The Animation of Phoenix Wright

A professional animator explains what makes the extremely limited animation in the Ace Attorney series so effective.
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Written and produced by Daniel Floyd
Special thanks to:
-Carrie Floyd
-Eric Luhta
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Follow me on Twitter (@DanFloydPlus): / danfloydplus
To watch Dan play more games and geek out about animation, check out our other channel, PlayFrame! bit.ly/2lmGte8
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♪ "Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney ~ Objection ~" by Dj CUTMAN
• Pheonix Wright Ace Att...
♪ ...and selections from the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney official soundtrack.
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Want to contribute translated subtitles to this video? You can do so here!
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#AceAttorney #PhoenixWright #animation #NewFramePlus

[@RetepAdam]

Just look at the range on Edgeworth’s courtroom posing: You’ve got smug, smug, smug, smug, smug, smug and exasperated.

[@gamechep]

You forgot to add to the list 'May-I-present-the-updated-autopsy-report-smug'

[@sabrinaatiq5140]

Haha this made me laugh smanks youse

[@Igneeka]

...Yeah.

[@kittieConcerto_999]

smug, smug, smug, smug, and NGGOOOOOOHH

[@brainimpediment]

its. its perfec.t

[@talos111]

“Expressions are the biggest player feedback” counterargument: when the music stops when giving evidence.

[@SalamanderNuva]

Missed your chance to say OBJECTION!

[@amateurprogrammer25]

and then at the end of trial 1-2 when the guy confesses they remove the dialog bipbipbip as well and there is no sound _at all_ that sh*t _stuck_

[@migueeeelet]

@@amateurprogrammer25 Trial 1-2 of which game?

[@amateurprogrammer25]

@@migueeeelet game 1 trial 2

[@lily91109]

Fuck that was effective

[@smoorhouse728]

they literally make a RADIO look angry and nervous thats impressive

[@yourknightmanny]

Yeah...... they surely KILLED IT with that one.......

[@GhaniKeSawah]

@@yourknightmanny yeah not even KIDding they just sNAPped the line of making things expressive

[@pluviocore]

CANT beLIVE that they took it that FAR, THERe were some translation mistakes tho

[@aquawarrior]

I can’t beLIEve it LOOKed so OUTstanding

[@Pikminthusiast]

SHockingly wELL, Yeah! the DEvelopers KILLEd those expRessions!

[@joshrapson1502]

The thing that I adore about this game's visual design is that you can get a clear idea of what a character's voice would sound like *just by looking at them.*

[@notster7114]

True for everyone except phoenix, can't imagine his voice as clearly as every other character but that's probably because he's the protagonist so you use your own voice reading his lines

[@errordude889]

so far ive based all of the defense and the prosecution on there objection noises

[@NachoCheeseDorito-Kun]

That and the use of silent dialgue as a tool is one of the reasons I don't think these games should ever get an official dub. -Besides it's super fun to voice the characters with drunk family and friends- I do love how all the OBJECTIONS are voiced. It adds a lot more impact. Sometimes you can even hear Edgworth slip into his german accent in his few lines XD

[@malikoniousjoe]

He looks like what Kyle Hebert’s adult Gohan sounds like.

[@ammarokla7217]

Especially Franziska. Her sound is more fitting than even the sound I had in my mind.

[@theheavenlyfb4071]

I only just realised that Sahwits head doesn't move at all when he's doing his little wiggle movement, and it's bloody creepy as hell.

[@MogFlintlock]

I don't think it's as noticeable in the original version, but yeah, it's really obvious and unsettling in the remake.

[@keiyaaaa]

now im thinking what if that guy jumpscares me but then again ive played the games a lot of times so-

[@theheavenlyfb4071]

@Malaska :D Well that was a bit rude.

[@thelogicdefier4630]

Cmon man

[@x-rax716]

@denisucuuu i asked

[@NijiRanger]

Best animation moment in Ace Attorney: Phoenix throwing the phone to Edgeworth

[@kitkatboard]

This bit always cracks me up.

[@YaYEET3375]

Hahahahahaha true

[@soapbros3826]

idek if edgeworth actually caught it but like

[@kitkatboard]

@@soapbros3826 He did so he could shut it

[@christiananimepunk7058]

that shit was awesome the first time i saw it

[@GumshoeClassic]

I also love the jugdes "thinking/suprised-expression". I can't help but constantly imagine him going "hhrrrmmmmm" in a slightly high-pitched tone.

[@Mr.Sparks.173]

Little known fact, in the judge's younger years he once was an adventurer wearing onion shaped armor.

[@rezellehime]

I can only hear the judge talk in the way the Jay/Kubz Scouts made him sound.

[@Missmay123p]

Hoshizuku I can only hear how NicoB voiced him

[@Sacterheld]

@@Mr.Sparks.173 Adventuring Lordran? xD

[@evecampbell3069]

@@Missmay123p I'm finally watching his Investigation 2 Let's Play!

[@timothymclean]

Sure, you can make this witness look great with fifteen drawings, but can you make it look great using just twelve of them? How about ten? Awesome. We can only afford seven, so good luck!

[@JoCat]

I understood that reference

[@garr_inc]

@@JoCat Can you explain it for the rest of us scrubs?

[@Athalwolf13]

@@garr_inc I believe Dan used something like this a few months ago, i believe it was the video about Guitly Gear Xrd's animation ,regarding sprite animation?

[@william_sun]

@@garr_inc Right here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYvWk6Kvm9hggpY

[@tb_eest]

@@Athalwolf13 In that video it starts at 7:56 specifically

[@StriderHoang]

I’m sorry this isn’t a more constructive comment but I’ve never heard Luke Atmey’s name out loud and feel like an idiot

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Even when he says, "Look at me, Luke Atmey" like 10 times in his case?

[@sorakun555]

Sometimes the puns just fly right over your head. As chock-full of them as this series is you just can't always catch them all

[@alexl4133]

I also completely missed this until I saw your comment 😭

[@timothymclean]

On an unrelated aside, please tell me that someone says "Don't, Atmey." to Luke at least once. (Wait, how old is the game he's from?)

