Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Part #139 - Episode 5, Day 3, Trial Former: Freeze Frame

Part 139: Episode 5, Day 3, Trial Former: Freeze Frame

Part 139: Episode 5, Day 3, Trial Former: Freeze Frame

Before I dive into the video further, I do still want to show the results of pressing on Meekins here.

His face can't be clearly seen in the video,

Tell me, were you able to get a good look at him?

At the face of the man who attacked you with a knife?

I believe I would be classified as... the latter?

^{Sound: Stab}

More to the point, you are the person who fought him, aren't you?
^{Sound: Stab}

Oh, yes sir! But... I didn't get a clear look at his face, sir.

I probably would've been busy looking at the knife, myself.

(Yeah, that's a good trait for a police officer...)

^{Sound: Ween}

Ugh pressing was a bad idea.

but there's no question that the other person was Detective Goodman, sir!

But you don't know that for sure, do you?

Well... I suppose you might say that.

Since his face can't be identified in the video, only you can verify it.

!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

W-w-why is everyone l-looking at me?

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

Meekins!
^{Sound: Whack}

^{Sound: Stab}
^{Sound: Rooster}

Now please be more certain when you testify!

Y-y-yes, sir!

Tell us why you are positive it was him!

I mean, he opened the locker, which required Detective Goodman's fingerprint to do!

No, sir! I myself tried all kinds of methods in the past!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

(I wonder what kind of methods he's tried...?)

then he must be the person the locker was assigned to.

^{Sound: Ween}

The locker he opened is unquestionably Detective Goodman's locker, sir!

How do you know that information?

"People in the know"?

^{Sound: Thud 2}

They also listen to my... romantic troubles, sir!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

...

For the record...

the opened locker did indeed belong to Detective Goodman.

Hmm...

So it must be him! No one else could have unlocked it!

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

Music: Silence

S-sir!
^{Sound: Objection}

If I may say something, sir!
^{Sound: Realization}

Please do. After all, you are the one being examined.

I mean, it was his hand that opened the fingerprint lock...

^{Sound: Whack}

^{Sound: Ween}

Yes, you have a point.

The footage doesn't lie.

That is...

^{Sound: Realization}

Edgeworth with the lob pass...

Mr. Wright! Let's check the Court Record again!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

Music: Logic and Trick

Music: Silence

Regarding the video contained on this tape,

Strange?

This contradiction leads to the possibility that...

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

quote:

Backing out here just takes us back to the cross:

The tape was provided by the Police Department, so there's no problem with it.

I admire your trust in the Police Department,

Mr. Wright.

Well, if you ask me,

Music: Silence

I think there's a problem with what's shown on the tape...

rather than with the actual tape itself.
^{Sound: Realization}

Music: Questioning - Moderato

Time to loop back and try again...

quote:

The scene here for stating that there's a problem with the video can also be accessed by simply presenting the video as contradicting evidence on any line of Meekins's testimony except for the first one.

Music: Investigation - Core

^{Sound: Whack}

Interesting...

Your Honor, I have a proposal.

Yes, Mr. Edgeworth?
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

I propose we have the defense...

^{Sound: Realization}

Time to dunk the pass Edgeworth set up for us.

(He would want me to point it out...)

^{Sound: Gavel}

I will now play the security tape.

Music: Silence

(I have to point out a problem in the video?)

(This is the first time I've ever had to do that.)

You can do it, Mr. Wright!

Just take a good look and be sure to point out the right thing!

^{Sound: Thud 2}

^{Sound: Light Bulb}

I don't think there's any actual restriction.

(How did this guy ever become a police officer?)

Now then, Mr. Wright. Please enlighten us!

The tape is apparently put into a VCR. Two very old-fashioned terms.

Music: The Blue Badger ~ I Want to Protect You

The video automatically starts playing, complete with distracting Blue Badger dancing and music. We can pause, rewind, or fast forward, giving us full control over what frame of the video to present. We also have to move the cursor to the exact location in the frame with the contradiction. I really like this mechanic, even if it is hard to look for alternative/interesting incorrect results in this format. Anyway, a lot of people voted for the video segment showing the mystery man opening the locker, but that's not quite right here.

I'm really impressed with how this video is set up. Between the music and the dancing Blue Badger being front-and-center demanding attention, it's incredibly easy to overlook that before anyone has even entered the evidence room, Goodman's locker is lit up. It's already unlocked!

Music: Silence

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

^{Sound: Objection}

Officer Meekins.

^{Sound: Thud 2}

Sir! D-do you mean me, sir?
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

Music: The Blue Badger ~ I Want to Protect You

A beep as Gumshoe's locker opens again.

the light turns on and the lock is released.

