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You're Wrong About Justice for All

So, recently I replayed the Ace Attorney trilogy, including the oft maligned Justice for All, and realized a few things. The first is that Justice for All slaps so fucking hard, and the second is that most people do not understand the overarching plot of Justice for All, and so they don't get why it's the best actually.

It's a common belief that Justice for All is the game where Miles Edgeworth faked his own death, and in grief from his loss, Franziska von Karma goes on a revenge quest against Phoenix Wright for soiling Edgeworth's perfect trial record and thus causing his demise, all while Wright himself mourns the loss of his friend. Which is a spicy narrative, I'll give you that, it's just not true.

My opening statement is as follows: While Justice for All does use language of death and grief in this storyline, the actual events are not about a man who literally faked his death, but about how two people who have placed impossible expectations on one man contend with when he fails them, and how when said man returned changed once more he forces them to confront this fact and become better people. Furthermore, I maintain that this storyline is fucking baller as hell and works better with the message and themes of JFA than the common belief.

Let's put Justice for All on trial, shall we? Under the cut!

Part One: "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth Chooses Death"

Now, since you're still here and haven't just clicked off under the assumption I'm a disconnected weirdo who doesn't know how to read, you're probably thinking "uh, what about Edgeworth's note? What about 'Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth Chooses Death?' Isn't that pretty good evidence for faking his death?" To which I say... yeah, I guess if you ignore the weirdly specific phrasing and also everything else that happens. Like. I'm sorry, this is a note that specifically mentions his job? He leaves the note in his office too (or at least the anime indicates as much), and doesn't that look more like a weirdly dramatic resignation letter?

But okay none of that probably sounds very convincing right now. After all, Miles had just gone through some of the most harrowing trials in his life. He was put on trial twice, had his entire worldview and belief about himself upended, and then just to hammer it in was confronted by a murderer who believes Edgeworth will one day be like him. It would be completely understandable for him to be in utter emotional turmoil. Indeed, Nick alludes to as much when he finally talks about what happens in Turnabout Big Top, more on that later. Furthermore, in Farewell My Turnabout, he uses the specific phrase "choosing death" when confronting Adrian Andrews on the witness stand about her history of mental illness as a euphemism for suicide, so it's not out of the question he was suicidal. I'm not going to argue he was or wasn't. Frankly, there’s a few hints to suggest he was, but it’s hard to wholly prove because you don't see him during the time he wrote it, or what he's thinking.

No, in fact, I'm going to argue that nobody else truly thought he killed himself, and thus render it irrelevant whether he was suicidal or not! Let's start with that exchange from Turnabout Big Top with Franziska I just mentioned. This is the first time it is ever explicitly discussed aloud what happened to Miles, taking it out of a vague mystery and bringing it into the spotlight. It goes like this (thank you AA wiki for mostly complete transcripts):

