View source for Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

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[[File:Unbenannt-2_7746.jpg|frame|He has [[The Smart Guy|Logic]] and [[Mundane Made Awesome|he knows how to use it]].]]

A spinoff of ''[[Ace Attorney]]'', ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' landed its American and European releases in February 2010. ''Investigations'' puts Edgeworth as the main character, along with sidekicks Dick Gumshoe and the newcomer [[Highly-Visible Ninja|self-declared thief]] Kay Faraday. The game took on a more traditional point-and-click adventure game style, with walking sprites exploring areas rather than simply moving from scene to scene. Rather than engaging in courtroom battles, Edgeworth solves mysteries through Logic, and by countering arguments from witnesses, culprits and the cocky [[Interpol Special Agent]] Shi-Long Lang.

A sequel ''Gyakuten Kenji 2'' was released in Japan in February 2011. It features a system called "Logic Chess". This does not necessitate playing chess, but instead acts as a visual metaphor. When Edgeworth can't find a fault in the witness' testimony, he can instead ask one of two questions. Asking the correct one will cause the player to "take" one of their "pieces", allowing the "game" to move further. An incorrect choice will have the reverse happen, and the player will lose points from their Truth meter. There are no plans for the sequel to be localized at this time.

A character sheet for the whole series can be found [[Ace Attorney/Characters|here]].

{{tropelist}}
* [[Absence of Evidence]]:
** In the first case, the killer claimed to have lost his keys and asked a security guard to open the door to "his" office for him. The absence of the security guard's prints on his door, combined with some other evidence and Logic, suggests that {{spoiler|he tricked her into opening a different door that she thought was his}}.
** In a later case, the absence of blood on the hilt of a knife that was found inside a victim suggests that {{spoiler|the hilt was switched, as there were several knives with hilts and blades that fit each other}}.
* [[Absolute Cleavage]]: Cammy Meele.
* [[Accuse the Witness]] In Case 5, Lang accuses {{spoiler|Franziska}} of the murder of DeMasque II {{spoiler|as a ruse to investigate Alba's office again}}.
* [[Affectionate Parody]]: {{spoiler|The Judge}} at one point uses the famous "{{color|red|HOLD IT!}}", but then apologizes for being too loud and simply says "Hold it".
** Similarly, Miles using "{{color|red|OBJECTION!}}" during Case 2, only to get called on it. He thinks to himself that it's a force of habit.
* [[Alphabetical Theme Naming]]: Allebahst and Babahl were originally one country named Cohdopia.
* [[Always Murder]]: More obvious in Case 3, where the crime is originally just a standard kidnapping.
** Similar deal with ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' where {{spoiler|the initial victims of Cases 1 and 4 survive, necessitating that two additional people get killed}}.
** Subverted in {{spoiler|1=''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' Case 3}}. The {{spoiler|present portion of the}} case seemingly has no victim, until a body is found. {{spoiler|Turns out, it's the same victim from 18 years ago, whose body was never found}}.
* [[Amateur Sleuth]]: Edgeworth does far more of the detective work than any of the actual police. [[Justified Trope|Somewhat justified]], as a majority of the prosecutors and police are more concerned with getting a guilty verdict than actually finding the truth.
* [[Ambidextrous Sprite]]: Pretty much everyone, but it's particularly noticeable with Franziska, who gets another mole on both sides of her face because of this trope, and {{spoiler|the Pink Princess}}, whose shoulder the kanji is reversed.
* [[Amoral Attorney]]: {{spoiler|Calisto Yew}} takes this to its logical conclusion, {{spoiler|murdering her own defendant and a witness}}. Then again, {{spoiler|she isn't a "real" attorney, she just works as one for a crime ring}}. We also have prosecutor Jacques Portsman, who is the killer in the first case and {{spoiler|who also happens to be a member of the [[Big Bad]]'s [[The Syndicate|crime syndicate]]}}. According to Gumshoe, he's been suspected of tampering with evidence since a long time back. Oh, and {{spoiler|Bansai Ichiyanagi}} in ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2''.
* [[Anachronism Stew]]: Case 4 {{spoiler|1=is set before anything else in the franchise, but has a flat screen TV, color security video with sound, and video on ''tape''. While the first two aren't bizarre for 2011, it is bizarre when chronologically later games use less modern TVs and black and white photo}}.
* {{spoiler|[[And Now for Someone Completely Different]]}}: Case 3 of ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' has you {{spoiler|switching between Gregory and Edgeworth}}.
* [[Anime Hair]]: Rhoda Teneiro and her 3-layered cube-shaped bun.
* [[Arc Words]]: KG-8 and "seven years ago".
* [[Armor-Piercing Slap]]: This is the game where Franziska will easily whip Edgeworth. She'll whip him a good number of times in required scenes, more if you press certain things or present the wrong evidence. Edgeworth and Gumshoe are also her victims-by-proxy whenever she doesn't want to whip the person who wronged her.
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: Gumshoe cleverly [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade]] on it. {{spoiler|In Case 5 when the group is chasing the Yatagarasu and end up in the burnt embassy building. Gumshoe mentions that the Yatagarasu hasn't stolen}}.
* [[Art Shift]]: Detective Tyrell Badd is drawn in a similar, but noticeably different, style with facial definition and dark colors that markedly contrast everyone else's simple faces and bright colors.
* [[Ascended Extra]]: Edgeworth himself, of course. He proved so popular as Wright's rival in previous games, he got his own staring role. 
** Lotta can be spotted in ''Ace Attorney Investigations'', and it's implied she takes a picture important to the case, but she's never identified. {{spoiler|1=She plays a very significant role in the last two cases of ''Gyakuten Kenji 2'', and actually gets a sprite this time}}.
* [[Asshole Victim]]: Probably Lance Amano from the third case {{spoiler|except that he's not actually a victim}}.