[@LilChuunosuke]

I catch a new one every time I replay it tbh.

[@ler74]

Intersesting note: the GBA couldn't handle animating the entire sprite all at the same time, so you'll notice that, unless the entire sprite changes slowly for animation timing reasons (working within limitations) only part of the screen is ever changing with the screen enveloping sprites. Famously the DS original games did not have this limitation, and used more detailed, screen wide animations, more samples for thier music, and in one of them multiple charcters on screen at once!

[@nastasiacr3676]

Oh, you reminded me. I played a lot of the games on an emulator with a friend, and when there was a court scene (the one where people are heard talking and the camera pans around?), the FPS would drop considerably. It went into slow motion and the music was also slow and weird for a few seconds haha. The emulator couldn't handle it because it was a far away shot and had too many stuff.

[@davidguthary8147]

There is one point in the GBA games where two characters are shown at once (T&T case 5, in an aside regarding Morgan and Pearl), but yes, they really had to work with what they had. The first game had so much crammed into its cartridge that they had to cut some of Grossberg's animations, hence why he only has two poses.

[@bananamustard1151]

@@nastasiacr3676 that isn't because of the animation, because the people are not big enough. it sounds like the emulator is slow at loading vram, because it's designed for platformer games and such with repeating textures, not replacing the whole vram cache at once.

[@BHox01]

I've heard that the original GBA T&T was so packed with data they had to cut most of Gumshoe and Grossberg's portraits and animations just to make everything fit. I think Grossberg only has like 2 sideways poses total or something. Not 100% sure if that's true or if they just decided they didnt really need them, though.

[@MrMarinus18]

That is doubly so since the sprites are so big. That's why there are almost never multiple sprites on screen.

[@acecat2798]

Ace Attorney does so much with so little. I was struck playing through how many nods there are to Edgeworth and Franziska being Manfred von Karma's students, namely the arm grab and Franziska's taunting finger waggle. But playing Turnabout Beginnings (3-4) and seeing Edgeworth as a fresh-faced prosecutor right out of von Karma's training, I noticed that they added a pose for young Edgeworth- Manfred's finger waggle+wink that is almost a re-skin of Manfred's tic. It actually made me tear up because it said without words that this was the only kind of prosecutor Edgeworth knew how to be, that he was defaulting to his mentor's moves for lack of his own identity (it doesn't help that he's dressed like a palette-swapped von Karma at that point). And the fact that he's dropped that tic in the present day (even by the time you meet in AA1) is a telling piece of character growth, all without dialogue. Franziska, meanwhile, still uses the waggle but it's definitely her own pose, no winking and leaning forward instead of standing- she's following in her father's footsteps but there's subtle nods to her steps towards leaving his legacy behind. Mia and Phoenix's dual finger point in 3-5 is a more explicit (but healthier) version of this, but they basically use the same tics for all their movements, like the two-handed table slap.

[@cupofspiders5830]

I also thought it was interesting that Phoenix and Mia have practically the same poses

[@VinVonVoom]

Franziska's sweating and Young Edgeworth's crossed arm poses are the same as their father's too (only without the gripping for the latter). Honestly, the fact that they can pull of so much visual story-telling in a visual novel is insane.

[@MrMarinus18]

BUt also it is the sort of corner cutting players don't mind and that more studios should be doing. Many times when people complain a studio is "being lazy" what they actually mean is that they are misallocating their resources. Blowing it on things that don't matter in the end.

[@brycecartwright2403]

I geeked out seeing Edgeworth in 3-4, it was such a wonderful attention to detail regarding his animations

[@shadowstar8619]

There are other instances of characters mimicking each other all over the franchise. Like Teen!Pearl using Maya's hand clasp, Kay imitating Miles's thinking sprite, Simon and his sister Aura both smacking things when they laugh, Ray lowering his hat and bowing the same way Gregory did, and even Miles himself mirroring his father's pointing pose.

[@rasmusdegn9690]

The virgin L.A Noire: overly expensive and ineffective facial rigging. The Chad Ace Attorney: Cost-Efficient, limited and Effective animation.

[@fennefoxx]

Simple is best :)

[@connormacleod4922]

I feel it's unfair to compare the 2 games. They have different settings and gameplay.

[@fennefoxx]

@@connormacleod4922 yeah it is a little unfair but we can still applaud the team working on ace attorney for working with what they had :)

[@austinreed7343]

The Thad Danganronpa: Make things apparent using color and camera angles alone.

[@nvrndingsmmr]

Worst comparison of all time.

[@Vesperitis]

I know it's a tiny detail, but I love how even the little text noises are also differentiated between characters, especially male and female characters. Even without voice acting, they manage to convey a lot of diversity and emotions by adjusting the pitch and text speed.

[@Neogears1312]

A detail I love is when they subvert this. Wendy has the male tones so you imagine her with a heavy naggy voice.

[@kekow176]

Another example I like is detective badd. He usually speaks slowly and it successfully conveys his deep voice

[@random_d00d]

Dang, I never really properly noticed that! That's seriously impressive attention to detail!

[@morelikegayattorney7099]

I love how the text noises pause a little on punctuations, and they speed up or slow down depending on how a character is feeling

[@ariamelisma]

@@Neogears1312 Not to mention how when Wendy starts running her mouth, the text speeds all the way up and skips itself so that you don't even GET to fully catch everything she's saying, making you feel exactly the way Phoenix probably feels in that moment when he's being verbal diarrhea'd on. You feel like "Good God, woman-- will you slow- HOLY CRAP--?!"

[@Number9Robotic]

I've never played an Ace Attorney game before, and I laughed really hard at how correct you were in your assessment of Redd White at 3:05 It really is the most punchable image I've ever seen in a game

[@Kochen51]

Well it's funny cause he punches you

[@gamingmaster6377]

@@Kochen51 You just spoiled this man the biggest event in the Ace Attorney plot

[@Kochen51]

@@gamingmaster6377 what do you mean? It's literally in the second case of the first game XD. Not even 4 hours in probably

[@mohammedrazeenzaeencamil9344]

@@gamingmaster6377 bruh that's like a tiny detail

[@gamingmaster6377]

@@mohammedrazeenzaeencamil9344 That was a joke you 4heads

[@tanukigalpa]

God I love Dahlia's meltdown. How the butterflies catch fire and disintegrate. It's so satisfying to watch a smug character lose control, especially when the majority of the case you are just looking at the same few smug animations.

