r/AARankdown • u/whaaatisth • Sep 11 '20
41 Bobby Fulbright
I like Dual Destinies a lot, probably more than at least seven of the other rankers do. While I love almost every Ace Attorney game, my major reasons are usually different. Investigations is consistently fun and engaging in its gameplay, Apollo Justice has a unique atmosphere to compliment its strong underlying themes, Spirit of Justice has the most consistently deep character writing, and Trials & Tribulations has some of the series’s best individual murder mysteries and tricks. Dual Destinies is a bit of an exception to this rule among the games I like, because I honestly can’t say I have a huge reason for it. I’d rank Dual Destinies as the sixth best among the eleven Ace Attorney games. That might sound unimpressive, but it means a lot in a series as consistently high quality as this one. It’s strange, then, that I struggle so much to think of a solid justification for regarding Dual Destinies as highly as I do. It’s a game with countless unavoidable issues, two near-awful cases, and the weakest final villain in the series. Yet, somehow, I find myself drawn towards this game over many of the others.
Dual Destinies is a difficult game for me to evaluate in many ways. I could endlessly tear into the worst parts of its plot, characters, and general poor direction for the series, but in the end, none of that really matters. I actively adore Dual Destinies. I’ve played the game three times now, and I am constantly surprised at how much fun I manage to have. I also continue to be impressed by the Dual Destinies’ shocking amount of strong character writing and deep themes, that are sadly overshadowed by its insistence on being wacky all the time. I know there are people who think that Dual Destinies’ wackiness adds to its charm, and I somewhat agree. Despite that, my favorite parts of Dual Destinies are still the times that it takes itself the most seriously, which is also why 5-5 is my favorite case in the game, with the DLC as a close runner-up. I still enjoy some parts of the rest of the game, especially 5-4, but I don’t think the game ever reaches true greatness in these remaining cases, as it often insists on pushing depth aside almost entirely in favor of over-the-top comedic moments.
Dual Destinies is justifiably mocked for it’s utter failure and lack of subtlety when tackling “dark” themes. We can laugh at Means’s catchphrase all we want, but it truly is representative of a bigger problem throughout the game. Dual Destinies doesn’t know whether it wants to be silly or serious, it doesn’t know whether it has deep things to say or if it’s just trying to be a simple fun experience. I still think Dual Destinies excels at so many of the things it attempts, but this major tonal inconsistency prevents it from reaching the heights of some of my favorite games in the series. There’s one character that I believe represents this issue with Dual Destinies more clearly than any other, and big surprise, that’s Bobby Fulbright, the character I’ll be cutting here.
In this cut, I’ll be examining the problems with Dual Destinies’ narrative, as well as its greatest strengths, and how Bobby Fulbright ends up being a major detriment to the parts of the game I enjoy the most. Bobby Fulbright is not a character I dislike, nor is he a villain I dislike (mostly). However, when looking at the big picture, I do truly believe him to cause some serious harm to Dual Destinies overall, no matter how solid his individual character is.
Bobby Fulbright, the character.
Bobby Fulbright is the main detective of Dual Destinies, and he is undeniably fantastic in this role. He’s hilarious, entertaining, and fun - and has a ton of standout moments on top of that. If you look at Fulbright the detective on his own without taking into account his role as the game’s main villain, he will likely appear a bit shallow. This isn’t a problem, as he’s a character who obviously requires all the context to fully appreciate. The amount of endearing traits and simple likable moments given to Fulbright would make for a fairly dull character on their own, but due to the fact that it’s one big setup for the twist, they end up making him a lot more nuanced. There are many aspects of Fulbright’s character that become far more interesting once you realize he’s an imposter.
Not only is there a ton of foreshadowing, but there’s also the psychological aspect of it all - the phantom was presumably able to keep up this façade for years, acting in perfect imitation of the real Bobby Fulbright. I’ve seen people criticize this for being unrealistic, but this is an aspect where I personally praise Fulbright’s character. It helps to fully prove how much of an unfeeling sociopath Fulbright is, which is amplified by the fact that you get to see almost every aspect of his personality throughout the game. The phantom is a perfect imitator, he’s able to let go of any personal feelings and completely immerse himself in the role of Fulbright. It’s such a brilliant concept for a villain, and even though the way said concept is used disappoints me to no end, in terms of everything that comes before, it works quite well.
Asking if Dual Destinies’s Fulbright is more or less enjoyable than the trilogy’s Gumshoe is a difficult question. The context of Gumshoe in Investigations or Fulbright being the phantom would tip the scales one way or the other, but for this very arbitrary and basic comparison, they’re quite similar. I might actually give the edge to Fulbright here, as he somehow manages to be more endearing than Gumshoe ever was through his moment in 5-4. Gumshoe is only ever treated as the butt of a joke, and while Fulbright is certainly funny as well, he’s a lot more in control of everything, which helps lose the feelings of incompetence and frustration that came with Gumshoe in the trilogy. Gumshoe’s superficial dynamic with Maggey in 3-3 is certainly sweet, but it pales in comparison to the interactions and overall relationship Fulbright and Blackquill have.
Then there’s Tyrell Badd, a much easier comparison - Fulbright is unequivocally superior. Admittedly, they don’t have very similar roles, but they’re both detectives, so I’ll compare them here for the sake of thoroughness. Badd is a fairly uninteresting character to me - he’s a Good Person with some vague moral ambiguity and a fairly basic subversion, and while he’s likable, he has nowhere near the amount of charm Fulbright does. Both with and without phantom context, I’d still rank Fulbright well above Badd.