** {{spoiler|Manny Coachen}} wins the prize for Assholiest Victim in the series. {{spoiler|Not only did he murder [[Defector From Decadence]] Cece Yew and get away with it due to the Amano Group's influence, but he also tried to usurp his "boss" Alba by ensuring Palaeno became the new Ambassador of Cohdopia}}. The cast even notes he was as much of a selfish prick as his killer.
** Subverted with {{spoiler|Colin Devorae. It's initially thought that he was an escaped convict who was killed because he tried to steal the ransom money for himself, but it turns out that he was forced into [[Taking the Heat]] for Ernest Amano, and Lance most likely blackmailed him into participating in the kidnapping}}.
** In the sequel, we have Manosuke Naitō and {{spoiler|his father}}, Isaku Hyōdō. But even they are eventually out-assholed by {{spoiler|Teikun Ou's impostor}}.
* [[Back for the Finale]]: {{spoiler|Larry again}}. A rarity as he usually shows up in the same game '''before''' the last case.
** In the sequel, {{spoiler|Shelly de Killer}}, among others.
* [[Bait and Switch Boss]]: The killer from Case 4 {{spoiler|turns up in the final case, and it looks like they're going to be the head of the criminal syndicate, right}}? Nope, it's either {{spoiler|the shifty looking Colias Paeleno}} or {{spoiler|the seemingly harmless (but not) Quercus Alba}}; both of which had suspicious names in the Japanese version (Damian and Carnage, respectively). While both of these characters are awesome, a section of the fans would have preferred {{spoiler|Callisto Yew}} to have been the [[Big Bad]].
* [[Be as Unhelpful as Possible]]: You prove that {{spoiler|Larry}} couldn't have been the murderer after a lengthy discussion with Lang. After that, {{spoiler|''Larry''}} questions your theory, and you have to play another discussion to convince ''him'' that he couldn't have been the murderer, while [[Too Dumb to Live|he tries to prove you wrong]]. [[Too Dumb to Live|In front of Lang]].
** Completely averted with Colias Palaeno. When Edgeworth asks if he can investigate, Palaeno says to go right ahead. No questions, no testimony, nothing.
** Gumshoe leaves out details from his testimony because he doesn't want it to get out that {{spoiler|he essentially bought a swiss roll with Kay, thus causing her to break her promise not to take anything from strangers, even though her father, the one he was trying to keep this from, was already dead}}.
* [[Big Bad]]: {{spoiler|Quercus Alba and Calisto Yew}}.
* [[Big Bad Ensemble]]: {{spoiler|Teikun Ou's impostor and Souta Sarushiro}} in ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2''.
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: The final case takes this to an art form. {{spoiler|No fewer than ''four'' people burst into the room to save the day during the final showdown with the villain over the course of the confrontation}}.
** They even [[Lampshade Hanging|hang a lampshade]] on it when {{spoiler|after a dramatic shout of {{color|red|HOLD IT!}}, everyone looks around to see who it was, and it turns out to be the Forensics guy with no name or portrait}}.
* [[Big No]]: {{spoiler|Cammy Meele}} in Case 2 does one of these directly before her [[Motive Rant]] ''while'' {{spoiler|blowing a '''[[Mundane Made Awesome|whole bubble factory of bubbles]].''' Which [[Deadly Fireworks Display|then burst all over her as if she were exploding]]}}.
** Edgeworth himself has one when he realizes {{spoiler|that Larry is playing the Steel Samurai}}.
* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: Several name puns are in non-English languages--for example, Quercus Alba = Latin for "white oak" and Shi-Long Lang = Chinese for "soldier dragon wolf"--the "soldier dragon" of the "wolf" family.
** ''Quercus alba'' is actually the scientific name for the white oak, just as ''Colias palaeno'' is the scientific name for the [[wikipedia:Colias palaeno|Moorland Clouded Yellow]].
* [[Book'em, Danno]]: The end of ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' Case 1.
{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Naito'''}}:Edgewooooooorth! The game isn’t over yet! I... I...
'''Edgeworth''': That’s enough. This game will continue in the courtroom.}}
* [[Brick Joke]]: A minor one. In Case 3, Lang's agents sound off from one to a hundred. Lang gets annoyed at this and tells them that in his book, everyone is number one. Later on in Case 5, Lang's men sound off with a chorus of one's.
** The brick bounces and lands again in Case 5 of ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'', where Lang is working with only one of his subordinates, who offers to count off to cheer Lang up. When he realizes just "one" is unimpressive, he starts going through various ways of saying "one".
* [[Broken Pedestal]]: Edgeworth's respect for {{spoiler|Manfred von Karma}} is emphasized here for [[Dramatic Irony]], but it also turns out that {{spoiler|Ernest Amano}}, another person he respects, is also a criminal.
** Ambassador Palaeno evidently placed a great deal of trust and respect on Manny Coachen, constantly talking about how he let the guy do all the important work for him and how much he relied on him, and is outright shocked when he is revealed to have been a genuine criminal.
* [[But Thou Must!]]: A notable one near the end of the game, even by ''Ace Attorney'' standards. {{spoiler|When the time comes to finally confront Quercus Alba, Edgeworth is presented with a personal moral quandary; he must choose between finally bringing an end to Alba's crimes through the use of illegally obtained evidence, or pursuing the path of the Law and letting Alba get away. The choice is presented to the player much like the choice was presented in ''Justice For All'' about whether it is more important to save an innocent life by allowing a murderer to go free and condemning another innocent to death or to allow justice to be served at the cost of the hostage's life. The difference here is it doesn't actually turn out to be much of a choice. Choosing not to present the illegal evidence simply results in all the other characters pressuring Edgeworth until he decides that the [[Take a Third Option|the illegality of the evidence is subjective anyway]] and proceeds to present it}}.
* [[By the Power of Grayskull]]: While she doesn't transform or anything, Kay evokes this when she's about to use Little Thief.
