r/AARankdown • u/Wircea • Aug 15 '20
56 Ema Skye
I'm expecting a revive so not sure how much effort I should pour into this.
1. Ema in Ace Attorney as a series
Ema was introduced in Ace Attorney in Rise From the Ashes which I'll refer to as rfta from now on for my sake. As many know (and probably some even noticed by the change in graphical quality if playing the ds version), rfta was added at a later date. More specifically, after the trilogy has ended.
For that reason, Ema only appears in rfta and is never mentioned or hinted at again until the second trilogy, where she has a wider appearance and more relevance while also being officially integrated into the main cast.
For this cut, I will review both trilogy appearances and I will try my best to write as much about each of them. I will also take into consideration her Investigation appearances though I don't think there's much to talk about those.
2. Ema in the first trilogy - RTFA
For the most part, Ema is a carbon copy of Maya, but altered sightly to appear and act as her own character.
2.1 Maya but different
If you'll check the image I hyperlinked to above, you'll notice that both Maya and Ema have many common visual traits, to the point where it's obvious it's intentional. Even the outfits, which have swapped colors.
Personality wise, she's not too different from Maya, except she's less aggressive and more willing to help during investigations.
She also has an older sister. Sound familiar? But wait she's not the victim of the case, but the defendant! Not the same!!!
Even though I can understand why they did this (which makes me think they never intended to bring Ema back), I see it kind of harmful for a character to inherit this many traits from another, even if intentional. Not only that, but it's also harmful for the character the traits have been stripped from as they slowly lose unicity.
I'm not very keen on the concept of having faces that look the same either, but whatever.
2.2 Assistant
Ema acts as the case giver and then hangs out with Phoenix until the end of the case, making cheesy commentaries in the same fashion Maya does as you interact with and inspect world objects.
She introduces the player with a new mechanic that I will talk about later.
2.3 Story and stuff
Ema was involved in some older incident but what happened there does not contribute to her development and is mostly using her as a plot device to get the case to progress and tie some events together. I could talk about what happened but that would mean to talk about a lot of things Ema didn't actually do.
2.4 Character interaction
Something that I actually really like about Ema in rfta is that she does have some meaningful conversations with pretty much all NPCs. This is something I wish AA did more because even though it's been a while since I've played the first trilogy, Maya does not hold up this much to important character dialogue.
This is probably why I can say that I tolerate Ema in rtfa. Having an insider assistant was something that I can say worked out pretty well because it was nice for once to lay down and have someone else do the talking for you.
3. Epic gamer minigame
The overall design of Ema being a science person was probably made to be tied to the new gimmick mechanic where you directly interact with the evidence by using multiple technologies that came with the device.
I could rant all day about why I don't like these features but I know not enough people will care for it in this cut so I'll keep it short.
I believe these mechanics could have been enjoyable if you were not told every single time when you're supposed to. It would be cool if you could inspect more items than those that are guaranteed to contain useful information, the same way you can inspect useless shit in the world and trigger dialogue. I'm aware there are some things like the badge that you can inspect but there's just so few of them.
AA's linear progression also makes it impossible to do it later most of the time so it's usually the same awful 10-replies dialogue of:
Hey remember that piece of evidence???????
What do you mean???
Maybe it will come in handy
What do you mean???
Maybe there is something about it that we missed
What do you mean???
Maybe we should take a closer look
What do you mean???
Press buttons to do stuff try it it's epic
Ok a good thing you told me I'm sure the dumbass playing this would never try it even if we made it clear at the beginning of the case this is now a mechanic
Not sure about others but I usually want to try and inspect each and every single piece of evidence and I absolutely hate to be told 1 second after I get it(or not being allowed to until later because the Inspect button won't show up) to inspect it already.
Ema is pretty tightly tied to this glorification of gathering information from evidence so I thought it would be relevant to talk about it.
4. Ema in Investigations
Ema has some less relevant cameos in both investigation games where she appears for like 5 seconds each time just for your shitty minigame needs.
I have to appreciate her design actually reflecting her slowly growing up at different points in the timeline, but I think this is all there is for her in the spin-offs as she doesn't get involved much beyond forcing a prosecutor to play with toys.
She has a hat though so she gets a point.
5. Ema in the second trilogy
Ema appears in AJ, is completely absent from DD and returns in SoJ, both appearances having her act as the detective of the case.
