The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures/Episode 2: The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band/Investigation, Part 1

Asogi's Cabin
You wake up in a room, unable to move. Lifting up your arms, it appears you've been handcuffed. A nearby sailor notices you're awake, and reveals that you were dragged out of a wardrobe while unconscious. For some odd reason, you apologize and confess that you'll tell him everything. A familiar voice rings out. It's Susato. She questions why you would take "his" life. Who? You ask where Asogi is. The sailor yells at you for playing dumb, accusing you of murdering Asogi. Susato asks you one more time why you would kill him. You flashback to a past memory.

You and Asogi are in a room. It is revealed that Asogi is currently getting ready for his trip to study abroad. He is temporarily staying in a cabin for 50 days and you were smuggled along with him, hiding in his luggage. Your presence on the ship is a secret, even to Susato, who is accompanying Asogi. It is almost time for the sailors to clean the cabins of the ship, so Asogi recommends you hide in his wardrobe. He even puts a "Do Not Open" sign on its doors.

You're back into the present time. You attempt to convince the sailor that you aren't the murderer but he doesn't budge. You turn to Susato for help. She gives you a chance to tell your story. She also has some questions to ask you. This will automatically open the talk menu.

Conversation with Susato
Kazuma’s Death: Susato reveals that when Asogi's body was discovered, the door was locked from the inside. The only possibility is that the killer was inside Asogi's cabin. The cause of death is currently unknown.

About the incident: Asogi would wake up at dawn every day to begin his training, and Susato would wait for him outside of his cabin. Today, he did not partake in his usual routine, so Susato grew worried. She called the sailors for help on opening the locked door. Upon entering the room, Asogi's body lay on the floor.

Currently, Susato still has suspicion over you, and now it's time to explain your side of the story.

"Stowaway": You explain to Susato that you've been hiding away in Asogi's cabin. You don't know why Asogi asked you to, but he helped you get on board. Susato explains that Asogi always wanted to change the judicial system in Japan, and that maybe he wanted you with him.

Last night: Susato asks what happened last night. You don't remember too much. All you can recall is Asogi bringing his meal into his cabin and that you climbed into the wardrobe and soon fell asleep. When you awoke, you were in handcuffs and your head was throbbing.

You attempt to take a closer look at where Asogi's body was, but Susato says that since you are the suspect, you must stay where you are. You declare that you must investigate in order to reveal the true killer, but when you attempt to go over again, Susato tosses you to the ground and asks for evidence that proves your innocence. Present the Paper Seal. When the sailors discovered you in the wardrobe, they had to remove the seal first to open it. If you were Asogi's murderer, the seal would've already been torn when you opened it before, proving your innocence. Susato will acknowledge your evidence and allow you to investigate the crime scene.

Examining the Crime Scene
Begin by examining the sailor. You attempt to ask him about how his investigation is going but he doesn't take you seriously. You ask again about if he saw anything peculiar last night, but he gets flustered and shuts down the conversation. Examine the katana. It's Asogi's treasured katana that he always wore at his hip. Examine the plate of food. It's the leftovers from last night's dinner: roast chicken. How did the chicken bone end up on the floor? Examine the scroll. Justice is written on it in Japanese characters. Examine the pink object. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be a small glass fragment. Next to it are brown marks. Examine the message on the floor. The words are written using ink and in an unrecognizable language. It appears that Asogi wrote this before his death. Examine the trunk. It's the same trunk that you hid in. Examine the desk. It seems that Asogi was writing in his travel journal the night before. The last sentence is unfinished. Was he murdered while writing? Examine the frame on the wall. It contains the ship's regulations. Examine the shelves. All of the books have toppled over. What knocked them all down? Pan left.

Examine the call bell. It's a special mechanic where when you ring the bell, a servant will arrive at your aid. Examine the wardrobe. You've been spent most of your time stuck in there. Examine the air duct. It connects to the cabin next door. Suddenly, a man appears at the desk. You don't know who he is, but Susato does, and she seems excited. Examine the man. He seems to be a very observant and careful man. Upon meeting him, he produces outlandish theories about you based off of a first impression. He introduces himself as Herlock Sholmes, "world famous detective". Talk to him.

Conversation with Sholmes
"Great Detective": Sholmes goes on about his status and reputation as being a famous detective, even showing you a magazine written about his adventures. He also talks about the power of observations, deductions, and logical reasoning.

Kazuma’s death: Sholmes was the person who discovered you hiding away in the wardrobe. He was with Susato and the sailors when they broke down the door to Asogi's cabin. He's the reason that you're handcuffed.

