These were my exact thoughts on this case.

Since this is the first case I actually played, I ended up screwing things up a lot and getting lots of penalties. This was my third time playing, and it's just as easy as it was the second time. Honestly, I can't believe I was so naive. =P

EDIT: PENALTY HEALTH BARS AND PRESENTING PROFILES ARE AWESOME.

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i agree with the above statement

Getting back on track again, maybe there is hope for me yet.

This is my third time replaying this case, and I got through it without any trouble. I think the first time I did play it I was thrown off by the glaring contradiction with Dustin's method of death. There is no way he could have written that note, but it doesn't really bother me as much as other people. This is Ace Attorney land where you can channel your dead sister and have her help serve as your bosses legal aid and an eight year old girl who has limited reading ability can run the distance of a two hour train ride from her home village that she's never left and make it all the way to the down town court house without being exhausted or getting horribly lost. If they want to use the "name written sand is spelled wrong" argument, fine with me.

I love the opening music for this case. I liked the idea of a nightmare to open the case, and I think this is one of the better case openings in the games (at least for the first cases). Of course, we get to see who are culprit is again, and I don't mind becuase this is the first case of the game.

A lot of people don't like the use of amnesia as the plot device for this tutorial, but I say, "What choice did they have?" It's either use amnesia effectively or come up with some other reason everyone would have also complained about. I personally thought the use of amnesia in this case was a creative way to make the tutorial. This was many Ace Attorney fans first game, so the tutorial, like it or not, was necessary. At least they give you the option to skip objections and presenting evidence.

Maggey: I really felt sorry for her character by the end of the case. The fact that this crime could have been prevented had Dustin not been there or in uniform must have some lasting impression on her. I thought her character design was cute, and when she gets angry she is cute as well. I didn't find her particularly annoying in this case.

Richard: I definitely got some gay or metro-sexual vibes from this character the moment I saw him. He was an annoying little shit that I wanted to punch in the face. I took pleasure in breaking all his arguments down and making him squirm. I liked his character design just fine and his break down was really funny for me too. The Oldbag-esque mini rants were funny too.

Judge: It's nice to see they let the judge be flustered in this case. Poor old man. What Phoenix says about him at the end is true though.

Gumshoe: I absolutely love Gumshoe in this case. He really does look like a love sick puppy that has been kicked around. I purposely pressed all his testimony and it was funny to see him admit his feelings to Maggey and then try to hide them. It was nice to see him in the tutorial case as well.

Payne: Of course, he'd be back and I thought he was funny in this case. He acts like he and Phoenix have a history together, but Phoenix has no clue who is. It's made funnier by the end when Phoenix gets his memory back and still has no clue who Payne is. The story of his life, I guess.

Maya: I had honestly forgotten that Maya was in this case at all until I replayed it the second time. I loved how in this one you pretty much get to figure out things for yourself and they don't mention Mia. I think this is one of the few times where Phoenix actually thinks Maya's advice is helpful.

As for shipping, the game tells you Dustin and Maggey were an item, but this case definitely lends itself to the famous Gumshoe/Maggey pairing.

Overall, the cases is not as fun on subsequent playthroughs, but I do enjoy the Gumshoe/Maggey aspects of this case.

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