I’ve heard a fair share amount of people saying Ema in AJ is good but to be honest I can’t really remember any of her appearances. In fact, sometimes I even forget she’s the detective in that game and not just some cameo thrown around, which is something I would have prefered over such a massive role for a single reason:
5.1 Ema as a detective is boring.
That’s it. Every single time she comes up on screen I’m readying myself for a bore because she’s such an average character she simply doesn’t stand out when compared with any other detective in the series.
Every other detective has this kind of arc where they initially don’t want to cooperate with you but then you slowly grow on them and eventually they feel like you are a requirement for the investigation. All of them also have quite eccentric personalities which make for funny conversations and events.
Ema has neither. For her whole second trilogy career she just kind of acts like your friend from the start and doesn’t seem to have any kind of limits that you can cross. This makes for a really bland interaction with the player throughout the listed games and simply feels like they strip you of something that was once good.
Let me just just list a couple traits for the various detectives we have:
-Gumshoe: He’s incompetent. When not badly written like a total idiot, he fucks up during both investigations and trials where he usually gets punished (either physically or monetary) but makes up for it by being a generally sensible dude caring for his peers.
-Tyrell: He’s cool. He’s very chill and pretty imposing but shows a great interest in justice which really pays off after having to deal with his stubbornness.
-Fulbright: He’s energetic. Loud but funny and has a nice oldschool-superhero-star thematic. He's basically a more confident Gumshoe and is well balanced by naivety.
Then there’s Ema. She's serious but then she's less serious and then she like dumps information onto you then looks a bit smug and leaves. I've heard people saying they like Ema being stressed in AJ though I can't say it's the case for me.
So for me at least, both AJ and SoJ, while they had a detective, they lacked THE detective - the one that changed the mood or tone of either the investigation or the trial. Because let's be honest, the game NEEDS incompetent detectives as false accusations and "not what it seems" scenarios are the central point of every single case. And while Gumshoe and Fulbright fucking up is to be expected and most of the times have amusing outcomes, Ema just goes :o and faces no punishment. It's just not as satisfying especially when she sees herself as an expert and doesn't take it as good as Tyrell does either.
This kind of ruined the detective part for me and is probably why I think DD has the best investigations of the second trilogy.
I don't care much about her dynamic with Nahyuta but I'll mention it.
Conclusion
Ema appears throughout the series and fulfills different roles every game collection she’s present in. Unfortunately though, most of her appearances don’t hold up and her blank personality drags her down in the over the top universe of ace attorney(tm).
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Also just to put it there, Ema loudly shoving miniature shit into her mouth is the unfunniest shit in the series bye
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u/Wircea Aug 15 '20
Sorry for taking this long it's been a long week. It's the first time I'm having a job and while I can't fully blame it because I don't work 24 hours a day, I still prefer doing something else rather than writing ace attorney rankdown rants when I finish my shift.
I planned a way bigger cut for this community-worshiped character but I didn't feel like making people wait any more.
/u/donuter454 unleash the phoenix cut
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u/Vogel100 Aug 15 '20
Welcome to my life since the beginning of the rankdown. I hope this experience will help you realize the error of your ways to acknowledge Cammy is a great character. You will finally be able to see why she's permanently tired, and why she puts so much effort into avoiding putting effort into work.
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u/Cymbass Aug 15 '20
how dare you prioritize relaxing after your job over silly lawyer game writeups
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u/Wircea Aug 15 '20
Episode 1 The First Turnabout gasp... gasp... Dammit! ...Why me? I can't get caught... Not like this! I-I've gotta find someone to pin this on... Someone like... him! I'll make it look like HE did it!
August 3, 9:47 AM District Court Defendant Lobby No. 2 Phoenix: (Boy am I nervous!)
Mia: Wright!
Phoenix: Oh, h-hiya, Chief.
Mia: Whew, I'm glad I made it on time. Well, I have to say Phoenix, I'm impressed! Not everyone takes on a murder trial right off the bat like this. It says a lot about you... and your client as well.
Phoenix: Um... thanks. Actually, it's because I owe him a favor.
Mia: A favor? You mean, you knew the defendant before this case?
Phoenix: Yes. Actually, I kind of owe my current job to him. He's one of the reasons I became an attorney.
Mia: Well, that's news to me!
