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Turnabout Jackpot - TV Tropes

  • ️Sat Dec 25 2021

Turnabout Jackpot (Web Animation)

Narrator: New Year’s Day… a time for resolutions and a fresh hand dealt by Fate.

Turnabout Jackpot (or Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney - Turnabout Jackpot) is the third original Ace Attorney fancase by Team LordIban presented in the format of voice-acted animation, with TheGoldCrow once again voicing Phoenix Wright.

Set almost three months after Vera Misham's trial in Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, the Wright Anything Agency staff is invited to the luxurious Royal Flush casino in honor of Phoenix Wright somehow securing a spot in the most prestigious poker competition in the land, the All-Stars Legends tournament. Not even a day goes by when their holiday is cut short; and they become tangled up in the murder of one of the world's best poker players on New Year’s Day.

Defending Phoenix's old acquaintance Jack Porter against the allegations with the help of Trucy Wright, Apollo once again faces the rockstar prosecutor Klavier Gavin in court to find the truth behind it all!

The video was released in the following installments:

See Phoenix Wright: Devil's Attorney and Operation: Turnabout for the two earlier series from Team LordIban.

Turnabout Jackpot provides examples of:

  • Adaptational Explanation: The web animation explains why the Jurist System, a major part of Apollo Justice's climax, isn't around for Dual Destinies. Basically, the "Dark Age of the Law" is so entrenched among the higher-ups of the legal system that they feared the wider implementation of the Jurist System, thus they buried its future under a pile of red tape.
  • Afraid of Blood: Jack Porter, to the point where he faints when watching the trailer for Pinkie Rabbit vs. the Bad Badger. It's later revealed that Rex House tried to weaponize this by playing the trailer when he ambushed Porter.
  • All or Nothing: The All Stars Legends pays a hefty sum for whoever wins the tournament, but the champion gets everything if they win—not only money, but the right to the head of The Deck and the Royal Flush itself, along with any of its associated assets. The other contestants? They get nothing but experience in the tournament. This year Rex House was "kind" enough to offer complementary cheap duffel bags to everyone else. As it turns out, the hefty sum is an "all or nothing" scenario for Rex House as well, as if he doesn't manage to win the All Stars Legends Tournament this year, he won't have the money needed to pay off his loans to the Cadaverinis for his past failed business ventures. And because the Masked Stranger had asked for only physical playing cards, House wouldn't have been able to use the Argine Systems Poker Table that he has the Master Key for to cheat his way to victory.
  • Amoral Attorney: Richard Gunner, who would win cases for criminals, or throw his clients under the bus if paid handsomely, like what he did with Charles Argine. Hector Nash, who hated Gunner, felt it was karmic Gunner died in a car "accident" shortly after "botching" Argine's defense. Then on the last trial day, we actually meet Gunner, who faked his own death, and he goes even further; not only is he the true culprit of the case, but he's a very slippery customer who uses all manner of cheap tricks to try and worm out of his comeuppance.
  • A Rare Sentence: During the defense's search for Charles Argine after Richard Gunner revealed himself and pretended to be him, Apollo ends up hitting on the idea to ask the livestream's fanbase to help in the search… which means having to ask for "ForeheadFan33" to help find them. Apollo can't help but lampshade just how absurd the statement is in his head:

    Apollo: ForeheadFan33, I know you're watching this! Please help find our witness!

    Apollo (internally thinking): (...that sure was a sentence spoken in a court of law!)