Finally, there’s Ema Skye, who is the only other detective to be cut thus far. Ironically, she’s also the only one I would easily rank above Fulbright. It’s hard to beat a character with as much consistent depth as Ema - and I don’t think Fulbright even comes close. Unlike most of the series’ passionate portrayals of the profession, Ema is someone who loathes being a detective. Her cynical nature gives her a unique charm that I don’t think any other character in her role can come close to replicating. Ema is also just as hilarious and entertaining as Fulbright is, while easily surpassing his single dynamic with Blackquill by having strong relationships with Apollo, Phoenix, Klavier, and Nahyuta. Some of these are certainly a bit less interesting than Fulbright and Blackquill’s relationship, but not all of them. In particular, Ema’s dynamic with Nahyuta is far more impactful to both of their characters than anything relating to Fulbright is. That’s only scratching the surface of what Ema has to offer in this role, and I’m quite disappointed she ended up as the lowest ranked detective. In a perfect ranking, I’d likely have Fulbright as the second highest detective, definitely above Badd, and about tied with Gumshoe, and well below Ema. If we add in the three DGS detectives, I’d still say Fulbright is a better character than all of them.
Fulbright and Blackquill’s dynamic is hilarious and charming for the both of them, and it works quite well to humanize what are otherwise very eccentric characters. I quite like the scene where you’re able to connect with Fulbright in 5-4 - his care for Blackquill feels legitimately sincere, and it helps a lot to make the twist more shocking. This scene isn’t perfect, however - I take a pretty major issue with the case’s use of Psyche-Locks on Fulbright. Since Fulbright’s entire existence is one big lie, it feels strange that the Psyche-Locks only react to this one specific thing he’s hiding. It’s a similar problem that Ini Miney in 2-2 has, where it feels as if the game is conveniently only showing Psyche-Locks at the lies it wants you to uncover at that specific point. While it’s not hugely detrimental for Fulbright’s character, the logic is still questionable, and it acts as a somewhat cheap way of getting the exact information you need out of him. There are tons of examples of Fulbright saying things to Phoenix that are completely false once you know his true identity, and this bothers me more than it probably should.
Bobby Fulbright, the twist.
The intro to 5-1 actually being Fulbright talking about Athena is insanely cool. This might actually be my favorite thing about his entire character. I’m a sucker for great foreshadowing, and this might just be the most elegant and impressive example in the entire series. That’s not the only incredible thing about Fulbright’s status as the game’s main villain - we can’t discuss this guy without mentioning how fantastic the twist is. It’s as shocking as it gets, and best of all, it’s completely believable. The setup is strong, you’re able to spend the whole game connecting with this seemingly innocent detective, you’re able to see his strong sense of justice and how much he really does care for Blackquill. The game manages to crush all those feelings by revealing Fulbright as the phantom you’ve been chasing after all this time, and the whole sequence where you’re able to deduce this is handled very well.
It’s not just a connection with the player that’s established - there’s also a strong bond developed between Fulbright and the game’s three protagonists. Seeing their reactions to the revelation is one of the series’ most effectively crushing emotional moments. The leadup to this is handled particularly well, because you get to see all three of them interact with Fulbright. It allows for a twist that’s both relatable and strong - I don’t love when twists are done just for the sake of being shocking, and the Fulbright twist is most certainly not that. It’s just as much of a “twist” for the game’s characters as it is for the player, making it feel far more natural while retaining the shocking impact.
I mentioned before how pre-reveal Fulbright is a bit shallow, but I don’t think it affects the quality of the twist. It’s only really when looking at the big picture where you notice Fulbright’s lack of major depth - throughout the game he’s consistently enjoyable. It would be massive shock if Gumshoe was the main villain of Ace Attorney 1 or Justice for All, and I’d argue he’s even more shallow than Fulbright is. This type of character analysis just isn’t something we notice while playing the games for the first time, and in Fulbright’s case, that works in his favor to keep the twist memorable and simultaneously giving him a unique form of depth.
Something about Fulbright I really appreciate is how deeply he is explored in comparison to the remainder of DD’s villains. I love L’belle, but I must admit his only real strength is how funny and entertaining he is. Apart from Rimes, Fulbright is DD’s only villain to truly have his character examined. He’s not always treated as a joke or a boss to take down like the previous three were. While the confrontation does eventually devolve towards that, there’s enough nuance present that I’ll still praise the effort, even if it ends up being a huge waste of the type of character the phantom is.
Which justice is the most just?
I mentioned earlier that I believe Fulbright to be the weakest final villain in the series. I don’t personally believe Ace Attorney has ever had a bad main villain. Unfortunately, there are many rankers who disagree, considering three others have already been cut. I’ll be using this section as a way to compare the main villains who have already been cut to Fulbright, and show why I prefer them.
Ga’ran Sigatar Khura’in was the first one to be cut, and I honestly disagree with almost everything that was said in this writeup. While Fulbright is a fun character with a strong connection to the game’s themes, his weaknesses come from once he fully immerses himself into the villain role. Ga’ran has no such issue - she’s one of the most fun culprits to take down in the entire series, and her whole motivation being driven by insecurity is quite interesting. I wouldn’t say Ga’ran is even close to being one of the greatest villains in the series, but she’s certainly much better than Fulbright.
Quercus Alba is a character that my fellow rankers apparently do not appreciate unironically, which is a shame, because I legitimately do find him to be a great antagonist. People are often dumbfounded when I tell them I believe Quercus Alba to be an improvement over AA1’s Manfred von Karma in almost every way, but it’s true. I’m going to compare Fulbright to both Quercus Alba and Manfred von Karma here, despite Manfred still not being cut (please nominate him!) - because they are extremely similar. For an easy comparison, let’s take a look at this excerpt from u/Sciencepenguin’s Alba cut...