{{quote|'''Kay''': Dark skies of evening, when no other bird dares to take wing, one alone remains all-seeing! Now, witness the true power of a real, modern-day Robin Hood!}}
* [[Call Forward]]: Case 3 gives us a glimpse of the Gavinners' equipment along with their logo on a stage. A banner emblazoned with "Troupe Gramarye" is also nearby. {{spoiler|Case 4 makes a reference to Phoenix getting hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, years before it happens}}.
** Also, the Borginians, and {{spoiler|the smuggling ring being investigated by Interpol. [[Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney|Is smuggling a regular problem in Borginia]]}}?
** Another from Case 4:
{{quote|'''Gumshoe''': {{spoiler|[S]omeday, I'm gonna become an Ace Detective [...]}}}}
* [[The Cameo]]: All over the place.
* [[Canis Latinicus]]: The "Theatrum Neutralis" in the fifth case.
* [[Catch Phrase]]: Unique to this game Edgeworth gets "'''''{{color|red|Eureka!}}'''''" for his.
** The same game gives us Shi-Long Lang's '''''{{color|red|Not so fast!}}''''' which is fitting as he's not a lawyer of any kind, but an Interpol agent.
** [[Hurricane of Aphorisms|Lang Zi says: ...]]
* [[Chekhov's Boomerang]]: {{spoiler|The Yatagarasu's Key from Cases 4 AND 5. It starts out as a key, then it becomes a weapon, then a key again, then the '''weapon part''' becomes a key. Finally, as a weapon, it becomes [[Just for Pun|the ultimate key]] to defeating the [[Big Bad]]. Allebahst's Primidux Statue}} also gets more than its fair share of use in the last leg of of the fifth case.
** In ''Gyakuten Kenji 2'', Naitō's chessboard, ring and the photo of Kazami and Hyoudou with their sons.
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: In the first case, Gumshoe delivers the line "So I guess only a GREAT cat burglar could get in! That must be who our culprit is!". {{spoiler|The person who got into Edgeworth's office ''was'' a burglar. Or more specifically, the last member of the Yatagarasu thief group, [[Hero Antagonist|Detective Tyrell Badd]]. Good guess, Gumshoe}}.
** {{spoiler|Larry does it again in the fifth case and pulls off a [[Big Damn Heroes]] with none other than Wendy freaking Oldbag}}.
** {{spoiler|Manosuke Naitō and Souta Sarushiro}} in the sequel.
* [[The Chessmaster]]: Looks like they'll be playing this one ''literally'' in ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2''.
** Also, {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Souta Sarushiro]]}}, metaphorically.
* [[Click. "Hello."]]: Badd gets the drop on {{spoiler|Yew}} during the last case.
* [[Co-Dragons]]: {{spoiler|Bansai Ichiyanagi}} and {{spoiler|Mari Miwa}} to {{spoiler|Teikun Ou's body double}} in ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2''.
* {{spoiler|[[Collective Identity]]}}: {{spoiler|The Yatagarasu--Badd, Faraday and Yew}}.
* [[Computer Equals Monitor]]: Averted in Case 2 of the first game. The group finds a cell phone with a broken screen, but some experimentation shows its internals are still fine, and another character is able to transfer a case-relevant photo off of it to another phone.
* [[Concealing Canvas]]: Edgeworth's office has a variation--instead of a painting canvas, it's the frame for a suit jacket he used to wear.
* [[Continuity Nod]]: Has plenty of these, usually when you meet up with a fellow character from another game.
** There's also a ''very'' minor one in Case 3: if you look behind the stage at the stadium, you can see a sign for "Troupe Gramarye", as well as the Gavinners' logo. Case 4 gives a reference to Phoenix getting hit on the head with a Fire Extinguisher {{spoiler|years before it happens}}.
** If you examine the sign up during the re-creation scene, it mentions the Gavinners and Max Galactica vs Troupe Gramarye as upcoming events.
** At one point, Franziska discounts some evidence by pointing out that, "people can't fly". Edgeworth then claims to have worked on a case involving a flying person (3-5), and after a pause, Franziska realizes that she's actually worked on ''two'' (2-3 and 3-5).
** Also in Case 3, we see {{spoiler|Phoenix, Maya and Pearl on a boat}} in the background near the entrance to the park. [[Easter Egg|But only if you go there before there's any real reason to do so]].
** Kay asks if she can keep a bear statue that she found in Edgeworth's possession, referencing 2-4.
** Don't forget, if you examine the Judge's seat in Case 4, you get an exchange about Edgeworth having a nightmare about being squashed by the Judge's gavel. This nightmare is a reference to the one Phoenix has at the beginning of 2-1 and 2-4. Same case, if you examine the {{spoiler|fire extinguisher in the Court Hallway, Edgeworth will muse how a person getting hit over the head with that could lose a memory or two... which is exactly what happened to Wright in 2-1, when he was bashed over the head with one by that trial's villain Richard Wellington prior to the trial}}.
** On the airplane, Edgeworth recalls a traumatizing experience when {{spoiler|the plane has a major case of turbulence that reminds him of an earthquake, then he sees an elevator, lampshades this, then sees a dead body inside. You have to respect the guy for being able to hold it together for the entire case, the only time he panics is just after he sees the body}}.
** Manfred Von Karma boasts that he would have found Manny Coachen guilty in three minutes.
** ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' gives Gregory and Badd having a conversation about [[Running Gag|ladders and step ladders.]]
*** This also appears in the first one, between Edgeworth (ladder) and Kay (step-ladder). Kay comments that from a thief's perspective, the best kind is a rope ladder. Miles thinks that from a prosecutor's perspective, all ladders are equally guilty - of being dangerous during an earthquake.
