Breakdown

The breakdown is a special, normally one-off, animation that occurs when a witness (usually the true culprit of a case) realizes that he or she has been defeated. Such animations are normally quite long and over-the-top, especially in the later games. Other breakdowns are present for non-culprits, for example Lana Skye. Breakdowns are not to be confused with the "damage" animations which occur when a witness is briefly shocked, but soon recovers. "Damage" animations, unlike breakdowns, occur frequently and often in quick succession.

Villains

 * Frank Sahwit -- Suddenly grabs his toupée and throws it at Phoenix Wright's face, which then slides off in a comical fashion to reveal Wright's not-too-impressed facial expression. After Sahwit is revealed as the true murderer, he breathes heavily while pulling his shirt collar away for air, then froths at the mouth and collapses.


 * Redd White -- Lowers his head onto the witness stand, then rapidly lifts his head up in the air, screams, then suddenly slams his head and twitches on the stand.


 * Dee Vasquez -- Grimaces and clenches her pipe until it snaps in two.


 * Yanni Yogi -- Suddenly goes from his hunched and sleepy "Uncle" persona to his true self; upright and with a serious expression on his face.


 * Manfred von Karma -- Pounds the desk and roars while the events of the DL-6 Incident play rapidly behind him. He then bangs his head off the courtroom wall, pauses, then resumes much faster than before.


 * Damon Gant -- A lightning bolt strikes him, causing his hair to stick up and his clothes to look ragged as if he's being electrocuted. Later on, when he is finally beaten, he starts laughing and clapping, starting slowly but gradually becoming faster and faster as he leans back.

Witnesses

 * April May -- Crosses her arms over her face while she roars and the hearts on her blouse spins rapidly. She then suddenly uncrosses her arms, causing her breasts to bounce a few times.


 * Cody Hackins -- Bursts into tears.


 * Jake Marshall -- Acts as if he's been shot by placing one of his hands on his chest and reaching out with his other arm, while his poncho billows around him and he yells "NOOOOOO!!!" He then stands panting at the witness stand with his hand still on his chest.


 * Lana Skye -- Bites down on her thumb so hard that she draws blood.

Villains

 * Richard Wellington -- Laughs hysterically at Wright, rubbing his hands through his hair and over his face. Later, when finally beaten, he pulls on his scarf so tightly that he begins to lose air until his face turns blue and he passes out.


 * Mimi Miney -- First, she opens her eyes in mockery, twirling the beret on her fingers. When disturbed she presses her face into her beret with so much force that she resembles a ghost. When finally caught, she removes her beret, opens her eyes, and wipes away her tears.


 * Acro -- Tears suddenly begin to stream down his still-smiling face.


 * Matt Engarde -- When confronted as the client of de Killer, he then reveals the scar on his right eye which was hidden by his hair. In court, he scratches new scars into his face while repeatedly yelling "GUILTY!"

Witnesses

 * Shelly de Killer -- The radio he's using to testify explodes.


 * Adrian Andrews-- Screams "NOOOOOOOOOO!!" on the witness stand when the courtroom is zoomed out (the lack of an over-the-top breakdown is actually commented in-game by Wright, who, thinking that Andrews is the killer, is surprised that she doesn't break down in the dramatic way he is used to).

Villains

 * Dahlia Hawthorne -- When revealed to have killed Doug Swallow, she screams Mia Fey's name and turns to glares at her with demonic eyes, while the butterflies that usually surround her burst into flames. Later on, while she is being exorcised from Maya Fey's body, she puts her head down on the desk, while her spirit appears behind her, pale with crimson hair and also holding her head and screaming. Her spirit then reappears with a demonic glint in her eye and her red hair flowing out fire-like in every direction behind her. A wave of blue fire suddenly engulfs her and ten balls of blue fire appear in the shape of a Magatama, while scenes from her murder plots appear behind her.