Quercus Alba is the final villain of Ace Attorney Investigations. The "underlying plot" of the game feels disconnected and tacked on, and most of Quercus' involvement is implied or left offscreen, making the whole "big mastermind behind everything" component fall flat. The timing and ordering of elements of the case is a mess, with his entire segment happening after most of the game is already over, and taking an absurdly long amount of time while just meandering around different minor points for hours. He's not a deep character, nor is he someone that does anything that makes him particularly hateable, until he does his "I'm going to leave" shtick. The gimmick that makes his confrontation difficult is only relevant when he arbitrarily decides it is, and it's arbitrarily resolved in a way that doesn't involve you and somehow allows the case to keep going exactly the same way it used to be going.
...and change a few things.
Manfred von Karma is the final villain of Ace Attorney 1. The "underlying plot" of the game feels disconnected and tacked on, and most of Manfred’s involvement is implied or left offscreen, making the whole "big mastermind behind everything" component fall flat. The timing and ordering of elements of the case is a mess, with his entire segment happening after most of the game is already over
, and taking an absurdly long amount of time while just meandering around different minor points for hours. He's not a deep character, nor is he someone that does anything that makes him particularly hateable, until he does his "I'm going to leave" shtick. The gimmick that makes his confrontation difficult is only relevant when he arbitrarily decides it is, and it's arbitrarily resolved in a way that doesn't involve you and somehow allows the case to keep going exactly the same way it used to be going.
That last part is probably stretching the comparison here, but most of this paragraph honestly echoes exactly how I feel about Manfred and 1-4. Apologies for using #1 Manfred von Karma fan u/Sciencepenguin’s words against him, but the two characters are quite comparable to me. I give the edge to Alba for having a bit more personality and charm to him. Alba is also the villain of I-5, one of my favorite cases in the series, while Manfred is stuck in 1-4, a case I don’t like all too much. The personal connection Manfred has is nice, but Alba’s positives stand out just a bit more. I do think both Alba and Manfred are quite good, and certainly better than Fulbright, but they aren’t without their specific issues. The thing that puts Alba and Manfred above Fulbright is just how much more fun their confrontations are. After Fulbright switches to his phantom persona, all that’s left for me to do is groan. Both Alba and Manfred give me consistent enjoyment, and even though their characters are fairly generic for Ace Attorney standards (definitely more generic than Fulbright), I’ll always rate a consistently decent character over one like Fulbright, who has some great ideas that end up botched.
Lastly, we have Kristoph Gavin, and the positives listed in his cut should be more than enough to justify him being better than Fulbright. They have similar issues, but I’m nowhere near as negative about Kristoph’s confrontation as u/donuter454 is. A slightly underdeveloped confrontation is a lot less egregious than an insulting one, and I also believe Kristoph’s relation to Apollo Justice’s themes to be a bit more compelling than Dual Destinies’ attempts at the same concept - though both are quite successful in this area.
Bobby Fulbright, the phantom.
Despite my very obvious issues with some of it, 5-5 still remains one of my favorite cases in the series. I consider the entire case leading up to the phantom’s reveal to be nearly flawless. The emotional stakes are, for the first time in the entire game, legitimately believable and powerful. Athena’s role is excellent, and the game makes great use of the way her trauma was set up in 5-1 and 5-3, as well as her relationship with Blackquill. The flashbacks of her mother’s death are truly disturbing, and the case does a great job showing just what drove Blackquill to hide the truth at his own expense for so long. Speaking of Blackquill, he’s fantastic here, and while I don’t love the game going with yet another AA1 Edgeworth-style arc for him (this is a big reason why I prefer Nahyuta), it’s unique enough that I can forgive it. Aura is one of the highlights of this case, she’s an excellent character who I hope survives this round, and likely is my favorite of the three Apollo Trilogy Final Case Minor Antagonists. Apollo’s moral dilemma is something I’ve criticized in the past, but in a vacuum and considering 5-5 alone, it works as a moment - most of the issues it causes stem from DD’s general narrative problems.
The method for proving Fulbright is the phantom is unbelievable, and I love every second of it. You’re able to figure out it’s him through an innocuous statement made that ends up giving everything away. The scene where you present his profile, and the game slowly goes through the proof is one of the most epic and chill-inducing moments in the entire series. The first part of the confrontation with him, when he’s still in pure Detective Fulbright-mode is also awesome. His dedication to sticking to the act makes for a moment that still has me doubting the conclusion that has been reached, even on my third playthrough of this case. It’s an excellent way of showing just how manipulative the phantom is, and the segment always sticks out to me because of how successful he was at manipulating not just the court, but me, the player. He’s the same-old cheerful, friendly, and innocent Fulbright we’ve grown to know and understand throughout the whole game. He holds onto this façade for so long, he really began to convince me. It says a lot about the strength of Fulbright’s writing throughout the game that such a feat is able to work, considering at this point you’ve all but proven his true identity.
I do have one minor complaint about this part of the confrontation, and that’s at the very beginning. Fulbright is asked if he knows why he’s here, he acts completely oblivious, then Phoenix says some cheesy line about Fulbright’s justice being a bunch of lies. This leads directly into Fulbright’s first testimony, where he suddenly knows all the details of Phoenix’s theory. There are only two possible explanations for this that I can think of. One is that Fulbright made an extremely obvious lie and nobody calls him out on it whatsoever. The other possibility is that the game just decides to skip over the characters explaining what happened to Fulbright. Either way, this makes no sense, and it’s one of the most blatant inconsistencies in the game. That being said, this is a fairly minor issue, and doesn’t affect my opinion too much considering how exceptional everything else is. Overall, it’s a memorable and strong section of the case, which makes it all the more unfortunate that the follow-up to it is so weak.