  • Asshole Victim: The Masked Stranger who was shot to death is revealed during the first day of the trial to be Rex House, and it turns out he was just impersonating the real Masked Stranger as part of a plot to make him ineligible before the tournament via framing him for murder. He was also a Corrupt Corporate Executive really named Noah Buddy and is suspected to have acted as a patsy for the Cadaverini crime family. The fifth episode also hints that he won leadership of the Deck by unsavory means, which is confirmed in the sixth episode; he stole the Master Key from Hector Nash, used it to frame Charles Argine for cheating in the tournament, and thus falsely won his position. Similarly, his connection to the Cadaverinis is confirmed, as Gunner reveals they were using the casino's vaults to store contraband.
  • Bunnies for Cuteness: Pinkie Rabbit, natch. The original one, anyway; the reimagined Pinkie is a hardened warrior in fuzzy rabbit's fur. He does still have some very adorable stuffed animals littered around the Royal Flush.
  • Busman's Holiday: Phoenix gets invited to play against the best poker players in the world at the Royal Flush casino on New Year's Day, and Apollo and Trucy come along as guests. They get to enjoy the festivities of New Year's Eve, but things get cut short when one of the players, the Masked Stranger, is found dead and the prize money set on fire. The same goes for the Judge, who is forced to preside over the case when he was planning to spend New Year's Day watching a TV marathon with his wife.
  • Bloodier and Gorier: In-Universe, the Pinkie Rabbit movie is this compared to the kid-friendly TV show it's based on. Seeing the trailer for it actually causes Mr. Porter to faint from shock at all the blood, while Apollo, who watched the show all the time as a kid, claims that it ruined his childhood, and Felicia Garnet, who's also a fan, later expresses disgust at the Gatewater Group's attempts to erase the original in favor of their version.
  • Call-Back: When Mr. Porter asks Apollo and Trucy to go and investigate his security office, Phoenix remarks that he hopes they won't find a briefcase full of foreign money in there. This is a reference to the Team's previous fancase, where Phoenix did find exactly that in a security office.
  • Call-Forward:
    • The second episode has one towards Dual Destinies, regarding the fight against the "Dark Age of the Law".
    • Similarly, at the end of the case, Phoenix reveals he plans to leave for Europe to study their legal systems. It would be on this trip that he meets Athena.
  • Classified Information: Day 2's investigation involves Apollo and Trucy learning about Jack being an FBI agent and his notes concerning Rex House and the mafia. A portion of what they learn is incredibly useful and provide some decent alibis for Jack, but they also compromise his position so they can't present their findings in court.
  • Chekhov's Gun:
    • The Masked Stranger is said to have a "secret signature" that can be used to verify whether the person under the mask is the real Stranger or an impostor. During the first day of the trial, this is used by Mr. Porter and Apollo to prove that Mr. House, who died wearing the Masked Stranger's mask and suit, was not the real Stranger.
    • The penultimate piece of evidence that corners the guilty party is the cigarette Dr. Nash knocked from Richard Gunner's mouth. He held onto it with the promise of cramming it down Gunner's throat when the truth of his corruption was brought to light. Ten years later, it's used to confirm Gunner's DNA, fully confirming his identity.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • The second episode mentions there is a new Chief Prosecutor, referring to how Miles Edgeworth was in the position for a year by his reappearance in the finale case of Dual Destinies.
    • The number the Masked Stranger allegedly called on the night of the murder belonged to a Borginian phone, which puts a wrench in both the defense and prosecutor's sides. Klavier in particular snarks about Borginia's "love of red tape", which had previously given him grief in "Turnabout Serenade".
    • The Judge is able to relate to Rockwell's fears by talking about how he was able to overcome his fear of clowns, and even mentions that he was able to look one in the eye in court! The clown, of course, refers to Lawrence "Moe" Curls in "Turnabout Big Top".
    • Episode 5 sees the return of the original series' beloved "ladder vs. stepladder" debate, as Apollo and Trucy argue over whether or not the secret escape in the Tournament Room counts as either.
    • Apollo very briefly touches on the fact that he didn't know his parents and was raised by a foster father, something that will become very important to his character arc in Spirit of Justice.
  • Cool Mask: The Masked Stranger wears one of these to hide their identity. It even comes with a voice filter that makes them sound like a robot. The voiceprint of said filter is actually the Masked Stranger's "secret signature" that can be used to tell the real deal apart from impostors.
