An average case, an average defendant, an average attorney, an average murder. With all of these, why shouldn't there be a normal trial?
But Phoenix Wright, recovering from his recent trials and tribulations, has a whole new challenge to face.
One thing goes wrong...and everything is out of balance. The typical trial has a twist and suddenly, Phoenix is up against a whole series of cases, and there is a storm in the distance. It will take more than Phoenix and his friends to endure the crisis ahead. The final trials of Phoenix Wright are about to begin.

Hi, my name is Danchat and I'm new to Ace Attorney Online. I've played many of the featured trials and I think this website is a dream come true-being able to make our own cases. My goal is to make my trials the best I can make them, so I've read every topic on tutorials and requirements and tips and tricks and everything. After months of tweaking I'm ready to show AAO my trial-and eventually (hopefully) more trials. My main goal is just for you to enjoy this trial, and I really hope you do.
If you have any comments, don't hesitate to post anything. I want to hear your thoughts, ideas, and criticism. I want to make this trial as best as it can be, so please, go ahead and tell me what you think.

Phoenix feels the need to defend Mike Meekins, even though he is recovering from a recent traumatic trial. Though it seems like everything should be normal, something happens, and Phoenix has a new mystery to tackle. But will that jeopardize Meekins and get him guilty?

Familiar characters reappear, as does Phoenix's new mystery, and a peculiar case turns up that somehow relates an acquaintance of Phoenix and his enigma. A closed room case challenges him as he attempts to save his only lead.

CHARACTERS:
* Mike Meekins – His dialogue needs a fair bit of work. He would never say “Oh my goodness gravy ITS A DEAD BODY”. His introduction is also a bit weird. “MIKE *pause* MEEEEEEEEKINS” You did get his sense of duty down well.
* Phoenix Wright – He was in character for the most part. He abused Payne way too much, though.
* Maya Fey – She was OK. I still don’t get why she brought Pearl.
* Pearl Fey – The one thing I don’t get is why she hid the evidence. Granted, she’s jealous on Maya’s behalf for Phoenix’s affections, but hiding evidence over it?
* Judge – This one you did well. The only problem was checking the watch.
* Winston Payne – Payne is pretty out of character. He has a trap, withholds important information and cuts off the witnesses. I also don’t think he would have let Meekins testify. He also needs to use “rookie” and “amateur” a lot more.
* Dick Gumshoe – He was decent. There are no specific problems with him, but he was just a bit off for my tastes.
* Jake Marshall – Ehh… He didn't really do much.

LOGIC:
* On the first cross-examination, did you really have to tell us EXACTLY what the first contradiction was, and tell us what evidence was in the second contradiction?
* The second testimony feels… forced. You know there has to be a contradiction on that last statement. Also, why would testimony from the defendant be recognized as evidence?
* You also give us the contradiction in testimony three.
* Testimony four just feels strange. Meekins’s interjection is very abrupt. There's no contradiction, so there's nothing else to say.
* Testimony five… OK, I expand on this in story.
* The proof of suicide, I feel, is very weak. You proved premeditation, not premeditation of a suicide.
* I'm not quite sure why the gloves are bloody or why Darryl didn't just wait to kill himself after Marshall had passed by.

PRESENTATION:
* I recommend that you take a look at the original AA games and see how they format their frames. It’s not necessary, but it helps from a presentation standpoint if you also follow the same “rules” for lines. The enter key is your friend.
* Your music is all over the place, and it’s a bit distracting when the player constantly thinks “That’s new”. You need to be able to use your tracks more than once. There is no reason to have 4 pursuit tracks and 3 objection tracks, especially in a 1,000 frame trial.
* I would change the track for your introduction. AAI1-3 opening theme just isn’t the background music for a murder in progress.
* The grammar needs improvement, but not with the sense of urgency that a lot of the newer trialmakers do. You will not believe how many writers struggle with this. I do recommend that you read over your trial. Exclamation mark abuse was painful.
* You were able to get your feet wet with sound effects. That’s a good start.
* Special effect use was good.
* You used the gavel effect. Good…
* In profiles, upload an external sprite of Payne in PW era.

STORY:
* I would not have made the mysterious voices thing as prominent as you did. Usually, if you feature something that highly, it is directly relevant to the case.
* Why was Franziska’s whip there, besides physically abusing the prosecution?
* I do like what really happened. This is Ace Attorney; it’s supposed to be crazy. When was the last time we had a normal case? That it was really a suicide was a nice twist, even if I did feel it was a bit predictable. (I’m not sure what others think.) By far, this was the best part of the case.

MISCELLANEOUS:
* Passwords are a nice idea, but you don’t really need them. There’s a save function.
* You shouldn’t be speaking directly to the player.
* Err… How did Meekins get on the stand?
* Payne should never have objected before Phoenix even pressed.
* Everybody really overreacts to the contradictions.

