[Mari-Detective] The order was to power up everything! Gyakuten Kenji 2 Interview (2011)

Title: [Mari-Detective] The order was to power up everything! Gyakuten Kenji 2 Interview /「【まり探】オーダーはすべてにおいてパワーアップ！ 『逆転検事2』インタビュー」

Source: Dengeki Online

Gyakuten Kenji 2 (Ace Attorney Investigations 2 - Prosecutor's Gambit) was released on the Nintendo DS on February 3, 2011. About two months later, on March 29, 2011, Dengeki Online posted an interview with producer Eshiro Motohide, director Yamazaki Takeshi and character designer Iwamoto Tatsurō. The interview was held by Marizō, who writes about mystery and suspense adventure games for Dengeki in his Marizō Detective Agency corner. In this interview, Marizō asks the three men about when development on Gyakuten Kenji 2 first started, the aspects they focused on when making this sequel to the game starring Mitsurugi Reiji (Edgeworth), how characters were created, characters they liked, prospects of a sequel and about... the kind of underwear the characters wear.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to the respective owners.

The Answer to Unfinished Matters - A Story Of Succession: Eshiro Motohide & Yamazaki Takeshi (2013)

Title: The Answer to Unfinished Matters - A Story Of Succession: Eshiro Motohide & Yamazaki Takeshi / 「やり残したことに答えが出せた、"継承”を描く物語 江城元秀X山崎剛」

Source: Gyakuten Saiban 5 Official Complete Guide + Special Episode Guide 

Summary: The official guide for Gyakuten Saiban 5 (Ace Attorney 5 - Dual Destinies), released in 2013, contains a long interview with producer Eshiro Motohide and scenario director Yamazaki Takeshi, where they talk about a variety of topics concerning the game, ranging from the jump to 3D graphics, how some characters were originally conceived and how they differ from the end product, the ideas behind the change in user interface and adding consumer-friendly options, and also the themes of the game and the thoughts that went behind creating the stories of the main characters. The interview also contains several extra columns, where the developers talk about smaller subjects, like references and other fanservice points found in the game, they talk about the Gyakuten Kenji (Ace Attorney Investigations) series they worked on too, and about smaller bits of trivia concerning the game, like the connections between Themis Legal Academy and a certain Gyakuten Kenji character or for example script conventions.

Images are taken from the source. Copyrights belongs to the respective owners.

A Collaboration between Gyakuten Saiban 4 (3DS ver.) and Wanzhuji, Running Now! Takumi (Director) and Eshiro (Producer) Review the Food!! And We Ask About The Future of the Gyakuten Series (2018)

Title: A Collaboration between Gyakuten Saiban 4 (3DS ver.) and Wanzhuji, Running Now! Takumi (Director) and Eshiro (Producer) Review the Food!! And We Ask About The Future of the Gyakuten Series / 「3DS版『逆転裁判4』×万豚記コラボ実施中！　巧D＆江城Pが食レポ!!　『逆転』シリーズの展開も訊く」

Source: Famitsu 

 

Summary: Following the release of the 3DS port of Gyakuten Saiban 4 ("Ace Attorney 4 - Apollo Justice") in December 2017, the Chinese-style restaurant chain Wanzhuji, with restaurants all across Japan, featured a special collaboration with that game, with special sets recommended by Gyakuten Saiban 4 characters Odoroki Hōsuke (Apollo Justice), Garyū Kyōya (Klavier Gavin) and Minuki (Trucy), which also came with special stickers for each time you ordered one of these sets. Editors of Famitsu interviewed the producer Eshiro Motohide and director Takumi Shū in Feburary 2018 as they tried the food, but also asked them about special memories they have of Gyakuten Saiban 4 as well as about the future of the series.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to the respective owners.

