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Turnabout Academy
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Aristotle Means
All right, class is now in session!

Episode 3: Turnabout Academy is the third episode of the game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies. When a murder occurs at the Themis Legal Academy matching the one depicted in a mock trial, Juniper Woods, who set up the mock trial, finds herself as the defendant in a real one. Woods's friend Athena Cykes takes up her case, with Apollo Justice as co-counsel, against the mysterious convict prosecutor Simon Blackquill. Meanwhile, Woods is rumored to be involved in a love triangle between the cool and intelligent Hugh O’Conner and the hot-blooded Robin Newman, but Cykes senses that there is something else going on beneath the surface.

Intro[]

Themis Legal Academy. A prestigious high school with alumni in the highest echelons of the legal world.

The intro shows the Themis Legal Academy building from the front, then one of the classrooms, full of students in blue and white uniforms. Outside, dark reddish clouds begin to form, and in a hallway, students begin to disappear. As the camera comes closer to three particular students, flashes of other scenes appear, including someone whispering to someone else, some monetary bills being tossed, and an eye. The final scene is of a seemingly blood-stained awl dropping to the floor beside a woman's dead body, with the three aforementioned students surrounding her.

Acts and chapters[]

Screenshot Act Chapters Event(s) covered
Themis Law School "Investigation - Day 1"
  • "Investigation - Day 1"
  • "A Body Is Found"
  • "Juniper Is Arrested"
  • "The Mock Mock Trial"
  • "Questions, Questions"
  • "Interview with Juniper"
Investigation (October 24, 2027)
Cloaked Newman "Trial - Day 1" Trial (October 25, 2027)
TurnaboutAcademyPicture2 "Investigation - Day 2"
  • "Investigation - Day 2"
  • "The Outdoor Stage"
  • "Questions for Scuttlebutt"
  • "Questions for O'Conner"
  • "The Art Room"
  • "A Fabrication Exposed"
  • "Figuring Out Juniper"
Investigation (October 25, 2027)
Themis Trio "Trial - Day 2"
  • "Trial - Day 2"
  • "Another Way to Move a Body"
  • "O'Conner's Mood Matrix"
  • "A Lecture in Court"
  • "The Final Cross-Examination"
  • "Seeking the Truth"
  • "Post-Trial Wrap-Up"
Trial (October 26, 2027)

Timeline[]

To edit the information in this table, go to Template:Timeline and edit the information there.
Date Event type / related incident Description Notes
October 23, 2027 Turnabout Academy Constance Courte is murdered. N/A
October 25-26, 2027 Turnabout Academy Trial of Juniper Woods for the murder of Constance Courte. N/A

References to other cases[]

  • The 1st floor hallway contains a poster advertising "Guilty Dogs" with a picture of a hot dog. This is a reference to Turnabout Reminiscence, where a 13 year-old Franziska von Karma, unimpressed by the slogan of the hot dogs sold from a vending machine in the District Court ("When you're in hot water, you might need a hot dog" - Winston Payne entry in a public contest to choose a slogan), came up with the arguably equally poor replacement: "If you leave matters in a Von Karma's hands, everyone in court will be found guilty dogs!"
  • Juniper Woods's costume design for the festival concert is almost identical to that worn by Lamiroir in Turnabout Serenade. Neither Apollo Justice, Trucy Wright, nor Klavier Gavin make any comment on this, despite all three having met Lamiroir in said costume. Additionally, the song "The Guitar's Serenade" is the one that Gavin performs with Woods during the concert in said episode. The canon in-universe explanation is that Woods just so-happened to design the exact same costume by coincidence, whereas out of universe this was done as a way to tie into the sub-plot regarding Woods' crush on Justice (as it allowed the cutscene in which Juniper gains "brownie points" with Justice, who is a fan of Lamiroir's music).[1]
  • If the academy newspaper is presented to Phoenix Wright, he mentions that he was an arts major at university. When Cykes asks how he became a lawyer instead, he responds that it was a very complicated situation, and she reads a lot of complex emotions from him. This is all in reference to the events of Turnabout Memories.
  • The object of art hanging from the ceiling in the art room is actually Phony Phanty, a piece of evidence in Turnabout Countdown. Additionally, when lamenting that Woods' script was chosen over hers, Scuttlebutt says, "My script had it all! A bum rap and phony evidence!" This is likely a reference to Phony Phanty and Bum Rap Rhiny.
  • Fulbright demanding proof that the clock in the art room, which appears to be running slow, was running slow on the day of the murder, hearkens back to Frank Sahwit demanding the same thing in regards to the The Thinker, in The First Turnabout.

