Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All/Episode 3: Turnabout Big Top/Part 1: Investigation

You, Maya, and Pearl emerge from the big top, having just watched the whole circus show: dancing bears, elephants on balls, tigers through rings, and of course Maximillion Galactica. It's been six months since the incident in Kurain Village, and it's almost the New Year. Maya and Pearl are heading home to Kurain, but Maya says she will be back before too long. You decide to clean up the office, hoping that the New Year would indeed be happy...

Wright & Co. Law Offices
You come to the office to find it a complete mess. You then get a call from Maya, who sounds desperate. You learn from her that there has been a murder at the Berry Big Circus - the very circus you were at only a few days ago! The police have arrested the suspect - Max Galactica, Maya's idol. Maya wants you to come to the Detention Center, since she is a huge fan of Max (again?). She isn't really giving you a choice. Move to the Detention Center.

Detention Center
Here you'll find the fabulous Max Galactica himself, who plays a card trick on Maya. Talk to Max.


 * Max Galactica: Max talks himself up to the max, boasting about his recent winning of the "Magician's Grand Prix", the most prestigious of magicians' awards.
 * Berry Big Circus: He gained great fortune from his contract with the Berry Big Circus.
 * What happened: Max says the ringmaster of the circus was killed. Max was the last to see Russell Berry and was "invited for questioning".
 * Meeting with Russell: Max says Russell invited him over to his office. He says they talked about nothing special - just about Max's salary. Max says they talked about nothing else, but 3 Psyche-Locks tell you otherwise.

Present to Max your Attorney's Badge. Max looks like he is taking his arrest a little too well. What!? He's under suspicion of murder! How could he take this as a joke? After reasoning with him, Max finally breaks character and starts pleading for your help, as he has a family in the countryside to feed. You agree to help him. Max then plays one last card trick on you, and decides to have faith in you.

Time to start investigating. Move to the Circus Entrance.

Circus Entrance
You are at the Berry Big Circus again, this time to work. You see nothing but police here. Move to the Big Top.

Big Top
Once you enter, a tiger attacks you! Don't worry, as someone will bring him under control. It looks like a young girl, who says the tiger wouldn't bite you. (Really?) The girl will introduce herself as Regina Berry, the animal tamer of the Circus. Talk to Regina.


 * What happened: Regina says the murder victim is her father. For some reason she is taking the incident well. Everyone except Regina left the big top before the murder occurred...
 * Regina: Regina says she and Regent (the tiger that attacked you earlier) had been best friends since the death of Léon the lion. Regina says her dad killed him, but she doesn't know why.

Present Max's Profile. Regina apparently didn't know that Max was arrested. Regina says she has her mind on other things.


 * "What's on your mind?". Regina only wants to tell Maya, who is amazed. Maya tells you that two people professed their love to Regina: Max, and Trilo, a tenor singer of the circus. Regina must be a hit with the gentlemen here.

Present Russell Berry's Profile to Regina. Regina says she last saw her father running from his nearby office, seemingly in a hurry.

Max had a meeting with the Ringmaster in his office just before the murder, right? Let's see if there was more to that conversation. Move to the Big Top - Ringmaster's Room.

Ringmaster's Room


Examine the envelope on the table. It's about Max's salary, and it looks incredible! Phoenix, however, sees that it is dated a week ago. The Ringmaster's Papers will be added to the Court Record.

Examine the tailcoat. You see a piece of paper in the pocket of the tailcoat. What is it about?

Examine the posters on the wall near the tailcoat. Maya, being the obsessed fangirl she is, has already swiped a Max G. Promo Poster, which will be added to the Court Record.

After you're done, Move to the Lodging House - Plaza, via the Circus Entrance.

Plaza
This looks like the place where the performers live. You'll see Gumshoe here. Talk to Gumshoe.


 * Tomorrow's Trial: Gumshoe will say that the prosecutor for this case will be Franziska von Karma again. Maya then asks Gumshoe about Miles Edgeworth (your rival from the first game). You and Gumshoe tell Maya that Edgeworth is "gone".
 * What happened: Gumshoe says Russell was killed at around 10PM, on the spot you're standing on right now. He says the victim died from a deadly blow to the head. Gumshoe says something feels odd about the crime scene.
 * Something unusual: The thing that doesn't fit is the footprints. Gumshoe shows you the picture of the crime scene. It looks like a wooden box is under the body - scientists took the box for forensic examination. You then see the odd thing: you can clearly see the victim's footprints, but not the killer's. It's almost as if the killer murdered Russell while "flying" (sound familiar?). The Crime Photo will be added to the Court Record.

Present Max's Profile. Max's arrogance doesn't make him a criminal, but Gumshoe claims to have proof of Max's guilt: a Silk Hat, which will be added to the Court Record. Gumshoe says Max's signature emblems include a silk hat, a cloak, and white roses. He also says there is an "eyewitness".


 * Eyewitnesses: Gumshoe says he can't tell you, as it is the prosecution's trump card.

Gumshoe then tells you you aren't allowed to speak to the eyewitness. Of course, that's not going to stop you, but you can't go there right now. Instead, move to the Circus Entrance.

Circus Entrance (2)
There, you will meet a stammering man. He introduces himself as the ventriloquist of the Berry Big Circus, Benjamin Woodman. Talk to Ben.


 * What happened: He doesn't really know about what happened.
 * Max Galactica: All Ben can say is that Max is "not very nice". He then mentions a pain in his head.
 * Ventriloquism: Not much information from Ben.

Time to see this "eyewitness". Move to Moe's Room via the Lodging House - Plaza.