Producer Matsukawa and Director Takumi Shū talk about Gyakuten Saiban 4!! (2006)

Title: Producer Matsukawa and Director Takumi Shū talk about Gyakuten Saiban 4!! / 「『逆転裁判4』について松川プロデューサー＆巧舟ディレクターが語る!!」
Source: Famitsu

Summary: On June 23rd, 2006, Famitsu posted an interview on their site with producer Matsukawa and scenario writer Takumi Shū about Gyakuten Saiban 4 (Ace Attorney 4 – Apollo Justice), which was still in development. The interview had originally been posted in June 30, 2006 issue of Famitsu, but the online version includes parts that had been cut from the paper version due to page constraints. At this point in time, the new protagonist Odoroki Hōsuke had been announced together with his assistant Minuki (Trucy), and it had also been revealed the game was set seven years after the finale of the previous game, but little more was known at that point about the game, as this interview was also set before the bigger Tokyo Game Show presentation several months later. A lot of the interview therefore focuses on how this project got started, about Odoroki and Minuki’s roles in the game and about how the story will turn out. Interestingly, the interview title refers to Takumi as the director, even though he isn’t the director of Gyakuten Saiban 4, whereas the introduction of this article (not translated here) refers to him as being responsible for the scenario of the game.  

 

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to the respective owners.

[Mari-Detective] Brimming with memory-filled stories the fans had longed to hear! A report of the Gyakuten Saiban 10th Anniversary Special Court, where the new title Gyakuten Saiban 5 was also announced! (2012)

Title: [Mari-Detective] Brimming with memory-filled stories the fans had longed to hear! A report of the Gyakuten Saiban 10th Anniversary Special Court, where the new title Gyakuten Saiban 5 was also announced!  / 「【まり探】『逆転』ファン垂涎の思い出話がてんこ盛り！ 最新作『逆転裁判5』も発表された“逆転裁判10周年特別法廷”レポート」
Source: Dengeki Online 

 

Summary: The special event “Gyakuten Saiban Tenth Anniversary Special Court” to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney) franchise was held on Sunday January 29, 2012. Marizō writes about mystery and suspense adventure games in the Marizō Detective Agency corner of Dengeki Online and has interviewed the developers of the Gyakuten Saiban franchise multiple times, so he was present at the event too, reporting from the scene. At the venue, senior staff members Takumi Shū, director of the Gyakuten Saiban series), Yamazaki Takeshi, director of Gyakuten Kenji (Ace Attorney Investigations) series, Eshiro Motohide, producer of Gyakuten Kenji series and more guests appeared on stage to talk look back together at the franchise together with the audience. They talked about the development of the original GBA games, but also about cut content for the Gyakuten Kenji games. They also looked at upcoming projects like the crossover game with Professor Layton on the 3DS and the live-action film which was going to premiere in a few weeks. There were also live band performances of familiar songs and the event ended with the reveal Gyakuten Saiban 5 (Ace Attorney 5 – Dual Destinies) was in development. The translated article below is a report on the event written by Marizō for Dengeki Online’s Marizō Detective Agency corner.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to the respective owners.

The Developers of Gyakuten Kenji Answer Questions from our Readers! How Does Prosecutor Mitsurugi Spend His Days Off!? (2009)

Title: The Developers of Gyakuten Kenji Answer Questions from our Readers! How Does Prosecutor Mitsurugi Spend His Day Off!?  /『逆転検事』開発者が読者の質問に回答！ 御剣検事の休日の過ごし方とは!?
Source: Dengeki Online

Summary: A few months after Gyakuten Kenji (Ace Attorney Investigations) was released, Dengeki Online arranged for a special Q&A with the developers, where readers could send in questions about the game and its characters, which the developers would answer. The article was posted on August 3rd, 2009 on the Dengeki Online website and had director Yamazaki, producer Eshiro and character designer Iwamoto answer a few questions including ones about how Mitsurugi (Miles Edgeworth) spends his days off, who was inside the Proto Taiho-kun (Proto Badger) suit and who Mei (Franziska von Karma) tends to whip.
 

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to the respective owners.

Gyakuten Saiban, The Meaning of Design (2007)

Title: Gyakuten Saiban, The Meaning of Design / 逆転裁判、デザインそのココロ
Source: Gyakuten Saiban Official Fan Book 3

 

Summary: Gyakuten Saiban Official Fan Book 3 was released in 2007 coinciding with the release of Gyakuten Saiban 4 (Ace Attorney 4 - Apollo Justice) and therefore contains some pages about the development of that game. One of the segments includes is an interview with Yamazaki Takeshi, who worked as planner on Gyakuten Saiban 4 and the previously released Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten (Ace Attorney 1 DS). This is a unique interview, because it is a rare interview with Yamazaki in his role as a planner on a game directed by someone else, before he went on to become the director of the Gyakuten Kenji (Ace Attorney Investigations) series and later on the director of the mainline games. In this interview, he explains about the work of a planner. In his case, he was deeply involved with the English localization of the Nintendo DS port of the first Gyakuten Saiban, while he had more responsibilities for Gyakuten Saiban 4. He is also asked about working in the Gyakuten Saiban team and about how own future plans.

