Favorite Ace Attorney Villains

Although I haven't played every game in it, Capcom's Ace Attorney, is one of my favorite game-series and one of the best things about it is its rogues-gallery; I honestly can't think of any other series in the medium that features so many colorful and memorable villains. As such, I've picked out my 5 favorite (in no particular order) AA bad guys. Now, I should you warn that due to the nature of this series, spoilers are pretty much unavoidable. Granted, many of these spoilers are from games that are more than a decade old. Still, I thought I'd warn you, just as a courtesy. Anyway, these are my favorite evil-doers in the Ace Attorney universe:

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Dahlia Hawthorne

There are Ace Attorney villains who are more powerful. There are Ace Attorney villains who come up with better schemes, but I can't think of any Ace Attorney villain whose as personal in their evil as Dahlia Hawthorne. A lot of that has to do with what she lacks; Dahlia does not have the authority, or the resources that most of the villains have at their disposal. Instead, she relies solely on her wiles, putting her playing-field on the same level as that of her enemies, making her evil feel much more intimate in the process. Dahlia also deserves points for tenacity, she's the first recurring villain in the series, facing of against Phoenix and Mia in three different cases. Oh, and did I mention that by her third appearance, she's already dead and you have to go up against her spirit? Gotta give props to a villain who will haunt their enemies from beyond the grave.

Manfred von Karma

Intimidating. That's the word best used to describe Manfred von Karma, the final boss of the first Ace Attorney game. Everything about this guy screams intimidation; from his appearance, to his general attitude and his voice. From the moment he appears, Von Karma makes it clear that he will crush you like a bug for getting in his way. He lives up to the hype too, forcing the player to fight teeth and claw for every little advantage. As a character, outside of his role as a final boss, von Karma is pretty one-note, but it can't denied that he plays that note masterfully. 

Matt Engarde

In the role of defense attorney Phoenix Wright, its up to you, as the player, to keep your client out of prison (or death-row), while exposing the true culprit. So, what happens when you get a client who is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, guilty? Enter Matt Engarde, the villain of the second game's final (and by far best) case. When you first meet him, Engarde doesn't seem like such a bad guy. Sure, he's unlikable, but he comes across as more of a self-absorbed air-head than anything else. Annoying, yes, but nothing more than that, certainly not a man capable of murder. With that in mind, its tempting to give Engarde the benefit of the doubt. Sure, he may have had his rival actor killed, but maybe there were extenuating circumstances? Perhaps Juan had it coming? There has to be more to it than this, right?
Then comes the hair-flip.

Justice for All was my first Ace Attorney game and to this day, I consider Matt Engarde's villain reveal to be the best done by this series, as your client flips back his hair to reveal the scars on his face and with them, his true nature as a cunning and remorseless sociopath. Engarde then proceeds to rub your face in it, reminding you that your assistant Maya is his hostage and that if you don't get him a not-guilty verdict, she dies. Its a tough choice, but if I had to pick the most despicable villain on this list, The Nickel Samurai would be it.

Damon Gant

This list isn't in any order, but if it was, there's a high chance that chief Gant would be at the top (there's really only one other character who can compete with him for the position, but we'll get to him further down the list).
The culprit of the first game's bonus case, Gant is as menacing and tough as von Karma, but he has an important advantage over old Manny in that he's far more interesting as a character. A scene-stealer if ever there was one, Gant dominates Rise From The Ashes with his eccentric personality and immense personal charisma. In fact, one of the most interesting things about Gant for me is how genuine his "good" persona feels: With Dahlia and Engarde its clear that the innocent/hapless mask they put on for the World is just that, a mask and von Karma never bothered to appear nice to begin with. With Gant, however, I get the feeling that it is as much a part of who he is as anything else. The jovial fellow who suggests you go swimming together and calls everyone by affectionate nicknames is also the cold, calculating master-mind who framed a girl for murder and blackmailed her sister. I'm reminded of the Mayor from Buffy the Vampire-Slayer or Count Fosco from The Woman In White, both villains whose genuine affability only served to underscore their wickedness.

Oh, and of course, one can't talk about the Demon Gent without mentioning his greatest weapon:

God, that's creepy.


The Mastermind

Last but not least we have the only villain on this list not from the original trilogy: The big bad of Ace Attorney Investigations 2. Due to the fact that this is the only game that hasn't been officially localized (there is a fan-translation though, which is how I played it), I've opted not to reveal the mastermind's identity or post a picture of him. All I can say is that the mastermind is a great villain for a multitude of reasons. First of all; he's the only one among this bunch who's a tragic villain. His back-story is genuinely sad and is tied in very well with the overarching plot of the game. Like Edmond Dantes, the mastermind is out for revenge against some really terrible people and much like the Count of Monte Cristo, his callous manipulation of others, including innocent people who trusted him and the sadistic delight he takes in his schemes, makes it clear that the mastermind really isn't much different from his enemies. A great villain who rounds out this list perfectly.

Welcome to Fucking Deadwood (Can be combative)

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Chapter 15

On the same day that the King of Vinoli, along with his second son, were laid to rest in the family crypt, Risha opened her eyes. Upon regaining consciousness, she found herself in a sparsely furnished room. How she had ended up there, she did not know. The last thing she remembered was holding on for dear life while the waves tossed the lifeboat around, like children playing catch. Whatever place this was, Risha highly doubted that it was the after-life, which meant that she had survived the storm and if so, perhaps the others had too?
Risha jumped out of the bed she had been lying in and was immediately confronted with her own reflection, staring back at her from a mirror which hung on the wall.