  • Cool Old Guy: Aldric Fitzroy, really Charles Argine, CEO of the tech company Argine Systems and former leader of the Deck poker club, which is said to consist of the world's best players. Where do we even start with him, aside from his general friendliness toward other patrons? He, aided by Hector Nash, set out to manufacture a line of tamper-proof poker tables to combat the money laundering and fraud often present in gambling; that and the fact he cared deeply for his granddaughter and raised her after her parents died both speak volumes about his character, and let's not forget that he's the true identity of the Poker Legend known only as the Masked Stranger, which consisted of a voice-modulated mask of his creation, as well as making mini EMP devices and signal jammers, all of which he used to sneak into the tournament room to find proof that Rex House was not only a fraud who rigged tournaments in his own favor, but was also the true culprit of the AC-3 case. The icing on the cake comes on the final day of the trial when he reveals the note sent by his attorney and the real murderer, Richard Gunner, which instructed him to burn the note upon meeting with him; Charles, wise to Gunner's slimy personality, trumped him with a simple bluff, burning a copy of the note and keeping the original one safe all these years, which ultimately renders Gunner's legally dead status null and void.
  • The Corpse Stops Here: This is why Hector Nash claimed not to have found the body before Apollo did, believing that admitting to finding it would have made him a suspect. He's forced to explain himself, however, when his gold-plated lighter is found at the crime scene. He's vindicated when Apollo is revealed to have found the body and the Judge, upset at being forced to work on what was supposed to be his day off, gets angry and wonders if Apollo did it.
  • Cynicism Catalyst: Hector Nash's hatred of lawyers stems from Richard Gunner demanding a ludicrous sum of money for his services from his close friend and co-worker, Charles Argine, before simply throwing him to the wolves when offered more money, even disregarding Hector's attempt to testify about the mistake he made.
  • Darker and Edgier: In-Universe, the Pinkie Rabbit movie has the titular character go on a child-unfriendly Roaring Rampage of Revenge quest against the badgers for the deaths of his family. None of the original show's fans are pleased with this.
  • Detachable Doorknob: The door to the emergency exit gets its handle broken off on the VIP floor, forcing the guests to evacuate via the roof when the fire alarm goes off.
  • Disqualification-Induced Victory:
    • A variation in Episode 1 when Apollo makes it to the final table of the Tiny Tourney with Flint Rockwell, Felicia Garnet, and Aldric Fitzroy. But before the game can begin, Rockwell abruptly accuses Felicia of cheating (she wasn't – Rockwell was just psyched out by her stuffed bunny) and storms off, with Felicia following him in confusion. Fitzroy, disappointed to see the two big-name players leave, forfeits as well, leaving a confused Apollo the winner by default.
    • How Rex House became the new leader of the Deck. While the previous leader Charles Argine initially won the tournament, he was accused of cheating, and evidence was unearthed that ended up backing that claim. That led to House, who was in second place, becoming the new leader of the Deck. It turns out to have all been a setup by House, who was the actual cheater and took advantage of a device he'd stolen from Hector Nash to hack the poker table.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Charles and Hector thoroughly planned through every method of hacking their magnum opus poker tables, and true to form nobody with normal means or the pair's intelligence would be able to crack it. However, they left one singular means of contact with the tables—the Master Key—and if anyone gets their hands on that, that person could edit the tables to their liking. Hector leaving the Key at a bar gave Noah Buddy the one thing he needed to pass himself off as a poker king.
  • Enforced Plug: Because the Gatewater Group is providing a sizable portion of the $100 million prize money, the poker tournament is forced to promote Gatewater's Pinkie Rabbit reboot.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: The Masked Stranger's low, computerized voice proves quite sinister when they start to be revealed as the true murderer; when Richard Gunner ditches the mask, he has a harsh, growling voice in sharp contrast to the cultured baritone of his would-be patsy, Charles Argine, alias Aldric Fitzroy.
  • Extra-Long Episode: Most episodes average around 1 to 1.5 hours in length, but the sixth and final installment sits at 4 hours 20 minutes—well over three to four times the length of any one of the previous episodes.
  • Fixing the Game: Discussed. Japanifornia's Gambling Act was made in response to how frequent game fixing became, especially because of how often games were rigged in favor of powerful people and members of organized crime. Argine Systems attempted to combat this by making nearly foolproof electronic poker tables, but the efforts were quashed before they could really make ground—Rex obtained the tables' Master Key and framed Charles Argine for cheating, while earning his own empire by actually using that same equipment to cheat.
  • Food End: After all is said and done, the Wright Anything Agency is treated to a meal by Porter for saving his hide. However, considering the circumstances, what they get isn't a celebratory feast like Apollo wanted but a trip to the local fast food joint for some burgers and fries. At least the burgers were delicious.
  • Four Is Death: Flint Rockwell considers the number 4 to be unlucky, so when he got suite number 4, he switched rooms with the Masked Stranger.
