Looking Back (Awards Ceremony is out!)

[DJJ6800]

Hm. I couldn't decide which love song to do a joke about in this post so I'll do a bunch of them.

And iiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIiiiiiiiii will always love yooooooouuuuuuu~

That's the power of love~

And I would do anything for love but I won't do that~

Shot through the heart, and you're to blame! You give love a bad name!

What is love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more~

[Awsome2464]

Shot through the heart, and you're to blame! You give love a bad name!

That honestly sums up the case premise pretty well.

[risefromtheashes]

Shot through the heart, and you're to blame! You give love a bad name!

That honestly sums up the case premise pretty well.

It's honestly impressive just how well this summed up the case. (Also, the next reviews are being worked on!)

[clcman]

It's honestly impressive just how well this summed up the case.

We in the peanut gallery seem to have had an excellent instinct for what these cases are without ever playing them this time around.

[Super legenda]

Dream of a Better Turnabout, by ZekromFan57.
Themes Used: Roulette Rules (Future Shock), I Want to Believe, Never Trust the Narrator

Spoiler : risefromtheashes's Review :

"Nothing happened."
- Jake Flint

Overall: A lot of things happened.

Story: Simultaneously the best and most lacking part of this case. The amount of work put into this case in just three and a half months was nothing short of incredible. This, dear AAO members, is a complete 5-part case (one of which is pretty short, but still).
The case logic was mostly surprisingly solid for what I understand to be Zekrom's first case (seriously, there were like, 15-20 pieces of evidence total, but they all made sense!). However, there were several details/contradictions that ended up being mentioned/revealed before they actually had to be used in court, which was disappointing.
I think the weakest part of this case was the characters. Some of them had some pretty funny moments, but aside from that, the pacing was so quick that it ended up giving the characters no time for actual development. So while I knew exactly who was who, and everyone did have a unique quality or two about them that made them memorable, they still didn't really stand out as much as I would like. ("Stand out" isn't the best way to describe what I mean, but I hope it's clear that their... well, characters, needed fleshing out.) There were also moments where characters' motivations just didn't make sense (though not many - most of the time, those were clear).
This quick pacing did really take its toll on the case in other ways, too, especially during Part 1. There were a lot of characters introduced very quickly (because it didn't take long to investigate each location), so I felt overwhelmed by the amount of profiles by the time I was done. However, the number of characters is actually fitting for this case - there just needs to be more dialogue and some slower pacing.
There was also a character (arguably two, but I think one of them is not that bad) that was WAAAAAY too young for their sprite set. Aging them up by, like, 6-8 years would've probably solved that problem. Small potatoes, though.
The biggest twist, aside from the killer - while VERY cool, and I would've never expected it (I was literally trying to figure it out, too!) - did disappoint me a tinge, because I don't think it was hinted at enough. Zekrom did say that there were some hints in an earlier part of the case, but I really did not see them at all, and even then, I feel like there should've been a couple more closer to the reveal - which was literally dropped like a bomb. (That's not a bad thing by itself - I really liked that - but it does merit a suiting setup.)
The killer's identity was quite surprising, and I never expected it - in a good way. However, I felt like this person's character should have been fleshed out a lot more during interactions with them (especially post-reveal), given the amount of information that we had found out about them beforehand.

That's about all I can say without spoiling anything - an impressive job, especially with the case logic and killer, but some major touch-ups are needed in terms of case length and character development. I'm pleasantly surprised - and keep in mind, (unless I'm mistaken) this is Zekrom's first case! Big props to them.

Presentation: Mostly good, with some hiccups. There were a lot of custom sprites imported from the Random Characters thread, and they all worked well. There was also a good amount of custom music, which I enjoyed. Custom and edited backgrounds enhanced the experience. However, the pacing of some of the music was strange (there was one theme that literally only played for one frame, which I clicked through - there are some less jarring examples), and there were a couple of grammatical mistakes (though not many). Overall good, though!

