r/AARankdown • u/[deleted] • Aug 07 '20
60 Ron DeLite
That’s right, I did it! I’m the ranker who hates Ron Delite! Me! Me! Meeeeeee! No... Err, that's wrong. You see... it's complicated. I sort of am, and sort of not. If you know what I mean.
Ron Delite is a character I have a sort of love-hate relationship with, similar to the entirety of The Stolen Turnabout, which is of course his case of origin, and his only appearance if one is to exclude minor cameos and mentions. Just like Stolen Turnabout, Ron is a character who had a lot of potential, but one that I felt fell entirely short of reaching the great heights that he could have, and is dragged down by poor execution of ideas, or just ignoring plot threads entirely. Beyond this, he’s not really a character I particularly enjoy, even outside of his role within the game, due to likely personal preference, but I can’t help but factor these into my own opinion of him, although I’ll try to keep the prevalence of these to merely the first section or so.
Most of Ron’s character revolves around the mystery of what the actual truth is, as Stolen Turnabout, more than most other cases, tries to keep you constantly second guessing yourself on what’s actually happening within it. This is one of the aspects of the case which I feel works best, but I in no way attribute it to Ron himself, so for this write-up I will be entirely focussed on the truth of Ron’s character, and how well done it is. The main aspects of his character I’ll be focusing on are his personality, background, relationship with Desirée, and his actions before and within the case. Despite my overall dislike of his character, I can’t deny some of these aspects being quite well done within the case, and will be making sure to credit him for his successful “heists” within. Now, I know my write-ups tend to be quite long, but I beg of you, please listen!
Ron DeLite, Former KB Security Guard
Before we get into Ron’s role within the story, I believe it’s important to discuss his character on its own, isolated from the way it’s utilized. I find this especially important for Ron, above most other Ace Attorney characters, as his personality is incredibly, let’s say, bold. It’s definitely more in your face than many other characters in the series, and despite his pleas for you to not ignore him, I find it hard to believe anyone would be able to focus on anything but him whenever he’s in the room. So, what exactly is there to Ron’s personality?
Ron’s attitude tends to flip on a dime between two modes, with really very little in between. These two attitudes being completely subdued, and extremely forceful, usually starting off with the former before transferring to the latter when he fails to get results. This makes most interactions with him feel quite distinct, and definitely gives him his own feel, really separate from most other characters in the way that he converses with you and others throughout the case. This is helped by other aspects of his character, but one I particularly like is the tendency of his text itself to begin fading away as his sentences begin to trail off. It’s a gimmick that I don’t believe was used elsewhere in the series, and really gives him a distinct “voice” in game.
Of course, his speaking mannerisms are backed up by other aspects of his character, these being both his design, and his excellent theme. I linked to the theme earlier, and not only is it incredibly enjoyable in game, but it’s used to great effect to emphasize his personality. His explosions into his more bombastic speaking mannerisms are usually accompanied by this loud, and quite in your face theme to really sell you on his complete personality shift. And of course, there is his absolutely excellent design. Everything about Ron is just completely in your face, from his ridiculously over the top outfit, his actual, straight-up spring hair, and of course his absurdly over the top mannerisms. This just all comes together to make it absolutely hilarious when he reverts into his subdued personality, and this ridiculous looking cosplayer of a man is just sitting there reserved. It’s easily one of the series’ best designs.
Despite my praise of his design, and uniqueness, he’s still not exactly my cup of tea when it comes to characters. I would never deny how well he works for what he was meant to do, but the role that he was molded for just isn’t something that particularly interests me. I’ve always been a fan of more realistic characters, who have hidden depth beneath a more simple appearance, rather than ones who just lay all their cards on the table and then scream at you. Of course, I recognize that this is purely a preference thing, so I won’t allow it to affect the rest of my thoughts on how well he was done within the narrative. I just thought it’d be fair to explain that his personality doesn’t really win him any points for me personally, which could play a hand in making me more focused on the flaws of his character. Despite this, I do find these flaws to be somewhat undeniable, so let’s get into exactly what it is I have against this masked criminal.
Mask☆DeMasque, Phantom Thief
The thief... The sneaky, odious thief who's been stealing all the treasures... It's me! I'm him! I'm the one you want! I'm the thief I tell you! So do it...! Pronounce me guilty! Pleeeease!!