  • Frame-Up: Twice over, ten years apart.
    • Ten years ago, Noah Buddy rigged the automated casino table at its debut tournament to make Charles Argine the clear winner, to frame Charles for cheating with a product he built to supposedly put an end to all casino cheating, to ruin his reputation and win by default and become the new King of the Deck.
    • The third day of the trial reveals that Rex House was attempting to frame the Masked Stranger for the murder of Jack Porter to have him disqualified from the tournament, which would let him go back to using the rigged automated card table to ensure he won the $100 million prize.
  • Freudian Excuse: Hector Nash's distrust for defense attorneys and generally unpleasant disposition began when Richard Gunner heartlessly sold out his friend Charles Argine because "he got a better deal", leaving the utterly innocent Argine's life destroyed. This made him believe that all defense attorneys ultimately care about is themselves, and his attitude toward them was later reinforced by the "Dark Age of the Law". However, Trucy and Apollo's earnest insistence that they really do care about the truth and proving their client innocent eventually gets through to him and he does what he can to help their case.
  • Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Hector Nash is a smoker who carried a gold-plated lighter, later revealed to be Charles Argine's former business partner. He mentions that he punched a cigarette out of the mouth of Amoral Attorney Richard Gunner before promising to make him pay for screwing over Argine.
  • Hidden Villain: Initially, we are led to believe that the Masked Stranger was involved in the crime, with implications being that their true identity is Charles Argine. Sure enough, on the third trial day, they eventually confess to both being Argine and shooting Rex House. But after a bit more digging, it turns out that the one wearing the Masked Stranger's suit and mask — and the true culprit — isn't Argine, but his Amoral Attorney Richard Gunner, who was believed to have been dead for ten years.
  • Hoist by Their Own Petard: Richard Gunner's ultimate downfall can be summarised as a lot of his actions, some of which were done with the intention of covering his ass, coming back to bite him.
    • When Apollo tries to prove that Gunner's murder of House wasn't to save Jack nor in self-defense, but premeditated, he claims that the threatening letter House got wasn't from Tender Lender but from Gunner, citing that he's the only one who calls House by his real name of "Noah" like in the letter. Gunner claims that a fingerprint analysis won't be able to prove that, to which Apollo calls his bluff and does it anyway, finding that there are no actual fingerprints. However, this ends up proving it since Gunner earlier admitted to having melted off his fingerprints with acid when he went into hiding, meaning that out of the people who could have sent the letter, he's the only one whose "prints" match. Gunner even has a minor Villainous Breakdown over the fact that he burned his prints off for nothing.
    • His next defense is that he can't be held accountable for House's murder and all associated crimes because the long time he spent in hiding means he's now considered legally dead. As he further points out, by the time they're able to reverse his legally dead status, he'll have long gone back into hiding. However, Phoenix pulls a Big Damn Heroes and advises Apollo that if they can prove Gunner's had contact with anyone at some point before he was declared dead, it should render void his legally dead status. Apollo is able to prove this using the letter Gunner sent to Charles Argine to propose the revenge scheme; Argine's more than happy to reveal he has it in his possession, having tricked Gunner into thinking he burned it with a copy.
    • The second to last and arguably most bizarre move is taking advantage of his numerous counts of perjury to claim that he's not Richard Gunner, but a stand-in hired by the real one, since nothing, not even his initial claims of being Gunner, can be trusted at this point. This gets undone thanks to Hector Nash, whom Gunner had mockingly given a cigarette he was going to smoke before Hector angrily knocked it out of his mouth for his betrayal. Said cigarette, having his DNA on it via his saliva, is used to prove his identity, in addition to his old fingerprints that can be matched with those on a letter he wrote in the AC-3 case file.
    • On his last legs, he claims that he’ll make a deal with the FBI, who are investigating the Royal Flush casino for dirt on the Cadaverini crime family, to tell them everything he knows about their dealings in the casino so they can get a warrant to search the place, which they otherwise can’t do without the permission of the dead Rex House. What he doesn’t know is that, with House’s crimes and cheating exposed, all leadership and assets of the Deck, including the casino, has immediately gone back to Charles Argine, who’s quick to grant the Feds permission. This not only removes Gunner’s last line of defense, but also puts him on the Cadaverinis’ shit list for being quick to betray them on live television, finally prompting his Villainous Breakdown.
  • I Have Your Wife: On the night of the murder, Gunner forced Argine to go along with his plans by threatening to hurt his granddaughter Angela.
  • In a World…: The trailer for the Show Within a Show Pinkie vs. The Bad Badger begins with this phrase.