Gameplay: Nothing much to say here, as most of this case is investigation and trial segments, BUT there was one new game mechanic that lets you use a literal lie detector on people - both during the investigation and trials. I was pleasantly surprised by this! There were also a couple of segments where you literally go into the defendant's dreams (future, baby!) to figure out something important to the case, which had some puzzles! I really enjoyed these, even if they were a bit too easy, in my opinion. The only real complaints I have are that there were a few moments where I felt I should have been able to present a piece of evidence at a statement, but wasn't, and that the pathing when Moving between locations was a bit confusing.

Theme Relevance: I can't say much without spoiling the case, but this case fit all three themes. It is set in the future (with a premise to match the new gameplay!), and it does incorporate a supernatural element and there is a twist involving the narrator.

Conclusion: This was wildly impressive for someone's first case. A VERY strong contender for this comp. Watch out.

Super legenda's review:

Spoiler : :

Ah yes, the Ultimate Crime Motive: being a loner, that's relatable.

Story: The part with the biggest potential... but sadly, with some pretty big flaws, the whole plot is a really unique concept, with many giant bombs of twists, but... it lacks in execution, the case is a LOT of work done for just 3 months, with several decently sized parts, but as it shows, in exchange everything went over too quickly, not giving time for things to develop, and in certain cases, having really giant logic leaps and even completely out of nowhere things. The main big twists in the case would be completely shocking and incredible in normal circumstances, but due to the pace and them not having any noticeable foreshadowing, they get a "What??" from me, they are still great twists, but could be developed better. But, I believe that this is Zekrom's first case, so it still is one hell of a cool story for a first time, true potential right there.

Presentation:: It was pretty good, there was a good amount of both Canon and Custom sprites sets, and a giant amount of non AA music and many custom backgrounds, the "Dream sequences" stands out, being pretty... psychedelic.
There has been some grammar mistakes, weirdly placed music that for some reason instantly stops in the very next frame, and especially, Dialogue boxes that often are toooo long and usually surpasses the usual 3 lines per box.

Gameplay: The gameplay aspect of the case was pretty well done, and I gotta say, was on the Harder side of things, as I was stuck for a long time in the first investigation due to not finding a specific evidence, and needed to check the walkthrough a good amount of times for several contradictions, though also, I must admit that while most of the contradictions do make sense, a bunch of the harder ones were also tough due to being around some pretty big leap.
There's also a new gimmick: A remote that works as a lie detector, outside court it works like the Magatama, starting Psyche Locks sequences, though it also allows to do something else in those parts. In trials the player can pick between Press or use the control in each statement during several cross examinations to find a lie, which is pretty cool.

Theme relevance: I don't want to go into spoilers territory, so I'll make it short, the case makes a really good use on its themes, with a future setting where tech is amazing, a supernatural element, etc.

Conclusion: Truly, a case with tons of potential, it just needs some good fleshing out to make everything make sense, and slow down the pace a bit, and it can be top notch in my opinion.

[risefromtheashes]

Dream of a Better Turnabout, by ZekromFan57.
Themes Used: Roulette Rules (Future Shock), I Want to Believe, Never Trust the Narrator

Spoiler : risefromtheashes's Review :

"Nothing happened."
- Jake Flint

Overall: A lot of things happened.

