Across six main games and a variety of spin-offs, the Ace Attorney series has introduced a number of criminals. These range from unrepentant murderers to accidental killers, career criminals, hired assassins, mafia leaders, and ordinary people in the wrong place at the wrong time. The original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney's first truly sympathetic murderer, Yanni Yogi, is a compelling character who is used as a lens through which an idealistic Phoenix is forced to confront the flawed realities of the justice system. He also adds complexity to spirit channeling, a major concept appearing throughout the series.
Yanni Yogi is introduced in "Turnabout Goodbyes," the fourth case in the first Ace Attorney game. Yogi was a bailiff who became trapped in a broken elevator with Gregory Edgeworth, the father of Phoenix's rival and eventual spin-off star Miles Edgeworth. When Gregory was found dead, Yogi was accused - including by Gregory's spirit channeled throug a medium. Yogi escapes conviction only due to falsely pleading insanity. When Phoenix encounters Yogi, he is a broken man whose life was ruined by so-called "justice" - a fact the lawyer is forced to confront as Yogi takes the stand and admits his guilt in the murder case.
Yanni Yogi Shows The Justice System's Flaws
Yanni Yogi was forced to act "insane" for years, causing him to lose his job and his fiancee Polly - who commits suicide. Still driven by revenge over a decade later, Yogi kills Robert Hammond, the defense attorney who came up with the idea to plead insanity, and frames Miles Edgeworth. While Yogi's confession allows Phoenix to prove his client and childhood friend Miles innocent, he gets no joy from exposing Yogi, a man whose life was already ruined. This case establishes that the Ace Attorney series is not just going to be about unambiguously heroic lawyers taking down villainous criminals, but will examine the legal system's flaws in great detail.
The case of Yanni Yogi also sets the precedent for similar twists on the formula in later games. In Ace Attorney: Justice for All, Phoenix is forced to defend an unambiguously guilty client and decide between his perfect win record or pursuing the truth. Members of the justice system - including prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges - are shown to be corrupt and imperfect, a trend started with Yogi's case.
Ace Attorney's Spirit Channeling is Imperfect
Spirit channeling is introduced through Maya Fey, Phoenix's assistant. Maya is able to channel the dead, and at first this is primarily used to allow Phoenix's dead mentor, Mia Fey, to contact him from beyond the grave. However, Turnabout Goodbyes establishes that spirit channeling is not always used for good. Maya's mother Misty channeled Gregory's spirit to falsely accuse Yogi. The problems inherent in spirit channeling are then examined in later games, with Misty's ruined reputation playing a major role in Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, and Spirit of Justice taking place in a country where spirit channeling is an established part of the legal system.
No new Ace Attorney games have been announced in several years, although the previously Japan-exclusive Great Ace Attorney games were ported to the West in 2021. Hopefully, if developer Capcom does decide to return to the world of Phoenix Wright, more sympathetic but complex criminals like Yanni Yogi will play a major role in the story.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is available now for Mobile, PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.