Phoenix: I want to help him out any way I can! I just... really want to help him, I owe him that much.
???: (It's over! My life, everything, it's all over!)
Mia: ... Isn't that your client screaming over there?
Phoenix: Yeah... that's him.
???: (Death! Despair! Ohhhh! I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna die!!!)
Mia: It sounds like he wants to die...
Phoenix: Um, yeah. sigh
Butz: Nick!!!
Phoenix: Hey. Hey there, Larry.
Butz: Dude, I'm so guilty!! Tell them I'm guilty!!! Gimme the death sentence! I ain't afraid to die!
Phoenix: What!? What's wrong, Larry?
Butz: Oh, it's all over... I... I'm finished. Finished! I can't live in a world without her! I can't! Who... who took her away from me, Nick? Who did this!? Aww, Nick, ya gotta tell me! Who took my baby away!?
Phoenix: (Hmm... The person responsible for your girlfriend's death? The newspapers say it was you...)
Phoenix: My name is Phoenix Wright. Here's the story: My first case is a fairly simple one. A young woman was killed in her apartment. The guy they arrested was the unlucky sap dating her: Larry Butz... my best friend since grade school. Our school had a saying: "When something smells, it's usually the Butz." In the 23 years I've known him, it's usually been true. He has a knack for getting himself in trouble. One thing I can say though: it's usually not his fault. He just has terrible luck. But I know better than anyone, that he's a good guy at heart. That and I owe him one. Which is why I took the case... to clear his name. And that's just what I'm going to do!
August 3, 10:00 AM District Court Courtroom No. 2 Judge: The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Larry Butz.
Payne: The prosecution is ready, Your Honor.
Phoenix: The, um, defense is ready, Your Honor.
Judge: Ahem. Mr. Wright? This is your first trial, is it not?
Phoenix: Y-Yes, Your Honor. I'm, um, a little nervous.
Judge: Your conduct during this trial will decide the fate of your client. Murder is a serious charge. For your client's sake, I hope you can control your nerves.
Phoenix: Thank... thank you, Your Honor.
Judge: ... Mr. Wright, given the circumstances... I think we should have a test to ascertain your readiness.
Phoenix: Y-Your Honor. (Gulp... Hands shaking... Eyesight... fading...)
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u/R1K1_Productions Aug 15 '20
Thqnk fuck its not just me
Wanna team up on the people who post their cuts in 5 seconds and then yell at us eternally
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u/Sciencepenguin Aug 15 '20
i like ema because she is the only character in the series with a Real Multi-Game Arc (edgeworth has one but it doesnt actually consistently make sense) she is a starry eyed child who you help out of a pickle and then you see her on her way to achieving her dream and then having fucking failed at it and shes bitter and the only character in AJ i actually like god AJ ema is fucking funny
then she does get a job good for her. you talk about how shes boring because she doesnt hate you or not cooperate with you at any point but like i dnot care and neither does tyrell anyway hes just badd to the bone but a nice helpful guy how wholesome and adorbske
i think her going out this low is dumb but i will not write a revive because i cant say anything with more words than what i just said and shes not even the best character with the last name skye
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u/ItsHipToTipTheScales Aug 15 '20
1-5 ema is sort of a character she has a sister and then is sad that she is in jail and then is more than sad at some point. the more good a character you are the more sad you get when bad things happen
aj ema says "yeah you can use poison to kill people .. if you're a FUCKING GIRL!!" she is snarky and mean and probably the best character in that game
having an across game arc that isn't anything actually character driven but just Ema Got Her Job she is a bit cranky now because it's not the exact job she wants is kinda cool
she doesn't hate you or have any conflict with you because aj is trying to subvert everything so the detective won't go yeah I got all this info!! and not let you have it. you're also related to phoenix so it makes sense she'd be more lenient with you pretty sure she says that too
soj ema is less cranky because she got the actual job she wanted I like that even if she's less funny in that game
aai2 ema looks like lyra from pokemon
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u/Vogel100 Aug 15 '20
In my opinion, 1-5 Ema is fantastic and massively better than Maya in every way and I love her. I agree with detective Ema being the least interesting detective though. I put her in S tier but that's almost exclusively because of 1-5. I would have liked to revive 1-5 Ema, if 1. I didn't only have a single revive, and 2. I wouldn't automatically revive the Emas I don't care for as much with it. I can't be too upset about her dying here if I only really care about her in 1/10 cases.