Story: Simultaneously the best and most lacking part of this case. The amount of work put into this case in just three and a half months was nothing short of incredible. This, dear AAO members, is a complete 5-part case (one of which is pretty short, but still).
The case logic was mostly surprisingly solid for what I understand to be Zekrom's first case (seriously, there were like, 15-20 pieces of evidence total, but they all made sense!). However, there were several details/contradictions that ended up being mentioned/revealed before they actually had to be used in court, which was disappointing.
I think the weakest part of this case was the characters. Some of them had some pretty funny moments, but aside from that, the pacing was so quick that it ended up giving the characters no time for actual development. So while I knew exactly who was who, and everyone did have a unique quality or two about them that made them memorable, they still didn't really stand out as much as I would like. ("Stand out" isn't the best way to describe what I mean, but I hope it's clear that their... well, characters, needed fleshing out.) There were also moments where characters' motivations just didn't make sense (though not many - most of the time, those were clear).
This quick pacing did really take its toll on the case in other ways, too, especially during Part 1. There were a lot of characters introduced very quickly (because it didn't take long to investigate each location), so I felt overwhelmed by the amount of profiles by the time I was done. However, the number of characters is actually fitting for this case - there just needs to be more dialogue and some slower pacing.
There was also a character (arguably two, but I think one of them is not that bad) that was WAAAAAY too young for their sprite set. Aging them up by, like, 6-8 years would've probably solved that problem. Small potatoes, though.
The biggest twist, aside from the killer - while VERY cool, and I would've never expected it (I was literally trying to figure it out, too!) - did disappoint me a tinge, because I don't think it was hinted at enough. Zekrom did say that there were some hints in an earlier part of the case, but I really did not see them at all, and even then, I feel like there should've been a couple more closer to the reveal - which was literally dropped like a bomb. (That's not a bad thing by itself - I really liked that - but it does merit a suiting setup.)
The killer's identity was quite surprising, and I never expected it - in a good way. However, I felt like this person's character should have been fleshed out a lot more during interactions with them (especially post-reveal), given the amount of information that we had found out about them beforehand.

That's about all I can say without spoiling anything - an impressive job, especially with the case logic and killer, but some major touch-ups are needed in terms of case length and character development. I'm pleasantly surprised - and keep in mind, (unless I'm mistaken) this is Zekrom's first case! Big props to them.

Presentation: Mostly good, with some hiccups. There were a lot of custom sprites imported from the Random Characters thread, and they all worked well. There was also a good amount of custom music, which I enjoyed. Custom and edited backgrounds enhanced the experience. However, the pacing of some of the music was strange (there was one theme that literally only played for one frame, which I clicked through - there are some less jarring examples), and there were a couple of grammatical mistakes (though not many). Overall good, though!

Gameplay: Nothing much to say here, as most of this case is investigation and trial segments, BUT there was one new game mechanic that lets you use a literal lie detector on people - both during the investigation and trials. I was pleasantly surprised by this! There were also a couple of segments where you literally go into the defendant's dreams (future, baby!) to figure out something important to the case, which had some puzzles! I really enjoyed these, even if they were a bit too easy, in my opinion. The only real complaints I have are that there were a few moments where I felt I should have been able to present a piece of evidence at a statement, but wasn't, and that the pathing when Moving between locations was a bit confusing.

Theme Relevance: I can't say much without spoiling the case, but this case fit all three themes. It is set in the future (with a premise to match the new gameplay!), and it does incorporate a supernatural element and there is a twist involving the narrator.

Conclusion: This was wildly impressive for someone's first case. A VERY strong contender for this comp. Watch out.

Super legenda's review:

Spoiler : :

Ah yes, the Ultimate Crime Motive: being a loner, that's relatable.

Story: The part with the biggest potential... but sadly, with some pretty big flaws, the whole plot is a really unique concept, with many giant bombs of twists, but... it lacks in execution, the case is a LOT of work done for just 3 months, with several decently sized parts, but as it shows, in exchange everything went over too quickly, not giving time for things to develop, and in certain cases, having really giant logic leaps and even completely out of nowhere things. The main big twists in the case would be completely shocking and incredible in normal circumstances, but due to the pace and them not having any noticeable foreshadowing, they get a "What??" from me, they are still great twists, but could be developed better. But, I believe that this is Zekrom's first case, so it still is one hell of a cool story for a first time, true potential right there.

Presentation:: It was pretty good, there was a good amount of both Canon and Custom sprites sets, and a giant amount of non AA music and many custom backgrounds, the "Dream sequences" stands out, being pretty... psychedelic.
There has been some grammar mistakes, weirdly placed music that for some reason instantly stops in the very next frame, and especially, Dialogue boxes that often are toooo long and usually surpasses the usual 3 lines per box.

