To be honest, I felt quite a stir of emotion surrounding this whole character. A man that is sentenced to die, seems to be quite mentally challenged, is deeply obsessed with an unrequited love, and perhaps, a very hated individual due to his supposed crimes.

The scene in which Terry finally, at the climax of the final testimony, takes his own life definitely brought a tear to my eye. How such a misunderstood individual could deign to do such a thing really shocked me to the core. Although, it seemed obvious that death was his only true fate, I still found it very hard to swallow. Without sounding too rash, I would also consider this to be one of the most harrowing scenes I've witnessed in all three of the Phoenix Wright titles I've played so far.

Even the death of Mia Fey didn't have the same impact. If you began the series with the first game, there was relatively little we knew of the character other than the fact she was the mentor to Phoenix Wright. Of course, you experience an entire court case with Mia Fey alongside you beforehand, although, even the death of Terry Fawles was entirely more hard-hitting, despite the fact we knew even less about this man.

Of course, this is only my personal opinion. Perhaps I'm not as bummed out about the death of Mia Fey, if only for the fact that she appears in spirit every five or ten minutes, and seems to move things along in doing so.

Most of the deaths within the series, as Maya Fey points out at some stage in the third game regarding Glen Elg in the third case, or third chapter even, are concerning people that we know relatively little of, and therefore, perhaps we only ever see them as a picture? - What I'm getting at is, rather than witnessing them as a living, breathing human-being we have came to understand in a brief situation, we almost see them as a simple piece of evidence.

Of course, I'm putting that in the most basic terms, at least. I would, personally, say that I feel more sympathy for the person who has been wrongfully accused of the murder of a certain person, simply because we get to interact with them throughout the proceedings. Has anyone else ever related to this opinion, too?

Although Terry Fawles was quite a difficult man to comprehend as far as speech and personality go, I somehow managed to feel a deep sense of sorrow as he took his own life on the stand. At first, I had assumed he had bitten off his own tongue. As that huge sense of disgust grew within me, I almost felt a slight panic. Then, having noticed that he'd ingested this deadly poison from within the locket, and the stream of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, I knew that his death wouldn't come quickly.

This moment, although morbid, was quite perfect. The attitude of Terry Fawles suddenly changed into something quite beautiful. Even stirring the heart of Diego Armando, who had previously mocked this man in a light-hearted sense. Smashing his own coffee mug within his fist and bleeding through the clenching of it? - Quite a bold notion, to be sure!

I think that is the first moment I felt a real liking for the character of Diego Armando/Godot. Prior to that, I really couldn't have cared less about him. Diego Armando was really quite a refreshing character to behold, as compared to the fellow known as Godot, that seems to be as comical and zany as your typical character witness in the series! - Even Franziska vonKarma was more menacing and precise!

Even the tears of Mia Fey seemed to be more concerned with the fact that Terry Fawles had taken his own life, rather than the fact she'd lost her first real court case.

I don't mean to ramble, however, I felt the need to talk about the character. I've never felt a moment, or a case, as dark as this to have shown itself throughout the first three games in the series. Of course, the kidnapping of Maya Fey during the final case of the second game was quite a dark moment, however, it didn't seem to hold a candle to the case of Terry Fawles.

However brief it was, I entirely enjoyed it. It reminded me of how much I had a passion for Miles Edgeworth as a Prosecutor, even as a younger man, and in some ways, it really hit home in terms of deep, scarring emotional feelings.

Think about it. A man who is mentally-challenged, facing a death sentence, dressed in such a bleak and terrifying manner. Even the ball and chain gave Terry Fawles this great sense of a man who had been locked away for so long, all he ever had to anticipate was the release that came through his untimely death.

I know, I haven't focused much on his undying love and faith in Dahlia Hawthorne, but, the way I feel about the character right now, I'd rather not discuss it!

I've still to finish the third game, yet. But I wanted to see if anyone else shared any of the sentiments I did, regarding the character, or the case, of Terry Fawles. Although he was a fictional person, I couldn't help but feel a bitter sadness about his horrific demise. It really got to me, y'know?

Has Phoenix Wright ever been this adult, before? - At this point in time, I severely think not!

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Case 3-4 was really powerful to me. It was knowing what was going to happen- what Fawles had done- and yet still having to watch Mia and Edgeworth finally realising too late. Phoenix wright 3 is definately a lot darker than it's predecessors. While the previous two games did have their fair share of blood, death and suicide, it wasn't until 3-4 and 3-5 that blood was spilt in court and you actually experienced a death first-hand.

