Ace Attorney is a series of legal thriller comedy-drama adventure/visual novel games created by Shu Takumi. Players assume the role of a defense attorney in a fictional courtroom setting in the main series. Published by Capcom, the series includes Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, Ace Attorney Investigations 2, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies, The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice, and The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve. Character names for the English release of the series were changed significantly from the original Japanese release.
Main characters
Phoenix Wright
is a defense attorney and the main character of the franchise, and the protagonist in all games in the main series, except for Apollo Justice.
Mia Fey
Voiced by (English): Christina Katano (AA3); Colleen Clinkenbeard (anime) Voiced by (Japanese): Miyuki Kawahara (AA3); Chie Nakamura (anime)
Mia Fey (綾里 千尋, Ayasato Chihiro) first appears in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, where she is introduced as rookie defense attorney Phoenix Wright's mentor and a member of the Fey clan, a family of spirit mediums living in the isolated mountain town of Kurain Village. After helping Phoenix win his first case, defending his friend Larry Butz, Mia is murdered by billionaire Redd White, and her younger sister Maya is framed and accused of sororicide. However, over the course of the trial, Maya uses her medium abilities to channel Mia's spirit, and Mia is able to guide Phoenix to prove Maya's innocence and White's guilt. In gratitude, Maya becomes Phoenix's legal assistant and partner, allowing him to consult Mia when he needs guidance. Following the conclusion of the game and Maya's temporary return to Kurain Village to take up Mia's intended mantle as Master of Kurain, Phoenix is hired to defend Mia's college friend Lana Skye by her sister Ema Skye.
In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All, Mia is channeled once again by her younger cousin Pearl Fey, allowing her to continue to guide Phoenix in becoming a defense attorney. After deducing that her aunt Morgan Fey planned to frame Maya for murder in order to claim the mantle of Master of Kurain for Pearl, Mia helps Phoenix prove Maya's innocence once again, finally physically reuniting with her and sharing a hug. Mia also guides Phoenix as to what it truly means to be an attorney after he realises one of his clients is guilty of the crime of which they were accused.
Mia returns in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials and Tribulations, which in addition to featuring her continuing to act as Phoenix's mentor through being channeled by Pearl, delves into Mia's own early years as a rookie defense attorney working for Marvin Grossberg, and how she became Phoenix's mentor. During a case defending death row inmate Terry Fawles for murder, with her coworker Diego Armando acting as her co-counsel and Miles Edgeworth acting as the prosecution, Mia realises that the witness to Terry's crime is the person Terry had been convicted of killing: Mia's cousin (and Pearl's half-sister) Dahlia Hawthorne; however, before Mia can prove Dahlia's guilt as the actual culprit of the current crime in court, Dahlia tricks Terry into committing suicide by poisoning him, forcing the trial to conclude. Sometime later, Diego confronts Dahlia about her past crimes, only for Dahlia to manage to poison Diego and leave him comatose. After Dahlia commits another murder for which she frames her boyfriend, art student Phoenix Wright, Mia successfully defends him and finally proves Dahlia's guilt, leading her to be sentenced to death. In the aftermath of the trial, impressed with Mia's abilities, Phoenix reveals that he has decided to switch his degree from art to law, and states that he hopes to see Mia in court again someday. He later becomes her apprentice. Several years later, Diego awakes from his coma to learn that Mia is dead, and that he himself is blind (forcing him to wear a special mask to see). Angered at Phoenix for failing to protect Mia in life, Diego becomes a prosecutor dubbed "Godot" to test his abilities as an "ace attorney". After Mia's mother Misty channels Dahlia's spirit to prevent Pearl from doing so, as part of another plot by Morgan to have Dahlia kill Maya for her. Diego, blinded revenge, kills Misty as he attempts to kill Dahlia. After admitting his guilt at the subsequent trial, Diego briefly sees Mia's spirit within Phoenix, and admits his proficiency as a lawyer.