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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 |
| 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. |
Phoenix Wright is a renowned defense attorney famous for turning hopeless cases around and getting his defendant found innocent, as well as finding the real killer. He has handled many cases in his career, losing only once to date. Wright has also been a defendant himself at least three times in his life, each time hiring a different lawyer (including himself). The trial of Zak Gramarye on April 19, 2019 saw Wright unknowingly present forged evidence, before the defendant disappeared, forcing an indefinite postponement of the trial. Wright was subsequently disbarred.
Wright spent the next seven years as a piano player that moonlighted as an undefeated poker player at the Borscht Bowl Club, but secretly continued his investigation of the case that had cost him his attorney's badge. To this end, he was instrumental in re-introducing the Jurist System into California law. After the case was finally resolved, he retook the bar exam and once again became an attorney.
Early life
Wright in the fourth grade during his class trial.
Phoenix Wright grew up as an only child. He once told Apollo Justice that he was raised in a barn, in order to explain the untidiness of his hospital bed, although he was most likely joking about this. At one point in his life, Wright broke into a cattle ranch and tipped some cows.[1]
One day during fourth grade, Wright was accused 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 asserted that Wright could not be proven guilty without evidence. The three became inseparable friends after that. It was revealed, 15 years later, that, even though he had not been in school that day, Butz had in fact been the one who stole the money.
At the time, Edgeworth took strongly after his famous father Gregory Edgeworth, a legendary defense attorney. The class trial would be a powerful inspiration for Wright during his legal career. After the DL-6 Incident, which resulted in his father's death, Edgeworth transferred schools and moved out of town.
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." Atmey was most likely only taunting Wright, although judging from the lawyer's reaction, this wasn't far from the truth. He has stated that his teachers always said he was "a good thunker" [sic] and has also related that it was pouring rain on the day of his elementary school graduation.
University years
- Main article: Turnabout Memories
Wright suffering from a cold while wearing a sweater made for him by "Dollie".
Wright studied 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. Edgeworth had become a ruthless prosecutor, unrecognizable from the Edgeworth that Wright knew from his childhood. Wright attempted to contact him, but he was ignored. Wright decided that if he became an attorney, Edgeworth would have to meet him sooner or later in court, and then Wright could save him from his problems.
In his third year, 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, and for six months, Hawthorne tried to convince Wright to give the necklace back, but Wright refused, thinking that she didn't mean it.
One day, Wright lost his cold medicine. Later that day, Doug Swallow, a former lover of Hawthorne, met Wright and 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, Wright pushed him into 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 cold medicine in his hand.
Wright was accused of the murder and put on trial. Wright's lawyer was Mia Fey, a rookie at the time who had not taken a case since her first a year before. Wright didn't cooperate with Fey at first, lying that he hadn't 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 eaten 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 got a not guilty verdict, but he still couldn't believe that Hawthorne had betrayed him. Fey told him to move on with his life.
Fey's defense of Wright inspired him to pursue law full-time, and he came to receive his attorney's badge with number 26381. Meanwhile, Hawthorne was convicted and sentenced to death.
Law career
| Judge |
| Mr. Wright. You are truly the most unpredictable defense attorney I've ever known. |
Early cases
- Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Wright at the start of his career.
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. When Mia was murdered, her sister Maya Fey was put on trial, and Wright finally met Edgeworth in the ensuing courtroom battle; Wright bested Edgeworth in Edgeworth's first loss ever. Wright then inherited Mia's firm, renaming it Wright & Co. Law Offices, and took on Maya Fey as an assistant.
Wright took Edgeworth on again 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. The case saw a child on the witness stand, and Wright managed to avoid a deadly encounter with the mafia. The court found Powers innocent in Wright's third consecutive win, although this time it was with Edgeworth's help that the true killer was found.
Wright then found himself defending his rival in the murder of defense attorney Robert Hammond. The prosecutor was Edgeworth's mentor and adoptive father Manfred von Karma, who would do absolutely anything to maintain his 40-year perfect 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. It would turn out that von Karma was the killer in the DL-6 Incident, and that von Karma had instigated Hammond's murder as well.
After this last case, Maya felt that she was now a burden and left to train to improve her spirit medium abilities. Wright stopped taking cases after Maya left until Ema Skye came into his office looking for help, as her sister Lana Skye had been accused of murder. With Ema's forensic science tools such as fingerprint dusting and luminol testing (for blood), Wright was able to uncover the truth behind not only the murder but also the events that had led to it two years ago in the SL-9 Incident. Wright faced Edgeworth in court, and they worked together to take down the real killer behind both incidents.
