Turnabout Revolution

"Apollo Justice"

- But as shocking as that news was... it was only the beginning. The beginning of something big -- big enough to shake Khura'in to its very core. ...Revolution.

Episode 5: Turnabout Revolution is the fifth and final episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. A dispute over the artifact known as the Founder's Orb leads to Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes facing Phoenix Wright on opposite sides of a courtroom in a civil trial-turned-murder trial.

Afterwards, they travel to Khura'in, where the country in the midst of rebellious citizens attacking. While there, they find Minister of Justice Inga Karkhuul Khura'in dead and Dhurke Sahdmadhi is arrested.

Prologue
A broadcast of "The Plumed Punisher: Warrior of Neo Twilight Realm" - which featured a demonic looking Dhurke as its villain - was hijacked by the Defiant Dragons. Addressing the people of Khura'in, Dhurke pointed out the countless wrongful convictions that had happened under the Defense Culpability Act, before claiming that the Defiant Dragons had obtained a weapon known as the Founder's Orb, and vowing to personally dethrone the Ga'ran regime. "A dragon never yields. Nor will he rest until his revolution is complete." Dhurke declared.

Wright Anything Agency
At the Wright Anything Agency, Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright were watching a news report covering the television hijacking incident. Apollo wondered what Dhurke was planning, prompting Trucy to ask him if he knew Dhurke. Apollo admitted that he did, though he claimed that that was a long time ago. Before he could explain why he knew Dhurke, the man himself showed up at the agency and enthusiastically greeted him.

As Apollo got over his initial shock, Trucy asked Dhurke about his relation to her colleague, with the revolutionary leader acting surprised that Apollo had never mentioned him to anyone. He exuberantly assured Apollo that he could talk about him all he wanted, only for Apollo to try and convince Trucy to close the office early and leave, much to Dhurke's surprise and disappointment. Apollo asked Dhurke why he had shown up after so much time had passed. Dhurke claimed that he merely wanted to see Apollo, before admitting that he also wanted his help with something.

Dhurke introduced himself to Trucy, and remarked that she and Apollo would make a good couple - unaware that the two of them were half-siblings. With Trucy demanding to know how Dhurke and Apollo knew each other, Apollo told her about his childhood in Khura'in, explaining that he had never told anyone about his past because he hadn't wanted people to know he had been raised by a criminal. He admitted that he had assumed Dhurke had forgotten about him, but Dhurke flatly denied it, explaining that he had been unable to visit before due his work with the Defiant Dragons, and his fugitive status. Apollo assured him he had no issue with this, though he thought to himself how odd it was for Dhurke would show up and start acting like a parent after all this time.

With regard to why he wanted Apollo's help, Dhurke explained that he was trying to acquire the Founder's Orb, having lied about finding it in his broadcast. Apollo recalled a newspaper article that claimed the Defiant Dragons had stolen the orb, but Dhuke stated that this wasn't true. He informed Apollo and Trucy that one of his men had tracked the orb to Kurain Village, discovering it in the possession of Archie Buff, a doctor of archaeology who had taken up residence there. According to Ara'bal, someone - presumably the thief who had stolen the orb in the first place - had asked Archie to study the artifact, but the doctor had nevertheless agreed to hand over the orb to the Defiant Dragons. Dhurke explained that he wanted Apollo to be present as his lawyer when he took possession of the orb.

Apollo agreed, and questioned Dhurke about the orb. Dhurke explained that it had been found during an excavation eight years ago, and that according to legend, whoever solved a riddle associated it would be granted immense spiritual power. If the Defiant Dragons obtained such power, it would grant them the right to rule Khura'in, or so Dhurke believed.

Dhurke then presented Apollo with a plate of sushi, having assumed that his son was unable to afford three square meals a day. Still feeling distant from his adoptive father, Apollo declined, leaving Dhurke and Trucy to eat the sushi themselves. Afterwards, Dhurke presented his son with a photo of Jove Justice, Apollo's biological father, adding that it had been 23 years since his death. Apollo asked why Dhurke would give him such a thing now, and Dhurke answered that he thought it sad that Apollo didn't know what his father looked like. Apollo was unmoved by the gift, having never known Jove as a person, but nevertheless, Dhurke insisted that he keep hold of the photo, claiming that it took him a lot of effort to obtain it.

Before he, Dhurke and Trucy left for Kurain Village, Apollo learned from Trucy that Athena Cykes had left to pick up Phoenix Wright from the airport, owing to his return from Khura'in. She briefly pondered why Phoenix had cut his trip short, and why he and Cykes hadn't returned to the agency, before the three of them set off.

