Kara Dennison
November 25, 2020 
The amazing Ace Attorney game series is back on our minds right about now. Who would have thought that a game about being a defense attorney could be so addictive? (The answer? Us. In shock. Five minutes into the first case of the first game.) While there’s a lot to love in these games, the colorful cast of characters is a big sell. With a constantly rotating group of witnesses, suspects, and criminals, it’s never boring in court.
Today, we’re taking a look back at some of the more colorful witnesses to take the stand in the original game trilogy. Who are some of your favorites?
Polly
The first rule of Ace Attorney is that there are no rules. Anything goes in this courtroom, from spirit summoning to updating the autopsy report in the middle of a case, Edgeworth. That being said, if you can justify it, you can question anyone or anything. Yeah, anything.
In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, our legal eagle straight up brings a parrot to the stand. In fairness, it makes sense in context. Kind of. Polly, the parrot in question, learned some very important information and will say it on command. If you can remember what that command is, you’ll crack a 10-year-old case right open. (Speaking of which, the Ace Attorney x Professor Layton crossover features a parrot witness named Cracker… a nod to this classic in-game event.)
Benjamin Woodman and Trilo Quist
Like something out of a Twilight Zone episode, Ben and Trilo are here to get to the bottom of a big top mystery. In Ace Attorney: Justice for All, Nick and Maya visit the Berry Big Circus to find out who murdered its ringmaster. Everyone from the acrobat to the clown has something to say about what went down. But in Ben’s case, it’s a little hard to speak without an assist.
That’s why you’ll hear Trilo go off on one pretty regularly, usually at Phoenix’s expense. Ben stands idly by… though we all know these are his thoughts popping out of the marionette. This isn’t even touching on the issue of Ben’s in-game crush being kind of young… but we’ll just let that lie.
Phoenix Wright, but young and dumb
Nick seems to find himself on the receiving end of a lot of legal nonsense. More than once, he’s on the stand rather than fighting for justice. And in Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, we get to see the very first time that happened.
As a young art student, Nick gets himself accused of murder by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the center of the case is Dahlia Hawthore, his girlfriend whom he’d lay down his entire life for — probably literally. Considering a particular stunt he pulls when attempting to dispose of incriminating evidence, it’s a wonder this man is still alive. But it’s not all heartbreak. This is when he meets Mia Fey, and decides to return to his childhood dream of defending those who can’t defend themselves.
Any other Ace Attorney witnesses that deserve to be on this list… besides basically all of them? Who’s your favorite from the original trilogy?