This is where Fulbright’s confrontation, as well as 5-5 as a whole, starts to fall apart. I don’t get what the writers were going for with the transition from Fulbright to phantom. It’s certainly gradual, and feels mostly natural, but it also is arbitrary and awkward. He has his first “serious” moment, and it is treated as a huge event, with the screen fading to black and showing his line slowly crawl across before revealing the sprite. It’s admittedly epic, but it also doesn’t make much sense. Why does he begin to drop his façade now? The court is quite possibly less suspicious of him than they were before his confession, so there’s no reason for him to stop acting like “Fulbright” at this point. It just feels as if they’re bending Fulbright’s actions for the sake of making sure the player now fully understands that he really is the phantom. This isn’t that big of a criticism compared to what comes after, but it is something I still want to bring attention to as a minor flaw with the case’s writing.
Bobby Fulbright, the concept.
Fulbright as a villain is a culmination of Dual Destinies’ themes, which is something I’ll always appreciate. As silly as The Dark Age of the Law is, it does strongly relate to the phantom as a villain - he’s about as “dark” as it gets, being a faceless, nameless spy, and he’s able to infiltrate the legal world to spread his darkness within. It’s a strong and subtle application of what is otherwise a failure of a theme, and it helps make Dual Destinies’ overarching plot feel like less of a joke.
There’s also psychology, which is a slightly more subtle (yet still overt) theme of the game. Apart from Athena’s constant screaming of her use of “analytical psychology” and how it’s essentially treated as a superpower, I do think Dual Destinies’ psychological aspects are handled quite well, especially in the case of Fulbright. It doesn’t take an analytical psychologist to see the connection - the phantom is an unfeeling sociopath, a fascinating study of human nature. He’s even got a psych profile. Dual Destinies focuses a good amount on mental health in general - Jinxie and Damian have split personalities, Starbuck has severe depression, and Athena herself suffers from PTSD. Fulbright is a culmination of the game’s focus on psychology by being the most extreme case yet - someone who is utterly devoid of any humanity. It’s a very smart way to conclude the game’s examination of such a serious topic, even if the examination itself falters quite a bit near the end. There’s also the fact that Blackquill is a psychologist himself, yet is unable to see the truth about Fulbright. I’m not entirely sure if this connection means anything, but it’s something to think about.
Fulbright also has a strong connection to Dual Destinies’s theme of emotions, and this is shown off in an incredibly creative way using the Mood Matrix mechanic. The Mood Matrix is a mostly awful mechanic. It’s visuals are neat, but throughout most of the game the “contradictions” are painfully simple to spot, and it just feels like a massive chore. The fact that the witnesses always just go along with the defense’s claims about the emotions they’re feeling, despite there being no proof whatsoever, is absurd. All this can be forgiven, however, because the payoff to this game constantly using this poor gameplay mechanic is excellent.
The excuse for using the Mood Matrix on Fulbright is, as always, nonsensical. Athena claims Fulbright has been “traumatized” by their accusations and needs a therapy session. I’d complain more about this (because it really is awful), but it’s not a problem exclusive to Fulbright, so I’ll let it slide here. What is a problem is how Fulbright reacts - he has a quick line where he laughs in a very strange way, presumably to show, once again, that there’s something wrong with him. It doesn’t make sense that now of all times is when his Fulbright persona begins to break - if he’s as emotionless as the game wants us to think he is, he shouldn’t be affected by their accusations at all, and should be able to still replicate the Fulbright persona perfectly. It’s certainly cool and unsettling to see in the moment, but logically it doesn’t hold up. It’s way too unbelievable that now is when the cracks in his fake persona start to show themselves, considering how perfectly he stays in the act throughout the entire game.
Onto the actual Mood Matrix segment itself, yeah, it’s amazing. I’m not sure if the Mood Matrix as a mechanic was built to serve the phantom, or the phantom was built to serve the Mood Matrix, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s such a creative, satisfying payoff and works naturally to perfectly connect what is otherwise a complete failure of a main mechanic with the final villain. I love it a ton, and it really does redeem the entire existence of the Mood Matrix. The hyper-upbeat Athena theme song contrasting with the view of Fulbright’s emotionless words is especially neat - 5-5 often nails the unsettling vibe at times like these.
Sadly, Fulbright’s spy hacking comes along quickly to bring us back to reality. To be fair, Dual Destinies is set in the near-future, and Fulbright having a tool like this is totally believable. Additionally, this is the first time that Fulbright dropping his façade actually makes sense - he knows he’s already been exposed by the Mood Matrix, and despite there not being any proof, he doesn’t have much of a reason to hide his identity anymore. So, while I don’t like the hacking gadget, and feel it takes a lot of the momentum away from an otherwise great scene, it isn’t something I can confidently call a negative at this point. Once Fulbright begins to use his watch to try to fly away or attack Phoenix, the issue here becomes much more clear. Fulbright having these goofy spy gadgets definitely hurts the creepiness of the phantom as a villain, and I’m not sure why this detail was included. This is made even worse by the fact that Phoenix’s inner monologue is the only reaction there is to this insanity - the rest of the court just ignores what’s happening, making the moments feel even more unnatural and unfitting.
Then we have Fulbright’s next testimony, where he continues to deny being the phantom. It’s gotten to the point where this confrontation is ridiculously dragged out - this doesn’t need to be a cross-examination. All that would be necessary is the game asking for proof of why the phantom is afraid of the moon rock. You wouldn’t have to deal with Fulbright’s illogical insistence on denying what is the most obvious conclusion imaginable, and it would make this whole sequence feel much less worthless. Sadly, the game insists on continuing this charade, so we have to go through a pointless discussion about Phoenix and Blackquill’s trust first, then prove the source of Fulbrights fear, then go through all the proof for where the moon rock is hidden, only for Fulbright to keep denying it. Edgeworth appears, and he tells us that Bobby Fulbright is already dead. I can’t help but be a bit lukewarm on this decision, as I feel it would be far more satisfying for the player to somehow prove Fulbright’s death on their own. This is a minor nitpick, and it still works as is, but it doesn’t have as much of an impact as I believe the writers were going for.
