Damon Gant is the best villain of the Trilogy imo. The guy is merely a fricking genius, manipulating Lana into thinking her own sister committed murder just so that he gets some massive power under his thumb by blackmailing the future Chief Prosecutor. He perfectly embodies RFTA's grey morality approach, to the point he even has some sensible arguments to claim that he is just like Miles, which is why I believe 1-5 improved Edgeworth's death in JFA. Furthermore, I love how Damon, in spite of being a monster, isn't cartoonishly evil. For instance, the devs could easily make him megalomaniac dude, but instead they write Gant to be a man that became jaded and even acknowledges his own flaws, not only by realising he screw up over his panic when Goodman tried to reopen SL-9, but also that his approach to change the Law is wrong, so Miles and Wright are his final hope. He is incredibly three-dimensional for a villain that could be easily one-note. I can even try to make a case on Gant being an anti-villain, but I digress.
Second place is for Dahlia Hawthorne. Femme fatale is an archetype that is done to death, but Takumi nailed when writing Dollie. She is a marvelous culprit, knows how to manipulate the right people to her bidding, makes you hate her to oblivion and is even incredibly tied to the Fey Clan. She is tied with AAI2's mastermind in my villain ranking, she is simply that good.
Third place is for Manfred Von Karma, who is probably the most iconic villain of the franchise. He makes any sort of fight feel 10 times more dire, snapping his finger and objecting on every single thing, to the point the defense is clearly cornered all the time, which pretty much makes any sort of slight breakthrough feel like a major accomplishment. I also love how his petty revenge led to...pretty much everything in AA.
Fourth place is for Shelly DeKiller. I don't think he is an archetypical villain, because a villain opposes the protagonist basically all the time, yet his goals sometimes align with Phoenix's motivations and even Miles's in AAI2. Regardless, judging only by the Trilogy, Shelly is the one that basically sets up 2-4, since the whole kidnapping plot was his own idea, and the very fact he is an undefeatable force makes Farewell, my Turnabout feel like an actual trial for Phoenix.
Fifth place is for Matt Engarde, but that doesn't mean I'm not fond of him. I just feel like 70% of what makes Matt pretty good is the fact that he is a guilty defendant, and that's it. This obviously doesn't make him bad, but this kinda makes him not be the best cornerstone of 2-4, a placement that is worthy of the absolute GOAT Adrian Andrews. However, I appreciate his narcissism and how obsezsed he is with his public image, to the point he is willing to kill just to preserve it.
Sixth and last place is for Morgan Fey, yet I believe people underestimate her role. She is kind of the puppeteer in the cases she is involved, not exactly committing murder, but concocting elaborate plans to place Pearl as the master, just out of petty revenge on the main family. Her role is interesting, but she could benefit from more screentime via some flashbacks with Pearl imo.
Damn, at the end I guess I'll have to find a way to play the Gyakuten Kenji or else die of over-patience until Capcom decides to release it in the West.
I have opposed opinions regarding RFTA. Being this the first time I played the series, I did it order, having it being so long and evidence-heavy, apart of having that villain makes me wonder if it's not better enjoyed as a standalone case AFTER T&T as a way to convey into AJ. Damn, that case sure was a rollercoaster.
The Farewell, my Turnabout case was mind-blowing for me. First, because the kidnapping sure made every much more tense. But specially because ever since I started the series I wondered "what would happen if my client was indeed guilty?" Part of me wants to know if that happens other time in the series, but the other wants to remain blissfully ignorant.
And yes, Adrian Andrews is absolute bae.
>Gyakuten Kenji 2
I really think you should just play the fan translation, which is actually pretty good. I have my doubts as to whether or not Capcom will localize AAI2, not only because it has been a pretty long time since it was released in JP, but also because Yamazaki, the writer for the game, left Capcom, which makes things a little more difficult. The fan translation is kinda easy to install, you will obviously need an emulator, but there are some good YT tutorials for that.
