So I gotta ask the following because maybe I missed it. Why did Zak want to destroy Phoenix's poker reputation in Case 1? It is later revealed in Case 4 that he visits Phoenix for a favor to pass on the Performance Rights to Trucy. It was also revealed that he had nothing but admiration for Phoenix's poker playing skills. Given those revelations, it just seems so out of character... especially him hitting Olga with a freaking bottle.

How did the keys end up in Romein's hands? Daryan stole them, but they never revealed how they got into Romein's hands. Why would Daryan shoot Romein after he disposed of the cocoons?

What was the "spell" Kristoph had over Vera? Please don't tell me it was the damn nail polish. What about the hidden drawings behind the forgeries? It is revealed that each drawing depicts events related to each of Apollo's cases. My theory is that Drew Misham was so elated that Apollo put Kristoph behind bars that he wanted to give tributes to he would be his unknowing savior. But maybe I missed something. Why was Drew still writing to Kristoph? Who tried to kidnap Vera? What's with Kristoph's devil scar?

Possibly in an original draft I wouldn't doubt the last poker game was over whether or not Zak can have Trucy back. Zak wanted Trucy so that he may personally pass on the works of Magnifi onto her her. Phoenix would probably object to this seeing how Zak is still a fugitive and a fugitive lifestyle is not the best for her. They would settle it with poker. Phoenix would have put custody over Trucy at stake in exchange for Zak putting up the surrendering the performance rights over to Trucy. Zak wanted to win no matter what, so he resorted to fixing the game. This would not only win back Trucy, but would tarnish Phoenix's name and thus shake the trust Trucy had for her new daddy. This of course would paint Zak in a new light, as more of a bad guy. Personally I wouldn't doubt that was the original intent for Zak, given his design and suspicious back story.

In all honesty, Case 4 should have been saved for a later game. Case 3 on the other hand should have been case 4. They could have gone as far as having Klavier as a defendant for smuggling cocoons (gasp not murder this time) with Daryan framing him for it. This would have still made some allusions that Lamiroir was Apollo and Trucy's mother. Like make it an observation that only Phoenix has noticed. This was not what I think it was, but how I thought it should've been. That's just me though. I'm sure many would beg to disagree.

Ok well what's done is done, case 4 is still case 4 and there's nothing I can do to stop it from being case 4 still. As I said before Case 4 seems to have had a lot of grounds for what seems like a very deep and involving case. My theories? Kristoph's involvement in this story is far from over. The scar will lead to a deeper story between the Gavin brothers which was probably intended to be developed in this Case. The Misham's story is likely not over yet either. I won't say they are blood related, but I wouldn't doubt Vera shares the same "talents" as Trucy and Apollo. Hence why she is so good at forging and why people can almost feel her hard stare. Vera's mother will lead on to another arc of the story. Perhaps she is in somewhat ways associated with Lamiroir and Apollo's father. Brushell will be in the middle of this as a recurring character, much like Larry Butz and Lotta Hart were. Likely there were more acts involved, the development team probably ran out of time and rushed it. Sad. That case had so much potential.
As for the Jurist system? To me I wouldn't doubt that this was a failed gameplay mechanic already implemented into the story and it was practically too late to write around it. I wouldn't doubt the Jurist system was for ALL cases and rather having a life bar or the penalty system, you'd be rated on your performance and right and wrong decisions would be ambiguous. You wouldn't know how well you're doing until the verdict. Naturally that would be a clash between the programmers and the writers. The writers would have to multiply their workload to write for every contingent.

everything that happened was the result of a matter of pride. Kristoph was a good villain, but it was annoying how shallow his motive was.

Olga testifies that Nick stole Shadi/Zak's locket, but it never says why. He probably took it to ensure that no one found out that Zak Gramarye had returned, but still. Nick had no reason to take it before Zak was murdered, yet he allegedly leaps across the table and attacks him for it. Wtf? Is he that desperate for pictures of mini-Trucy?

Drew Misham used the poisoned stamp to send that letter to Kristoph, or how he knew to send it to Kristoph in the first place (he never met the client). He doesn't have any stamps in his drawer, so he uses his daughter's treasured commemorative stamp? I find that hard to believe.

Him hitting Olga with the bottle is really out of character, I'll give you that, but I don't think Shadi/Zak was specifically out to destroy Nick's reputation. I have a really awful memory, but I'm pretty sure it explains somewhere.

The keys were in Romein's hand because Daryan planted them there to make it seem like the murder was following the song to secure his alibi. Augh, run-on sentences ftl.

If you notice the envelope, it's written to another name. The post office then transferred it into a P.O. Box that probably happened to be Kristoph Gavin's. Also, no, it's not all that hard to believe. People make stupid mistakes.

the 4th case was highly promising, and until the MASON thing ended it was awesome in both structure, plot devices and surprises. But the last trial was the most shallow ending trial I've been for any of the cases in any game of these series.

There weren't last minute surprises worthy of a such an important case plot-wise, it was pretty much straightforward, you got everything learned from the MASON and it didn't deviated from what you saw before. A short and disappointing final trial.

I was under the impression from the beginning of the game that the Jurist system would be more of a gameplay mechanic. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of a plot device of sorts. My only problem with that, aside from the fact that it was kind of a weak plot device, is that it was implemented well enough this time around to really get me excited about it's inclusion in GS5, unless it has some major effect on the game as a whole.
In fact, I was kind of left with more of a feeling of "wow. The jury system is kind of a buzz kill".
When Apollo was left hanging without credible evidence at the end of the game, I was getting amped to figure out how we prove the existence of the Yellow Letter, just as we did the stamp. But it was more like "Nope. No need. This is the JURIST SYSTEM.". Which came off more like lazy writing than an interesting plot twist.

Drew Misham's paintings, which were discovered to have rough sketches underneath them of Apollo's cases. That was a really great cliffhanger to leave us on before heading into the Mason System chapter, which was never really satisfied by the end of the game. Perhaps I missed it, but as far as I'm concerned it was never properly explored. That would be fine if GS was a series that prides itself on ambiguous plot twists that are left open-ended, but it's never been like that and it's a little too late to start.

I really would have liked to see a reunion type of thing or something involving Trucy, Apollo, and their mother. I felt like everything ended so quickly and there were a lot of things that weren't explained >.<

Although, the first time I saw a photo of Thalassa, I knew that she was Lamiroir. The whole accident causing her blindness and her amnesia. Plus the fact that they look identical. Characters in AA tend to not look very similar for no reason :P

Kristoph's Scar
Thralassa meeting her Children
The drawings under the forgeries
What on Earth the Mason system is
How Phoenix took Nail Polish he got in the future to show to Vera (Seriously. What. The. Fuck?)
Actually while we're on the above, how did he know Kristoph was- you know what. Forget it, the Mason system was awesome but chock full of plot holes.
What the hold over Vera was...

They should have let Machi go after seeing the murder weapon and how Machi's arms were still attached and not broken, dislocated or hurting what-so-ever.