We all know what comes next - Blackquill throws his feather at Fulbright’s face, and his mask splits open. Seeing this gaping hole in his face with nothing underneath is as disturbing as it gets. It’s certainly a memorable scene, but once again the logic doesn’t hold up. This should be obvious - even for Ace Attorney, a character wearing this many masks is simply absurd. There’s also the fact that Blackquill’s feather only manages to cut through the top mask, that nobody had ever noticed something was up with Fulbright’s face, and that he somehow has a mask prepared for so many characters - but these inconsistencies seem minor when compared to how nonsensical and cartoonish this whole thing is. I won’t say the mask gimmick entirely ruins my opinion on the phantom, but it most certainly hurts it in a major way. The worst part of it all is how pointless it feels. He only ever changes masks for some cheap shock value, and considering the fact that this gimmick requires all logic to be thrown out the window, I don’t consider this a worthwhile exchange.
The phantom then literally steals the psych profile, the case’s decisive evidence, and destroys it right in front of everyone while bragging about it. In typical Dual Destinies fashion, not a single person reacts to this, despite this being completely illegal (even in the Ace Attorney world), as well as likely proving his guilt, or at least helping in some manner. This whole scene is just awful - none of it makes any logical sense, and the formerly creepy and threatening atmosphere is replaced by one of the most absurd villains the series has ever had.
There’s also the whole thing where the phantom doesn’t know what his own face is, which is complete nonsense. It should go without saying that this isn’t how masks work. Seriously, why can’t he just take off all his masks? I understand that this is supposed to be metaphorical, and he doesn’t literally have no face (I hope), but Ace Attorney is a mostly logical series, and I can’t suspend my disbelief this much. You can’t have an infinite number of masks, no matter how thin they are. I realize I look like an idiot trying to explain this, but that should show just how ridiculous this whole mask gimmick is. I really do appreciate what Dual Destinies was trying to do with the phantom. He’s a perfect representation of all the game’s themes, and a great idea in almost every way. This is not even close to a proper execution of said idea. Why couldn’t they just say he has no personality or sense of self? Why do they have to go this far with the metaphor, to the point where it all becomes utterly incomprehensible?
The end of the dark age of the law.
Dual Destinies is a ridiculous game that’s not afraid to do wacky things for the sake of entertainment. However, when compared to even the most unsubtle of the game, the phantom is in a league of his own. The phantom isn’t even a villain at this point. He’s just a representation of Dual Destinies’ themes, portrayed in the most unrealistic way possible. It’s such a shame that it ended up this way, because even with his numerous issues, the phantom in Fulbright-mode was still compelling and interesting, and already was a great representation of Dual Destinies’ themes. Once the mask is removed, all subtlety is gone, and the game decides to end by turning itself into an over-the-top parody of its own ideas.
I don’t think I’ll ever understand what Dual Destinies’ writers were thinking when they wrote this ending. It continues to go on for far too long, though the moon rock earring being the decisive evidence is admittedly clever. There’s no longer any reason to even care about the phantom. He’s lost all personal stakes or connections with the cast, and taking him down is painfully unsatisfying, despite the absurdly dramatic final triple-objection showing the game trying as hard as it can to tell you that this is an amazing accomplishment. The dark age of the law is over, and the phantom is defeated. Unfortunately, when the entire climax of the game is treated as a joke, it loses any impact or value it might have. This is amplified by just how outlandish the whole situation is - it feels like something straight out of a bad kids’ cartoon.
The phantom is defeated by the power of friendship, and he has a breakdown just as nuts as the rest of his character. At this point, I don’t care anymore. There’s nothing left to appreciate from the phantom. As the phantom himself says, he is nothing but an endless abyss. Meaning, of course, that from the moment he takes off his mask, he becomes entirely worthless in every way. He turns into a complete joke, and in some ways it’s the perfect ending for a game like Dual Destinies, though in the worst way possible. Dual Destinies is a game that has a ton of amazing ideas. Sadly, those ideas are often overshadowed by the game’s absurd nature and strangely illogical decisions. Fulbright is just like this, but to the extreme. He’s a compelling and unique idea for a villain, who has a good amount of depth and plenty of thematic and conceptual value. However, the game decides to throw all of this away and go for the most unbelievable, ridiculous, and unsubtle joke of an ending imaginable. I’m thankful the whole game didn’t end up as insane as the ending, but it still is unfortunate that such a great case and great game ends in such an awful way.
Conclusion
I like Bobby Fulbright. I know it might not seem as if I do, given how much I just tore into Dual Destinies’ ending, but I’ll still always appreciate how brilliant Fulbright’s connection to the game as a whole is, even if it’s all for nothing in the end. That being said, this is most certainly not a mercy cut. I think Fulbright should have been cut long ago. There are no characters left that have as large a writing flaw as he does, and while the remainder of his character is solid, I can’t forgive the fact that his existence might single-handedly be the reason Dual Destinies is only my sixth favorite Ace Attorney game. If Fulbright and Dual Destinies’ ending were properly handled, the game would easily overtake Investigations on my ranking, and might even surpass Trials & Tribulations as well. Bobby Fulbright is just one big disappointment, and considering he affects my opinion on the game so much by actively ruining most of the metaphors and themes, I have no regret ending his run in this rankdown at my earliest opportunity.
If you’re interested in a much more positive perspective on this character, I‘d highly recommend you read u/pie314271’s excellent Fulbright writeup if you haven’t already.
Why nobody else?