* [[Continuity Porn]]: Beside being a [[Midquel]] starring Edgeworth, Gumshoe and Franziska, minor characters {{spoiler|Ema Skye, Winston Payne, Sal Manella, Lotta Hart, Wendy Oldbag, Maggey Byrde, Mike Meekins and Missile}} also return. {{spoiler|You cross-examine the ''judge'', for crying out loud}}.
** In the third case of the game, {{spoiler|Phoenix, Maya and Pearl}} can be seen [http://i45.tinypic.com/24eueyh.png on a boat in the background], {{spoiler|[[Easter Egg|but only if you go to that area before you have any reason to]]}}.
** Also in the third case, there is a Stage with the Gavinners band logo on it and a little sign (that can only be seen during scrolling sequences) saying " <- Troupe Gramarye". And lets not forget the 'Love Letter' from Viola of Tender Lender...
** If you're paying ''very'' close attention in the third case as well, you may notice that {{spoiler|the real Proto Badger is the Bellboy Who Swore the Affidavit from the first game}}.
** A [[Running Gag]] in the first three games is a detective in Criminal Affairs talking to himself, usually image training or some sort. In "Rise from the Ashes", he can be found writing a novel where the killer uses a tape to fake a gunshot, which is exactly what {{spoiler|Calisto Yew}} did in "Turnabout Reminiscence".
** Continued in ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'', which already has confirmed reappearances of {{spoiler|"John Doe" (Shelly de Killer), Frank Sahwit, Polly the Parrot and Gourd Lake}}. Plus, there will be a flashback case involving {{spoiler|Gregory Edgeworth}}.
*** Pretty much the entire Case 3 of ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' is this. But it doesn't stop there, you also find out {{spoiler|who the Chief Prosecutor who gave Manfred Von Karma the penalty was}} and {{spoiler|who brought down Lang's family reputation in Zheng Fa}}.
* [[The Corpse Stops Here]]: Lampshaded if you press Lang on his being the first to find Mask DeMasque II's body. Edgeworth will point out that Kay was suspected because she was the first to discover {{spoiler|Manny Coachen}}'s body.
* [[Cosmetically Advanced Prequel]]: Case 2 features a camera (possibly "smart" given the owner is described as playing with it) phone, while Apollo Justice has a (already slightly dated at the release) flip phone. Further, {{spoiler|case 4, which is set before anything else in the series}} has a color video camera with sound, while the original Wright trilogy had all still pictures in black and white.
* [[Dark Reprise]] {{spoiler|Ambassador Alba}} gains a darker, menacing version of the majestic Cohdopian national anthem as his new [[Leitmotif]], which was previously used as the two ambassadors' leitmotif. The change is so dramatic, you really have to listen really, '''''REALLY''''' closely in order to realize that it's the same piece, only played in a minor key and smoothed over heavily.
** The sequel gives us three notable ones: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkXn8XhXglcOne of Lang's theme], {{spoiler|1=[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1e1EFqVIj4&feature=related One of Kay's]}}, and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfmA70XK0uw&feature=relatedthe theme for the SS-5 incident] is a tragic remix of the Zheng Fa Presidents theme. {{spoiler|And with good reason}}.
* [[Death in the Clouds]]: The second case "Turnabout Airlines".
* [[Deceased Fall Guy Gambit]]: Attempted by {{spoiler|Quercus Alba}}, much to Lang's outrage. Also {{spoiler|Calisto Yew}} was originally planning to make it look like Byrne Faraday and Mack Rell killed each other.
* [[Difficulty Spike]]: The last third of the final case of ''Ace Attorney Investigations'' has parts that are harder than almost anything else in the game. The last part of the third case is also unusually difficult.
* [[Diplomatic Impunity]]: {{spoiler|Plays a part in the final case}}.
* [[Disc One Final Boss]]: {{spoiler|1=Shih-na/Calisto Yew in Case 5. From the start of the case, it's quite obvious to the observant player that Shih-na is really Calisto Yew and likely the guilty party in the murder of Manny Coachen. When you finally corner her, however, she says that while she's Calisto Yew, she really had nothing to do with Coachen's death. Moreover, the murder of Mask DeMasque II is still unresolved, making it obvious that there's still a long way to go in this case}}.
** {{spoiler|Manfred Von Karma in Case 3 of the sequel. Justified, as [[Foregone Conclusion|Gregory never had a chance to confront the real killer]]}}.
* [[Dodge the Bullet]]: {{spoiler|Edgeworth}} in Case 4.
* [[The Dragon]]: {{spoiler|Calisto Yew who works for Quercus Alba's syndicate and is his accomplice in the final episode}}.
** {{spoiler|Bansai Ichiyanagi}} to {{spoiler|Ou's impostor}} in ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2''.
* [[Dramatic Irony]]: The flashback cases are full of this from the player's point of view (and no doubt a [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]] from the point of view of the characters): for example, when {{spoiler|von Karma tells Miles that he must become a famous prosecutor because "otherwise, it wouldn't be ''interesting''"}}, Miles seems to take this as reassurance, whereas any player who's followed the ''Ace Attorney'' series will realize that this is some rather ominous foreshadowing of {{spoiler|Case 4 in the first ''Ace Attorney'' game}}.
** Don't forget Edgeworth and Von Karma's lamenting over the fact that Edgeworth would have to wait until a later case before he could conduct his first "perfect" case. In ''Trials and Tribulations'' Case 4, {{spoiler|Edgeworth's first case ended prematurely, when Terry Fawles killed himself unwittingly due to Dahlia, resulting in a permanent mistrial}}.
* [[Dramatic Wind]]: Kay gets this at the end of Case 5, along with her [[Scarf of Asskicking]].
* [[Dude, Where's My Respect?]]: Edgeworth gets left out of the loop, pushed to the side, and is even in danger of losing his prosecutor position in the second game despite having brought down the smuggling ring in the first. Part of this is presuably to increase the challenge and force him to work on his own.