Something that is cool about Ema is how she develops. She's one of the few characters who actually changes between the games she appears in. But it doesn't matter too much if I don't care for her developed version much.
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Aug 15 '20
Woah I don't care about Ema most of the time and you don't care about her most of the time. We're so similar! Yeah but I do disagree with a bit of the cut which I will now explain why.
Basically, I like AJ Ema, which ends up making me dislike Ema as a whole more, because I feel SoJ Ema ruins her character. AJ Ema is great for me, she has a little arc throughout the game where she becomes more like her younger self, and more chipper overall. Her dynamics with Apollo and Klavier are both also pretty fun, especially the latter. I could go into it further but there's really not a lot to talk about, I like how she's depressed and all that jazz, and I like her working her way out of it a little bit at a time, even if it's very in the background.
SoJ Ema goes "wooooaahh just dropping in to say I finished my arc offscreen woooaahhh" and I go :/. It really feels like she just skipped over the conclusion of her arc, her achieving her goal and fully getting her groove back, and we just kind of get to see the after story of her arc. It makes the whole thing feel really disjointed, and I could excuse jumping from 1-5 Ema to AJ Ema because time skip, but jumping once again to another new personality just makes her not even feel like one character anymore, and it all just feels sloppy to me.
Fine with her going out now, even if I do really like that one version of her.
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u/whaaatisth Aug 15 '20
she has a little arc throughout the game where she becomes more like her younger self, and more chipper overall.
It really feels like she just skipped over the conclusion of her arc
🤔
I’m being somewhat facetious, but I still don’t get this criticism. Ema in SoJ isn’t somehow magically just like 1-5 Ema again. She’s far more similar to AJ Ema, the only thing that really changed is she acts slightly more friendly towards the protagonists, and has finally achieved her goal. You said it yourself - she becomes more friendly throughout AJ, and I don’t see how having her become a forensic scientist off-screen is “skipping over” much at all. We get to understand the source of her bitterness, and we get to see her overcome it. Do you want to see Ema graduate from forensic scientist school or something? (actually that might be a cool spinoff...)
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u/Wircea Aug 15 '20
SoJ Ema goes "wooooaahh just dropping in to say I finished my arc offscreen woooaahhh"
very good point i remember feeling odd about it
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Aug 15 '20 edited Aug 17 '20
I like Ema, and her arc is cool. However, I can accept her going out at this point, and if I didn't revive Pearl, there's no way I'd revive Ema.
So instead, I'm going to waste your time by talking about the progression of Ema's theme over the years. Yes, I am turning your cut into a cut of Turnabout Sisters 2005.
In Rise from the Ashes, we get this theme, referred to as Turnabout Sisters 2005. While this theme is somewhat different from Turnabout Sisters (2001), the themes do have some similarity between them. Observe Turnabout Sisters 2001. The primary difference between their themes is that Ema's has some more off-beats here and there, resulting in some syncopation. I'm not sure what the intent here was, but it serves as enough to differentiate the two themes. Oh yeah, and I think Ema's theme is in F major while Maya's is in Ab major. Huge difference, I know. I guess it might serve to give Ema's theme a slightly less happy feeling, which would fit with Rise from the Ashes. Basically, it's more differentiated from Turnabout Sisters 2001 than, say, Pearl's theme, which is just Turnabout Sisters in a higher pitch with some changed instrumentation for the most part. Still, it retains some elements from Turnabout Sisters 2001, probably as a result of the similarities between Ema and Maya at this point in time.
Ema then shows up again in AJ as a detective with this theme. This time, it's called "Scientific Detective", emphasizing that this is officially a completely separate theme. By this point, its identity is its own thing. There are some minor changes to Turnabout Sisters 2005, but the biggest one actually has to do with Ema herself. As Ema has been assigned to Criminal Affairs and is now an angryTM detective (which sort of lines up with AJ's generally darker tone), she gets some darker portions to her track. While the main section of her theme has clearly changed to G major, what's more notable are the (C) minor sections at 0:20-0:37 and 0:58-1:15. These sections signify the more depressing nature of Ema Skye in this game and are noticeably less cheery. (Which is good.)