[@ByondAShadow]

I personally love the energy conveyed by the letter by letter appearance of the text. The way they vary the speed is another small touch that adds a lot to the characters.

[@DEMENTO01]

IKR, and they also change the sound's pitch accordingly (tho not in all games, i know the remastered trilogy does this, and another one but i don't remember)

[@MorphRed]

@@DEMENTO01 Lower for male and higher for female, it's the case for every games

[@nagi9990]

YES

[@nagi9990]

@@MorphRed yeah true

[@ByondAShadow]

@@nagi9990 Imagine my surprise when THE Ema Skye replies to my comment! I'm a huge fan! Can I get an autograph? :)

[@MysticMindAnalysis]

I remember discovering Phoenix Wright through a short video which used audio from a comedy sketch called "boot to the head", and it shows the versatility of these poses. You can put almost any audio behind it, and the poses still work to accentuate the comedy!

[@Brunosky_Inc]

Oh yeah! A good few years ago "Phoenix Wrong" compilations with all these characters animated on top of many different voice clips were fairly popular.

[@octochan]

Oh man, that takes me back - to when Phoenix Wright was a source of memes

[@Little1Cave]

I’ve seen videos like that but with DanganRonpa sprites. DR has great poses and character designs as well. ❤️

[@elon4417]

Boot to the head is what brought me to the franchise too!

[@MissRora]

There's one called "Untitled Attorney Video" by iKiwed that has the characters in the Untitled Goose Game style, complete with the lack of textboxes. Based on the poses alone, you can still tell EXACTLY what's going on.

[@darkdevo4597]

Can we talk about how in “Farewell, My Turnabout” there’s a frame of animation that you only see once up until that point. That point. It proves the despair Phoenix had thinking that he had let Maya die. It’s such an impactful moment.

[@cattudoggu]

If this is the one where Phoenix leans on the desk with his hands on his head, a pose where you cant see his face but just screams utter defeat and desperation, you are so right

[@flyforce16]

The “miracle” never happen.

[@MrMarinus18]

I think a better example is the finale of Justice for all when von Karma starts crying. It's an animation you only see once in the entire game. But it is worth it cause it's such a strong moment.

[@dragoniraflameblade]

The "stages" of reactions remind me of HP stages on enemies. You have full health, middle -low, low, status effect, and dead (usually only full, low, and dead). It's a neat way to give feedback to the player. Kinda wish visual novels employed this sort of feedback with characters. Few really communicate how the character feels.

[@garr_inc]

Also, when you DO go against someone who is exceptionally calm and collected (like the culprit of the Turnabout Big Top, case 2-3), while the prosecution and the judge are both in shock, you cannot help but feel impressed and amazed by the stoic.

[@Niklink]

Yes! Ace Attorney always reminded me of JRPG battles. The screen flashes, shakes, and sound effects when you press a successful objection, accompanied by a shocked reaction from your opponent, is conceptually identical to how it feels when you land a strike on an enemy! And I think it's part of what makes the cases so satisfying to progress through - they're hooking up to your base videogame instincts to provide cross-genre positive feedback.

[@nockradqkdak7992]

Same

[@mslightbulb]

Oh that makes sense. It’s like when boss enemies become more dangerous as you decrease their health, and kind of evolve out of desperation.

[@catiseith]

"A court case won by KO! That's some good lawyering we just did!" I always wondered why Phoenix Wright was in a fighting game. Now it makes sense!

[@purplecosmonaut]

I wish it touched upon the animation in Apollo Justice too. The animation got quite a larger budget in it and you can definitely see the characters' animation is more fluid and flows better, without losing the original's goal of trying to keep it as simple as possible. It was the last 2D animated game in the series and deserved an honorable mention too.

[@BBrostik]

*coughcoughInvestigations1&2coughcough*

[@brysonlambes7175]

I love klavier's animations, esp the air guitar and the wall punch.

[@snek7030]

the 3rd breakdown of AJ is definitely one worth mentioning lol

[@MrMarinus18]

Though Ace attorney really did a great job in the transition to 3D. As Pokémon shows that is no easy transition to make.

[@Jezzared]

As someone who works very hard on character work in both writing and acting, there's a reason I love Ace Attorney so dearly, and it's how they manage to make such strong characters. Not just in their over-the-top exaggerations, but the smaller touches like the Von Karma arm clench. It's the tiniest thing that I'm not sure people even notice, but it ties their characters together in such a satisfying way, and I'm so glad you've drawn attention to the brilliant character work in these games both in writing and animation. The music is just the final piece of the puzzle for that great sense of "lawyering", picking up the pace when you are pressing into someone's testimony and calming down when there is less to scrutinize. Each character is their own puzzle, and the reward is seeing a murderer crumble as you expose their deceit to the world. And yet they manage this with such simple things like posing and expressions. Ace Attorney is a brilliantly crafted series, and I thank you for helping to explain the charm of it to the world.

[@insertsomethinghereplease7200]

The music really sets the feeling, you get nervous when you hear some tracks and definitely know something is about to happen. It's incredible how much of a good job they did with the soundtrack and how different it is without the music.

[@yehuda8589]

I also love that typewriter sound that all the characters make when they speak, and how depending on a characters given mood the frequency of the sound changes with it.

[@dianaavila3950]

like when godot is about to make an analogy about coffee that connects to the case and his theme song starts playing. ART.

[@henrytownshed5304]

I think van Karma was my favorite prosecutor out of the trilogy

[@borntoloveher2012]

I personally love Edgeworth and him tapping his finger on his arm while he has his arms crossed. So subtle, and yet it's very telling of his personality And yes, the music is also extremely good! For character themes, you could feel their personalities through the music. And they never miss with their courtroom music (Objections for the protagonists, Pursuit themes, and the Cross-Examination themes)!