Where are they now?

 * Trucy put on a show with Mr. Hat, who admitted to missing Apollo as they shared a rivalry. Trucy resolved to visit Apollo in Khura'in.
 * Inspired by Apollo, Ur'gaid decided to focus his efforts in developing Khura'in's tourism industry.
 * Edgeworth personally congratulated Skye on achieving her dream of becoming a forensic scientist. Skye admitted that Nahyuta had requested her presence in Khura'in to assist in more investigations. Edgeworth suggested that she rise to the challenge, which Skye accepted, determined to aid Apollo in his efforts.
 * Much to Betty de Famme's annoyance, Apollo's reveal of the secret behind the "teleportation" trick meant that both she and Bonny de Famme were out of a job. Bonny suggested they accept Trucy's offer to join the Wright Anything Agency, ticking Betty off as it reminded her of her rivalry with Trucy.
 * Beh'leeb gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Faitah, whom she paralleled with Khura'in's new revolutionary era. She expressed hope that Tahrust and Dhurke would watch over them. Are'bal assumed his Defiant Dragons pose, intending to teach it to Faitah as a sign of manliness, which Beh'leeb laughingly rejected.
 * Cykes' workload at the office doubled due to Apollo's absence. She expressed determination to become a lawyer worthy of Blackquill's respect, despite secretly worrying that she might not be up to the task.
 * To the annoyance of Simon Blackquill, Bucky Whet delivered his order of noodles in a drunken state. As Whet suffered nausea once again, Blackquill mused on the difficulty of finding good help.
 * Uendo Toneido decided to work harder at his rakugo, creating a new story based on Taifu Toneido's murder. His split personalities intended for this to make up for tampering the crime scene, and also to provide the fourth personality, Owen, training as well.
 * Armie prepared herself for a new life outside of her "siege defense". Notably, the university where her father worked at invited her to go on a dig. She hoped to find a forgotten civilization and name it in her father's honor. She also planned on visiting Khura'in on another dig to see if Apollo was slacking off.
 * Maya returned to Kurain Village, determined to revolutionize her hometown now that she is the Master. Pearl hoped that the plans included a new shopping mall where she could buy new clothes, but conceded that it was not a priority.
 * Rayfa requested Amara for a "new Nayna", now that Amara had revealed her true identity. Amara mused that Rayfa had been rather demanding of her when she played the role of Nayna, suggesting that few would be willing to serve said role. Rayfa admitted that she intended to make up for acting spoiled, to which Amara requested for one of her shoulder rubs.
 * Much to Nahyuta's consternation, Rayfa began referring to him as "Braid Head", unaware that she was embarrassed to refer to him as her elder brother. Disturbed by her animosity, Nahyuta decided to consult Apollo on the matter.
 * Phoenix met up with an unseen Thalassa Gramarye, presenting her the photo of her former-husband Jove Justice, Apollo's deceased biological father . He suggested to her that they tell Apollo and Trucy the truth behind their shared parentage, now they had grown into capable adults in their own right, and she agreed.

Months later, Apollo wrote to Phoenix to give him a status update. He apologized for not writing sooner due to being swamped with work, reforming a legal system he'd only started to grasp.

In Khura'in, Apollo found that he has become sloppy in his work, owing to having taken on too many cases. In addition, Nahyuta, the Judge and Rayfa have been advertising his services as he remains the only defense lawyer in Khura'in, giving him a backlog of several hundred cases. Backed into a corner, Apollo responded in the only way he knew how...



Bad endings
There are four points in the game where the player may receive a bad end, should the player run out of penalties; once during the civil trial, and three times during the Khura'in murder trial.
 * If Justice is unable to prove the treasure is the Founder's Orb during the civil trial, the judge will rule in favor of the plaintiff, permanently ending the hope for revolution in Khura'in and causing Wright and Justice's relationship to never be the same again.
 * Should Inga's murder trial end after Dhurke is found dead, but before Amara or Nahyuta confess to the murder, Justice will muse that they never got the truth out of Amara, Dhurke was found guilty for the case twenty-three years ago, and the truth was lost.
 * If the trial ends after Amara confesses, but before Ga'ran is implicated for the murder, she is arrested and tried for his murder, while Dhurke was found guilty for the case twenty-three years ago, and the truth was lost.
 * If Justice fails at proving Ga'ran's guilt, the allegations against her are dismissed. Dhurke is proven innocent for Inga's murder, but the truth behind his death and the case twenty-three years ago remains unsolved. Justice is forced underground to escape the queen's agents, and joins the Defiant Dragons, hoping to one day bring revolution to the country.

