Descent

This article contains information from the unofficial English translation patch for Gyakuten Kenji 2.

Owing to the lack of an official translation of the Japan-only Gyakuten Kenji 2, the information and names in this article come from the unofficial English translation patch known as Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth: Prosecutor's Path. More information on this can be found here.

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A descent is a change in demeanor experienced by a character, usually a witness, in response to a stressful situation. This change encompasses its own range of emotional expressions, portrayed using a distinct collection of sprites or model animations. Common examples of such characters include culprits, who tend to transition dramatically at some point after being confronted directly by the protagonist as the real killer. They may drop all pretenses of being an unassuming, upstanding member of society who would certainly never commit a crime as heinous as murder, instead verbally abusing the protagonist and gloating when they believe that they are at an advantage. Some other witnesses may descend when some secret that they are hiding is revealed, and the resulting transformation tends to reflect the fact that the secret no longer needs to be hidden. Non-culprit descents often serve as red herrings to suggest that someone is the culprit while the real killer still remains unknown.

These transitions, which can range from a slight change in demeanor to a drastic alteration of appearance complete with a unique animated sequence, can often serve as an indication of progress for the player, similarly to a boss changing forms or AI patterns in other video games, or a villain undergoing some kind of power-up in an action show. That said, they are not necessarily permanent, as some characters may re-transition between normal and descended states. There is also a particular type of descent known as a breakdown.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney[]

Frank Sahwit — The first example of a full-blown descent sequence in the series. He grabs his toupée and throws it at Phoenix Wright's face, which then slides off to reveal Wright's not-too-impressed facial expression. After this point, he drops all pretenses and succumbs to his rage.
April May — Crosses her arms over her face while she roars and the hearts on her blouse spin rapidly. She then suddenly uncrosses her arms, causing her breasts to bounce three times as her facial expression becomes hideously aggressive-looking.
Yanni Yogi — (Unused) His face changes from a pleased and relaxed expression to a very serious one.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All[]

Matt Engarde — When Wright confronts him as the true killer in the detention center, Engarde pushes back his fringe to reveal scars over his right eye, suddenly gets a glass of wine, and 'introduces' his real self.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney[]

Olga Orly — Pulls off her coat, breaking out of her Russian persona and revealing her true self.
Guy Eldoon — Takes off his "bowl of noodles" hat and starts acting like a serious surgeon.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies[]

Damian Tenma — Pulls a sinister grin as the charm on his forehead blows off and his necktie opens up, becoming "possessed" by Tenma Taro.
Robin Newman — Yells as the screen pans out and flashes blank. Afterwards, her exercise brace falls off, revealing her chest, and her bangs turn outward as she reveals herself as a girl to the court.
Aristotle Means — After Athena questions Professor Means' teaching style, angering him, he taps his staff once and pulls a chalkboard into the room behind him. Then he pulls his hair into a mohawk, resembling the helmet of a Greek warrior. He looks up at the player to reveal the scar over his right eye and that his facial expression has changed from calm to angry, and he taps the board with his chalk.
Solomon Starbuck — After being motivated by Apollo, he wiggles his arms up and slightly lifts himself from the ground, simulating a rocket launch.
Phantom — When his identity as Bobby Fulbright is questioned, the highlights on his eyes are gone, making them appear lifeless. After Blackquill cuts his mask, he removes it, replacing his mask and persona with those of Solomon Starbuck, then Aristotle Means, then Phoenix Wright himself.
Marlon Rimes — Rimes takes the bucket of fish on the ground below him and begins to chug it, then placing it back on the ground and wiping his mouth. He then flexes, causing his shirt to rip off, revealing his true, muscular body. His name tag flips around, revealing a golden chain spelling out his surname, and he puts on a pirate hat and pulls out a swordfish which he slings over his left shoulder.
Simon Blackquill — At least once during each episode in which he prosecutes (save for Turnabout for Tomorrow), Simon angrily slams his fists onto the prosecutor's bench, breaking the chains from his shackles. From this point on, Simon becomes much more aggressive towards the defense, performing his iaijutsu slashes and using his unique Silence! in place of Objection!

