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This section is devoted to contradictions that arise in the series the writers probably did NOT intend for. Listed first are general AA world contradictions, followed by ones arranged by game and case. I even threw in a few that come up a lot that are actually explainable. This list does NOT include: Typos or grammatical errors. Sprite errors Gags and gimmicks Ways in which PW world law
differs from real world law. This list contains SPOILERS
The contradictions section is NOT accepting new submissions at this time. |
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General Contradictions |
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Burden of Proof vs Motive
In several cases, Phoenix can get to
the end of the trial and disprove nearly all the evidence presented
against his client, but can still lose the trial if he can't provide a
motive for whichever "true killer" he implicates. The prosecution
doesn't usually bother to prove a motive. (-Ryu-kun)
There are several cases
where someone lies, Phoenix breaks their Psyche Locks, and then the person
lies again, this time without any locks showing up. Two of the more
obvious cases of this are in JFA-2 and T&T-2. Some lies are never
picked up at all. Also, the magatama is useless in court.
AA takes place in the
future, and yet this isn't reflected in the technology present in the
game, save for in a few very advanced instances.
Due to the order in
which the games were written and released, nothing from PW case 5 is
mentioned in JFA or T&T.
In JFA, several remarks are made that Edgeworth's last appearance in court
was during his own time as defendant, which the canon timeline no longer
says is the case. A couple different times, Phoenix or Larry refer to having known each other for "23 years" or "25 years", which in both cases is as old as Larry is. Since they didn't meet until 4th grade or so, this is impossible. [Explanation]: This isn't really a contradiction: it's just another way of saying "I've known him my whole life." It's a lot easier than counting the years. |
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Turnabout Sisters |
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What new Century? Redd calls "the Chief Prosecutor" at the end of the second investigation phase to get Phoenix charged with murder, and refers to him as a man. However, Lana Skye should have been Chief Prosecutor at the time.
[Explanation]: This is actually a mistranslation
- the Japanese judicial system is different than the American one so I'm
not sure which position is comparable to an American position, but they
were clearly two different people in the Japanese version. (It may be that
Redd called the District Attorney). Phoenix says in Case 2 that he never imagined he'd be in the defendant's chair. But by then he would have already been on trial for murder, detailed in T&T case 1. (-Galve) For that matter, Phoenix and Grossberg don't recognize each other, either. (-Ahmar). [Explanation]: GS1 simply wasn't written with the assumption there would be a sequel, let alone a third game. |
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Turnabout Samurai |
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Steel Samurai Spear Everyone says that Will Powers is the Steel Samurai, and the Steel Samurai is the murderer. They also say that the Samurai Spear was the murder weapon. You later use, "It was broken, and not strong enough to kill someone in a thick costume" as a way to prove Dee did it. Yet, even though you learn that in the first trial, you cannot use that to prove Will's innocence. (-eliasbloodmoon)
[Explanation]: When
Hammer's body was found, he had been changed into his Evil Magistrate
outfit, which incidentally had a bare chest. Only on the second day did
you learn that Hammer was wearing the Steel Samurai uniform. (-Obitwo)
Cody mentioned that he
came through the forest on the day of the murder, and ended up coming out
of the woods by Studio 2 where he witnessed Hammer being killed. However,
if that holds true, then he would have never passed the security camera's
line of sight by the gate. He would have already been far from it. |
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Turnabout Goodbyes |
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Forgetful Maya
If you talk to Maya about 'What to do' She'll
mention how Edgeworth won't tell you anything. Later on you go to
Grossberg's office and receive the Misty Fey Photo which you then show to
Edgeworth. When you show it to Edgeworth, he tells you about the DL-6
Incident, But then, if you go back to the office, Maya still says that
Edgeworth won't tell you anything. (-Reuben.)