Gameplay: The gameplay aspect of the case was pretty well done, and I gotta say, was on the Harder side of things, as I was stuck for a long time in the first investigation due to not finding a specific evidence, and needed to check the walkthrough a good amount of times for several contradictions, though also, I must admit that while most of the contradictions do make sense, a bunch of the harder ones were also tough due to being around some pretty big leap.
There's also a new gimmick: A remote that works as a lie detector, outside court it works like the Magatama, starting Psyche Locks sequences, though it also allows to do something else in those parts. In trials the player can pick between Press or use the control in each statement during several cross examinations to find a lie, which is pretty cool.

Theme relevance: I don't want to go into spoilers territory, so I'll make it short, the case makes a really good use on its themes, with a future setting where tech is amazing, a supernatural element, etc.

Conclusion: Truly, a case with tons of potential, it just needs some good fleshing out to make everything make sense, and slow down the pace a bit, and it can be top notch in my opinion.

You should call ZekromFan57 "Blackrune", because that was... one hell of a turnabout.

[Super legenda]

Dream of a Better Turnabout, by ZekromFan57.
Themes Used: Roulette Rules (Future Shock), I Want to Believe, Never Trust the Narrator

Spoiler : risefromtheashes's Review :

"Nothing happened."
- Jake Flint

Overall: A lot of things happened.

Story: Simultaneously the best and most lacking part of this case. The amount of work put into this case in just three and a half months was nothing short of incredible. This, dear AAO members, is a complete 5-part case (one of which is pretty short, but still).
The case logic was mostly surprisingly solid for what I understand to be Zekrom's first case (seriously, there were like, 15-20 pieces of evidence total, but they all made sense!). However, there were several details/contradictions that ended up being mentioned/revealed before they actually had to be used in court, which was disappointing.
I think the weakest part of this case was the characters. Some of them had some pretty funny moments, but aside from that, the pacing was so quick that it ended up giving the characters no time for actual development. So while I knew exactly who was who, and everyone did have a unique quality or two about them that made them memorable, they still didn't really stand out as much as I would like. ("Stand out" isn't the best way to describe what I mean, but I hope it's clear that their... well, characters, needed fleshing out.) There were also moments where characters' motivations just didn't make sense (though not many - most of the time, those were clear).
This quick pacing did really take its toll on the case in other ways, too, especially during Part 1. There were a lot of characters introduced very quickly (because it didn't take long to investigate each location), so I felt overwhelmed by the amount of profiles by the time I was done. However, the number of characters is actually fitting for this case - there just needs to be more dialogue and some slower pacing.
There was also a character (arguably two, but I think one of them is not that bad) that was WAAAAAY too young for their sprite set. Aging them up by, like, 6-8 years would've probably solved that problem. Small potatoes, though.
The biggest twist, aside from the killer - while VERY cool, and I would've never expected it (I was literally trying to figure it out, too!) - did disappoint me a tinge, because I don't think it was hinted at enough. Zekrom did say that there were some hints in an earlier part of the case, but I really did not see them at all, and even then, I feel like there should've been a couple more closer to the reveal - which was literally dropped like a bomb. (That's not a bad thing by itself - I really liked that - but it does merit a suiting setup.)
The killer's identity was quite surprising, and I never expected it - in a good way. However, I felt like this person's character should have been fleshed out a lot more during interactions with them (especially post-reveal), given the amount of information that we had found out about them beforehand.

That's about all I can say without spoiling anything - an impressive job, especially with the case logic and killer, but some major touch-ups are needed in terms of case length and character development. I'm pleasantly surprised - and keep in mind, (unless I'm mistaken) this is Zekrom's first case! Big props to them.

Presentation: Mostly good, with some hiccups. There were a lot of custom sprites imported from the Random Characters thread, and they all worked well. There was also a good amount of custom music, which I enjoyed. Custom and edited backgrounds enhanced the experience. However, the pacing of some of the music was strange (there was one theme that literally only played for one frame, which I clicked through - there are some less jarring examples), and there were a couple of grammatical mistakes (though not many). Overall good, though!