Phoenix: !! Then... Then what's this "revenge" thing you're talking about? von Karma: You wouldn't understand, Mr. Phoenix Wright. I have to see "him" again, one more time. Phoenix: "Him"? von Karma: I'm sure you know to whom I refer... Miles Edgeworth!! Maya: What!? Edgeworth!? Mr... EDGEWORTH!? Phoenix: M-M-Mi-Miles E-Ed-Edg-Edgeworth!! Miles Edgeworth... Why would you even bring him up!? von Karma: You haven't forgotten, have you? Do you know who it was that trained the gifted prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth? Maya: !! Manfred... von... Karma... von Karma: Exactly right. It was my papa. Maya: That means that Edgeworth was... von Karma: Right again. Miles was like a little brother to me. Maya: Huh? Little brother? Edgeworth and Nick are the same age... Phoenix: (Edgeworth... The man who inspired me to become an attorney. I fought against him in a few cases... But after "that" case was over... He "vanished"...) von Karma: It's your fault he is gone. Maya: HUH!? von Karma: It's the truth, isn't it Mr. Phoenix Wright? Phoenix: I... I... Maya: Nick! What does she mean!? Phoenix: After that case, Edgeworth was in a peculiar state, and he got worse everyday. He never set foot into court again... And then one day, he just vanished. All he left was a simple note at the prosecutor's office. von Karma: "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death." Phoenix: That was one year ago. It was right after you left to go back home. Maya: Mr. Edgeworth... He's dead? von Karma: I don't believe it. He's still alive. I'm sure of it... Somewhere in this world, he's still alive. "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death?" Of course he did! You ruined his reputation as a Prosecutor! You effectively killed the Prosecutor in him. Just like your victory muddied the honorable name Von Karma! I'm going to find him... Then I'm going to teach him the difference between right and wrong with my own hands! Maya: N-N-Nick! Umm... About Edgeworth? Phoenix: Maya, I already told you this once. Don't make me do it again. Don't bring up his name in front of me again, OK? Maya: N-Nick...? Phoenix: Von Karma? von Karma: What? Phoenix: I don't know if you are god's gift to prosecutors or not, but I've had about enough of you!! Him too! Maya: Wha... What happened? von Karma: Hmph. This dog is all bark and no bite. He's already been defeated... Regardless, I have nothing to inform you two of today. Tomorrow will be the greatest courtroom battle this country has ever seen!! Maya: Nick? Phoenix: Let's go. We need to talk with the performer on the third floor. Maya: I'm sorry I brought it up, Nick...

Boy that was a long chunk huh? Lot to unpack here, some of which I'll return to more than once, but still it's quite lengthy. Let's start with the obvious: Franziska says point blank she doesn't think Miles died. She believes he is still alive, and that he just left because of his reputation as a perfect prosecutor being completely shattered. Her desire for revenge is, in part, born to crush the man who made him quit, in her view. So okay that's one party easily taken out of the way. I mean ya girl literally says it straight up, but Fran isn't going to be the sticking point. The sticking point is Nick.

To talk about Nick, I also have to talk about Maya, because Maya in this scene, is a stand in for the players. She reacts like we would to this bombshell, in shock that Edgeworth has apparently committed suicide. Up until this point, Nick has been really cagey and unwilling to tell her about Miles, and consistently tells her not to talk about him anymore whenever she tries, and here she's finally told what happened. We as players are inclined to take her perspective since we are as in the dark as she is. So naturally, Maya reads Nick's bitterness and reticence as his grief, and apologizes for treading on his feelings when he's clearly going through loss. It's not an unreasonable hypothesis, because Nick hasn't been forthcoming.

And he still isn't being forthcoming either. You'll notice that in this exchange he never actually confirms that Miles died. He uses words like vanished, and when asked 'He's dead?' doesn't even say a word before Franziska monologues her opinion. His response to that speech isn't to tell her she's wrong; it's to tell Maya not to bring him up again. He is still steadfastly avoiding the subject, unwilling to confront the truth of it.

But is that truth that he believes Miles Edgeworth died? As far as evidence goes, this is pretty circumstantial. With the perspective of an unknowing audience member, it is easy to read that as the truth, but it lacks backing. We need more information. One exchange is not enough to make a case, let's skip ahead to Farewell my Turnabout!

Part Two: "I...I never wanted to see you again!"

These are the words Phoenix Wright utters when Miles Edgeworth shows up in criminal affairs, just to call Fran and Nick lost lambs who need his guidance. Now let's put this quote in context, so that I do not distort the facts. We'll start from after Franziska leaves, after all, I really don't need to prove her thoughts more, right?