Upon studying herself, the first thing Risha noticed was the bandage around her head. Puzzled, she reached up and touched it lightly. A decision she immediately regret as the gesture caused her to wince in pain. The second thing which caught her attention, was the fact that she was not wearing her ordinary clothes. Instead, she was dressed only in a pink nightshirt, which ended at the waist. This discovery caused the lynx to frown; it wasn't that she wanted to appear ungrateful to her rescuer, whoever that was, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy over the fact that someone had apparently undressed her while she was unconscious.

Looking around the room, Risha noticed a chair on which someone had placed a green dress. She picked the dress up and studied it.

This must have been left here for me, she thought to herself.  Its quite pretty. Hopefully, its the right size.

Having dressed, Risha decided that it was time to meet her mysterious rescuer and hopefully, get some answers. She was just about to leave the room, when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The next moment, the door opened and a small female otter, wearing a blue dress, appeared in the doorway.
The two girls stared at each other, surprise stamped across both their faces. The otter-girl was the first one to speak:

"You are awake", she said.

Risha was not sure what to say. Thankfully, she did not have to, as the newcomer repeated her statement, albeit much louder this time around.

"You! Are Awake!" This was followed by a torrent of words pouring out of her mouth:

"ThisissogreatJustwaittilluncleseesthishesaidyou'dneedatleastadaymoreorso..."She paused to catch her breath.

"Come with me", she urged, eagerly grabbing Risha's sleeve.

"Wait a minute", the lynx said, having finally regained the ability to speak. "Who are you and what is this place?"

"Oh, my name is Amelia and this is my uncle's house. He's the one who fixed you up. Well, I helped a little. For example,  I bought you that dress. Well, not with my own money. Do you like it? Your old clothes were completely ruined."

"Its lovely", Risha said and meant every word. "Thank you, so much."

"So, will you come and meet my uncle now?"

"Of course."

"Then let's go!"

Amelia led Risha to a glass door, which opened up to a terrace, from which a stairway made out of stone, led down into a lush, well-kept garden. Not too far away, a figure, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and gardening gloves, was busy trimming a rosebush. The girls stopped on the lowest step and Amelia called out:

"Uncle! Yohoo!"

Upon hearing this sound, the figure turned around and called back.

"What is it, Amelia?"

"Come and see who's with me!"

The Uncle's features were obscured by his head-wear and so, Risha had not been able to make them out, until she was face to face with him. She was surprised to discover that he was not an otter, but a platypus. He seemed to be the same age as her father, give or take a few years and on the tip of his flat beak sat a pair of glasses, which he now removed and proceeded to polish with a piece of cloth, produced from his pocket.Having done so, he put them back on and gave a satisfied nod.

"That's better", he said and turned to Risha. "So, our convalescent is up and about? How are you feeling?"

"Mostly confused. The last thing I can recall was being in a lifeboat. Who are you and what is this place?

"Oh?" The platypus said, raising an eyebrow. "Hasn't Amelia told you?"

"Well, she sort of did, but it all went by really fast.."

"I understand. You must excuse her, she gets excited easily. Although, in this case, I can't say I blame her, we did not expect you to be on your feet for at least another day. To answer your questions, Risha; my name is Dr. Hieronymus and this place is known as Calopeia Island. Some of the local children found you washed up on the beach, they alerted me and, with the help of some of the adults, I brought you to my house. There, I took care of your head-wound and applied a healing salve to the bruises on your body, that's really all I can tell."

"So, that's what happened. Thank you, Doctor, for saving my life. If there's anything I can do..."
Hieronymus held up a webbed-hand.

"Let me stop you right there, Risha. It is my calling to save lives, you owe me nothing."

"Nonetheless..." Risha began and stopped. She had just realized something: "My name", she said."You said my name before. How could you know? I never told it to you."

"No, you didn't", said the doctor and paused for dramatic effect. "But your brother did", he finished.

The doctor's revelation was met with stunned silence. Risha felt a wave of relief, bigger than any of those that had brought her to this island, wash over her. Spontaneously, she wrapped her arms around the doctor's neck and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

"He's alive", she said. "Oh, thank you, Doctor. Nothing could have made me happier." She looked around, half-expecting Leorin to pop out of a bush, like a jack-in-the-box. "Where is he?" She asked.
"I must go to him."

"The others are alive too", Amelia revealed. "Come, I'll take you them."

*****

In another part of the garden, Merees and Leorin was entertaining themselves by playing a game of badminton, while Luke acted as the referee. Currently, Leorin had the lead and it was his turn to serve:

"Prepared for another defeat?" He asked jokingly, while tossing the ball in his right paw. "Here it comes..."

It never did. Instead, Leorin found himself staring wide-eyed at a spot a few steps behind his fellow player, the racket slipped out of his grip, but he paid it no attention. Instead, all he could do was stare, while a joyous grin spread across his face.

"Risha! You're awake!" He called out, running towards his sister. Seconds later, the two siblings embraced each other and were soon joined by Merees and Luke and although not a single tear was dry, the tears that were shed were not tears of sorrow, but of relief and happiness.