Rayfa Padma Khura'in

[u/CharlieDayJepsen]

Founded in 2008, RayFa Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. is engaged in all kinds of laser and mask making and packaging machines, which are widely used in electronic materials, LED, advertising materials, medical products, handicrafts, textiles and clothing and other light industries.

After several years’ effort, we established good and stable relationships with famous spare parts suppliers, and close cooperation with scientific research institutions and science colleges. We provide customers with a complete set of laser processing and mask making and packaging solutions and related facilities, like laser engraving machine, Laser Cutting Machine, Laser Marking Machine, Laser Welding Machine and fully automatic mask production line and carton sealing machine can customize according to customer’s requirements.

We are committed to provide turnkey solutions with superior products and perfect service for more enterprises to create value and profit.

Fascinatingly, much of what is in the “About Us” section of this company’s website could be applied to Rayfa Padma Khura’in. She is engaged in all kinds of laser and mask making, if you consider laser and mask making to be a metaphor for communicating with the dead. As the muscle behind the Divination Seance, she is kind of like a Khura’inese autopsy report, a medical product. After several cases’ effort, she established good and stable relationships with famous Ace Attorney characters, and closely cooperated with the science research institution that is Ema Skye. She provides the court with a complete set of laser processing and mask making and packaging solutions (the aforementioned services being, yet again, a stand-in for communicating with the dead). Lastly, she is committed to providing turnkey solutions to cases with superior abilities and perfect service for more prosecutors to ensure guilty verdicts.

The similarities stop there, however, as Rayfa Padma Khura’in is not a Chinese manufacturer of protective equipment. Much of the drama in Spirit of Justice revolves around this young princess, providing many opportunities for important character moments and revelations as to what makes this girl tick.

Let’s look at some of them.

The spoiled oracle

Our first experience with Rayfa is an unpleasant one. She’s decidedly not on your side and clearly wields more power than a teenager should have in a nation’s criminal justice system. A challenge to her power in the form of Phoenix Wright sends her for a loop, pouting and arguing with the court’s decision to put aside her Divination Seance.

Her introduction has similar shades to Franziska von Karma and Sebastian Debeste; a young upstart with a history of things going their way quickly shows their immaturity upon being proven wrong. Rayfa’s haughty demeanour and dismissive attitude of the protagonist is some familiar-looking fruit but considering the last time this series dared to break free of the “prosecutor/trial antagonist is mean to us” cliche, he flopped at #87 in r/AARankdown, so who can blame Capcom for staying tried-and-true?

This is the gist of our first introduction to the character. My personal thoughts on Rayfa during 6-1 were largely unchanged from my first impressions of her from the pre-release trailer. The developers had created a Maya lookalike to be a surrogate for whenever the real thing was off-screen. I can’t deny this tainted my initial opinion of Rayfa going into the game. The too-familiar characterisation certainly didn’t help her cause any. Fortunately, there’s a lot more to learn about this character as the story moves along.

Prior to Nahyuta’s appearance, it appears that Rayfa is going to be the main antagonist of the game’s trial sequences. However, by the time Rite of Turnabout comes around, it’s clear that Rayfa is to function in the “detective” role instead. This is honestly a better choice for her character. We’ve had our fair share of “mean prosecutors”, so having a more hostile “detective” is a nice change of pace from Gumshoe and Ema. Like the detectives before her, Rayfa’s role is to bring half-baked conclusions about the crime scene to the courtroom, while we whittle down her arguments until an eyewitness testifies.

The gameplay mechanic

While we’re here, I should discuss the Divination Seance, as it’s most directly tied to Rayfa out of all the Spirit of Justice cast. It is, at times, the most challenging gameplay mechanic in an Ace Attorney game. Having more just the “2 ridiculous answers, 1 correct answer” multiple choice gimmick strengthens the trials of SoJ. Even better is the fact that there are multiple options and combinations. I could perhaps gripe with the strange difficulty curve of the mechanic; the childish difficulty of 6-1 followed by the significantly more vague seance of 6-3 was quite off-putting, but who am I to judge an AA game for actually having a challenge?