[@JaneXemylixa]

I've been looking at the sprites for Klavier and Kristoph Gavin (characters from AA4) more closely, and it blew me away all over again how effectively they are contrasted, both in their designs and animations. Klavier is open and over-the-top, while Kristoph is closed off and subtle. We only see four face expressions on Klavier (normal, smiling, frowning, nervous) and the rest is body language - expressive but calculated, fitting for a stage performer. Kristoph stays in basically the same unassailable pose and tilts his head every now and then, but his face changes from smug, through neutral, to several different levels of nervous - all long before he even reaches his breakdown phase. It's amazing to look at.

[@lily91109]

And the sprites are so beautiful in that game. I couldn't take case 4 seriously because Phoenix was trapped in blocky hell, and Klavier was as smooth as butter.

[@llshinda9508]

When the Visual Novel is better animated than the actual Anime.

[@rightyloosey8554]

Idk man, maybe they had the same budget to work with, and had to actually animate the characters. This time they didn't even need programmers or writers, so all the focus was animation and voice work.

[@EXT4NT]

The anime might not be perfect but I like both equally

[@scripterhastogotosleepb7139]

They improved with the animation over time. It's actually not that bad

[@Wet-Milk]

Most visual novels are better than their anime adaptations tho, the anime never have enough time to cover all yhe important bits in a timely manner

[@insertsomethinghereplease7200]

@@scripterhastogotosleepb7139 there is a slight difference in both seasons, but you can see a giant different if you compare the anime to the 3DS games' cutscenes, PLvsPW had a really great job with the animation, for example.

[@funa8843]

8:13 its not even two extra drawings! its one extra mirrored drawing with the hands shifted each frame. incredible!

[@kobunnight]

There's an ever so slight, almost unnecessary shading difference to the mirrored body pose, but other than it's a perfect mirror image! The hands being a separate image makes this really difficult to notice!

[@harrylane4]

@@kobunnight id assume that was made during the HD Remaster. Chances are on the original GBA/NDS release, it was the same sprite

[@DEMENTO01]

This practice was very common to save resources, even to as recent as the DS era. IS just amazing how they can do so much with so little

[@JadenGoter]

One small thing that also has an amazing effect are the games' variable text speeds. The text's speed will dynamically slow down and speed up to correspond with speech patterns, emotion, and general pacing. It adds so much character that actual voice acting can't even convey sometimes.

[@dbclass4075]

Sometimes, the text can skip itself to emphasize being cut off, or when the old lady is running her mouth again.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

"The line between limited animation and bad animation can be extremely thin." (Shows footage from Zero Time Dilemma) Ohh boy, I cannot agree hard enough. Speaking of which, will you do an animation breakdown of both Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma, and show why VLR's animation is more appealing to look at, despite employing more limited assets and techniques?

[@C0C0L0QUIN]

First two Zero Escape games where your regular, functional visual novel. They have no special appeal as their designs where just "not bad", but where functional enough to allow a good story and interesting puzzles to draw you in. ZTD was just... painful to watch. Rather than simply allow the confusing and amazing story to get center stage, they would constantly distract you and take you out of the experience with their awful look and hilariously bad "cut-scenes". Real shame as Zero Escape is still a very strong franchise with much less flair, but much better plot than Danganronpa.

[@JakeAndKyra]

It's simple really. VLR is doing things like Ace Attorney. ZTD is trying to be a full motion movie. And it doesn't work. I still love ZTD, but man do you really have to look past the animation. It can be hard to look at.

[@timothymclean]

Working around limitations artistically will always be more appealing than overcoming them with no idea what to do with your freedom. It's a matter of artistic vision and/or direction.

[@icarue993]

999 >> the other 2

[@jon550]

I'm just grateful we even got ZTD. Considering it rose from the ashes, I can forgive its animation.

[@duplollamaree1250]

I was kind of hoping you would mention the "phoenix throws phone" animation because truly that was pure gold. incredible. peak animation. as good as it gets

[@davidguthary8147]

Fun fact: that animation is just the "present evidence" animation from the original GBA release (removed in all other instances in re-releases). Yet another example of excellent resource management.

[@TransSoulAlesha]

this is good. but it also ended up reminding me that this series breaks the 180-degree rule and that hurts me a lot.

[@firekirby123]

Oh yeah, especially on the court zoom-outs. The character position is so jarring, and it makes sense with a bit of thought, but it feels SO wrong.

[@adiazrue5776]

Excuse me, can you explain what the 180degree rule is?

[@raymondthrone7197]

@@adiazrue5776 It's a guideline for film. Basically, the idea is that when a camera cuts to a different view of the same scene, it shouldn't flip the scene 180 degrees-- or in other words, it shouldn't show the same characters or objects or whatever with their left/right relationship flipped. It's a rule because shifting the camera like that tends to make it disorienting for the viewer and messes with their perception of the environment, which is usually not something you want to do.

[@hansgretl1787]

@@raymondthrone7197 Which is why they changed the position of your assistant in the 3DS games to not confuse the player.

[@Mr.Sparks.173]

@@raymondthrone7197 So if I'm understanding the rule right, for the Ace Attorney games (at least the one I know) the zoomed out courtroom scenes should be from behind the judge - so Phoenix is on the left and the prosecution is on the right, matching the way they're presented in the zoomed in shots. I feel like the ace attorney games can bend / break that rule a bit because it never needs you to keep track where the characters are in relation to anything. I mean the game could still work even if you took out all the visuals, though it may need a few tweaks (especially in the investigation segments). Also even if you had a hard time getting orientated, the game wont penalize you for it, itll just sit on the dialog box till you're ready.

[@acepedro12]

2:48 The "smug" pose, also known as the "clown" pose.

[@hansgretl1787]

Also known as the entire circus pose.

[@baldkiwi444]

"you are not a clown, you are the entire circus"

[@Seedonator]

berry big

[@killerbug05]

,7Uzllshsoa yes?

[@Fralexion]

The funny thing is he never even said that line. Someone on Twitter said it and we all just immediately agreed this was something Edgeworth would _absolutely_ say.