^{Sound: Thud 2}

^{Sound: Light Bulb}

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

If so, then something is seriously wrong with this picture!

^{Sound: Wipe}

We're back watching the first few seconds of the video...

Let's rewind to a little earlier...

Watching the video backwards isn't particularly interesting, so I'll just skip ahead...

^{Sound: Stab}

quote:

Almost anywhere else, and we just get a generic failure.

Music: Silence

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

The thing that's strange about this video...

would have to be... uh, this?
^{Sound: Realization}

...

Hold on a second. I need to use my eye drops.

...

Well, I don't get it.
^{Sound: Realization}

...

Um, would you mind if I borrowed your eye medicine?
^{Sound: Realization}

Don't look at me with those bleary eyes!
^{Sound: Whack}

Before your eyes get too teary, perhaps you should think this through again, hmm?

(Now what do I do?)

We're given a choice to either "Play video again" or "Return to cross-examination". Both options do exactly what they say. The right answer is, of course, to go back to the video.

Very well. Let's try this again.

Just remember one thing, Mr. Wright:

Every time you point your finger, someone gets hurt.

Says the one pointing his finger at us...

^{Sound: Gavel}

I will now play the security tape.

Mr. Wright. Please show us this contradiction you speak of.

From here, we get the same scene as the first time we went into playing the video, including all the instructions on how to control it.

quote:
Returning to the cross-examination is possible, but doesn't get us anywhere.

(It seems I've been taking the wrong approach.)

^{Sound: Gavel}

Music: Questioning - Moderato

Now then, the defense may resume its cross-examination.

Assuming the witness is still willing to continue, that is. Officer Meekins?

^{Sound: Thud 2}

Yes, sir! It is my duty as a police officer to help the lost, sir!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

(Great. Now they think I'm lost...)

We get brought back to the beginning of Meekins's testimony, since we could have entered this flow from just about anywhere.

quote:

Since so many insisted there was something wrong in the video when the mystery man opened the locker, I'll go ahead and show what happens if we select that little inconsistency instead, without getting specific on what it was.

Music: Silence

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

The thing that's strange about this video...

has got to be this!
^{Sound: Objection}

Hmm... Yes, that is strange.

Something certainly seems unnatural about that.
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

What could it mean?

Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Wright...

but you seem to have forgotten the point of this exercise.

The point...?

What you are looking for is one thing and one thing only:

Something that indicates the man may not be Detective Goodman.
^{Sound: Realization}

Oh, yeah.
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

Whew... I almost walked right into the defense's trap!

^{Sound: Gavel}

I'll place him under arrest, sir!

(Rats... I need to slow down and tackle these things one piece at a time.)

(Now what do I do?)

We get the same two options there as any other incorrect choice, and both play out the same as in the generic failure. This scene is a good way to remind the player that we are looking for the relevant contradiction, not just anything that looks interesting.

Music: Silence

Precisely my point, Your Honor.

^{Sound: Objection}

Music: Objection!

^{Sound: Damage 2}
^{Sound: Rooster}

I'll put Meekins's reaction down to shock rather than concern over his testimony. If it wasn't Goodman in there, and there's no other missing person/dead body, then Meekins didn't kill anyone! Maybe he really wanted that street cred with his fellow officers.

^{Sound: Gallery}

Our first crowd reaction with Meekins on the stand. That bullhorn is really ruining his posture.

^{Sound: Gavel x 3}

Order! Order!

What's the meaning of this!?
^{Sound: Whack}

It's very simple, Your Honor.

All of the wild theories I had in my head on how the killer faked Goodman's fingerprint, and it never even occurred to me that the locker was simply left unlocked. :doh:

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

When a door is shut, a sensor is triggered...

and the locker is automatically locked!

^{Sound: Light Bulb}

Of course, I'm not an expert in this...

^{Sound: Realization}

So did Goodman intentionally stage his locker to leave it unlocked somehow? Why?

So then, Mr. Wright. Do you have an explanation?

Me, Your Honor?

Yes. Why wasn't the locker locked?

Me, Your Honor?
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

...

For an inquiry-type judicial system, it sure seems like it's always on the defense attorney to actually figure out what happened.

Music: Silence

^{Sound: Realization}

^{Sound: Light Bulb}

Huh? Oh, um...

(Something... jammed the sensor? Say...)

^{Sound: Realization}

If you spotted the first one, you probably spotted the second one at the same time.

Yeah, I thought so too!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

^{Sound: Gavel}

Very well. Let's inspect the video once more.

Back to the video we go...