Phoenix: I thought you, the Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, had gone and died! Pearl: Mr. Nick! Phoenix: I...I never wanted to see you again! Edgeworth: I think that's enough of a "warm welcome" for someone you haven't seen in a year. Phoenix: Are you going to run tomorrow's trial...? Edgeworth: ...You heard her, right? That wild mare hasn't given in yet, it seems. So, no, I don't think I'll be making an appearance. Pearl: ... Edgeworth: Your hatred for me is quite unhealthy. Not to mention one-sided. But I will say one thing... Phoenix: ... Edgeworth: You can't win on your own at the trial tomorrow. Phoenix: (What is that supposed to mean...?) Edgeworth: I have something definitive that you lack. And working together is the definition of teamwork. It's the power to find the truth. Phoenix: "The truth"...? Edgeworth: In order to understand this case, you have to understand a certain "truth". ...Well if you ever feel the need for my assistance, it is available to you. I'm not in charge of this case, so I can be a bit more generous with information. Phoenix: (Just what is going on inside his head...?) Edgeworth: A lot of things have happened, however Manfred von Karma was still my mentor. And a "perfect win record" is proof of a von Karma. Phoenix: ...One year ago, you could not establish guilt in a few cases...Are those losses the reason you suddenly disappeared from the Prosecutor's Office? Did you leave because you had lost your "perfect win record"...? Edgeworth: ... Phoenix: To think your motivation for prosecuting trials was so selfish...It'd have been better for everyone if you never came back from the dead, Edgeworth! Edgeworth: ... I see. Then let me ask you something. Why do YOU stand in the courtroom? What is your reason? Phoenix: Well, with Franziska, she almost always says, "I will defeat you this time!" the instant she sees me. But...The courtroom is not a personal battlefield for Prosecutor's and lawyers. I stand in the courtroom to defend my client. ...To save their lives. Edgeworth: To save your client, you say? Phoenix: Those who think only of their ego driven goals...Those kind of prosecutors are reprehensible to me. Even if you're a "prodigy"...Or someone like you, Edgeworth... Edgeworth: ...It looks like there is still a lot you have yet to learn.

Another long boi. I'd apologise but some of this also comes back later and I won't have to give you context ever again when it does! You'll thank me for that!

Let's get into it, shall we? Right off the bat Phoenix says point blank he thought the prosecutor Miles Edgeworth had gone and died. He even says "returned from the dead" later So I guess I lose, right? Well, hold off on that for now. There's that weird sticking point with the his title again like there was with the note, but I'm sure some of you are already thinking "he's just throwing his words back at him!" And maybe that's true, I just don't think it's that simple.

"I never wanted to see you again" are not the words of a man who believed up until now that the person he was talking to died. I mean, think about it: if you think someone died, are you going to be thinking about how you don't want to see them anymore? Even if you hate them, even if they're your least favorite person in the whole world, is that what will cross your mind? Sure, you might be relieved, maybe even happy, but you're not going to be thinking in terms of whether you want to see them again or not, because you never will. They're dead. You can't even say he's speaking for how he feels for right now exclusively, because he says never, indicating this was a long term thought he had well before Miles showed his pretty face again. In my view, he’s slipping up here.

But enough semantics, let's talk information. Here we get a lot more insight into what Phoenix Wright thinks about Miles' disappearance, something he refused to speak about in depth before. He states that he believes Miles left because he could not cope with his failure, so he ran, much like Franziska did, but it has a different edge. While Franziska's words are the ones of someone set to avenge his reputation, who clearly placed great stock in it, Phoenix views it with contempt. He sees it as cowardly, and even as a betrayal for what he should be in the courtroom based on his own statement about how a courtroom isn’t for egos. This very clearly explains why he’s been so unwilling to talk about it up until now, because it’s something that makes him angry, something Miles even recognizes as hate before Phoenix explains himself further. It’s valuable perspective, one we’ll have to get into more later, but it’s not quite enough.

Yet again I have to ask a question: does this prove one way or the other that Phoenix Wright believed Miles Edgeworth died? It’s still not looking great for me, to be honest. I feel like Phoenix Wright, scrambling to maintain my argument in the face of mounting suspicion. But like Phoenix, I’ve got my hands on one piece of decisive evidence, one that will turn everything thus far on its head, and prove that I was right!

Part Three: “At least, that’s what I told myself.”