[@heavenswheel502]

11:29 "And these emotional outbursts also weirdly function as a kind of celebration." I recently started playing the Ace Attorney games on an emulator, and I cannot describe the sheer satisfaction I felt upon seeing Damon Gant get nervous/upset in court for the first time. I sat there on that screen for a minute, savoring the bastard's discomfort after so much friendly-old-man bullshit, took a screenshot, and finally moved on.

[@JacksonBockus]

This is a record insta-click for me. Love the animation in these games. So expressive, within its limits.

[@sonicfind]

11:10 I would like to note that he was not shaking a fist here. Instead, Frank was holding onto his collar like he'll need to pull it to give himself some air. Shows off real anxiousness.

[@jaxsterminator8634]

Wait, he wasn’t shaking his fist?

[@-seth]

I think it’s genius how the parts that are more animated only show up when there’s little to no text to read. In a game where you have to pay attention to everything someone says, I’m not going to retain anything about the visuals other than the key frames anyway. You remember the poses because that’s all there is while you’re reading. It doesn’t distract you. But the second that text is off screen, the second your attention returns to the characters, they’re doing something that exemplifies their personalities. I think that’s why OBJECTION and HOLD IT are so satisfying, because rather than asking for your focus like the rest of the game, all those moments ask of the player is to watch and enjoy.

[@Focie]

I've never considered how the animation sells the progress you as a player achieve... But it's such an effective way of conveying it. I never thought about it, but it has always WORKED behind the scenes. Your animation content is absolutely stunning, man! Good job!

[@bhavinpatel9630]

Can I just say, that analysis of Frank's animations REALLY did a good job at highlighting just how effective it all was. Seriously, you should do stuff like that more often, dude! Awesome video as always!

[@gamingmaster6377]

Yeah! He should explain animation in videogames! I bet he would do great!

[@JochemKuijpers]

I'm fairly sure the wiggle body animation is actually just 2 drawings, not 3. The extremes are mirror images of each other, which is kind-of impressive given the asymmetric shading.

[@VideoGameAnimationStudy]

I think it's just meant to be three "frames", even though one is flipped.

[@Gear_Storm]

While the drawing itself might be mostly a mirror copy, its still its own frame because his hands dont mirror flip so they have to be seperate images for 3 frames, not 2 with one just mirror flipping.

[@JochemKuijpers]

@@VideoGameAnimationStudy yeah, 3 frames, 2 drawings. That's efficient!

[@lentekal]

13:50 one of my favorite animations in that game is when Ted tonate assambles the testbomb (which looks amazing in itself) and switches to another static pose, but the bomb didn't animate with him from pose to pose, leaving it hanging in mid air, and falling directly afterwards. It just has so much personality

[@CrossfacePanda]

The Phoenix Wright games’ animations are so wonderfully economical. They get so much out of so little. Whether they were working with hundreds of frames per character in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, or just a handful per character in the Phoenix Wright games, Capcom truly were the undisputed kings of 2D animation.

[@Skallva]

Not really 'undisputed' when SNK was doing some amazing spritework as well

[@CrossfacePanda]

Skallo SNK did some amazing 2D animations, but they never got close to Capcom, imo. The Metal Slug games would be the only ones I’d put up at the same level of animation, and those where technically made by Nazca, even if SNK bought them up. Though again, that’s not to take anything away from SNK. They where fantastic in their own right.

[@Skallva]

@@CrossfacePanda I dunno, I'd put Garou's animation over SFIII's any day. SFIII's characters feel pretty same-y in their animations and the emphasis on keyposes makes their normals kinda stiff while Garou is so fluid and has so much flourish to every motion, it's such a joy to just throw out normals in it.

[@MorphRed]

@@CrossfacePanda Have you seen Kim pants in KOFXIII ? They are the most beautiful pants animation that you will ever see in the world

[@jujucc8154]

I really miss the 2d animation of the ace attorney games. I wish that DD and SoJ were 2d.

[@BasiliskKingOfSerpents]

Boy, there’s been a lot of Ace Attorney stuff in my feed lately. Either it’s a weird coincidence, or the universe is trying to tell me something. ...not that I’m complaining, mind. Just really nice to see some love for one of my favorite game series.

[@twobats]

I just started playing the trilogy on my switch a few months ago so I'm really enjoying the current surge of AA content

[@SuperSylar]

I also find interesting how they were able to convey different kinds of feelings in certain character that either had almost no expression whatsoever (Acro in "Justice For All") or flourished of so much emotion it was a chore to know what was true (Phatom in "Dual Destinies") or were Damon Gant... unnerving to watch as he appeared on screen yet said nothing, only pierced at the screen with his green eyes...

[@NachoCheeseDorito-Kun]

Because the animation is not their strongest suit they focused a lot on design and expressions to really sell the characters, and that's something I really love. Edgeworth has a few behaviors most people may not notice at first glance. Outside of Court he never seemed to make eye contact for very long(unless he was angry). He'd always speak and then glance away. He never really smiles either. This makes him seem very uncomfortable in any setting outside of his job and life. In Rise from the Ashes there was a new expression added where he's looking off to the side with a very... odd, almost pained smile. And he always seems to do it at innapropriate or tense moments, as though he doesn't know the proper way or time to smile. The baggage of the last fifteen years is gone but he still does not seem to be in a safe place emotionally. Now, when he comes back in Justice for All he's finally making eye contact quite a bit(wtill won't at times) and even has a new lil' smirk to show off. At this point he's finally found the answers he was looking for, as well as his reason to continue pursuing the truth for justice in Court, rather than getting a perfect streak like he was raised to. He can finally smile and make eye contact outside of his place of comfort, but there's still always something about the way he holds himself that shows he's not good at anything outside of what he has dedicated his life to.

[@VinVonVoom]

Additionally, Edgeworth's front facing sprites are actually all variations of his Courtroom sprites, with the exception of his smug face in JFA.

[@NachoCheeseDorito-Kun]

@@VinVonVoom . . . I never noticed that. Dayum.

[@thegustbag]

Well, dammit. The music in theses games, man. You've done a great job here, Dan! What carries an Ace Attorney game is exactly what you pointed out... and the music. Love me some exaggerated lawyering!