References to other cases

 * While in the caves, Apollo Justice tells Dhurke about some of his previous court experiences, such as events from Turnabout Trump and Turnabout Corner, as well as meeting prosecutors Klavier Gavin and Simon Blackquill.
 * When in Archie Buff's study, the Sacred Urn seen in Reunion, and Turnabout and The Stolen Turnabout can be seen next to a statue of Ami Fey holding a Shichishito similar to that of Bridge to the Turnabout. The scroll depicting Misty Fey also makes an appearance; humorously, Buff's restoration seemingly included the gravy which Pearl vandalized the scroll with.
 * When examining the computer in Archie Buff's home, the letters BSI appear. This may be a reference to the company Blue Screens Inc from Recipe for Turnabout.
 * Prior to the civil trial, Cykes asks Justice what case they're taking on today. She asks him if it's a locked-room mystery, a suspect with a flimsy alibi, or a dying message. This could all be a reference to her own case in the game, Turnabout Storyteller, as the case involves all three.
 * When Paul Atishon claims to have seen Datz Are'bal hit Archie Buff at his desk, Apollo points out that since there was a bookcase in between the desk and the window, the only way Atishon could have seen the murder was from inside the room. This is almost the exact same argument Wright used against Redd White in Turnabout Sisters.
 * While investigating Amara's Tomb, Apollo and Athena talk about Inga's grape juice, and mention Phoenix's consumption of it. Athena wonders if it was the "fermented kind," but Apollo states that Phoenix was in the hospital during that time, referencing the events of Turnabout Corner.
 * Despite proving himself innocent of the attempt on Amara's life, Dhurke is explained to have been found guilty due to allegedly forging evidence. Edgeworth, none too subtly, reminds Wright of the events that led to his disbarment as seen in Turnabout Succession.
 * While Edgeworth and Phoenix talk to Queen Ga'ran about not needing defense lawyers, she mentions that a lack of lawyers doesn't matter as long as prosecutors run perfect trials. Phoenix thinks to himself, "Perfect prosecutors and their perfect trials, huh..." to which Edgeworth objects, "Let's not get started down THIS path..." This references to the first Ace Attorney game, where Edgeworth cared only about his perfect record, having followed the philosophy of perfection from his mentor Manfred von Karma. Edgeworth's comeback alludes to his rejection of said philosophy over the course of his character development, as explored in subsequent games, namely Ace Attorney: Justice For All and Ace Attorney Investigations.
 * When presenting unrelated evidence to Edgeworth while investigating in Khura'in, Phoenix mentions how he heard from his sources about the investigations that Edgeworth had been involved in, referencing to the cases in Ace Attorney Investigations and Gyakuten Kenji 2. As a recurring joke, Edgeworth then mentions looking forward to Phoenix's source's next salary evaluation.
 * When presenting Inga's autopsy report to Edgeworth, he claims that it is ironic that a man tasked with upholding the law ended up breaking it. Phoenix then comments that that has happened a number of times back in the U.S. as well to which Edgeworth claims that the worst offenders have been put away.
 * When investigating the late Inga's room, a bottle of jet-black "Je Suis L'Belle!" hair dye can be found on his desk, a reference to Florent L'Belle's brand of cosmetics mentioned in The Monstrous Turnabout. While not explicitly mentioned, it is hinted that Amara used the dye whenever she needed to masquerade as Ga'ran to perform spirit channelings, and later, to channel Inga and Dhurke, by dyeing her white hair black.
 * At one point Maya calls herself an "Ace Spirit Medium." This nickname was first used in The Stolen Turnabout.
 * The attempted assassination of Amara Sigatar Khura'in and subsequent trial bears a strong similarity to the trial of Zak Gramarye. Both had the defendant being forced to run away to avoid being arrested, both had the lead attorney being suspected of forging evidence which lead to the public's view of the courts to diminish and in the aftermath of each case, the lead attorney taking in the child of someone involved in the case. Incidentally, both of the two children who were taken in turned out to be half-siblings from the same mother.
 * Apollo's final pointed-finger pose causing a windstorm that knocks down the guards is a nod to the anime adaptation of the series, where this action is frequently seen as a visual equivalent to the games' use of speed lines that appear behind a character emphasizing the end of their argument.