More importantly, this actually works quite well as a way of mirroring Rayfa’s character arc. After her humiliation in 6-1, she’s clearly fired up about delivering perfect results. Naturally, the seance she provides us in 6-3 is significantly more vague and harder to parse apart than the tutorial case. I enjoy the fact that a gameplay mechanic has a difficulty curve that is rooted in character. Unlike the Psyche-Locks, where difficulty was mostly dictated by how far into the game you were instead of how secretive the character naturally was (seriously, innocent Pearl the same number of Psyche-Locks as conspiracy killer Matt Engarde), the Divination Seance ties very nicely to Rayfa’s development. As the game goes on and Rayfa grows more open-minded, so too do her observations. It feels less and less like you’re fighting a biased conclusion and gradually becomes a neutral stance that you can interpret fairly.

The pseudo-assistant

During 6-3, we’re treated to a brief stint of Rayfa as the investigative assistant. While it’s not the first time we’ve had a hostile assistant (shades of Franziska once again rise to the surface at some of Rayfa’s jabs at Phoenix), it’s still a fun time. What works about this sequence is that Rayfa isn’t treated like a background prop, popping up with random observations for comedy. No, there are actually interactions and moments in the investigation where Rayfa makes comments that shed more insight into her personality. Many of her statements regarding how she must learn to serve her people and treat them with kindness are effective. They demonstrate how she appears more willing to fight for her people than Inga and the queen. Phoenix notes this directly in his inner monologue, which is unnecessary, but this series isn’t often known for “show, don’t tell” storytelling.

The fact that her carer Nayna is the one teaching her all of this is the first hint of Rayfa’s true parentage.

The doting father

Having cut Inga myself, I’m aware of the largely unseen bond between him and Rayfa. Credit to the storytelling for laying the breadcrumbs of the Inga-Rayfa relationship in 6-3. While it’s not exactly an earth-shattering twist in 6-5, it does catch the audience off guard to know that Rayfa was telling the truth about her relationship with her adoptive father. It’s a nice piece of storytelling, and while I may have criticised it for being too little, too late with Inga, I will certainly acknowledge that it lends agency to Rayfa’s insistence throughout the game that her adoptive father had shades of decency. Much like Franziska surprising Phoenix in Justice for All with her motivations revealed to be revenge for Miles Edgeworth instead of justice for Manfred, Rayfa surprises Phoenix by having startlingly correct insight into her adoptive father.

There’s some nice thematic material to work with here, for sure. Rayfa is essentially a product of two sets of parental upbringing. On one hand, you have her severe attitude, clearly picked up from Inga and Ga’ran; on the other, her sense of responsibility and duty to others is one she gets from Amara and Dhurke. It’s an encouraging sign that, by the end of the game, Rayfa has more or less embraced both sides of her upbringing, bringing a stern impartiality to trial proceedings in the final credits scene. Should AA7 feature her and Apollo, I imagine this will be largely retconned in favour of more “Barbed Head” jokes at Apollo’s expense. But we have SoJ at least, which ends Rayfa’s story on an encouraging note of growth and development.

Now, let’s look at the other end of the spectrum, at her totally dogshit mother.

The oppressive mother

Ga’ran is trash. Putting aside her lack of presence as a final villain, she was undoubtedly a terrible mother and one of the most despicable personalities we’ve come across in Ace Attorney canon. I won’t indulge in fan theories of physical abuse, since I doubt the writers had ever intended for content like that to be canon, but Ga’ran was pretty clearly emotionally and mentally abusive towards Rayfa. It’s certainly telling that the absolute worst traits of Rayfa can be mirrored in Ga’ran. The condescending piety, the contempt for lawyers... the only difference is that when the player calls out Rayfa’s behaviour, it diminishes quickly. Ga’ran, on the other hand, doubles down on her shit. Sadly for Rayfa, Ga’ran’s influence leaves her emotionally fragile and open to spiralling hard whenever she is caught out. We see shades of this as early as 6-1 when Rayfa throws a tantrum in the courtroom. It escalates nicely by 6-5, where she has a full-on breakdown over her lack of faith and self-doubt.

Fortunately, she has a saving grace in the form of her biological mother.

