As you wait in the lobby for the trial to resume, DePlume and Crab both appear, wanting to learn the truth. Crab mentions that Summers was holding her chest when she died. Could that mean... her heart condition killed her, not Orla? The theory makes DePlume reconsider her stance, and she mentions that Rimes had summoned her to the aquarium on the day Shipley died. Crab also hints at a secret hidden in Orla's song. With these new clues, the trial begins once again.
Trial Begins[edit]
Orla is available on the television, and Pearl will help cross-examine her. Orla begins to testify.
Orla's Testimony: How Orla was Manipulated[edit]
- Fweet... Fwe fweet. Fwe fwe fweet fwe fweet!
- Fwe fwe! *click* Fwe fwe fwe fweet!
- *whir* *click* Fweet fweet!
- Fweet? Fwe fweeeeet!
The judge still can't believe you're cross-examining Orla, but he allows it. She doesn't respond when she sees Rimes, so that can't be it. Unless you can prove that Rimes manipulated Orla, it's game over.
Cross-Examination: How Orla was Manipulated[edit]
Press all statements. All that pressing doesn't get you anywhere, so choose to stop here when prompted. Instead, you should prove how Rimes manipulated Orla. Present the TV phone. Summers sent videos of Orla doing tricks to her boyfriend, so Rimes may still have them. Pearl finds them on Rimes's phone and plays videos, causing Orla to do tricks. But something in the video of Orla's singing trick seems odd. The TV phone is updated in the Court Record.
Blackquill reasons that Buckler could have also manipulated Orla. Phoenix wonders how Orla could perform the lifesaver trick while singing. When asked, say she couldn't have. Present the whistle as proof. Orla can't do two tricks at once, so either the lifesaver or singing trick must be fake. The judge will ask which trick was fake. Select the song, and present the Swashbuckler video to support your claim. The song DePlume heard was the song from a year ago, and the culprit used the video to trick her.
Blackquill isn't impressed, and asks how Rimes could have played the song. Present the speaker in the top-left corner. When Blackquill asks how it could have been used, present the walkie-talkie, which can broadcast throughout the aquarium. Rimes disputes your claim through rap.
Rimes's Testimony: The Dissin' of Phoenix Wright[edit]
- YO! WALKIE-TALKIE BE BROKE 4 REAL! MR. LAWYER'S FREESTYLE GOT NO APPEAL!
- BROKE B4 DEPLUME ON DA SCENE! BROKE B4 WRIGHT COULD EVA DREAM!
- LEGIT GOOFED DURING CLEANING TIME AYE. BUT BILGE-SUCKING LAWYER SPITTIN' LIES!
- DAT ORCA YO DON'T LISTEN TO ME, 'KAY? KILL THE CAPT? YO YOU SO CRAY-CRAY!
Cross-Examination: The Dissin' of Phoenix Wright[edit]
Once you've recovered from Rimes's sick burns, press the third statement. Rimes says he dropped his walkie-talkie, and shows it to you, confirming that it's broken. Athena thinks he broke it on purpose, but can't prove it. Phoenix requests to examine the walkie-talkie. Rotate it around and examine the bite marks on the blade. Doesn't that seem familiar? Now press on the first statement and then present Shipley's data. The bite marks mean the walkie-talkie originally belonged to Summers, and Shipley carried it after her death. It likely broke when Shipley fell, and Rimes must have stolen it and passed it off as his.
Rimes isn't done yet. He says that even though the walkie-talkie has bite marks, it's still his, and the bite marks came from working with Orla. Athena thinks something is different about the bite marks on the walkie-talkie, compared to the dummy. If you can figure that out, the case should be all but won.
Revisualization[edit]
Rimes drained the pool to kill Orla, but killed Shipley instead. He needed a TV phone and a walkie-talkie for his plan. If you can prove the broken walkie-talkie is Summers's, then it proves Rimes's still worked, and you can prove it with the orca's tooth marks. Compared to the dummy, the only other thing with bite marks, the tooth marks are different. Two variations... just like two variations of the show song. There's only one way to explain both of these differences... it was a different orca!
Two Ora Shipleys[edit]
If there were two different orca whales, then the case is changed completely. This explains how Orla "knew" two different songs. And if the new Orla bit Rimes's walkie-talkie, why is the tooth mark pattern different than the dummy? Of course, Blackquill isn't satisfied, and demands more proof. Present the TV phone and the Swashbuckler video. The Orla from the Swashbuckler video has all her teeth, but the Orla from the phone videos has a chipped tooth. The walkie-talkie Rimes has was stolen off Shipley's body... so he must be the killer! Rimes tries to blame Orla, but finds himself adrift at sea, and is tossed from the witness stand.
