I’m a huge fan of the Ace Attorney series -- or more accurately, anything Shu Takumi has ever touched. It’s no surprise then, that I’m often drawn to indie games inspired by his work, but few measure up. I don’t hold it against them, to be fair; it’s a high bar. While they often get the surface level elements right -- the dramatic revelations, the musical stylings, people shouting “OBJECTION!” -- they often lack the crucial human element at the core of each case. The Ace Attorney series isn’t just about playing lawyer on a touch screen, it’s also about complex and tragic motivations that could drive someone to commit murder.

With some surprise, I come to you today and say Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane manages to get this right as a spiritual successor.

Technically, Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane released in 2023. However, the game recently got a substantial update, and merely hearing such news put it on my radar. From what I’ve surmised, developer Diamondhenge completely rewrote large swathes of the game, added in new art, and even altered major clues and character motivations within several cases. It’s a substantial undertaking, and something that speaks to the level of care Diamondhenge had for their product.

Such an endeavour caught my curiosity, and now, here we are.

(Please note, all my thoughts reflect the most recent version -- I have no point of comparison on what the previous one was like, though from what I understand, there’s still a way to play the original if you so choose.)

Setting the Board

Let’s start with what’s obvious at a glance -- Tyrion Cuthbert is unabashedly anime, for better and worse. People get sweat drops on their heads, all the main characters are youthful prodigies in a given field, and all matronly figures look like they walked out of an anime titled, “Help, I’m a Licensed Appliance Repairman and the Clumsy Hot Single Mom Next Door Keeps Getting Stuck in her Dryer!!”

My anime overload alarm almost tripped in the first case when your introductory client and future assistant, Celeste McCoy, is an eighteen year old expert mercenary with a mysterious past who exudes “I am the main love interest in this shonen anime” energy. She ticks an awful lot of boxes present in anime tropes; she has the strength to easily kill bears and wields a crimson blade, but also has a bubbly personality. “Gap moe,” as the kids say. She is also soon falsely accused of patricide, which calls our titular hero into action.

This was all almost too much for me at the onset, but a few things kept the hooks in. First off, Tyrion has a mysterious mind-reading power he can’t control, which leads to some fun and unexpected contradictions in people’s words versus their thoughts. Second, and perhaps most importantly, is that all magic has tremendously strict, Brandon Sanderson-esque rules. Anyone who’s played Ace Attorney knows the devil is in the details -- what makes it fun to pull apart contradictions is finding the smallest inconsistency and watching a lie unravel from there. It was surprisingly fun to enter a world where magic is part of the equation in a court of law, but is still bound by a fictional set of rules and arcane forensics.

Over the course of this first case, Tyrion Cuthbert won me over despite reservations. While many elements still veer a little too close to basic anime tropes for comfort (such as how both our main characters are mysterious orphans with mysterious powers), this mercifully stops short of their characterization. By the end of the introductory case, Tyrion, Celeste, and even the lead prosecutor Aria grew into their own, beyond whatever anime cliche may have inspired them. They all have very human interests and desires, and even have hobbies and interests outside of the courtroom to help round out their personalities. I especially enjoy the little nods and references to what everyone gets up to when Tyrion isn’t around. You may or may not be surprised to learn that in most similar amateurish indie titles, it’s common for everyone to only care about the main character, and when he’s not around, they talk about the next time he’ll do cool guy shit. It makes the world feel much more authentic when everyone has their own lives to live.

I wouldn’t say I was hooked yet -- the reservations persisted -- but the first case marked the start of some compelling mysteries. While the anime tropes came on heavy, the personality and heart beneath soon outshined it.

Modern Defense

From here, the game falls into a recognizable pattern for Ace Attorney fans -- each case, you’re introduced to a cast of characters, one of them is murdered, and wouldn’t you know it, the prosecution has jumped to conclusions and pinned the blame on an innocent suspect. One you will now represent for the next few hours as you investigate the crime scene and defend them in court.

While most of what transpires from here on out is familiar, Tyrion Cuthbert carves out a few unique niches in the worn Ace Attorney mountain. First is the "argument" sections, which function like the game’s boss battles. You enter into a prolonged back and forth with a witness or suspect, and bounce back and forth between rhetorical options or contradictory evidence to poke holes in their story. This is often accompanied with some of the best music in the game (brought to you by Insaneintherain and–) as the tension mounts, and each word they say slams into place to the beat until the whole sentence is revealed.

You’ll also occasionally be asked to form a coherent interpretation of the evidence so far via a mad libs style sentence constructor. While at first these segments did not impress, Diamondhenge builds on this concept in quite frankly, exceptional ways. The game tells its story via this formula in endearing little touches, such as this one after a long day of investigation:

The changes in presentation on both these motifs as you approach the end of the game are particularly choice, and succeed in heightening the tension as the stakes climb -- and boy, do they climb. If you thought the stakes got high in the latest Ace Attorney, it’s nothing compared to Cuthbert’s final case.

Speaking of which, perhaps one of my biggest criticisms of Tyrion Cuthbert is everyone is just a little too special. Granted, this happens often in Ace Attorney as well, but it's off the charts here. Everyone turns out to be a secret, extra-special God, Angel, Demon, King, Queen, Legendary Thief, Dragon, Eldritch Being. Did I make any of these up? Or, maybe I made none of them up. Who knows? I’m never telling.

Cupid’s Gambit

My favorite thing about Tyrion Cuthbert, surprisingly enough, is the very thing that almost repelled me – the romance and humor. Despite the somewhat juvenile and cliche nature in some gags, the main characters navigate their feelings in a surprisingly authentic and mature way ( well, as mature as I’d expect from a couple of young adults). I was doubly impressed Diamondhenge didn’t wait until the zero hour to explore these avenues, instead choosing the third case as the catalyst for a few awkward conversations.

The same cannot be said, however, for some of the other very anime romances on display. Those just made me laugh.

(Aria here is doing something in her mind the kids call “bottoming out.” No, I will not elaborate further.)

The comedic writing is sometimes over the top in its anime antics, but when it lands, it lands. Tyrion’s mind-reading powers work on animals, it ends up, and this pays off in spades on multiple fronts. There’s a surprising amount of unique dialogue to see by showing characters random pieces of evidence, especially your “attorney runestone.” Eris in particular makes quite a few meta-jokes about their source material.

(There’s also many references to long running Ace Attorney gags. Real ones will understand.)

With the exception of the first case, my appreciation carried over to the motivations of your multitude of suspects. The tutorial case is a bit simple, both in execution and motivation, but it is the tutorial. As you pick apart the later cases, motivations become tangled yet compelling webs. There are times where uncovering the truth doesn’t feel good -- instead you uncover a picture of desperation and tragedy.

Checkmate

As far as I’m concerned though, Tyrion Cuthbert gets the most important part of any Shu Takumi story right -- the beating heart. When I think back to what makes the Ace Attorney series special, it isn’t presenting the right piece of evidence, or some clever twist in the case. What I remember is a tragic misunderstanding that led to murder in Turnabout Big Top. I remember Edgeworth, distraught when an injured Kay Faraday enters his office covered in bandages. I remember Gina Lestrade, clutching her hat in tears as she comes to tell you the bossman is dead.

The characters make the story, cringe and all. In daring to embrace emotion, embrace the cringe, Tyrion Cuthbert captures this quintessential element of the human condition.

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