 * Luke Atmey -- Laughs hysterically while speaking some verses when accused of being Mask☆DeMasque, then speaks rapidly when cornered later on. When he is finally caught, he crosses his arms over his face while slowly rising up, then suddenly uncrosses his arms, laughs hysterically and again begins to speak his verses very quickly.


 * Furio Tigre -- Roars so loudly that the lights in the courtroom go out and images of the murder appear behind him. He then stays frozen in place for a long time.


 * Godot -- His visor explodes and he recoils backwards. After telling Wright to call him by his real name, the wound concealed behind his visor begins to bleed, as if crying.

Witnesses

 * Young Phoenix Wright -- Bawls childishly.


 * Jean Armstrong -- Screams while the rose he was holding explodes in a shower of petals.


 * Terry Fawles -- After swallowing the poison in his hand, a trickle of blood flows out of his mouth. He then collapses onto the witness stand, dead.


 * Larry Butz -- Says "WHAT" multiple times while doing different facial expressions, then shouts "WHAT?!".

Others

 * Winston Payne -- Brings his arm up with a shocked expression on his face while his hair is blown away.


 * Viola Cadaverini -- Giggles her distinctive giggle, then silently starts crying.


 * Diego Armando -- Grips his coffee mug so tightly that it shatters, making his hand bleed.

Villains

 * Kristoph Gavin -- When revealed to have killed Shadi Smith, he slowly raises his fist in the air while the courtroom shakes and the dishes and lobster Olga Orly was carrying in her disguise levitate behind him. Suddenly he slams his fist on the witness stand and the levitating objects fall. Later, when his second murder is found out, he once again raises his fist, while the courtroom shakes, before slamming it onto the witness stand. He then crosses his arms in front of him, screams, his glasses fly off and his hair billows above him. He then leans over the stand, arms crossed and glares with a manic look in his eyes while his normally well-kept hair is now dishevelled. Later, after an innocent verdict was given for Vera Misham, Gavin laughs insanely with his hand over his face, and is taken away.


 * Alita Tiala -- Screams while holding her head while the wings on the front of her dress flaps wildly and feathers fly off.


 * Daryan Crescend -- Flails about madly, his pompadour slashing about like a sword.

Witnesses

 * Olga Orly -- Yells then slowly falls backwards, while her dishes and the lobster fall down in order onto the witnesses stand. Later, she pulls off her disguise to reveal her true identity. When finally defeated, she yells while her camera goes off and the dishes and lobster fall slowly behind her.


 * Wesley Stickler -- Freezes while his cape billows and the pages of his book turn as if he is being blown by a strong gust of wind. He then drops his book and collapses on the stand.


 * Wocky Kitaki -- Keeps down his attitude briefly while having a concerned look on his face.


 * Valant Gramarye -- Screams, then freezes whilst flowers and miniature flags pop out of his staff, rabbits appear on each shoulder and doves fly out from under his cape. Notably, his younger self produces two rabbits and four doves whilst his older self only produces one rabbit and one dove.

Others

 * Guy Eldoon --- Removes his hat and puts on a serious expression on his face.

Villains

 * Jacques Portsman -- Rapidly bites on the medal around his neck until it breaks off and he swallows it. He then faints.


 * Cammy Meele -- When Edgeworth begins to figure out her involvement, she drops her usual sleepy act, pushing her long hair behind her ears and begins to blow bubbles. When defeated, she blows many bubbles which then repeatedly barrage her.


 * Lance Amano -- Breaks his handcuffs then begins to cry massive tears.


 * Calisto Yew -- Begins laughing even more hysterically than usual, rocking backwards and forwards. She then pulls a gun on Edgeworth. Later, when confronted as Shih-na she laughs in the same hysterical way as before. When she is finally defeated, she spreads her arms wide and cackles madly with fangs in her mouth.