What seemed saddest to me was the fact that Fawles fell for Dahlia, then had to suffer for the rest of his life for it. He was an original defendant, for an original case- you didn't get any premise or exposition, you were just thrown head-first into the case, not even sure if it was possible to win. Mia only stated she had been in court once before, not that she had won, whereas Edgeworth's infamous perfect win-record really had me thinking I was supposed to lose this case.

I still love Dahlia, as a character. I hate her, but she's just such a manipulative, truly evil character, unlike any murderer we've had before (Even Engarde's evil was petty and childish compared to her) that I couldn't help but find her fascinating.

I also find it hilarious that in a game that has the mafia, yukuza and assasins, the 'Final Boss' is Phoenix's ex-girlfriend. It almost sounds like the plot of bad slash-fanfiction (not too mention all the clichés you can find throughout the series), except down so masterfully that you can't help but love pretty much every character that comes your way.

I think Terry Fawles is the new Aeris- if you didn't tear up during 3-4, you are obviously heartless.

~Zizzo

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Hear Hear...

I've replayed that case more than the others...something about it strikes a chord with me, and really has an emotionally overwhelming sense of sorrow and despair about it as Terry's last testimony ended - as Diego himself stated, He was cursed by Dahlia and was destined to die still as in love with Dahlia and naive about her true motivations as he had lived...

Simply put...I love this game. More than any other I've played at this point.
The scripting, to me, is pitch perfect and really can strike you dead at a loss in a moment.

The case of Terry Fawles and his subsequant death will be a moment in gaming I shall never forget - it may only be a video game, but it was as intense and chilling as anything that I've seen.

When I completed the game and saw how everything else played out at the very end...I genuinely felt like everything had been made clear yet murky at the same time.
Case 4 hurt to play through the first time...because you don't truly win.
Case 5...was something else entirely - since the true extent of the Evil that you have to uncover and end is quite deeply rooted, and at the source of it...the most callous, evil and manipulative female character I've ever had the 'Pleasure' of coming up against.

No doubt about it - Phoenix Wright 3 was just the best and most emotional gaming experience I've come across.
That's all there really is that I need to say. Absolutely fantastic stuff.

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The animation where he coughs blood into his hand really gave the scene much more dramatic weight. Finding out what it was afterwards was chilling.

I like this site's translation of his Japanese name: "Beautiful tears fall." Shame that the English name doesn't carry that kind of weight (I just figured it was a pun on "taking the fall").

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Actually, regarding this point, I forgot to mention about the whole sprite animation for Terry Fawles. He has one of those disturbing, menacing sort of faces when he's frustrated, but suddenly, he'll change personality and have that whole handsome shounen look about himself. Along with the teary, doe expression within his eyes during his regular standing pose.

Of course, this would also include his death scene, in which his personality changes entirely at the point of impending doom. He suddenly becomes very insightful and wise, to a degree. I think Mia Fey put it best when she said something along the lines of the fact she saw his child-like innocence, and the look in his eyes, and knew he was a good person. I can't remember the exact quote, but it really did touch me, somehow.

I'm really happy that this discussion, so far, has been handled in a very mature fashion. I feel like I wasn't the only one who took something away from this entire case, as I played through it late last night, and haven't been able to stop thinking about the entire experience, since.

It's odd, when something like that can have such an effect on a person. But, not in a negative fashion, of course. Something much more pure and decent.

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This is my favorite case in the series. I think all that needs to be said already has been said...I fell in love with this case from the opening movie, the style in which it was done and the music that was played. Then, meeting all of the old cast in court...and then finding about the incident that basically set into motion Phoenix's first interaction with the Feys...and then finally, seeing The greatest in tragic romance, Romeo and and Juliette gone wrong...OMG I LOVE THIS CASE! This is the case that really made me hate Dahlia like I have never hated a fictional character before. The line she says before his testimony, and the bit at the end about how she was the only one who left court that day with a secret smile...that ...it...my favorite case in the series. The most emotional moment in a video game for me. Definitely kicked where the red fern grows out of the running. I nearly cried.