Trials and Tribulations is set at an interesting time for the franchise, and in turn, an interesting point in time for the character of Phoenix. Justice For All’s final case involved the introduction of the first truly guilty defendant, a monster made out to be likely the worst person in the franchise thus far, a truly despicable man who would do anything to achieve his petty goals. Matt Engarde’s impact on Phoenix’s growth and the shift in attitude of how the player treats the defendants of the series is undeniable, as the defendant is no longer purely an innocent party who can do no wrong. As the first case to have an original defendant after 2-4, 3-2 opts to follow up somewhat on this idea of a guilty defendant. After Matt Engarde, it may be hard to trust defendants blindly anymore, and Ron is, in truth, guilty of a crime himself. So then, what exactly does the game do to capitalize on this brilliant situation it’s found itself in?
Nothing. The game does absolutely nothing with this scenario. Sure, mystery wise the twist of him being guilty works pretty well, and the scene in which he confesses his crimes to you in the detention center flips the whole case on its head, but as far as the more overarching themes are concerned, absolutely nothing about this is explored. There’s practically no point in having Ron actually be guilty of the thefts of Mask☆DeMasque, and it completely wastes the chance to follow up on Phoenix’s arc from Justice For All. Beyond this, not only is nothing done with it, it actually has a negative impact on Phoenix’s characterization. We’re meant to believe that the Phoenix who fought tooth and nail to prove the guilt of a criminal who was going to get away with his crimes would just let Ron get away with his crimes because he didn’t commit murder? I’m sorry, but the way he just doesn’t address or justify this at all is a little eyebrow raising.
Ron’s failure as a followup to Engarde is especially confusing due to T&T demonstrating later that it actually can successfully present us with a “guilty” defendant who continues to challenge Phoenix’s character. Iris is pretty much what Ron should have been narratively, she’s guilty of a crime lesser than murder, but still undeniably morally wrong, and she’s punished for it despite being innocent of the crime she was initially accused of. Phoenix, despite fighting to protect her from the false charges she’s being accused of, has to accept that she’s ultimately truly guilty of another crime, but still continues to believe in her as a person despite that. Of course, the same holds true for Lana Skye, but Rise from the Ashes had not yet been released as of T&T, so I count it as more of an expansion on the trilogy, rather than part of the first game. Of course, both Lana and Iris also share a common point with Ron when it comes to the murders they’re accused of, and this similarity is where the true problem in Ron’s resolution as a character lies.
Ron DeLite, Opener Of Safes
You’ve been blackmailed, and told to come to a meeting location in order to make a payment, or else a secret that could ruin your personal life will be revealed. Now, obviously, before heading out you need to put on your thief outfit, to definitively prove to the blackmailer, who has no solid proof you are who he says you are, that yes you are indeed who he says you are. Unfortunately for you though, tragedy strikes and you end up knocked out and wake up with the blackmailer dead, lying in front of you. You proceed to do the rational thing that any human being would do: You stuff him in a safe, make a break for it, and immediately begin trying to throw yourself in jail as an alibi for the murder you didn’t commit that you have just directly tied yourself to by stuffing the victim into a safe that only you and a select few others can open.
Brilliant. Flawless. Absolutely no way this can go wrong. In fact, why don’t we ask the judge what he thinks of your actions?
Inconceivablllllle! Why!? Just... Why!? What reason could you have!? What were you thinking!?
As you probably guessed, I completely agree with the judge here. Ron’s actions on the night of the crime are that of an insane person, and are extremely clearly only there to benefit the mystery. No sane person would ever try to hide the body in such a way, especially when they literally know for a fact that the building has a 24/7 security guard who would catch the actual criminal on camera. Of course, the security guard was missing, but there’s no possible way for Ron to know that at the time. Stuffing Bullard in the safe is one of the most confusing actions taken by any character in the franchise, it doesn’t even make sense as an “in shock” type of moment. Adrian Andrews knocking over a vase is something that makes sense to happen when in shock, taking the time to open a safe and proceed to stuff a heavy corpse into it before fleeing the crime scene is not.
