Phoenix Wright

Phoenix Wright

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"Wright" redirects here. For the family itself, see Wright (family). You may also be looking for the game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney or the Ace Attorney series in general.

Phoenix Wright V · T · F
Occupation	Art student at Ivy University (lapsed) Law student at Ivy University (lapsed) Defense attorney (Aug. 3, 2016 - Apr. 19, 2019) Pianist (2019 - late 2026/early 2027) Professional poker player (2019 - c. late 2026/early 2027) Defense attorney (July 20, 2027 - present)
Biological information
Reckoned birth year(s) (this is for age comparison purposes, and so may look odd; click on the question mark for details)?	1992-1993
Documented age range (as recorded in court record profiles & case files)	21* (Turnabout Memories)- 35* (Turnabout Time Traveler)
Last known status	Alive (Sep. 2028)
Eye color	Dark blue* (sometimes portrayed as blue, teal, or brown)
Hair color	Black
Height (the metric (cm) values are sourced from official guidebooks and may not reflect the relative sizes of characters as depicted in-game or in other official media)	5'9"; 176 cm
Associates
Family	Ryūnosuke Naruhodō (ancestor) An unnamed mother Trucy Wright (adopted daughter)
Friends	Miles Edgeworth (childhood friend, rival prosecutor, & former client) Larry Butz (childhood friend & former client) Iris (ex-girlfriend & former client; arrested) Mia Fey (close friend, investigative partner, mentor, superior, co-counsel, & former defense attorney; deceased) Maya Fey (close friend, assistant, investigative partner, co-counsel, & former client) Dick Gumshoe (lead detective for majority of Wright's cases) Will Powers (former client) Lotta Hart (freelance journalist & recurring witness) Ema Skye (former investigative partner & co-counsel) Pearl Fey (investigative partner & Maya's cousin) Maggey Byrde (former client & temporary co-counsel) Adrian Andrews (acquaintance from a previous case) Apollo Justice (apprentice, subordinate, former defense attorney, & temporary rival attorney) Thalassa Gramarye (Justice & Trucy's biological mother) Guy Eldoon (owner of local noodle stand) Athena Cykes (apprentice, subordinate, & former client) Ahlbi Ur'gaid (tour guide & former client) Hershel Layton (investigative partner & temporary rival inquisitor)* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only) Luke Triton (investigative partner & Layton's assistant)* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only) Espella Cantabella (investigative partner & former client)* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only)
Affiliates	Dahlia Hawthorne ("ex-girlfriend", attempted murderer, & enemy; deceased) Judge (presiding judge for majority of Wright's cases) Winston Payne (rival prosecutor) Manfred von Karma (rival prosecutor; deceased) Lana Skye (former client; arrested) Franziska von Karma (rival prosecutor & temporary investigative partner) Max Galactica (former client) Matt Engarde (former client & blackmailer; arrested) Godot (rival prosecutor; arrested) Ron DeLite (former client) Zak Gramarye (former client & Trucy's biological father; deceased) Klavier Gavin (rival prosecutor) Kristoph Gavin (enemy, former "friend", & individual responsible for Wright's disbarment; arrested) Orla Shipley (former client) Sasha Buckler (former client) Simon Blackquill (rival prosecutor) Juniper Woods (former client) Gaspen Payne (rival prosecutor) Solomon Starbuck (former client) Rayfa Padma Khura'in (investigative partner) Nahyuta Sahdmadhi (rival prosecutor) Paul Atishon (former client & blackmailer; arrested) Ellen Wyatt (former client) Zacharias Barnham (rival inquisitor)* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only) Darklaw (rival inquisitor)* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only)
Aliases/nicknames
Nick* (by Larry Butz & Maya Fey) Feenie* (by Dahlia Hawthorne & Iris) 26381* (attorney's badge number) Pal* (by Dick Gumshoe & Maya Fey) Sir* (by the Gatewater bellboy, Maggey Byrde, & Max Galactica) My boy* (by Marvin Grossberg) Mr. Attorney* (by April May, Richard Wellington, Max Galactica, Regina Berry, Acro, Shelly de Killer, & Trucy Enigmar) Mr. Lawyer* (by Redd White, Lotta Hart, Mimi Miney, Matt Engarde, Ron DeLite, & the chief of Criminal Affairs) Mr. Wrong* (by Redd White) Whippersnapper* (by Wendy Oldbag) Evildoer* (by Cody Hackins) City Boy* (by Maya Fey & Lotta Hart) Keith/Keithy-boy* (by Yanni Yogi) Rookie* (by Angel Starr) Wrighto* (by Damon Gant & (temporarily) by Ema Skye) Good sir* (by Morgan Fey) Mr. Nick* (by Pearl Fey) Fool* (by Franziska von Karma & Luke Atmey) Mr. Smith* (by Mimi Miney) Porcupine head* (by Max Galactica) Sweetie* (by Max Galactica) Mr. Lawyer dude* (by Matt Engarde) Trite* (by Godot) Nicky boy* (by Desirée DeLite) Sir Lawyer* (by Luke Atmey) Amigo* (by Godot) Ace Attorney* (self-styled) Daddy* (by Trucy Wright) Herr Lawyer* (by Klavier Gavin) Lord Daddy* (by Valant Gramarye) Mr. Ex-Attorney* (by Zak Gramarye) Turnabout Terror* (by the judge & Athena Cykes) Boss* (by Maya Fey & Athena Cykes) Wright-dono* (by Simon Blackquill) Blue Boy* (by Norma DePlume) Barbed Head* (by Rayfa Padma Khura'in) Lawyer-man* (by Pees'lubn Andistan'dhin) Lawyer-trash* (by Pees'lubn Andistan'dhin) The Fighting Phoenix* (by Kingdom of Khura'in) White* (by Inga Karkhuul Khura'in) Barbed One* (by Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in) Dead lawyer walking* (by Rayfa Padma Khura'in & Nahyuta Sahdmadhi) PW* (by Datz Are'bal) Malignant tumor* (by Pierce Nichody) Sir Apprentice Baker* (by Zacharias Barnham; Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only) Sir Blue Knight* (by Zacharias Barnham; Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only) Mr. Baker* (by the Labyrinthian judge; Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only) Sir Baker* (by Zacharias Barnham; Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only)
One-off nicknames
Harry Butz* (by Dick Gumshoe) Spikey-haired jerk* (by Dahlia Hawthorne) Hairy Butz* (by Dick Gumshoe) Smarty-pants* (by Dick Gumshoe) Naughty Mr. Lawyer* (by April May) Sherlock Holmes II* (self-styled) Mr. Big Detective* (by April May) Little shrimp* (by April May) Stinking lawyer* (by April May) Spiky-head* (by April May) Bottom-feeding, scum-sucking lawyer* (by April May) Upstart* (by Miles Edgeworth) Amateur* (by Miles Edgeworth) Detective* (by the bellboy) Spiky-haired man* (by Redd White) Silly Lawyer* (by Redd White) Gramps* (by Maya Fey) Snipperwhapper* (by Wendy Oldbag) Lame-o-man* (by Cody Hackins) Spiky-haired geezer* (by Cody Hackins) Mia Fey* (mistakenly by Ema Skye) The undefeated defense attorney* (by Ema Skye) Mr. head-in-the-fluffy-pink-clouds Lawyer* (by Dick Gumshoe) The Phoenix* (self-styled) Mr. Left* (by the judge) Mr. Wry* (by Mia Fey) Mr. High-and-Mighty* (by Lotta Hart) Mr. Smarty* (by Maya Fey) Mr. Smith, Esquire* (by Mimi Miney) Mush-headed, feeble-minded baboon* (by Richard Wellington) Sweetie's driver* (by Max Galactica) Old stiff lips* (by Moe) Naruhodo A. Wrighto* (by Maya Fey) 8-bit excuse for an attorney* (by Trilo Quist (Benjamin Woodman)) Buttface* (by Trilo Quist(Benjamin Woodman)) Mr. Ambulance Chaser* (by Trilo Quist (Benjamin Woodman)) Mr. Wright All The Time* (by Moe) Numbskull* (by Trilo Quist (Benjamin Woodman)) Heartless, cruel man* (by a court audience member) Poopyhead* (by a court audience member) Old fart* (by Maya Fey) Mr. Wright, esquire* (by Matt Engarde) Piddling evidence hog* (by Maya Fey) Yellow-bellied chicken liver* (by Lotta Hart) Baboon-boy* (by Wendy Oldbag, Miles Edgeworth, & the judge) Half-witted clot* (by Victor Kudo) Spikey-haired yahoo* (by Victor Kudo) Blue-suited young upstart* (by Victor Kudo) Young shark* (by Victor Kudo) Noisy brat* (by Victor Kudo) Spikey-haired brat* (by Victor Kudo) Professor Nick* (by Maya Fey) Dr. Wright* (by Dick Gumshoe, Maya Fey, Trucy Wright, & self-styled) Porcu-headed lawyer* (by Godot) Spikey* (by Furio Tigre) Guy in the blue* (by Furio Tigre) Mr. Blue Suits* (by Bikini) Lawyer Boy* (by Godot) Mr. Smarty* (by Maya Fey) Spiky-haired jerk* (by Dahlia Hawthorne) Trite little man* (by Franziska von Karma) Guy in the blue suit* (by Larry Butz) "A certain defense attorney"* (by Miles Edgeworth) "That man"* (by Miles Edgeworth) Herr Attorney/Wright* (by Klavier Gavin) Old boy in the blue suit with the spiky hair* (by Trucy Enigmar & Kristoph Gavin) Old boy* (by Trucy Enigmar) The Forgin' Attorney* (self-styled) Daddy-O* (by Mr. Hat (Trucy Wright)) O Great Ex-Attorney* (by Zak Gramarye) Faustian forging friend* (by Valant Gramarye) Phoenix Van Winkle* (by Gaspen Payne) Blue Monkey* (by Athena Cykes) Turnabout Terror* (by the judge) Mr. Blue Suit* (by Gaspen Payne) Mr. Wrigh* (by Gaspen Payne & the judge) Rudra* (by Trucy Wright) Old man* (by Simon Blackquill) Swordmaster Bluff* (by Simon Blackquill) Flight* (by Inga Karkhuul Khura'in) Birdbrain* (by Miles Edgeworth) Our Visiting Barrister* (by Flynch; Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only) Sir Doughy Defender* (by Zacharias Barnham; Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney only)
Names in other languages
Japanese (romanization written with the given name first)	成歩堂龍一 (Ryūichi Naruhodō) ナルホド (Naruhodo)* (shortened form displayed above dialogue box) 成歩堂 (Naruhodō)* (by Masashi Yahari (Larry Butz) & Reiji Mitsurugi (Miles Edgeworth)) 成歩堂くん (Naruhodō-kun)* (by elders & saibanchou (the judge)) なるほどくん (Naruhodō-kun)* (by Harumi Ayasato (Pearl Fey), Mayoi Ayasato (Maya Fey), & Chihiro Ayasato (Mia Fey)) 成歩堂さん (Naruhodō-san)* (by his clients) リュウちゃん (Ryū-chan)* (by Chinami Miyanagi (Dahlia Hawthorne) & Ayame (Iris); equivalent of Feenie) ナルホドゥ (Naruhodu)* (by Masaru Konaka (Redd White); equivalent of Mr. Wrong) 弁護人 (Bengo-nin)* (by people during trials; lit. defense attorney) アンタ (Anta)* (by Keisuke Itonokogiri (Dick Gumshoe); equivalent of pal) 弁護士 (Bengoshi)* (by Gou Karuma (Manfred von Karma); lit. lawyer) ユキヒロ (Yukihiro)* (by Koutarou Haine (Yanni Yogi); equivalent of Keith) ナルホドちゃん (Naruhodō-chan)* (by Kaiji Ganto (Damon Gant); equivalent of Wrighto) ナニ歩堂 (Nanihodō)* (by saibancho (the judge); lit. What-hodō; equivalent of Mr. Left) 弁護士くん (Bengoshi-kun)* (by Shingo Outorou (Matt Engarde) & Gouzou Ban (Bobby Fulbright)) リューイチくん (Ryūichi-kun)* (by Mareka Amasugi (Desirée DeLite); equivalent of Nicky boy) まるほどう (Maruhodō)* (by Godot; equivalent of Trite) パパ (Papa)* (by Minuki Naruhodō (Trucy Wright)) ナクホド (Nakuhodo)* (mispronunciation by Kokone Kizuki (Athena Cykes) & Kurain no saibanchou (Khura'inese judge)) 成の字 (Naru no ji)* (by Jin Yūgami (Simon Blackquill); equivalent of Wright-dono) ノレホド (Norehodo)* (by Fumitake Auchi (Gaspen Payne) & saibancho (the judge); equivalent of Mr. Wrigh) リューイチ (Ryūichi)* (by Ponco) トンガリ頭 (Tongari-atama)* (by Reifa Padoma Kurain (Rayfa Padma Khura'in), equivalent of Barbed Head) 異国の弁護士どの (Ikoku no bengoshi-dono)* (by Dattsu Dinigeru (Datz Are'bal), lit. foreign lawyer) Mr. 成歩堂 (Mr. Naruhodō)* (by Hershel Layton; Layton-kyōju VS Gyakuten Saiban only)
French	Phoenix Wright Light* (by Godot; equivalent of Trite)
German	Phoenix Wright Breit* (by Godot; equivalent of Trite)
Spanish	Phoenix Wright Light* (by Godot; equivalent of Trite)
Italian	Phoenix Wright Light* (by Godot; equivalent of Trite)
Dutch	Phoenix Wright
Actors
English	Ben Judd* (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy & Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney) Sam Riegel* (Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, & Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice) Trevor White* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
Japanese (romanization written with the given name first)	Shu Takumi* (Gyakuten Saiban, Gyakuten Saiban 2, Gyakuten Saiban 3, & Gyakuten Saiban 4) Takayuki Kondō* (Gyakuten Saiban trailers, Gyakuten Saiban 5, Project X Zone 2, & Gyakuten Saiban 6) Kōsuke Toriumi* (Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3) Hiroki Narimiya* (Layton-kyōju VS Gyakuten Saiban)
French	JC Moine* (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy & Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney) Donald Reignoux* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
German	Stefan Müller* (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy & Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney) Florian Hoffmann* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
Spanish	Miguel Ángel García* (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy & Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney) Roger Pera* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
Italian	Luigi Boccasile* (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy & Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney) Luca Bottale* (Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
Musical (romanization written with the given name first)	Tomu Ranju
Film (romanization written with the given name first)	Hiroki Narimiya* (as an adult) Takeru Shibuya* (as a child)
Anime (romanization written with the given name first)	Yūki Kaji* (as both adult & child) (Japanese) Eric Vale* (as an adult) (English) Jill Harris* (as a child) (English)
Miscellaneous
Debut episode	The First Turnabout
Musical theme	"Phoenix Wright ~ Objection! 2001" PW AJ (in Turnabout Trump & Turnabout Succession) 2002" JFA 2004" T&T 2012" PLvsPW (Labyrinthia chapters) 2013" DD 2016" SoJ English Turnabout Mix" PLvsPW (English Turnabout) "Ringtone - Phoenix Wright (The Steel Samurai)" "Reminiscing ~ The Class Trial" PW "Reminiscing ~ Forgotten Legend" AJ