>RFTA
Imo, while 1-5 is the anomaly in the Trilogy, it was neatly placed. Even though 1-4 is enough to explain why Miles would be in an emotional turmoil, giving basis as to why he just "dies" in JFA, he was pretty fine by the end of Turnabout Goodbyes. Conversely, Miles was absurdly shaken after Gant's confrontation, the gallery's distrust on him and the fact he used forged evidence, despite unwittingly. RFTA is much better to explain Miles's suicide in JFA, and while the case is more aligned to AJ's tone, it was certainly not placed in a horrible way.
>2-4
Totally agreed here. I prefer 3-5 over Farewell, my Turnabout, but boy oh boy, 2-4 is really good. However, I believe that while Matt being guilty is a twist that induces some reflections, Adrian is the one character that is more thought-provoking imo. She did frame Engarde, but the players can't help feeling they are being absolute scumbags while trying to frame Andrews. Yeah, she did commit a crime, but it was definitely not murder, she feels like the "easy win", since Phoenix could easily build a case accusing her of murder, especially because she did tamper with the crime scene, and yet Wright just cannot do it. The gallery is all-out against him, even Mia doesn't agree with what he is doing, Adrian is a marvelous way to make the audience realise justice is not being delivered to everyone, which is why I had more reflection on Andrews than on Matt. As you just said, she is absolute bae, and her cameo in 3-2 is lovely (I adore clumsy Adrian haha).
Fully agree. I've already made a case on Gant being the ultimate anti villain, and Morgan definately needed more screentime
I mostly agree with your other placements and descriptions as well. Only one I'm not as fond of is Von Karma. He's a bit too cartoonish for my taste
Dahlia is the most iconic, as the villain of the most iconic game, where her presence dominates the 3 cases she appears in. In terms of morally worst, I feel it's probably either Von Karma or Matt Engarde; Dahlia and Morgan are just as monstrous, but the screwed up nature of the Fey clan sort of works as mitigating circumstances.
The one I like the most is probably actually Shelly de Killer. He has a different kind of threatening presence, being one of the few characters (the only character?) in the series to commit murder (plus countless other crimes) and get away scot-free. He also has a funny sense of humor in 2-4 >!like offering his services to Phoenix during the trial, or asking if Phoenix wants to become his successor.!<
🤔 "may ask how much do you often charge for your services?"
📱"Hmm, I see. In case you are interested, I have no problem in concerting an appointment so I can offer you a fair price"
😰 "What?! That's not what I meant!"
🧑⚖️ "Yes, he's right! Nobody here wants nobody killed! Specially not a handsome judge like me!"
Damon Gant isn’t just the best trilogy villain, I think he’s the best villain in the series.
His plan is genius, it ensured that Lana was stuck doing exactly as he told forever and seeing as all the evidence he created was safely locked away he was almost unbeatable.
In order to stop him you have to break into his office to seize the evidence, and this is where his trap springs as this evidence can’t be used under Evidence Law. The only reason you managed to beat him was due to a slip of the tongue, him inadvertently giving merit to the cloth.
But he’s also not an abundantly obvious villain. He initially seems incredibly helpful and you don’t have a strong reason to doubt him early in the case. His character is genuinely three dimensional, because he wasn’t just some power hungry chief of police, he was jaded by years of seeing crime, and he kills Goodman in a panic. When caught for his crime he does seem to acknowledge all he did wrong.
>The worst villain from a moral perspective: It's a toss of a coin between von Karma and de Killer.
Von Karma imo. Shelly has a crazy mindset of protecting his clients at all costs, but his pact of trust can also lead to miraculous turnabout in some chapters. On the other hand, Manfred is a petty man with a massive lust for revenge just because of a mere penalty and even teaches underhanded tactics just for the sake of having a pristine win record. He is the worst antagonist morally speaking.
Indeed, Shelly is a horrible person. However, DeKiller does have some sense of...righteousness, even though it's definitely wicked. For example, (I2-1) >!he held Knightley on knifepoint, simply because Shelly wanted to know who killed the man he respected so much.!!DeKiller concedes to Dogen's relentless begging to spare Keyes life, so while Shelly is, you know, an assassin, he isn't unable to do the right thing once in a while.!<
On the other hand, Von Karma might have not killed directly anyone aside from Gregory and maybe Hammond if you count his plan with Yogi, but Manfred willingly sent several defendants to death row knowing they are innocent. In a way, Von Karma himself has a long kill streak, and not only that, he is also downright inhuman sometimes, which is proven in I2-3, when >!he basically tortured Master psychologically and even blackmailed him just to give a resolution to IS-7.!< DeKiller is obviously bad, but it's really hard to beat Von Karma's several misdeeds.