I’ll cut straight to it. No preamble, no excessive length. These are words Nick says after Miles finishes explaining his reason for his journey of self-discovery, what he learned about his role as a prosecutor, and Nick’s importance in helping him understand that role: to find the truth.

Pearl: The "truth"... Edgeworth: Yes. That's the reason why prosecutors and defense lawyers exist. But I'm sure you knew that already, didn't you Wright? Phoenix: ... Edgeworth: That's why you couldn't forgive me; this man who went into hiding. Isn't that right? This man who only had his sights set on "victory", who ran away into the night... Pearl: Ah! Is... Is Mr. Edgeworth right, Mr. Nick...!? Phoenix: (You really let me down...) When you disappeared, I felt... betrayed. The reason I decided to become a lawyer to begin with... Was because I believed in the things you said to me, all those years ago... And you... You betrayed your own words. That's why... one year ago, I made up my mind. I decided that the Miles Edgeworth I knew had died... ...At least, that's what I told myself.

There you have it folks! Here it is! Phoenix Wright has admitted the truth! He decided that Miles Edgeworth had died! The death of Miles Edgeworth has been a false narrative that Phoenix had been telling himself this past year to cope with his feelings of personal betrayal that Miles Edgeworth left. He knew, or at least realized, that Miles was alive somewhere, and actively chose to believe the contrary because he could not accept that Miles had left and betrayed what Phoenix believed him to be.

And this explains so many of the odd points we’ve seen this whole time. For example: why didn’t Maya know anything until Turnabout Big Top? Surely if you believed your friend who you based your whole career on kicked it you would tell the people close to you, right? You wouldn’t choose to actively keep that a secret, right? Why wouldn’t he tell her? Because it wasn’t true. Yet it still obviously bothered him, so much he refused to talk about it, and got testy at even the slightest mention. He refused to frame it as beyond a vanishing, except when it would hurt Miles more (as demonstrated by him throwing his words back at him), but he still was distraught enough to mourn a death that he knew was not real. Phoenix Wright was still hurt by this, he still grieved, but it wasn’t at a real death: it was at the death of his own dream.

But what does this mean for Justice for All? How does the fact that neither Phoenix nor Franziska believe Miles is dead affect the story being told, or the themes? If he is still grieving, and Franziska is still avenging, is it not the same with only a caveat of distinction? Well…no. I would argue that this distinction plays into our themes.

Part Four: "The courtroom is not a personal battlefield for prosecutors and lawyers.”

Or so Phoenix Wright says when he’s dressing down Miles for leaving. Now obviously, this line brings to mind Franziska, a fact that’s extremely obvious when you remember he was talking about her just as he said this, so let’s talk about Franziska von Karma, the rival prosecutor of the game, who plays a pivotal role in the narrative.

As Franziska said back in part one, she did not believe Miles died, and believed that he vanished on her because his record was ruined. She believes this is a source of great shame for him, and she cannot fathom a reason beyond that for his disappearance, and this shame irritates her. Though she would never say so upfront, it’s apparent she cares greatly for her ‘little brother’ if she feels the need to avenge him. However, Franziska hasn’t given us enough information about her motivations in this scene, and to really understand them the final scene of Justice for All must be examined.

