Part 7: Episode 1, Trial: Competent Cross

Part 7: Episode 1, Trial: Competent Cross

I lied a little bit with the votes. This is still the tutorial episode so our choices don't really matter yet. But I'll grade you all anyway.

I was going door-to-door, selling subscriptions when I saw a man fleeing an apartment.

We know this isn't strictly true, thanks to the prologue, but we can't prove it.



We could just let it slide, but let's "Press" for more information.



Pressing gets us another shouted phrase, complete with a voiced line again.



No pointing this time, though.

I find it odd you would take notice of him...

Er... heh.

I don't know. He just seemed strange to me, that's all.

Like he was mad, and yet frightened at the same time.

Just like... a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime!

It seems to be optional to press the witness on their statements, but doing so can reveal more about the witness or the testimony sometimes if you need help figuring things out. In this case we know the guy is guilty and I'm pretty sure how to nail him, but I assume later cases won't be so easy to figure out, and this particular "Press" revealed a witness that's both nervous and a little too eager to characterize the defendant as a criminal.



We, of course, are having none of that.

The defense requests that the witness refrain from conjecture!



Dude you are not supposed to be testifying, the witness should speak for himself.



Each time we press, there is a seamless transition to the next line of testimony. I'm not really sure how these cross-examinations are supposed to work narratively (is the entire testimony given once up front, and then again during the cross?) but this mechanic works better for within a game and is actually quite fun. Anyway, onto the next line....

I thought he must be in a hurry because he left the door half-open behind him.





Yeah, we're going to "Press" again here, and I made a nice icon to represent our choice. In fact, at least for this episode, we should really press on every statement. You'll see why when we get to the end.

Half-open... you say?

Way to really put the screws to him there!

Yes, yes, the door was open halfway. Yes.

I watched for a moment, but no one came to close the door.

"That's odd, in a big city like this," I thought...



Thinking it strange, I looked inside the apartment.







Well, the door was half-open, you see.

Isn't it only human to want to... peek?

We climb mountains because they are there! It's the same thing.



(Hmm... why did Payne cut him off so quickly?)

Good observation, there. Something to pull at later?



Then I saw her lying there... A woman... not moving... dead!







Are you sure she was dead?

W-Well, no, I guess I wasn't.

Not when you first saw her she wasn't!

But, she wasn't moving at all, and there was blood everywhere.

(I guess that would look fatal to anyone...)



I'm not sure why we're the one prompting the witness to continue here, but let's move on.

I quailed in fright and found myself unable to go inside.







This question seems like a good one to catch him on later, if we can figure out a little more about what happened.

Um, yes. I mean no! Nothing.

Very convincing.



I thought to call the police immediately!







You "thought" to call the police? Does that mean you didn't actually call them!?

Ugh, that one's dumb. Guess they can't all be winners.



Didn't we already listen to the rest? I really don't get how this cross-examination works I guess.



However, the phone in her apartment wasn't working.





Someone correctly identified a contradiction here, but we don't have anything we can actually present about it. We do get a little more from pressing, however....

The phone in her apartment wasn't working?



But you said you didn't go into the apartment... or did you!?

Exactly the point I brought up earlier - how did he know the phone wasn't working if he never went inside?



There was a cordless phone on a shelf in the entranceway.

I reached inside and tried using that to call...

And that phone wasn't working, correct?

Objection, leading the witness! Hmm I don't think we can press or present during these parts, actually. Anyway, it turns out that hole has a simple explanation, even if it contradicts his earlier statement that he didn't touch ANYTHING in the apartment. And we know that's a lie anyway, but I don't see quite how to prove it yet.



I went to a nearby park and found a public phone.





Why use a public phone?

Well, you see, I don't have a cell phone.

(Remember, this game first came out in 2001.)

And, being the middle of the afternon, there was no answer at the nearby apartments.



I remember the time exactly: It was 1:00 PM.



Everyone's eager to present here; bear with me a moment while I press for more information first.





1:00 PM! Are you certain?

Yes. Absolutely.

(Hmm... He seems really confident.)

Yes, the one answer he's most confident in is the one we know he's lying about.



Since we're still in tutorial land, Mia is going to help us out.

Wright. Doesn't that seem strange to you?

Present some evidence to contradict him!



Unlike every other time we press the witness, we're brought back to the original statement to get it right this time. I'm actually going to skip it for now, though, and move on to the last line of the testimony.

The man who ran was, without a doubt, the defendant sitting right over there.







Are you absolutely, 100% positive?

That was a waste of a hand slam, Phoenix, I'm not going to keep showing it if you're going to follow it up with a weak-ass line like that.



The witness says he's certain!



Now that we've exhausted all of the testimony without figuring it out, Mia is going to help us out again.

There must be a contradiction in there somewhere.

Examine the Court Record with "Tab" if something strikes you as being suspicious.

Then, find the evidence that contradicts his testimony, and present it to the court!



I was kind of hoping that the trial would end there and our client would be found guilty again, but instead we're just brought back to the start of the testimony. Useful if you need to revisit something. Also the reason I held off on presenting evidence on that earlier line; it would lock us out of seeing the rest of the "pressing" dialogue.



I also just realized while writing this update that the middle parts of the testimony are the only dialog boxes I've seen with two arrows. Can we freely navigate here? (Answer after some side testing: Yes!) Well, that changes things. We can press on a line and then go right back to it to present evidence. Or skip a line and come back to it later. Hmm....



All right, let's finally present the autopsy report, which contradicts Mr. Sahwit's statement that he found the body at 1:00 PM.



Music: Silence



You're sure?

We already asked that, but whatever.

Yes. It was 1:00 PM, for certain.



Frankly, I find that hard to believe!

Music: Objection!



Hold on, I need to make something.



Muah, magnifique!

The autopsy notes the time of death at sometime after 4PM.

There was nobody to... er... no "body" to find at 1:00 PM!



Triumph!



We're making the guy sweat, now!

Oh, that! Oh, er...



Hey, that wasn't me.



That's as bad as some of our earlier attempts. Oh I just realized that our buddy Winston Payne, who serves opposite us in the courtroom, has the opposite initials as our hero Phoenix Wright. That's a cool touch. Oh my god, looking at his face there, his name is actually another pun! Winced-in-Pain!



Mr. Sahwit...

Why were you so certain that you found the body at 1:00 PM?

I... er... well, I... Gee, that's a really good question!



That's all you have to do: point out contradictions!

Lies always beget more lies!

See through one, and their whole story falls apart!

Mia is still pouting at us despite praising us here. I guess we have a deep hole to climb out of with her. The audience votes scored a perfect 100% though! (Okay, the correct answer for the 9th line was really both "Press" and "Present", but I didn't allow that option, so you all get full credit anyway!)



Would you care to give your testimony again?

We're not done yet...the witness gets a chance to redeem himself. Next time we'll see if we can really nail him!