[@aimelle3]

I agree, the way the music is cued with the changes in animation is part of what makes it so impactful.

[@JoJo-xp6wr]

"by the order of the patrons" Kickstarter enters the court

[@henke37]

The style helped on a technical level. The character animators knew their tech and how to do more with less. Huge chunks of characters are reused between frames. Often between poses too. Which was very helpful when dealing with a resource starved platform like the GBA. With the investigations games on the DS they added in an extra layer of animation, just moving the entire character around. Which costs literally nothing. And it doesn't hurt that they do a lot of custom gui animations either. Lots of tiny touches. The evidence window slide-growing in and out instead of appearing instantly, the unforgettable text bubbles, the message box sliding in and out...

[@MegaTaunTaun93]

You're so used to the limited animation in these games, that when Mr. Hat shows up in Apollo Justice your brain explodes by how well animated it is.

[@DEMENTO01]

Tbh so true...

[@amestellar]

One thing I'd like to point out as an AA fan is that Dual Destinies was among the AA games with 3D models where the animation was still not quite there yet. However if you look at Spirit of Justice or either of the "prequel" Dai Gyakutan Saiban games, you'll notice that they managed to get more concise with the timing of the animations. Its a small difference but it does so much to make the newer games come to life even more than before!

[@davidguthary8147]

Fun fact: Phoenix has two different models in Dual Destinies because they couldn't figure out how to make him look right both head-on and at the defense bench using just one model.

[@alicesteel]

"An expression of furious shock. Kinda like when a cat digs their claws into your leg." - Dan Prime 2020

[@Kiladahut]

4:16 Re purposing the 2 Choices in the background gameplay to be used in flow with talking about the way the Devs got around the limitations was genius.

[@anewhero1216]

It’s nice that the quality keeps up and improves through the series - one of my favourite animations in the series is from The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, when Ryunosuke is still learning the ropes he goes to pound the table, but instead he slaps it lightly and quickly turns to look at his hand in exasperation lol

[@Win090949]

Fun fact: the Judge only has 4 expressions: Look up, look down, closed eyes, shocked.

[@cupofspiders5830]

Doesn’t he also have a neutral one like most characterrs

[@Statuess]

I can honestly HAPPILY observe my favourite characters talking and reacting for hours while playing, watching carefully hoping to get another look at a certain animation. The way they've animated the characters is SO important. ❤

[@regulator10886]

Everything about Ace Attorney is amazing. The music, the stories, the animation, the characters, etc. One of my favorite series for sure.

[@wolter6102]

The 3D game's animations are so Satisfying and emulate the original poses so well, I love them a lot

[@HFOfficial]

SoJ definitely pulled it off heaps better than DD though. It's actually really surprising how different the two games look from eachother

[@insertsomethinghereplease7200]

@@HFOfficial yeah! I asked other people and they told me both were the same but SoJ had smoother and better animations.

[@bens5093]

Dai Gyakuten Saiban's animations, though, they're amazing. Just look at the pre-release trailers

[@insertsomethinghereplease7200]

@@bens5093 100% agreed, sprites look pretty smooth and well made and the whole meji era aesthetic makes things better considering the also had to animate different types of Japanese and old British clothes.

[@HFOfficial]

@@bens5093 DGS has a lot of the DNA of Ghost Trick in the animation department. Very good, for sure.

[@YondaMoegi]

The game has superb music too. The Cornered keeps my heart pumping and my blood boiling, I’m on a hunt babyyyy! Gosh, I love the Ace Attorney series so much

[@therealblackl1ster110]

I remember when I first saw Dahlia’s face at 12:14. It scared the CRAP out of me. 😂 I freaking love these games though, and the whole over arcing story of the Fey family.

[@TheUnspokenKibbles]

Bonus round: check out how well UMvC3 translates all of this to an entirely different genre. They managed to make Phoenix and Maya somehow still feel in-character while beating the snot out of Dante, Wolverine, and Other Phoenix.

[@Brunosky_Inc]

I especially love how each of his three modes use a different idle pose that matches very well with the intensity of the mode. Investigation mode, his starting mode where he's at his weakest, has him doing a thinking pose with his hand on his chin, giving a side glare to his opponent. Trial mode, where he has more options at his disposal and can access his final mode, has him with one hand on his hip and the other resting down while he determinedly glares directly at his opponent. And turnabout mode, where he turns into a god and demon busting embodiment of justice, has him with both hands firm on his hips and a big confident smile on his face on top of a slight side glare to his opponent that screams "Yep, I got you now!". Add to that the golden glow Phoenix gets in this mode and you're really sold on how turnabout mode is serious business even before you see his giant spectral finger pointing throwing the opponent around like a ragdoll.

[@ebrules]

Sahwit's animations really show how far they can go with his appearance in Ace Attorney Investigations 2. They're from a new angle, and are mirrored by low-res sprites as well, and it's amazing how well it all works, especially as he has a lot more dialogue in that case, but you never feel like he doesn't have enough animations.

[@splashor6361]

Something I like about visual novels is the fanwork. Because of how simple visual novels are, they allow for extremely accurate and amazing fanmade videos and fangames.

[@terracannon876]

This video is about the 2D AAs, but the 3D AAs and GAAs are really interesting in their differences in animation as well. The AA games focus on bringing back the feeling of older games of limited frames, so the transition between poses are quick and flashy (literally, using a white flash). Speed changes from Start, Move, Stop are instantaneous. It makes it feel updated - motion from the 3D models - but it also evokes the older animation style. Great Ace Attorney, the prequel games that take place in England (mostly), has a much more realistic palette and feel, as well as story. The poses are still as distinctive, but the movement between each are a lot smoother and overall slower, giving each transition momentum and realistic weight.

[@jasonblalock4429]

I totally agree. The 3D games were a bit controversial, but I thought they did a fantastic job updating the classic Ace Attorney aesthetic without losing the charm of the original 2D games. Except now they have the budget and tools to make the meltdowns more rewarding than ever before. (I'm just a bit sad he didn't even touch on Spirit Of Justice and its *amazing* meltdowns.)

