The Foreign Turnabout


 * For the demo version of this episode, see The Foreign Turnabout (demo).

Episode 1: The Foreign Turnabout is the first episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Phoenix Wright heads to the Kingdom of Khura'in to check up on his old friend Maya Fey. While sightseeing, his tour guide, Ahlbi Ur'gaid, is arrested on suspicion of stealing the precious Founder's Orb and murdering a guard named Paht Rohl.

Prologue
The kingdom of Khura'in is a peaceful country of spirit mediums and mystery located on the western edge of the Far East. However, there are currently revolutions around the kingdom, threatening to consume it whole. These actions, however, were not what Phoenix Wright had expected as he arrived in the kingdom a month prior.

April 23
Within the Tehm'pul Temple, a security guard was struck dead. His killer stood above him, realising he needed to blame someone else for his crimes, and knew exactly what to do.

Arrival
At 4:26 PM, after a long plane trip, Phoenix Wright arrived in a street in the Kingdom of Khura'in. Fascinated by the culture, he took plenty of pictures. He was interrupted by a boy who introduced himself as Ahlbi Ur'gaid, a nine-year-old tour guide and monk-in-training at Tehm'pul Temple. After some chatter, Ur'gaid told Wright that his good friend, Maya Fey, couldn't see him yet, as she was still training in the mountains. Wright had come to Khura'in to celebrate the end of her ascetic training with her. He came early because he was worried about her. Ur'gaid then took Wright to Tehm'pul Temple at 4:45 PM. After a brief history lesson on the temple, Ur'gaid explained that the main "attraction" of sorts was the Dance of Devotion rite, which took place once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The Song of Ceremony was sung during the dance. Wright learned that Ur'gaid told Fey about the temple for a full hour; he pondered that maybe Fey had grown up since he last saw her. Suddenly, bells signalling the start of the Dance of Devotion rang out, and Ur'gaid rushed Wright to the temple to watch the dance, but not before giving Wright a lyrics card with an English translation.

Arrest
The Dance of Devotion began and was performed by a girl Ur'gaid referred to as "Her Benevolence". During the dance, the police suddenly barged in and arrested Ur'gaid on the charge of treason. Ur'gaid was taken into custody just as the dance came to a close.

The High Court of Khura'in
Wright arrived in the accused lobby at 10:10 AM out of concern for Ur'gaid; he wanted to watch the trial. However, the bailiff resisted. After telling the bailiff he was not just a nosy foreigner, but rather, a lawyer, the bailiff was taken aback long enough for Wright to enter the courtroom. He was surprised to see Her Benevolence standing near the center of the courtroom. He heard the judge declare Ur'gaid guilty based off of something called a "Divination Séance", despite the trial having started mere moments before. The judge pointed out that séances performed by Princess Rayfa Padma Khura'in (otherwise known as Her Benevolence) are infallible, showing only the truth. Phoenix was confused by this, and wondered what Ur'gaid's attorney was doing, only to discover he didn't have an attorney. Rayfa ordered the judge to impose the highest penalty on Ur'gaid. When the judge agreed, Wright finally objected, going to the defense's bench. When asked, Wright stated he was an ordinary tourist, and nothing more, inquiring where Ur'gaid's defense attorney was. The judge explained that defense attorneys are not needed in Khura'in, as Rayfa's Divination Séances determined everything. When Wright saw how terrified Ur'gaid was, he decided to be his defense attorney, despite Ur'gaid not wanting Wright to defend him. When the judge ordered the bailiff to kick out Wright, the prosecution, Gaspen Payne, who had become Chief Prosecutor of Khura'in, objected, saying he would like to give Wright a chance and proceed with court in the manner of his previous country. Rayfa agreed, saying it could prove to be amusing, as it had been at least twenty years since a defense attorney had been present in the courtroom. Wright then notices that the gallery was saying hateful things about him and wondered why.

Payne gave his opening statement; Ur'gaid had been accused of larceny and murder. He explained that the Founder's Orb, a national treasure of Khura'in in which Khura'in's Holy Mother's soul, or mitamah, is contained, was stolen from the treasure room of Tehm'pul Temple; the dead body of an armed temple security guard named Paht Rohl, who was assigned to guard the Founder's Orb, and the empty treasure box that housed the orb were both found in the treasure room. The box had been forced open and emptied. Payne presented a photo of the crime scene and asserted that Rohl was killed by the treasure thief, and also presented Rohl's autopsy report, which states that he was killed due to cerebral contusion from a head injury between 12 and 1 PM the previous day. Wright then learnt of the Founder's Orb's importance; no one outside the royal family could so much as look at the treasure itself. Payne presented an eight-year-old newspaper article containing black-and-white photos of the treasure's box, which were the only photos of it in existence. Furthermore, he explained the box only leaves the treasure room once a year for a special New Year's rite. He added that there had been a string of thefts of historic artifacts from the temple. Payne claimed that to help with his family's finances (as they were by no means wealthy), Ur'gaid worked as a tour guide in addition to his training, and had decided to steal the treasure in order to help further. Wright asked Payne what the murder weapon was; Payne explains that the empty treasure box left behind at the scene had a large bloodstain on it, proving it as the murder weapon. He claimed that Ur'gaid went to the treasure room to steal the treasure at the top of the altar stairs, but ran into Rohl. In order to get away with the theft, he killed Rohl and fled after forcing the box open and emptying it of its contents.

References to previous cases

 * When Shah'do pops out of Ur'gaid's bag, the judge asks Wright if he wants to cross-examine the dog, to which Wright thinks "not this time." This is a reference toTurnabout Goodbyes and Turnabout Reclaimed, where Wright had animals take the stand.

References to popular culture

 * During the Divination Séance, the gallery cheers Rayfa on, saying "Long may you live and prosper!", to which Phoenix thinks to himself, "Hey! I want to live long and prosper too!". The phrase "live long and prosper" is the catchphrase of the Star Trek character Spock. Coincidentally, the release date of Spirit of Justice, September 8, 2016, is exactly fifty years after Star Trek first aired.
 * When being questioned by Phoenix, Andistan'dhin at one point asks "Whatchoo talkin' bout, Phoenix?" This refers to the catchphrase of the character Arnold Jackson of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes: "Whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis?"
 * When Andistan'dhin and Payne reveal how the teachings of the Holy Mother spoke to them, Phoenix thinks to himself "Ladies and gentlemen, I present: Brother Dumb and Brother Dumber..." This is a reference to the movie Dumb and Dumber.
 * When Andistan'dhin reveals his "rock star" persona, Phoenix thinks "And now for something completely different", a reference to the same quote from a 1971 British comedy based on Monty Python's Flying Circus.
 * While Andistan'dhin is on the witness stand Phoenix thinks to himself that he doesn't know a lot about music followed by "...but I've got chills, and they're multiplying..." Those words are a reference to the lyrics of the song "You're the One That I Want" from the musical film Grease.
 * When Ahlbi asks Phoenix to give him the time his be forced to waste back, Phoenix remarks to himself that he's a "lawyer, not a time lord". This is a reference to the Time Lord alien race from the British sci-fi show Doctor Who,
 * In case 1 when it is revealed that the Khura'in judge is unaware of what a cross examination is, Phoenix via inner monologue retorts ("A judge who doesn't know what a "cross examination" is... what fresh hell is this?"); "What fresh hell is this" is a famous quote used by early 20th century American wit and poet Dorothy Parker.

Other languages

 * Japanese - 逆転の異邦人 (Gyakuten no Ihōjin; lit. "Turnabout Foreigner")