Edgeworth: ... What are you going to do now? von Karma: ... That's none of your business. Edgeworth: Are you running away? von Karma: Shut up! You don't understand a thing! You can't possibly understand what it means to be "Manfred von Karma's daughter"! Edgeworth: Franziska... von Karma: So many expectations from everyone around me... Expectations I must fulfill! I'm expected to win no matter what. And failure? Such a thing is not an option for me! My father was a genius. There's no doubt about that! But... But me... I'm no genius. I've always known that. Edgeworth: ... von Karma: But I... I had to be one. I had to. Edgeworth: ... You may not be a genius like your father... But... You are a prosecutor. You have been and always will be. von Karma:...! No, I'm not... Not anymore. I've even thrown my whip away. Edgeworth: Speaking of that... Wright gave me this to hold onto. (Wright... You knew something like this would happen, didn't you...?) von Karma: ... Edgeworth: I'm going to say this again. We prosecutors do not fight for personal honor or pride. I hope you will think deeply... About what you should be striking down with that whip. von Karma: ... You haven't changed a bit... You've always... You've always left me alone and walked on ahead without me. Miles Edgeworth... I've always hated you. Edgeworth: ... von Karma: And then... Finally, my chance to take my revenge on you arrived. If I could win against that man... If I could make Phoenix Wright bow down in defeat... Then this "girl" you left behind would have risen higher than you! That was supposed to be my "revenge"... Edgeworth: I see... von Karma: ... You know, I can't do it... I can't change who I am. I can't throw away everything I've been until today. Edgeworth: I believe you can. Just like how Adrian Andrews did. von Karma: Adrian Andrews...? Edgeworth: You were going to use her during the trial, right? But you... You were "dependant" on your father by using his tactics. Isn't that right? von Karma: Hmph! Edgeworth: Today, you chased after me, after I had left you behind all these years. And that's why we're standing here now, side by side. von Karma: ...! Edgeworth: But I have no intention of stopping. If you say you are going to quit your walk down the prosecutor's path... ... Then, this is where we part ways, Franziska von Karma. von Karma: ... I... I... I am Franziska von Karma. Don't think I'm going to walk in your shadow forever... Our battle... begins now... so you had better prepare yourself, Miles Edgeworth!

There are three key points to this scene, in regards to Franziska’s motivations. The first is as the daughter of Manfred von Karma, she feels as though she must succeed him perfectly whether it is within her capacity or not. The legacy of her family is a burden she is compelled to live up to. Manfred von Karma, shitty scumbag that he was, still has 40 years of perfect trials under his belt, and this is something she would be expected to emulate, baggage of what that entails and all. It is a fair bit of pressure, especially when you remember she became a prosecutor as a middle schooler, and is still only a teenager.

The second, which is informed by the first, is that she believes she has always been inferior to Miles, and thus in order to earn her legacy, she must surpass him. This makes sense if you remember that Manfred von Karma spent 15 years meticulously grooming Miles to be just like him just so he could spite the ghost of Gregory Edgeworth, and act that to a young child can feel like your father believes his adopted son is more capable than you are. As she said, she will not walk in his shadow forever. She will be considered his equal, and worthy.

And the third, which is informed by the second, is that she doesn’t want to be left behind by Miles again. This is both in terms of being in his shadow, like mentioned previously, but also quite literally, when he completely vanished, or even when he left to prosecute in America while she was still in Germany. As she said back in Turnabout Big Top, “I have to see ‘him’ again, one more time.” She wants to understand why he keeps leaving her behind, and thinks she will only ever get that chance if she proves herself to be above him.

And this is something she cannot do. In her own trials, with her own methods, she does not beat Phoenix Wright, and it feels obvious why she can’t, right? Because she’s behaving too much like Miles did, before Phoenix Wright taught him otherwise. She cares too much about a legacy built on perfection, with all the harm it might entail, even if she has other more sympathetic motives for her actions in this game. She’s still dependent on her father’s name, and his ideas. She can’t win if she’s still clinging onto an old, broken story, but it’s one she’s reluctant to let go. As she says, she doesn’t think she can turn from being the person she has been up until now.

It’s a narrative; one she projects onto Miles in an attempt to maintain it, even as it’s falling apart. Miles Edgeworth is not a person so much as an idea she must trounce to assert her own identity and personhood. Before the events of the first game, he represented her own failure, and the pressure to exist as a von Karma. And after it’s events, when Miles leaves to become a different man, Franziska sees this as an opportunity to finally surpass that image of him. She can’t see that maybe he’s outgrown the legacy she clings to, and doesn’t want to, because to confront that would mean having to face truths about herself. No, she must surpass him perfectly, regardless of whether the man himself even cares for perfection anymore, which he doesn’t. He doesn’t care about perfect trials and win records, only the truth, and he challenges her to follow him. Not the ideas about herself she decided he stands for, but the man he is right now, the real Miles Edgeworth.