The magatama
- Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All
Edgeworth disappeared after Skye's trial, leaving behind what was apparently a suicide note. The note itself simply read, "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth Chooses Death." Wright decided that Edgeworth had taken the coward's way out and hated him for it. He returned to refusing cases after Skye's trial.
Wright's semi-retirement was broken for good when Turner Grey came to his office to request Maya's services in spirit channeling. This took Wright to Maya's hometown, Kurain Village, and he met Maya's cousin Pearl Fey there. Wright was thrown into a usurpation plot involving Pearl when Grey was murdered and Maya was put on trial for it. Wright met Manfred von Karma's daughter Franziska von Karma in court, and he relived much of his 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 von Karma her first not guilty verdict, devastating her just as it had devastated Edgeworth.
As Wright restarted his career, he defended Maggey Byrde in an amnesiac state. He then faced von Karma again when defending circus magician Max Galactica in a bizarre case in which a witness claimed to see Galactica flying. The case exposed a culture of bitterness among the employees of Berry Big Circus.
Defending the guilty
- Main article: Farewell, My Turnabout
Wright soon faced his greatest dilemma yet.
During a "Hero of Heroes Grand Prix" event, television star Juan Corrida was killed. As well, an assassin named Shelly de Killer kidnapped Maya Fey and coerced Wright into defending another "samurai" - the star of The Nickel Samurai, Matt Engarde - from a murder charge. In the ensuing fiasco, Miles Edgeworth returned from what turned out to be an overseas trip, and Wright gave him a cold welcome. De Killer later shot von Karma, and Edgeworth took her place opposite Wright in Engarde's trial.
Wright tried to accuse Engarde's manager Adrian Andrews of the murder in court, but 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 in his horror that Engarde really was the killer, and that he couldn't do anything about it. 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 then called on the police department to chase down de Killer while he and Wright stalled for time in court. Eventually, de Killer left crucial evidence behind, which showed that Engarde was planning to blackmail de Killer like he had done to Wright. Upon finding out about this betrayal, de Killer freed Maya and made Engarde his next target. Engarde, now trapped, had no choice but to accept a guilty verdict.
The mysterious Godot
- Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
Wright in 2018.
Some months later, a Fey clan heirloom, the Sacred Urn, 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 court named Godot. Wright won the case by exposing Mask☆DeMasque's arch-nemesis, Detective Luke Atmey, as the real Mask☆DeMasque, but DeLite was immediately thrown into a murder case, the victim being his ex-boss 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 couldn't explain why.
Wright faced Godot again in an appeal trial in which Maggey Byrde was convicted of the murder of Glen Elg following the shoddy 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 murder that had been witnessed had been staged, and that the real murder had occurred earlier. Wright confronted the owner of Tender Lender, Furio Tigre, who himself was in debt to mob boss Bruto Cadaverini. In court, Wright tricked Tigre into implicating himself for the murder as well as the red herring and the impersonation of Wright in the first trial.
Showdown
- Main article: Bridge to the Turnabout
A month after Byrde's trial, Maya gave Wright a magazine article about a spirit medium training temple, Hazakura Temple. Wright refused to accompany her to the temple at first, but then he saw one of the nuns in a picture, who looked like Dahlia Hawthorne. Wright then agreed to go with Maya and Pearl. At the temple, Wright met Larry Butz again, as well as the "twin", who was a nun named Iris. Wright also met the head nun, Bikini, and Butz's new "teacher", Elise Deauxnim. Iris gave Wright her hood for warding off demons. In the middle of the night, however, Bikini witnessed Iris stabbing Deauxnim with the Shichishito sword, and she told Wright to call the police using a phone near Dusky Bridge. Wright found the bridge burning; fearing for Maya, who was training in the Inner Temple at the other end of the bridge, told Butz to call the police while he ran across the bridge. The bridge broke under Wright, and he fell into Eagle River below.
Edgeworth found out about the accident and visited Wright in the hospital. Fortunately for him, Wright suffered only minor injuries and a cold, and Edgeworth found him shivering and wearing Iris's hood. Wright gave Edgeworth his attorney's badge and his magatama, asking him to fill the defense's bench for Iris until he got better. As Edgeworth left to investigate the murder, Wright researched his mentor's first case, which had seen Dahlia Hawthorne nearly get implicated for a murder, but the defendant had killed himself, 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 met Godot here, and Godot told him that he should have protected Mia. As Wright wondered about this remark, he found that Dahlia Hawthorne had been executed a month before, and that Iris really was Dahlia's twin sister. He also found that Elise Deauxnim was actually Maya's mother Misty Fey, who had disappeared after the DL-6 Incident.
