case by case: 6-5a: a real murder buff
Monday's back and it's time for more murder! Last week, we hung out with a clown; this week, we're taking things down a notch with a minor civil suit over the ownership of a relic. Spoilers below.
A little administrative note: I'm . . . just gonna treat this as two separate cases. Two trials on two separate continents, we lose nearly all of our evidence after the first trial is over. The game treats it as one large case, but structurally this feels like two separate cases. (Also I believe this puts me on track to not miss any days when AAI comes out. I'm a genius.)
While I can't say I was expecting a case where we had to face off against Phoenix, it does, in retrospect, feel like the obvious way forward for Apollo's character arc: he is, after all, trying to emerge from Phoenix's shadow and stand on his own two feet, and what better way to do that than to kill your sensei in a duel and never say why?
It is easy to forget that while to those of us who are playing through this series one case at a time every Monday, the last time Maya got held hostage, forcing Phoenix to take on a shitty client, was a few months ago, from the perspective of when these games were released it had been ten years. So I'm prepared to forgive reusing that particular plotline. It does feel a little strange that Phoenix doesn't confide in anyone about what is happening, but . . . people do irrational things when the people they care about are in danger. It works.
This one does a good job of feeling like it's the prelude to a finale--obviously the macguffin our client/foster dad is being sued over is going to be important to the finale, and obviously we'll get to meet the person that put the world's worst politician up to the job of securing it via murder. But also, critically, we have more important things to worry about right now. The case stands on its own while being suggestive of a larger whole. That right there is an accomplishment.
I liked this one! I have some quibbles but overall, a solid effort, does the job pretty well, and we don't have to hang out with Sahdmadhi. Everyone wins!
Some stray thoughts before I wrap up: I may have failed to mention last time it came up but: dusting for fingerprints feels way worse in this game than it ever has. The cave adventure segment felt like they were trying to do something novel with the format, which I respect, though I'd have liked a slightly more robust hint for the puzzle.
Anyway, next week we wrap up this case and also, as I understand it, the main story for this game (and then there's a it-was-once-DLC case-but-now-it's-part-of-the-bundle case afterwards, I think?). I will see you all then, friends.