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The portrayal of those with disabilities in recent mainstream media is lackluster at best, and at worst sometimes borderline predatory. The harm that this does on those within the disabled community is undeniable. Not every swing is a miss however. While often even well intentioned attempts fall short, this doesn’t mean that proper research and general consideration for the community never pays off either. One of the most underappreciated examples is from the video game series Ace Attorney.
Ace Attorney is a video game franchise that has been around for nearly twenty years. At its core, it served as satire for the faults in the Japanese Legal system, and as the series’ popularity grew, legal systems as a whole. The game itself is story based, where the player solves legal cases from the perspective of a defense attorney. The stories of each case themselves vary in quality from case to case, leaving many fans to argue about which is the best. However, one of the most overlooked cases in the series is one from the sixth game: Spirit of Justice , titled: Turnabout Storyteller .
Before taking a look at Turnabout Storyteller , one must understand the cases’s characters as well as some further background about the game series as a whole. Throughout the six main series games, there are three playable protagonists. The first three games exclusively feature Phoenix Wright, the fourth introduces Apollo Justice, and the final two games have a mix of both, as well as one new character: Athena Cykes. Each character has a “power” of sorts: a superhuman ability that helps them discern when people are lying to them in order to help find the truth. Cykes for example, has ultra sensitive hearing that she combines with a computer called the Mood Matrix to analyze what someone is actually feeling when they speak. She can use this to check if someone’s emotions properly match the topic at hand.
Turnabout Storyteller solely features Athena and her acting co-council: Simon Blackquill. Together they set the stage for the reoccurring positive representation of disabled people. This is because Athena herself, while never explicitly stated to have any disabilities other than her oversensitive hearing, (which as a young girl, would often overwhelm her to the point where she had to go out in public wearing special headphones) is still a relatable character for many people who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD.) One of the most common characteristics of the aforementioned disorders is having hyper- or hypo- sensitivity to one or more senses, which can often become so overbearing that they go into sensory overload. Another similarity is Athena’s Mood Matrix. While it is true that people on the autism spectrum can often have trouble identifying emotions, there are just as many people with ASD who flip the other way, and are very sensitive to how the people around them are feeling. Furthermore, a common symptom of ADHD is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, which is yet another example of being very in tune with other people’s emotions. Finally, the icing on the cake for Athena’s appeal to such an audience is that in addition to being a lawyer, she is also a psychologist.
The reason Athena and Simon’s relationship is important in relation to this case is that fans of the game get to see more of Simon and especially Athena interact with each other in a more fun and friendly environment in contrast to the previous game , where they stand in opposition in court. More light-hearted interactions like in the first few Ace Attorney games are something fans of the games have been requesting for quite a long time. While fanservice featuring female characters is not uncommon in the Ace Attorney franchise, it most commonly panders to fans of more popular characters. As Athena is a much newer character when compared to Trucy Wright or Maya Fey, she often does not get a chance in the spotlight. Turnabout Storyteller allows fans to take a break from some of the more developed characters to give some attention to Athena: an experience that was missing from the previous game where Athena was both introduced and supposed to star in.
Now that seemingly everything except the case itself has been talked about, a brief summary of what actually happened is in order.
The crime takes place in the dressing room of a theater meant for rakugo (a kind of traditional Japanese comedic storytelling.) The murder victim was an elderly man named Taifu Toneido. Bucky Whet was arrested on the pretenses of having a strong motive; Toneido was in possession of the deed to Whet Soba, the soba shop that Bucky was supposed to be next in line to receive.
As the player progresses through the case, two witnesses are introduced: Gerino Toneido and Uendo Toneido, both disciples of the victim. The more testimony received from Uendo, the more suspicious he appears. Eventually, he confesses that he has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) most commonly known as having multiple personalities. Right from the start, the game dialogue explicitly uses the disorder's scientific name: DID. This is important because it does not paint Uendo in a negative light just because of his disorder. Instead, the language is very matter-of-fact, and treats it as simply another facet of his character.
The court learns that Uendo kept this hidden from the general public because an important part of rakugo performances is acting out different characters. If word got out that he really WAS “different characters” it could be disastrous. Eventually, Athena figures out that, in addition to the three alternate personalities the court sees him switch between, there is a fourth one, named Owen, that he does not share memories with and only shows up when he is drunk. Naturally, this makes Owen incredibly suspicious. Finally, Owen’s big reveal happens, but it is learned that Owen is only about four years old, and thus could not have committed the murder.
In the end, the one to commit the crime was not Bucky but rather Gerino. Her motive was that her father was a great rakugo artist, and while she wanted to follow in his footsteps, her father’s stage name had instead been given (by Taifu) to Uendo Toneido.
Uendo’s character is an amazing example of using DID as a plot device while still being respectful to real people who suffer from DID. Not only that, but the fact that he is not the culprit speaks volumes. The spike in popularity of antagonists having physical and especially mental disorders in recent years is incredibly disrespectful toward the neurodivergent community, so even a small push in the opposite direction is an amazing start.
Turnabout Storyteller often gets overlooked because it doesn’t have much to do with the overarching plot of the whole game. After all, it is filler content. Ultimately though, it’s a video game. Not every case has to be super high stakes all the time. Sometimes a much needed break is good for the pacing of a game and Turnabout Storyteller not only gives Ace Attorney fans an interesting look into the life of some of the most underappreciated characters, but also gives positive attention to some that are neurodivergent or neurodivergent-coded. The portrayal of Uendo as a character whose big secret is having DID is done beautifully because at the end of the day, he’s still presented as a responsible kid with an impressive career ahead of him.