Larry says he heard a single gunshot. Lotta’s
picture proves it.... But, why didn’t Lotta hear it? Her camera was only
attuned to pick up very loud noises, and it caught the first shot, even
though it was fired inside the boat house. Shouldn't Lotta have
heard it too? (-Ronoc303) In his retelling of his history with
Larry and Edgeworth, Phoenix explains he became friends with Edgeworth in
the spring, and they remained together in the same class until Edgeworth
was transferred out in December after the DL-6 Incident. In an
American school system, this would cover two school years. But most
Japanese school systems start the school year in the spring, and so they
would have been in the same class the entire time. It's not a
mistake in the timeline, but rather a mistake in localization. |
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Rise From the Ashes |
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Differing Levels of Security The security room shown in case 5
requires an ID card and code, and has fingerprint identification in
place, all for cases that have already been solved. The evidence
room at Criminal Affairs has virtually no security. (-Mikker) Once you get a hold of the
switchblade knife, Phoenix remarks that the blade of it is 12 cm. Edgeworth's knife is 10
cm long, not to mention a different width. Not
only would Goodman's stab wound run deeper than Worthy's knife allows, but
the wound tract would be a different shape. Therefore, Edgeworth's knife
couldn't have registered the lethal blow. (-Anders) In Case 5 Phoenix is forced to adhere to "evidence law" which means he can't present evidence in court unless it has been documented and acknowledged by the police. This only applies in Case 5, and the supposed rule is completely ignored in every other case in the series.
The
second part of Evidence Law says that evidence introduced has to be proven
relevant to the case at hand but at the same time, in every other
case Phoenix is always given a chance to prove the item's relevance as
soon as he presents it, so it's almost an unnecessary law. (-Casey) Some blood from the SL-9 case can still be detected, but there is no blood on the suit of armor that served as the real murder weapon. ( -Several)
[Possible
Explanation]: Gant was more careful about cleaning that off than other
pieces of evidence, as he obviously intended to keep it in his office for
some time. Ema claims she saw the Blue Badger fly through the room. This is later revealed to be the strange jar in Gant's office, flying through the air because someone had knocked into it. Had the jar indeed flown through the air like that, it surely would have shattered on impact with the ground. Instead, it was mysteriously in one piece, as Gant was able to write Ema's name onto the jar, and then proceed to break it himself. (-Zack) [Explanation]: That is simply one tough jar! |
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The Lost Turnabout |
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Very Strong Nervous System The police speculate that Dustin broke his neck when he fell from the cliff, and as he died wrote out Maggey's name in the sand. Wrong spelling aside, if Dustin broke his neck he should have been paralyzed, unable to use his arms at all let alone write something. The theory that he could have written it at all should never have come about. (-Sarahrose) [Explanation]: The police are dumb. |
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Reunion, and Turnabout |
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Ghosts Not Accountable? Franziska admits to the theory that Maya channeled a spirit, who took control of Maya's body and killed Dr. Grey. But somehow, that means Maya is still responsible for the murder. Some have theorized that as a spirit medium Maya would have some kind of control over the spirit, and should have been able to prevent the ghost from committing a crime. This theory is called into question, however, by events in T&T.
[Explanation]: The prosecution just
couldn't let the murder go by without finding someone responsible. (-CP
Schwartz) Not really a contradiction, but it's
never clarified in the case whether or not Grey really did slip Mimi
sleeping pills and caused her accident, or why he brought a gun to a
spirit channeling. Maya's fingerprints are the only ones on the knife and gun used to kill Dr. Grey, despite both having been used by Mimi (and Grey, in the case of the gun). [Explanation]: This seems contradictory, but Morgan and Mimi were alone in the channeling room with Grey's body AND the unconscious Maya for several minutes while Phoenix and Lotta called the police. They could have wiped down the weapons and curled Maya's hand around them to create the prints. |
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Turnabout Big Top |
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Not enough pepper, apparently
There's much ado about Regina and Bat playing pranks on
each other with pepper, making each other sneeze. So Regina covers Bat's
scarf with "as much pepper as she could" (according to Phoenix), gave it
to him, and then evidently forgot about it and dared Bat to do the
head-in-lion thing.