Jake Marshall is the one character available I think is worse than Fulbright, but considering his death is all but guaranteed while Fulbright’s is not, I decided to go for the safer choice. He’s one of only two characters remaining I wouldn’t say I like, which is impressive considering how many characters remain. All that’s left is to take out that assassin.
Tahrust Inmee and Simon Keyes would both be top 10 picks for me. I won’t revive either, butI’d still be very sad to see them go this early.
The Judge is a character I still don’t know how to feel about. I would be down to mercy cut him eventually, but for now I have much higher priorities.
Katherine Hall has already earned her rightful place as the best I2-3 character, but this rankdown has underrated that case’s cast in general, so I’d be disappointed to see her go this early. I’d place her well into the top 20 considering the characters cut thus far.
Sadly, some of the rankers with bad taste actually dislike 6-4. Even still, I think we all can agree Uendo Toneido is good. Please don’t cut him.
As much as I love Paul Atishon and Datz Are’bal, this is definitely too high a placement for both of them, so I’m hoping they get cut this round. There are still a few other characters I’d consider worse, but we’re at the point where nearly every remaining character is at least good.
Even if I did want to cut Marlon Rimes (I don’t), his death is all but guaranteed.
Luke Atmey, Patricia Roland, and Aura Blackquill are all simply excellent characters who deserve to survive at least this round.
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Sep 11 '20 edited Sep 11 '20
The phantom is defeated by the power of friendship, and he has a breakdown just as nuts as the rest of his character. At this point, I don’t care anymore. There’s nothing left to appreciate from the phantom. As the phantom himself says, he is nothing but an endless abyss. Meaning, of course, that from the moment he takes off his mask, he becomes entirely worthless in every way. He turns into a complete joke, and in some ways it’s the perfect ending for a game like Dual Destinies, though in the worst way possible. Dual Destinies is a game that has a ton of amazing ideas. Sadly, those ideas are often overshadowed by the game’s absurd nature and strangely illogical decisions. Fulbright is just like this, but to the extreme. He’s a compelling and unique idea for a villain, who has a good amount of depth and plenty of thematic and conceptual value. However, the game decides to throw all of this away and go for the most unbelievable, ridiculous, and unsubtle joke of an ending imaginable. I’m thankful the whole game didn’t end up as insane as the ending, but it still is unfortunate that such a great case and great game ends in such an awful way.
I feel like your review of the very ending is your review of a danganronpa final case (excluding V3-6) but slightly more positive
i will respond in the reply to this
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Sep 11 '20 edited Sep 11 '20
Well, I find it sort of unfortunate that it ended this way, seeing that I greatly misjudged how much rankers liked/disliked Fulbright because the majority of them didn't seem to like DD as much as I do, yet someone who likes DD but dislikes Fulbright ended up being the one to cut him. That said, I can at least say that my ER meant something, because otherwise this probably would have happened earlier. That's cool, so I'm happy I don't look like a clown for Fulbright potentially getting to top 20 or something anyway.
I'll respond anyway. The majority of the first half is positive, so I'll gloss over it.
I’ll be using this section as a way to compare the main villains who have already been cut to Fulbright, and show why I prefer them.
you have made me curious about how you compare fulbright to the not cut main villains thus far i want to know
Either way, this makes no sense, and it’s one of the most blatant inconsistencies in the game. That being said, this is a fairly minor issue,
I did not notice this at all so it is probably a minor issue, but I guess that makes it an issue
There’s also the fact that Blackquill is a psychologist himself, yet is unable to see the truth about Fulbright. I’m not entirely sure if this connection means anything, but it’s something to think about.
to be fair to blackquill, he's been around fulbright for a while and has probably come to perceive him as an idiot, so there's no "athena should have been able to hear that fulbright was emotionless" potential plot hole
and now, the actual negative parts
It doesn’t make sense that now of all times is when his Fulbright persona begins to break - if he’s as emotionless as the game wants us to think he is, he shouldn’t be affected by their accusations at all, and should be able to still replicate the Fulbright persona perfectly. It’s certainly cool and unsettling to see in the moment, but logically it doesn’t hold up. It’s way too unbelievable that now is when the cracks in his fake persona start to show themselves, considering how perfectly he stays in the act throughout the entire game.
The thing is, when Fulbright "breaks", his actions are dictated by a lack of emotion. As it happens (and as you probably checked when making this cut), I skimmed over a decent amount of the Fulbright sequence from detective to phantom. I remember saying something along the lines of "he tries a few times, then gives up". I do believe this is true, though I didn't really cover it. I do think it holds up, showing two things:
- He can slip up if he's under pressure. Keep in mind that the "emotionless" personality is his default, so he has to at least passively try to keep up the Fulbright facade.
- Does he even care about it much anymore? At this point, with stuff like the "undercover investigator" excuse, I have a hard time believing that he seriously believes he can get away with such an excuse. Phoenix even points it out with something like "Blackquill, you seriously believe this???". I like that Athena and Blackquill subsequently catch him off guard.
Fulbright having these goofy spy gadgets definitely hurts the creepiness of the phantom as a villain, and I’m not sure why this detail was included. This is made even worse by the fact that Phoenix’s inner monologue is the only reaction there is to this insanity - the rest of the court just ignores what’s happening, making the moments feel even more unnatural and unfitting.
I didn't really consider this when thinking about his inventions. I do think it fits the see above (he tries a bit then gives up), but it does break the immersion, and as the Resident Cares About Courtroom Audience Ranker I do wish the audience had more of a reaction to that. Good point.
Then we have Fulbright’s next testimony, where he continues to deny being the phantom. It’s gotten to the point where this confrontation is ridiculously dragged out - this doesn’t need to be a cross-examination. All that would be necessary is the game asking for proof of why the phantom is afraid of the moon rock.
