Ace Attorney: Back in Business

Ace Attorney: Back in Buisness is a series of Snatverse-setting'd fancases created by Snail and Kitty, released for public contamination on ???. It began development in May of 2021, and began transfer to the Pywright engine in ???. It is the first installment of the Snatverse, and was written with a western audience in mind.

## Plot

The series takes place a year after the events of Spirit of Justice. Phoenix Wright and Athena Cykes have returned to the States, while Apollo Justice remained in Khura'in.

After the events of Dual Destinies and Wright's immediate departure from the State's legal system to visit Khura'in, things have 'slowed down' due to Miles Edgeworth's work as chief prosecutor. Things take a turn when Edgeworth is accused (and subsequently found guilty for) for the murder of Luke Atmey, thus causing another 'Dark Age of Law' because of his high standing as chief prosecutor.

The series has Wright feverishly trying to save Edgeworth from the guilty verdict he has already submitted to, a parallel to Simon Blackquill and Cyke's relationship in Dual Destinies.

### **Episodes**

* Turnabout Monkey - After returning from vacation, Cykes takes Fey out for a trip to the Berry Big Times to have them both relax. However, the murder of amusement park owner Moe the Clown sees Cykes take on a case to defend Money the Monkey from euthanasia at Regina Berry's request.
* Turnabout Purple Guy - When Apollo returned from Khura'in for a brief stint as a security guard at Fazbear Fright, he went missing. After the place burned down, it's up to Athena to figure out what happened to Apollo and prove that a walking bunny didn't cause the arson in question.
* Turnabout Noise - Winston Payne is accused of the murder of Vee Seear. Wright decides to take on his case not only to defend him, but to find out more about the news conglomerate Seear belonged to.

## Characters

### **Protagonists**

* Athena Cykes - Although her name is not in the title, Cykes takes up the majority of the game at three cases with her as the protagonist compared to Wright's two. She is brash and a little rough around the edges still, but is slowly opening up to new ways of thinking through the duration of the of the plot with the help of others.
* Phoenix Wright - Wright is a matured but slightly now delusional defense attorney after the events of Spirit of Justice because of its grandiose stakes. Unknown to him, it affirmed a subconscious personal belief about the State's version of the law being more 'just' than foreign ones. He undergoes slight character corruption as cases continue, beginning to value a 'ambition over truth' ideology, even if he doesn't personally realize it.

### **Side Protagonists**

* Maya Fey - After returning from her training in Khura'in, she is able to now channel spirits for extremely long periods of time. However, her sense of self has been greatly diminished due to her constant use as a tool for others, either for kidnapping purposes or channeling purposes. She remains plucky and optimistic in spite of this and her noted lack of therapy.
* Luke Atmey - An ex-detective who Fey channels in order to gain information and to have him investigate for Wright and Co. He is a touch more violent and outwardly threatening in the fancase due to his treatment as a tool (similarly to Maya) which he openly resents.

### **Returning characters**

* Winston Payne - Wright's self-acclaimed sixty year old rival who reappears in two cases and is a central character due to it, a first for any of the Paynes.
* Moe the Clown - Moe, now an amusement park owner, has expanded the Berry Big Circus into the Berry Big Times. He is stated to be an entrepreneur without parallel.
* Valant Gramarye - Valant is a magician who travelled by himself for a while before settling for employment at the Berry Big Times, where he has remained for a number of years now.
* Money the Monkey - A senior-aged monkey. Despite being a monkey, he still has more agency than Edgeworth does.
* Regina Berry - The heiress of the Berry name and animal trainer, she continues to work at the Berry Big Times despite Moe providing most of all of her revenue for her.
* Shelly de Killer - An assassin-turned-clown who works for the Berry Big Times, he appears to have forgotten what job he was originally there to do, or if he was even meant to have done a job at all.
* Professor Layton - A British archeologist with a thirst for puzzle solving, he always seems to know a little bit more than the characters in the plot do.

### **New characters**

* Mr. Bones - An acrobat the Berry Big Times, on top of many other things.
* Tia Rahport - A television reporter working for B.A.D.
* Vee Seear - A cameraperson who follows Rahport around.
* Avery Badgai - A mobster prosecutor who wears her legacy on her sleeve.
* Mr. News - The news director for the Japanifornia state, also works for B.A.D.

## Gameplay

As a visual novel, Back in Buisness plays the same as any other fancase. It does remove some key aspects of other games from the main series (such as the new ability used in courts; Insight). However, with the inclusion of Maya Fey's spirit channeling technique comes Luke Atmey's special ability; Assumption. It involves Atmey querying about specific parts or aspects of people he is able to pick up on, either from previous dialogue or from their appearance by itself to unveil more of the person's character or history. The new element was kept relatively simple for the sake of the dual engines the game is run on, as anything too complex may only run on one but not the other.

## Trivia

* Originally an order of multiple cases being sequentially tied together, it was decided over the year of brainstorming / idea forming that it'd be better off if they were one-shot cases tied together by nothing other than a

## Gallery

Promotional image.One of the original statements made about Back in Business. Screencapped 7/4/2021.