Ya, case 3-4 is the best case in the series hand down, and possibly one of the finest moment in video-game history. Just about everything about it was already said, thought. The opening movie really gets things moving perfectly, very simple, but the music just caries such a mood... It makes you feel thats its all doomed from the beginning. And then playing trough a case you know you can't win and still manage to be shocked at the end... Honestly, I nearly cried.

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I already knew what was going to happen to Terry before I played the case, but knowing about it, and actually seeing it were completely different. I felt such an intense sadness, and such an intense anger towards Dahlia at that moment.

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Agreed. Though I didnt know about the suicide, I knew it wasn't going to end well.


But...the end...I didnt see that coming, not when he asked for water, not when he started coughing or even when the blood dripped from his mouth.

Easily the most depressing case in the series, although I can't say it's my favourite, it's simply too short to compare to 3-5 and 1-5.

But yes, it is easily the most mature case within the series, and it's briefness is what helped make it that way. The game forced you to get know a character in such a short time, and to then have you witness his untimely death. I don't think it would have had the same impact had it been a full-length case.

I'd say the thing that annoyed me the most was the fact that the trial continued as normal even when it was revealed that Terry had spent 5 years in prison for nothing, the person who he had been accused of murdering, the person he'd been locked away for 5 years because - was standing right there in the courtroom, alive and well.

Of course, had they interrupted the trial at that moment, much of the impact would have been lost. And really, it's just one of those things that bugs hell out of you, but isn't something you'd ever want to change.

I loved this case, maybe because it seemed more realistic than the others.

When I saw Edgeworth I thought to myself: "He has a perfect win record. So Terry's gonna go to jail." Which already made me feel sorry for him.

But near the end I thought I was gonna win! It's like a big rush! But then when Terry collapsed... the rush stopped so you could take in the emotion.

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Terry Fawles = Tearful perhaps?

But still, I agree, that was really upsetting when he took his own life. I didn't know beforehand, and I admit, I did tear up when the poor guy kept coughing into his hand.

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3-4 was too depressing for me to consider it one of my favorite cases. It's sad from the beginning since you know you're not going to win because of Edgeworth's record. I had no idea what was going on, even when the blood started coming out of his mouth. It was just a shocking moment, then they tell you he drank the poison... for no reason than blind love for Dahlia. He shouldn't have done that.

I love this character. He is so, totally, me all over. I even look like him. A lot. Like I could be him. Its just so sad...he's so stubborn, he ignores all of the evidence. Or rather...because of the evidence, he convinces hmself that the girl on the witness stand is not his Dahlia. He is so certain that his little dahlia really did die that day on the bridge, which I can understand. I mean, anyways, if he didnt, he would also have to acknowledge that the last five years of his life were completely wasted...five years which, over the course thereof, he had convinced himself that he really was paying his penitence for murdering his erstewhile love. After that long, it would be just impossible to accept that she really could be right there, right in front of him.

And so, just when Mia proves to him that his Dahlia manipulated him, and he starts to realize, he denies it for once and for all...and dies for the Dahlia that he fell in love with all those years ago.

Sorry...I sound like a total loser in this topic. This case carries so much for me.

The interesting thing is how, when you finish, you look back on 3-1 and realize that the exact same thing happened then, that that same damn necklace is what nearly killed Feenine. I almost wouldve prefered it if 3-1 came after 3-4, just so that I couldve enjoyed taking Dollie down that much more. But stupid godot had to keep his secret identity...hrm. Grr. I'm done now.

Personally, I found Terry irritating, his dialogue was annoying, and his animations irksome. I can completely understand why Dahlia couldn't stand him, especially given her incredibly low tolerance for idiocy.

That said, there is something intrinsically sympathetic in his absolute inability to see through Dahlia's rather pathetic disguise. Still, it's more the sympathy one might feel for the death of a loyal pet than for a particularly tragic human being.

Also, the diabolical level of skill in evil people attribute to Dahla seems a bit off. I mean, she fooled a meantally challenged man, two dimwitted judges, and the world's most pathetic failure at logical deduction, Winston Payne. Phoenix doesn't really count, since his only error in judgment was thinking that the woman who loved him was Dahlia Hawthorne. Everyone else (minus Gumshoe) suspects Dahlia immediately upon her entrance. I'm sorry, but Matt Engarde has more talent for deception in his left pinky toe than Dahlia has in her whole body. Dahlia does nasty things, but she's just not very good at it. *prepares for imminent stoning*

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*holds off stones* Well, you made a couple of very good points there. Terry is a rather...unintelligent, to some people irritating person with an annoying form of speech. I just find that because of that, his situation is all the more sad. I think that manipulating someone who is like him that is worse then manipulating someone, such as, oh, say, Adrian Andrews. And yes, even though she is co-dependant, she is still smart enough to

Ill agree that Dahlia has a pretty weak disguise, (as Mia states in 3-5) but she still manages to turn whoever falls for her to her advantage. I think that she is still very evil for doing what she did to many of these people.