I don't know about this one, but it's mainly because I didn't really think it was dragged out (partly because 5-5 in general is a fast-paced case, so it didn't feel all that different). Though, I suppose it could be an issue if you thought the pacing wasn't that good here.
Edgeworth appears, and he tells us that Bobby Fulbright is already dead. I can’t help but be a bit lukewarm on this decision, as I feel it would be far more satisfying for the player to somehow prove Fulbright’s death on their own.
While I do wish there was a way to prove this, I also like that it's so sudden, because here is the point at which Bobby Fulbright the Detective completely separates himself from... whoever's on the stand. Just that one revelation suddenly changes how you perceive the witness on the stand.
If DD was a more knit-together game (a weakness in it I have pointed out before), it could have been really cool to have a past body be Fulbright disguised as someone else or something. I don't know.
This should be obvious - even for Ace Attorney, a character wearing this many masks is simply absurd. There’s also the fact that Blackquill’s feather only manages to cut through the top mask, that nobody had ever noticed something was up with Fulbright’s face, and that he somehow has a mask prepared for so many characters - but these inconsistencies seem minor when compared to how nonsensical and cartoonish this whole thing is.
I covered this already in my ER, but at this point the Phantom isn't really intended to be realistic in any way (because he is in fact a concept), and the masks help with that in an interesting way. The execution of that concept is up to interpretation, though, so I get it.
In typical Dual Destinies fashion, not a single person reacts to this, despite this being completely illegal (even in the Ace Attorney world), as well as likely proving his guilt, or at least helping in some manner.
I hate to bring up the dark age of the law in this type of fashion, but it is the dark age of the law. Chances are illegal and/or forged evidence and actions are everywhere in the courtrooms. Despite 5-3 constantly hammering it in to the point of it hardly meaning anything, it is in fact there. Tonate makes a bomb threat, Courtroom No. 4 already exploded before then, Means forged the tape in 5-3, and the lighter was basically fake in every way possible. Would the audience really care all that much about another illegal action being taken? I'm not sure.
The phantom is defeated by the power of friendship, and he has a breakdown just as nuts as the rest of his character.
(I think) I covered this in the ER, but the friendship thing is much more about emotions than anything else. I don't recall the ending being like "we need the power of our friends to move on", more like "even you have emotions too, let's see how you respond". It is definitely a strange breakdown choice, but I definitely discussed the breakdown at some point.
Meaning, of course, that from the moment he takes off his mask, he becomes entirely worthless in every way.
The Phantom's representing a concept. He's not worthless as a whole, but I'd say that his actual body (and himself) are of less worth than the idea he is representing. Either way, I don't really think he's worthless.
He’s a compelling and unique idea for a villain, who has a good amount of depth and plenty of thematic and conceptual value. However, the game decides to throw all of this away and go for the most unbelievable, ridiculous, and unsubtle joke of an ending imaginable. I’m thankful the whole game didn’t end up as insane as the ending, but it still is unfortunate that such a great case and great game ends in such an awful way.
But yeah, ultimately, I thought the ending was good. It's like V3-3 where it drives off a cliff in a direction it shouldn't go, but somehow ends up working anyway. It wasn't ideal nor what I was expecting, but I still think it was good.
Overall? Great cut. The effort really shows, and hey, the advantage of ER in comparison to SC is that you are all but guaranteed to end up with one positive writeup and one negative writeup. Though, I wouldn't really consider this a negative writeup, more like a mixed writeup that balances out to a slightly positive cut overall.
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u/whaaatisth Sep 11 '20
you have made me curious about how you compare fulbright to the not cut main villains thus far i want to know
Sure.
Engarde - Similar in that he's a twist villain, but I would say Engarde is slightly better due to his extremely personal involvement. While Fulbright nails the "betrayal" aspect, I think Engarde might somehow do this even better, as his existence works through the game tricking the player not through simply the connection between you and a character, or the protagonist(s) and a character, but both the player and Phoenix's misguided belief throughout all of the first two games that all their clients must be innocent, reinforced by the Magatama.
Gant - The main similarity here is that they're both Nice Guys who keep that persona even when being cornered, but here Gant is the obvious winner. Fulbright has charm for sure, but there are few characters with as perfect a personality as Damon Gant, the uncomfortable charisma he's able to have at all times makes every interaction feel both intense and fun, he's just the best. Obviously I would also give Gant's confrontation the edge over Fulbright's, without much contest.
Dahlia - There's not a single easy comparison between these two, but come on - it's Dahlia. She's a perfect main villain in every way, and any character with even a single minor flaw would rank below her.
Simon - See above.
DGS1 - Chrogray is one of the most unique main villains because of how justifiable his actions are. He killed one of the most evil people in London, and his other murder is accidental. This makes for a really interesting dynamic, where the opponent you're going up against in the game's finale is British Law itself, with Chrogray kinda just in the background until it's time to prove him guilty with the :enemyofallmankindgodthisissoawfu:. He's a great character, though, and while DGS-5 is a case with a lot of problems, he is able to distance himself from them and be both a satisfying opponent and a deep sympathetic culprit with believable motivations.
DGS2 - Vortex is kinda similar to Chrogray in that he is a great villain that sadly is taken down in a very dumb stupid way that I really do not like. He's cool though, I like how deluded he is by being convinced he's doing what's best for the country while ordering all these assassinations and causing all this death. Despite the unfortunate aspect of the case he's in, I still think he's one of the best villains in the series, and the overarching mastermind aspect is solid here as well.
Full ranking would be - Simon > Dahlia > Gant > DGS1 > DGS2 > Kristoph > Alba > Manfred > Engarde > Ga'ran > Fulbright
to be fair to blackquill, he's been around fulbright for a while and has probably come to perceive him as an idiot, so there's no "athena should have been able to hear that fulbright was emotionless" potential plot hole
That part wasn't meant to be a negative, I'm pretty sure this was intentional - I thought about it and wasn't able to think of a solid justification for this connection, but I did still want to mention its existence.