Music: The Blue Badger ~ I Want to Protect You

It happens quickly, but look at the exact moment that our mystery man opens the locker.

Sure looks like something fell out there. It looks a lot like the glove that we found in the evidence room. Was it blocking the door sensor, preventing it from locking?

Music: Silence

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

Please watch closely.

This is the continuation of the part I showed you earlier.

The video moves forward from the first contradiction to the second, and even the judge notices something off this time.

Something white fell out of the locker!
^{Sound: Realization}

^{Sound: Gavel}

^{Sound: Realization}

quote:

Original line: "We can't be sure that item was in the locker to begin with." Kind of unclear; the item was obviously "in" the locker, or at least not visible before the mystery man opened the locker.

What do you mean?

What if something was inserted, say,

between the sensor and the door?
^{Sound: Realization}

In... Inserted...?

The video plays again, stopping at the pivotal moment once more.

^{Sound: Objection}

quote:

The generic failure here is the same as before, except we're forced back into re-examining the video instead of getting a choice to go back to the cross. I guess we're already committed to the video at this point.

quote:

There is one other item of interest in the video. It could be considered a spoiler if you haven't spotted it yet, so I won't show the reaction for presenting it now until it's more relevant.

Music: Suspense

^{Sound: Gavel}

Oh, I understand now, sir! It's just like my tie!

Instead of the door closing, My tie chokes me!

^{Sound: Whack}

It would need to be an insulator.

Yes, an insulator!

But at the crime scene...

^{Sound: Realization}

Fits like a glove, you might say.

But s-sir!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

By "insulator," you don't mean...

(I think I've finally got this figured out.)

^{Sound: Gavel}

What was this insulator that was stuck in the locker door?

I didn't really notice that the glove was rubber when we picked it up, but nothing else makes any sense here anyway.

Music: Silence

But we can't be sure that was in the victim's locker.

^{Sound: Realization}

!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

The video seems to depict the victim opening the locker,

^{Sound: Objection}

^{Sound: Desk Slam}

On the day of the crime, even I could have opened that locker!

^{Sound: Objection}

quote:

I feel bad for you if you got this one wrong, and not on purpose like I did below.

Behold! This was stuck in the locker door!
^{Sound: Objection}

How about sticking yourself in instead?

Huh?
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

Your presence here is wearing thin. You might just fit...

(I think my own mojo's just been blocked.)

If you have time to think of snarky comebacks, you have time to think it through again.
^{Sound: Whack}

(Something thin enough to slip into the door crack, yet not conductive to electricity...)

quote:
The entire scene was subtly different in the original script:

How about sticking your finger in instead?

Huh?
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

You are rather thin. It just might fit...

(I think my own current's just been blocked.)

Instead of being sarcastic, why don't you think this through again.
^{Sound: Whack}

(Something thin enough to slip in the door, yet not conductive to electricity...)

New script is funnier to me, but maybe that's just because I heard it that way first.

^{Sound: Gavel}

Very well! Will the defense please present the relevant evidence!

What was this insulator that was stuck in the locker door?

Luckily we can try again as much as we want. No penalties on any of this stuff yet.

Music: Telling the Truth

Sir...

^{Sound: Stab 2}
^{Sound: Rooster}
^{Sound: Drama Pound}

^{Sound: Gallery}

^{Sound: Gavel x 3}

Order! Order! Order!

^{Sound: Wipe}

whom this witness stabbed in the evidence room... was not Detective Goodman?
^{Sound: Realization}

Do not be misled, Your Honor.

What do you mean, Mr. Edgeworth?

I've done more to show that the man was not Detective Goodman than you've done to show that anyone was murdered in that evidence room at all.

The "victim" in the video was indeed Bruce Goodman.

All right, this one better be good.

What!?
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

^{Sound: Drama Pound}

Music: Silence

Sir! M-me, sir!?
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

...

^{Sound: Gavel}

O-oh! You mean that, sir! Of course, sir!
^{Sound: Light Bulb}

(Is this a joke...?)

^{Sound: Gavel}

^{Sound: Testimony 2}

Here we go, testimony #3 from Meekins.

Music: Questioning - Allegro

There's one other thing that proves the man was Detective Goodman, sir!

When an ID card is used, there's a record of it!

^{Sound: Gavel}

Music: Silence

Weak.

An ID card record. I see...

How dare you use our own evidence against us!

^{Sound: Realization}

I once again feel compelled to point out that our best strategy here is to say, "Yup it must have been Goodman, I guess that means Lana didn't kill him then, let's all go home!"

However,

one thing does strike me as unusual...

Several hundred cases should have been due for transferal.