    The Narrator: "In a world where only the fittest survive."

  • Insufferable Genius: Hector Nash, a Jerkass with a PhD who works as an engineer and statistician when not playing poker. He also bases his poker playing on statistics and calculations, tests out his strategies with a poker app on his phone during smoke breaks, and rudely dismisses any possibility of luck. His current behavior is due to what happened to his friend, Charles Argine, the original leader of the Deck.
  • Interface Spoiler: It's only a video mimicking gameplay footage, but it still carries the spirit. Notice how the Masked Stranger's name in their textbox never changes when they reveal themself to be Charles Argine, unlike Nash and Felicia who change to "Hector" and "Angela" respectively. This is an early clue that the Argine in front of us is not the genuine article, but an impostor.
  • Jerkass:
    • Mr. Rex House, the owner of the Royal Flush casino, is a loudmouthed egomaniac and very nasty to people he sees as beneath him. After he's found murdered, it turns out he's actually a former small-time gambling crook named Noah Buddy, and he's suspected, and later confirmed, to have been cooperating with the Cadaverini crime family. He worked to become leader of the Deck not only for the money, but also to ruin Argine and take everything from him because of his attempts to prevent any more cheating with his tamper-proof poker tables.
    • Hector Nash is a rather curt fellow as well. He may not go out of his way to be unpleasant to others as House may (unless he feels provoked, it seems, such as when he believes he's been cheated out of a prize he rightfully won), but he's far from friendly. He used to be a kinder person in the past, though, and after opening up to Apollo and Trucy and subsequently helping them with the case, he proves to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
    • The Hidden Villain behind everything, Richard Gunner, makes House look downright decent by contrast; not only did he betray his innocent client Charles Argine when House made him a higher offer, but he spent ten years planning his revenge against House for trying to off him with a rigged car after the trial, manipulating Argine and everyone else to his ends and even impersonating the Masked Stranger. After being unmasked, he spends his entire time on the stand gloating about his evil deeds, insulting anyone he pleases, and trying to weasel his way out of being convicted with one dirty legal trick after another until he's finally out of luck.
  • Jurisdiction Friction: The FBI suddenly get involved in the second day of investigation, preventing access to the crime scene, much to the exasperation of the local police. They were trying to secure any evidence left of House's connections to the mafia, and were also likely involved because one of their own agents was in danger.
  • Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films: As a child, Flint Rockwell was planning to watch cartoons on Easter Sunday, but the TV station accidentally aired Killer Bunnies from Beyond the Moon, which left him traumatized. In the epilogue, it's implied that the Judge's beloved granddaughter will meet the same fate, since he's planning on taking her to a showing of Pinkie Rabbit vs. The Bad Badger without knowing any of the contents of the movie.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The live streams. Klavier wants to broadcast the struggle and triumph of an honest lawyer to the world so that people can begin to find faith in the law again, but out of universe the episodes were originally live streamed on Youtube.
  • Loan Shark: Rex House is revealed to have borrowed money from the Cadaverini mafia. It is suspected that due to his inability to pay back the loan, he was forced to provide assistance in some of the Cadaverinis' operations. Even so, he still had to pay $100 million by January, meaning he had incentive to do anything to win the next Poker All-Stars Legends tournament.
  • Loophole Abuse:
    • Phoenix takes advantage of the "all expenses paid" clause in his invitation to the All Stars Legends Tournament to order as much grape juice as his new duffel bag can carry, citing this trope to justify doing so.
    • After the first trial day, Dr. Nash refuses to talk to Trucy and Apollo about anything except engineering or statistics. He lampshades falling victim to this trope when they approach him to ask about a device found in House’s safe.
    • Rex badly needs the All Stars Legends prize money to repay the Cadaverini. However, all the money is tied to sponsorships, who say that they'll pull out their participation if the highly anticipated Masked Stranger is a no-show—and making matters worse, the Stranger won't come if they aren't allowed to use physical poker cards instead of the electronic table Rex normally uses. Rex also needs that electronic table, since he's been using it to cheat his way to victory for the last decade. However, there is an out; while the sponsors don't want the Stranger to not show up, they'll keep their money in the pot should the Stranger show up but lose, get disqualified, or show blatant misconduct. If Rex can "make" the Stranger disqualify themself before the actual tournament, then Rex doesn't have to play by the Stranger's rules and continue winning like he always has.
    • Gunner abuses this trope to the point it may as well be his main talent. He uses all manner of dirty tricks to sneak out of legal responsibility, including claiming that his murder was done in an attempt to save Mr. Porter's life, abusing the fact that he's legally dead when the law only applies to those who are alive, claiming he isn't Richard Gunner at all, and trying to strike a deal with the FBI for clemency lest their evidence be declared null by the doctrine of the fruit of the poisonous tree.Needless to say, he's easily one of Apollo's most obstructive and difficult opponents just by the sheer number of ways he tries to weasel his way out of his crimes.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • Dr. Hector Nash: His last name refers to John Forbes Nash Jr., an American mathematician who made fundamental contributions to game theory.
    • Rex House: Rex is Latin for King. House is a common gambling term for a casino. His real name, Noah Buddy, is a pun on "nobody".
    • Charles Argine: "Charles" means "free man" in Proto-Germanic, referencing his innocence in the AC-3 case being proven on the final trial day. His surname is also an anagram of "Regina", which is Latin for "queen"; it is also the Italian word for "riverbank".
