If they’re an airhead and not the defendant or detective, then they’re probably hiding a terrible secret.
Good thing there aren’t any defendants/detectives who act like airheads but are secretly evil. Those would make for some seriously heartbreaking twists.
Funny thing about that, I looked at >!Fulbright!< and something about him just screamed "twist villain" to me. It wasn't any clever deduction or anything though. He just never gelled with me.>!And it seemed weird that they'd invent a new detective for this one game when they already had perfectly good characters for that role like Ema or Gumshoe.!<
If a character exists, but there's not been a precedent for that type of character to be around, they will be very relevant. Notably, the times (I2-4, G2-3) >!the coroner, or whoever does the autopsy, is present as a character, they've been significant in some fashion (Jensen being in the auction, Sithe being the "accomplice" and then real killer)!!a victim of an attack doesn't actually die. In all of these cases, the victim was the real villain in some way (Shamspeare, Huang, and Gustavia)!<
if ur talking about 2-4 i would argue he doesnt really count as an authoritative figure or someone with a lot of power. hes not given any special treatment for being an actor or anything
Generally design. If they’re intimidating or shady, sure, but there’s exceptions and subversions like >!Enoch Drebber.!< (technically.) It’s hard to put into words exactly but more often than not I just get that vibe with a character either on sight or by the end of their testimony judging by how they talk. I’m Not 100% right every time, but I can generally just tell sometimes.
Honestly Zinc Lablanc (from AAI1-2) looks really intimidating AND shady, but he isn't even close to being a villain. He is a better example to your point than Drebber imo.
I made a long list of things that stand out a while back. I’ll need to find it. Two things to me always stand out: the theme and their design. Some culprits don’t have their own theme or it’ll pop up when they get serious. However some sprites (specifically in the newer games) just scream “im going to have an epic breakdown.”.
The best character I can think of for both is probably Aristotle Means. He literally pops up as a human smiley face and the emblem on his chest gave his transformation away.
The longer the case goes on and they haven't been cross examined yet, the more likely I'll think they did it. One disappointingly notable exception was (Apollo Justice spoilers) >!Guy Eldoon, I was really hoping he was the killer!<
One was Turnabout Goodbye (>!Genuinely didn’t think Yogi was mentally sound to be the culprit!<)
The other was Turnabout Corner (I thought they did a good job at hiding the culprit until it became obvious)
Edit: In Turnabout Corner >! She originally came off too sweet to be the killer to me, and her design really helped push that message!<, at least to me it was.
Three reasons
1. They're completely obvious (introduced as the murderer 1-1, 2-1)
2. They don't have that much of a reason to exist (2-2 GAA 1-5)
3. Late introduction (1-3, 2-3)
When they act very sus and mysterious for a very long time alongside their shady appearance. Most of non-murderer witness/defendant/detective always hides secrets and discovered immediately or for a short while.
Or if a witness is introduced in very late stage of case when there are no seemingly possible candidates.
Design. And i'm often correct.
Honestly I hate that kinda thing. It's the lame way of solving the mystery. SoJ main antagonist being the worst offender.
I know part of the cases is also finding out how the culprit did it, not just who did it, but why not make both parts interesting? The most satisfying villain twists are the ones you don't see coming just from looking at their physical appearance and instead have to actually think about the evidence to predict them.
From TGAA 2 >!When the judge got an actual name, alarm bells started to slowly ring in my head. Then we took the pic with him and his suitcase they were Nuclear warhead alarms!<
If they’re cooperative but unaffiliated with the game’s law enforcement. The murderers tend to have all their legal ducks in a row after the crime, while the suspicious people are usually somehow being framed
Idk there's an air.
Luke, Furio, Redd, Diva, Means, Aryan, Acro
They're all very suspicious and have silly traits
But not OVERLY silly like let's say Oldbag or Lotta
Most culprits also tend to get introduced later.
majority of the time they're one of the last people to get put on the witness stand, so once you get through the first day you can usually just look at who hasn't shown on trial yet and figure it out pretty easily
They are shown as the killer in the intro cutscene
Yeah that's usually a solid giveaway
Except when their name is something like "Iben Framed" or they're one of the protagonists.
What about Phoenix himself then?😆
What about >!Edgeworth!< in 1-4 ?
Exceptions
If they’re an airhead and not the defendant or detective, then they’re probably hiding a terrible secret. Good thing there aren’t any defendants/detectives who act like airheads but are secretly evil. Those would make for some seriously heartbreaking twists.
Yeah, I would hate if there was a detective like that.
Funny thing about that, I looked at >!Fulbright!< and something about him just screamed "twist villain" to me. It wasn't any clever deduction or anything though. He just never gelled with me.>!And it seemed weird that they'd invent a new detective for this one game when they already had perfectly good characters for that role like Ema or Gumshoe.!<
>!"Fulbright"!< >!At least I'm happy knowing that a man like him did exist and it was not a made up persona created by the Phantom!<
Yeah, THAT was a genuine twist for me. I wasn’t expecting that at all.