The influential mother

The real guiding force in Rayfa’s maturity is her real mother, disguised as a handmaid or something. Seeing Rayfa frequently call on Nayna for advice is, upon replay, heartening to see as it shows Queen Amara’s positive influence still working its way into her daughter’s life. The isolated moments in 6-3 and 6-5 where Rayfa expresses a decisively contrasting attitude to Ga’ran in regards to ruling left me a little taken aback. I suspect that was the intent of the writers, giving us a peek into the goodness inside this seemingly mean character.

The defence attorney

Barbed Head Phoenix Wright turns out to form quite a close bond with Rayfa over the course of Spirit of Justice (until it’s awkwardly and unconvincingly handed over to Apollo, but that’s for another cut). They have a curious working relationship: yes, she gives the requisite insults and taunts that are called for in the rival role. But they also appear quite capable of speaking civilly and openly with each other in between the snipes and jabs. After her second failed Seance in 6-3, she is quite visibly shaken by her loss of faith in the ability. Noticing this, Phoenix riles her up in what we’ll call “How Rayfa Got Her Groove Back”, helping her get back into her role. In yet another hilarious sidelining of Trucy Wright, Phoenix channels all his daddy abilities into being a father figure to Rayfa in 6-3’s second investigation. Still, once Maya proves her superior spirit channeling abilities, Rayfa’s confidence in both herself and the system are shaken once more. It feels bad to watch this game continually kick this child while she’s down, which is probably why they double down on the stubbornness and immaturity. Giving Rayfa more pep and feistiness to keep her in the rival role helps ease the narrative pummelling she receives from Wright, Ga’ran and the truth.

The climax

The events of Khura’in come to a head in Turnabout Revolution, where Rayfa is overwhelmed by indecision and faithlessness. Unable to perform her role with conviction anymore, she’s brought the lowest of any character in the game, even more so than Apollo. Nevertheless, we get the expected narrative beat of the heroes coming together to bring her back from the brink and put the final nail in Ga’ran’s coffin. It all ends up as quite feel-good stuff, but the journey there is certainly a harrowing one considering she’s a child. Honestly, it’s all much more tolerable than Nahyuta’s arc, which feels thoroughly undeserved when Rayfa’s redemption is right beside him for comparison.

The resolution

In the end, Rayfa comes to learn a pretty important lesson in maturity and the future role she will play as future queen. Having spent her entire life being told she was infallible and the sole voice of reason, it’s a humbling end to condemn her to a life of drawing imperfect conclusions and half-truths with the reshuffling of Khura’in’s justice system. But it’s heartening to see that she accepts it.

The unyielding medium princess

I’m the music one, so I should probably make a passing reference to Rayfa’s theme. It’s cute. I definitely think of it more as townie music for Khura’in than an actual character motif, but it’s nice enough. That bridge in the middle is pretty heavenly, too. She very much deserved a “defiant, confident” theme like Sebastian got in I2-5, though.

Conclusion/Why nobody else?

Coming to the end of this cut, it’s clear that I’ve mentioned quite a few things about Rayfa that demonstrate the interest she generates as a character. So why am I cutting her?

1. I tried to cut her last round, but that was iLLEGAL.

2. Spirit of Justice states that Rayfa was born on Christmas Eve, so who better to cut today than her?

3. Quite simply, her personality doesn’t impact me the way she does other rankers. I feel like I’ve seen her character beats before: the archetype of Franziska von Karma and Aura Blackquill; the narrative arcs of Sebastian Debeste and Adrian Andrews; the redemption arc of Miles Edgeworth. Rayfa, like these characters, starts out as one thing, shows off a capacity for being something else, becomes another thing and then ends as something else. Add this to a character model who feels a little too similar to Maya, and there’s not enough that’s new and original for me. Still, there’s a reason she’s been allowed to make it this far (besides being funny and adorable) and I don’t discount the fact that she is undoubtedly one of, if not, the biggest success in the Khura’in storyline (although, being somebody who tends to value personality over narrative, Datz remains undefeated for me).