Cultural references[]

  • After investigating the body, 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.
  • If Justice fails to perceive Myriam Scuttlebutt's tell, Cykes will mention that Justice's ability is like a razor-sharp box cutter, to which he replies, "I'm a lawyer, not a superhero." This may be a reference to the "I'm a doctor, not a..." catchphrase often used by Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Original Series, but also repeated with variations by other characters in the ensuing Star Trek franchise.
  • When Cykes and Justice are talking to Scuttlebutt, Justice says, "Myriam, wouldn't you feel better if you came out of the dark and into the light?" This may be a reference to the Falco album Out of the Dark (Into the Light).
  • There are numerous references to the Metal Gear video game series, in particular the cardboard boxes often used in the series as mobile disguises, which revolve around the cardboard box-wearing Myriam Scuttlebutt. The first is when Justice notices her box, and he says, "Don't let it be a SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE," which refers not only to the code name used by the main protagonist of the series, but also to the phrase used in the Game Over screen in many of the games ("Snake? Snake? SNAAAAAAAAAAAKE!") The final reference is after Woods's acquittal, when Cykes thinks to herself, "Myriam's got this Tactical Espionage Action stuff down to a science..." This is a reference to the "Tactical Espionage Action" tagline commonly used for the Metal Gear series.
  • Newman calls Prosecutor Blackquill "Birdman" at one point during the first day of the trial due to his pet hawk, Taka. This may be a reference to the Adult Swim animated television comedy series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, of which Capcom produced an Ace Attorney-style game.
  • While Cykes is rebuilding the Lady Justice statue, Justice asks what she's doing, to which she replies, "Don't stop me now. The artist inside me wants to get out and have a good time." This is a reference to the first two lines ("Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time") of the chorus of the rock song "Don't Stop Me Now" by the band Queen.
  • As Cykes is questioning O'Conner about why he was running late, she at one point says to the judge, "Et tu, Your Honor...?!". This is a paraphrase of "Et tu, Brute?" These are the last words of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar in the eponymous play about him by William Shakespeare. Caesar says these words upon seeing that even his friend Marcus Brutus had joined those who had come to assassinate him.
  • While discussing the statues of Phoenix Wright and Klavier Gavin that she had created, Newman states that she is thinking about rebuilding them, but this time by simply dropping the two men into a big bowl of plaster instead. When Cykes questions the safety of this idea, Newman exclaims, "Full on YOLO is what art's all about!", referencing the acronym of the saying, "You only live once."
  • When asked about the "proof of friendship" in the beginning stages of the case, Newman is quoted as saying, "Proof?! We don't need no stinkin' proof!..." This is a reference to a well-known and widely (mis)quoted line that originally comes from the 1927 novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: "'All right,' Curtin shouted back. 'If you are the police, where are your badges? Let's see them.' 'Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don't need badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and chinga tu madre!' The film adaptation of the book says, "'If you're the police where are your badges?' 'Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!'"
  • During the second trial day, examining Scuttlebutt in her box on the outdoor stage leads to Cykes commenting, "so this is the future cardboard box technology has afforded us, huh?". This could be a reference to the Level-5 franchise Little Battlers Experience (also known as Danball Senki; lit. Cardboard War-chronicles). The franchise takes place in the near future, akin to Ace Attorney, and features the invention of super reinforced cardboard technology as part of its backstory.
  • During Hugh's Mood Matrix section, he strikes a pose similar to the iconic Lupin III run.

Development[]

  • Underneath his coat, Eustace Winner from Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit wears a blue Themis Legal Academy uniform. It was confirmed by the Gyakuten Saiban 5 Official Complete Guidebook that he studied there, and that the blue uniform he wears was previously the uniform for students taking the prosecutor course until it was changed in later years to the red uniform seen in Turnabout Academy.
  • Excluding a brief sequence in Farewell, My Turnabout wherein the player controls Maya Fey, Turnabout Academy is the only episode in the entire Ace Attorney series in which a female character is playable during an investigation.

Errors[]

Means staff

iOS (top) vs. 3DS (bottom)

  • In the English 3DS version of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, Means is erroneously holding his staff during the first encounter with him, which should not be the case as before the mock trial, it had been stabbed into Courte's body. This error is corrected in subsequent releases.
  • After the trial has been won, Newman says, "I think I'll stick with become a prosecutor after all." which should be becoming.
  • When pressing the final statement in Aristotle Means's first testimony, he says "You cannot possible overturn my claims." which should be possibly.
  • After the cutscene with Juniper on stage, Athena says, "Wow! That what SO much fun!"
  • When Apollo is telling Athena not to lose hope against Means, he says, "The truth will always wins against people like him."
  • When Blackquill objects to Athena calling Professor Means to the stand, he says, "He said it's often all too easy to overlooked critical symptoms!".
  • During the trial when O'Conner claims to have used a body double, Blackquill says, "Your Baldness, summon an ambulance this instance. The witness is stark, raving mad." which should be instant.
  • When discussing the case with Gavin, in reference to the killer and the statue-smasher Gavin says, "Nein, I suspect they might be one in the same."
  • As Athena is pointing out how the school banner could be used to carry the body, she declares "What do think this one could have carried?!" It is missing a word, and should be "what do you think".
  • When Hugh confesses that his "genius" was fake, he says "I accidently learned that my parents have been paying good money for my grades."


References[]

  1. (2015). "The Art of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies -". UDON. ISBN 978-1927925447.
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