Capcom considered having Phoenix be a mafia and underworld lawyer in Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice
Siliconera published an interesting interview excerpt today with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice game and scenario director Takeshi Yamazaki. When asked about ideas that were considered, Yamazaki revealed the team thought about having Phoeinx act “as a lawyer in an underground court that served the likes of the mafia and other underworld inhabitants.”
Here are his full comments about it:
“There was one real sticking point while I was writing the design document for Spirit of Justice, and that was how were we going to put Phoenix in a corner, given that he’d become this legendary lawyer in the course of this series.
One idea was to have Phoenix stand as a lawyer in an underground court that served the likes of the mafia and other underworld inhabitants. That underground court would hold trials and render judgment on those who’d broken the rules of the underworld, meaning that even Phoenix would have a tough time believing in his own clients. Furthermore, everyone involved in the trials would be members of the underworld, including witnesses and prosecutors, so naturally, there would be false testimonies, forged evidence, bribes, blackmail, and other dirty dealings going on. Under those circumstances, we figured even Phoenix would feel incredibly like a fish out of water.”
It’s always neat to see what a game could have been. Had Capcom gone in this direction, there’s no question that Spirit of Justice would have been a very different experience.