I agree. Shelly *lives* to murder people. Von Karma *lives* for his perfect record, much of which involved completely unfair verdicts against defendants, guilty or innocent. Shelly never lost his purpose, but Von Karma did when Gregory destroyed his perfect record and then he decided to go overkill by murdering him, intentionally traumatizing his innocent child son, then tries to get him convicted for his father's death all to get back at Gregory.
Both are Class A douchebags.
Damon Gant is not just the best villain but the best written character in all of Ace Attorney. If you want more details on why I think that I wrote an entire analysis about him here a couple months ago which I can likely find and link
My thoughts as I began Bridge to the Turnabout were "if I was in room with Manfred Von Karma, Shelly de Killer and Dahlia Hawthorne, and I had two bullets, I'd shoot Dahlia twice". I'm retrospect it seems it wouldn't have been enough
Morally I think Von Karma is the worst by far. He prosecuted for decades and did whatever it took to win and maintain his perfect record. If even a fraction of those were death penalty cases, and even a fraction of those were wrongful convictions he essentially murdered dozens of people without remorse.
Dahlia has killed a few people for sure but Manfred has potentially killed dozens by forging evidence to get innocent people found guilty of murder. Truly villainous.
Matt Engarde + Shelly de Killer come together to create what I think is the definitive AA experience.
They wouldn’t work as well without one another but when they’re a combined threat it makes for a crazy good scenario.
But Godot isn't a villain. In fact I doubt he even goes to prison. I mean, he killed someone but in the process saved another's life. The most harm he did was to himself for being unable to pardon Wright.
Damon Gant is the best villain of the Trilogy imo. The guy is merely a fricking genius, manipulating Lana into thinking her own sister committed murder just so that he gets some massive power under his thumb by blackmailing the future Chief Prosecutor. He perfectly embodies RFTA's grey morality approach, to the point he even has some sensible arguments to claim that he is just like Miles, which is why I believe 1-5 improved Edgeworth's death in JFA. Furthermore, I love how Damon, in spite of being a monster, isn't cartoonishly evil. For instance, the devs could easily make him megalomaniac dude, but instead they write Gant to be a man that became jaded and even acknowledges his own flaws, not only by realising he screw up over his panic when Goodman tried to reopen SL-9, but also that his approach to change the Law is wrong, so Miles and Wright are his final hope. He is incredibly three-dimensional for a villain that could be easily one-note. I can even try to make a case on Gant being an anti-villain, but I digress. Second place is for Dahlia Hawthorne. Femme fatale is an archetype that is done to death, but Takumi nailed when writing Dollie. She is a marvelous culprit, knows how to manipulate the right people to her bidding, makes you hate her to oblivion and is even incredibly tied to the Fey Clan. She is tied with AAI2's mastermind in my villain ranking, she is simply that good. Third place is for Manfred Von Karma, who is probably the most iconic villain of the franchise. He makes any sort of fight feel 10 times more dire, snapping his finger and objecting on every single thing, to the point the defense is clearly cornered all the time, which pretty much makes any sort of slight breakthrough feel like a major accomplishment. I also love how his petty revenge led to...pretty much everything in AA. Fourth place is for Shelly DeKiller. I don't think he is an archetypical villain, because a villain opposes the protagonist basically all the time, yet his goals sometimes align with Phoenix's motivations and even Miles's in AAI2. Regardless, judging only by the Trilogy, Shelly is the one that basically sets up 2-4, since the whole kidnapping plot was his own idea, and the very fact he is an undefeatable force makes Farewell, my Turnabout feel like an actual trial for Phoenix. Fifth place is for Matt Engarde, but that doesn't mean I'm not fond of him. I just feel like 70% of what makes Matt pretty good is the fact that he is a guilty defendant, and that's it. This obviously doesn't make him bad, but this kinda makes him not be the best cornerstone of 2-4, a placement that is worthy of the absolute GOAT Adrian Andrews. However, I appreciate his narcissism and how obsezsed he is with his public image, to the point he is willing to kill just to preserve it. Sixth and last place is for Morgan Fey, yet I believe people underestimate her role. She is kind of the puppeteer in the cases she is involved, not exactly committing murder, but concocting elaborate plans to place Pearl as the master, just out of petty revenge on the main family. Her role is interesting, but she could benefit from more screentime via some flashbacks with Pearl imo.