Do you see how this relates to the thesis? Is it starting to come together? Good. Now let’s talk about Phoenix Wright.

Part Five: "We aren't some sort of heroes.”

I want to open with a short exchange I missed during Farewell my Turnabout, where I got the title quote. It’s important, trust me.

Phoenix: I became a lawyer because I thought... I thought I could save people who were suffering and in pain... Pearl: ... Phoenix: But... When I look at this mess we're in... I can't even protect the person closest to me. Even if I win the case, I still lose in the end... I just don't know what to do! Edgeworth: ... Wright. Would you get a hold of yourself? You have it all wrong. Phoenix: Huh? Edgeworth: We aren't some sort of heroes. We're only human, you and I. You want to "save someone"? That's something easier said than done, wouldn't you say? Pearl: Th-That's... Edgeworth: You are a defense lawyer. You can't run away from that. You can only fight. That's all you can do.

I chose this quote from Miles because it highlights the obvious flaw in Nick’s motivations: he’s not a savior, he’s just a man. Phoenix Wright, as noble as it may be, until this point has labored under the conception that it is his job, his moral imperative, to save people, whether that is something he can even manage or not. Like Franziska clinging to perfection, this is an untenable mindset. You cannot save people, certainly not everyone who comes your way needing help. You can try, but it’s not guaranteed, and it’s not your duty to do so.

Farewell my Turnabout is a trial of Nick’s existing motivations, because his client is not someone who should be saved, yet he must succeed in doing so, or else Maya will die, yet of course if he does so, he will be dooming Adrian Andrews to a conviction for a crime she did not commit. By forcing him in this position, his belief about what his role as a defense attorney has been challenged: he cannot save them both. Who is more worthy of saving? How do you decide that? And even if you decide, is your decision the right one? Is that something you have the right to decide?

It’s significant that the only way to get the good, true ending is by prioritizing the truth instead of his savior complex. Yes, by showing de Killer the truth, he is able to save them both, he does not have to give up anything, yet he’s only permitted this if he sticks with what’s true. His failure in pursuing the truth leads to the worst ending, where Engarde gets off, Andrews is convicted, and he never sees Maya again even if she’s alive. He loses everything. The reason why it doesn’t matter whether you say guilty or not guilty, even when saving only one was a serious factor, because who you choose to save matters less in the grand scheme of things than making the truth known. It’s neat.

Okay, but how does this relate to Miles? How does Nick’s savior complex, and learning to prioritize the truth relate to Miles? Well, I have only one thing to say: who is the person Phoenix Wright wanted to save by becoming a lawyer? See, Nick might say he wanted to save ‘people’, and I’m sure that’s true. That class trial in his youth had such a profound impact on him he would never want anyone to feel as lost and alone as he did. But the reason he became a defense attorney is Miles Edgeworth. Because in their youth, Miles saved him from the crushing despair of the class trial by wielding the idea of a defense attorney. Because when they grew up, Phoenix learned that Miles did not become a defense attorney, but a prosecutor, dead set on getting guilty verdicts without caring about who might pay for it. Because when he learned this is what Miles Edgeworth became, he had to meet him and find out why.

What is the plot of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney? Well, it’s about several things, but in this case, I’m referring to the wish to save Edgeworth. They meet again after 15 long years, and though Miles sucks ass especially in Turnabout Sisters, Phoenix manages to pull out signs the old Miles still exists in Turnabout Samurai. Then of course, in Turnabout Goodbyes Nick saves Miles not just from a guilty verdict for the murder of Robert Hammond, but from the belief he murdered his father, clearing up the trauma that plagued and motivated him into becoming what he became after all this time. And if we include Rise from the Ashes, Miles steps up to the plate to find the truth for the first time, if only because it feels personal. In fact, you can say he well surpassed his stated goal of just understanding why Miles became what he did. Phoenix Wright saved Miles Edgeworth; he did the thing he believes he is supposed to do.