[@terracannon876]

@@jasonblalock4429 The meltdowns really benefited from a more anime artstyle. They really did great in AA5 and AA6. (GAA was another case, thoughthough... Meltdowns just don't work out great with realistic animation.)

[@Terithian]

Yeah, AA5/6 and GAA1/2 generally nail the animation, but I feel like Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright didn't quite do it. The poses and animations just didn't feel as snappy and full of character as the other games did to me. I suppose it's probably because it was the first game where they tried to do the Ace Attorney style in 3D, and hadn't quite figured it out yet.

[@blueglasses2843]

@@Terithian yea, tge plvpw games had animation transition abit slower and sorta had the layton miracle mask style, which didn't suit AA classic style at all

[@catboymiles7224]

GAA??? Do you mean DGS???

[@jcplays5831]

Some of my favorite special minimal animations include: Gumshoe’s head scratch Cody’s failed sword draw Fransiska dragging her whip across the desk Phoenix’s paper tap Luke Atmey’s hilarious breakdown Damon Gant’s surprisingly fast clapping breakdown Matt Engard’s wrist phone and especially his hair reveal Every desk slam And of course Phoenix’s iconic point

[@kirbynat493]

I feel the 3D models in the latest game, Spirit of Justice, look just as good and have the same charm as the original 2D sprites. Occasionally in cutscenes they move weird and uncanny-valley ish, but for the culprit breakdowns in that game they all look and move perfectly; I love it so much :D

[@TristamWolf]

I'd even go so far as to say that despite having such an absurdly limited animation set, the precision and skill with which the Ace Attorney series uses them from the very beginning make Frank Sahwit one of the most memorable A.A. Villains of all time, despite being a short lived and relatively easy villain to topple. I, for one, still remembered every single one of Frank's animations and reactions before you had to play them on screen.

[@srpinguim9435]

8:46 I didn't know you could perceive habits as well as Apollo.

[@marche800]

The classic timeless and infinitely versatile Ace Attorney Animation. I love this.

[@ninjaydes]

Ah. It's Marche in a video about AA. Not a surprise.

[@MrMarinus18]

7:58 It's actually only 2 drawings. The GBA had the feature to mirror sprites. Many games heavily used this as it often cut the amount of pixel art needed in half.

[@callowguru2611]

Thanks for going into this series, it's one of my favorites. Wild to see how few drawings they actually used.

[@TransPandaArt]

I still think Spirit of Justice's character animations, Uendo Toneido in particular, is some of the best I've seen in the industry, it's a shame you didn't show any of it!

[@UltimateStarky]

Kinda funny how you say subtlety has no place in Ace Attorney when one of the main features in Apollo Justice is to pinpoint the subtle animations of the witness.

[@a-s-greig]

By that logic, you might say Apollo Justice has no place in Ace Attorney... /*sips tea*

[@takebacktheholyland9306]

@@a-s-greig and what makes you think that?

[@a-s-greig]

@@takebacktheholyland9306 Simple. As stated above and his gimmick don't fit thematically. Beyond that, *Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney* took 7 years out of Phoenix's career. ...For "dramatic tension." 😑 That was not ok. That will never be ok. If I were ever to write a plot for a new Ace Attorney game, I would scrap AA4 onwards and retool the whole series without his _still unresolved_ origin story arc and Kristoph _freakin'_ Gavin gumming up the works.

[@EinDose]

@@a-s-greig Actually, an 'Ace Attorney 3.5' would be a really interesting spinoff in the vein of Investigations. Phoenix never did actually give up on justice, after all, he just realized he had to work extra-legally to attain it for a while. Every episode, help a different rookie attorney in their first case (against Kristoph, obviously) by manipulating witness testimonies, planting evidence and distracting the cops so that they have all the pieces to find truths that they otherwise couldn't. Basically, playing as the Phoenix Wright that possibly-intentionally got hit by a car to call attention to a series of crimes, or wore a secret camera-badge on his beanie for LITERAL YEARS to finally incriminate someone.

[@catboymiles7224]

Andrew S. Greig by chance, do you frequent Reddit

[@Defnotkorean]

Finally I understand why Ace Attorney doesn't feel like visual novel to me, it's because of the animation!

[@thattimestampguy]

2:44 Edgeworth 3:21 Animating 4:48 Striking posed with blink 5:56 Godot’s Coffee 6:55 Frank Sahwhit Sycophantic wiggle

[@safabekr]

Watching this video before and after you’ve played most of the first trilogy and suddenly recognize every character is a pretty delightful experience

[@shirotopika2420]

2:58 That autopsy report is-

[@Leotsune]

I love Ace Attorney to death, I wish more people played these amazing games. We need to break that Visual Novel stigma!

[@5ft4inprotagonist24]

what got me into ace attorney and what still drives me insane about them is how characters who are close or related to each other share similar sprites. I will never get over that Franziska bows. Manfred doesn't bow but you know who does? Miles. And Miles gets the bowing from his father. It's such a cool way to show how Miles's father lives on through his son and how Miles can pass on his father's teachings to Franziska

[@swededontknow]

I bought the switch remake of the original ace attorney trilogy around two weeks ago, and i love the sprites and their movement SO MUCH. also i was playing it next to one of my friends whose never heard of it and she immediately recognized Wright and Edgeworth because of their poses. It's so iconic that even a girl who never plays games recognized it. i really wish that the later games continued using the sprites like that, it's sooooo good

[@MaximNightFury]

Don't forget that Gant's breakdown broke emulators back in the day

[@cupofspiders5830]

as someone else said “you have entered the comedy zone”

[@MaximNightFury]

@@cupofspiders5830 you're not the clown, you're the entire circus

[@cupofspiders5830]

@@MaximNightFury well I bet he could wear those clothes into a circus and pass for a performer

[@marinenoon]

you touched on it a little around 5:30 but one of my favorite little things about ace attorney animation is the way charaters will mimic, or copy some of the poses of people they're close to/were close to, typically mentor figures or family members. Phoenix and Mia and Edgeworth/Franziska and MVK are the most obvious iterations of this, but it happens with alot of characters. iirc the fey sisters share a few, sebastian debeste very obviously mimics justine courtney, and towards the end of aa5 apollo references kristoph gavin in not just his dialogue but in a few of his expressions. many of these are hard to catch, but it's such a neat little detail and personally it adds alot to some of these characters. My personal favorite detail is that, despite von karma being his mentor and borrowing many poses from him, Edgeworth's smug little bow actually originated with his father, Gregory Edgeworth. Franziska has her own bow as well(which she clearly didn't learn from her father), and I like to think she picked it up from watching her brother in court

[@seiishin2766]

oh my gosh ive always wanted someone to look at the animation in this series, its so simple but so effective!!!