    • The culprit of the case, the one who shot Rex House alias Noah Buddy, was Richard Gunner; geddit? Taking his greed into account, the choice for his given name should also be obvious.
  • Mistaken for Undead: Rockwell claims that he saw a ghost when he came up to his bedroom on New Year's Eve. The safe in his room bursting open scared the daylights out of him, as did the sudden power outage. The former was caused by Gunner using Mr. Pinkie's EMP to retrieve him.
  • Money Dumb: After Rex House gained the Deck's assets, he began investing in many ventures that ended up failing. He even meddled with the Royal Flush Casino which was already set up to be profitable even under the strict regulations of Japanifornia, causing it to lose money. He ended up having to sell most of the Deck's assets, and eventually took out loans from the Cadaverinis, for whom he stored contraband in the hotel's treasury.
  • Money to Burn: The $100 million prize money is discovered to be set on fire. The cause of the fire was Garnet's Pinkie Rabbit doll after it was stolen from her. Luckily, while the money was real, it was also insured.
  • My Greatest Failure: When Hector Nash was working with Charles Argine, they decided to respond to the Japanifornia Gambling Act by creating a gambling machine that was completely impossible to tamper with to ensure fair gambling. However, in his rush to finish the machine for mass-production, Hector accidentally let a potential cheating method slip by, and only found out after the machine entered mass-production. Even worse, his inability to find a solution to the problem led to him deciding to start Drowning His Sorrows, but this led to him blabbing about his problem and getting his notes on the gambling machine and the cheat device stolen.
  • My Rule Fu Is Stronger than Yours: The final part of the final trial day is essentially Apollo and Richard Gunner one-upping each other with this trope until Gunner finally runs out of options.
  • New Year Has Come: The story takes place from New Year's Eve to January 4. The tournament was supposed to take place on New Year's Day, but unfortunately the death of The Masked Stranger postponed it.
  • New Year's Resolution: Discussed. Ema Skye is unhappy about breaking her New Year's resolution of avoiding further contact with Klavier Gavin. Apollo originally didn't come up with one before New Year's Day, but after the murder, he states that his resolution will be to get Jack Porter a non-guilty verdict.
  • Not Proven: Once it becomes increasingly clear that Richard Gunner was going to get away with all of their crimes, the killer themself gloats that the law can't touch them, especially since they have no physical evidence that points directly to them anymore. In particular, Gunner uses fingerprints as an example, as since he burned his off years ago forensics couldn't be used; and also cites that he doesn't have a copy of the contract he made with Charles Argine, which was destroyed years ago.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: The Masked Stranger is known as such because the person never gave their name, leading to the public coming up with that moniker. Jack Porter realized right away that the person who slipped him a note supposedly signed by the Masked Stranger couldn't be the real deal because the true Stranger doesn't officially use that name.
  • Out-of-Character Alert: In the final day of the trial, Felicia Garnet/Angela Argine and the Masked Stranger get into an argument over how the Stranger has been twisting the truth. In the heat of the argument the Stranger, who is believed to be Charles Argine, calls her "Felicia". Angela instantly calls him out as an impostor because her grandfather would never call her by her false name. This is when the Masked Stranger is revealed to be Richard Gunner.
  • Parental Abandonment: Felicia Garnet, real name Angela Argine, was abandoned by her only parental figure, Charles Argine, when he fled to avoid being sent to prison, so she ended up in foster care. However, unknown to her, he had planned for his close friend Hector Nash to take her in, but social services wouldn't let Hector see her because he is officially a stranger and not a relative. Even if Felicia resents her grandfather for what happened, she still kept the Pinkie Rabbit plush he gave her. It also turns out that Angela and Charles met later down the line, with the two deciding to work together to get justice for the latter after Noah's cheating came to light; when Angela finds out that Richard hurt her grandfather and stole his suit and mask to impersonate him, she is livid.
  • The Password Is Always "Swordfish": The passcode to Rex House's safe is 0000001. Jack Porter figured it out by noting only two buttons on the keypad had fingerprints and accounting for Rex's ego and obsession with being known as the leader of the Deck. That's to say nothing of Porter himself, having set his computer's username and password to "porter" and "password" respectively.
  • Punny Name:
    • Jack Porter: Need we say more?
    • Flint Rockwell: A fitting name for a man with a face of stone who barely speaks. It turns out to be an act; he's a lot softer and more talkative in private.
    • Rex House's real name, Noah Buddy. He was indeed a relative "nobody" before he took control of the Royal Flush Casino from its last owner, Charles Argine, under suspicious circumstances.
    • Richard Gunner's chosen alias was Adam Lyre ("A Damn Liar"), fitting for a slimy lawyer who lies as easily as breathing and even gloats about it.
  • Purple Prose: Rex House's letters from the Cadaverini family are all written in a flowery, royalty themed manner to disguise their true nature as instructions and veiled threats to collect their long overdue money.
  • The Quiet One: Mr. Flint Rockwell uses a minimal amount of words to get his point across. It's all part of his "Unflinching Mountain" persona; when he finally cracks on the stand and drops it, he proves to be a lot more talkative.
  • Rated M for Money: In-Universe, the apparent reasoning for the Darker and Edgier Continuity Reboot of Pinkie Rabbit is to draw a much wider audience.
  • Reboot Snark: Apollo learns that The Pinkie Rabbit Show, which he watched as a kid, is getting a reboot movie. However, the new owners of the kid-centric IP decided to go after older audiences by going in a Darker and Edgier and Bloodier and Gorier direction, and even having the film advertised at a poker tournament. Apollo is understandably not a fan of the new changes, and neither is Felicia Garnet.
  • Reverse Psychology: When the bellboy tells Apollo and Trucy that Dr. Nash doesn’t want to be disturbed, Trucy gets his room number by asking the bellboy which room to avoid.
