Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney/Episode 3: Turnabout Samurai/Day 3 - Trial

Like Day two, Day three is split between both modes of play. You start out in Courtroom mode, where things aren’t looking too good; even Mia calls Will a dead-man-walking.

Edgeworth calls Sal Manella to the stand.

The Day of the Murder: Cross-examination
You know that he is lying; the evidence isn’t in your Court Record, but if you examined the area outside the Studio 2 Trailer, you would have noted that there were empty plates. Press him on the statement about skipping lunch. Mia will then ask you if something is odd. Choose "It’s contradictory." He will now say that he had lunch outside the trailer. This admission has created another contradiction in his testimony. Press his last statement about no one leaving their chairs. When you have the option, press further. Sal will now admit that they did take a break. He will testify again, this time about the break.

The Break: Cross-examination
Press his first statement and his third statement. If you do this, Edgeworth will stop you and tell the court that it was impossible for someone at Studio 2 to go to Studio 1. The judge will ask you if this is what you are trying to claim. Edgeworth is correct; Mr. Monkey’s Head was blocking the path at the time. Choose "No, it’s impossible." Unfortunately this rules out the people at Studio 2 as suspects, leaving Will as the only possible person left.

Edgeworth calls Cody to the stand. Mia tells you to take note of Cody’s camera in the Court Record. Cody’s Camera is added to the Court Record.

Witness's Account: Cross-examination
You have to be a little hard on Cody, but it's just to reveal the truth. Look at the statement where he claims he didn’t have his camera with them. This seems a little out of character for Cody. He always has his camera with him! Present Cody’s Camera against this statement. Cody will admit that he lied, and that he did have his camera with him. However he was too distracted to take a picture.

What I Saw: Cross-examination
Cody appears to be a little vague. Press the fourth statement about the bad guy not moving. When you can, choose "Press harder." Phoenix will imply that Cody didn’t see a stabbing at all. The judge will ask why Cody didn’t see the pinnacle of the fight. Remember that Cody said that his camera is new and he is still figuring out how to use it. He must have been trying to take a photo of the Steel Samurai at the time and was trying to work his camera to take the photo. Present Cody’s Camera. Cody confesses and provides another testimony.

No Photo?: Cross-examination
So Cody claims he didn’t get a photo. That doesn’t seem right. After he came all the way to Global Studios to see the Steel Samurai, he certainly would have taken a photo once he got his camera open. Press Cody’s last statement. When you can, choose "Press him hard." Phoenix tells Cody that he believes that he did take a photo. Cody confesses (again). He changes the last line of his testimony:
 * "I took a few shots, but it was too late, so I erased 'em."

Surely Cody would keep any and all photos he had of the Steel Samurai. It doesn’t make sense that he would delete them. Present the Path to Glory against this new last statement. Phoenix and Mia now realize the truth. Why is there no victorious photo of the Steel Samurai in Cody’s perfect collection of victory images? When the judge asks why Cody erased the photos. Choose "The Steel Samurai didn’t win."

Revealing the truth
Cody lied about what happened because he couldn’t bring himself to believe that the Steel Samurai didn’t win a fight. Cody will burst into tears and finally admit the truth. It was the Steel Samurai that fell down and stopped moving. If this is the truth, then the person inside the costume was not the killer at all. When you have the option, choose "Steel Samurai was the victim."

The evidence is pointing towards the fact that Jack Hammer was inside the Steel Samurai costume. Everybody assumed he went to Studio 1 after lunch, but no one actually saw him go and the security camera wasn’t turned on at the time. He was also present to witness Will spraining his ankle. He could have waited for Will to fall asleep, stolen the costume and then limped past the camera.

Unfortunately, Phoenix doesn’t know why Jack Hammer did this. Cody is glad to know that it wasn’t really the Steel Samurai that got beaten. Cody says that he did save one photo from that day. The judge says it's impossible to really know who was in that costume, and Phoenix agrees. Mia stops you. There is something really important in this photo, something so important that it can change the case completely. Look at the top of the photo carefully. It's partly cut off, but there is a number there. It looks like the number "2." This means that the Steel Samurai went to Studio 2 that day. All the people at Studio 2 that day had an alibi, because of Mr. Monkey blocking the path, however they didn’t need to use the path, because Jack Hammer came to their location. Point out the number "2" in the photo, and present it to the court.

The judge doesn’t really understand what Phoenix is saying. Phoenix will take out the Guidemap to explain. You have to show the court where the real location of the murder was. Select Studio 2 and present it. When you can, choose "The trailer is here." This means that Dee Vasquez and Sal Manella were actually at the scene of the crime that day after all.

New claims
Phoenix now states the defense’s new claims:
 * The scene of the crime was Studio 2.
 * The man Ms. Oldbag saw walk by the main gate was Jack Hammer, the victim.
 * Mr. Hammer, for some reason, stole a Steel Samurai costume, then he went to Studio 2.

Edgeworth finds one problem. Why would Jack Hammer steal the Steel Samurai costume? Edgeworth asks for proof. When you can, choose "I have proof." Remember the Empty Bottle, a bottle of sleeping pills that was found next to the lunch plates in the employee area? Will really was asleep in his trailer after lunch; this is because Jack Hammer drugged him with the sleeping pills! This would make it easy for Jack to steal the costume out of Will’s dressing room. Present the Empty Bottle.