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice[]

Pees'lubn Andistan'dhin — When Phoenix Wright calls his faith into question, Andistan'dhin strums his dahmalan. He then unwraps the wire in his hair, causing it to fall, and plugs it into the dahmalan, while two giant boom boxes appear on his sides, finishing it off by playing a riff on the now electric dahmalan.
Betty de Famme — When frustrated to the point where she decides to convince Athena Cykes of her sanity, she swings her parasol around and points it in front of her. The staff opens and reveals that, unlike her sister's, hers is decorated with bat designs. After she raises her umbrella, a lot of bats appear, and her face is covered in shadows, with demonic eyes and grin and bat-styled hair.
Roger Retinz — When first cornered, he rolls up his sleeves to reveal the scars he sustained during the trick that proved fatal to his career, and raises the brim of his hat, cracking a little smile.
Beh'leeb Inmee — Takes off her face veil and then uses her lipstick to draw the Khura'inese mark of death on her forehead.
Geiru Toneido — When initially cornered, she begins to twist her red balloon as normal when making a new animal or art piece. However, when she spins, her balloon instead becomes a "sword" with a yellow blade and a blue hilt, which she brandishes threateningly with a maniacal expression.
Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in — When she reveals she will be prosecuting Dhurke, she has her guards stand in front of her as she changes from her queen attire to her prosecutor attire. The guards step away as she reveals herself and she shows her true colors.
Rayfa Padma Khura'in — As she gains the courage to perform the Divination Séance for her "father", she removes her robe by herself as she reaffirms her duty, then defiantly throws her right hand forward.
Amara Sigatar Khura'in — As Nayna, her sleeves stretch out and rotate around her, forming a purple "cocoon". She then bursts out, revealing her true identity. After Apollo Justice proves her presence in the tomb, she opens her eyes and screams, tears and pink petals flying from her.
Nahyuta Sahdmadhi — When Ga'ran is revealed to be Jove Justice's killer, he takes off the strap to his fingerless glove. After thanking Apollo for freeing him from Ga'ran's grasp, he throws his right hand forward, causing his fingerless glove to fly off and reveal a Defiant Dragons tattoo underneath. He then recites his father's creed.
Pierce Nichody — When he is first cornered, the FXR-UPR mech on his right shoulder explodes, and he recoils to his left. He puts the machine on the stand and wears his handkerchief as a surgeon's mask. Then his hand braces fall off and reveal fully his surgeon's gloves, and the glass of his monocle goes back inside to cover his left eye. Afterward, he receives a screwdriver from a "nurse" off camera, and starts operating on his mech, modifying it into a more menacing form with a red eye that resembles his monocle and with spikes, half its golden casing missing to reveal its black interior.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth[]

Cammy Meele — Pulls back her hair, revealing her blowing soap bubbles, and drops out of her sleepy act.
Quercus Alba — Crosses his arms over his head, straightens his posture and stands tall before opening his arms, breaking his cane and yelling. From this point on, he adopts a much more fierce posture and mannerisms, and his hair no longer covers his face, breaking his fragile old man facade.

Gyakuten Kenji 2[]

Di-Jun Huang (body double) - Roars mightily, letting all the air out of his body, leaving him flabby and disheveled.
Frank Sahwit — Like with Phoenix Wright above, he throws his toupée at Edgeworth's face. It then slides off, revealing a shocked Edgeworth.
Jay Elbird — When one of his pieces in Logic Chess is destroyed, he removes the chains he wears.
Simon Keyes — When confronted as the culprit, he snaps his fingers, causing his monkey, Money, to re-apply his clown makeup and two birds to fly down and rearrange his hair. When they fly away, two squirrels proceed to run up his arms and begin to brush his hair with miniature combs. Money and the squirrels then salute Keyes and his expression suddenly turns stern, at which point Money and the two squirrels dive off of him. He opens his eyes and reveals his true, sinister self.

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney[]

Kira — When she is exposed as the "witch" who "murdered" Robbs and Muggs, once Zacharias Barnham questions the reason she would reappear behind Emeer Punchenbaug, she looks down briefly, then quickly brings her head back up and laughs manically while vehemently denying the accusation. From that moment until her breakdown, she verbally taunts and assaults Phoenix Wright and Hershel Layton whenever she gains the advantage.
Jean Greyerl — When she reveals her true gender, she pulls out the long hair that was tucked in her collar, letting it flow down.

The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures[]

Barok van Zieks — In every episode in which he prosecutes (save for The Return of the Great Departed Soul), whenever he is forced to become more "aggressive" in his courtroom tactics, he dramatically throws off his robe.
Ashley Graydon — After testifying for the first time in court, he takes off his top hat and throws it towards Ryunosuke Naruhodo.

The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve[]

Raiten Menimemo — Throws his hat on the ground.
William Shamspeare — When cornered and his motive for wanting to oust Soseki Natsume revealed, he looks down in despair as he remembers his final conversation with Selden before the latter's death. He then rises back up to reveal a manic face and unsteady stance, dropping his theatrical linguistics to reveal his normal accent.
Seishiro Jigoku — As his cover-up of Tobias Gregson's murder is further and further unraveled, he begins dramatically slamming his fist onto the witness stand whenever pressured.
Mael Stronghart — Slams his fist and get up from the judge's seat whenever he is being pressured. In this state, at various points he can be seen sweating, breathing heavily, or laughing arrogantly. The concept artwork depicts his hair becoming more unkempt, the "horn" at the front transforming into more of a raging inferno.