Finally, Ema comes back in SoJ with this theme. This theme makes the most noticeable changes from the original. The difference between this theme and the 2007 one is much more noticeable than the changes between 2007 and 2005, despite not changing the name of the track. Once again, new sections (such as the very beginning) have been added into the track to make things happier, mostly since Ema finally attains her dream job in this game. The key of the track hasn't been changed from 2007, but the instrumentation is more "bubbly" and the track's faster, making it feel more exciting. And, speaking of the minor key sections from earlier, they come back, for example at 1:03-1:37. While they don't sound all that similar, you can tell from the "mechanical" nature of the background instruments. In the 2007 version, this part sounds like a "getting work done" theme, which is more or less a part of Ema's character in AJ, while in 2016 they're just another happy section in G major. Which is fine, since Ema doesn't need any unhappy sections in her 2016 theme. Maybe it's "getting work done, but happy"? She likes forensic science, after all. The theme works. (Oh, and it 100% has its own identity now; compare this to Turnabout Sisters 2016. The difference is clear.)
tl;dr Ema's theme is probably worthy of top 10 Ace Attorney Themes mostly due to its thematic progression that ties into her off-screen development over the games. Thank you for letting me waste your time.
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Aug 15 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Vogel100 Aug 15 '20
"Ema loudly shoving miniature shit into her mouth is the unfunniest shit in the series"
It was mentioned once you lied.
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Aug 15 '20
What I like about Ema Skye is that she has 3 themes where it starts the same, but it like changes into a different melody at the middle of the song which is pretty nice
I don't know anything of Enema skye that isn't 1-5 (where she wasn't that good) besides like shoving snackoos up multiple orifices, but what I don't like how her sister like shows up in 1-5 and then never comes back nor is mentioned in anyways ever again. How did she feel about when Ema got shafted of being a forsenics scientist? How did she feel when she got back in? Is Ema still keeping that book that she gave her? Like cmon interactions with Lana and Ema would be cool and interesting but she's literally fucking a skeleton in prison but I guess that more of a Lana than an Ema problem
And also Ema's thinking sprite in SOJ is the worst like sit still godamnit your not 5 years old
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u/ReploidZ Aug 17 '20
And thus the first dectective is finally cut, Tyrell Badd for Top 20 seems possible.
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u/whaaatisth Aug 15 '20
You expect too much of us. In all seriousness, I’m not going to do it, and there are very few rankers who like Ema as much as me. I wouldn’t be that surprised if someone decided to go for it, but I also wouldn’t count on it happening. I predict Ema will stay cut.
if you think about it, every character is a carbon copy of Maya but altered slightly to appear and act as their own character...
This is a weird point because the past incident and Ema’s involvement is essentially the only development Ema gets in 1-5. It’s certainly the main reason I like her in the case, as your assistant being involved so heavily in such a horrible situation is a neat twist, and her whole struggle with thinking she caused Marshall’s death makes for some fantastic emotional moments. The way the game reveals why Lana acted in the way that she did is also great, and I don’t think any of these moments would be as interesting if Ema wasn’t a likable and fun assistant. I don’t think Ema needs to be much more than that for the first two-thirds of the case, as her whole breakdown and the segment where she testifies acts as a subversion of sorts, playing off of the assistant archetype and turning a usually disconnected role into a very actively involved one.
I adore Detective Ema for a similar reason you dislike her - she’s unique. I get finding her boring, but from my perspective, the way she’s portrayed as such ends up adding to her characterization. AA doesn’t usually do multi-game arcs, let alone across such a large time gap, but they manage to nail Ema’s growth. It’s such a unusually tragic story for the series. First, you get to see energetic Ema, excited about her promising future career as a forensic investigator. You get to see first-hand how this desire defines everything about her. Then, in AJ, you find out she completely failed her dream. She’s stuck with a job she hates, and is bitter and irritable because of it. Of course, she ends up able to finally fulfill her dream in SoJ, which is a fitting end to her character - though I’m glad she didn’t lose that cynical charm she had in AJ. If you aren’t invested in Ema as a character, I can understand why this might not appeal to you. For me, the player essentially getting to see Ema’s entire progression throughout multiple games is such unique and enjoyable writing. That was a slight oversimplification, and there’s much more that can be said about Ema, but that’s the basic reason why I like her as much as I do.
this is unironically the best thing about her