* [[Enemy Rising Behind]]: In the third case, when Edgeworth drops off the ransom money in an amusement park's [[Haunted House]] dining room and steps into the hall, a slumped, seemingly-lifeless costume stands up and begins creeping up behind him.
* [[Eureka Moment]]: Taken rather literally. Edgeworth cries this every time he performs a feat of logic.
** More traditionally, about once per case Edgeworth hits a brick wall in his deductions, only for someone to say or do something mostly unrelated that causes this. He immediately flashes back to a number of previous hints, and the player is given several new pieces of logic to sort through and reach a conclusion.
* [[Evil Laugh]]: {{spoiler|Calisto Yew/Shih-na and Quercus Alba}} both do this when cornered. The latter is [[Lampshaded]].
{{quote|'''Kay:''' Wow, you really know how to laugh at inappropriate moments!}}
* [[Expy]]: In the first game, we have a crime syndicate that does practically every evil activity in the book being investigated by Interpol. Sounds a lot like [[Street Fighter|Shadaloo]].
* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]: Zheng Fa, an Asian country where Shi-Long Lang hails from, which at least seems more Chinese than Borginia is any of the traits it's said to have.
** Cohdopia/Allebahst-and-Bahbahl are even more unclear. Fandom puts them anywhere from the Mediterranean to Eastern Europe.
* [[A Father to His Men]]: Shi-Long Lang, to '''all 99 of them'''. And he takes it to ridiculous extremes by remembering the birthday of ''the younger brother of the wife of the younger brother'' of one of his officers. {{spoiler|Taken to a more serious extreme later in the same case, where he takes a (fortunately non-fatal) bullet for Shih-na, who had immediately prior been revealed as a traitor and a mole planted by the smuggling ring Lang had been investigating. His reasoning? Because no matter what kind of backstabbing wench she really is, she's still his subordinate, and he's responsible for her}}.
** When Lang's men are counting off, he gets mad at the MIB (his assistant) because he believes they are all number ones. Later, all 99 of them count off "1!", and at the end, the MIB says that ''probably'' all 99 of them are there.
* [[Five-Bad Band]]: The smuggling ring.
** [[Big Bad]] -- {{spoiler|Quercus Alba}}.
** [[The Dragon]] -- {{spoiler|Shih-na}}.
** [[The Evil Genius]] -- {{spoiler|Ernest Amano}}.
** [[The Brute]] -- {{spoiler|Jacques Portsman}}.
** [[Dark Chick]] -- {{spoiler|Cammy Meele}}.
** [[Sixth Ranger Traitor]] -- {{spoiler|Manny Coachen}}.
* [[Five-Man Band]]: One of these assembles by the end of the last case:
** [[The Hero]] -- Miles Edgeworth.
** [[The Lancer]] -- Dick Gumshoe.
** [[The Smart Guy|The Smart One]] -- Franziska Von Karma.
** [[The Big Guy|The Big One]] -- {{spoiler|Shi-Long Lang}}.
** [[The Chick]] -- Kay Faraday.
** [[Sixth Ranger]] -- {{spoiler|Tyrell Badd}}.
*** This group is foreshadowed (at first literally) by the character portraits used on the chapter select screens.
*** In the sequel, the character portrait foreshadowing does not quite apply:
** [[The Hero]] -- Miles Edgeworth.
** [[The Lancer]] -- Tateyuki Shigaraki.
** [[The Smart Guy|The Smart One]] -- Franziska von Karma and {{spoiler|Gregory Edgeworth}}.
** [[The Big Guy|The Big One]] -- Dick Gumshoe.
** [[The Chick]] -- Kay Faraday.
** [[Sixth Ranger]] -- {{spoiler|Shi-Long Lang}}.
* [[Flash Back]]: {{spoiler|The fourth case is a playable flashback}}.
** To a lesser extent, so are Cases 2 and 3; they take place, respectively, two days and one day before the first case.
** {{spoiler|1=''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'': Case 3 is a flashback played from Gregory's perspective}}.
* [[Foregone Conclusion]]: {{spoiler|Victory in the second game's third case seems shallow when you're already aware that it's the very case that results in the first stain on Manfred von Karma's record and subsequently his killing Gregory Edgeworth}}.
** {{spoiler|Integrated into the gameplay. The point of final, big confrontation of Gregory's segment is not proving who the killer is, but proving Von Karma forged evidence}}.
* [[Foreshadowing]]: In Case 5, {{spoiler|upon pressing Shih-na's last statement, Franziska mentions never wanting to know what it's like to be falsely accused. And then who does Lang accuse towards the end of the case? Subverted in that she was ''falsely'' falsely accused as a ruse to investigate Allebahst once more}}.
** In Case 3, after Lang mocks Edgeworth's investigative skills, Shih-na comments that {{spoiler|she can barely contain her laughter}} in a deadpan tone. At first, it seems like a throwaway line, but it makes a lot of sense after you discover that {{spoiler|Shih-na is actually the [[The Hyena|human laugh track]] known as Calisto Yew, and is indeed holding back her laughter, since she's talking to [[The Comically Serious|Edgey]]}}.
** The shadow of the Yatagarasu is caused by {{spoiler|not one object as Franziska assumed, but a combination of multiple things}}. So's the real deal.
*** Along those lines, the real kidnapper of Lance Amano is {{spoiler|three people, including Lance Amano himself}}.
* [[Found the Killer, Lost the Murderer]]: In ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'', {{spoiler|Edgeworth uncovers Shelly de Killer in Case 1, but is unable to find out who hired him before he escapes}}. On top of that, {{spoiler|it turns out he hadn't killed anyone that day anyways}}.
* [[Frothy Mugs of Water]]: Hardboiled [[Badass]] homicide detective Tyrell Badd's cigarette is eventually revealed to actually be a lollipop. He even keeps a mirror in his coat. However, it allows him "to keep an eye out on who is behind him." It's at least somewhat possible this is a Kojak reference. Who loves ya, Badd?