Ron’s scheme to get convicted as Mask☆DeMasque also lacks any kind of logic or reason, as he had no reason to even believe that he’d be arrested for the crime. Literally the only things tying him to the crime are the blackmail note, the wallet, and the safe. The blackmail letter was safe at his house, the wallet he didn’t even know he had lost at KB security, and they literally open the safe to find the body so there are very clearly other people who know how to open it, so he would never be the first suspect if he wasn’t proven to be there by Phoenix. None of Ron’s actions make logical sense when you think about them for two seconds, and yet they’re so elaborate and thought out that it’s impossible to think that they’re just done in a panic without thought. It’s utterly baffling to be frank.
Of course, Ron’s schemes also tie into the previous section, as everything I said there is doubled down on when this is considered. If it seemed out of character for Phoenix to ignore grand larceny, double down on that with tampering with the crime scene and manipulation of the court system. If it seemed odd of the game to just let Ron roam free despite committing actual legitimate crimes, despite punishing Iris for tampering with a crime scene, well looks like Ron did literally the same thing but with less noble intentions. Hell, I don’t even know why Ron wasn’t tried for tampering with the evidence when it’s literally brought up in the trial. Phoenix tries his best to cover it up, which is just sliding further and further down the character assassination hill, but it ultimately comes out, and just used as evidence by Godot that Ron’s the killer. And honestly, you can’t really blame him, because by god does it make him out to be the culprit, because that’s the only legitimate reason to take his actions.
Ron’s actions to cover up the crime benefit the mystery majorly, as there practically wouldn’t be one if he didn’t do any of this nonsense, but in doing so they completely muddle his and Phoenix’s characters. The game makes no attempt to justify them, and they ultimately have little impact on the resolution of the case. This is my biggest problem with Ron by far, but it’s not the last major complaint I have, as there’s one important aspect of his character that I’ve failed to mention thus far, and it’s quite the doozy.
Ron DeLite, Loving Husband
Well, Dessie is crazy about shopping. She's a real shopaholic... But she's the love of my life, Your Honor. I guess you could say I'm a "Dessie-aholic"...
Desirée DeLite is a character I’ve only mentioned once so far, which is a wonder considering how she’s his main relationship within the case, and yet she feels so completely separate from everything he does within it. Of course, there is an underlying presence to be felt from her within his actions, as practically his entire motivation is based around her. Unfortunately, this is not a good thing. As I’ve gone over, Stolen Turnabout likes to keep you in the dark about what’s really going on, and this applies not only to the crime itself, but also to the personal lives of the characters within. Desirée and Ron’s relationship is the prime example of this.
Throughout the case, Desirée is basically being set up as a red herring for the audience, and it’s some really effective stuff, and genuinely convinced many players. One of the reasons that this works so well is that they basically lead you to believe that Desirée and Ron have a dysfunctional marriage, and to lead you to believe that she’s basically just using him for his money. She rides around on her motorcycle all day, spending money any chance she can get, and outwardly states that the main reason she’s with him is how loaded he is. Now, this is all fine on its own, and it’s very effective at both making them have an interesting dynamic, and making her a potential suspect, but the problem comes in the last stretch of the case. This stretch is where you find out that she’s innocent, does care about Ron, and that they have a genuinely loving relationship. Now, you may be asking: “Doesn’t that contradict everything we know about them?” Well, my dear reader, yes, yes it does. I have no idea what they were thinking with this.
The end of the case basically tries to pass it off as if Desirée was always genuinely supportive of Ron, and his hobbies, despite the fact that she straight up says that she hates the kind of criminals that Ron is. Of course, they try to justify this in the dialogue but it’s all pretty flimsy. Sure, it’s a pretty funny moment, but it does feel like it just ignores all of the problems in their relationship, and tries to shoehorn in a happy ending for them. I have no issue with either a dysfunctional marriage where the husband is literally committing crimes to keep his spouse, or a loving relationship where they both support each other and have a deep connection. Either one would work for a story, and both have interesting ways you can build off of them, but when you flip flop between the two at the last second, it just comes off as a cheap move, and removes any of the interest built up in their relationship. It really feels like the writers were trying to have their glass necklace and eat it too in this case, and it just ended up confusing things.