Poor guy...I feel for him. Although he is rather unintellegent, he got twisted into Dahlia's evil world and dies because of it *sob*

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I don't think Dahlia had a tutor, Fawles just kind of decided to follow her around.
I also thank its a bit of a disservice to the character to call Dahlia "Phoenix's ex-girlfriend", since except for her incredible hatred of him because of Iris's betrayal, he's not that important to her story. If anything "Pearl's half-sister", or "Mia's cousin" gets more of the whole "Fey/Hawthorne" story across.

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Last edited by Ramaziel on Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

Well, they do say that he was her tutor...

fix'd

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*is enormously ashamed*


I looked at his CR profile, and it wasn't there, but I'm probably wrong. That's some serious neglect on Mr. Hawthorne's part though, hiring a mentally challenged guy as a tutor. /end seriousness It's so asinine he should receive some kind of award. Ah well, yet another reason for Dahlia to want to get rid of him other than "she is teh Ebil!shift+one" I mean, how could she compete in the future's ultra competitive college application process with that kind of low quality instruction? Seems like a perfectly reasonable cause for framing him to me.

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Did they say if he was mentally challenged before the original incident? I always assumed that he was naive before, but didn't really lose his mind until he went to prison.

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Definitely hit the spot when I first saw witnessed it myself. Probably the most touching, moving, and depressing scene in the game (or series, for that matter). Reminiscence - Viewing the Hazy Bridge and Its Scenery was executed perfectly, it made the mood that much more dramatic. I can see how traumatic this was to both Mia and Edgeworth. Worst of all, it was their first case too.

Terry wasn't such a bad guy. To me, he was just gravely misunderstood and betrayed by Dahlia and all he wanted was to find out why.

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I dont think that he is mentally retarded...it's just like hes lost the will to live. He dosent care enough to follow societies rules. He's just sorta...there. Depressions probably destroyed him much as well.

I'm tempted to write an essay on this guy, but I dont think it'd be any good. Plus it would all be stuff that Ive already said in this topic.

He dies for the woman he fell in love with, not the person she is. Sorrow can't come harder than this.

The most depressing and the most adult case in the series, definitely. You know you're losing this from the start. It was a little like discovering what happens to Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars ... and even still, it catches you, you have to fight, it pulls you deep and leaves you empty.

Man.

I dont get how Dahlia survived this seemingly "raging" river, which takes the lives of almost everyone who falls in. Yet, Nick and Dahlia both fall in, and they're fine, more or less.

I knew he was going to do it when he asked for the water, and it was like one of those horror movie moments where you're like "Don't do it!' Except the monster that Terry was walking into wasn't some stupid scary pin man or dark shadow. It was himself.

Terry was the driving force that made everyone DESPISE Dahlia so much. I mean, the first case was sad, but Nick was being such an idiot about her that you almost feel like he had it coming. It was sad that Nick's heart was broken, but obviously he got over it and the game moved on.
But when Terry died...Dahlia's terrible power was really brought to light. Anyone can murder people, but she drove a man to suicide. This elevates her up past most of the typical Phoenix Wright bad guys, save for maybe a few. The only baddie that really equaled her in that sense was Matt Engarde since he drove Celeste to her death.

But Celeste didn't die right on her screens. We saw the screenshot a few times, and Adrian and Edgeworth and assorted others talked about it, but we knew nothing about her. Terry was a character that we were all starting to pity already since we were defending him. We didn't just hear about how much he loved Dahlia - he actually said it. And unlike Nick, he wasn't strong enough to keep his life which shows that Dahlia was more to him than a silly romance. He thought he was finally justifying his crime when his crime didn't even exist. Shows just how much he had to live for.

Terry is easily the most tragic character in the game. Anyone who's life revolved around Dahlia Hawthorne is a broken character indeed.

