As some folks have humorously pointed out on Twitter: Pheonix Wright is disbarred from working in law on April 20th, 2019 in the Ace Attorney series' timeline.
As the RL date wraps up west of the Pacific, let me make the case of why this fictional character got one of worst instance of character derailment that has ever happened in video games.
Before Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney/Ace Attorney 4, we had three games where we played as Phoenix Wright. Three games where we knew him as this constantly flustered mess of a lawyer with a heart of gold. A lawyer who essentially bumbles his way through court proceedings and investigations. We seen his good-natured attitude get constantly thrown back his face when he got roasted and chewed-out by almost every character he comes across. We seen enough of his inner monolouging to know that he carries a bit of a sarcastic wit too. We seen all of his highs and lows but most importantly we see him constantly go against all odds to defend his clients because of his ardent belief in justice and the truth. This is the Phoenix Wright that became one of the most popular and beloved video game protagonists of all time.
But then we got the... affectionately coined Hobo Pheonix in Ace Attorney 4.
This Pheonix has spent around seven years working in a sketchy restaurant playing bad piano and cheating in poker games. He didn't take the loss of his law license well. His friendly, good-natured demeanor is all but gone. He's jaded, aloof, and more sarcastic than usual. Instead of bumbling his way to the truth, he's become this eerily competent chessmaster working in the background of the story. He gives the rookie lawyer you play as the run-around by occasionally dropping cryptic hints and duping him into present forged evidence. This Phoenix Wright manages to upend the entire court system of the United States to adopt a new jury-based system that runs on computer software he personally oversaw its creation.
Who the heck was this guy? Not the Phoenix Wright I knew in Ace Attorney, Justice For All, and Trials and Tribulations.
What's especially egregious about this phase of Phoenix Wright that as of the release of Dual Destinies/Ace Attorney 5, this literally became a phase in his life. By the time of the events of that game, his aloof hobo demeanor is gone and back is the legal idiot savant goof he we mostly known him before. When he plays the role of the mature mentor to his younger lawyer protégés, he still comes off as the same dorky guy we knew him from the original trilogy. Even that new jury-based system was replaced with the old judge-verdict system with no explanation why by Ace Attorney 5.
That entire phase of Phoenix was swept under the rug by Capcom. Evidently they felt it was a mistake. I think it was too.
Capcom has a streak of turning around beloved characters for the worse but nothing struck me as nonsensical and nearly offensive as the hobo phase of Phoenix Wright.