  • Rewatch Bonus: If you listen closely during the fireworks show, you can hear the sound of the gunshot that killed the victim.
  • The Rich Want to Be Richer: Conversed. Nash gives Apollo and Trucy a thought exercise positing that anyone will readily accept a free million dollars whether they're a millionaire or not.
  • Satchel Switcheroo: Nick and Felicia get their duffel bags switched on New Year's Eve. Nick stuffed dozens of grape juice bottles into his bag, and kept it with Felicia while they were practicing for the Midnight Jazzstravangza. Unfortunately, that bag is long gone since Felicia was trying to take her bag with the Masked Stranger's outfit and, thinking that Nick's bag was hers, threw it into the Angeles River.
  • Secret Path: The only way the culprit could have left the tournament floor without anyone noticing is if they had known about another path down. Such a path turned out to be in the tournament room itself—a shaft leading into the green room, leftover from before the Royal Flush was completely renovated.
  • Serious Business: When Felicia's Pinkie Rabbit plush is stolen, she treats it as if a living person had been kidnapped. Of course, it is her Good Luck Charm and a memento of her beloved grandfather. Sadly, it turns out to have been placed in the Tournament Room around the time of the murder and thus ruined by the fire, which it caused due to a short circuit in its electronic components.
  • Shout-Out:
    • In the Defendant's Lobby before the first day of his trial begins, Mr. Porter off-handedly mentions a guy who got his eye poked out with a playing card.
    • In Day 2's trial, Klavier asks Apollo if he would feel "off his rhythm" if, for instance, he suddenly had his bracelet stolen and went without it in court.
    • A few references to Zero Escape are sprinkled throughout the series, in particular Rockwell stating that "[his] motives ain't complex"note  in his testimony and Trucy saying "life is simply unfair, don't you think?"note  when everyone gangs up on Apollo.
    • Trucy badly wants the casino trip to end in a big heist. Internally, Apollo calls her hypothetical magician pilferers "Trucy's Dozen".
    • After the Judge actually considers taking Apollo off the trial due to his new potential conflict of interest, Apollo desperately implores the Judge to reconsider the decision.
    • The Judge, bless him for trying, refers to Mr. Pinkie as "Bimmy" Rabbit.
    • When Felicia explains why the Masked Stranger's true identity went undetected despite how infamous he was after the AC-3 case, she muses that "nobody cared who he was until he put on the mask".
    • Right before cross examining The Masked Stranger, Trucy comments that they can't read his poker face and wishes Klavier could make a song about it.
    • The Masked Stranger's ringtone is appropriately lifted from Sonic the Hedgehog 2's Casino Night Zone.
    • The epilogue references Awkward Zombie's Ace Attorney strip, "Culture Schlock". While the gang really is chowing down on burgers, the place they pick is cheekily referred to as a "Traditional American Restaurant" and Apollo remains frustrated about the meal he's about to eat (albeit, because they're celebrating their win with fast food rather than a fancier dinner). Phoenix also mentions his old tradition of going out for burgers with Maya after a big win (who was actually eating ramen in the original Japanese) and even chides him with the strip's iconic line—"Eat your hamburgers, Apollo".
  • So Last Season: Unfortunately, the Jurist System won't be coming into play with this case. Phoenix bitterly explains that while the System did manage to restore some faith in the law, higher ups decided that it'd become a much bigger pain in their side than they'd anticipated and shut it down quickly. The series goes back to regular court cases as a result.
  • Special Guest: Pinkie Rabbit. Making a cameo from Cing's Kyle Hyde and Another Code universe (but specifically his appearance in Last Window), this cartoon mascot originally from the late 70s is having his show rebooted.
  • The Stinger: This fancase ultimately ends with a new start for our heroes and a peek into a new lawyer's solo exploits. Taking place two years later, we're witness to the murder of Belle Dixie, with Juniper Woods calling on the Wright Anything Agency to help her exonerate her friend Billy of the crime. Who answers the phone? None other than Athena Cykes, revealing she's the next protagonist of the appropriately titled Athena Cykes: Ace Attorney—Minds on Trial.
  • "Success Through Cheating" Accusation: It’s revealed that Rex House became leader of The Deck and owner of the Royal Flush Casino by framing the owner for gambling fraud using a device to hack the electronic poker table in their favor, and then bribing their attorney in the resulting trial to botch the defense to ensure their conviction.
  • Sure, Let's Go with That: Apollo is aghast about the Pinkie Rabbit vs. The Bad Badger movie, saying that the Pinkie featured is nothing like the lovable rabbit he grew up on. Felicia agrees, since the design of the new Pinkie doesn't match the original in key ways, and applauds Apollo for noticing the difference. Not wanting to let a lady down, he simply lets her believe that's what he meant.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
    • Before he decided to disappear, Charles Argine requested that Hector Nash, his close friend and business partner, take care of his orphaned granddaughter Angela. However, Hector got rejected to be her legal guardian when it became evident during the interview that he knew next to nothing about her, attributed to his lack of people skills and the fact that, since his and Charles's conversations largely pertained to work, he never even learned anything about her.
    • When Apollo tries to annul Richard Gunner's legally dead status via the letter he sent to Charles to propose their revenge scheme, Gunner is quick to laugh at the suggestion, saying part of their agreement was that Charles burn the letter in front of him. However, Charles is quick to reveal that he didn't actually burn the letter as instructed and instead made a copy to burn in front of Gunner. As he Lampshades, this is because he realized how untrustworthy Gunner was after he betrayed him the first time and so decided to keep the letter for leverage.
  • Theme Naming: Being a story centered around poker, the cast members and items original to this case have names and titles associated with luck and gambling.