Wright faced Godot in court again. Iris suddenly offered herself up as a witness against Maya Fey, but Wright eventually realized that "Iris" was actually Dahlia, who was being channeled. Dahlia claimed to have killed Maya, but Wright realized that Maya had, in fact, channeled Dahlia to protect herself, after channeling Mia asking for her help. As Mia appeared in Pearl's body to tell Dahlia that she would never win against her, Dahlia 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 the killer.
Godot had been Mia's fellow lawyer Diego Armando, whom Dahlia had poisoned before meeting Wright in the courthouse, which explained Godot's vendetta against Wright. It was also revealed that Iris had been the one to meet Wright for the whole time in which he had dated Dahlia, except for the first and last encounters. Wright forgave Iris for lying to him all those years ago, and he told her that he had believed in her somehow, even after the result of the trial. Godot then shared one last cup of coffee with Wright before the trial ended.
Quiet before the storm
- Main articles: Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Gyakuten Kenji 2
Phoenix Wright with Maya Fey and Pearl Fey at Gatewater Land.
One month before his disbarment, Wright, Maya and Pearl went on a trip to Gatewater Land, where they all went on a ride on a row boat together. Edgeworth also happened to be in Gaterwater Land, although he was there on business.
Phoenix Wright with Maya Fey near the Global Studios filming set.
Less than two weeks before his disbarment, Phoenix and Maya were spotted once again near a crime scene, which was being investigated by Edgeworth. They were looking at the Big Tower skyscraper, astonished by the wonders of concrete masonry. However, they were prevented from encountering the scene (and Edgeworth) by a large barrier put in place around the filming lot where the investigation was taking place.
During his investigation into an international smuggling ring, Edgeworth would occasionally refer to Wright, but never by name. Instead he is mentioned in a vague way ("him", "the man in the blue suit", "a certain defense attorney" and so on).
Disbarment
- Main article: Turnabout Succession
In April of 2019, Zak Gramarye, a famous magician at the time, called Wright to his detention cell. Gramarye challenged him to a game of poker, which Wright won. Gramarye 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 to occur the next morning, but Wright reluctantly agreed to take the case.
The next day in court, Zak Gramarye's daughter Trucy 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 journal, which had a page ripped out. Wright presented the page that Trucy had given him, as it seemed to be the missing page, but Gavin declared that the evidence was fraudulent, calling a forger, 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 hearing conducted by the Bar Association of other lawyers in his field. 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 and those involved with the law still carried him in somewhat high esteem.
Interim
- Main article: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright in 2026.
| 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. |
Two weeks after the Gramarye trial, Wright took in Zak's abandoned daughter Trucy and raised her as his own, after failing to find any close kin. He also made friends with Kristoph Gavin, and the two of them met often over the next seven years. Wright had a sneaking suspicion that Kristoph was somehow related to the forged evidence, but having no proof at the time, he continued his investigation.
Wright questioned 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 Misham was the real forger and confirming among other things 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 Shootem" trick, which had resulted in the serious injury of Thalassa Gramarye, Magnifi's daughter. Thalassa had disappeared after the incident.
In the years that followed, Wright & Co. Law Offices was retooled into the Wright Talent Agency, a place to store the material for Trucy's magic shows. Wright was hired as a poker champion at the Borscht Bowl Club posing as a piano player. This was purely for the competition, however, as his main source of income was Trucy's magic shows. He learned that Trucy could read subtle body language and used her in his poker games to beat all of his opponents.
Kristoph Gavin's downfall
- Main article: Turnabout Trump
Down, but not out.
Finally, the time came seven years later in which Zak Gramarye reappeared to Wright, posing as "Shadi Smith". Wright questioned Zak about his intentions and about the Gramarye family, learning that Kristoph's new student Apollo Justice was Magnifi's grandson. 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 him to come to the truth about his last case. In addition, Zak wrote a letter confessing to Magnifi's death (though he had not actually done it) and handed Wright a will passing on the legal rights to Magnifi's magic tricks to Trucy. A reporter named Spark Brushel was there to notarize the will.