** And in Case 2, there's a man completely surrounded by variously shaped bottles, some of which are the right shape or color to hold something far stronger than wine, and he still makes reference to having a calming glass of 'grape juice'. I think it's safe to guess they're doing it on purpose now.
* [[Futureshadowing]]: All over the place.
* [[Gag Boobs]]: {{spoiler|The Pink Princess}} in has impractically large thingies.
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: In Case 5, Shi-Long Lang even goes as far to call {{spoiler|Quercus Alba}} a bastard.
* [[The Ghost]]: Phoenix Wright. He's referred to obliquely as "him", "that lawyer", "a certain defense attorney" and even "the guy in the blue suit", but never by name (even though it's no big secret that Phoenix and Edgeworth {{spoiler|and Larry}} are friends), and isn't seen onscreen except for in an easily missable easter egg.
* [[Glasses Pull]]: Shih-na and Lang do this a lot. At some points, they seem to have put on sunglasses while offscreen ''for the sole purpose of doing this''.
* [[Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!]]: Detective Badd is 53 (later 60, with the same sprite) but he looks pretty damn good for his age.
* [[Guide Dang It]]: Though this game has much fewer [[Guide Dang It]]s than its predecessors; however, one testimony in the third case is incredibly bizarre. {{spoiler|Lang says that it was no coincidence that Lauren Paups and Oliver Deacon/Colin Devorae were reunited in the Amano house, and thus were able the two of them were able to plan the kidnapping as a father-daughter team. The correct answer is to prove that there were three kidnappers to disprove Lang's description of the kidnapping as a two-person job}}.
** The Logic Chess battle against {{spoiler|Bansai Ichiyanagi}} in Case 4 of ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' could be considered this. Among other things, it requires you to go back on previous lines of questioning to discover options that weren't there before.
* [[Hardboiled Detective]]: Homicide detective Tyrell Badd.
* [[Hoist by His Own Petard]]: {{spoiler|In the final case, Quercus Alba shows you a wound he got defending himself to prove that DeMasque II's murder was self-defense (even though the wound was really from a separate incident). Later on, when you find unknown blood at the murder scene, the fact that he showed you this wound is the only reason you can prove that it's possible that Alba bled at the scene and that the blood could be his}}.
** {{spoiler|Edgeworth even calls on it after he discovers that the Yatagarasu's Key was the weapon used to injury Alba. After all, it was Alba himself that left the blade on the victim's corpse, expecting it to be discovered}}.
* [[Hurricane of Aphorisms]]: Lang quotes Lang Zi rather often.
* [[The Hyena]]: Calisto Yew.
* [[Informed Ability]]: In Case 3, upon examining the mic during the stadium re-creation, Edgeworth mentions the only instruments he can play are the flute and piano.
** Playing the flute is a reference to the [http://www.court-records.net/arts/tanomi2.jpg second album cover].
* [[Ironic Echo]]: Two near the end of ''Ace Attorney Investigations 2'': first, {{spoiler|Shelly de Killer}} repeats Edgeworth's "It's game over" line after the final villain is taken down, and during the ending of the case, {{spoiler|Mikagami}} mentions "the contradiction of law", which Shigaraki had spoken about earlier.
* [[James Bondage]]: This happens twice to Miles Edgeworth in this game: he's handcuffed in his seat early in Case 2, and in Case 3, he's ambushed by the kidnappers and tied up.
* [[Jump Scare]]: Admit it, while "scare" may be rather strong of a word, {{spoiler|Larry popping out of the fountain in the last case}} made you jump a bit.
* [[Karmic Death]]: {{spoiler|Mack Rell is hired to kill someone. After he carries out the shooting, the person who hired him to do it kills him with the same gun}}.
* [[The Khan]]: {{spoiler|When he's finally defeated, Quercus Alba [[The Khan|yells Edgeworth's name]] so forcefully that he can't even complete the word before he goes into full-on screaming}}.
** In the sequel, {{spoiler|Bansai screams Yumihiko's name after being defeated by him and Edgeworth in court}}.
* [[Kleptomaniac Hero]]: Averted for once, it's "Jotted down in the Organizer" unless the object is clearly handed to you, and you can examine it in detail.
* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: {{spoiler|Kay Faraday gets hit with this in Case 4 of the sequel}}.
** {{spoiler|As were childhood friends [[Jerkass Woobie|Manosuke Naito]] and [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|Souta]] [[Big Bad|Sarushiro]], though in their case, it only affected certain memories. Specifically those of their fathers}}.
* [[Last-Second Word Swap]]: Mike Meekins. "B-b-b-b-however, sir!"
* [[Laughing Mad]]: {{spoiler|Calisto Yew}}.
* [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]]: In Case 5, Kay describes Edgeworth's "Logic" ability through the sound effect it makes when you trigger it.
** In the same case, {{spoiler|Quercus Alba}} compares the whole thing to a game (though that's more a product of {{spoiler|his}} incredible arrogance), and {{spoiler|Larry Butz}} does not like the introduction he gets in Edgeworth's internal monologue.
* [[Life Meter]]: The usual explanation for how this works is absent here, but Edgeworth can evidently deplete his lifemeter by thinking wrong, if the player screws up the logic segments. Screwups take him "further from the truth", as he explains it.
* [[Like Brother and Sister]]: Gumshoe describes Franziska and Edgeworth as this, at one point.
* [[Locked Room Mystery]]: Case 4.
* [[Made of Iron]]: Agent Lang! {{spoiler|He took a bullet to the leg, then spent the rest of the case wandering around [[Only a Flesh Wound|like nothing happened]]}}.
* [[Magic Realism]]: Kay's "Little Thief" is a [[Schizo-Tech|technological equivalent]], being a cell-phone sized device able to generate room sized holograms.
