Regina Berry

"Regina Berry"

- Alright! I look so cute in this picture! Don't you think I look cute? Don't ya? Don't ya?

"Maya Fey"

- You sure do!

"Phoenix Wright"

- No objections here!

Regina Berry is the naïve daughter of the late ringmaster of Berry Big Circus, Russell Berry. She works as an animal tamer at the circus alongside Regent the tiger and, until his death, Léon the lion.

A tragic accident
Bat, an acrobat at the circus, was smitten with Regina, and the two would often play practical jokes on each other. One day, Regina decided to cover Bat's scarf in pepper as a joke, so that he would sneeze. Later that day, when the two were playing while Regina rehearsed her lion taming with Léon the lion, Bat made a bet with Regina: if he could put his head in the lion's mouth, then she would have to go out on a date with him. Unfortunately, as he placed his head in the lion's mouth, he stirred up the pepper in his scarf, which caused the animal to sneeze and close his jaws on the unfortunate young performer. Due to being unaware of the pepper, the other performers later stated that Léon seemed to be smiling as he bit down on Bat, as a result of his sneezing expression. Bat's older brother Acro desperately tried to save him, but lost the use of his legs in the struggle and Bat was put in a coma. Regina did not understand the seriousness of Bat's condition, thinking he was only sleeping. This caused Acro to develop a deep resentment towards her.

Another tragic accident

 * Main article: Turnabout Big Top

Six months later, Regina had stolen the hearts of two of her fellow performers: Max Galactica, the flamboyant circus magician, and Benjamin Woodman, the circus ventriloquist. Both men professed their love to her on the same day, although since the shy Woodman had done it via the puppet "Trilo Quist", Regina thought it was the puppet who was in love with her, not the man.

Regina found a note that Acro slipped in her pocket telling her to be at the lodging house plaza or her "secret" would be exposed. Thinking that the note was meant for someone else, Regina posted it on the cafeteria notice board. That same night, her father was found murdered in the very place the note mentioned. Since Max Galactica was the only member of the circus without a solid alibi, he was accused of the murder and took on Phoenix Wright as his defense attorney.

Wright began to investigate the case, first meeting Regina in the circus's Big Top when her tiger Regent tried to "play" with him. Wright eventually uncovered who the true murderer was: Acro. It turned out that Acro's resentment and anger towards Regina for her naïvety had reached the point where he had decided to kill her. His plan was to lure Regina to the lodging house plaza underneath his room, and when she was in position, he would drop a bust of Galactica on her head, killing her. Unfortunately, the very naïvety that had infuriated Acro destroyed his plan. When Regina had put the note Acro sent on the notice board, it was found by her father, who knew what it was about, and went in her place. Since Acro could not see very well out of his own window, he mistakenly killed Russell, who was like a father to him.

When all that had transpired was revealed in court, Regina was shocked and upset, finally realizing the seriousness of both Bat's coma and her father's death. She then blamed herself for everything that had happened and burst into tears. Regina later resolved to stay by Bat's bedside until he woke from his coma, in Acro's stead.

An animal show and another murder

 * Main article: The Imprisoned Turnabout

Regina eventually began to take on more responsibilities at the circus, and continued to refer to her late father as its ringmaster and leader. In 2019, she was called to a local prison to perform an animal show for the inmates there; however, she found herself unexpectedly reunited with Detective Dick Gumshoe when a murder took place. To her horror, the suspect was her coworker Sōta Sarushiro, accused of killing his friend, prison inmate Manosuke Naitō. Fortunately, with Regina's help, prosecutor Miles Edgeworth revealed the true killer, and Sarushiro was set free.

A conspiracy unveiled

 * Main article: The Grand Turnabout

A few weeks later, in April 2019, Regina and Sarushiro were called as witnesses in the trial of Marī Miwa, whom Edgeworth had accused of being the real killer of Naitō. Unbeknownst to Regina, Sarushiro had killed Teikun Ō shortly before the trial by crushing him with one of the circus' balloons. During the trial, Edgeworth, with the help of prosecutors Franziska von Karma and Yumihiko Ichiyanagi, showed Miwa's guilt, as well as exposed a deeper conspiracy orchestrated by Bansai Ichiyanagi, but soon realized that there was another player in the events transpiring. Not long after, Regina returned to the circus with Sarushiro, where they were soon confronted by Edgeworth and his associates. Cornered, Sarushiro revealed his true colors, to Regina's shock. Though Sarushiro attempted to shift the blame, Edgeworth was able to prove him guilty as Ō's killer, and despite his protests Regina told him he had disappointed his friends at the circus and he would have to face the music.

Personality
"Maya Fey"

- Regina seems to be quite the hit with the men in the circus.

"Phoenix Wright"

- She must have some sort of strange power over them!

"Maya Fey"

- You're not kidding. Two people in one day! Even I want to profess my love for her!

"Phoenix Wright"

- (Me too! She's so cute...)

"Regina Berry"

- *giggle*

Since Regina was brought up at the circus, it is the only world she knows. As such, she has a very fantastical view of the world and is extremely naïve. She believes that when people die, they become "stars in the sky". This view infuriated Acro because she didn't appreciate the gravity of losing someone to death. She also doesn't understand that the Trilo Quist puppet was only that, a puppet. She thinks of the dummy as a tenor who sings in the circus and that the ventriloquist himself is just someone who hangs around with "Trilo".

Without realizing it, Regina often uses her looks to her advantage. Moe describes her as being "cuter than a little puppy Maltese" and people often give in to her demands with a single cutesy look from her. Her looks have also made her the object of affection of at least three of her fellow circus performers; Max Galactica, Ben Woodman and Bat.

When her father's murder case was resolved, she was reduced to tears because she finally realized all the misery she had inadvertently caused. After the trial, she seemed to become less naïve, although she still held her fantastical view of the world.

She claims to not be a big fan of pepper, although whether this is due to Bat's accident or not is unclear.

Name

 * Her Japanese stage name "Mirika" (ミリカ), comes from from her full name "Tachimi Rika" (立見里香).


 * "Regina" comes from the Latin word for "queen" or "princess". It may have been chosen due to her father doting on her or due to her tiara and scepter; possibly those accessories along with her name were meant to show her relationship with her father.


 * "Berry" was likely chosen for the pun-based name of her father's circus (Berry/Very Big Circus).


 * Her French surname was chosen for the same reason as in English; to provide the pun-based name of her father's circus. In the French version, the circus is called "Cirque Hullere" which is a play on the French word "circulaire", meaning "circular".