Zak challenged Wright to a poker game. Zak cooperated with the dealer, Olga Orly, whom he had planted earlier, to plant extra cards on Wright to make him look like a cheater, but by sheer luck, Wright came across the card planted 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. When he came back down, Zak was dead.
Wright advising Justice during the latter's first trial.
Wright called Kristoph Gavin to defend him, but when Kristoph mentioned Zak's baldness, Wright realized that something was wrong, since he should not have seen the man without his hat on. 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 his student Apollo Justice as his lawyer. The judge recognized Wright, but Wright 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 wasn't as clear-cut as Kristoph was trying to make it out to be. Orly, the sole witness, hadn't 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 decisive 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 had been a fake. Justice was horrified at this and punched Wright, but Wright 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 and Turnabout Serenade
On June 15, 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, to help him out. Wright asked him to find the individual who had hit him, and to find out who had stolen a certain Guy Eldoon's noodle cart; Trucy's "magic panties" were also stolen. During Justice's investigation, he came across a murder, which tied all three incidents together. It also turned out that Ema Skye had been hired as a detective, 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.
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 wouldn't 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 7, Drew Misham was killed through atroquinine poisoning, and Wright, as the chair of the Jurist System Simulated Court Committee, had the courts use this case as the test case for the Jurist System. Justice was appointed to the defense's bench, defending Vera against Klavier. Wright was also able to pick the jurists himself. Wright gave Trucy Zak's will, but he 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 around him. He then met Brushel and Valant, telling the latter about Zak's will. Valant admitted that Magnifi had, in fact, killed himself, and Valant had tried to frame Zak out of jealousy. Finally, Wright came back 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 game program called the MASON System, which he showed to the jury deliberating on Vera's trial. Although the recordings didn't count as decisive evidence under the old system, the jury decided unanimously that there was considerable reason to believe that someone else had committed the murder. Vera got an innocent verdict. His recording of Kristoph's letter also led to Justice being able to prove to the court that Kristoph Gavin, not Phoenix Wright, had been the one who had requested the forgery of Magnifi's diary seven years ago, and, as such, Wright's name was cleared.
Lamiroir, who was one of the jurists, visited Wright to thank him and turned out to be the long-lost Thalassa Gramarye. Wright told her that he would keep her children safe until she could reveal her identity to them. With his last case finally solved and his reputation restored, Wright retook the bar exam and became a certified lawyer again.
Return
Returning to the courtroom as a lawyer once again.
- Main article: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
After Justice and a new rookie lawyer named Athena Cykes solved a case involving the death of a mayor, Wright's career took off again with a bang. He accepted a case where he had to defend Ale Arafune, an aquarium orca, and its trainer Shouko Umino.
He later took on the case of a schoolgirl called Juniper Woods, who was accused of planting a bomb to destroy one of the courtrooms in the District Court. Facing him was the prosecutor Gaspen Payne, younger brother of the "Rookie Killer" Wright had defeated in trials past.
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? |
Wright while at university.
Phoenix Wright is generally quite easy-going in his outlook. His relaxed attitude usually leads to his hyperactive friends leading him around or taking advantage of his good nature, usually by making him foot the bill of large celebratory meals. Wright has repeatedly shown himself to be a loyal friend and lawyer who refuses to back down once his mind is made up. Wright also has somewhat of a sarcastic side that he usually keeps to himself. This tends to manifest itself when dealing with the eccentric characters he comes across, including his friends.
In his university years, Phoenix Wright was somewhat of a crybaby and a little childish (acting somewhat, in fact, like a less cocky version of his childhood friend, Larry Butz, although, unlike Wright, Butz never really grew out of this behavior). For example, he burst into tears when his lawyer Mia Fey got mad at him for lying in his testimony. His naïvety manifested itself mostly in his relationship with Dahlia Hawthorne. Nonetheless, he was often considered the most mature out of all of his friends.
Wright as a lawyer before his disbarment.
When he was a lawyer, Wright was dedicated to defending his innocent clients, and followed his mentor's advice of believing in his clients. His loyalty to his clients was so great that he would often end up risking his career and even his life for them on several occasions, including in his last trial, in which he showed calm concern for the fate of his client even in the midst of allegations of fraud. Drew Misham in particular was very caught by this, claiming that despite Wright being the center of the problem, he was the only one who had not made a commotion. However, even after he had built up a respectable reputation for himself, Wright still depended on his former boss and mentor, Mia Fey, for advice. At one point, however, these morals were challenged when Wright was forced to choose between defending a guilty client to save Maya Fey, or letting her die to see justice done.