Turnabout Anecdotes and Memoirs of Two Decades (2021)

Title: Turnabout Anecdotes and Memoirs of Two Decades / 『逆転の逸話と20年の回想』
Source:  Famitsu, November 4 issue, 2021
 

Summary: Famitsu celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney) franchise with a special counting over thirty pages, with retrospectives on the whole franchise, from games to spin-off material and also several interviews with key staff members who have worked on the various games in these twenty years. In this article, Famitsu interviews series creator Takumi Shū, addressing points like how it was working on the original game twenty years ago, how the writing process goes, people he worked with and the way the series has grown into a multimedia franchise that is much more than just one single GameBoy Advance game. 

 

Looking Back At Episode 1 Turnabout Foreigner with Gyakuten Saiban 6 Director Yamazaki (2016)

Title: Looking Back At Episode 1 Turnabout Foreigner with Gyakuten Saiban 6 Director Yamazaki (2016) / 『逆転裁判６』山﨑ディレクターと振り返る第１話「逆転の異邦人」
Source: Nintendo Dream, August issue, 2016

Summary: The August 2016 issue of Nintendo Dream featured an article starrring Yamazaki Takeshi, director of 2016’s Gyakuten Saiban 6 (Ace Attorney 6 - Spirit of Justice). Yamazaki played through the first half of the first episode, Turnabout Foreigner (The Foreign Turnabout), together with the people of Nintendo Dream and answered several questions regarding this particular episode. In this article, they talk about featuring a foreign setting and what makes the writing difficult, the use of animated cut-scenes, the animated prologue movie they posted on the official website, the things to think of when writing the first episode of a game and more.

Beware of spoilers for this episode.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners.

A Long Interview With the Developers: The Core Truth of the Gyakuten Saiban series (2007)

Title: A Long Interview With the Developers: The Core Truth of the Gyakuten Saiban series / 開発者ロングインタビュー『逆転裁判』シリーズの真理』

Source: Gyakuten Saiban 4 Official Guidebook

 

Summary: The official guidebook for Gyakuten Saiban 4 (Ace Attorney 4 - Apollo Justice) includes a very long interview on the development of the game with three core staff members of the team: series supervisor Takumi Shū, art director Nuri Kazuya and producer Matsukawa Minae. Many questions are asked and answered, from topics regarding how the game was promoted to how characters were designed, how the story of the game was written, to Takumi's favorite mystery stories, how gameplay elements changed the way they had to work, and basically all aspects of the whole development cycle. The three are also asked about their favorite characters and stories in the series, as well as about when things didn't as initially planned. 

 

This article contains spoilers for the game.

 

Is Shin at Home a Softie for his Son? The Developers of Gyakuten Kenji 2 Answer Questions from our Readers (2011)

Title: Is Shin at Home a Softie for his Son? The Developers of Gyakuten Kenji 2 Answer Questions from our Readers / 「信さんは家では息子に甘いパパ？ 『逆転検事2』開発者が読者の質問に回答」
Source: Dengeki Online

 

Summary: In April 2011, Dengeki Online posted an article with a short Q&A with the developers of Gyakuten Kenji 2 (Ace Attorney Investigations 2 - Prosecutor's Gambit), which had been released on the Nintendo DS about two months earlier. The questions submitted came from readers of Dengeki and are about various topics, ranging from questions about the writing process of the plots to asking about details regarding the character designs or how certain characters are portrayed in the game. 

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners. The article contains spoilers for the plot of the game.

The Secret Of How The Gyakuten Saiban Feeling Is Created! Creating an 3D Adventure Game: A Demonstration of the Gyakuten Saiban Script System (CEDEC 2015) (2015)

 Title: The Secret Of How The Gyakuten Saiban Feeling Is Created!  Creating an 3D Adventure Game: A Demonstration of the Gyakuten Saiban Script System (CEDEC 2015) / 「『逆転裁判』らしさが生まれる秘密！　“逆転裁判のスクリプトシステムによる実演を交えた3Dアドベンチャーの作り方”【CEDEC 2015】」
Source: Famitsu
 

Summary: Computer Entertainment Developers Conference (CEDEC) 2015 was held in August 2015 and one of the lectures featured was one of Capcom programmer Kimoto Masahiro, who had worked on Gyakuten Saiban 5 (Ace Attorney 5 – Dual Destinies) and Dai Gyakuten Saiban – Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Bōken (The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures). In the lecture, Kimoto explains how scripts are used to create the typical feel of the Gyakuten Saiban series, by controlling factors like camera, text speed and music. He explains how the tools were created to simplify the task for the planners, but also points out what other problems were created because of their work process. This article is a translation of Famitsu's report on the lecture.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners. 