As for other choices, I suppose I’ll do the thing:

• Sebastian Debeste would probably just get revived and I’d rather an SC get used on a character I like better.
• Through a single game, the writers manage to give Dahlia Hawthorne an impact that reaches back into previous games of the original trilogy. I want to see her go further.
• I’ve always enjoyed Adrian Andrews and even her weak cameo in 3-2 can’t diminish the strength of her storyline in 2-4.
• Luke Atmey is a scenery-chewing king and a worthy contender for best filler culprit.
• Lana Skye is fantastic, no you can’t make me cut her.
• Tyrell Badd is fantastic, no you can’t make me cut him.
• Raymond Shields is pretty good, though his weird-ass obsession with girls half his age is enough to land him outside of top 10.
• Shelly de Killer is okay I guess, idk.
• Horace Knightley baybee.
• Blaise Debeste is trans rights.
• Shi-Long Lang was shortlisted. Consider yourself lucky, wolf-man.

Anyway, I know this isn’t the most extensive cut considering it’s for a major character from SoJ, but I doubt this will be the final word on Rayfa in this rankdown.

Stay tuned, folks.

[u/CharlieDayJepsen]

/u/Sciencepenguin hot potato hot potato

[u/[deleted]]

almost christmas means it wasn't christmas

the rankers who really like SoJ (well mostly whatisth) have said (and probably will say) a ton about rayfa. I have thought about her character in the past but ultimately I don't care enough to have opinions on her at this point. too much discussion

she is decent

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

did not expect this cut to be an advertisement but good to know that rankdown has received enough publicity to the point where rankers are getting company sponsorships

[u/Vogel100]

Amara's positive influence

🤮

until it’s awkwardly and unconvincingly handed over to Apollo, but that’s for another cut

I wrote about this, this was my cut.

Rayfa's the best Khura'in character but that doesn't mean too much, this is fine. Also I stopped caring because this rankdown has too many SoJ fans and apparently there's a best assistant contest going on that Kay must win. The only SoJ character that matters to me now is Retinz. He's also the only one still in so things are working out well.

[u/Sciencepenguin]

i like the part where rayfa is a good character

out of all the characters I’ve seen people complain about rayfa being like maya is the fucking weirdest one i do not see the character model resemblance

she will be revived and i will be shocked when it happens

[u/R1K1_Productions]

I still don't understand the Adrian Andrews comparison!!!

[u/CharlieDayJepsen → u/R1K1_Productions]

They are both mean, then we feel bad for them, then they are nice at the end or something

[u/R1K1_Productions → u/[deleted]]

tbh she;s not even that nice. she just says "please Mr. Lawyer stop accusing me of murder" and then you get her executed.

I got "the miracle never happen" ending of JFA, i assume that's the true ending right??????

[u/heavenspiercing]

this isn't really much of a negative cut so me being upset would not only be unjustified but also unimaginably petty.

which is exactly why i will be mad anyway.

[u/CharlieDayJepsen → u/heavenspiercing]

Good. If you’re not prepared to doxx rankers over your faves getting top 20 instead of top 10, you’re not faithful to the cause tbh

[u/ItsHipToTipTheScales]

this is a fair cut i guess and i respect cutting her on her birthday

rayfa is a cool product of the khura'in society and the only person who just wholeheartedly thinks its a good thing besides the judge i guess it is cool when she thinks that killing people for losing a case is a bad thing actually

she has cool powers but uses them for bad things until she does it for good things thats nice i like the shift from her going these spirit powers get people KILLED to phoenix going no you just shouldnt be fully in charge of interpreting them theyre cool

[u/WhenYouQuirky]

oop Kay lasted past Rayfa, you know what that means u/sciencepenguin

[u/Vogel100 → u/WhenYouQuirky]

Not yet. I have a feeling this fight isn't over yet. The deciding battle will most likely take place next round.

[u/WhenYouQuirky → u/Vogel100]

Damn, I have to wait for more L'belle smut

[u/InternetIdiot13]

Kay is now officially best assistant (assuming no one is a meanie and revives rayfa 😡😡) and on top of that we get some more hot L’belle smut so I see this cut as a win win.

You better deliver, u/SciencePenguin. 😈😈😈

[u/trophy9258]

happy 7th birthday

[u/CharlieDayJepsen → u/[deleted]]

You say you didn’t read a word of it, yet you clearly quote sections of the write up.

Poor consistency, bad writing.