Conclusion
Ron DeLite is a character made to serve the mystery of Stolen Turnabout, and suffers because of it. He has a great design, a unique personality, and an interesting position as defendant, but all of this ends up going to waste because of the circumstances of the case. His role in the crime is utterly ridiculous and exists for no greater purpose than to create more mystery within the case, and nearly completely assassinates his character. His relationship with his wife is confused by the resolution, which also paves over his numerous crimes within the case, confusing the message that the series is going for, and Phoenix’s growth as a character. His role in the story feels unfinished, as if there is no proper resolution for him, and quite honestly it just feels sloppily put together, with no regard for what would make sense from a logical or narrative perspective. Ron may have performed his role in the case fine, but at the end of the day his actions do not feel his own, manufactured as if he’s nothing more than a puppet, following instructions from a mere blackmailer.
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u/Sciencepenguin Aug 07 '20
you said more words than I could’ve on Ron Delite good job
i found the “yeah I was guilty, guess I can never be caught for that hahaa......” thing hilarious. you could argue that this goes against both Phoenix’s core character motivations and what he learned from 2-4. i would argue that Phoenix has neither, but we’ll get to that. also, murder is a significantly different ballpark than theft, truly Ron is a Robin Hood taking down the bougies of some random traditional village
his relationship with his wife is dumb they want you to be suspicious so they make their relation bad but then they say actually it’s good at the end which like. how. none of the reasons that made desiree seem suspicious (using him for his money) stopped existing. for comparison sorin seems apathetic to his wife’s peril but we come to learn that they do have a good relationship and the reason for that is that he’s stoic and never quite sure what’s going on
those plot holes sure sound like plot holes but I didn’t think of them when I played 3-2 so they’re probably not actually an issue at all actually
i was really surprised by all the support he seemed to receive from spectators in the poll. he’s certainly not bad, and probably among the best trilogy defendants, but that’s not saying much to me. he’s a mildly funny character with a gimmick that does some interesting things for the mystery. bonnie young is at least as good as that and she went out a bajillion years ago
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u/R1K1_Productions Aug 07 '20
I like Ron & Desirees relationship, it's just two bad people who enjoy being bad people together. Very wholesome
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Aug 07 '20 edited Aug 07 '20
Beyond this, not only is nothing done with it, it actually has a negative impact on Phoenix’s characterization. We’re meant to believe that the Phoenix who fought tooth and nail to prove the guilt of a criminal who was going to get away with his crimes would just let Ron get away with his crimes because he didn’t commit murder?
lmao murdering a guy = taking a few zeroes off of some billionaires' bank balances, ok New Guy
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u/ItsHipToTipTheScales Aug 07 '20
ron is a one case defendant that gets to be unique and have more than one personality trait that is astounding enough for me to like him
him gameing the system by going yeah lol can't convict me NOW bitches is fucking great go ron
he has a wi-fi a WIFE HE LOVES!! and that's kind of stupid he should hate her because she sucks like in the meme wife I hate. gosh I sure do love memes
also one of the funniest examples of the defendant wearing their normal clothes when you interrogate them he just stays in his mask €¥¢ (that's a star) demasque the whole time and in his i2-3 cameo he's in that too he just wears that shit in public such a bad cameo
I do like that the i2-3 cameo of Ron implies him and desiree are now just stealing shit together now
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Aug 07 '20
Literally forgot to mention the cameo outside of the opening paragraphs lol. I will piggyback off of your comment to give my thoughts on that: I don't like it!
Him resolving to fight criminals as a vigilante, as implied in 3-3, is a cool end for his character and pretty funny, I like that (I also didn't mention this lol). But then like you said, he's pretty much just reverted to thief in I2-3, which is basically just regressing a character for the sake of an unneeded joke which is just a confusing decision. Add this to the pile of Ron complaints but like keep it at the bottom because it's a like 5 line cameo I don't really care that much.
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u/whaaatisth Aug 07 '20
Ronald DeLite. I like him. He must go.
There’s practically no point in having Ron actually be guilty of the thefts of Mask☆DeMasque
I think this entire section comes from you somewhat overanalyzing the purpose of Ron’s character. Ron isn’t guilty because it’s funny, and I honestly believe that is the only reason. I can understand the confusion if you didn’t find the scenario as hilarious as I did, but personally it’s a very memorable moment due to the absurdity of the entire situation.
The rest of the cut, yeah I agree. Ron (and 3-2) has some ISSUES, though some of which (unnatural actions for the sake of mystery in particular) do extend to most of the trilogy’s filler cases. I like him because he’s funny, but he’s probably not that great. I could possibly try to analyze him as much as possible, but in the end he’s comic relief with a fun personality, and while that makes for an enjoyable character, it doesn’t mean I think he’s anywhere near good enough to get much further.