* [[The Many Deaths of You]]: Every situation where it's possible to get a game over is unique, but they all end with the same line: "Thus, the truth was lost for all eternity."
* [[Marathon Boss|Marathon Villain]]: {{spoiler|Quercus Alba, who will take great pride in shooting down Edgeworth's logical arguments by abusing his [[Diplomatic Impunity|extraterritorial rights]]. This turns into an annoying struggle to find any way to convict him}}.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: {{spoiler|Quercus Alba}}. In the Japanese version, where his name is {{spoiler|''[[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Carnage Onred]]''}}.
* [[Mexican Standoff]]: The final confrontation with {{spoiler|Calisto Yew}}.
** {{spoiler|The last case of the sequel has one between de Killer and Houinbou - each has a knife to the other's neck}}.
* [[Mind Control Eyes]]: Cammy Meele has these since she's constantly nodding off. {{spoiler|Once her identity as the true murderer becomes apparent, she loses them}}.
* [[Miscarriage of Justice]]: {{spoiler|Issei Tenkai in the sequel}}.
* [[Mood Whiplash]]: Case 4: {{spoiler|from Kay Faraday standing up for Gumshoe to [[Tear Jerker|"I'm... not... gonna... cryyyyyyyyyyy!"]] to Kay [[Funny Moment|blowing her nose on Edgeworth's cravat]]}}.
* [[Musical Nod]]: Music from older games that was associated with [[The Cameo|characters from past games]].
* [[Musical Spoiler]]: Whenever you hear [[Crowning Music of Awesome|Confrontation: Presto]] playing, you know the person you're cross-examining is the killer. [[Played With]] in the sequel though, where Presto is often used for characters uninvolved with the murder as a major [[Your Princess Is in Another Castle|fake-out]]. Examples include  {{spoiler|Shuuji Orinaka in Case 2, and Shimon in Case 5}}.
* [[Mysterious Waif]]: The "Mysterious Girl" brought to Edgeworth's office in Case 4 of the sequel. {{spoiler|She is very quickly revealed to be an [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|amnesiac]] Kay Faraday}}.
* [[Names to Run Away From Very Fast]]: The [[Big Bad]] is an extremely unsubtle example of this. {{spoiler|Quercus Alba... or his Japanese name: '''Carnage Onred'''}}?
** Judging by evil sounding names, you would've expected {{spoiler|Tyrell Badd}} to be one of the villains, but this ends up being subverted.
* [[Never Speak Ill of the Dead]]: Badd had to yell at {{spoiler|Manfred von Karma}} for criticizing {{spoiler|Byrne Faraday}} right after his death.
** In the sequel, when {{spoiler|Naitou in the first case}} speaks ill of his fallen co-worker, almost everyone believe he's crossed the [[Moral Event Horizon]] by doing so.
* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: The official trailer showed several scenes of Kay Faraday assisting with the investigation of the second case. Edgeworth doesn't meet {{spoiler|17-year-old}} Kay until the beginning of Case 3.
* [[Not So Different]]: Like in Case 3-5, Edgeworth's [[First-Person Smartass|inner monologue]] is surprisingly similar to Wright's.
* [[Ominous Pipe Organ]]: There's a bit of pipe organ in  {{spoiler|[[Diplomatic Impunity|Quercus Alba]]'s}} [[Leitmotif]] just before it loops.
** Hakari Mikagami's theme in the sequel features it heavily, presumably to reinforce her "holy" appearance.
* [[Only a Flesh Wound]]: {{spoiler|Lang gets shot in the leg partway through Case 5. This does not seem to impede him at all}}.
* [[Origins Episode]]: {{spoiler|Remember the trial where Manfred von Karma got his first penalty? The IS-7 incident is what the trial was about}}.
* [[Passing the Torch]]/[[Take Up My Sword]]: {{spoiler|Kay Faraday}} does this. {{spoiler|She finds her father's diary and believes him to be the Yatagarasu, taking on the title and mission of Stealing Truth for herself}}. She's... not quite as effective.
* [[Phantom Thief]]: The first Yatagarasu. The second is a [[Highly-Visible Ninja]].
* [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything]]: Despite being a [[Highly-Visible Ninja|self-proclaimed thief]], Edgeworth's sidekick Kay Faraday never actually steals anything. She only steals the truth, apparently.
** This becomes [[Hilarious in Hindsight]] when you realise Phoenix Wright's supposedly non-thief sidekick Maya regularly expressed an [[Kleptomaniac Hero|interest in "acquiring" items from crime scenes]], whereas Kay does not.
* [[Perspective Flip]]: In most ''Ace Attorney'' games, the protagonist is [[Crusading Lawyer]] defending a wrongly-accused defendant. Edgeworth, however, is the prosecutor, reversing the roles in this game, where the defendants are indeed guilty of the horrid crimes they are accused of. Although the general gameplay isn't all-that different.  
* [[Precision F-Strike]]: In a series where swearing is rare, Lang beautifully delivers one to the villain of the last episode.
{{quote|'''Lang:''' {{spoiler|Quercus Alba}}! You BASTARD!}}
* [[Real Men Wear Pink]]: Edgeworth's suit.
** Detective Badd, the [[Hardboiled Detective]] who likes lollipops.
* [[The Reveal]]: {{spoiler|Shih-na}}'s [[Laughing Mad]] moment.
* [[Rule of Three]]: In most of the cases, the third person to come under suspicion is the actual killer.
* [[Sequel Difficulty Drop]]:
** In nearly every situation, Edgeworth's inner monologue will make it clear even to Gumshoe what you're supposed to do next. When you press the testimony for which you must present evidence, Edgeworth will think- and sometimes say out loud- that there is something suspicious about that part, and if you reach the end of the testimony, Edgeworth will make some commentary on the testimony, providing a hint as to the evidence that must be presented (in Case 5, Edgeworth will say once that the relevant evidence was hidden away, and is referring to {{spoiler|the wire inside the clock in Babahl}}). This is probably because many fans mentioned they liked the way he thinks {{spoiler|during his small turn as defense attorney in the third game}}.