CHARACTERS
Mike Meekins - I really used him mainly as comedic relief....which a defendant probably shouldn't be. I'm not sure exactly what to do with his dialogue...
Phoenix Wright - One of the things I focused on was getting him right-because if his dialogue was shabby, it would really bring down the whole case. I think I should limit the abuse on Payne, yes, I think presenting the whip on him twice was a bit overboard.
Maya Fey - You're right, I didn't get her character down. I should play the games again to review, but do you have any suggestions on her character?
Pearl Fey - Basically an excuse for the evidence to be missing. I could have probably thought up a better way, but if it ain't broke...
Judge - Would there be a better time filler other than the judge looking at his watch? Plus, should the judge side with the prosecution more? That's how it is for most AA cases, but the judge was pretty impartial this time around.
Payne - I think I may remove the trap. It doesn't match with the evidence that Meekins isn't in the same department. I'll get Payne's dialogue looking better soon.
Gumshoe - There isn't many ways to use him anymore, with salary cuts and easy contradictions being overused......
Marshall - Usually, the main witness should be impressive, or somewhat impressive. I'm not sure how to expand on him.
LOGIC:
Okay, yes, you're right, I shouldn't give way those easy contradictions. I made the case too easy, even for a beginners' case.
I know Meekins's testimonies (and interjections) are a little strange, but I'm not sure how else to do it.
The proof of suicide....yeah, it is weak. But I don't think I can change that.
I don't recall the gloves being bloody....but I the gloves are almost obsolete because they aren't used for any contradictions. Should I get rid of the gloves? But then there isn't enough evidence....
The logic isn't and can't be perfect, but I'll see if I can change anything.
PRESENTATION
After I wrote the case, I went back and hit the enter key a lot, but I should probably go through another time.
One of the main problems, I admit, was that I wrote the whole case in a month but for the past few I've been editing it. It's not a bad thing, I've read all the guides and tips on this website and that has made it much better than the first version. At some points, I had to get rid of some ridiculous stuff from my trial.
I think the music is average - should I play themes longer instead of switching? Or should I re-play themes later on? (Agreed, I liked using different versions of objection and cornered.... ) Or when Meekins interrupts (twice), should the music continue or should I switch to eccentric? Or switch to something else?
You are completely correct about the opening music. Do you recommend for a prologue theme?
I really focused on the grammar and correct spelling, and I know what you're saying with the struggling writers. I'm a bit of a writing perfectionist, and I can't stand misspelled words. Bad grammar gives a trial a bad taste.
I eased in on the sound effects.
Not sure how to get Payne's normal profile.....(but do I really even need his profile? I guess he was in the games....)
Did you like the custom map I made?
STORY:
Yeah, I figured someone would get on me about the whip, and I considered cutting it, but I kept it. It will have a little more meaning in the second case. (but admittedly, not much)
The mysterious voices thing is what links this case to the next upcoming cases. I know, it really misdirects you, but it will have significant meaning in the future. (And if it wasn't for them, there wouldn't be a need for a new series.... )
A really basic case can be boring (case 1-1 *ahem*) so I decided to make it exciting. I'm glad you liked that part.
MISC:
The passwords are really for my benefit. I don't use save points that often.
If Phoenix shouldn't be talking to the player, then what should I do? I'm out of ideas....
How did Meekins get on the stand? You mean when he was interjecting? I don't know.....(it's an AA thing I guess)
I know Payne shouldn't have objected when the player pressed, but I thought it was pretty funny.
Doesn't everyone always overreact? Well, I guess not as much....
Again, thanks for playing! There's an easter egg hidden in the case, since you gave me this review I'll give you a hint: Use both passwords and try presenting something else to Payne.....(other than the whip)

OK, I think I'll change the text in the prologue, I do agree, it is a bit difficult to tell who's who.
I'll change some of the wording in the prologue. I don't recall a line passing the 4-line limit, but I'll take a look.
Huh.....should I totally discard my little intro to the game? Would that be okay?
Oh.... ..let me fix that Attorney's Badge.
Okay....I'll change the dialog with Nick and Maya to make it more for the perspective of the fans, and after T&T, and away from the introductions.
FYI - I was reading one of the guides on the website here and it told me to use an intro to the game and every character - however if you think it's a better idea to just get rid of them in the first place, then I'll discard them.

I'm sorry I didn't get it, but what do you mean by this?
I guess your explanation of Maya being there would work. Nick doesn't tell Maya about the trial but she figures out and shows up anyways.
I'm still re-thinking Meekins's intro. I wanted Maya to be more in character and to try to be friendly to him, but I haven't thought up of anything. If you have any ideas, go ahead and tell me.
Oops, I thought I turned off Maya's music....I think I want to play the court lobby music for the whole time here.
So you really think I should change the reason why the evidence isn't present? I guess....
I have no idea how evidence works either.