Thanks to Hamada and NantenJex for helping with edits.
Capcom boasts a fantastic catalogue of properties, with my personal favorite being the courtroom drama Ace Attorney. Following the first game’s surprisingly successful launch in Japan, series brainchild Shū Takumi was approached about spearheading a second. Although initially taken aback by the request, Takumi found himself eager to give his eclectic cast more adventures and complied. And the sequel augmented returning characters with new faces, some of whom required legal representation.
Matt Engarde, seen in 2002’s Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All (Image: Capcom)
Takumi was satisfied with Justice for All upon its completion, claiming it’s the “absolute best” Ace Attorney has been. That sentiment isn’t echoed by Ace Attorney’s fans, who generally stratify its second entry as one of its weaker offerings. Nevertheless, its fourth and final episode is regularly praised as a franchise highlight, something attributable to a certain celebrity…
Matt Engarde’s History
Ace Attorney characters habitually bear names that convey their personalities or quirks. While localizing Justice for All, Brandon Gay and Janet Hsu strived to retain the essence of the characters’ Japanese monikers and regularly consulted Takumi. However, its last case, “Farewell, My Turnabout,” demanded a somewhat different approach. Takumi gave its newcomers “names that sounded more like real names” but sported “deeper meanings” per its “more dramatic feel,” which Hsu sought to emulate. Japanese players met Shingo Outorou here, while those in English-speaking territories would later know him as Matt Engarde.
When reflecting on Justice for All, Takumi admitted the first draft of “Farewell, My Turnabout” contained “twenty-two contradictions” he needed to address. Notably, he had little time to pen the game’s scenarios. (Image: Capcom)
The Steel Samurai multimedia franchise is a mainstay within the Ace Attorney universe. Engarde portrayed the eponymous lead in its Nickel Samurai offshoot and quickly became a household name, eclipsing fellow actor – and bitter, longstanding rival – Juan Corrida. Both competed in the annual Hero of Heroes Grand Prix, a ceremony that would crown media’s greatest champion. However, not only did Corrida lose the trophy to Engarde, he also lost his life – and Engarde was arrested on suspicion of murder. Series protagonist Phoenix Wright coincidentally attended the event, though amid the chaos his assistant, Maya Fey, was abducted by professional assassin Shelly de Killer, who only promised her release should he score Engarde an acquittal. In court, Wright and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth clashed, with the former accusing Engarde’s manager, Adrian Andrews, of the crime. Things went awry; ordinarily the culprit can withstand only so much pressure before cracking, yet the despondent Andrews maintained her innocence, leaving the trial at an impasse.
Several disconcerting truths were unearthed during Wright’s subsequent investigation. First, Engarde hid a spy camera in Corrida’s hotel suite. Second, Engarde had a relationship with Andrews’ late mentor, Celeste Inpax, that ultimately led to her death. Corrida schemed to weaponize her suicide, planning to host a presser after the Grand Prix where he’d ruin Engarde’s reputation. Accoutered with these facts, Wright sprinted towards the detention center. Usually the police are uncooperative with him, but – speaking to their confidence in this case – they gave Wright permission to confer with Engarde after hours. Engarde enunciated his machinations; he hired de Killer and recorded the assassination as a means of creating “insurance” against him. And the panjandrum gloated, knowing Fey’s captivity strong-armed the defense attorney to continue representing him. Court resumed the following day, where a miracle occurred: Wright and his allies, after a long battle, impelled de Killer to break his contract with Engarde. Now the embittered button man’s target, Engarde sought protection. Recognizing prison was the only avenue available, he desperately avowed to his crimes.
In the anime, Engarde cries while he laments Corrida’s death. It’s a welcomed touch, helping sell his brilliant thespianism. (Image: Capcom)
Subsequent Ace Attorney games have neglected to reintroduce Engarde for an encore, though his scandal has been recreated in supplemental media. Director Takashi Miike’s 2012 live-action Gyakuten Saiban film included the superstar in a brief cameo during its credits sequence, where he was portrayed by Yûji Abe. Gyakuten Saiban 2: Saraba Gyakuten, a stage play adaption of “Farewell, My Turnabout,” followed three years afterwards, letting Motohiro Ōta step into Engarde’s boots. In 2016, an anime inspired by the venerable visual novel trilogy began airing, with the first season’s four-part finale adapting Engarde’s iconic vignette. Voice actors Yasuaki Takumi and Dave Trosko played the sociopath in Japanese and English, respectively.