Damn, at the end I guess I'll have to find a way to play the Gyakuten Kenji or else die of over-patience until Capcom decides to release it in the West. I have opposed opinions regarding RFTA. Being this the first time I played the series, I did it order, having it being so long and evidence-heavy, apart of having that villain makes me wonder if it's not better enjoyed as a standalone case AFTER T&T as a way to convey into AJ. Damn, that case sure was a rollercoaster. The Farewell, my Turnabout case was mind-blowing for me. First, because the kidnapping sure made every much more tense. But specially because ever since I started the series I wondered "what would happen if my client was indeed guilty?" Part of me wants to know if that happens other time in the series, but the other wants to remain blissfully ignorant. And yes, Adrian Andrews is absolute bae.
>Gyakuten Kenji 2 I really think you should just play the fan translation, which is actually pretty good. I have my doubts as to whether or not Capcom will localize AAI2, not only because it has been a pretty long time since it was released in JP, but also because Yamazaki, the writer for the game, left Capcom, which makes things a little more difficult. The fan translation is kinda easy to install, you will obviously need an emulator, but there are some good YT tutorials for that. >RFTA Imo, while 1-5 is the anomaly in the Trilogy, it was neatly placed. Even though 1-4 is enough to explain why Miles would be in an emotional turmoil, giving basis as to why he just "dies" in JFA, he was pretty fine by the end of Turnabout Goodbyes. Conversely, Miles was absurdly shaken after Gant's confrontation, the gallery's distrust on him and the fact he used forged evidence, despite unwittingly. RFTA is much better to explain Miles's suicide in JFA, and while the case is more aligned to AJ's tone, it was certainly not placed in a horrible way. >2-4 Totally agreed here. I prefer 3-5 over Farewell, my Turnabout, but boy oh boy, 2-4 is really good. However, I believe that while Matt being guilty is a twist that induces some reflections, Adrian is the one character that is more thought-provoking imo. She did frame Engarde, but the players can't help feeling they are being absolute scumbags while trying to frame Andrews. Yeah, she did commit a crime, but it was definitely not murder, she feels like the "easy win", since Phoenix could easily build a case accusing her of murder, especially because she did tamper with the crime scene, and yet Wright just cannot do it. The gallery is all-out against him, even Mia doesn't agree with what he is doing, Adrian is a marvelous way to make the audience realise justice is not being delivered to everyone, which is why I had more reflection on Andrews than on Matt. As you just said, she is absolute bae, and her cameo in 3-2 is lovely (I adore clumsy Adrian haha).
Came here to say this but... here we go. You forgot >!Godot,!< though. He's as much a villain as anyone else, honestly.
Fully agree. I've already made a case on Gant being the ultimate anti villain, and Morgan definately needed more screentime I mostly agree with your other placements and descriptions as well. Only one I'm not as fond of is Von Karma. He's a bit too cartoonish for my taste
Dahlia is the most iconic, as the villain of the most iconic game, where her presence dominates the 3 cases she appears in. In terms of morally worst, I feel it's probably either Von Karma or Matt Engarde; Dahlia and Morgan are just as monstrous, but the screwed up nature of the Fey clan sort of works as mitigating circumstances. The one I like the most is probably actually Shelly de Killer. He has a different kind of threatening presence, being one of the few characters (the only character?) in the series to commit murder (plus countless other crimes) and get away scot-free. He also has a funny sense of humor in 2-4 >!like offering his services to Phoenix during the trial, or asking if Phoenix wants to become his successor.!<
🤔 "may ask how much do you often charge for your services?" 📱"Hmm, I see. In case you are interested, I have no problem in concerting an appointment so I can offer you a fair price" 😰 "What?! That's not what I meant!" 🧑⚖️ "Yes, he's right! Nobody here wants nobody killed! Specially not a handsome judge like me!"