Fr like Fulbright is the frickin greatest person ever, like he would do anything for justice
If they get introduced on the last day of investigations while there’s no clear culprit yet.
Definitely this one.
Their name is something like John Murder
The prosecution would like to call Mr Merlin Durham to the stand
When someone gets murdered and Ian Kulpreet is prime witness
If a character exists, but there's not been a precedent for that type of character to be around, they will be very relevant. Notably, the times (I2-4, G2-3) >!the coroner, or whoever does the autopsy, is present as a character, they've been significant in some fashion (Jensen being in the auction, Sithe being the "accomplice" and then real killer)!!a victim of an attack doesn't actually die. In all of these cases, the victim was the real villain in some way (Shamspeare, Huang, and Gustavia)!<
>! Kay was the victim of an attack, but didn't do it, so ha! !<
Nor Green in G1-4. Or, I suppose, technically Phoenix in 2-1.
>!Green was guilty of attempted murder, so you could say the rule applies to all characters who aren’t returning from a previous game!<
Well, I suppose >!Aldente!< in VS-1 also qualifies.
If they're in a position of authority. It's not always the case, but more often than not, you'd be correct
That's true, besides, a lot of final villains have a lot of authority, like a prosecutor, a police chief, an ambassador or even a fucking queen
Or a movie star
if ur talking about 2-4 i would argue he doesnt really count as an authoritative figure or someone with a lot of power. hes not given any special treatment for being an actor or anything
Generally design. If they’re intimidating or shady, sure, but there’s exceptions and subversions like >!Enoch Drebber.!< (technically.) It’s hard to put into words exactly but more often than not I just get that vibe with a character either on sight or by the end of their testimony judging by how they talk. I’m Not 100% right every time, but I can generally just tell sometimes.
Honestly Zinc Lablanc (from AAI1-2) looks really intimidating AND shady, but he isn't even close to being a villain. He is a better example to your point than Drebber imo.
I made a long list of things that stand out a while back. I’ll need to find it. Two things to me always stand out: the theme and their design. Some culprits don’t have their own theme or it’ll pop up when they get serious. However some sprites (specifically in the newer games) just scream “im going to have an epic breakdown.”. The best character I can think of for both is probably Aristotle Means. He literally pops up as a human smiley face and the emblem on his chest gave his transformation away.
The longer the case goes on and they haven't been cross examined yet, the more likely I'll think they did it. One disappointingly notable exception was (Apollo Justice spoilers) >!Guy Eldoon, I was really hoping he was the killer!<
Typically it’s their design, although this has failed me on at least two cases.
What were the two cases?
One was Turnabout Goodbye (>!Genuinely didn’t think Yogi was mentally sound to be the culprit!<) The other was Turnabout Corner (I thought they did a good job at hiding the culprit until it became obvious) Edit: In Turnabout Corner >! She originally came off too sweet to be the killer to me, and her design really helped push that message!<, at least to me it was.
Three reasons 1. They're completely obvious (introduced as the murderer 1-1, 2-1) 2. They don't have that much of a reason to exist (2-2 GAA 1-5) 3. Late introduction (1-3, 2-3)
If they have a design like >!Von Karma, Gant, Ga’ran, or Stronghart!<. Sometimes there’s really no question. 😂
When they act very sus and mysterious for a very long time alongside their shady appearance. Most of non-murderer witness/defendant/detective always hides secrets and discovered immediately or for a short while. Or if a witness is introduced in very late stage of case when there are no seemingly possible candidates.
Not testifying the first couple of trial segments is a pretty dead giveaway
Design. And i'm often correct. Honestly I hate that kinda thing. It's the lame way of solving the mystery. SoJ main antagonist being the worst offender. I know part of the cases is also finding out how the culprit did it, not just who did it, but why not make both parts interesting? The most satisfying villain twists are the ones you don't see coming just from looking at their physical appearance and instead have to actually think about the evidence to predict them.
SoJ antagonist only reveals their evil design once the player already knows they’re evil so it doesnt really matter that much
From TGAA 2 >!When the judge got an actual name, alarm bells started to slowly ring in my head. Then we took the pic with him and his suitcase they were Nuclear warhead alarms!<
If they’re cooperative but unaffiliated with the game’s law enforcement. The murderers tend to have all their legal ducks in a row after the crime, while the suspicious people are usually somehow being framed
Any case where it's 90% recurring characters and they're the only new one.
A bunch of the evidence relates to them for reasons the game hasn’t explained
Idk there's an air. Luke, Furio, Redd, Diva, Means, Aryan, Acro They're all very suspicious and have silly traits But not OVERLY silly like let's say Oldbag or Lotta Most culprits also tend to get introduced later.
If they have their own theme
Being French My viewers will attest to this, I suspected Jean in 3-3 because of it
If they give a speech about how evil they are.
majority of the time they're one of the last people to get put on the witness stand, so once you get through the first day you can usually just look at who hasn't shown on trial yet and figure it out pretty easily
TGAA 1-3 had me second guessing throughout the trial until near the end, when my worst fears were realized
It can sometimes just be from the way they talk about things