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This article contains information about Ace Attorney media that has been released only in Japan.
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The following article is a timeline of the Ace Attorney universe.

Basic reckoning

It is important to note that the years used in this timeline are mostly based on the full date given on a DL-6 Incident case summary file, with all other events being portrayed as relative to other dates as opposed to having a definite point of occurrence. The murder of Gregory Edgeworth is recorded as having occurred on December 28, 2001. By the statute of limitations an unsolved case is closed permanently 15 years after its opening, putting the final resolution of the incident at December 28, 2016. Furthermore, a poster seen for Trucy In Gramarye-Land in The Magical Turnabout has its days of the week match up with 2028, which is consistent when adding up the years between it and the final resolution of DL-6. From this, it is possible to construct a timeline of the Ace Attorney universe.

For Dai Gyakuten Saiban: Naruhodō Ryūnosuke no Bōken, the basis for its timeline is the date of birth of the character Sōseki Natsume, who is based on the real life author of the same name. Natsume was born in 1867, and is 33 when he is introduced, which would place The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro in 1900.

Complications

The developers of the Ace Attorney games, in particular the people in charge of putting down the ages of characters in the court record, have not paid much attention to any absolute timeline. This is evident in the fact that characters' ages do not change within a game (except during "flashback" cases), even when a new year passes by. This has led to some inconsistencies in character birthdates. The timeline for this page treats the "present" timeline of an individual game as a "year" (much like school terms that straddle the new year), which resolves some of these issues. More information on this can be found here.

Since the organizer profiles in Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Gyakuten Kenji 2 fit with corresponding court record profiles in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, the 2018-2019 "year" used in Trials and Tribulations is used for the purpose of birth years in these games.

The timeline itself follows. Please note that some of these dates are extrapolations (e.g., "two weeks after Phoenix Wright's disbarment" becomes "May 3") and may not be exactly correct. Nonetheless, it's unlikely that the "true" dates will ever be pinned down.

Additionally, while it is noted above that the basis for placing The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro in 1900 is based on the age of Sōseki Natsume, the real Sōseki Natsume was only present in the UK from 1901 to 1903. This is presumed to simply be artistic license. As he returned to Japan in January 1903, yet returns in the game immediately after The Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro (February), plus the fact that he would be 36 in 1903, the real-life dates are rendered irreconcilable with the dates in-game.

A free DLC pack for Dai Gyakuten Saiban notes that the game was set in 1897 in early drafts, but the year is never mentioned in the main game. Thus, it is unknown if this is still the intended date.

The events of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney are not given any date stamps within the game, so its placement on the timeline is debatable. The character designs and Maya's use of the word "Zvarri" indicate that it is definitely sometime between October 2018 and April 2019. Some speculate that the reference to Hazakura Temple indicates after February 2019, but there is nothing in this reference to indicate that Phoenix had prior knowledge of the temple's existence. The lack of snow in both London and Labyrinthia also goes against the February date stamp. A plot hole in Recipe for Turnabout may provide a more accurate placement for the game's events. Gumshoe does not confront Phoenix about the Trés Bien incident until a month after it occurs, nor does Phoenix have any knowledge of it in that time, despite its publicity. It's possible that he was in London during that time, hence his obliviousness, which is this article's basis for the dates given regarding Layton vs Wright. It should be noted, however, that this is still speculation. As far as the Bonus Episodes are concerned, they are intended to give more of a "Behind the Scenes" perspective on the game and are not considered canon.

Pre-1830

1830s

1840s

1850s

1860s

1870s

1880s

1890s

1890

1895

  • Barok van Zieks takes a five-year leave of absence.

1898

  • Iris Watson takes on the Watson name.

1899

1900s

  • Early 1900s: The first "de Killer" appears.