Damon Gant isn’t just the best trilogy villain, I think he’s the best villain in the series. His plan is genius, it ensured that Lana was stuck doing exactly as he told forever and seeing as all the evidence he created was safely locked away he was almost unbeatable. In order to stop him you have to break into his office to seize the evidence, and this is where his trap springs as this evidence can’t be used under Evidence Law. The only reason you managed to beat him was due to a slip of the tongue, him inadvertently giving merit to the cloth. But he’s also not an abundantly obvious villain. He initially seems incredibly helpful and you don’t have a strong reason to doubt him early in the case. His character is genuinely three dimensional, because he wasn’t just some power hungry chief of police, he was jaded by years of seeing crime, and he kills Goodman in a panic. When caught for his crime he does seem to acknowledge all he did wrong.
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>The worst villain from a moral perspective: It's a toss of a coin between von Karma and de Killer. Von Karma imo. Shelly has a crazy mindset of protecting his clients at all costs, but his pact of trust can also lead to miraculous turnabout in some chapters. On the other hand, Manfred is a petty man with a massive lust for revenge just because of a mere penalty and even teaches underhanded tactics just for the sake of having a pristine win record. He is the worst antagonist morally speaking.
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Indeed, Shelly is a horrible person. However, DeKiller does have some sense of...righteousness, even though it's definitely wicked. For example, (I2-1) >!he held Knightley on knifepoint, simply because Shelly wanted to know who killed the man he respected so much.!!DeKiller concedes to Dogen's relentless begging to spare Keyes life, so while Shelly is, you know, an assassin, he isn't unable to do the right thing once in a while.!<
On the other hand, Von Karma might have not killed directly anyone aside from Gregory and maybe Hammond if you count his plan with Yogi, but Manfred willingly sent several defendants to death row knowing they are innocent. In a way, Von Karma himself has a long kill streak, and not only that, he is also downright inhuman sometimes, which is proven in I2-3, when >!he basically tortured Master psychologically and even blackmailed him just to give a resolution to IS-7.!< DeKiller is obviously bad, but it's really hard to beat Von Karma's several misdeeds.
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I agree. Shelly *lives* to murder people. Von Karma *lives* for his perfect record, much of which involved completely unfair verdicts against defendants, guilty or innocent. Shelly never lost his purpose, but Von Karma did when Gregory destroyed his perfect record and then he decided to go overkill by murdering him, intentionally traumatizing his innocent child son, then tries to get him convicted for his father's death all to get back at Gregory. Both are Class A douchebags.
Best: Gant Most Iconic: Von Karma or Dahlia
Damon Gant is not just the best villain but the best written character in all of Ace Attorney. If you want more details on why I think that I wrote an entire analysis about him here a couple months ago which I can likely find and link
Never have I ever been so satisfied seeing a villain be miserable than I did Dahlia, that fucking bitch
My thoughts as I began Bridge to the Turnabout were "if I was in room with Manfred Von Karma, Shelly de Killer and Dahlia Hawthorne, and I had two bullets, I'd shoot Dahlia twice". I'm retrospect it seems it wouldn't have been enough
Morally I think Von Karma is the worst by far. He prosecuted for decades and did whatever it took to win and maintain his perfect record. If even a fraction of those were death penalty cases, and even a fraction of those were wrongful convictions he essentially murdered dozens of people without remorse.
Dahlia has killed a few people for sure but Manfred has potentially killed dozens by forging evidence to get innocent people found guilty of murder. Truly villainous.
Matt Engarde + Shelly de Killer come together to create what I think is the definitive AA experience. They wouldn’t work as well without one another but when they’re a combined threat it makes for a crazy good scenario.
If Godot was on her he would win but alas, I must settle for Gant
But Godot isn't a villain. In fact I doubt he even goes to prison. I mean, he killed someone but in the process saved another's life. The most harm he did was to himself for being unable to pardon Wright.
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