ! i started playing trials and tribulations on the 19th of december, 2025 and finished it on the 29th on the same month and year (exactly 10 days!! wow!!) my total playtime for the trilogy is 84 hours and 21 minutes, with approximately 30 hours and 22 minutes of that total being spent on trials and tribulations ! ive opened the game 56 times, with 33 of those times being when ive opened it to play t&t thanks to me actually trying to go through most of the cases without a guide. . and a mega mega shout out to the nintendo 3ds activity log for keeping track of this yay !
overall this case was SUCH a delight to play through!! even if so. many. parts. burnt my brain to a crisp like the dusky bridge. . it was the best possible end the trilogy could've had, no doubts about that ! anyways, thank you so much if you for some reason took the time to read this essay about my thoughts on bridge to the turnabout!! theres definitely more that i want to add (because this case was just so incredibly good and i still have so many thoughts about it) but for now, thats everything i have to say ^_^ as always, see you in the next blog, whenever it appears ! :D
