Top Ten Turnabouts - Part 3 (#93)

#8 - 3-3: Recipe For Turnabout

The way in which this case starts is so unsettling. You're shown a cutscene set in the courtroom, and you assume that this has something to do with Nick. Maybe it's one of his past trials, or the case has thrown you right into a new one. But wait, what? The Judge starts saying that the court sees no reason to further prolong the trial, and that the case is extremely clear and he sees no room for misinterpretation of the facts. Huh?! Is there something wrong with the game? This is the exact thing that the Judge says when you get a game over! Somebody screams that it wasn't them, that they are innocent. The judge talks about how the victim was alone when he was poisoned by coffee, and that the only one who could have done it is the defendant, who claims that they saw another man slip poison into the victim's cup. Nobody believes her. Winston Payne (heya buddy!) is prosecuting, and the Judge declares a guilty verdict. It's just like when you lose normally.

You later find out that the defendant was none other than Maggey Byrde, the same person who was accused of murder in 2-1, The Lost Turnabout (she really does have the worst luck ever when it comes to being accused of murder... beaten only by Maya). Apparently, the person defending her who lost the trial in court was Phoenix Wright.

Gumshoe's bae.

WHAT?!?!

Yes, the case starts off in a really, really confusing way, and it isn't for a long time that you find out that the real murderer, Furio Tigre, a biker/crazy loan shark guy who owns a company called Tender Lender, had posed as Phoenix (I really don't know how the Judge and Payne didn't notice this. Sure, they have really similar hair and a similar body shape. But, Tigre's whole body is frickin' red! He even crafts a fake attorney's badge out of cardboard... this could only happen in a cartoon or a video game) in order to get Maggey guilty and protect himself.

The first time I saw a picture of Furio was on the internet,
I thought he was the devil or something.

Eventually, of course, you do prove who the real killer is and get Maggey innocent again, but this case is awesome, because the way it pushes you into it is really confusing and you have no idea how Phoenix apparently lost a case for the first time and has no idea about it. Tigre's breakdown is also awesome. Plus you meet some other cool characters along the way, such as Lisa Basil (her name is an anagram and she is a computer-like woman who owns the company that the victim, Glen Elg (also an anagram) worked at) and Victor Kudo, an old man who throws bird seed at you all the time and thinks that the clothes that the waitresses wear at the restaurant where Glen was murdered, Tres Bien, are indecent, despite the fact that he secretly loves them, the pervert. There's also Viola Cadaverini, granddaughter of the threatening crime boss Bruno Cadaverini, and Jean Armstrong, who's, uh... well... he's interesting, let's just say that.

Plus, there's a moment where Nick references one of the most famous movie memes of all time. Here's what happens when you present incorrect evidence to Lisa Basil:

Maya: Umm, would you mind taking a look at this?
Basil: I'm sorry. That data is SuPer-Admin Restricted Desktop Access password-protected.
Maya: SuPer-Admin Restricted Desktop Access password-protected!? What? This is madness!
Phoenix: No, Maya, that is SPARDA.

Overall this is a great episode in the third game and definitely one of the most memorable in the main series.

Thomas

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