[@adamhurd1560]

So glad you did Ace Attorney, love these games so much!

[@justember794]

7:47 MMM That audio/visual combo! So good! I actually squealed when I saw Later Alligator! It's so fun to recognize game capture from Playframe! *psst, you should go check it out it's a lot of fun!*

[@macoud12]

Godot has the unusual ability to summon a cup of coffee out of nowhere.

[@KnockManJo]

I hate when that happens to me randomly

[@cupofspiders5830]

tfw a cup of coffee appears and hits you

[@jorloru]

One year ago I finally played the 3D games and I couldn't agree more with your final note. I was prepared for seeing all the charm go away with the 3D, but I loved what they achieved, mostly the animation benefited from 3D letting the team add more subtleties to the poses while keeping their philosophy. Amazing job, both to the animators and to you Dan 😁

[@gabrote42]

These are some of the most consistent pieces of digital media I know. I never got tired of it. My tastes changed regularly and only GTA: San Andreas even comes close to "moments I would like watching it".

[@keeyon012]

I've always loved the animation of Ace Attorney due to its expressiveness. My favourite animated character in the entire series has to be Enoch Drebber from The Great Ace Attorney 2 (Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2). His animations are robotic, rhythmic, and his idles carry a lot of animation within them, such as his arm ticking back and forth as he speaks, and him waving his arms about after he shrugs. He also has these cogs and gears in his cyborg arm that occasionally spin when he's doing certain things, such as adjusting his monocle. He's just a joy to watch in action, and I love seeing how far the series has come in terms of animation.

[@matthiasjones]

My absolute favorite "caught" animation in the series is Adrian Andrews: when you press her and catch her in a lie, he glasses shatter off her face... and she causually reaches down beneath the witness stand and grabs another pair. This repeats *a lot*, and the absurdity is really something special.

[@-nomi.-]

it's so cool to see such a new perspective on a series I'm so nostalgic for

[@NemoNobodySMT]

After play a lot of Ace Attorney-like games with cardboard characters in both metaphorically and literally sense, I would say the limited animation of these game is extremely important to the game charm. It makes these game so much more lively, character has the actual charm and feels like a character, not a cardboard cutout from somewhere.

[@Dianacat777]

I'd always been impressed by how much personality Ace Attorney managed to cram into its character design - it actually rather ruined the visual novel format for me, because I end up put off when other VNs fail to capture the same range of movement - but hearing it laid out piece by piece why the style works so well made for a fascinating watch. The bit about how the timing on the same animations can be altered to change the mood or even just differentiate speaking from idling was an incredibly clever bit of budgeting that I'd never noticed. Glad this ended up on my recommendations!

[@lo4tr]

The Ace Attorney series clearly has a lot of thought put into every aspect, which, sadly, many Visual Novels simply lack. A lot of them were created as a way to make a quick buck by relying on overdone cliches and stereotypical characters. Not even the writing tends to have any real thought put into it.

[@linaware8635]

I replay the original trilogy every year at christmastime (since I got the first game for Christmas when I was younger) and the animation always amazes me. I think they're a huge part as to why the series is one of my favorite video game series ever... they really mean so much to me

[@thekiss2083]

14:16 OMG I would donate $50 for a video that just eviscerates Zero Time Dilemma. I love that game but it is its own category of visual atrocity

[@antimatter3084]

Zero Escape is one of my favorite series but even I admit that Zero Time Dilemma hit a new level of uncanny valley with its animations and character designs. I personally believe 999 had the best visual design since the character were expressive and had distinct designs without falling into the problem of looking cheap like Virtue Last Reward did.

[@Grimmlocked]

I Just discovered this series over the weekend when i couldn't sleep and found something on sale in teh switch store. best weekend ever!

[@startracings]

Thank you New Frame Plus patrons!! I didn't expect to see this anywhere near this channel but I'm SO delighted. Spirit of Justice hits closer than Dual Destinies ( what was shown here ) but I agree fully about the 3d shift being just not quite all the way there. But boy I'm so glad you were able to showcase this animation so fully!

[@Pumpkin42O]

Can we talk about how Paynes hair just gets better with each entry

[@lily91109]

I'm thinking Apollo Justice's Payne.

[@cupofspiders5830]

@@lily91109 I thought it was fine

[@ivorywind9739]

I played the original awhile back, and I never realized how little the characters actually moved! They all seemed just the right amount of expressive! I do think some of the backgrounds looked awkward but they were just a few in passing.

[@nirmalpanna]

The way you used the music, seems like a good ending of the court scene. Genius.

[@brockmckelvey7327]

The animations (especially character poses) from Ace Attorney are so iconic that the band Mystery Skulls used them in their music video for their song "Money"

[@evecampbell3069]

I freaking love that video.

[@robertlupa8273]

5:45 Not to mention the sounds effect that gives it more "oomph". I just can't help but slam my desk along with them.

[@YaYEET3375]

We will all remember Edgeworths famous: Ngoooooh!😂 I love this series really much. Music on point, characters on point, stories on point, puns on point.... *sigh* I'm so glad that I began to play this game and that I'm part of this wonderful fandom 😊

[@kittywabbit1260]

this reminds me of Nintendo's philosophy in making games "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology", they intentionally use limited consoles and focus on how to make the best out of it... and i love that so much, it means you do not need the most technologically advanced systems or games to have fun, that's where creativity plays a huge part of it. Gosh i love video games!!