When you can, choose "Fingerprint the bottle." The judge collects the bottle to be sent for fingerprinting. If Jack Hammer drugged Will with these pills, his fingerprints will be found. The judge extends the trial for another day. He wants Phoenix to find out why Hammer stole the costume and who killed him.

That was a very close one today.

Investigation Mode
At the office, Mia leaves Maya, who asks what happened. Phoenix tells her that he needs a motive for why Jack would drug Will Powers, and proof that he stole the costume, yet was killed. Talk to Maya about what happened while she was absent, then move to the Detention Center.

Detention Center
Will thanks you for doing so well. Talk to Will:


 * Producer Vasquez: Will reveals that Dee Vasquez saved Global Studios from closing after Jack Hammer quit as a star five years prior.
 * Director Manella: Vasquez accepted Manella's vision that was soon to be The Steel Samurai.
 * Mr. Hammer: You'll find that Hammer used to be a big star, until five years ago. Will doesn't know what happened.

Move to the Studio - Main Gate.

Global Studios: Main Gate
Oldbag seems very quiet. Maya suspects she let her guard down. She shows her presence by keeping you from the donuts. Talk to her about all of the available topics, however you won't get any new information, except that Manella was "treated like dirt" by Vasquez, much to her enjoyment. Move to the Employee Area.

Employee Area
Maya wonders if there are any more clues, since you found the bottle here. However, Gumshoe will stop you before you start searching. It turns out he's looking at the plate for the pills. Talk to Gumshoe:


 * The plate: It seems that tests show that the pills leave traces on the plate by changing its color. Looks quite helpful, so the Steak Plate will be added to your Court Record.
 * The investigation: It turns out his investigation isn't going well.
 * Prosecutor Edgeworth: Edgeworth is very angry about today's trial. He also tells you that they found Jack's fingerprints on the bottle, meaning that the one who drugged Will was the victim! The Sleeping Pills Bottle will be added to your Court Record once more.

Move to the Dressing Room.

Dressing Room
When you enter, you'll face Penny, who is cleaning up the room since Will Powers won't be needing it anymore, as this week's episode of The Steel Samurai, much to Maya's shock, will be the last. Talk to Penny:


 * Mr. Hammer: It turns out that she didn't know that Studio 2 was the crime scene, rather than Studio 1. It seems that rumor has it that Vasquez held some "dirt" on Hammer.
 * The last episode: Penny says that Global Studios isn't producing kids' shows anymore.
 * Studio policy: The studio is canceling The Steel Samurai, so that everyone would forget about the crime. Maya objects to this, saying that lot's of kids will be heartbroken.

Present the Path to Glory to Penny for proof. Penny will change her mind, but doesn't know what to do about the incident five years ago.


 * Five years ago: It turns out that Hammer "accidentally" killed someone. Vasquez kept it quiet, fearing for Jack's career. Penny claims Ms. Oldbag knows more about this. Move to the Studio - Main Gate to talk to her.

Global Studios: Main Gate (2)
Talk to Oldbag:


 * Five years ago: She'll predictably be angry at Penny for telling you, and Oldbag reveals that Nichols is Penny's last name. She also wants proof that Jack Hammer stole the Steel Samurai costume.

Choose "I have proof," then present to her the Steak Plate. She'll believe Will Powers put it there himself. Prove her wrong by presenting the Sleeping Pills Bottle. After seeing the fingerprints, she'll finally confess about the accident.

When Hammer killed a man, a paparazzo took the picture, and tried to send it to the press. However, Vasquez, who was revealed to have had ties to the mafia, killed the paparazzo. Since then, everyone at the studio never defied her. Ms. Oldbag will show you the paparazzo's photo of the incident, showing that Hammer pushed the other actor into the gate of a flowerbed while fighting on the stairs at Station 2. The actor was punctured by the sharp gate and died. The Five-Year-Old Photo will be added to your Court Record. Move to Studio 2. Along the way, Maya wonders: if Hammer put Will to sleep and stole his costume, then why did he go to Studio 2? And who called him? The producer, or the director?

Studio 2
Once you're here, you'll see Vasquez. Present to her the Five-Year-Old Photo. She used the photo to control Hammer. She wants to discus it inside the trailer, so move there.

Trailer
Inside, Vasquez wants to know if you want information about the incident. It seems she used the photo to blackmail Hammer, and forced him from stardom in return for her silence about the "accident." Vasquez will reveal to you a little surprise: Hammer didn't kill the other actor on accident, rather he did it on purpose! Phoenix wants proof. Vasquez says that there's no way she could have blackmailed Hammer if he hadn't done it on purpose. Oldbag said it was an accident, because she was a big fan, as she claimed a few days ago.

Oldbag ended up with the photo by assaulting the reporter who had it, and then she ran away with it to make sure the press wasn't involved. Vasquez wants the photo, but Phoenix refuses to give it to her, so she calls her boys to "erase" them, so they won't go to court. Don't worry though, as Gumshoe will save you at the last moment. Hearing every word, he arrests Vasquez, who decides to finish the job in court. It looks like you'll get to the bottom of this after all, but until then, the day ends.