So, what’re my thoughts on Engarde?
Generally, Ace Attorney commits to an idealistic formula: your clients aren’t guilty and you irrefutably prove it. The settings, witnesses, and twists vary, but the attorneys’ heartfelt belief in their clients always prevails… except this time. With Justice for All, Takumi sought to teach the blue lawyer that pursuing the truth is a gray area, that justice isn’t always served with acquittals. Episode 1 functioned as a baseline, featuring a remorseless thug consistent with those from the preceding game. Episodes 2 and especially 3, however, posited killers shouldering tragic histories. Naturally their crimes were indefensible, but you could empathize with why they were driven to commit them. And then Matt Engarde brought this theme to its endpoint; rather than expose evildoers, the upstanding legal practitioner was now contorted into defending one, potentially sentencing Andrews to jail in his place. “Farewell, My Turnabout” shines as my favorite case in all of Ace Attorney; it’s tense, bold, subversive, and an excellent finale to an admittedly flawed game.
When did you realize Engarde was guilty? (Image: Capcom)
Ace Attorney is known for compelling twists, and Engarde’s ranks among its best. “Farewell, My Turnabout” plays with the audience’s expectations, using Andrews (who, like the two killers preceding her, bears a troubled past) as a red herring. We’re also reintroduced to Wendy Oldbag, one of the series’ least creditable witnesses. She vehemently blames Engarde for Corrida’s passing, suggesting he’s in actuality innocent. Engarde, meanwhile, presented himself as benign and ditzy (Wright initially believed he was “weak-willed”), and even passed the Psyche-Lock test.
Still, an unpleasant feeling permeated the initial investigation and trial, a nagging sense that something was off. Perhaps Engarde didn’t pull the trigger, but was coerced or tricked into acting as an accomplice of some sort? He unquestionably had the motive and wherewithal to enlist the hitman. The foreshadowing was present, too; Engarde’s Psyche-Lock purity was emphasized a little too much, and he only hired Wright after hearing him mutter the gunman’s name. Unsurprisingly, Engarde’s names imply his underlying nature. “En garde,” a French fencing phrase, suggests the man’s “on guard,” simultaneously alluding to his feud with Corrida and paranoid, self-serving personality. Similarly, the performer’s Japanese surname is a loose Romanization of “outlaw.”
Should you present the wrong evidence to de Killer, or select another witness to present evidence to, you’ll observe a depressing bad ending. (Image: Capcom)
Many seemingly unassuming citizens “transform” when grilled by persistent lawyers, usually when nearing their breaking point. Though Engarde’s neither the first nor latest character to employ such a metamorphosis, his remains the gold standard. It begins with the luvvie speaking in the third-person, informing Wright it’s time they met. Then, a wicked grin flashes across Engarde’s face, who swiftly flips his hair back to reveal his scarred right eye – and true, sinister self. Furthering the dramatics, he materializes a cognac glass out of his crotch (how did the authorities fail to confiscate that?) and replaces his laidback theme with a darker, ominous one. This interrogation being spurred through the Magatata – the very lie detector Engarde previously surmounted through a wording technicality – added to the sensation of betrayal and surprise. Engarde’s flaky facade and heavy theatrics even play into his profession, affirming he’s an actor worthy of the accolades showered upon him.
It’d be an understatement to say Phoenix Wright has a difficult job. Every case he accepts houses distinct challenges and mysteries, though he always ensures the correct adjudication is delivered. Although no longer in possession of a perfect record, that remained true throughout Justice for All, where Wright’s clients – including Matt Engarde – got the verdicts they deserved. In Ace Attorney, lawbreakers suffer a humiliating breakdown once their charade is broken, a satisfying reward marking their defeat. Rarely are they as cathartic as seeing the formerly proud Engarde reduced to clawing into himself, screaming his confession.
Congratulations, Matt! Why are you acting so jumpy all of a sudden?
Among Ace Attorney’s catholic collection of rogues (some of whom we’ll catechize in the future), the manipulative Engarde rises as my favorite. (Image: Capcom)
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