 * Quercus Alba -- When forced to drop his defenseless old man persona, he rises up to his full height and breaks his staff into pieces. When finally defeated, he screams Edgeworth's name while his skin cracks and is blown away by a strong gust of wind. He then screams again with the wind blowing his medals and hair upwards and spots of light appear above his head, the sound of a falling tree playing in the background. He then suddenly collapses into a hunched old man with an almost mummified face.

Witnesses

 * Zinc Lablanc -- A steadily increasing gust of wind blows right at him which forces his lips back to reveal his gums, as if he was in a centrifuge used for high-G training. The wind increases until he is blown over.

Others

 * Young Kay Faraday -- Bursts into tears.

Villains

 * Manosuke Naitō -- Bites down on his lip while spinning his gun faster than usual. He then starts tossing it back and forth before losing control and sending it up into the air, whereupon it dislodges something in the ceiling, causing various debris (including The Thinker, Mr. Ifly, a box of Samurai Dogs, and a doll of the Blue Badger) to land on his head, knocking him into his neck brace, before his gun lands on his head and knocks him out. Alternatively, as he throws seven guns in the air and seven items fall, the guns he throws into the air transform into references to previous cases when falling, before ending with his trademark gun and knocking him out. Though it likely was for a comedic purpose, he is the only person to be struck with The Thinker and survive.


 * Marī Miwa -- She and her pet fox fluff up in anger, then both scream in horror. Her pet jumps off her neck, and her fur coat turns into a number of ferrets which similarly jump off, leaving her shivering in a prison outfit.


 * Yutaka Kazami -- Blows up the dough he's working with to a huge size, then carves it into a sculpture of himself by rapidly punching the statue with his bare fists. He examines it for a moment, then draws a baster and slices it in half, in a manner reminiscent of a samurai.


 * Bansai Ichiyanagi -- His lighter sends up a huge plume of flame, burning his beard and hair clean off, revealing them to be fake. He then coughs out some smoke.
 * Sōta Sarushiro -- When he is confronted by Edgeworth, he snaps his fingers and Money the Monkey jumps on his arm. He signals two birds to undo his bunches and two squirrels to un-numb his face. Money then orders the animals it's finished and all the animals, including Money, jump off. Souta then proceeds to open his eyes cleverly and evilly. When he was finall defeated, he protests as his animals begin to attack him fiercely: first the birds strike his face, then Money the Monkey scratches his face, the cat jumps up and kicks his face, the squirrels pull strands of his hair apart so that a gorilla can punch his face, which sends him whirling until an elephant's trunk grabs the top of his head and pulls him off-screen as the sound of further brawling is heard.

Witnesses

 * Teikun Ō -- Roars mightily, letting all the air out of his body, leaving him flabby and disheveled.


 * Shūji Orinaka -- At one point when you destroyed one of his pieces in Logic Chess, he removes the chains he wears. Later on, he reacts as though he's being punched, getting knocked back and forth until finally his mouth guard (and some teeth) fly out. His bear Mark jumps off him, and he collapses.
 * Frank Sahwit -- Throws his toupee at Edgeworth. Unlike Wright, Edgeworth shows a shocked expression instead. (Although Sahwit quickly got his toupee back after a couple of mintues later.)
 * Delish Scone -- Speechlessly drops her bowl she normally stirs in and uses her right leg to pick up the bowl.


 * Tsukasa Oyashiki -- Reaches a hand up dramatically and cries a single tear.


 * Kay Faraday -- Puts her hands on her head and screams in agony as she starts to remember.


 * Tōko Mutō and Otome Itami -- Mutō begins slapping Itami's hair bun back and forth extremely fast, causing it to pop open, knocking Itami's glasses off and Mutō to the floor.

Logic Chess opponents

 * Mikiko Hayami -- The beartrap on her backpack snaps, making her jump with a shocked face.
 * Lotta Hart -- Starts exclaiming while looking disbelieved.

Recurring breakdowns

 * Frank Sahwit -- Tears his toupee off and throws it at the person confronting him.


 * Phoenix Wright -- Lowers his head onto the defense stand and holds his head with both hands in despair.