Moe's Room
You are introduced to Moe the stoogey clown (real name, Lawrence Curls), who throws out some really stupid jokes (that Maya actually finds funny). Talk to Moe.


 * Berry Big Circus: Moe tells you a brief history of the circus and Russell Berry. Everyone seems to like Russell.
 * What happened: Moe says he was sleeping on the night of the murder, and that's when he "caught a peek" of it. Does that mean he witnessed the murder?
 * Russell Berry: Moe says Russell was always ahead of his time, always coming up with new elements for the show. Moe says everyone's acts seem to be getting stale - even he realizes himself that he is "a bit long in the tooth". Moe mostly blames it on Max, who called Moe "one of the funny ones". Moe says something about Max and the murder, but stops himself before he goes any further.
 * What you witnessed: Moe says the police told him not to share what he saw with others, but he does give you a few details. After Moe went to bed, he heard a large "THUMP". He looked outside his window and saw the crime scene, and "that magician". Can he be referring to Max?

Present Max's Profile. Moe seems to hate the guy. The morning before the crime, Max "clonked" Ben (the ventriloquist you met earlier) right in the head. Moe says you should check it out, as there's "Gotti" be something interesting there. He gives you the Circus Map, which will be added to the Court Record.

Move to the Big Top - Cafeteria, via the Big Top.

Cafeteria
You find the place in a mess, probably from last night. Examine the broken glass bottle in the middle of the floor. Remember what Moe said about something interesting? The Broken Bottle will be added to the Court Record.

You now have to speak to Max again, as you just might have enough clues to break his Psyche-Locks. Move to the Detention Center via the Circus Entrance.

Detention Center (2)
Talk to Max.


 * Max Galactica: Max says the other performers don't like him because they are jealous - all except for Regina, who he is planning to marry.
 * What happened: Max says after the meeting with Russell, Russell decided to go out to tend to some important matters. He said he'd be back in ten minutes, but never returned.

After talking, present Maya's Magatama.

Max's Psyche-Locks: Meeting With Russell
Talk to Max again:


 * Meeting with Russell: Max says he and Ben got into a fight in the cafeteria room over a certain person - Regina. Ben told Max that she was in love with him, pushing Max past breaking point. Russell called Max afterwards to his office, where Max realized it was his chance to ask Russell for his daughter's hand in marriage. Russell agreed, and now "(Max's) sweetie-pie is now (his) sweetie-pie". He just had to "shut him up".
 * "Shut him up": Max is referring to Trilo Quist, Ben's puppet. Without the two together, Ben wouldn't say a word, so he hid the puppet in Russell's office.

Time to find Trilo and see what this puppet knows about the murder. Move to the Big Top - Ringmaster's Room - along the way, you won't see Ben and Regina at the Entrance and the Big Top, respectively.

Ringmaster's Room (2)
Examine the trophy case on the left side of the room. You will see trophies of different kinds. Russell seems multi-talented. You also see a puppet in here. It's the missing Trilo Quist, which will be added to the Court Record.

Move to the Big Top - Cafeteria.

Cafeteria (2)
You'll see Ben here. Talk to Ben.


 * What happened: Ben says he doesn't know a thing.
 * Berry Big Circus: Ben says he has been at the circus for four years. He doesn't really like Regina that much. If so, then why did he propose to her?

Present Trilo Quist to Ben. You decide to leave the cafeteria only to be stopped by someone. It's Ben, or rather Trilo being voiced by Ben... okay, just Trilo, who sounds quite rude.

Talk to, er, Trilo.


 * What happened: Trilo sounds quite disappointed with Russell. All he can say was "Gramps got clobbered over the head".
 * Berry Big Circus: Trilo doesn't really like the circus, but he is in love with Regina. He is even thinking of marrying her. Marriage!? Does that sound familiar?
 * Flying fraud: Trilo is accusing Max of murdering Russell. He says he and Ben were there when the murder occurred!
 * Marriage: Trilo says he wrote a love song to Regina. He doesn't sing the whole thing because it's private.

After talking, Ben and Trilo will leave. Trilo said they were there when the murder occurred. Does that mean they are witnesses!? Move to the Big Top.

Big Top (2)
Upon entering, a monkey pounces on you. The monkey runs off... with your Attorney's Badge! Regina then appears, and decides to help you out. She says the monkey's name is Money. Talk to Regina.


 * Money the Monkey: Regina says Money loves shiny things, and takes it back "home". She doesn't exactly know where, but she thinks Moe (the clown) might have an idea.
 * Ben & Trilo: Regina says Trilo is a smart and wonderful singer, and that he recently said he loved her. Regina doesn't seem to know Ben.
 * Proposal: Regina didn't know that both Max and Trilo had proposed. She wonders who she should go with. (A puppet or an actual man?)

After you're done, move to Moe's Room. You won't see Gumshoe at the Lodging House Plaza anymore.

Moe's Room (2)
Talk to Moe.


 * Regina: Moe says Regina was born and raised in the circus, and has spent all of her life there. Even today she doesn't know much, if anything, about the outside world (similar to Pearl). As a result, everything unusual she sees in the circus is normal to her.
 * Money the Monkey: He knows the owner of Money and offers to show you to his room. When given the choice, Go with Moe. You automatically move to Acro's Room.

Acro's Room
Moe says this room belongs to Acro, a trapeze artist. You see a pile of shiny stuff, probably where your badge is. Money the Monkey will be added to the Court Record.

Examine the shiny pile. You will find your Attorney's Badge, which is returned to the Court Record. You then spot a ring saying "From T to R". The Ring will be added to the Court Record.

Phoenix decides to conclude the day's investigation. He doesn't know what will happen tomorrow, but you do at least know that Moe and Trilo will be called as witnesses.