The mysterious country in Ace Attorney 6 is Kurain?

Despite all my speculation that there would be a connection to the Fey family and Kurain Channeling Technique, I didn’t see that one coming.

Capcom released the first official Ace Attorney 6 trailer at TGS, and subbed trailers from Bolt2nd and Calios soon followed. They revealed many new details, including setting’s name, “The Kingdom of Kurain.”

This raises many questions. If this kingdom is part of the Kurain tradition, how do they feel toward the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, Maya Fey? If Ami Fey invented the Kurain Channeling Technique, does this mean these people aren’t mediums, despite their spiritual power? Since their leader uses the name Kurain rather than Fey, it seems likely that the Fey clan split off from the kingdom.

Speaking of their leader, let’s talk about her.

Despite the initial reports that the mysterious woman had a “fourth role” in the courtroom rather than being a prosecutor, so far Princess Leifa Padma Kurain seems much like a prosecutor, albeit one who uses spiritual power and the Water Mirror, which displays the victim’s final moments before death, to make her claims.

Nevertheless, an actual prosecutor was also shown–a crown-wearing Payne (likely Gaspen) who seems to be prosecutor for this game’s tutorial case, according to the Destructoid preview. If Payne and Leifa both appear in the tutorial case, chances are good a new main prosecutor will also be introduced.

Of course, I’m still hoping to see cameos from some of my past favorites. (Hey, maybe Barnham left Labyrinthia and went to Kurain.)

The Water Mirror is an intriguing idea, and I look forward to seeing how Phoenix disproves this seemingly irrefutable evidence. It brings to mind the notorious DL-6 channeling from the first game’s backstory. Perhaps similar sorts of misinformation will be at work.

Fan reactions to the trailer have been mixed. People are displeased for every reason you can imagine: not enough returning characters, too many returning characters, too big a deviation from previous entries, not a big enough deviation from previous entries… you get the idea.

I say it’s too early to make judgement calls on most of this stuff, especially when it comes to returning characters (though Maya is all but guaranteed by the Kurain connection). After all, Apollo wasn’t shown in Dual Destinies promotional material for a long time, and he played a fairly important role in the game.

Some people also dislike that Phoenix goes to another country and immediately begins to revolutionize its court system. Admittedly, it does seem a little arrogant… on the other hand, I can’t see Phoenix Wright letting someone be condemned for murder without a defense.

Share your own thoughts on Kurain, Leifa, and Ace Attorney 6 in general in the comments below. As for me, I’m excited… but I still want The Great Ace Attorney.

Rejoice, Ace Attorney fans! The newest Famitsu preview revealed Ace Attorney 6 for the Nintendo 3DS. Details about the game will be revealed in the next issue of Famitsu, and there will be a playable demo at the Tokyo Game Show (September 17-19).

But that’s not all…

Gyakuten Kenji 2 and Dai Gyakuten Saiban might still be in localization limbo, but Ace Attorney 6 localization has already been confirmed.

A few pieces of information have already been leaked. A scan was uploaded that shows Phoenix Wright, as well as another scan that shows a new character names Bokuto Tsuani, a monk-in-training.

The scans also reveal that Phoenix travels to an unknown country.

This new country deals heavily with the spirits of the dead, so I’d be shocked if Maya doesn’t return.

I’m very curious about the relationship between this country and its monks to the Kurain spirit channelers. The monk is shown with a Magatama, similar to those used by Maya’s family.

It also has a new gameplay element, where a “Water Mirror” on the floor of the courtroom shows Bokuto Tsuani’s face along with words in the water. What this does hasn’t been revealed yet.

This exciting news has left me with tons of questions.

Will Maya return? What about Apollo and Athena? Which supporting cast members will return (*cough*Blackquill?*cough*)? Has the difficulty found a happy medium after Dual Destinies’ too-easy approach? What will the prosecutor be like? Where is this other country?

And of course, since this game’s localization was announced immediately… what about AAI2 and DGS?

While I’m still hoping for an announcement about those two games, this news has thrilled me beyond belief! Share your thoughts on Ace Attorney 6 in the comments below.