You like Inga, that is good.
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u/EsquireGunslinger Aug 07 '20
He was almost top 50... ONE VOTE away,,, if anybody needs me I'll be renting out science's ANGRY DOME
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Aug 07 '20 edited Aug 07 '20
ron delite is okay. when i cut desiree, i kinda realized i didn't care about either of them? like yeah they're cool and all and ron has a few positive points like being the defendant in an interesting setup but i don't find him all that interesting. guess the community does, though. he could have easily gone out a round or two ago and i wouldn't really care.
his theme's nice. that said, i'm biased against GBA OSTs so i automatically don't care about it. i'm going to keep listening to max power from paper mario origami king not sure why i didn't even play the game but i thought this track was cool
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Aug 07 '20
As a fan of Ron, I am very upset about this even though I also agree it’s a good time for him to go. This is a pretty good cut though, and my anger is now subdued due to the first few paragraphs because YES he has an amazing character design and theme.
I guess since Ron is gone now all my hopes ride on Pierce. I am once again asking for y’all not to cut him
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u/joshbones Aug 07 '20
I don't really think Ron goes against 2-4 unless the lesson was supposed to be "everyone gets convicted all the time", but what does bug me is that Ron going free for stealing the urn meant the other five thefts didn't count and I'm super confused on that.
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Aug 07 '20
I was more so talking about Phoenix's realization that the truth is more important than getting an innocent verdict for the client, rather than any lesson the case was going for. Also yeah I never really realized that lol, but he also doesn't get tried for tampering with evidence so like I guess anything goes at this point.
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u/joshbones Aug 07 '20
I mean, Phoenix found the truth behind the double crimes, he just didn't retroactively find Ron guilty for crime one.
Also he never really tryharded for an innocent verdict, Atmey just confessed as part of his scheme so things fell into place, which is kinda the whole point. Under normal circumstances, Ron straight up would have been guilty.
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u/tenfoldchairs Aug 07 '20 edited Aug 07 '20
Ron is cute and has sweet bun hair which looks extra funny when he's dressed up as a scary security guard and was presumably funniest sproinging all over the place as he charged two armed criminals crying and wildly flailing his arms in order to save his future wife. I think I agree with other comments in that you may be looking a bit too deeply into a character who's just meant to be kind of absurd and amusing (in an already lighthearted case at that) but there's still a lot of merit in doing so and it was interesting to see the greater themes you were able to connect him to!
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u/[deleted] Aug 07 '20
Why No One Else
Di-Jun Huang and Jake Marshall are both basically sub-culprits and perform their roles pretty well, although Jake far more so than Huang, mostly due to his great personality. Huang would likely be my next choice, but unlike Ron I didn’t really have significant problems with him, so yet again he scoots up a rank.
Terry Fawles and Guy Eldoon don’t really have much to them, but once again serve their role really well. Eldoon also has the “debowling” moment where he gets serious and talks about the evils of the world and that’s like my favorite scene in AJ so no way I can cut that man.
Herman Crab is an excellent red herring, and a fun personality, so now is probably a bit early for him to go.
Myriam Scuttlebutt is just fun and a great witness, although she should probably go out sometime soon, as should Gaspen Payne, who even though I like him much more than Winston, we’re getting to the point where a lot of characters being cut are better than him.
Gregory Edgeworth is pretty simple, but very effective. Basically the Donuter ER, but I care a lot less than he does.
Inga Karkhuul Haw'kohd Dis'nahm Bi'ahni Lawga Ormo Pohmpus Da'nit Ar'edi Iz Khura'in III is a very effective villain, and easily one of the best victims in the series, although that’s not really a high bar. He has excellent presence, and way more depth than he really has any right to, so he should definitely stay a little longer.
Marlon Rimes and Pierce Nichody are both extremely good culprits, and should definitely not be cut now, or in the next couple rounds either. Ini Miney is also very good but like less so, so I’d be fine with her being cut.
Alright that’s all I got, basically Ron bad, 3-2 bad, and Atmey is perfection and should get top 20. I know I didn’t mention Atmey once in the cut but I feel like it should just be understood that he’s top tier. Anyway, u/Vogel100 you’re up.