Matt Engarde


 * "Matt" redirects here. You may be looking for Matt Moissat, the French localization name for Luke Atmey.

"Matt Engarde"

- Hold on a sec. I'm gonna ask my manager, OK?

Matt Engarde was an action star who played the titular character in Global Studios' The Nickel Samurai. He was the defendant in the murder of Juan Corrida.

Involvement in a suicide
Two years prior to his trial, Engarde dated his manager Celeste Inpax. Adrian Andrews, who would later became Engarde's manager, described them as being happy. However, he broke up with Inpax one day. Later, he learned that his rival Juan Corrida was planning to marry her. Knowing that it would hurt Corrida deeply, Engarde confessed to his fierce rival that he had dated her first. Corrida called off the marriage; heartbroken again, Celeste Inpax hung herself, allegedly leaving a suicide note that was hidden by the man who found her body, Juan Corrida.

Disposing of a rival

 * Main article: Farewell, My Turnabout

For the remaining years, the two men continued their rivalry with Engarde rising to the top of his acting career. Engarde gained a reputation for being "refreshing like a spring breeze", besting Corrida in popularity polls. This culminated in Engarde's starring role in The Nickel Samurai, which competed with Corrida's show Jammin' Ninja. Corrida, however, conspired with Andrews, who became Engarde's manager, to disclose the suicide note, which Corrida had actually forged, that would destroy that image.

During the Hero of Heroes Grand Prix at Gatewater Imperial Hotel, which the Nickel Samurai won, Corrida arranged a press conference, during which he would appear in the Nickel Samurai costume and reveal the false suicide note. Realizing that Corrida was a threat to his reputation, Engarde purchased spy cameras to keep close tabs on him and eventually hired a professional assassin named Shelly de Killer to kill him for the bear figurine that contained Inpax's suicide note. Engarde recorded the killing to use as a way to blackmail de Killer. De Killer posed as Engarde's butler and as a bellboy at the hotel where Corrida was murdered to ward off suspicion.

Engarde's trial
"Matt Engarde"

- How do you do... Mister Lawyer? I'm Matt Engarde.

Engarde was arrested for Corrida's death because of evidence planted by Andrews. In response, de Killer abducted Maya Fey to force defense attorney Phoenix Wright into getting an acquittal for Matt Engarde. At first, Wright did not suspect that Engarde was involved; Engarde said that he had killed no one, which was true and so did not reveal any Psyche-Locks. However, during his investigation, Wright discovered a spy camera planted in a giant stuffed bear at the crime scene (Corrida's room at the Gatewater Hotel), which he found had been purchased by Engarde.

Wright confronted Engarde at the detention center and accused him of hiring de Killer to assassinate Juan Corrida. When Wright figured out the truth, Engarde finally showed his true colors, flipping his hair back to reveal four scars on his right eye. He revealed his entire plan to Wright, and he told him that he placed his trust in absolutely no one, let alone assassins.



During the final trial, Engarde ordered de Killer, who had escaped from the police with his captor the night before, to bring the videotape containing the recording of the murder to him, instructing him not to view it himself. However, de Killer failed and left the tape, along with three other pieces of evidence, behind for Dick Gumshoe to take. Franziska von Karma eventually brought the tape to the trial. Wright informed de Killer of his client's plans of blackmail, which angered the assassin. He broke his contract with Engarde, releasing the hostage Maya Fey, and vowed to kill him. At this, with only one way out of facing the wrathful de Killer, Engarde broke down, ripping new scars into his face and repeating, "GUILTY!"

Personality
Engarde was a seemingly careless, weak-willed and somewhat self-absorbed young man with a liking for wine and motorcycles but no apparent control of his own life. He had a boyish charm and a seemingly pleasant attitude. He was seen as quite dense, taking any opportunity to use his wristwatch cell phone to ask his manager, Adrian Andrews, about even the most basic decisions. He also had a habit of addressing people with "dude", calling Wright "Mister Lawyer dude".

However, this seemingly harmless persona was only a façade, likely to make himself more appealing to the public and to divert any attention away from him so none would suspect him of any wrongdoing. Engarde was, in actuality, a deeply calculating and manipulative man, seeing other people as objects he could use to his advantage. This difference in personality was so stark that Engarde even spoke of his "other self" as a separate person, hinting at a possible personality disorder. Scheming and paranoid, he trusted no one. This ultimately proved to be his undoing.

Name

 * "Outorou" (王都楼) is a rough romanization of the English word "outlaw". It is also a reference to "ōtoro" (大とろ), a Japanese word for the fattiest portion of a bluefin tuna belly. This fish theme fits in with the Japanese name of Will Powers.


 * "Matt" is a diminutive of the given name "Matthew", which comes from the Hebrew for "Gift of God" (suiting Engarde's self-absorbed personality), but is also sometimes seen as an anglicisation of the Irish name "Mathúin", meaning "bear" (fitting Corrida's association with the animals). "Matt" itself is also the German word for "checkmate" and the Luxembourgish word for "moth". "Checkmate" suits the way Engarde plotted his moves like a game of chess and treated others as disposable pawns in his plan, and he could be seen as being as equally attracted to the "spotlight" of fame as moths are to a source of light.


 * "En garde" is a French phrase that means "on guard". It is usually associated with the sport of fencing. It is likely meant as a reference to his "on guard" nature, as he never trusts anyone, or it may be a reference to the "duel" between Corrida and himself. "Engarde" also fits with "Corrida", since they are both foreign words relating to fighting ("engarde" with fencing and "corrida" with bullfighting).

Development

 * To date, Engarde is notable for being the only client of Wright's that was guilty of the crime for which he was arrested. He also earned Wright the only guilty verdict in his entire law career, and was one of only two clients to not be acquitted by Wright (the other being Zak Gramarye due to his escape before a verdict could be given).


 * He was designed so that the soft bangs that hang lightly over half his face would give him a gentle-mannered look to contrast with his scarred face seen when he does his dramatic reveal.
 * Parallels can be drawn between Engarde and Sōta Sarushiro, namely due to both having a façade of being innocent and pleasant to hide their true manipulative and unpleasant selves, being major antagonists in their respective games and both being friendly to animals.


 * He makes a brief appearance in the Ace Attorney live action movie at the very end of it.In the movie he looks a bit different due to the lack of his trademark red jacket but has the same hairdo and he is still defended by Phoenix Wright when Edgeworth accuses him of being a murderer.