Except…he didn’t, because Miles left. Because it turns out people are not so easily saved, and even if you clear up their trauma they still have the aftermath to figure out on their own. They still have to make peace with the life they lead up until that point. Miles left, and as has been well established, Phoenix took that as a personal betrayal. The ideals that Miles taught him as a child were not something Miles could live up to. Nick believed Miles left because he really did become someone wholly invested in perfection and never did see the error of his ways. The boy of his youth doesn’t exist anymore, and hasn’t for many years, and Miles leaving forced him to see that, but it wasn’t something he wanted to accept. If he did not fix Miles, which he took Miles disappearing as proof as that, then Miles might as well be dead.

The idea that Miles killed himself is a falsehood Nick engages in for a year because he is not ready to face the idea that maybe his preconceptions about who Miles Edgeworth is supposed to be right now are wrong. Miles isn’t a man who has to work through some shit, he’s a symbol of the ideals that Nick has striven to embody his entire life, and he left and threw that away despite all of Nick’s efforts. This is not something Phoenix was willing to accept.

He’s so unwilling to accept it that he’s very mad when confronted by anything that might remotely suggest he’s wrong. Franziska is a reminder that Miles left, and of the person Phoenix believed him to be for vanishing, and she stubbornly exists he still exists somewhere, and he is still like her, and that is all far too much for him. It’s too much that Maya innocently wants to know where he is, or what he’s up to, because if he has to think about it he’ll just sit in his anger again about how he feels betrayed that Miles could not live up to the ideal Nick imposed on him. Heck even when faced with the man in question he starts arguing with him about what Miles was trying to accomplish by leaving, and isn’t willing to accept the answer he gets at first. The person in front of him is not someone Phoenix Wright is willing to engage with on his own terms. Nick must be a savior, and if he didn’t save Miles, then that means Miles was beyond saving: Miles was dead all along. He’d rather kill him off than face he’s changed, that those ideals are not infallible.

And Miles Edgeworth did change, and change yet again. Yes, he turned into the demon prosecutor, after the events of AA1, while he was gone, he worked on becoming the man who stands for the truth above all else, one who doesn’t abide by any falsehoods. Whether it’s the lies in someone’s testimony, or the beliefs people project onto him, he cuts them down. He’s not a savior, he says so himself, and some of his actions in pursuit of the truth can be pretty cruel, like how he was going to expose Adrian. This isn’t the person either Nick or Franziska wanted him to be, but he is the one they needed him to be to realize their own faults. He was the one who enabled Nick to fight impossible odds, and encouraged Franziska to find another path. He advocates for the truth, and by asserting himself and what he believes, he puts Nick and Franziska on the right path to understanding the real message of the game.

Edgeworth: I had fun tonight. Now, if you'll excuse me... Phoenix: Wait. Edgeworth: What? Phoenix: ... I just want to say... Thanks, Edgeworth. You really saved me out there. Edgeworth: ...Hmph. If anyone should be saying thanks, it should be me, Wright.

Conclusion: “But we will always eventually reach that one single truth.”

Learning and accepting the truth is the moral of the story, one that permeates all three major characters of the game. Isn’t it cool? That both Nick and Franziska decide to accept Miles Edgeworth on his own terms, and become stronger people as a result? Isn’t it fucking cool how the theme even connects to the main characters’ personal denials and inability to accept how things might change, and how they weren’t willing to confront the truth about it until they were made to? Is it not sick as hell that Nick shows Miles the truth about what his life is and what he’s been doing, thus inspiring Miles to become better, and then Miles comes back and returns the favor to let Nick see that his savior complex is detrimental to his actual work and to his own wellbeing? Does that not fucking slap? Doesn’t Justice for All deserve just extreme respect for this cool ass subtle storytelling?

The single truth of this essay is that Justice for All is really fucking good dude holy shit. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. If you still somehow don’t agree with me…I’m sorry you cannot recognize the greatness that is Justice For All get well soon. Thanks for reading.

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