Sholmes then announces that he had discovered two facts at that moment in time.

Two facts: The first fact that Sholmes figured out was that the current incident was a locked room incident, meaning the culprit could not leave and was in the room. The second fact was that the victim was Russian and was killed after a disagreement with you. Sholmes claims that Asogi was Russian due to the dying message that he had written on the floor. It means "wardrobe" in Russian. Sholmes hands you a picture he took when he first stumbled upon the scene. Crime Scene Photograph has been filed in the Court Record.

Your deduction just now: You ask why Sholmes thought you were Russian and all of the other outlandish theories he said about you. Sholmes shows you a newspaper article where the headline talks about Vilen Borshevik, a Russian man, who fled to Shanghai, and accuses you of being said man. Although you bare no resemblance to Vilen, Sholmes still assumes you are him. The other theories he made about you also came from the same article. Article About Revolutionary has been filed in the Court Record'''. Sholmes also advises you to check the article on the back of the newspaper.

Select the Article About Revolutionary in the Court Record and examine it. Rotate it around and examine the back article. As it is written in Russian, the words are unreadable. There are 2 pictures: One is a portrait of a lady in a crown, the other is the same lady performing ballet. Sholmes translates the article for you. It's about the disappearance of Nikolina Pavlova, the ballerina. She was reported missing from a recital in Shanghai last night. As a result, all vessels heading to Great Britain will be checked for the missing lady. Article About Ballerina has been filed in the Court Record'''.

What you were just investigating: You ask what Sholmes was investigating at Asogi's desk, to which he says he was looking at his travel journal. Because he can't read what Asogi wrote, he has Susato read it. "1:23 a.m. - I can hear a faint whistling sound." and "1:35 a.m. - What looks like some sort of speckled band is dangling from the ventilator grille." is what Asogi wrote. Kazuma’s Diary has been filed in the Court Record'''.

Sholmes will now leave the room to go investigate further into the incident. You attempt to ask if you could join him but he denies and runs off. You will now continue with your investigation.

Examining the Crime Scene Part 2
Examine the sailor. You ask him if he could let you outside but refuses. Examine the dining table The cloth and the utensils are in a mess. Examine the door. The doors on the ship are made of iron and are latched with a bolt. A new sailor will appear, facing the other sailor in the corner. Examine the new sailor. From afar, you feel as if you've seen this man before. When you call him over, he coughs, with blood trickling down his mouth. It's no doubt that it's Hosonaga! He reveals that he infiltrated the ship under more special orders. Talk to him.

"Special Orders": Hosonaga says that the death of Asogi is his fault, as his special order was to protect him from assassins. He watched Asogi while undercover as a sailor for the entire duration that he was outside of his cabin. Hosonaga apologizes for not keeping up to his promise and asks how he could make things up.

Permission to investigate: You and Susato ask if you could have permission to investigate the cabin next door. Unfortunately, Hosonaga cannot do that since you are still considered the culprit. However, if you can give something to Hosonaga to provide a reason for letting you investigate the next cabin, he can try and persuade the captain.

Present Asogi's Journal. Asogi wrote about seeing a "speckled band" in the air duct, which leads to the next cabin. By examining both the duct and the other cabin, you can find out what Asogi meant by a speckled band. Hosonaga acknowledges your reason and allows you to move freely in the First Class Area. Move to the Hallway.

Hallway
You can now finally move out of Asogi's Cabin. At the end of the hallway is the door leading to Second Class. A sailor is keeping watch. Begin by examining the sailor. You and Susato try to chat with the sailor but he insults both of you. He introduces himself as senior crewman, Bif Strogenov. Talk to him.

First Class cabins: Susato asks if anyone was staying in the cabin next to Asogi. It is unapparent whether Strogenov confirms or denies that statement as he answers in Russian.

He follows up by saying that, he can't allow you to go into other passengers' rooms, meaning there indeed was someone staying there.

Guest next door: You ask for information about the passenger next door. Strogenov reveals that it is a man by the name of Grimesby Roylott who comes from the West. He also tells you that Roylott knows nothing about the murder. Susato asks when Roylott boarded the ship and if he's famous but Strogenov doesn't give you anymore information. You think to yourself that you didn't hear any signs of the cabin next door being occupied.

Last night: Strogenov was keeping watch last night and claims to have seen nothing unusual. Although, he seemed to have glanced off when he said that.

