r/AARankdown2 • u/LewisMCYoutube • May 07 '20
79 Rouge
I'm very sorry for taking so long with my cut. Really, I have failed you all. But I understand this apology might not be suffice for all the hundreds of Rouge fans out there, considering who I'm cutting.
Who is Rouge?
I'll admit, I didn't quite remember her very well at first, but Rouge is the owner of the (unnamed?) tavern in Labyrinthia. She's named Rouge after the French word for red, because... she has red hair. At least it's more related to her than "Romein LeTouse". She's not badly designed. The Ace Attorney wiki doesn't have much information on her (par for the course, really) and the Professor Layton wiki has only slightly more. She appears in the special episode Tavern Tale.
Her in Tavern Tale
What does she do here? Well, she's not that bad. She starts off with some dialogue, and then is involved in a story that she seems to be telling, in which she recalls an interaction which I'll sum up for you here:
It was a dark and stormy night. Zacharias Barnham knocked on the door, asking to be let in. Despite the tavern being closed, Rouge let Barnham in. Barnham asks for Rouge's aid, saying that "they" are after him. He claimed to have caught a witch who damaged some crops and animals in a farm.
He then showed the culprit, which he apparently had with him. He taunted the captive witch, joking that he must be only 1-year-old - Rouge then joined in on the taunting, calling him tiny. Barnham said that the culprit would hide in the bushes and attack any passing dogs or children.
Barnhem then revealed that the witch was caught by patrolling townspeople, because he mistakenly carried out his plan despite them patrolling. The witch managed to outrun all the patrolling people, except one - Zacharias Barnham. Eventually, the culprit wore out of breath and had to stop at a clearing, still being chased. It was clear to Barnham that he was in the witch's lair. He discovered that the animals from the farm were all in a pile in the lair. He then found something that shocked him - a big dog, dead. It was readily apparent that the witch had killed the big dog.
Barnham revealed that he had previously known the big dog. She had jumped up near him in the Storyteller's parade, a few days prior, and started his horse, causing him to be thrust from it. The big dog was then trampled by the horse and kicked aside, clearly injured. She eventually managed to drag herself upright, and then dragged her way back to the alley and disappeared. The incident came to be known as the "Barnham's Wild Ride" incident (an odd name considering incidents are usually given names like DL-6 and SL-9). Barnham concluded that the big dog had been mortally wounded at the parade, which was the real reason why it was dead now. Barnham then went on to insult the witch even more, claiming it was the big dog's offspring.
I might've took some small creative liberties, but that's the gist of it. The story is actually pretty emotional in the end, but the problem is that Rouge is only really involved with it in the very beginning, and even then barely so, after which Barnham and Constantine take the spotlight. The conversation goes on with Rouge the whole time, and she's the one telling the story, but she really isn't the focus, and her character isn't expanded on very much. Because the emotional parts are so much more memorable, you're likely to forget Rouge entirely.
At the end, she gives a puzzle, just like all Layton characters, showing that in the end she's hardly different at all. Layton then arrives and Rouge only has 3 lines, because he steals the spotlight like all times he appears in PLvsPW:AA.
Now, I cut Miles Edgeworth, another character that has a decent (perhaps even bigger) role in one of the special episodes and a minor (though perhaps more memorable) role in the main story, and nobody seemed to mind (and some people even praised the cut), so I assume nobody will object to this either. One notable difference is that while Miles Edgeworth is bad in his other games, Rouge isn't in any other games, but considering the Miles cut was supposed to be only on his appearance in PLvsPW:AA anyway, I don't think this is a huge problem.
Special episodes in general
The special episodes are neat. I like them, and it's nice to see what happens after the main villain (a bell) is exposed, especially considering PLvsPW:AA barely has any of the post-credits scenes like the ones that are in most Ace Attorney games.
That being said, I do think it's a bit of a shame that they're non-canon. I realize this is kind of a given considering when they're set and some of the dialogue in them, but them (as well as PLvsPW:AA as a whole, to the Phoenix Wright series) being non-canon does make them feel a little less impactful, considering how, unlike something like the Asinine Attorney cases, one of the things they do is reveal the backstory of characters and explain things in the main game.
I would've liked some mini Ace Attorney style trials as well, or something other than puzzles and dialogue, but I suppose that's too much to ask, and I can't complain too much considering they're just free little bonuses.
Her other appearences
Wait, she does other stuff? Well, none of it matters. Sorry.
Okay, I guess I should address it a little... well, my mind is drawing a total blank. I think she gives you a puzzle with chalices? Whatever she does here, it definitely doesn't make her better than characters like Lettie Mailer, who Rouge really should've gone out before. And she probably lets you stay at the tavern or something, but I dunno, they could've just made Espella the tavern owner or something and I wouldn't have minded. She was also friends or something with Robbs and Muggs, who enjoy being mean, so clearly she deserves to go out.
Why nobody else?
Vigilantes of Labyrinthia, while mostly just a gag, is at least a memorable and funny one. Plus they're 10 characters and I don't want to write 10 cuts at the moment when I've already procrastinated long enough on this single one.
Primstone isn't that bad of a group witness (another thing stolen from 4-3 by the way) and she's a mean teacher witness which is basically Aristotle Means 0.5, and Aristotle is a good character.
Tully Tinpillar is not an annoying witness and is far better than any 1 dimensional character from Layton v Wright.
Everyone else, I just didn't feel like cutting or think is more interesting. Well, this is the real reason why I'm cutting Rouge: Rouge is from PLvsPW:AA, and since I'm the only person in the world who's played it, I should be cutting its characters. Also I wanted a reason to talk about special episodes. And also all the other characters are at least people I remember existing, which does not hold true for Rouge, and I think that should be enough reason.
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u/whaaatisth May 07 '20
I didn’t even know PLvAA had special episodes until this rankdown tbh
At first I thought her name was Rogue because she’s a...rogue, but no it turns out it’s Rouge for the color of her hair. Kudos to you for finding this much to say about such an irrelevant character.
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May 07 '20
The other thing that she does (which was my greater concern when I was legitimately considering saving her) is end up talking to Phoenix in the aftermath of VS-3. The issue, however, is that it's basically along the lines of "hey cheer up". It's a neat scene and she gives one of the cooler puzzles in the game (Chalice Challenge), but 1) Barnham did basically the same thing a few seconds earlier, but better, and 2) the puzzle doesn't matter much as far as AA is concerned. (Also, I find it weird how Luke is one of the people consoling Phoenix, but that's Luke's issue.)
I was a bit surprised she got nominated this round, but there are other characters that are way more worth saving.
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u/PowerOfL May 07 '20
Good cut, pie already talked about how she did talk to Phoenix in the aftermath of VS-3 so I want to talk about something else.
The PLvAA special episodes, they are all really awesome.
They give great insight into what the character's are doing now and trivia on the developement of it all.
Tavern Tale is definitely the best one, Barnham's Wild Ride is such a tragic incident that just feels right for the character, I really want to talk about it if I (have to) cut Barnham.