1900

  • January: Duncan Ross is murdered by William Petenshy.
  • February 15: Mortar Milverton is murdered by Cosney Megundal.
    • February 17: Viridian Green attempts to murder William Petenshy, and is accidentally stabbed in back by Joan Garrideb and goes into a coma.
    • February 18: Ryūnosuke Naruhodō and Susato Mikotoba arrive in the Great British Empire. Ryūnosuke makes his English court début in the trial of Cosney Megundal for the murder of Mortar Milverton. Cosney Megundal is burned to death after the trial.
    • February 20: Trial of Sōseki Natsume for the attempted murder of Viridian Green.
    • February 21: William Petenshy is indirectly and non-fatally poisoned. Viridian Green awakens from her coma.
    • February 22-23: Trial of Sōseki Natsume for the attempted murder of William Petenshy.
    • February 24: Sōseki Natsume leaves for Japan. His cat, Wagahai, is left in the care of Iris Watson.
  • April 16: Hatch Windibank is murdered by Robert Crogley. Sherlock Holmes is injured by Tinpillar brothers.
    • April 17: Trial of Gina Lestrade for the murder of Hatch Windibank.
    • April 18: Susato Mikotoba leaves for Japan.
    • Ryūnosuke Naruhodō and Tobias Gregson are suspended from work due to the events of the trial.
  • Between April 18 and October 21: Kazuma Asōgi arrives in the Great British Empire on a cargo ship and is appointed as the "Masked Disciple" to Barok van Zieks by Hart Vortex.
  • June: Susato Mikotoba arrives in Japan.
  • August 11: Jezail Brett is murdered by Heita Mamemomi.
    • August 13: Trial of Haori Murasame for the murder of Jezail Brett. Susato Mikotoba makes her court début disguised as "Ryūtarō Naruhodō".
  • September: Trial of Elyder Meningen for being the leader of a crime syndicate. Because of the corrupted jury, he is found not guilty.
  • Before October 21: Tobias Gregson's suspension is lifted.
  • October 21: Elyder Meningen is murdered by Courtney Sithe with the help of Enoch Drebber.
    • October 22: Ryūnosuke Naruhodō's suspension is lifted.
    • October 23: Susato Mikotoba arrives in the Great British Empire.
    • October 23-24: Trial of Benjamin Dobinbough for the murder of Elyder Meningen.
  • October 31: Tobias Gregson is murdered by Seishirou Jigoku.
    • November 1: Yūjin Mikotoba and Seishirou Jigoku arrive in the Great British Empire.
    • November 2-4: Secret trial of Barok van Zieks for the murder of Tobias Gregson.
    • November 4: Hart Vortex is removed from his position as Chief Justice of London.
    • November 7: Ryūnosuke Naruhodō, Susato Mikotoba, and Yūjin Mikotoba return to Japan.

1901

1910-1939

  • July 30, 1912: Japan's Meiji period ends.
  • May 19, 1913: The California Alien Land Law of 1913, which exists in the real world, fails to be passed.
  • September 7, 1923: International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) is established.

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2000-2005

2005-2010

2010s

2010-2016

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020s

2020

2023

2025

  • January: Guy Eldoon takes over his father's noodle stand.

2026

2027

2028

References

  1. Phoenix: My client's neighbor -- one Ives Shineto, age 85 -- gave the following statement: "The Atishons showed me the crystal back when I was but a lad."
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Revolution (in English). 2016.
  2. Patches: He's a baseball player! A really great one, too! Owen Gonzales, thirty-six years old. He's a "cleanup," fourth-place hitter, of course.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Storyteller (in English). 2016.
  3. Bikini: It all happened twenty years ago... After the clan leadership was taken from her by her sister, Mystic Morgan's life crumbled.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations. Capcom. Episode: Bridge to the Turnabout (in English). 2007.
  4. Phoenix: So Azura Summers was the trainer before you?
    Buckler: That's right! She was a year older than me.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Reclaimed (in English). 2013.
  5. Phoenix: It's been two weeks since your father... disappeared.
    Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Succession (in English). 2007.
  6. Payne: For the benefit of the shamelessly uninformed defense, let me share this newspaper article. It includes photos taken about eight years ago when the treasure was unearthed.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: The Foreign Turnabout (in English). 2016.
  7. Clonco: I was born seven years ago! Miss Aura was much, much younger then!
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout for Tomorrow (in English). 2013.
  8. Phoenix: Athena's mother's murder... ...did it by any chance have any connection to the HAT-1 launch?
    Woods: What? Why, yes... it did. As I recall, it happened on the day before the launch.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout for Tomorrow (in English). 2013.
  9. Judge: And when did this man take over for you?
    Retinz: About two years ago. I taught him my tricks, and even acted as his producer.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: The Magical Turnabout (in English). 2016.
  10. Beh'leeb: About two years ago, while my husband was at a spiritual retreat in the mountains... ...he came across Puhray collapsed on the ground. That's when he brought him here.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: The Rite of Turnabout (in English). 2016.
  11. Phoenix: He's chief prosecutor now. Pretty soon, it'll be a year, right?
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout for Tomorrow (in English). 2013.
  12. Edgeworth: An unidentified body that was found a year ago... ...has now been proven to possess Bobby Fulbright's fingerprints.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout for Tomorrow (in English). 2013.
  13. Phoenix: After March 8th of last year, the content of this notebook changes dramatically.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Time Traveler (in English). 2016.
  14. Maya: It looks like a newspaper article.
    Phoenix: Let's see... It's about the car accident Sorin's sister died in! It happened on... March 8th... That's the day Sorin's notebook completely changed...
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Time Traveler (in English). 2016.
  15. Ema: A police report was filed concerning the theft -- one year ago, in fact.
    Apollo: What?! A whole year ago?
    Ema: August 25 of last year, to be exact. The report states, and I quote... "The Crystal of Ami Fey was discovered to be missing from the Atishon storehouse at 10 AM. The storehouse lock had been picked. Signed, Paul Atishon-Wimperson."
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Revolution (in English). 2016.
  16. Sarge: Mama passed away about six months ago.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice. Capcom. Episode: Turnabout Revolution (in English). 2016.
  17. Cosmos: As for the Hope probe, it did eventually arrive safely at its destination! It obtained a few samples from the asteroid, and returned to Earth but a few days ago! [...] The samples are scheduled for analysis in the near future. We haven't had time, since they just came back the day before Terran's murder.
    Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Capcom. Episode: The Cosmic Turnabout (in English). 2013.
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