Creator Interview - Yamazaki Takeshi (2012)

Title: Creator Interview - Yamazaki Takeshi / 「クリエイター・インタビュー　山崎剛」
Source: Hayakawa's Mystery Magazine, March 2012
 

Summary: The March 20212 issue of Hayakawa's Mystery Magazine had a Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney) special titled “No objection to Gyakuten Saiban”, featuring essays and in-depth looks at the Gyakuten Saiban series and legal mystery fiction in general, a preview of the live-action film adaptation and interviews with the two main writers of the series: Takumi Shū, director and writer of the main series, and Yamazaki Takeshi, director and main writer of the Gyakuten Kenji (Ace Attorney Investigation) spin-off series. In the interview with Yamazaki, he talks about the mystery fiction that inspired him, his first encounter with the series and how his first tasks at Capcom, working on the Gyakuten Kenji series and about what kind of mystery games he’d like to work on.

Looking Back At Episode 3 The Rite of Turnabout with Gyakuten Saiban 6 Director Yamazaki (2016)

Title: Looking Back At Episode 3 The Rite of Turnabout with Gyakuten Saiban 6 Director Yamazaki (2016) /「『逆転裁判６』山﨑ディレクターと振り返る第３話「逆転の儀式」
Source: Nintendo Dream, October issue, 2016

Summary: The October 2016 issue of Nintendo Dream featured an article starrring Yamazaki Takeshi, director of 2016’s Gyakuten Saiban 6 (Ace Attorney 6 - Spirit of Justice). Together with the people of Nintendo Dream, Yamazaki played through part of the third episode of the game, The Rite of Turnabout. He talks about early versions of the game, the reintroduction of Mayoi (Maya Fey) in the series, the difficulties that come with writing the third episode in a Gyakuten Saiban game in general and how Gyakuten Saiban 6 serves as the culmination for the whole series, paving the way for future titles.

Beware of spoilers for this episode.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners.

Looking Back At Episode 2 Turnabout Magic Show with Gyakuten Saiban 6 Director Yamazaki (2016)

Title: Looking Back At Episode 2 Turnabout Magic Show with Gyakuten Saiban 6 Director Yamazaki /「『逆転裁判６』山﨑ディレクターと振り返る第２話「逆転マジックショー」」
Source: Nintendo Dream, September issue, 2016

Summary: The September 2016 issue of Nintendo Dream featured an article starrring Yamazaki Takeshi, director of 2016’s Gyakuten Saiban 6 (Ace Attorney 6 - Spirit of Justice). Together with the people of Nintendo Dream, Yamazaki played through part of Turnabout Magic Show (The Magical Turnabout) and answered all kinds of questions regarding this particular episode. He addresses issues like the use of animated movies in the game, exploring Minuki (Trucy Wright) in this episode, how to insert game mechanics in the story, why Akane (Ema Skye) was chosen as the police detective in this game and more.

Beware of spoilers for this episode.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners.

Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 - A Romantic Adventure Of Reminiscence With The Development Staff Vol. 4 (2017)

Title: Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 - A Romantic Adventure Of Reminiscence With The Development Staff Vol. 4 - Episode 3: The Return of the Great Departed Soul / 「『大逆転裁判２』開発スタッフと回想する冒險浪漫談 Vol.4　第3話「未来科学と亡霊の帰還」」
Source: Nintendo Dream, October issue, 2017

Summary: A long multi-part feature starring the development staff of the 2017 game Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 (The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve) was published in the October 2017 issue of Nintendo Dream. In the fourth part of this series, director/scenario writer Takumi Shū, art director Nuri Kazuya and producer Eshiro Motohide look back at the third episode of the game, The Return of the Great Departed Soul. They discuss how the characters were designed and what the concepts behind them were, how the story was written and other tidbits. The article features slight spoilers for this episode.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners.

Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 - A Romantic Adventure Of Reminiscence With The Development Staff Vol. 3 (2017)

Title: Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 - A Romantic Adventure Of Reminiscence With The Development Staff Vol. 3 - Episode 2: The Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro / 「『大逆転裁判２』開発スタッフと回想する冒險浪漫談 Vol.3　第2話「吾輩と霧の夜の回想」」
Source: Nintendo Dream, October issue, 2017

Summary: The October 2017 issue of Nintendo Dream featured a long multi-part feature with the development staff of the 2017 game Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 (The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve). In the third part of this unique feature, director/scenario writer Takumi Shū and art director Nuri Kazuya talk in-depth about the second episode in the game, The Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro. The duo discusses how the characters were designed, what the original concepts behind this episode were and how things changed over the course of the development process. The article features slight spoilers for this episode and the fourth episode of the first Dai Gyakuten Saiban.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners.

Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 - A Romantic Adventure Of Reminiscence With The Development Staff Vol. 2 (2017)

Title: Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 - A Romantic Adventure Of Reminiscence With The Development Staff Vol. 2 - Episode 1: The Adventure of the Blossoming Attorney / 「『大逆転裁判２』開発スタッフと回想する冒險浪漫談 Vol.２　第1話「弁護少女の覚醒と冒險」」
 Source: Nintendo Dream, October issue, 2017

Summary: The October 2017 issue of Nintendo Dream featured a long multi-part feature with interviews with the development staff of Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2 (The Great Ace Attorney: Resolve). In this unique series, director/scenario writer Takumi Shū, art director Nuri Kazuya and producer Eshiro Motohide sit down together to talk about in-depth about specific episodes of the game. In this second installment, the team talks about the first episode of the game, The Adventure of the Blossoming Attorney and talk about how this episode came to be, how the characters appearing in this episode were designed and how things changed along the way. The article features slight spoilers for this episode.

Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners.

A Report on the Talk Show at Tokyo Gametakt 2019 Where the Directors and Composers of the Kamaitachi no Yoru and Gyakuten Saiban Series Spoke About Mystery Game Music (2019)

Title: A Report on the Talk Show at Tokyo Gametakt 2019 Where the Directors and Composers of the Kamaitachi no Yoru and Gyakuten Saiban Series Spoke About Mystery Game Music / 「「かまいたちの夜」と「逆転裁判」のディレクターと作曲家がミステリーゲームの楽曲について語った，「東京ゲームタクト 2019」のトークショーをレポート]
Source: 4Gamer

Summary: On the first and second of June 2019, the game music event Tokyo Gametakt 2019 was held in Tokyo. One of the events there was a special treat for fans of mystery games: Kamaitachi no Yoru X Gyakuten Saiban – Composing Music for Mystery Adventure Games featured the directors and composers of the classic mystery videogames Kamaitachi no Yoru (Banshee’s Last Cry) and Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney) and had them talk about how the music on those games was composed. From the Gyakuten Saiban team, the event featured game director/writer Takumi Shū and  composers Sugimori Masakazu and Iwadare Noriyuki.

This is a translation of 4Gamer's report on this event. Images are taken from the source article. Copyright belongs to their respective owners.

Celebrating The Release of Gyakuten Saiban 123 on Nintendo Switch! Director Takumi Shū X Character Designer Iwamoto Tatsurō Special Discussion (2019)

Title: Celebrating The Release of Gyakuten Saiban 123 on Nintendo Switch! Director Takumi Shū X Character Designer Iwamoto Tatsurō Special Discussion / 「Nintendo Switch版『逆転裁判123』発売記念！ディレクター巧 舟さん×キャラクターデザイナー岩元辰郎さん特別対談」
Source: Nintendo Dream Web

Summary: On February 22, 2019, the release date of Gyakuten Saiban 123 (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attoney Trilogy), Nintendo Dream WEB posted an interview with series director/writer/planner Takumi Shū and character designer Iwamoto Tatsurō, two of the people who worked on all three games included in Gyakuten Saiban 123. The two look back at what they did on the release day of the original game, on certain characters and how they were designed for those games, but also how the franchise as a whole has grown throughout these years, from the Special Court skits to the anime and to other multi-media adaptations.

Images are taken from the source. Copyright belongs to their respective owners.