References to popular culture

 * The Yashichi, a recurring pinwheel-like symbol in many Capcom games, can be seen as a desktop icon by examining the E-Mail piece of evidence.
 * Upon examining the statue in Archie Buff's study, the Statue will shout out "EX-TER-MI-NATE. EX-TER-MI-NATE. DES-TROY ALL TAR-GETS/HU-MANS." This is referring to the well known quote of the Daleks from Doctor Who.
 * Upon examining the Statue with Armie present, she will state that the statue is an alien weapon that destroyed an entire ancient civilization. This is reference to the planet Gallifrey from Doctor Who; the entire planet was originally thought to have been destroyed by a weapon known as "The Moment".
 * When examining the bird/plane-like figure in Archie's study, it leads to Apollo and Dhurke having a ladder vs. stepladder-like conversation, where they question whether it's a bird or a plane. This is a reference to the saying "It's a bird, it's a plane, no it's Superman!" from the Superman comics.
 * Paul Atishon's campaign poster that reads: "Reclaim the glory of Kurain" may or may not be an indirect reference to Donald Trump's presidential campaign slogan: "Make America Great Again." Later, when he first shows up in court and begins making his pitch, he uses the line, "Ask not what you can do for your country," a nod to President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address.
 * While accessing Buff's computer, Sarge says that "a modern day warrior must be well-versed in technology... and have mean, mean pride!" This is likely a nod to the song "Tom Sawyer" by the Canadian rock band Rush and its opening line"A modern day warrior // Mean, mean stride // Today's Tom Sawyer // Mean, mean pride".
 * When Apollo questions Pearl about why Archie Buff was at the bus stop, she lies and says that rain spirits were at the bus stop. This could be a reference to the bus stop scene in My Neighbor Totoro, where Totoro was waiting for Catbus to arrive.
 * After Ema reveals that Buff has stolen many of the artifacts he was researching, she claims that he was a "classic treasure hunter," to which Athena ponders whether or not Buff had "thrilling adventures in exotic places, risking life and limb for glory." Apollo then states that it was unlikely that Buff was the star of his own movie series. This is a nod to the Indiana Jones movie series.
 * If Apollo presents incorrect evidence during the civil trial, one of the responses will include Phoenix mentioning how a gambler once sang, "you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em," and The Judge will chime in to say he likes that song, finishing the chorus. This is a reference to, "The Gambler," a song sung by Kenny Rogers.
 * When pressing Paul Atishon's statements, at one point Apollo will describe him as, "a platform of sound and fury, signifying nothing." This is a nod to Shakespeare's play, MacBeth.
 * Upon starting a therapy session with Cykes, Sarge mentions how there is no room for women on the battlefield. Cykes retorts with "This G.I. Jane's always ready for a fight in the courtroom!" alluding to the 1997 movie G.I. Jane, a fictional movie about the first woman to train in a specific US Navy unit.
 * Prior to his breakdown, Atishon says "I-I... I am not a crook." This is a reference to a quote said by another corrupt politician and former US president Richard Nixon in a speech of his concerning "The Watergate Scandal".
 * When Armie Buff is about to stand for the first time, she states, "This is one small step for man... and one giant leap for me!" This is reference to Neil Armstrong's words when he first stepped on the the moon.
 * While discussing the reason for Inga's button being in the ash, Apollo will tell Athena that "Every puzzle has an answer," after hearing Ema's explanation. This is a line often used throughout the Professor Layton series, usually after solving a puzzle.
 * After Ga'ran changes into her prosecutor outfit, a shocked Wright and Justice exclaim that she underwent an "extreme makeover". This may be a reference to an infamous line uttered by a newly-mutated Ricardo Irving before his boss battle in Resident Evil 5, another Capcom game.

Typos and errors

 * Before Sarge opened the computer, she said: "Ha ha ha ha ha! Leave it me!" when it should be "Ha ha ha ha ha! Leave it to me!"
 * During Ur'gaid's flashback to when Are'bal exploded firecrackers in the bazaar, the textbox will sometimes erronously say "Datz" even though it is Ur'gaid who's talking.
 * When the judge questions Amara's survival, he says, "Her Eminence Queen Amara yet lives...", though this is Ga'ran's title.
 * When Ga'ran is being accused of the murder, she says "You khave no evidence"

Name

 * Japanese - 逆転の大革命 (Gyakuten no Dai Kakumei lit. "Turnabout Revolution")