Phoenix Wright

It's only natural for living creatures to fight to protect their own lives. But what makes us human is that we fight for others. But who do you fight for? How hard must you fight...? That's the true measure of what human life is worth. We defense attorneys are warriors who are constantly challenged by that question. Even when the battle is over, and the bonds that connect us are severed... We always return... Time and time again.

— Bridge to the Turnabout

Phoenix Wright is a veteran defense attorney who heads the Wright Anything Agency. Mostly specializing in criminal trials, Wright is renowned for his ability to turn seemingly hopeless cases around. Beginning his career under Mia Fey in 2016, he was disbarred in 2019 after unknowingly presenting forged evidence. After spending the following seven years as a pianist who moonlighted as an undefeated poker player at the Borscht Bowl Club, he was instrumental in the organization of a test trial for the Jurist System, resulting in his exoneration and reinstatement into the bar. Wright has also been a defendant himself at least three times in his life, each time hiring a different lawyer (including representing himself).

Early life

Phoenix Wright grew up as an only child. He once told Apollo Justice that he was raised in a barn, to explain the untidiness of his hospital bed, although he was likely just joking. At one point in his life, Wright broke into a cattle ranch and tipped some cows.

Years later, Luke Atmey stated that Wright probably received the same message on his school report card every year: "Careless, with tendency to jump to conclusions"; judging from the lawyer's reaction, this was not far from the truth. Wright has stated that his teachers always said he was "a good thunker" [sic] and has related that it was pouring with rain on the day of his elementary school graduation.

The class trial

Main article: Class trial

Wright in the fourth grade during his class trial.

Perhaps the most transformative incident in Wright's early life was during fourth grade, when his class accused Wright of stealing the lunch money of a classmate, Miles Edgeworth. Due to the lack of an alibi, everyone assumed Wright was the culprit, but Edgeworth and another classmate, Larry Butz, came to his defense. Edgeworth pointed out that, while everyone kept saying that Wright had done it, no one had any evidence. Regardless, the class continued to accuse Wright, saying that they did not need proof to know that he was guilty, but Larry Butz, the class troublemaker, also stood up for Wright. He accused the class of ganging up on Wright, and not considering how he felt. Ultimately, the teacher ended the trial, declaring Wright not guilty, and replaced the money herself. Wright, Edgeworth, and Butz became inseparable friends this incident. Fifteen years later it was finally revealed that, despite not being in school that day, Butz had been the one who had stolen the lunch money. At the time, Edgeworth idolized his famous father Gregory Edgeworth, a legendary defense attorney. The class trial would prove to be a powerful inspiration for Wright during his legal career. After the DL-6 Incident, which resulted in Gregory's death, Miles transferred schools and moved out of town.

University years

Main article: Turnabout Memories

Phoenix Wright

Aaaarrgghh... *achoo* *achoo* Leave my Dollie alone! *achoo* *cough*

— Turnabout Memories

Meeting "Dollie".

Wright went on to study art and law at Ivy University. During his time there, he saw a story in a newspaper with the headline "Dark Suspicions of a Demon Attorney". The article said that prosecutor Miles Edgeworth was suspected of tampering with witnesses and fabricating evidence; it appeared that Edgeworth had become a ruthless prosecutor, unrecognizable from the friend that Wright knew from his childhood. Although Wright attempted to contact his childhood friend, he never received a reply. He decided that if he became an attorney, Edgeworth would be forced to meet him eventually in court, whereupon Wright could confront and help him see the error of his ways.

In his third year at university, Wright met Dahlia Hawthorne in the District Court basement library and was immediately enamored with her. She wrote him a poem and gave him a bottle necklace, telling him that it was a symbol of their love. They subsequently began to date, though in all subsequent meetings, and unbeknown to Wright, "Dahlia" was replaced with Iris, Dahlia's twin sister, who posed as her. For eight months, she tried to convince Wright to give the necklace back, as otherwise her sister planned to kill him, but Wright refused; as he was unaware of her reasoning, he thought that she was only joking and did not mean it. During the course of said eight months, Wright greatly enjoyed spending time with his new girlfriend, who knitted him a pink sweater, made him mini omelets which he loved, and had lunch with him every day. However, things would soon change, as the true Dahlia Hawthorne was getting impatient.

One day, while suffering from a bad cold and losing his medicine, Wright met with Doug Swallow, a former lover of Hawthorne, who told him that she was dangerous; she had stolen poisonous chemicals from his lab before and now some chemicals were missing again. Horrified by Swallow's blasphemous statements about his beloved, Wright pushed him onto the ground, and Swallow fell onto his umbrella, breaking it. Wright then left, but a few minutes later, a crowd began to gather around where Swallow had fallen, and Wright returned to the scene to find Swallow dead, with Wright's previously missing cold medicine in his hand.

Wright was soon accused of the murder and put on trial. Wright's lawyer was Mia Fey, a rookie attorney who had not taken a case since her first a year prior. Wright did not cooperate with Fey at first, lying that he had not known the victim. One of the prosecution's witnesses was Hawthorne herself, which Wright found hard to believe. Fey eventually accused Hawthorne of the murder and claimed that the necklace had actually contained a poison used to incapacitate another individual inside the courthouse on the same day in which Hawthorne and Wright had met. Wright could take no more of this and ran out of the courtroom. By the time he was forced back inside, he had swallowed the necklace.

Fey then told Wright that he would have to believe in her if he wanted to avoid a conviction. Wright finally cooperated and gave his entire account of the day's events. Fey eventually showed that Hawthorne had originally intended to kill Wright by poisoning his cold medicine, but after seeing Wright's encounter with Swallow, she had changed her plan and killed Swallow instead, intending to frame Wright. Wright received a not guilty verdict, but he still could not believe that Hawthorne had betrayed him, and even suggested that the Dahlia Hawthorne he saw in that courtroom had been a fake. Fey replied that he should move on with his life.

Fey's dogged defense of Wright inspired him to pursue law full-time, and he came to receive his attorney's badge with identification number 26381. Meanwhile, Hawthorne was convicted and sentenced to death.

Early law career

Judge

Mr. Wright. You are truly the most unpredictable defense attorney I've ever known.

— Turnabout Goodbyes

The rookie attorney

Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

The formation of Wright & Co. Law Offices.

After receiving his law degree, Wright became a pupil of Mia Fey and a member of Fey & Co. Law Offices. In his first case, he successfully defended his childhood friend, Larry Butz, who was accused of murdering an ex-girlfriend, by revealing the true culprit to be the prosecution's star witness. When Mia was murdered two days later, her younger sister Maya Fey was put on trial. Wright took on her defense and finally met Edgeworth in the ensuing courtroom battle which concluded, with assistance from Maya using her spirit medium abilities to channel Mia, with Edgeworth's first ever loss. Wright then inherited Mia's firm, renaming it Wright & Co. Law Offices and taking on Maya as his assistant.