Wright was very self-confident during his last trial against Klavier Gavin; for once, he was facing a rookie, and he believed that he was far out of his opponent's league. He ended up conducting the trial like a standard one, and in his haste he presented the diary page without thinking about the source of the page. The resulting disbarment was a very dark period of Wright's life. He felt that his life was ruined, and he started to act even more sardonically when mentioning the loss of his badge. This happened for the first two weeks after he was disbarred, and it continued up until he met Trucy. He noted that she was his light.
In the seven years that have followed, Wright has changed in many ways. He no longer seems to hold a grudge against the loss of his badge, or any anger. He also appears less sardonic and more eccentric in general, sometimes not reacting at all to events that transpire. Wright has become even more laid-back and less serious since his disbarment and has a habit of telling (mostly bad) jokes and giving cryptic advice, which at times irritates his student Apollo Justice. His actions and speech give off the vibe of the "omniscient old man" archetype in literature. He seems to laugh more, though not nervously as he did before. Any of his cartoonish screw ups or actions that he did before, he has stopped completely now. He never seems overly excited about anything, and rarely shows great emotion aside from his casual, happy-go-lucky persona. Despite this, his internal monologue shows that his old personality appears to still be present, although he tends to keep it to himself more than he did whilst he was a lawyer.
Although he is apparently a professional pianist, he is awful on the piano and refuses to take requests. He has also developed a great liking for grape juice and drinks it near constantly.
His morals seem to be far more flexible since his disbarment, and he seems to have adopted more of an "end justifies the means" mentality, though he has claimed that this is because he feels none of the responsibilities of a lawyer. This is shown in his use of forged evidence in the Shadi Smith murder trial. This could be due to a "devil-may-care" attitude, as most people think he is a sham anyway and so he has given up on caring what they think of him. However, he still deeply cares about those close to him and views Trucy as his own daughter. He supposedly took her to an amusement park and rode a roller-coaster, although in the end, he started to object to the ride. He is also still in contact with old friends such as Ema Skye and Maya Fey. Wright has kept his desire to find the truth from his time as a lawyer.
Phoenix Wright does not have a car or, in fact, even a driver's license. Taxis seem to be his main mode of transport, as he traveled between the prosecutor's office and the police department by taxi. He has claimed that he watches Kids' Masterpiece Theatre every Sunday. Although he has repeatedly professed indifference towards the Steel Samurai series, Wright's mobile phone ringtone is the Steel Samurai theme tune and he also seems to be somewhat knowledgeable of the franchise in general. Wright is afraid of heights (a quality he seems to share with both Edgeworth and Justice) and claims to be no good at math. While examining a gold lighter on the table in Marvin Grossberg's office, he stated that he is "not really into smoking".
Wright has also 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, been hit over the head with a fire extinguisher (with temporary amnesia as the only consequence), and had a tiger (playfully) jump on him. 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 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 hit by a speeding vehicle and thrown head first into a telephone pole, but walked away with just a sprained ankle. Considering what has happened to him, he is often considered lucky for surviving some of his experiences, and hardy for taking the physical abuse he experiences in court so well.
Wright is not as burger-crazy as his assistant Maya, instead claiming to be more of "a grilled chicken sandwich man".
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! |
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, whether it be an inconsistency between the evidence and the claims of the prosecution and 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 almost always turn out to be true eventually. 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.[2]
Such tactics have, however, given Wright somewhat of a bad 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, in general he was 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. Of his known trials, Wright has a win record of thirteen out of fifteen (with two of his cases consisting of two trials for separate offenses). Of the remaining two, he willingly lost one while the other was postponed due to the defendant's disappearance.
The Wright Way Lunch
Angel Starr has 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 not to eat it from the bottom up. According to Starr, it's popular with kids around exam time due to its turnabout theme. This is a reference both to the general naming of the cases and how Wright's trials usually progress.
Name
Wright in 2027.
- His Japanese surname, "Naruhodou" (成歩堂), is a reference toward the Japanese expression "naruhodo", which roughly means "I see", "I understand" or "indeed". It is usually used to agree with other people's ideas.
- His Japanese given name, "Ryuuichi" (龍一), originated from Ryuichi Sakamoto (坂本龍一), a Japanese composer, singer, writer and actor, whom Shu Takumi deeply respected.[3]. It initially had no other particular significance until Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations introduced a man named Furio Tigre (芝九蔵 虎之助, Shibakuzō Toranosuke in Japanese) — "Ryuuichi" alludes to the dragon, while "Toranosuke" alludes to the tiger, which are said to be natural enemies in Eastern mythology. This is referenced in-game by Tigre's jacket design, which has the image of a tiger biting down on a dragon.