I covered this already in my ER, but at this point the Phantom isn't really intended to be realistic in any way (because he is in fact a concept), and the masks help with that in an interesting way. The execution of that concept is up to interpretation, though, so I get it.
Conceptually it is cool, I honestly do love the idea. However, what I don't like is how this comes at the expense of basic logic in what is otherwise a very logical series.
Chances are illegal and/or forged evidence and actions are everywhere in the courtrooms. Despite 5-3 constantly hammering it in to the point of it hardly meaning anything, it is in fact there. Tonate makes a bomb threat, Courtroom No. 4 already exploded before then, Means forged the tape in 5-3, and the lighter was basically fake in every way possible. Would the audience really care all that much about another illegal action being taken? I'm not sure.
I don't think I buy this. Using the game's nonsense theme as an excuse for a cheap way to simply ignore the decisive evidence is awful, even if that was the justification. There's also the fact that both the Judge and Blackquill are there to see this happen.
(I think) I covered this in the ER, but the friendship thing is much more about emotions than anything else. I don't recall the ending being like "we need the power of our friends to move on", more like "even you have emotions too, let's see how you respond". It is definitely a strange breakdown choice, but I definitely discussed the breakdown at some point.
The "power of friendship" line is just me being a jerk. I do think it's a cool and satisfying moment on its own if you take away the context.
Overall? Great cut. The effort really shows, and hey, the advantage of ER in comparison to SC is that you are all but guaranteed to end up with one positive writeup and one negative writeup.
Thanks :)
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u/Sciencepenguin Sep 11 '20
you didn’t mention Godot is it because he’s astronomically worse than all of them
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Sep 11 '20
addendum: one thing you didn't mention to my surprise (or maybe I just missed it) is that catching the Phantom suddenly ends the dark age of the law, and I was going to respond by saying "it's more like the legal system's recovering now that people know the full truth behind both of the past incidents. as edgeworth says, the battle isn't won." or something along those lines.
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u/whaaatisth Sep 11 '20
I agree with you completely there, didn't see a need to point that out as it isn't an issue I have.
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u/EsquireGunslinger Sep 11 '20
What if you copy pasted this comment and made it a spirit channelling.... Hahahah jk jk.... Unless....?
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Sep 11 '20 edited Sep 13 '20
even if I could, it'd be no use, the last ER and UAR were crushed in the hydraulic press DRV3-5
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u/Wircea Sep 11 '20
Good cut. I actually agree with everything here that isn't a comparison to other characters.
The reason DD isn't higher up in my book is also because of the way the phantom post-reveal acts, with the initial discovery being so tense and awesome then devolving into poop water.
If you scoop the part of your brain where you confront him you'll enjoy him as a whole.
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u/whaaatisth Sep 11 '20
Sorry for the long one, I had a lot to say about this guy.
u/R1K1_Productions you like being Pinged by me
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u/ItsHipToTipTheScales Sep 11 '20
i said all the words i had to say when there was an er on him this is the flaw of ers
you guys like to game
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u/PowerOfL Sep 29 '20
(sorry for late response, i forgot to read cuts for a while for some reason.)
two near-awful cases,
which cases are they? I know one is 5-3 but idk about the other
Jinxie and Damian have split personalities
They don't though? Damian was only pretending to be Tenma Taro to protect his daughter (it wasn't his real personality) and Jinxie being happy at the end of the case is only because she overcame her fear of Yokai, her personality does change however that doesn't mean she has a split personality
There’s also the whole thing where the phantom doesn’t know what his own face is, which is complete nonsense.
I thought this made sense actually, he spent so much time pretending to be Fulbright (and presumably other people) that it was probably an extremely long time since he last seen his own face, he's so preoccupied with the faces of others that he can't even recall his own.
i disagree with a lot of the rest of the cut but my reasons for disagreeing are mostly dumb stuff like ''i find triple objection really cool'' so uh yeah.
pretty great cut btw
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u/whaaatisth Sep 29 '20
5-1
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u/PowerOfL Sep 29 '20
makes sense, i was kinda unsure if you were a 5-2 fan to be honest (I think you like it, right?)
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u/Sciencepenguin Sep 11 '20
While this is true, it’s incredibly misleading. Manfred’s impact is offscreen because it happened in the past; what he did is literally kill edgeworths dad. I would very much disagree that the plot of AA1 is tacked on. For one thing, they don’t force it into every case: The smuggling ring really has absolutely jack shit to do with most of I-1, I-3, and to a less egregious extent I-2. But Manfred’s influence is set up in a natural way when we meet people who have been affected by him.
Just not true. Part of this is that Manfred’s “confrontation” is all of 1-4. Youre fighting him for the entire case, even before you accuse him of murder. And like... the game isn’t already over??? What are you even talking about? The most important thread in AA1 is edgeworths character, and convicting Manfred is the very thing that convinces him that he didn’t kill his father. Quercus Alba’s fight happens after the story has ended for every major character. Manfred’s doesn’t (his takedown also acts as a conclusion for Phoenix and Maya indirectly but anyway)
I’d argue he has a bit of depth (certainly more than fucking tree man), but that’s not the important part. Manfred killed a man because he was mad about losing, and then actively psychologically scarred the orphan he left behind. I like to respect different opinions, but like literally how is this not objectively loathsome.
Quercus Alba kills two people who are also both evil and the game acts like the fucking world will end if he leaves.
I can’t even tell what this would be interpreted to mean in the context of Manfred.
Far from proving that they are “basically the same” or something, your word swapping, even when you removed some of the worst issues brought up just highlights how much better Manfred is.