    • Rex House, Aldric Fitzroy, the Argines, and Jack Porter are named after the King, Queen, and Jack (natch) cards respectively. When Phoenix is entered into the All Stars Legends Tournament, House maliciously names Phoenix a "Joker".
    • The case that sits at the center of the narrative, AC-3, refers to the ace playing card.
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: In-Universe, Apollo and Felicia don't like the Pinkie Rabbit Continuity Reboot movie due to the many changes.
  • Too Good to Be True: With Argine and Felicia admitting they were working together, and the former confessing that he was the one who shot Rex House, court seems to be in alignment for not only absolving Porter of guilt but also restoring Argine's reputation and letting him off on a charge of self defense. Indeed, Apollo wants to be happy about the incoming verdict...but he's got a gut feeling that Argine is still hiding something. Thus he continues to question him and get down to the bottom of the real problem.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: After Apollo and Trucy listen to his story and promise to set things right, Hector Nash, while maintaining his rough edges and snark, becomes significantly more helpful. He gives Apollo a heartfelt thanks and even helps him take down Richard Gunner in the final trial session.
  • Tricked into Signing: Just before the Day 1 trial kicks off, one of the bailiffs gives Apollo a form to sign from Klavier. Polly doesn't even bother reading it and signs it right away, trusting Klavier's judgement. Despite how odd it seemed, he's right to do so—although he foolishly signed away his permission to appear on livestream, he also was able to show his diligence, honesty, and integrity in uncovering the truth behind the Royal Flush case to an audience of 100,000, which will definitely help restore some faith in the law.
  • Unable to Retreat: The door to the emergency exit gets its handle broken off on the VIP floor, forcing the guests to evacuate to the roof when the fire alarm goes off.
  • Undercover Cop Reveal: Jack Porter turns out to be an undercover FBI agent investigating Rex House for his connections to the mafia. To Trucy's dismay, he was also investigating Phoenix, though he makes it clear that Phoenix is no longer on the FBI's radar.
  • The Unreveal: The first day of the trial seemingly reveals that Rex House was the Masked Stranger, but it turns out he was only an impostor, meaning the real Stranger's identity is still unknown. The second day appears to reveal the Stranger's true voice, but it actually belongs to Flint Rockwell; the end of the court session sees the Stranger's mask and suit found in the bag marked for Phoenix Wright, who as Apollo and Trucy immediately point out isn't the Stranger, but it's still enough to gain another day's investigation. The third day finally has the apparent Masked Stranger brought into court to testify, but even though he ultimately undergoes a Dramatic Unmask to reveal himself as Richard Gunner, the true man behind the mask and suit, Charles Argine, is never seen wearing it.
  • Vehicular Sabotage: Rex House is revealed to have bribed Richard Gunner with a new sports car for the poker table used as evidence in the AC-3 trial, sabotaging the brakes to silence Gunner and cover his tracks.
  • Versus Title: The Pinkie Rabbit reboot is a movie titled Pinkie vs the Bad Badger, the latter being the Gatewater Group's mascots.
  • Very Loosely Based on a True Story: Rockwell's trauma of rabbits stemming from an incident where the TV station played Killer Bunnies from Beyond the Moon instead of Pinkie Rabbit's Easter Adventure seems to be based on a real incident, where the United Kingdom's Channel 5 mistakenly aired Watership Down on Easter Sunday in 2016.
  • Villainous Breakdown: The true Big Bad of the entire case, Richard Gunner, gets closer and closer to losing his cool as Apollo tears apart his Blatant Lies and various attempts to escape justice, from pinning the blame on others to claiming he's legally dead and can't be convicted to passing himself off as a Body Double to trying to cut a deal with the FBI, until he's finally cornered; his eyes go white and he starts screaming about being a dead man walking (due to having boasted of his involvement with the Cadaverini crime family on a livestream) and pounding the witness stand until he finally makes a finger gun and "shoots" himself, complete with a flash of his silhouette, then collapses in a faint.
  • Was It All a Lie?: Trucy doesn't take Jack Porter's true identity as an FBI agent too well, wondering if his friendship with her and Phoenix was a lie, especially with the reveal that he had investigated Phoenix. Even if Phoenix was cleared of wrongdoing, the betrayal still hurts. By the end of the final episode, though, she's come to forgive him and accept him back as "Uncle Jack", even letting him call her "Ceecee" again.
  • Wham Line:
    • The defendant of the case, Jack Porter, thought to be a simple security guard at a casino, reveals a big secret about himself to Apollo and Trucy:
    • When the Masked Stranger (or rather, the person impersonating them) is finally unmasked in court and the man under the mask, whom neither the viewers nor the court recognizes, is asked to identify himself, he responds with this:

      ???: The name's... Richard Gunner. Attorney at law.note 

  • When She Smiles: A male version in Dr. Hector Nash. While he doesn't smile often at first, any time he does is a happy time, as they occur when he recalls the better times working with his friend Charles Argine and when he sees that justice will be done for the latter.
  • Who Would Want to Watch Us?: As Trucy starts gushing about how cool it would be to get a TV show after the buzz over their latest trial, Apollo wonders out loud if a series about a lawyer and his small, scrappy agency would even be fun to watch. Unfortunately for him, there's a lot of people invested in his antics, and he didn't even know until the end of Day 2.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: As it turns out, Flint Rockwell has a fear of rabbits due to a childhood trauma centered around Pinkie Rabbit and a horror movie called Killer Bunnies from Beyond the Moon, hence his irrational belief that Felicia was using her doll to throw him off his game.
  • "World's Best" Character: The members of The Deck are considered to be the world's best poker players. Currently, there are four members of the group, but apparently, the group used to be larger.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Gunner planned to kill Argine after the trial in order to implicate him as the murderer. He gets this trope thrown back at him by Klavier with respect to his legal profession.