Wright faced Edgeworth again a month later in another case, in which television star Will Powers, who played the Steel Samurai in The Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo, was accused of murdering Jack Hammer, who played the Steel Samurai's nemesis, the Evil Magistrate. As well as featuring a child on the witness stand, the case also saw Wright escape a deadly encounter with the local mafia due to the timely arrival of Detective Dick Gumshoe. The court found Powers innocent in Wright's third consecutive win, although this time Edgeworth actively helped the defense near the end of the last trial day to ensure that the true killer was found.

A few months after Powers' acquittal, Wright found himself defending Edgeworth in the murder of defense attorney Robert Hammond. The prosecutor was Edgeworth's mentor and adoptive father, Manfred von Karma, who would do whatever it took to maintain his perfect 40-year win record. Wright's investigation of the murder uncovered the whole story behind the unsolved DL-6 Incident, which had resulted in the death of Edgeworth's father fifteen years prior. Wright went on to prove that von Karma was not only the culprit behind the DL-6 Incident, but had also instigated Hammond's murder. After repeatedly failing to channel Mia during the case, a demoralized Maya came to feel that she was a burden to Wright, and left to train her spirit medium abilities back in her hometown of Kurain Village.

Wright stopped taking cases after Maya left, until Ema Skye came into his office looking for help, as her older sister Lana had been accused of murder. With Ema's forensic science tools, including fingerprint powder and luminol, Wright was able to uncover the truth behind not only the murder that began the case, but also the events that had led to it two years prior in the SL-9 Incident. Wright faced Edgeworth again in court, and they once again eventually worked together to defeat the real killer behind both incidents.

The Fey plot

Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All

Edgeworth disappeared after Lana Skye's trial, leaving behind what was appeared to be a suicide note. The note itself read, "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth Chooses Death”. Wright decided that Edgeworth had taken the coward's way out after having his reasons for prosecuting challenged. Wright hated Edgeworth for doing this and returned to refusing to take on cases.

Meeting with Maya in the detention center.

Wright's semi-retirement was shattered when Dr. Turner Grey came to his office to request Maya's services in spirit channeling, as she would only agree to help the doctor if Wright was present. This took Wright to Maya's hometown of Kurain Village, where he met Maya's young cousin Pearl Fey. However, Wright soon found himself entangled in Morgan Fey's usurpation plot involving Pearl when Grey was murdered and Maya put on trial for the crime. Wright discovered that Manfred von Karma's daughter, Franziska von Karma, would be prosecuting the case. Upon meeting her in court, he found himself reliving much of his unpleasant experiences with Manfred. During Wright's investigation of the murder, Maya gave him her magatama, which Pearl charged with spiritual energy to allow Wright to see the secrets of other people in the form of Psyche-Locks. Wright gave Franziska her first not-guilty verdict, devastating her just as it had done so for Edgeworth.

With Maya returning as his assistant, Wright restarted his career by defending Maggey Byrde on murder charges. He managed to prevail and get her acquitted, despite being in an amnesiac state for the majority of the trial after being struck on the head by the true culprit. He then faced Franziska again when he found himself defending circus magician Max Galactica in a bizarre case in which a witness claimed to have seen Galactica flying after murdering the ringmaster at the Berry Big Circus.

Defending the guilty

Main article: Farewell, My Turnabout

Wright's dilemma pushes him to the breaking point.

During a "Hero of Heroes Grand Prix" event, television star Juan Corrida was killed. Even worse, his killer, an assassin named Shelly de Killer, kidnapped Maya Fey and coerced Wright into defending the star of The Nickel Samurai, Matt Engarde, who was accused of the crime. During the ensuing case, Miles Edgeworth returned from what turned out to be an overseas trip, and Wright gave him a cold welcome. De Killer later non-fatally shot Franziska outside of the court just before the trial, forcing Edgeworth to take her place opposite Wright.

Although Wright tried to accuse Engarde's manager Adrian Andrews of the murder in court, Edgeworth forced Andrews to admit to trying to frame Engarde, but not actually committing the murder. For the first time, it seemed that Wright's accusation was wrong, and during his investigation, he confronted Engarde, only to realize to his horror that his client had hired de Killer to commit the murder. Wright told Edgeworth about his plight: by giving into de Killer's demands, a killer would go free and the wrong person would be convicted for the murder, but by pursuing justice against Engarde, Wright would lose Maya. Edgeworth told Wright that he had left the country to learn what it really meant to be a lawyer and that now it was Wright's turn to do the same.

Edgeworth had the police department attempt to chase down de Killer while he and Wright stalled for time in court in an attempt to help release the attorney from the no-win situation he found himself in. Although de Killer managed to evade the police, he left behind crucial evidence, which Detective Gumshoe hurried to deliver to the courtroom. Wright soon found himself out of time and forced to make the terrible choice of which verdict to pursue and, by proxy, whether justice or Maya's safety was more important to him. However, his awful decision was interrupted by Franziska bursting into the courtroom with Gumshoe's evidence. Among said evidence was a videotape of Corrida's murder, which Engarde had planned to use to blackmail de Killer. Upon finding out about this betrayal, an enraged de Killer freed Maya and made Engarde his next target. With the tables turned against him and desperate to escape the assassin's revenge, Engarde accepted his guilty verdict.

The mysterious Godot

Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

Some months later, a Fey clan heirloom was stolen and Ron DeLite turned himself in as the mysterious masked thief Mask☆DeMasque. Wright took DeLite's case and faced another masked man in the court, a coffee-loving prosecutor named Godot. Wright won the trial by exposing Mask☆DeMasque's arch-nemesis, Detective Luke Atmey, as the real Mask☆DeMasque, but DeLite was immediately thrown into a murder case, with the victim being his former boss at KB Security, Kane Bullard. Wright faced Godot again and found that DeLite really was Mask☆DeMasque and that Atmey had merely pretended to be the thief to avoid the murder charge for killing Bullard. Wright noticed throughout the trial that Godot seemed to have a vendetta against him, though he could not explain why.

Wright faced Godot again in an appeal trial after Maggey Byrde had been convicted of the murder of Glen Elg following the poor handling of the first case by someone posing as Wright. Wright investigated the vicinity of a loan company called Tender Lender and found that the witnessed murder had been staged, with the actual murder occurring prior. Wright confronted the owner of Tender Lender in court and managed to trick him into implicating himself for Elg's murder, as well as revealing that he was the impostor who had impersonated Wright in Byrde's previous trial in order to secure a guilty verdict.

Fey resolution

Main article: Bridge to the Turnabout

A month after Byrde's trial, Maya showed Wright a magazine article about a spirit medium training temple. Wright initially refused to accompany her and Pearl to the temple, but quickly changed his mind upon seeing one of the nuns in the article, as she looked identical to his university girlfriend, Dahlia Hawthorne. At the temple, Wright met Larry Butz again, as well as the Hawthorne doppelganger, who was a nun named Iris. Wright also met the head nun, Bikini, and Butz's new "teacher", Elise Deauxnim. However, that night Bikini witnessed Iris stabbing Deauxnim with the temple's Shichishito sword and told Wright to call the police using a phone near Dusky Bridge, only for said bridge to be ablaze upon his arrival. Fearing for Maya, who was training in the Inner Temple's Sacred Cavern on the other side of the bridge, he told Butz to call the police while he ran across, only for the bridge to break underneath him and drop the attorney into the Eagle River far below.

Reading about Mia's first case while recovering in the Hotti Clinic.

Edgeworth found out about the accident from a panicked Butz and quickly rushed to see Wright in hospital. Fortunately, Wright suffered only minor injuries and a cold because of his misadventure. He asked Edgeworth to fill in as Iris's defense until he recovered and gave both his attorney's badge and magatama to the prosecutor. As Edgeworth left to investigate the murder, Wright researched Mia's first case, which had seen Hawthorne nearly implicated for murder, only for the defendant to kill himself, thereby stopping the trial.

The next day, Wright left the hospital and took over where Edgeworth had left off. The bridge was repaired, but Maya was locked inside the Inner Temple. Wright soon ran into Godot, who told him that he should have protected Mia. As Wright wondered about this remark, he discovered that Hawthorne had been executed a month prior and that Iris was her twin sister. He also found out that the victim, Elise Deauxnim, was actually Maya and Mia's mother, Misty Fey, who had disappeared after the DL-6 Incident.

During the trial the following day, Wright faced Godot in court once again. To his surprise, Iris suddenly offered herself up as a witness against Maya Fey, but Wright eventually realized that "Iris" was actually Hawthorne, who was being channeled. Hawthorne claimed that Maya had killed herself out of guilt for murdering her own mother, but Wright realized that the truth; Maya had channeled Hawthorne to protect herself, after channeling Mia to ask for her help. As a channeled Mia appeared in Pearl's body to tell Hawthorne that she would never win against her, an enraged and defeated Hawthorne left Maya's body. Godot then demanded that Wright face him alone, without the help from Mia that had saved Wright in his previous trials. Wright took on this final challenge and implicated Godot as Misty's killer.

The truth soon came out: Godot had been a colleague of Mia's called Diego Armando who Hawthorne had poisoned before meeting Wright in the courthouse all those years ago. Godot had been acting with such hostility to Wright as he blamed him for Mia's death, but finally accepted that he really blamed himself for not being there to protect her after falling into a poison-induced coma. It was also revealed that Iris had been the one meeting Wright for the whole time in which he had dated Hawthorne, with the exception of the first and final encounters. Wright forgave Iris for lying to him all those years ago and told her that he had still somehow believed in her, regardless of the events of that trial. Godot then shared one last cup of coffee with Wright before the trial ended.

Wright and the others later visited Iris in the detention center. Wright had his eyes on Iris for their entire conversation, thereby showing that he had some lingering feelings for her, but Pearl slapped him for what she saw as disloyalty to Maya, giving him a nosebleed.

Sightseeing

Main articles: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth & Gyakuten Kenji 2

With Maya and Pearl at Gatewater Land.

With Maya near the Global Studios filming set.

A month after Iris's trial, Wright, Maya, and Pearl went on a trip to Gatewater Land, where they all went on a ride on a rowboat together. Edgeworth also happened to be in Gatewater Land, although he was there on business.

Two weeks later, Wright and Maya were spotted once again near a crime scene being investigated by Edgeworth. This time they were looking at the Grand Tower skyscraper, astonished by the wonders of concrete masonry. However, they were prevented from encountering the crime scene (and Edgeworth) by a large barrier put in place around the filming lot where the investigation was taking place.

During the investigations into an international smuggling ring and several older cases, Wright's friends and associates would occasionally refer to him, but never by name. Instead, he was mentioned in various vague, indirect ways ("him", "the man in the blue suit", "a certain defense attorney", and so on).

Disbarment

Main article: Turnabout Succession

Playing poker with Zak Gramarye.

In April of 2019, Zak Gramarye, a famous magician at the time, called Wright to his detention cell. The magician challenged him to a game of poker, which Wright won. He then asked Wright to be his lawyer, as he was suspected of having killed his master, Magnifi Gramarye. He had just recently fired his previous lawyer and the trial was scheduled for the next morning, but Wright reluctantly agreed to take the case.