Strogenov has to leave to make a report to the captain and tells you to head back into your cabin. Of course, you don't adhere to his advice and begin investigating as soon as he leaves. Examine the Second Class door. It's the door that leads to the Second Class cabins. It's tightly locked. Examine the desk. On it is a logbook. Inside are pages detailing each day on the voyage, but oddly enough, the page for last night is blank, meaning nothing of interest happened. Examine the framed paper. It's a diagram of the ship. Pan left.

Examine the neighboring cabin's door. You knock on the door in an attempt to speak to the inhabitant, Roylott. But there's no response. Examine the alarm. It's an emergency alarm. Once pressed, it will temporarily stop the engines of the ship. Suddenly, a high-pitched scream is heard from the cabin next door. Sholmes arrives at the voice cue and the three of you enter into the room.

First Class Cabin Two
Upon entering, you are greeted with Roylott himself. There seems to be no sign of a woman in this room, so who produced the scream? Sholmes begins to makes observations. Noting that the wardrobe is empty, he checks for any place to hide somebody and sees a small trunk resting on a chair. For a second, the trunk seemed to have moved. You have to find a lead before the sailors arrive. Examine Sholmes. Sholmes will assist you in finding out what Roylott is hiding. He comes to a conclusion: Roylott is a villain who was about to use the scissors he's holding to commit a deed that we caught him in the middle of. Sholmes will now present to us his power of deduction.

Deduction Start: The game is afoot!

The Great Deduction: Old Man’s Identity
Conclusion: A revolutionary on the run

Identity: Correction
After hearing Sholmes' deductions, you will find it "lacking". You point out that Vilen Borshevik and Roylott don't look alike and that the missing ballerina could not possibly have been able to fit into that small trunk. You will now review Sholmes' reasoning and fix it.

Course Correction: Hold it, Mr Sholmes!

Cycle through the statements until you reach statement 5. You, Roylott, and Susato all seem not very sure about this statement, so you decide to replace this logic. You ask yourself, was it really the beard that he wanted to cut? You now must find the real thing Roylott was going to do with those scissors. Rotate Roylott around and Present the pretty hair. The real thing Roylott was going to cut was not his beard but his blonde hair. Such golden locks could not grow on an old man, meaning Roylott is actually a woman, and a young one at that.

Cycle through to statement 9. Since it is revealed that Roylott is a woman, the revolutionary article doesn’t make sense as evidence to her identity. You need to find and replace the evidence of her identity. She is a young girl. If that sounds familiar, Present the Missing Ballerina Article. Looks like we have our young girl. Roylott is Nikolina Pavlova. She sheds her disguise and admits her identity, but pleads for you to not tell anyone. Conclusion: Ballerina on the run

SOLVED

Looks like we have more deductions to replace. The initial reasoning and the review have some different statements due to the truth we uncovered in the first review. The replaced lines will be in parentheses.

The Great Deduction: Wrongdoing
Conclusion: Kidnapping of a young ballerina

The Crime: Correction
Time to replace some logic.

Cycle through the statements until you reach Statement 6. Since Roylott is actually the “young girl”, the fact that abduction is the crime she was committing is disputable. If the crime wasn’t abduction, there must be some other proof of her crime in her line of sight. Present the tiara. The tiara is the same one she was wearing in the magazine photo, which belongs to the Novavich Ballet Company. It’s valued at 20,000 rubles. Which means her true crime was the theft of this tiara, making it grand larceny and not abduction. But Nikolina insists she didn’t steal the tiara, and that a Prussian Earl gave it to her. Let’s try again.

Cycle to statement 15. Since we have established that “Mr Roylott” was not indeed a revolutionary, Mr Sholmes has completely changed his deduction from before, from the reason being in the newspaper to it being in the books on the shelf, due to it still being in her line of sight. One problem, though. It doesn’t make any sense. The answer must, however, lie in her line of sight. Examine the Notice. The notice has a rule that says “Do not store any dangerous things, such as weapons or animals, in the cabins.” Maybe it just so happens that she would be caught breaking the rules if she opened the trunk? Present the Notice. Something inside the trunk is indeed prohibited on the ship, and since we caught the suitcase moving on its own, it can’t be a weapon. Thus, she is harboring an animal.

Conclusion: Smuggled Animal

SOLVED

 Deduction Complete: Elementary!

Special note: If you're playing on Switch, PC, PS5 or XboxOne, you can automatically go to the deductions that needs to be corrected when you play for the first time. So don't worry if you get lost in this deduction game. Also in any investigation, should you get stuck by character impasse that stops you from checking the crime scene, click on Sholmes and prepare for his Dance of Deduction. This is how it works anyway.