Buckler is called to the stand and confirms your theory. Ora and Orla were sisters, but Ora was put down after Summers's death, and Orla was inserted into the show in her place. Rimes didn't know this, and tried to kill Orla to protect Buckler. But Shipley interfered, and tried to stop Rimes. Blackquill reveals that the bruise on the captain's wrist was Rimes's handprint.
The judge prepares to hand down a verdict, but something still seems wrong. Phoenix objects just before the ruling to present evidence. Present the ladder prints. Rimes wasn't trying to kill the captain; instead, he was holding onto his wrist as he gripped the ladder, trying to save him. There was no murder. Shipley's death was accidental, but Rimes hid this fact to get himself a guilty verdict, because of the guilt and shame he felt.
Sasha Buckler is found...
What really happened[edit]
Captain Jack Shipley, owner of the Shipshape Aquarium, rescued two young orca whales, bringing them to his aquarium and naming them Ora and Orla. A trainer, Azura Summers, trained Ora to take part in a stage show, and taught her many tricks, including a song. Summers would often send videos of herself and Ora performing the tricks to her boyfriend, Marlon Rimes. However, Summers had a heart condition, which she kept secret.
On July 20th, 2026, Summers was performing the show with Ora when she suffered a fatal heart attack, falling into the water. Ora performed a trick and retrieved her body, but to spectators (including Rimes, aquarium veterinarian Dr. Herman Crab, and investigative author Norma DePlume), it appeared that Ora had killed Summers. The Center for Dangerous Animal Control demanded that Ora be put down as a dangerous animal, and Shipley and Crab reluctantly pretended to comply. In actuality, Shipley and Crab sent Ora to another aquarium. Shipley took Summers's sword-shaped walkie-talkie, marked with Ora's tooth marks, as a memento, and Summers's protégé, Sasha Buckler, held onto Summers's charm (which matched Rimes's), and swore to become as great an orca trainer as her mentor. Orla was secretly substituted into the stage show, and Buckler took it over.
Rimes, furious at Orla, believing she killed Summers, joined the staff of the aquarium to get a chance at getting revenge on the whale. DePlume published a book on the incident, The Killer Killer Whale. Buckler, Shipley, and Crab kept the aquarium's secrets safe for a while. But Shipley learned that Buckler had a heart condition like Summers and refused to let her join the aquarium's new stage show, causing a big fight between the two in the evening of July 19th.
The next morning, on July 20th, Shipley and Buckler were scheduled to clean the orca pool, while Rimes would clean the stage pool. Orla was moved from the orca pool to the stage pool, but Rimes drained the pool to kill Orla and take his revenge. However, before he could, Shipley entered the stage and slipped into the deep, empty pool. Rimes was able to grab onto him for a little while, but the captain soon fell to his death. Rimes entered the pool and retrieved Summers's walkie-talkie, now broken, then hid the body in a hollow skull rock, a prop for the new show. While he was in the pool, a penguin, Rifle, walked across a drying sign, staining her flipper pink.
Rimes took advantage of Buckler's desire to be in the show and suggested they move the skull rock from the stage show, so the new show could not be performed. It was moved in the hoist with Orla back to the orca pool, getting a little blood on her tail. The pool was filled again, and Shipley's body was hidden beneath the water.
For the last part of his plan, Rimes had arranged for DePlume to be at the orca tank at 10:10 AM. Using the videos from Summers, he controlled Orla into performing the lifesaver trick while playing her song over the speakers, using his walkie-talkie. Orla headbutted the skull rock, causing her to bleed, and retrieved Shipley's body and took it to the surface. DePlume, horrified, thought Orla had headbutted the captain, killing him, and called the police. No criminal charges were filed, as all the evidence pointed towards a dangerous orca whale killing the captain, until a certain orca trainer pleaded for an attorney to defend Orla in court...
After the trial[edit]
Buckler and Orla are happily reunited at the aquarium. Buckler won't be doing any shows until her heart condition is better, and, even though you exposed all of the aquarium's secrets (including the illegal TORPEDO system), DePlume is helping fight for Shipshape Aquarium.
30
Dr. Crab has one more secret up his sleeve... his appointment with the captain wasn't with Shipley, but with the owner of another aquarium. Crab and Shipley didn't put down Ora after all, but secretly transferred her to another aquarium! The large payments the aquarium was secretly paying was to care for Ora, and she might be coming back to Shipshape soon! After a long legal battle, Orla has certainly earned a reward. Present the fish, and Orla rewards Phoenix with a kiss and a swim.
Congratulations! You've finished Ace Attorney's first foray into 3D! The dark age of the law may be over, but legal injustice is still out there in the world. Revolution and a reunion with a certain feisty, purple-wearing sidekick await in the next game. Thanks for playing!