The next day in court, a mysterious girl gave Wright a piece of paper that seemed to have been ripped out of a journal. He took it into court with him, where he faced rookie prosecutor Klavier Gavin. Wright was able to show that Zak's stage partner Valant Gramarye had the opportunity and motive to kill Magnifi. In the end, Gavin presented Magnifi's diary, which had a page ripped out. Wright in turn presented the piece of paper that the girl had given him, as it seemed to be the missing page, but Gavin declared that the evidence was fraudulent, calling a forger called Drew Misham to the stand, who confirmed that he had made the page. The trial abruptly ended soon after, but when Zak took the stand to receive his sentence, he disappeared into thin air, and no verdict was ever given.

Wright was then put before a Bar Association hearing. They determined that he was responsible for the forgery and all of them, except Kristoph Gavin, voted for Wright's disbarment. Even after losing his badge, however, it was apparent that the judge who had presided over the majority of his previous trials and those involved with the law still held him in somewhat high esteem. This event became the foundation of what would become known as the "dark age of the law", with the trial of Simon Blackquill the following year starting this so-called "age" in earnest.

Interim

Main article: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Phoenix Wright

My past is like my logic, straight and true. Nothing's changed. All I did was point the finger of justice in the proper direction.

— Turnabout Trump

Two weeks after the Gramarye trial, Wright took in Zak's abandoned daughter Trucy, the same girl who had given him the evidence that ended his career, and raised her as his own, after failing to find any close kin. He also became friends with Kristoph Gavin, and the two of them met often over the following seven years. Wright suspected that Kristoph was somehow related to the forged evidence, but as he had no proof, he secretly continued his investigation.

Wright questioned the the bailiff who had chased Zak after he disappeared, confirming that Trucy had helped her father with his disappearing act. He then questioned Drew Misham, finding out that his daughter Vera was the real forger and confirmed that Kristoph had requested the forgery. Wright then questioned Valant, who had fallen under suspicion due to speculation that Zak had disappeared to protect him. He found out about a certain "Zak & Valant's Quick-Draw Shoot 'em" trick, which had resulted in the serious injury of Thalassa Gramarye, who was Magnifi's daughter, Zak's wife, and Trucy's mother, and who had disappeared after the incident.

In the years that followed, Wright's office was reformed as the Wright Talent Agency, which was mostly a place to store the materials for Trucy's magic shows. Wright was hired as an underground poker player at the Borscht Bowl Club, but also posed as their piano player. The poker games were purely for the competition, however, as his main source of income was Trucy's magic shows. He also learned that Trucy could read subtle body language, and so used her in his poker games to beat all of his opponents.

Kristoph Gavin's downfall

Main article: Turnabout Trump

Exposing Kristoph Gavin.

Seven years after his disappearance, Zak Gramarye reappeared to Wright, posing as "Shadi Smith". Wright questioned Zak about his intentions and the Gramarye family, learning that Kristoph's new student Apollo Justice was Magnifi's grandson, Thalassa's son, and Trucy's half-brother. Magnifi and his descendants had the power to read subtle body language, and Justice had a bracelet that allowed him to use this ability much more easily. Wright decided to use Justice to reach the truth about his last case. Zak also wrote a letter confessing to Magnifi's death, despite his innocence, and handed Wright a will passing on the legal rights to Magnifi's magic tricks to Trucy, with a reporter named Spark Brushel present to notarize the will.

Zak then challenged Wright to a poker game. The dealer, Olga Orly, had been planted by Zak to plant an extra card on Wright to make it look like he was cheating, but by sheer luck, Wright came across the card on his person and stowed it away. Furious at the failed trap, Zak hit Orly with a bottle, knocking her out. Wright moved upstairs to call the police, only to find Zak's dead body upon his return.

Wright called Kristoph to defend him, but when the latter mentioned Zak's baldness, Wright realized that something was wrong, since Kristoph should have been unaware of that information. Wright replaced the hat on Zak's head, put a drop of the victim's blood on an ace of spades, and left to call the police. He was shortly thereafter arrested on suspicion of "Shadi Smith's" murder.

Wright surprised Kristoph by hiring the latter's student, Apollo Justice, as his lawyer. The judge recognized Wright, but the former defense attorney insisted that the past not be discussed for the moment. With Justice at the helm of the defense team, Wright was able to convince him that the case was not as clear-cut as Kristoph was trying to make it out to be. Orly, the sole witness, had not killed Shadi Smith; someone else had. Wright had Trucy give Justice the ace of spades that he had picked up, which would turn out to be crucial evidence. Wright and Justice, with the help of Justice's power to "perceive" Orly's nervous twitches, eventually exposed Kristoph as the real killer. In closing, Wright told the court that the legal system was entering dark times and that the law would have to be changed.

After the trial, Wright revealed to Justice that the card evidence had been forged. Justice was horrified at this and punched Wright, but he merely answered that there was no reason for him to care about what people thought of him anymore. Justice intended not to talk to Wright after that, but Wright had other plans for him.

A successor

Main articles: Turnabout Corner & Turnabout Serenade

Two months later, Wright was running some errands when a car hit him. He was admitted to the Hickfield Clinic with minor injuries to his head and legs, and he called a very reluctant Apollo Justice, who was now out of a job with the closure of Gavin Law Offices, to help him out. Wright asked Justice to find the individual who had hit him, as well as figure out who had stolen Guy Eldoon's noodle cart and Trucy's "magic panties". During Justice's investigation, he discovered a murder, which tied all three incidents together. It also turned out that Ema Skye had been hired as a police detective after failing her forensics exam, so Wright gave Justice a fingerprinting set to give to Skye to warm her up to him. Wright then watched as Justice took on Klavier in court and won his case. Upon the trial's resolution, Justice agreed to work with Wright and the Wright Talent Agency was rebranded as the Wright Anything Agency.

Wright then began to put his plan into motion, using his influence over the judicial system to bring about the Jurist System. He visited Justice in his third courtroom battle, which involved a singer named Lamiroir, and told him that the old system would not allow him to get a not guilty verdict through conventional means. Justice would eventually have the defendant admit to criminal activity to implicate the real killer.

The Jurist System

Main article: Turnabout Succession

On October 6, Drew Misham was killed via atroquinine poisoning and Wright, as the chair of the Jurist System Simulated Court Committee, had the courts use this incident as the test case for the Jurist System, and was even able to pick the jurists himself. Justice was appointed to the defense's bench, defending Drew's daughter Vera against Prosecutor Klavier Gavin. Wright gave Trucy Zak's will, but told her not to open it until the right time. As Justice conducted his investigation, Wright began the final stages of his own long investigation.

Wright visited Kristoph's prison cell and attempted to get information out of him, only to see five black Psyche-Locks form around him. He then met Brushel and Valant, and told the latter about Zak's will. Valant admitted that a terminally ill Magnifi had actually killed himself, which a jealous Valant had seen as an opportunity to frame Zak. Wright eventually returned to Kristoph's cell and tried to take an envelope that Drew had sent to Kristoph, which had on it the murder weapon: a poisoned stamp. Kristoph caught him in the act, but Wright had already recorded his entire investigation with a hidden video camera.

Wright compiled his recordings into a computer program called the MASON System, which he showed to the jury deliberating on Vera's trial. Although the recordings did not count as conclusive evidence under the old system, the jury unanimously decided that there was a sufficient reason to believe that someone else had committed the murder, and thus Vera received a not guilty verdict. With Kristoph revealed as the mastermind behind the forged evidence that had caused Wright's disbarment, the former defense attorney's name was cleared and he began planning his return to law.

Lamiroir, who was one of the jurists, visited Wright to thank him, having remembered that she was the long-lost Thalassa Gramarye. Wright told her that he would keep her children safe until she could reveal her identity to them.

Recruiting Athena Cykes

Main article: The Monstrous Turnabout

Sometime after Vera's trial, Wright went to Europe to look into their legal systems. It was there that he met Athena Cykes, who was studying to become a lawyer. Learning she could sense subtle emotions from the voices of others, he assured her that this ability would be a great help to people. Cykes finished her studies and became a lawyer, and Wright invited her to join the Wright Anything Agency.

While meeting Cykes at the airport, Wright called Justice to accompany Trucy to Nine-Tails Vale. It was there that Justice accepted the job of defending Mayor Damian Tenma for the murder of Alderman Rex Kyubi, and when Cykes eagerly rushed over to help with the investigation, Wright phoned Justice to head over to the village to find her. Wright met with his two understudies before the trial the following day, telling them about his plan to retake the bar exam and warning them about the convict prosecutor Simon Blackquill, whose presence he himself was alerted to by now-Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth.

After the first trial day, Justice and Cykes continued their investigation, but soon began to struggle. When they returned to the agency, Wright told them what Mia had taught him: the worst of times are when lawyers have to force their biggest smiles, return to the basics whenever stuck, and always believe in their client. His apprentices took his advice and successfully defended Tenma and exposed his aide, Florent L'Belle, as the real killer. After congratulating Justice and watching Tenma meet his fans as the Amazing Nine-Tails wrestler, Wright took his subordinates to Eldoon's Noodles to celebrate their victory. Wright later retook the bar exam and entered the legal world once more.

Later law career

End of the dark age of the law

Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

Phoenix Wright

Yeah, it's for this very reason I returned... Time to bring it to an end.

— Turnabout Countdown

Leaving the Agency for the courtroom.

Wright's career took off with another unusual case when he was asked to defend Orla Shipley, an aquarium orca who was accused of killing the aquarium's owner. Although Wright managed to prove the orca's innocence, he then had to defend her trainer, Sasha Buckler, who was accused of the same crime. Despite having to face Prosecutor Blackquill in court for the first time, Wright also ran into an old ally in the form of Pearl Fey during the investigation. By the end of the trial, Wright had managed to indict aquarist Marlon Rimes for the murder of Jack Shipley. However, when new evidence came up, Wright realized that the captain's death was an accident, and so Rimes was put into rehabilitation, as he had attempted to kill Orla. Sometime after the trial, Wright, Trucy, Pearl, Cykes, and Justice returned to the aquarium to watch a new version of their famous stage show, with Rimes as one of the actors.

Wright was later invited by Themis Legal Academy to give a potential seminar at the upcoming school festival, which he agreed to, bringing Justice and Cykes along with him. A mock trial would be held to determine who gave and who received a seminar; Wright would speak to the defense attorney students if the defense attorney won, while Klavier Gavin would speak to the prosecutor students if the prosecutor won. Wright was also due to have a meeting with Professor Constance Courte, but she did not show up. He decided to allow Justice to watch the mock trial in his place, while he and Cykes waited in the hallway.

