Character Profiles: Phoenix Wright

HOLD IT! This post contains spoilers for the entire Ace Attorney series!

Phoenix Wright is the titular character of the Ace Attorney series, which means he's kind of a big deal. If, unlike me, you started your Ace Attorney adventure with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix is the character you likely associate most with Ace Attorney. But besides being the main character in most of the games (the obvious exceptions being Apollo Justice and Spirit of Justice), who is Phoenix Wright? What's his story? That's the truth I'm aiming to discover today.

We first encounter Phoenix as a nervous, rookie lawyer, about to take on his first case; murder. And his childhood friend is the accused. So, not exactly an easy start, perhaps. That said, Phoenix manages to swiftly uncover the truth behind the incident, with only a little help from his mentor, Mia Fey. Throughout Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, we watch Phoenix grow not only as a lawyer, but as a person, thanks to those around him and the hardships he faces.

Phoenix's mentor gets murdered just after his first trial, and he has to find the culprit himself, all whilst defending Mia's sister, Maya, who is accused of the crime. Shortly after, we learn that the reason Phoenix became a defence attorney was because of Miles Edgeworth, who, you guessed it, gets accused of murder and ends up relying on Phoenix to prove his innocence. Twice, actually.

Yet, despite everything, Phoenix some how manages to come out on top. He manages to find the truth behind every single one of his cases, saving the lives of innocent people. We see him as an individual who values the people and things around him, thankful for what he has, rather than lamenting what he's lost.

Things continue much the same for a few years; cases might get sillier and the stakes might get higher but Phoenix always manages to discover the truth. Throughout this time, he meets a miscellany of new people, including Franziska, Pearl and Godot, all of which have a major impact on his life. When we see Phoenix at the end of Trials and Tribulations, he seems unbeatable. He has overcome countless, ahem, trials and tribulations through his career and earned a number of valuable friends along the way. Surely, nothing can stop him now?

Shortly after, however, Phoenix finds himself defending magician Zak Gramarye in court. A straightforward murder case... or so it seems. Disaster strikes as Phoenix finds himself unknowingly presenting forged evidence, and just like that, everything he had worked so hard to build over the past few years, stripped away because of a careless mistake. Without his attorney's badge gone, Phoenix settles for a quiet life of piano playing at the Borscht Bowl Club.

I know a lot of people were unhappy with this particular element of Apollo Justice, but I think it was necessary. At first glance, it seems that Phoenix became uncaring about his defence attorney work and then quietly accepted his fate. Yet, that's not the truth at all. In the seven years between the events of the Zak Gramarye trial and Turnabout Succession, Phoenix diligently collects evidence relating to Zak and the case, waiting for his chance to turn things around once again.

He gets his chance when he meets Apollo Justice, a rookie lawyer at his friend Kristoph Gavin's law office. Phoenix offers Apollo a helping hand, quietly guiding him and biding his time, until the events of Turnabout Succession unfold. Phoenix never, not even for a second, accepted losing his badge. He worked for seven long years in order to uncover the truth of the Zak Gramarye trial, and the truth behind his "friend" Kristoph. He couldn't have done it without Apollo, but we all know who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

The events of Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice follow shortly after. Phoenix manages to get his badge back and become a lawyer again, even recruiting a new lawyer, Athena Cykes, into the Wright Anything Agency. I wouldn't say he takes a back seat during this period, but he definitely acts as a father figure to Apollo and Athena (and Trucy, of course), providing guidance and support when necessary. The three of them solve multiple cases, and Phoenix is reunited with Pearl and Maya for the first time in a significant number of years. He even helps to revolutionise the Kingdom of Khura'in and watches Apollo leave the agency to start his own law office in Khura'in.

Phoenix Wright might not be your standard video game hero, but he's one of my personal favourites. He is an inspirational character; a testament to never giving up and always standing up for yourself, even when faced with incredible adversity. Throughout the years, he has evolved from a rookie defence attorney to a mysterious mentor, and finally into a master lawyer who can turn any case around and find the truth. Who knows what the future holds for him (hopefully we'll find out later this year), but whatever happens, he'll always be the Phoenix we know and love.

Whilst some people might argue that he never should've lost his attorney's badge or appeared in the series at all after Trials and Tribulations, I'm glad everything happened the way it did. It shows his life wasn't perfect; but he overcame it all and rose to the top once again. Personally, I'm more fond of him now than I ever was throughout the original trilogy. I'm intrigued to find out what happens in Ace Attorney 7, and I'm sure everyone else is too. I'll leave you with a quote from the man himself, which I think sums him up perfectly.

"It's only natural for living creatures to fight to protect their own lives. But what makes us human is that we fight for others. But who do you fight for? How hard must you fight...? That's the true measure of what human life is worth. We defense attorneys are warriors who are constantly challenged by that question. Even when the battle is over, and the bonds that connect us are severed... We always return... Time and time again." - Phoenix Wright, 2019