Ace Attorney: Why Did Phoenix Wright Lose His Badge?

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• Why Did Phoenix Wright Lose His Badge?

• Who Gave Phoenix Wright Forged Evidence?

• Does Phoenix Wright Get His Badge Back?

You don’t need to be an Ace Attorney fan to know the name Phoenix Wright. Capcom’s famous defense lawyer has starred in some of the greatest visual novels ever, cementing his place among the best characters in the genre. However, those who play the Apollo Justice trilogy may be shocked to see that Phoenix is no longer an attorney.

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The scruffy, piano-playing Phoenix Wright from Apollo Justice Ace Attorney is undoubtedly a far cry from the once-renowned turnabout king from previous games. The mystery behind how he lost his badge proved to be one of the toughest in the entire series.

Spoilers for Apollo Justice Ace Attorney ahead!

Why Did Phoenix Wright Lose His Badge?

The tragic story behind Phoenix's disbarment is revealed in the final case of Apollo Justice Ace Attorney, Turnabout Succession, when you're taken back seven years ago to witness the trial that ended his career.

Wright is hired at the last minute to defend the famous magician, Zak Gramarye, after he fired his previous lawyer for unknown reasons.

The illusionist was arrested when his terminally ill mentor, Magnifi Gramarye, was shot in his hospital room after writing to his student, asking him to put him out of his misery.

Before entering the courtroom, Phoenix is approached by Zak's daughter, Trucy Enigmar, who hands him a piece of torn paper that she had received from a stranger in the hall.

The page appears to be the last thing Magnifi wrote before he died. Wright files it into evidence, utterly blind to the fact that his fate is now sealed.

Despite his many objections, Phoenix struggles to counter Prosecutor Klavier Gavin's argument centered around Magnifi's diary.

In it, the victim wrote that he would continue journaling if Zak failed to kill him. The court is stunned to see that the writing ends there.

Desperate to win back the judge, Wright presents the page he obtained from Trucy, believing it to have been torn out of the diary, thus proving that Magnifi did continue writing after meeting his disciple.

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As if he knew this would happen, Klavier calls an artist named Drew Misham to the stand, who testifies that the diary page is a fake he created for an anonymous client.

Silence fills the courtroom as reality sinks in. Phoenix Wright hadaccidentally presented forged evidence. The trial is put on hold as Phoenix is brought before the Bar Association, who promptly disbars him and takes away his attorney's badge.

To avoid jail time, Zak Gramarye goes into hiding, leaving his daughter, Trucy, behind. Phoenix winds up adopting her, and the two develop a strong bond. It would later be revealed that Zak was innocent, and Magnifi had shot himself.

Who Gave Phoenix Wright Forged Evidence?

Wright spends the next seven years investigating who framed him for forging evidence. The answer to that is hidden in the past before Phoenix took on Zak Gramarye's case.

The magician had previously hired Klavier's brother, Kristoph Gavin, as his defense attorney. Determined to win at any cost, Kristoph anonymously commissioned Drew Misham to create the fake diary page.

However, Zak saw the darkness lurking behind his lawyer's smile and fired him one day before the trial.

With his ego shattered and fame no longer within his grasp, Kristoph set his sights on revenge, ensuring the false evidence was passed along to Wright, and a fake tip was given to Klavier.

Does Phoenix Wright Get His Badge Back?

Pursuing the real culprit proved to be one of Phoenix's toughest cases. Every clue he digs up for seven painstaking years leads to a dead end.

It's not until he meets Apollo Justice that he finally has a breakthrough when Drew Misham is murdered in his art studio.

After investigating the crime scene, Apollo deduces that the cause of death is a poisoned stamp that was sent to Misham in a letter detailing the transfer of money in exchange for the forged diary page.

While Apollo can't link the letter to Kristoph Gavin, he proves in court that Phoenix did not write it; thus, he couldn't have been Misham's client.

Since he left no evidence behind, Kristoph is never convicted of forgery or Drew Misham's murder. However, Apollo and Phoenix successfully indict him when Zak Gramarye is found murdered.

With a bit of influence from Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix is exonerated of all wrongdoingand given his attorney's badge back. He goes on to lead the Wright Anything Agency and hire Apollo to work for him.

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