However, while the mock trial was in full swing, the pair heard a crash outside. Upon investigating the sound, the two of them discovered Courte's body on the outdoor stage intended to be used for the festival. Although Cykes's immediate reaction was to alert someone, Wright stopped her and stated that she should take the opportunity to examine the body in order to gather evidence. After the authorities arrived at the crime scene, Justice realized that Courte's murder had many similarities to the fictional murder used in the mock trial. Later, as Wright was speaking to Professor Aristotle Means about the murder, it was revealed that Cykes intended to defend the prime suspect, Juniper Woods, as she was a childhood friend of hers. After Means left, Wright told Cykes about the so-called "dark age of the law" and that it had infected Themis Legal Academy.

After furiously fighting in the courtroom for her client, Cykes eventually revealed that Means was the true culprit, saving Woods. The entire Wright Anything Agency then attended the festival, which had been extended in honor of Courte. Since defense attorney student Hugh O'Conner had won the mock trial, Wright subsequently gave his seminar to the defense students.

Two months later Woods was accused of planting a bomb that destroyed one of the courtrooms in the District Court. Wright was forced to take over her defense from his subordinates after both were incapacitated; Justice was injured after protecting Woods during the bomb blast and Cykes suffered a mental breakdown during the trial owing to a traumatic previous experience in court when she was younger. Facing him was Prosecutor Gaspen Payne, younger brother of the "Rookie Killer" Wright had defeated in trials past. After exonerating Woods, Wright took up the defense of astronaut Solomon Starbuck, the defendant in the trial disrupted by the courtroom bombing, who had originally been Justice's client until the young lawyer was injured in the bombing, and stood accused of murdering fellow astronaut and close friend of Justice, Clay Terran.

Although Wright soon cleared Starbuck's name, he was shocked to find out that Cykes was now being indicted for the same murder as Starbuck. Wright found himself not only defending her, but also having to clear the names of both her and Blackquill in the UR-1 Incident, in which Athena Cykes's mother Metis Cykes had been murdered. The resulting trial took place in the ruins of Courtroom No. 4, where Wright faced off against his old friend and rival Edgeworth once again, having risen to the position of Chief Prosecutor during Wright's disbarment. During the trial, Wright was forced to cross-examine Justice, who had earlier taken a leave of absence from the Agency to investigate Terran's death on his own.

Wright eventually figured out that a third party had been responsible for fabricating the evidence that had been used to indict Athena. Wright accused Bobby Fulbright, a detective assigned to Blackquill, of the murder of both Metis Cykes and Clay Terran. After clearing Blackquill of suspicion, Wright proceeded to question Fulbright, with the help of Justice and his bracelet, to discern the truth behind the murder weapon. Blackquill, who had claimed the prosecutor's bench from Edgeworth after being declared innocent of Metis's murder, sliced at Fulbright and struck his face; the impact left a tear, which revealed it as a mask. The person on the witness stand was actually an international spy known only as the "phantom", who had been posing as Fulbright for an unknown length of time. Wright indicted the phantom on charges of killing Athena's mother and Terran, as well as being responsible for the bombing of the Cosmos Space Center. The crucial piece of evidence turned out to be a fragment of moon rock, which had blood residue from a wound the phantom suffered while escaping the scene of Metis's murder. Wright used Athena's earring, which had been made from the same moon rock, to prove that the two samples were from the same stone. Thus, the fragment which contained the phantom's blood was from Metis's lab, and he was responsible for the murders of both Metis and Terran.

After the phantom's incarceration and Athena's acquittal, Wright returned to running his agency. Sometime later, he and his apprentices watched from the space center as Starbuck was launched into space in the HAT-3 rocket.

The Court of Resignation

Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice

Watching as guards arrive to arrest Ahlbi Ur'gaid.

Four months later, Wright traveled to the Kingdom of Khura'in to visit Maya, who was visiting the country as part of her spirit medium training. However, trouble soon reared its head when his tour guide, Ahlbi Ur'gaid, was arrested for murdering a guard and stealing a precious relic called the Founder's Orb.

Wright watched the ensuing trial and it was soon revealed that there were no defense attorneys in the country's court system owing to its Defense Culpability Act. Instead, verdicts were decided via the spirit medium powers of Khura'in's mystic princess Rayfa Padma Khura'in, which allowed for the viewing of the victim's final moments. Faced with seemingly overwhelming evidence, Ur'gaid was declared guilty. However, Wright then appeared at the empty defense's bench and declared that a verdict without a defense was unacceptable, and so he would take on Ur'gaid's case. Despite the overwhelming odds and intense hostility from the courtroom gallery (with even Ur'gaid initially protesting his interference), Wright proved that Ur'gaid was innocent and that the head monk, Pees'lubn Andistan'dhin, had committed the murder and stolen the Founder's Orb. After the trial, Wright met Justice Minister Inga Karkhuul Khura'in, who told him to keep out of the courtroom.

After Ur'gaid's case, Wright heard that Trucy had been accused of murder back home in America, and called Justice in a panic. From the phone call, he learned that the Wright Anything Agency office was in danger of financial ruin thanks to the schemes of Take-2 TV producer, Roger Retinz. When Justice stated that he and Cykes were on the case, Wright told his subordinate that he had grown a lot and that he was confident enough to put his trust in him to save both his daughter and the agency. After Justice won the case, Wright congratulated him and acknowledged him as a full-fledged lawyer in his own right.

A few weeks after Trucy's trial, Wright learned that Maya had once again been accused of murder, with head priest Tahrust Inmee as the victim. He immediately took on the case to save her, going up against international prosecutor Nahyuta Sahdmadhi in the process. Wright conducted his investigation under the watchful eye of Rayfa, with Detective Ema Skye providing assistance where she could.

However, despite his best efforts, the odds were too heavily weighed against then, and Wright lost the trial, with the pair being declared guilty under the Defense Culpability Act. Luckily, they were given another chance to prove their innocence when Inmee's acolyte Puhray Zeh'lot was also found dead; as Maya was also accused of this murder, the trial was extended. Wright once again found himself under the watchful eye of Rayfa for most of his investigation, which eventually led to the discovery of a secret rebel hideout within the Inner Sanctum. The following day, Wright had Maya channel Inmee's spirit in order to get his testimony about the deaths of Zeh'lot and himself. Wright was subsequently able to figure out that Zeh'lot was actually Rheel Neh'mu, a government spy who hunted rebels while disguised as Lady Kee'ra. More importantly, Wright was able to deduce that the priest had committed suicide to protect his wife, Beh'leeb Inmee, from the Defense Culpability Act and prevent the police from discovering the base. After his and Maya's acquittal, Wright caught a glimpse of the rebel leader, Dhurke Sahdmadhi, who was helping Beh'leeb escape with the help of Datz Are'bal.

Witness to the revolution

Main article: Turnabout Revolution

A few days later, Maya was kidnapped by Inga, thereby forcing Wright to obey the commands of politician Paul Atishon or else risk Maya's safety once again. This "agreement" coerced him into disagreeing on the identity of an artifact known as the Founder's Orb that Justice had found during a trip to Kurain Village, prompting the two to have a civil trial against one another. Although they were on opposite sides of the courtroom, Wright was still hesitant to face off against Justice. However, Justice figured out that Maya was needed to channel the Khura'inese religious figure known as the Holy Mother, whose face was revealed in the orb. This meant that Atishon was holding the wrong person captive, as harming her would render the orb useless to him. Freed from the shackles of blackmail, Wright resigned as Atishon's lawyer, and the politician was arrested for the murder of Archie Buff, who had hidden the artifact from Atishon after discovering it had been stolen. After the trial, Wright received a call from Inga, who demanded the orb in exchange for Maya.

Wright, Justice, Cykes, Dhurke, and Miles Edgeworth subsequently traveled to Khura'in to conduct the exchange. However, while they found Maya weakened but safe, Inga was dead, and Dhurke was immediately arrested for his murder. Wright investigated with Edgeworth at his side, meeting with Queen Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in and learning of Inga's plans for a coup d’état.

After reuniting with Justice, Wright stood alongside his apprentice as his co-counsel during Dhurke's trial. Together, they faced off against both Ga'ran and Nahyuta. Several revelations were made during the trial, including the fact that Dhurke was killed by Inga while he was rescuing Maya many days earlier. Wright learned that Maya had been safe all along as she was channeling Dhurke's spirit so he could meet with Justice back in the States. Wright then watched as his apprentice solved the case and accused Ga'ran of having no right to the throne, attempting to assassinate her older sister, and murdering Inga.

After the trial, Justice was asked to stay in Khura'in in order to help rebuild their court system and reopen Dhurke's old law office, to which he agreed. Wright traveled back home with Maya, Cykes, Trucy (who had stowed away in Edgeworth's luggage), and Edgeworth, knowing that Justice would be fine in Khura'in. He later met up with Lamiroir and showed her a photograph of her late first husband, Jove Justice. He suggested that it was time to tell Apollo and Trucy of their shared parentage and she agreed.

Murder at a wedding

Main article: Turnabout Time Traveler

With Larry Butz and Miles Edgeworth at Sorin Sprocket and Ellen Wyatt's wedding.

Several months later, Wright took on the defense of Ellen Wyatt, who was accused of murdering a servant after her own wedding reception; Wyatt was to be married to Sorin Sprocket, heir to Sprocket Aviation. After the Sprocket family placed a great deal of pressure on the prosecutor's office to drop the case, Edgeworth decided instead to prosecute it personally. Wright was joined in his investigation by Maya Fey and Larry Butz, the latter of whom had been convinced that Wyatt was going to marry him, leading to a reunion of sorts. Wyatt and Butz were both convinced that time travel had occurred during the wedding, as they had seen two separate wedding receptions.

During the trial, Wright determined that the "time travel" had actually been an elaborate ruse set up by the Sprocket family to cover up the murder, with the reception being re-enacted later. After much deliberation, Wright concluded that the true killer had committed the crime during the wedding ceremony as part of an attempted revenge plot on Sorin. After Wyatt was declared not guilty, Wright attended her wedding alongside Edgeworth, Butz, Fey, Cykes, and Ema Skye.

Personality

Miles Edgeworth

I'll admit it, I'm impressed, Wright. You were always single-minded in your work, though. Once you start on something, you always see it through, don't you?

— Turnabout Goodbyes

In 2014.

In 2019.

In 2026.

In 2027.

Phoenix Wright is generally quite easy-going in his outlook. His relaxed attitude usually leads to his friends leading him around or taking advantage of his good nature, usually by making him foot the bill of large celebratory meals. Wright also has somewhat of a sarcastic side that he usually keeps to himself. This tends to manifest when dealing with the eccentric characters (including his friends), objects, and situations he comes across. Despite his usually relaxed attitude, he is a rather harsh critic when it comes to art, possibly due to his time as an art student, to the point of openly mocking his friends' art pieces on several occasions.

Wright has repeatedly shown himself to be a loyal friend and lawyer who will refuse to back down once his mind is made up. Known for this trait even in childhood, it has been a valuable asset for him, especially as it has translated into his dedication to defending and believing in the innocence of his clients. Wright's loyalty is such that he has often ended up risking his career, and even his life, for his friends and clients on several occasions. For instance, in the trial that got him disbarred, he showed calm concern for the fate of his client, even in the midst of allegations of fraud. Drew Misham, in particular, was intrigued by this, claiming that despite Wright being the center of the problem, he was the only one who had not made a commotion.