** This is perhaps [[Justified Trope|justified]] because you're playing as Edgeworth this time, not Wright. Edgeworth is a lot more analytical and perhaps has an easier time reaching conclusions.
** Penalties in the game always take off 10% of your life bar, thus you have 10 chances before a game over, which is pretty easy going compared to the roller coaster of penalties amounts in the previous games. {{spoiler|The penalties are beefed up to 20% when Alba gets annoyed at one point by your constant time wasting with your questioning, so you only have 5 chances left}}. Although in the sequel's final case, the final boss {{spoiler|Souta Sarushiro beefs up the penalty to ''50%''}}.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The painting hanging in the airplane stairway is a reference to ''[[wikipedia:Napoleon Crossing the Alps|Napoleon Crossing the Alps]]'' by Jacques-Louis David.
* [[Snot Bubble]]: Cammy Meele. {{spoiler|She actually ''[[Invoked Trope|invokes]]'' it with a bubble blower}}!
* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: While {{spoiler|Calisto Yew's}} theme seems like the appropriate track to be played after {{spoiler|Shih-na's [[The Reveal|Reveal]]}}, the upbeat theme doesn't mesh well with the fact that {{spoiler|she was [[Laughing Mad]] not even a second ago}}.
** It seemed odd that the heroic and noble Great Revival heralds the arrival of {{spoiler|Manfred von Karma}}.
* [[Staring Contest]]: The fourth case reveals that Edgeworth once won a glaring contest against his own reflection. Somehow.
* [[Statute of Limitations]]: A major plot point in the IS-7 incident.
* [[The Syndicate]]: The smuggling ring.
* [[Take That]]:
{{quote|'''Edgeworth''': You know I've seen it occur a lot recently, and it's been bothering me greatly...
'''Edgeworth''': ... but why does nobody know how to [[IProduct|properly capitalize and space nouns anymore!?]]}}
* [[Tap on the Head]]: Done to Edgeworth by {{spoiler|Detective Badd}} in the first case, and the Proto Badger/{{spoiler|Lance}} in the third case.
* [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]]: Discussed as it is applied to the Pink Badger, the Blue Badger's [[Distaff Counterpart]].
{{quote|'''Edgeworth:''' I suppose this is the Pink Badger? But since it has the same design, doesn't it seem forced to call this one a female?
'''Kay:''' You think so? I mean, just look at how long her eyelashes are!
'''Edgeworth:''' That's the only difference.
'''Kay:''' And the fact that she's pink.
'''Edgeworth:''' Yes, and?
'''Kay:''' And her lips are red! See, lipstick!
'''Edgeworth:''' (thinking to himself) ''What? She has nothing to say about the giant pink ribbon, or is that too obvious?''}}
* [[That One Case]]: KG-8. The sequel features IS-7, {{spoiler|the case where Gregory caused Manfred von Karma to get a penalty}}. Then there's also SS-5, {{spoiler|the case where Lang's reputation got tarnished}}.
* [[Thief Bag]]: Kay, befitting a Great Thief such as herself (in her mind, anyway), wears a pink-and-white-swirl variation on her shirt. {{spoiler|If you look closely, you can see the same pattern on her father's bandanna, an interesting piece of foreshadowing}}.
* [[To Be Lawful or Good]]: Edgeworth's major decision in the last case of the first game, over whether to use a piece of illegal evidence to find the truth, boils down to this. {{spoiler|He uses it}}. In the second game, he's faced with a decision over whether to sacrifice his badge to continue to defend {{spoiler|Kay Faraday, and he does}}.
* [[Turn in Your Badge]]: {{spoiler|Edgeworth in the sequel decides to surrender it rather than give up on defending Kay. He gets it back in the ending though}}.
* [[Ultimate Job Security]]: {{spoiler|Jacques Portsman}}. It's revealed after his arrest that he managed to keep his job despite being under strong suspicion of misconduct and corruption.
* [[Wasted Song]]: The [[Crowning Music of Awesome|truly amazing]] marching remix of the Blue Badger's theme is played exactly once, in a part of the intro to case three that will take a good minute less than the song to finish.
* [[What Would X Do?]]: Edgeworth does this twice. Although the "X" is never named, Edgeworth is obviously refering to Phoenix.
* [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?|Why Did It Have To Be Quakes]]: Edgeworth apparently fears earthquakes enough so that the turbulence on an airplane produces a close enough effect that it triggers his phobia and he passes out.
* [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]: {{spoiler|Quercus Alba, who manages to keep going the lion's share of an entire chapter ''after'' having his [[Diplomatic Impunity]] revoked}}.
** Edgeworth ''literally'' gets to do this with several major characters through the "Logic Chess" feature. {{spoiler|Most notably Bansai Ichiyanagi}}.
* [[You Are Better Than You Think You Are]]: In Case 4 of the sequel, {{spoiler|Edgeworth repeatedly does this to an amnesiac Kay who thinks she killed someone and just can't remember}}.
* [[You Keep Using That Word]]: At one point, Prosecutor Portsman claims that there is a "mountain of evidence" pointing away from him. If you press him on this point, however, it turns out his "mountain of evidence" isn't really evidence at all; simply a claim regarding his supposed lack of motive. Edgeworth [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade]] on this:
{{quote|'''Edgeworth:''' ...Might I recommend that you review what the word "evidence" means.}}
** Especially bad because Portsman ''should'' know what the word means; he ''is'' a prosecutor, after all.
* [[You Meddling Kids|You Meddling Prosecutors]]: {{spoiler|Alba}} says this word-for-word at the end.

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