[Explanation]: It
might have only been a small amount of pepper, which stayed in the fabric
for a long time (since it wasn't washed. Also, lions have a much
better sense of smell than humans. Maybe it was enough pepper for
the lion to be bothered, but not Bat. (-Gerkuman)
In the ringmaster's room, some
poking around will prompt a line of Maya's that suggests Phoenix may have
lost cases between PW:AA and JFA. Later in the game, however, it
talks about his perfect win-record. General fan consensus is that
Maya's comment was poorly worded or just wrong. (-urutapu)
After Moe's last testimony when you're talking
to Max in the Court Lobby afterward he reveals how he flies. However in the
chapter directly after (3, Investigation) if you go to the Detention
Centre and ask about 'Night of the Murder' Maya asks if Max could teach
her 'the trick behind flying'. Max claims he 'keeps his mouth shut' when
he blatantly told Phoenix and Maya how it was done earlier. (-Shal) The night of the murder, Max claims he went directly from the rehearsal to the Ringmaster's office, and did not leave until the police arrived. However, he also claims to have hidden Trilo in that very office, sometime after Russel left (since Ben had Trilo when they saw Russel outside). So how did Max get Trilo if he never left the office? (-Several) |
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Farewell, My Turnabout |
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Pink Princess Award?
In Turnabout Samurai, it is announced WP will be
the ‘Pink Princess’. But in 2-4, when Matt Engarde wins, it is said that
Juan Corrida lost for the second time, losing last year to the ‘Pink
Princess’. But, it is also stated that WP didn’t get one... (-Ronoc303)
Lotta says she was outside the room on the night
of the murder, which is proved by the fact a photograph was taken of
Adrian in the costume... HOWEVER... Wendy Oldbag was also there after
"stealing" the camera that day, because she found a note about the little
affair Adrian was having with the murder victim. Adrian Andrews stabbed Juan Corrida with Matt Engarde's knife, and only Matt's fingerprints were found on it; this is just impossible: Phoenix demonstrates in court that Adrian wasn't wearing gloves that night, so there should be HER fingerprints too. But there aren't, while there are on the glass (she takes it a second before stabbing Corrida, so this is just weird). (-Bjk)
To clarify, I don't believe that "Adrian was
careful handling the knife" is a suitable explanation for this one.
It would have to be almost impossible to stab a dinner knife into a body
without gripping the handle. If she did this bare handed, there
would be prints. If she wore gloves, she would have wiped off Matt's
prints in the process (as Phoenix himself says earlier in the case). When Matt makes his confession toward the end of the case, the detention center guard is present, and he's being monitored by security camera, but that doesn't seem to deter him, nor is it admitted in court. [Explanation]: Sometimes the guard actually IS asleep. Also, anything Matt says to his attorney could be considered privileged, and wouldn't be admissible in court as testimony. (-Several) On a related note, the detention center camera does indeed record sound, as stated in T&T. |
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The Stolen Turnabout |
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Unhelpful Box
After Phoenix wins the first case, and you
investigate the Crime Scene, If you investigate Maya's box, you will get a
caption saying: "DON'T TOUCH THAT! There may be clues to the thief's
identity." Yet at that point, Luke has already confessed to being Mask
DeMasque. (-Brett)
If you try to present the Mask*DeMaskque calling
card to Desirée DeLite you will be stopped because "That emblum is top
secret." However the emblem is in plain site on the hot-air balloon
hanging in the room so Desirée should know about it already. (-Koolkevk) Just before the first day of trial, Atmey tells Phoenix that Edgeworth himself called Godot one of the best prosecutors alive. Not only has Godot not tried a single case as a prosecutor before this case, but when asked about it later, Edgeworth says he's never even heard of Godot. (-several)
[Explanation]: Luke is just a liar who
was trying to psyche Phoenix out before court. When Ron gets to the CEO's office he lets himself in using his old key card, but Atmey is already inside, having just killed Bullard himself. But how did Atmey get into the office without a key? (-InnocentGuilt). [Explanation]: Bullard was expecting him, so he might have just let him in. And then let his guard down, silly man. |
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Recipe for Turnabout |
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Dull-Witted Tigre Don Tigre is ultimately caught on the assertion that he couldn't have known what the cyanide bottle looked like unless he had been the one to use it. But at that point in the trial, it had already been established that he was the "defense lawyer" in the previous trial, so he would have had easy access to that information... (-LuigiHann) [Explanation]: Tigre (and Godot, for that matter) were simply too slow to pick up on that. Also, admitting to having defended Maggey would make it more obvious that Tigre was the killer.
