Mood Matrix

The Mood Matrix logo.

The Mood Matrix is a program on Athena Cykes' computer (nicknamed Widget), which is worn around her neck as a necklace. Cykes has a special ability to pick up subtle emotional cues in the voices of other people, and uses the Mood Matrix to examine these cues while witnesses are giving their testimonies. This provides an alternative to standard cross-examinations.

Function

The Mood Matrix in action.

The Mood Matrix takes the form of a holographic screen that shows the emotions that a witness is experiencing whilst giving their testimony. The three-fingered glove Cykes wears on her right hand allows her to touch and interact with the holographic interface. There are four faces at each corner of the screen, called "mood markers", representing happiness/enjoyment, anger/frustration, sadness/fear, and surprise/confusion. These faces flash at varying intensities based on the witness's emotions. The screen also projects visual re-enactments based on the witness's testimony.

When an emotion conflicts with what is being said - such as an unexpected emotion appearing, or a noticeable increase, decrease or lack of an expected emotion - the player touches "Pinpoint" or presses the "L" button (Nintendo 3DS version only) and then selects the mood marker in question, causing the protagonist to yell "Got it!". This causes the witness's testimony to change, based on the witness's resurfacing memories.

Occasionally, contradictions between the testimony and evidence may appear as a result of amended testimony; in this case, the protagonist is prompted to present evidence at the appropriate statement, just like in cross-examination. In one case, the player must switch between the two modes of presenting evidence and probing emotions.

When the Mood Matrix program is not being used, Widget takes on various colors and expressions to reflect Cykes's mood, including the aforementioned mood markers.

Emotional overload

Emotional overload.

When a detected emotion has an extremely strong reading, it interrupts the signals of the other mood markers, thus removing them from the screen. The player must then detect the source of the emotion in the images. Once the source is found, the player must touch the "Probe" button (or press the "L" button) and point it out to calm down the witness. It is possible for more than one emotion to go out of control.

Characters with Mood Matrix segments

Episode	Character	Overload	Cause of Overload
Turnabout Countdown	Juniper Woods	-	-
The Monstrous Turnabout	Jinxie Tenma	Fear	Yokai Hallucinations
	Damian Tenma	-	-
Turnabout Reclaimed	Norma DePlume	-	-
	Marlon Rimes	Sadness and anger
Turnabout Academy	Robin Newman	Anger
	Hugh O'Conner	Happiness
The Cosmic Turnabout	Yuri Cosmos	-	-
Turnabout for Tomorrow	Simon Blackquill	All
	Bobby Fulbright	-	-
The Magical Turnabout	Betty de Famme	-	-
Turnabout Storyteller	Uendo Toneido	Anger, surprise and sadness* (unique in that out-of-control emotions change during testimony)
	"Owen"	Fear
Turnabout Revolution	Armie Buff	Surprise and fear

Gallery

Juniper Woods with her Bum Rap Rhiny toy.

Damian Tenma's inaccurate Mood Matrix image of Florent L'Belle entering the Forbidden Chamber dressed as the Amazing Nine-Tails wearing a red cape.

Damian's accurate Mood Matrix image of L'Belle entering the Forbidden Chamber dressed as the Amazing Nine-Tails with Rex Kyubi's bloody corpse.

Candice Arme unintentionally shooting Yuri Cosmos.

Athena covered in her mother's blood.

Betty de Famme hiding in the understage passage while Wright pushes the stage lifts.

"Owen" nervous.

Datz Are'bal sneaking near the Buff residence.

Archie Buff lighting the Founder's Orb on fire to reveal the Holy Mother.

Name

The program is called the "kokoro sukōpu" (ココロスコープ; lit. "Heart Scope") in the Japanese version of the game, with the device's nickname being "Monita" （モニ太).

Development

• Concept sketches in the The Art of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies - artbook show that, at one point, the Mood Matrix's emotion icons would be act like more characters that would interact with each other by pushing the others aside, hopping across the screen, or clashing with other emotions.

Notes

• In the Japanese version of The Monstrous Turnabout, when Jinxie Tenma overloads the Mood Matrix for the first time, "Mood Matrix ~ Now Commencing: Psychoanalysis" plays. In the English version, however, it is changed to "Running Wild - Mood Matrix ~ Get a Grip on Yourself!" which plays every other time the Mood Matrix overflows.