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I didn't spoiler myself on this case before I played it and it really did have quite a powerful affect on me for all the reasons so eloquently explained already upthread. How could one not feel for Fawles, Edgeworth, Mia and Armando?

I had to put the game away for a bit before I felt up to playing 3:5 as it was such a downer. It's even found its way into the fic I am currently writing because it's burned into my brain a bit now I think.

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Baki. Original post. Essays section. NOW.

Even though I accidentally spoiled myself, actually seeing Terry's suicide made me feel emotional.

It really makes you itch for the moment you finally get to take Dahlia down.

His death definitely hit a spot, mainly because I didn't see it coming at all. I mean, the setup before the case definitely did have me thinking Mia wasn't gonna win, but the way it ended just totally shocked me. I mean, I was also surprised by Diego's first appearance, but then it got completely overshadowed by Fawles' suicide.

It also established Dahlia as my favorite PW villain in the series, because even though she was pretty bad at faking a princess and only manipulated idiots, she made a hell of a mess that not even Matt Engarde could make. Her little background theme had me in chills even by the end of the first case.

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I hadn't had any spoilers for this case aside from that it was the "young Mia vs. fabulously outfitted young Miles" case.

Now that I've finished it, it kind of feels like a series of hard kicks to the gut. Terry Fawles is such a heart wrenching character. To see someone so broken, so hopelessly devoted to a person who has betrayed them in such an extreme manner... it's sad. I think I felt so much for him because I felt similarly to Mia, I was affected the child-like innocence about the guy... only made even stronger by the fact that he pretty much forces himself to remain ignorant when the outcome is too harsh to face. Instead of facing it, he chooses to hide in ignorance where it's happier, but extremely sad at the same time. Rather than accept Dahlia tricked him and used him like he was nothing, he chose to end it all because of the promise he made with "his" Dahlia. It only hits even harder when he commits suicide in the end. The other character's reactions, particularly Mia's tears and Armando's smashing of the mug with his bare hands... they really helped add more emotion to an already emotional case.

It was a beautiful case, to say the least. Definitely my favorite. No other moment in a Phoenix Wright game has made me cry like this. Even though Terry Fawles has such a short screen time and I don't even think I particularly like him, no other character in the series has been able to move me in such a way, and I love and am very attached to many of the other characters. Still... yeah.

I was going to make a topic on this, but now Im glad I checked first. Im my opinion this was one of the best but also one of the most depressing cases in the series. I started the cases and though, OMG this guy is soooo cool!!! And I was completely caught off guard to his death... I guess his death meant more to me because I found him to be a great character from the start, unlike the other characters who die after you meet them (Yes I liked him more then mia) In the end I just wish there was I way I could save him...

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Oh man, what a case. I went in knowing two things:
1) Edgeworth never lost before his fall to Nicky-boy in GS1.
2) Terry Fawles ended up dead.
I 'knew' the second because of the intro to the case where you see Phoenix reviewing the case file and you get a flash of "Terry Fawles. Sentence: Death." I'd assumed this wasn't a previous sentence, but was the sentence carried out via the Edgey vs. Mia trial. When it was shown that he'd gotten that sentence before, I thought that it was just reinstated. I mean, you can't get much worse than the death penalty, so they just threw him in jail on the same charge.
I just think the entire thing was masterfully done. Most cases one gets an inkling of what's going on, with a few obvious exceptions (thank you, 3-5) and can piece it together beforehand. But with the two aforementioned truths, I thought you played this case through as Mia and Edgeworth falsified evidence or something, causing Fawles to die. That would explain the reason Mia ended up heartbroken... 'traumatized', to use her words, and would also cover Fawles' death, while preserving Edgey’s record. The ending had me thrown, and nearing tears. My thought process was something along the lines of...
Oh, great. Nice to see you again, “Melissa”. Well, this doesn’t make sense. This guy dies, right? But Dahlia’s here, and using an alias, no less, so it’s obviously her. Must be Edgeworth backing her up. Maybe her testimony? Could they really produce something so conclusive to condemn a man to death despite it obviously being falsi—
W-what? What’s he doi…?! H-hey, wait, stop it! Stop!
…

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i didn't expect a case this short to stir up so many emotions. the strangest part was that you barely got to know the characters, and you didin't do any investigating.

still, i felt like crying when he died...

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I have no effing clue about Dahlia (except that she didn't really "fall" in, so maybe she jumped in at just the right angle?), but concerning Nick's survival

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