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Turnabout Beginnings |
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Police Defying Necklace In 3-4, Dahlia's necklace is confirmed as having contained poison, as it was what Terry Fawles used to kill himself. In PW world that evidence should have been logged and put into storage, like every other solved and unsolved crime. So how is that Dahlia still had the necklace six months later when she used it against Diego? (-Fireblast) [Explanation]: Dahlia simply had more than one. (-Koolkevk) |
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Bridge to the Turnabout |
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Kurain Channeling Blunders In 2-2 it's said that an experienced Medium would be able to control the spirit IIRC, and since Misty is the master of Kurain I'd say she's pretty experienced, so why didn't she just kind of... prevent Dahlia from doing anything? The only explanation I can think of is that she's gotten rusty in her near-on 20 year absence... or that before she had a chance to do anything she was killed (but then why did she let her get that far?). (-rtsmarty)
[Explanation]: Mia also explains in
2-2 that during a summoning, the medium ceases to exist at all, with no
knowledge of what's happening, so it shouldn't be possible for a medium to
control a summoned spirit at all. (-Bibbles)
Edgeworth arranges for a new judge and
prosecutor for Iris' case so that no one will know that he's a prosecutor.
But it only could have been his influence AS a prosecutor that allowed him
to pull so many strings in the first place. And then, immediately
after acting as a defense attorney, he is allowed back into the
investigation on the side of the cops, and is even allowed to escort his
own client about unquestioned. In 3-5, after Maya has been attacked, Mia
tells Maya to summon Dahlia so that she can't be attacked again. Of
course, that only worked because Dahlia was already dead. How did
Mia know that Dahlia had been executed? Not even Phoenix knew, and
being alive, he even has access to the news! [Explanation]: A few people have
suggested that Mia is simply able to "sense" other ghosts in the
afterlife, and was therefore able to tell that Dahlia had died, and was
recently summoned. It would explain the contradiction, but I can't
think of any piece of canon that supports this theory, or any reason why
Mia wouldn't simply say that this was the case. After Godot kills Elise, he takes Maya back
to the Inner Temple and does his best to clean up the crime scene, but
fails to notice what any normal person would: the word "Maya" written in
blood on the lantern. Later on, Maya herself wakes up, and she heads over
to said
crime scene, knowing most of the circumstances of the murder. The
contradiction, then, is - why doesn't Maya wash her name off the lantern?
It certainly stands out, and she's seen what happens when her name is
found written in the victim's blood at the crime scene (1-2), so, even not
knowing the details of Godot's plan, it seems like her impulse would be to
remove evidence that incriminates her from the scene of the crime...
By then she admits herself that the lanterns were lit, as she could see
the snow cleared away. So why didn't she see her own name in blood?
(-Trevor) Elise was stabbed with her own staff at the Inner Temple, and when her body was transported the blade was still inside her. Iris then pulled the staff out (while Bikini watched) and left it in the courtyard along with the body. But the reason no one suspected the staff as the murder weapon is that it was discovered in its sheath - no one suspected it was really a weapon. But how did the sheath get back to the courtyard? Dahlia didn't know about the sword hiding inside the sheath. It wasn't until she reached the Inner Temple that Godot discovered and unsheathed it. So if the sheath was taken off there, and it wasn't rammed in Elise's body like the sword itself, how did it reappear back in place when Elise's body was discovered? (-Aijiru) [Explanation]: Godot could have shoved it in her robe, even though it's not visible in the infamous "pendulum corpse" animation. (-Several) |
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If you have a contradiction / explanation to contribute, send it to webmaster Croik at courtrecord @ gmail dot com. |
