Oh LOL We might as well be prepared xD

Also, didn't Phantom say that he would be targeted because he knows lots of various countries'/organizations' secrets and whatnot? De Killer also seems more the type to do business with individuals, not organizations.

I've heard that the defendant for this case is Athena and then Simon. So why does it seem like they're Lawyers in the case?

Simon is acquitted of the charges from his trial seven years ago. Athena jumps to the defense's bench on her own.

He's not. His sister was sent to prison for taking Trucy hostage.

Do we see her get kidnapped or is it mentioned?
Vague flashbacks to when Maya gets kidnapped.

She was one of several people visiting the space center that were taken hostage by robots. Phoenix and Pearl see her for a short moment on a robot's face-screen before she's pushed aside and Kaguya takes over.

Talking to Apollo about Daichi's death: Roaring Rampage of Revenge.

Talking to Athena about her mother's death: Heroic BSOD.

Sota Sarushiro

I've just reached Athena's trial.

So far, this case hasn't had the emotional impact I've hoped, Blackquill and Athena both have their moments, but their characters aren't really standing out in any way yet.

I am looking forward to how the rest of the case goes though, especially since, unless there's another character to still be introduced, at this point, I can't see how any one other than Fulbright can be the culprit.

There's no evidence pointing to him as of yet, but Phoenix, Apollo, Athena and Blackquill are out as suspects, Aura is extremely unpleasant, but she's risking everything to reveal the truth of UR-1. Starbuck and Cosmos have pretty much been cleared, Juniper is a little young, plus her role really seems to be to uphold the theme of friendship that is running through the game.

Fulbright is old enough, is constantly keeping an eye on Blackquill, was present in the Court during Starbuck's trial, and was the one that handed over the lighter with Athena's fingerprints.

If I'm right, that could lead to some interesting scenes...despite Athena or Blackquill seeming to hold Fulbright in rather low regard, I'm sure there would be some feelings of personal betrayal there.

Were they hinting that Aura had romantic feelings for Athena's mother? This is an actual question, not wishful/horny thinking. I was hoping for an explanation in the credits but she doesn't even show up there, only a small shot as Starbuck heads into space. There seemed to be some implication that Aura was in love with Dr Cykes and if I had a quote for you, I'd quote it but I only just finished it a second ago. Now...studytime...

I suppose that's true it's just in Ace Attorney games sometimes true friendship is fake or could be the real thing but I wish we could've seen Clay and Apollo together in Apollo Justice on ds it would've made the game more stronger and dark as it is but that's my opinion.

I'm no shipper, but I thought the subtext was pretty obvious there. It's a shame they didn't have the guts to state it outright in an M-rated game in 2013.

Even Phoenix pretty much went 'Did you really need to ask that?' when the Judge didn't guess in what way Aura wanted more than "respect" from Athena's mom. Combined with the fact she keeps a picture of her on her desk, her festering resentment towards Athena for 'murdering' her, and her snapping comment at Simon about how he knows exactly what her feelings were for Athena's mom, it kinda flashes in neon lights.

whether or not it was reciprocated. They do say that Metis loved her, but it's in the same breath as when they say she loved Athena, so who knows.

I don't think Metis reciprocateda. I can't remember them stating in game anything about her "loving" Aura, even platonically. The phrase that Simon used to describe it when he was trying to pacify Aura was that Metis always "respected" her, which is what caused Aura to snap back she didn't want Metis' "respect" and that Simon knows exactly what Aura felt towards Metis.

Did Phantom make any actual effort to frame Athena for killing Metis or was he too concentrated on getting Metis' research on his psychological profile back and sabotaging the HAT-1 launch?

It seemed more like he just wanted to frame anyone and came up with his story after escaping the scene and returning. By the time he did return, Blackquill was there with a sword in hand. Straightforward from there.

You pretty much figured it out the way I did. I started to think he could possibly be the big bad around case 3, since he was the only "new" character introduced so far that would be free to be the final villan (since Simon and Athena would obviously be innocent). I put that thought aside, however, as I truly loved Fulbright and found him to be hilarious and endearing. It wasn't until case 5 that I realized that my paranoid thoughts were true, after I had eliminated everyone else.

...what the deal was with the photo of young Simon holding the bloodied sword in the robotics lab? More specifically, who took it? I remember reading something like it was taken "inadvertently" by someone nearby, but what were the circumstances surrounding it? Did the Phantom sneak by and take it knowing that it would be evidence of Simon's guilt? I have a hard time believing a random person would take this shot and then just...leave.

I have a feeling I probably missed or am forgetting a line where this was explained...

Wasn't it explained that a reporter (who I assume was writing an article about the space center and upcoming launch) took the photo? I imagine they went straight to the police with it - I wouldn't really want to confront anyone who was holding a katana and covered in blood.

Though that brings up the question, did Simon want to be spotted? He obviously was trying to cover for Athena (he dismantled Ponco) and was spotted twice, and had to have known about the increased security measures and cameras. He could have been planning to confess to the murder as early as when the photo was taken.

Lol, good point about not wanting to confront someone with a bloody katana. Guess I wasn't really thinking there. Now that you mention it, I do remember the bit about a reporter being on the scene. Okay, that makes sense now...I guess I was more confused about the circumstances surrounding how the person could have gotten that close with how tight security was or whatever. But if they were just a reporter it wouldn't matter I suppose in terms of crossing through the security camera's path.

I think Simon was planning on taking the blame for Athena right from the beginning. After all, he bloodied the sword and thus got his fingerprints on it -- all pretty incontrovertible evidence. If all he wanted to do was deflect suspicion from Athena, he would only have had to have dismantled Ponco, the only "witness" - bloodying the sword and leaving his prints on it was a deliberate attempt to make it look like he was the murderer. He also hid Athena from the camera as he was walking by while transporting Ponco's remains in the case. Being caught by the security camera and the photographer was just more damning evidence on top of the murder weapon with his prints.

I think the sword was already bloody. It was the actual murder weapon.

For some reason I was thinking it was the utility knife...