On the other hand, Wright's loyalty has clouded his better judgment on a few occasions. In university, he went through great lengths to protect his girlfriend, Dahlia Hawthorne, during his own trial. When his lawyer, Mia Fey, accused Hawthorne of poisoning Diego Armando and giving her bottle of poison to Wright disguised as a necklace, Wright refused to believe her and ate the necklace, though, fortunately for him, it had been emptied. Years later, he attempted to cross a burning bridge in an attempt to save Maya, whom he believed to be trapped on the other side with a killer. Despite Larry Butz begging him not to, Wright went as far as to push him out of the way to get to the bridge, which immediately broke, sending him plummeting down into the river below.

Growth and maturation

In his university years, Wright was somewhat of a crybaby and a little childish, bursting into tears when Mia got angry with him for lying during his testimony. His naivety manifested itself mostly in his relationship with Dahlia Hawthorne. His attitude at this time was somewhat comparable to that of his childhood friend Larry Butz, though the latter never really grew out of this behavior. Nonetheless, Wright was often considered the most mature out of all of his friends.

In his earlier years as a lawyer, even after he had built up a respectable reputation for himself, Wright often depended on his former boss and mentor, Mia Fey, for advice. Even in death, she was generally available to help, thanks to the spirit channeling abilities of Maya and Pearl. At one point, Wright's morals were challenged when he was forced to choose between defending a guilty client to save Maya Fey or letting her die to see justice through. Eventually, during the trial of Iris, Godot challenged him to argue his case without Mia's help, and Wright prevailed.

Since then, Wright has become more self-confident and resistant to intimidation by his opponents, such as Gaspen Payne and Simon Blackquill (or, at least, more resistant than Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes, and the judge). However, Wright ended up underestimating Klavier Gavin due to the apparent gap in experience, and he paid for this by falling right into Gavin's trap and being exposed for presenting forged evidence, albeit unknowingly. Wright has also become more eccentric and laid-back than before, as well developing the habit of telling (mostly bad) jokes and occasionally giving cryptic advice, which at times irritates Apollo Justice. He also laughs more, and not as nervously as he did before. Often, when he is not in the heat of a trial, his actions and speech give off the vibe of the "omniscient old man" archetype in literature, at least externally. Despite this, in the midst of a pressure-filled trial, his more excitable side from his earlier years as a lawyer rises back to the surface. His internal monologue also reveals that he has retained his private sardonic nature.

During his disbarment period, Wright's morals seemed to be far more flexible, almost to the point of him adopting an "end justifies the means" mentality at times, as was demonstrated by his use of forged evidence in the Shadi Smith murder trial. His rationale for this behavior was that he no longer had the responsibilities of a lawyer; moreover, people at the time thought he was a sham anyway, and so he had perhaps given up on caring what they thought of him. However, he still deeply cared about those close to him, and he maintained contact with old friends such as Ema Skye, Maya Fey, and Miles Edgeworth. It seemed he did not hold any grudge against the loss of his badge, although he diligently continued the investigation of the case that had gotten him disbarred.

Likes and dislikes

His archaic phone.

• Wright has claimed that he watches Kids' Masterpiece Theatre every Sunday.
• Although he has repeatedly professed indifference towards the Samurai franchise, Wright's ringtone is the Steel Samurai theme tune, and he seems to be somewhat knowledgeable of the franchise in general. This could be explained by Wright having worked on two cases involving the franchise and having two friends who are huge fans of it.
• Wright is an unabashed meat eater and has claimed that the only sea creatures he likes are the ones he can eat. With that being said, Wright is not as burger-crazy as his assistant Maya, instead claiming to be more of "a grilled chicken sandwich man”. He has also developed a liking for grape juice, drinking it near constantly during his disbarment period.
• Blue is his favorite color, with his trademark suit being the most obvious manifestation of this.
• Wright does not own a car or a driver's license. He appears to use taxis as his main mode of transportation.
• Wright has a blue bar phone that he has apparently kept throughout his law career.
• Wright claims to be poor at math, and when he encounters any form of advanced technology he can only really regurgitate the information fed to him by others.
• Wright is afraid of heights. He supposedly took Trucy to an amusement park and rode a roller coaster, only to begin to object to the ride.
• Wright has stated that he is "not really into smoking" after examining a gold lighter on the table in Marvin Grossberg's office.

Relationship with Trucy

Phoenix Wright

Oh, Trucy's still a child.

Trucy Wright

Daddy! How many times do I have to remind you! I'm not a child anymore!

Phoenix Wright

Ah ha ha! But you'll always be Daddy's little baby girl to me, Trucy.

— Turnabout Corner

His locket.

Phoenix and Trucy have a very close father-daughter relationship. He is extremely caring and protective of her, and, in turn, Trucy is very caring of her father. For the first two weeks after Phoenix was disbarred, he felt that his life was ruined and he started to act even more sardonically than usual when the loss of his badge was brought up. Phoenix has stated that Trucy helped him make it through his disbarment period, referring to her as his light. He always carries a locket with him with Trucy's picture in it, wearing it around his neck while disbarred and in his breast pocket after his return to the courtroom.

Phoenix tends not to worry too much about Trucy, understanding that she is more than capable of handling herself and that she has Justice and Cykes to depend on if she needs help. However, he did note he should more carefully watch what sort of magic she does after she proved herself to be proficient with throwing knives and often denies her requests to help with investigations due to her needing to focus on her schoolwork. However, his more protective side was understandably more visible after she was held hostage by Aura Blackquill, leaving him scared about what was going to happen to his daughter.

As soon as he learned that Trucy had been arrested for murder, Phoenix frantically tried to get hold of Justice and Cykes, as he was out of the country at the time and thus unable to help her himself. However, he did calm down once they informed him they were taking her case and would save her. After the case, he called them back and after hearing that Trucy got a not guilty verdict, was immensely relieved to know she was safe.

Phoenix has voiced his concern about Trucy's choice of magic props, namely her "magic panties", especially since her magic shows involve her displaying said panties to strangers. However, he claims that he does not want to say anything regarding the issue to her, partly because he has let her get away with it for so long that he does not wish to spoil her fun, but also because he does not want to waste the "expensive panties" he brought for her.

Reputation and legacy

Miles Edgeworth

In a situation like this... what would that man do...? What would he who can turn any desperate situation around do...? .........Turn it around...? That's it! I must turn my way of thinking around!

— Turnabout Ablaze

Defense attorney, mentor, and father.

Wright was well known for his bluffing tactics and his unwavering determination in the courtroom, both of which he inherited from Mia Fey. Wright would stubbornly cling onto anything that could help his case, such as an inconsistency between the evidence and the claims of the prosecution and/or the witness or a seemingly insignificant clue. Wright would often not know where his logic was going and would make a story up and back it up with evidence or logic as requested as he went along. Nonetheless, depending on how much attention he paid to the court record, his version of the murder would usually turn out to be true eventually. Wright has also used tactics that would be considered bizarre by many (such as cross-examining animals), but which have regardless eventually led him to the truth in his cases. Wright has also occasionally tricked witnesses into implicating themselves for the crime in question. Wright was also known for the clever lines he delivered while making his stand, though one was stolen off of Mia Fey.

However, such tactics have given Wright somewhat of a poor reputation among some of his enemies, such as Kristoph Gavin and Furio Tigre. Gavin has gone so far as to call Wright "a second-rate attorney”. Nonetheless, he was generally renowned for winning seemingly unwinnable cases. Wright's disbarment tarnished this reputation, with the media being quick to call him a "crooked attorney", but regardless, he and even his law firm have been referred to as "legendary" in certain circles, even in the criminal underworld. The judicial system was apparently forgiving enough to allow Wright to head the Jurist System Simulated Court Committee, even giving him the power to choose the case, jurors, defense attorney, courtroom, and even the judge used for the trial.

Wright was at one point known as the "undefeated defense attorney" by some people, including Ema Skye, up until he eventually suffered his first defeat. Despite this, his record was still considered impressive since most defense attorneys would struggle to get a single win in their entire careers.

Wright Way Lunch

Angel Starr named one of her lunches in honor of Wright called the "Wright Way Lunch". Apparently, the top tastes as bitter as defeat but the bottom is as sweet as victory; Starr has suggested to "be careful not to eat it backward". According to Starr, it is popular with kids around exam time due to its turnabout theme.

Miscellaneous

• Wright is awful on the piano despite spending seven years as a pianist at the Borscht Bowl Club.
• Wright has a knack for poker, having played the game for seven years at the Borscht Bowl Club without losing once (although sometimes with help from Trucy).
• Wright has terrible handwriting, which was remarked upon when he tried to write a name while connecting dots on a jar and when reproducing the text of a letter.

Name

• His Japanese surname, "Naruhodō" (成歩堂), comes from the Japanese expression "naruhodo", which roughly translates as "I see", "I understand", or "indeed". It is usually used to agree with other people's ideas.
• His Japanese given name, "Ryūichi " (龍一), originated from Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本龍一), a Japanese composer, singer, writer, and actor, whom Shu Takumi deeply respected.<ref(2004). "Gyakuten Saiban 3 Investigate into the TRUTH". Page 112. ISBN 4-575-16419-4.</ref>. It initially had no other particular significance until Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations introduced a character named Furio Tigre (芝九蔵 虎之助, Shibakuzō Toranosuke in Japanese) — "Ryūichi" alludes to the dragon, while "Toranosuke" alludes to the tiger. The two animals are said to be natural enemies in Eastern mythology. This is referenced in-game by Tigre's jacket design, which bears the image of a tiger biting down on the neck of a dragon.
• "Phoenix" is a reference to the Phoenix, a mythological bird that revives itself by rising from the ashes of its own death. This is a reference to Wright's incredible comebacks during trials when it seems that all is lost (the title of Rise from the Ashes is a more obvious reference to the bird's ability). The mythological Phoenix can also represent "the exceptional man", perhaps alluding to Wright's good nature and his quest for the truth.
• "Wright" is likely meant to have a similar effect to his Japanese surname (with lines such as "Isn't that right, Wright?") and/or as a reference to his righteous nature and sense of justice (i.e., doing what is right). The surname itself is an occupational one originating in England that comes from the Old English "wryhta" or "wyrhta", meaning "worker" or "shaper of wood". During Turnabout Memories, Wright introduces himself to Mia as being "Wright... Like the flying brothers", referring to the Wright brothers.
• His name in the unofficial Russian fan localization is "Ryuichi Horasho" (Рюити Хорасё); "Ryuichi" references his Japanese given name, while "Horasho" comes from the Russian "horosho" meaning "well" or "okay" and, in keeping with his original surname, is an expression of agreement.
• His name in the unofficial Brazilian Portuguese fan localization is "Fênix Verissimo"; "Fênix" comes from his English localization given name (Phoenix) while "Verissimo" likely comes from "Verdade" (truth) or "ver" (to see).