- "Phoenix" is a reference to the phoenix, a mythological bird that revived itself by rising from the ashes of its own death. Wright himself is famous for his almost impossible comebacks during trials when it seems that all is lost (the title of Rise from the Ashes being a more obvious reference to the bird's ability). The mythological Phoenix can also represent "the exceptional man", perhaps eluding 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?"). 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.
Development
- During production, the name "Souka Naruhodou" (which translates to "Oh, yes, I see now") was suggested, but quickly dismissed. It was decided to settle for just "Naruhodou".
- In the original art, Wright has brown eyes as he does in-game. However, in the official art created for the DS release, he has blue eyes.
- Shu Takumi has speculated that the reason Wright was studying art at college was to become a Shakespearean actor. The character artist Kumiko Suekane, however, prefers to think that Wright was studying to become a manga artist.
- Wright was designed to be the player's avatar and so he was made to be easy to relate to. He was given his "spiky hairstyle" to give him a unique look.[4] The hairstyle also served to give Wright a distinctive silhouette, which Shu Takumi would repeat with Sissel, the main character of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.[5]
- His hair is not as spiky as a college student as it is later on. This difference was to add distinction between the stages of Wright's life.[6]
- As a college student, Wright had his initials ("P" and "W") as part of the design on his shoes.
- Phoenix Wright is the only character to appear in all Ace Attorney games to date.
- Phoenix Wright's Bedroom makes an appearance at the beginning of Turnabout Samurai, but only in pitch darkness, making its appearance and location unknown.
- The main clothing color themes of Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes are the three primary colors.
Capcom vs. series
The leaked image of Phoenix Wright for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
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 creating serious balancing issues.[7]
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Producer Ryota Niitsuma later expressed a desire to implement Wright into future Capcom fighting games.[8] 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.[9] 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
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.[10] On October 13th 2011, Wright was officially revealed and three video trailers featuring in-game footage of the defense attorney were released.[11]
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 either find 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 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 Maya 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 sort of 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 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" (a.k.a. as a college student) costume is also available.
References to popular culture
- 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 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 catch phrase "Zoinks!" whenever he's 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.
References and appearances in 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-game. The most obvious reference however, is when she is making her final statement which consists of an extreme close up (with a blue dramatic background) immediately followed by Wright's iconic finger point. The scene can be viewed 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 Layton-kyōju VS Gyakuten Saiban. 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 cards in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS.
- Phoenix Wright co-stars with Hershel Layton in the crossover game Layton-kyōju VS Gyakuten Saiban.
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 does. 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 make the reference to Wright even more obvious 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.
Sprite gallery
Pre-disbarment
.gif "Phoenix-normal(a).gif (26 KB)")
.gif "Phoenix-normal(b).gif (63 KB)")
College
Disbarred
.gif "Hobo-objects(b).gif (46 KB)")
Japanese sprites
Cut sprites
References
- ↑ :Phoenix: I'll have you know, back in the day I once broke into a cattle ranch and tipped -
Judge: M-Mr. Wright! What are you saying!?
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Capcom. Episode: Rise from the Ashes (in English). 2005. - ↑ :Mia: Stealing MY lines now, are we Phoenix?
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All. Capcom. Episode: Reunion, and Turnabout (in English). 2007. - ↑ "GYAKUTEN SAIBAN 3 Investigate into the TRUTH" page 112 ISBN 4-575-16419-4
- ↑ (2009). "The Art of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney". UDON. ISBN 1-897376-19-7.
- ↑ GamesRadar. Ghost Trick – dev interview. Accessed on 2010-03-02.
- ↑ (2009). "The Art of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney". UDON. ISBN 1-897376-19-7.
- ↑ http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2010/jan/28/tvc-uas-characters-didnt-make-cut/
- ↑ Fighting Talk with Ryota Niitsuma, Tatsunoko vs Capcom's producer. Accessed on 2009-08-14.
- ↑ Frank West cut, Phoenix Wright considered for MvC3. Accessed on 2011-08-21.
- ↑ Phoenix Wright confirmed for Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3. Accessed on 2011-07-21.
- ↑ UMvC3: Phoenix Wright officially revealed. Accessed on 2011-10-13.