Development

• Wright was designed to be the player's avatar, and so was made without a clear-cut personality or a detailed history outside the games so that it would be easy for the player to relate with him. Shu Takumi has intentionally refused to establish details irrelevant to the games, such as birth dates, blood types, or favorite foods. This is why Phoenix Wright's bedroom only makes a brief appearance at the beginning of Turnabout Samurai, and even then only in pitch darkness. In the original trilogy of games, his often-sarcastic inner monologues are meant to be like Takumi's own thoughts on the situations being presented in the games.
• He was given his distinctive "spiky hairstyle" in order to provide him with a unique look. It also serves to give Wright a distinctive silhouette, which Shu Takumi would repeat with Sissel, the main character of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.
• During production, the name "Souka Naruhodō" (which translates to "Oh, yes, I see now") was suggested, but quickly dismissed. It was decided to settle for just "Naruhodō".
• In Turnabout Sisters, Wright was originally supposed to first encounter April May in court (rather than in her hotel room). Upon seeing her for the first time, he was supposed to get "heart-eyes". However, due to changes to the plot, her appearance was brought forward, and so the relevant sprite was cut from the final game.
• In official art for the original Game Boy Advance release and in-game, Wright has brown eyes. However, in the official art created for the DS release onwards, he has blue eyes.
• Shu Takumi has speculated that the reason Wright was studying art at college was to become a Shakespearean actor. However, character artist Kumiko Suekane prefers to think that Wright was studying to become a manga artist.
• His hair is less spiky as a college student compared to when he is a lawyer; this difference was to add a distinction between the stages of Wright's life. Additionally, his college student design has his initials ("P" and "W") as part of the design on his shoes in his full-body official art.
• Of the five defendants in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Wright is the only one defended by Justice to not face the possibility of death during the course of his trial: Wocky Kitaki had a bullet in his heart that was still threatening his life; Machi Tobaye faced the possibility of the death penalty in his homeland of Borginia if he did not confess to cocoon smuggling at the time he did; and Vera Misham miraculously survived atroquinine poisoning.
• The initial concept for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies was Wright's return to law. However, it was felt that his story arc had been fully explored in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, and so his role was instead changed to that of the "newbie chief" of the Wright Anything Agency. His new character design had to be similar to his appearance in Trials and Tribulations, while at the same time showing how the flow of time had changed him. Many potential designs were put forward, including versions that had glasses, wore his pendant around his neck, wore a sweater hand-knitted by Trucy, or had a small goatee. It was decided that it was important that he should be well-dressed in a suit, but even the design of said suit had many variations. In the end, the game's art director Takuro Fuse settled on making him a little older-looking, altering his suit design slightly, and allowing a single lock of his hair to hang in front. The lock of hair was meant to add a little wildness to his design, while the addition of a waistcoat and pendant are meant to give an additional air of maturity. The balance between his face and expressions was also tweaked in the illustrations and 3D models for the game. The game's scenario director, Takeshi Yamazaki, felt that Wright is the embodiment of the "revival" theme of Dual Destinies.
• The main clothing color themes of Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice, and Athena Cykes are the three primary colors (blue, red, and yellow, respectively).
• Phoenix Wright is the only character to appear in all Ace Attorney games to date (excluding Dai Gyakuten Saiban: Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Bōken and its sequel), including the Edgeworth spin-off games and the Professor Layton crossover game Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Additionally, Wright appears in more episodes (31) than any other character in the series to date, followed by the judge (28), Dick Gumshoe (23), and Miles Edgeworth (21).
• Of the speech bubbles used in the series so far, Wright has used 6 of them (Objection!, Hold it!, Take that!, Got it!, Hang on!, and Welcome!), which is tied with Ryūnosuke Naruhodō for the most out of any other character in the series (although Naruhodō does not use "Welcome!", "Hai!" is unique to him).
• In the Japanese version of the games, almost all characters address Wright by his surname or a corruption of it. In Japanese parlance, one's first name is only used by family members, lovers, and extremely close friends. In Wright's case, however, even close friends like Larry Butz and Maya Fey still use his surname. The only characters in the entire series to call him by his first name are Dahlia Hawthorne / Iris (while they were dating), Desirée DeLite, and Ponco.
• Wright has endured a large amount of physical trauma. He has chewed and swallowed a necklace made of glass and metal that potentially contained a fatal poison. He has been physically assaulted by a murderer, almost taken out by mobsters, shocked by a 600,000 volt stun gun, hit over the head with a fire extinguisher (with temporary amnesia as the only consequence), had a tiger (playfully) jump on him, and had a near-deadly encounter with a loan shark. He also once fell from a 40-foot cliff into a fast-flowing river - one notorious for washing its victims away, never to be seen again - in the middle of winter, only to escape with a fever that just left him bedridden for two nights. In court, Wright has had a toupee thrown at his face, been frequently whipped, pecked by birds, had seeds thrown at him, and had numerous cups of boiling hot coffee thrown at his face. Even after being disbarred, he was punched by Apollo Justice and later hit by a speeding vehicle and thrown head first into a telephone pole, but walked away from the latter with just a sprained ankle. Unfortunately, the situation did not much improve after recovering his attorney's badge. He had tiny pieces of his hair sliced off, had his arm squeezed by thrown prayer beads, was knocked unconscious and was then threatened with a machete, faced the possibility of execution twice (including on the spot execution via guns trained on him), and had paper airplanes thrown at him. Considering what has happened to him, he is often viewed as lucky for surviving some of his experiences, and hardy for taking the physical abuse he experiences in court so well.
• The anime adaptation of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy adds a couple of pieces of information about Wright that are not mentioned in the games, but also do not contradict them.
  • Wright uses a bicycle as his main method of transportation.
  • He is said to have watched the entire run of The Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo for information that could help him with the defense of Will Powers.

Capcom vs. series

Phoenix Wright's Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 official art.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars

Phoenix Wright and Franziska von Karma were originally supposed to be playable characters in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. However, Wright had only one notable move - his "Objection!" In-game, the attack would create the "Objection!" speech bubble, which would attack opponents. The main reason Wright was ultimately cut was that localization would enlarge the "Objection!" attack, going from four to ten characters, making the move impossible to avoid and thereby creating serious balancing issues.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Producer Ryota Niitsuma later expressed a desire to implement Wright into future Capcom fighting games. He also stated that, due to his popularity, especially in Europe, he was near the top of the list of planned Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds downloadable characters if the game sold well enough. Although Wright as a downloadable character never came to fruition, both Wright and Miles Edgeworth do make a cameo appearance in the game, namely during She-Hulk's ending. In said ending, Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk's alter-ego) becomes the host of a courtroom reality series entitled "Jen's Justice", which co-stars Wright and Edgeworth. When she accidentally smashes the judge's bench with her gavel, both lawyers can be seen cowering in fear. The ending can be seen here.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Main article: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Wright's in-game model.

Phoenix Wright was confirmed as a playable character in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 when a character profile image of Wright was accidentally uploaded onto the game's website. On October 13th, 2011, Wright was officially revealed, and three video trailers featuring in-game footage of the defense attorney were released.

Unlike the other characters in the game, Wright does not actually fight directly, instead fighting by searching and throwing evidence, rummaging and throwing papers, and sneezing at his opponents (a reference to the cold he had when he was on trial as a student) as a launcher or an air combo/aerial rave finisher. He has three styles of "combat" to switch from. "Investigation Mode" is focused on finding clues to use against his foes in court, which is represented by three document folders. While searching, Wright can find either legitimate evidence or junk, which can be thrown away, with each individual piece of evidence having its own special effects, such as varieties of projectiles or even pieces of meat that can be used to restore health. Wright can call on Maya Fey as an assist to protect him while he searches for evidence. Missile can also be used as a throw, as well as an assist, when not in use. "Trial Mode" is a more combat-oriented style. Injection speech bubbles are also used as attacks that can stun Wright's opponent if they connect three times in a row. Once Wright has gathered three viable clues, he can go into his third mode, "Turnabout Mode", by connecting with his Questioning. Upon doing so, the current stage's background music changes to the Pursuit theme, Wright's special attacks become much more powerful, he has access to his signature finger pointing which releases ghostly pointing fingers that possesses juggling abilities, his projectiles become faster and stronger, and he becomes able to use his Level 3 Hyper Combo: "Ace Attorney". For this attack (tied with Vergil's Dark Angel as one of the strongest Hyper Combos in the game), Wright accuses his opponent until they breakdown, dealing massive damage. His Level 1 Hyper Combos include "Steel Samurai Maya Smelting!", which summons Fey to charge towards his opponent while wildly flailing her arms, and "Order in the Court" which summons the nightmare judge to smash both Wright and his opponent with his gavel. Being hit with the gavel will knock Wright back into Investigation Mode if he is currently in Courtroom Mode.

When playing in the game's "Simple" mode, Wright will only have access to the Investigation and Courtroom Modes and cannot collect any evidence, therefore locking out Turnabout Mode, and his Ace Attorney Hyper Combo. However, Wright makes up for this by still having access to his other two Hyper Combos ("Steel Samurai Maya Smelting" in Investigation Mode, and "Order in the Court" in Courtroom Mode), whereas other characters only have access to the one in Simple mode.

As is standard with fighting games, Wright has a number of alternative costumes he can wear, the color schemes of which are all references to other characters, namely Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, Larry Butz, Godot, and Sissel from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. A downloadable "Feenie" (i.e., as a college student) costume is also available.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Main article: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

We need more pieces to finish this puzzle.
	This article is under construction. While it is not short, it still needs expansion as outlined in the manual of style. The article most likely needs expansion near the end of the tagged section or sections.

At some point during his original career, Phoenix Wright was approached by the Legal League of Attorneys and asked to take part in a business exchange trip to London. He agreed, and so set off for England accompanied by Maya Fey. However, not long after arriving, Wright was asked to defend a mysterious student called Espella Cantabella on charges of theft and assault. Although he had not expected to be defending anyone during the exchange, Wright took the case and not only proved Cantabella innocent, but also revealed that the person she had been charged with assaulting was a jewel thief. However, not long after the case was over, both Wright and Fey were suddenly transported to the mysterious medieval town of Labyrinthia that Cantabella called home. Once there, the trio lost all memory of their previous meeting, with both Wright and Maya also losing their memories of their previous occupations and lives, instead believing they had worked in the local bakery alongside Cantabella for the last five years.

It was at the bakery that Wright and Fey would first meet Hershel Layton and Luke Triton, who had also been transported to Labyrinthia. Despite having no memory of his former life, Wright once again found himself defending Cantabella in court, albeit this time for murder and being a witch after she was accused of using a fire spell to burn to death two thugs who had attempted to mug her. In the process of proving her innocence, both Wright and Fey regained their memories. The pair then decided to team up with Layton and Triton to solve the mystery behind Labyrinthia. However, it did not take long for Fey to get herself into trouble; whilst investigating the death of an alchemist that had occurred three months prior, she found herself under suspicion of being a witch after Layton was apparently transformed into a gold statue. Although Wright was able to prove Maya's innocence, Cantabella then admitted to being the "Great Witch Bezella" in an attempt to stop any more people being executed as witches; if Bezella was killed, then there would be no more need for witch trials as she was the source of all witches. However, while freeing Cantabella from the cage that would be dropped into the flames below, Maya ended up switching places with her. Pinned down by knights, Wright could only watch in horror as Maya was dropped into the fire pit used for executing witches and seemingly killed.

Project X Zone 2

Main article: Project X Zone 2

We need more pieces to finish this puzzle.
	This article is under construction. While it is not short, it still needs expansion as outlined in the manual of style. The article most likely needs expansion near the end of the tagged section or sections.

After being asked by Heihachi Mishima to defend him on charges of smuggling illegal substances, Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey traveled to Japan and headed to Kamurocho, where they had agreed to meet. Whilst waiting, however, the area became infested with zombies. The two were eventually rescued by Mishima and the yakuza Goro Majima but were forced to retreat down a nearby manhole as the number of zombies increased. The manhole leads to Makai, where Wright eventually met up with Demitri Maximoff and Morrigan Aensland, who agreed to help the duo return to the human world. After rendezvousing with the rest of their group, Wright and Fey were attacked by Baby Bonnie Hood, who was under contract with Shadaloo to kill Wright before he could clear Mishima's name. As the others would be unable to effectively fight off any enemies and protect them at the same time, Aensland supercharged Fey's magatama with spiritual energy, thereby allowing the relatively normal pair to defend themselves against powerful opponents. Hood was eventually forced to retreat, and the group safely made it out of Makai.

It was here that Reiji Arisu and Xiaomu, members of the special organization Shinra, revealed a threat posed by rival organization Ouma that would have dire consequences for the world. Although initially refusing to assist them, Wright eventually relented after an enthusiastic Fey pointed out that Hood was still after them and that they could use the protection.

Eventually, Arisu, Xiaomu, and their allies were able to defeat Ouma, thereby allowing Wright and Fey to return to their old lives. Not long afterward, the two were invited to a reunion at Maximoff's castle alongside all their allies. During the party, a fight broke out between Heihachi Mishima, his son Kazuya, and grandson Jin Kazama, which they agreed to settle in a three-on-three fight. Wright failed to realize until it was too late that he had been selected to fight on Kazuya's team, much to his dismay.

Cultural references

• In The First Turnabout, when asked for evidence to prove why the clock was running slow, if Wright presents anything other than Stone's passport, the judge will challenge him, who then thinks, "D'oh! That wasn't it!" "D'oh!" is a catchphrase often used by the fictional character Homer Simpson in the long-running American animated sitcom The Simpsons, normally when something has gone wrong for him.
• At one point during "Ini Miney's" testimony in Reunion, and Turnabout, Wright is interrupted by Franziska von Karma then sarcastically thinks "Well, excuuuse me, Princess." "Excuuuuuuse me, Princess!" was the sarcastic catchphrase of Link in The Legend of Zelda television show, an American animated series loosely based on the video games series of the same name. In the cartoon, it was often used by Link (29 times in 13 episodes) when retorting to Princess Zelda's comments.
• During Turnabout Big Top, when Wright asks Regina Berry about Benjamin Woodman, only to realize that she has no idea that Woodman and the puppet Trilo are the same person, he thinks: "Like sand through the hourglass, so are the Days of the Circus." "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives" is the trademark voiceover used during the title sequence of the long-running daytime soap opera Days of our Lives.
• When Wright accuses Adrian Andrews of being the murderer in Farewell, My Turnabout, he exclaims, "Ms. Adrian Andrews! I choose you! You are Mr. Corrida's killer!"; "I choose you", followed by the name of a Pokémon, is often shouted by characters in the Pokémon anime when sending out their chosen Pokémon.
• In Farewell, My Turnabout, when Wright suddenly comes across Wendy Oldbag in her "spacesuit" outfit while investigating Corrida's hotel room, he is initially startled and exclaims "Zoinks! It's the alien!!" This is a reference to the character Shaggy from the long-running American animated franchise Scooby-Doo, during which Shaggy uses his catchphrase "Zoinks!" whenever he is surprised or scared, which is frequently.
• In The Stolen Turnabout, after Godot presents the DeMasque's Broach, Wright says "Uh-oh... ...Phoenix, we have a problem." This is a reference to a quote made famous in the 1995 film adaptation of the 1970 Apollo 13 lunar mission. After an oxygen tank explosion that forced the crew to abort their mission and made their safe return extremely dangerous, the Command Module pilot Jack Swigert reported back to mission control in Houston, Texas: "Houston, we've had a problem." The more famous "Houston, we have a problem" version was a change made for the film.
• On first meeting Lisa Basil in Recipe for Turnabout, Wright is surprised that she is a human, and comments that she "looks more like a ghost in a shell." This is a reference to the anime series Ghost in the Shell, specifically Basil's superficial resemblance to Major Motoko Kusanagi, the cyborg protagonist of said series.
• During Recipe for Turnabout, if Wright presents irrelevant evidence to Lisa Basil, she responds with, "I'm sorry. That data is SuPer Admin Restricted Desktop Access password-protected". Maya then exclaims, "SuPer Admin Restricted Desktop Access password-protected!? What!? This is madness!" while Wright calmly states: "No, Maya. That is SPARDA. She won't tell us unless we say the right code word". This exchange is a reference to the movie 300, namely the exchange between a messenger and King Leonidas (Messenger: "This is blasphemy! This is madness!" Leonidas: "Madness?... This! Is! SPARTA!"). Additionally, spelling it "Sparda" may be a reference to Capcom's Devil May Cry series, where it is the name of the demon father of the series' main characters Dante and Vergil. This reference is itself later referenced in Turnabout Reclaimed.
• After investigating Professor Constance Courte's body in Turnabout Academy, Wright says to Cykes, "Nice work, Athena. Your face only turned five shades of pale. I was expecting fifty." This is a reference to the title of the novel Fifty Shades of Grey.
• After Simon Blackquill comments on Apollo Justice's theory of a third party during the second trial in The Cosmic Turnabout, Wright thinks to himself, "As long as we aren't punished in the name of said moon..." This is a reference to the Sailor Moon franchise, where the titular character's catchphrase is: "In the name of the Moon, I'll punish you!"
• When examining the "shark cannon", Athena Cykes mentions that seeing sharks "flying and whirling through the skies" would be a sight to see. Wright at this point thinks to himself, "A tornado full of sharks? Not even Hollywood could conjure up something that insane." This is a reference to the 2013 made-for-television disaster B-movie Sharknado.

Other media

A page from the Kodansha Comics manga, translated into English.

• Near the end of the episode "Remote Island Syndrome Part 2" of the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, the mannerisms of a few of the characters mirror those of the sprites of some Ace Attorney characters. The scene in question is when Haruhi Suzumiya confronts the other characters with the truth about a "murder" that had taken place. Haruhi performs a number of actions that are identical to those that Wright performs in the games. The most obvious reference, however, is when she is making her final statement which consists of an extreme close up (with a dramatic blue background) immediately followed by Wright's iconic finger point. The scene can be viewed subbed here or dubbed here.
• The episode "1 Angry Ghost" of the anime Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt makes a heavy reference to the Ace Attorney trials. The main characters, Panty and Stocking, are defendants in a sort of twisted game show style trial, accused of murdering a Ghost named Husband Petter. When they are sent to the electric chair, their lawyer, a monkey named Mr. Abrams, is accidentally electrocuted along with them and suddenly becomes intelligent. This is followed by Wright's iconic finger point and a declaration that the prosecution's claims are contradictory, much like in the trailer of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Additionally, the witness, Mrs. Wife Petter, breaks down and confesses to the crime. The scene can be viewed here.
• Phoenix Wright, Mia Fey, Miles Edgeworth, and Franziska von Karma were all featured as Character Cards in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS.
• The adventures of Phoenix Wright have also been turned into manga, musicals, and a live-action film.

The Blue Detective from Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.

• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective features a minor blue-suited detective character only known as "The Blue Detective" who is partnered with the green-suited Detective McCaw. The blue detective's suit and tie (blue suit, red tie) match those worn by Phoenix Wright during his time as a lawyer and McCaw's suit and tie (green suit, red tie) match Winston Payne's own in Turnabout Memories. McCaw also wears opaque glasses with rectangular frames, much like Payne. These similarities are very likely nods to the Ace Attorney series, as Shu Takumi, the main developer of Ghost Trick, is also the main developer of the core games of the Ace Attorney series.
• In the first chapter/episode of the manga/anime Arakawa Under the Bridge, the protagonist Kou Ichinomiya briefly appears (in an inner monologue) wearing a suit and tie while pointing his finger and objecting. The anime makes the reference to Wright even more apparent by making the suit blue, the tie, red, and showing him wearing an attorney's badge. In the manga, the scene in question can be seen here.
• Wright appears alongside other Capcom characters in Minna to Capcom All-Stars, a Japan-only social RPG card game for cell phones.
• In episode eight of the anime Meganebu!, Mitsuki Kamatani is seen questioning Hotaka Shirogane whilst wearing a blue suit, white shirt, red tie, and an attorney's badge on its left side, as well as performing Wright's distinctive objection pose (screenshot).
• In episode 24 of the anime, My Bride is a Mermaid, the character Mawari Zenigata at one point gives Phoenix Wright's iconic finger point pose before starting an investigation.
• In the third episode of the anime No Game, No Life, the main character Sora interrupts the coronation of Chlammy Zell by yelling "Objection!" (complete with Ace Attorney-style speech bubble) and playing music on his smartphone that is strongly reminiscent of "Pursuit ~ Cornered" (with the image on his phone showing the game's logo, having "Game Soundtrack" as its genre, and giving its title as "Pursuit ~ I'll Corner You!"; incidentally, the track's name on the anime's official soundtrack is entitled "Reverse?", which is a reference to the "Turnabout" theme of the Ace Attorney series). There is even an elderly official present who bears a striking resemblance to the usual judge encountered in the Ace Attorney games. A similar scenario occurs in the fourth episode during an argument between Sora and his stepsister Shiro during the coronation, in which both the same music and elderly official are once again present, only this time with the addition of the "Hold it!" interjection. While these interjections are being shouted, the characteristic speech bubbles of the Ace Attorney series flash across the screen.
• In the second chapter (Sea and Punishment, Sin and Coconuts) of the murder mystery visual novel video game Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, the character Ibuki Mioda references Wright and the Ace Attorney series by stating, "Gravel *inside* the swimsuit?! Even the ace attorney would be astonished by such a fantastic idea!"
• In the special "Tanabata Festival Live" episode of the anime Inazuma Eleven GO Chrono Stone, Matsukaze Tenma points out that there is "clearly a contradiction" in the claims made by Alpha. While doing so, he points while shouting "Objection!", with Tsurugi Kyousuke telling him that he has the "wrong series". After Tenma points out that Alpha's very existence contradicts his own claim, the latter screams in horror while gripping his head, akin to the over-the-top breakdown animations used in the Ace Attorney series. Incidentally, the Inazuma Eleven and Professor Layton series are both Level-5 franchises, with Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney being released in Japan at roughly the same time as the aforementioned episode was aired.