Gameplay: Nothing much to say here, as most of this case is investigation and trial segments, BUT there was one new game mechanic that lets you use a literal lie detector on people - both during the investigation and trials. I was pleasantly surprised by this! There were also a couple of segments where you literally go into the defendant's dreams (future, baby!) to figure out something important to the case, which had some puzzles! I really enjoyed these, even if they were a bit too easy, in my opinion. The only real complaints I have are that there were a few moments where I felt I should have been able to present a piece of evidence at a statement, but wasn't, and that the pathing when Moving between locations was a bit confusing.

Theme Relevance: I can't say much without spoiling the case, but this case fit all three themes. It is set in the future (with a premise to match the new gameplay!), and it does incorporate a supernatural element and there is a twist involving the narrator.

Conclusion: This was wildly impressive for someone's first case. A VERY strong contender for this comp. Watch out.

Super legenda's review:

Spoiler : :

Ah yes, the Ultimate Crime Motive: being a loner, that's relatable.

Story: The part with the biggest potential... but sadly, with some pretty big flaws, the whole plot is a really unique concept, with many giant bombs of twists, but... it lacks in execution, the case is a LOT of work done for just 3 months, with several decently sized parts, but as it shows, in exchange everything went over too quickly, not giving time for things to develop, and in certain cases, having really giant logic leaps and even completely out of nowhere things. The main big twists in the case would be completely shocking and incredible in normal circumstances, but due to the pace and them not having any noticeable foreshadowing, they get a "What??" from me, they are still great twists, but could be developed better. But, I believe that this is Zekrom's first case, so it still is one hell of a cool story for a first time, true potential right there.

Presentation:: It was pretty good, there was a good amount of both Canon and Custom sprites sets, and a giant amount of non AA music and many custom backgrounds, the "Dream sequences" stands out, being pretty... psychedelic.
There has been some grammar mistakes, weirdly placed music that for some reason instantly stops in the very next frame, and especially, Dialogue boxes that often are toooo long and usually surpasses the usual 3 lines per box.

Gameplay: The gameplay aspect of the case was pretty well done, and I gotta say, was on the Harder side of things, as I was stuck for a long time in the first investigation due to not finding a specific evidence, and needed to check the walkthrough a good amount of times for several contradictions, though also, I must admit that while most of the contradictions do make sense, a bunch of the harder ones were also tough due to being around some pretty big leap.
There's also a new gimmick: A remote that works as a lie detector, outside court it works like the Magatama, starting Psyche Locks sequences, though it also allows to do something else in those parts. In trials the player can pick between Press or use the control in each statement during several cross examinations to find a lie, which is pretty cool.

Theme relevance: I don't want to go into spoilers territory, so I'll make it short, the case makes a really good use on its themes, with a future setting where tech is amazing, a supernatural element, etc.

Conclusion: Truly, a case with tons of potential, it just needs some good fleshing out to make everything make sense, and slow down the pace a bit, and it can be top notch in my opinion.

You should call ZekromFan57 "Blackrune", because that was... one hell of a turnabout.

Blackrune... Pokemon Black... It's all coming together.

[risefromtheashes]

Dream of a Better Turnabout, by ZekromFan57.
Themes Used: Roulette Rules (Future Shock), I Want to Believe, Never Trust the Narrator

Spoiler : risefromtheashes's Review :

"Nothing happened."
- Jake Flint

Overall: A lot of things happened.

Story: Simultaneously the best and most lacking part of this case. The amount of work put into this case in just three and a half months was nothing short of incredible. This, dear AAO members, is a complete 5-part case (one of which is pretty short, but still).
The case logic was mostly surprisingly solid for what I understand to be Zekrom's first case (seriously, there were like, 15-20 pieces of evidence total, but they all made sense!). However, there were several details/contradictions that ended up being mentioned/revealed before they actually had to be used in court, which was disappointing.
I think the weakest part of this case was the characters. Some of them had some pretty funny moments, but aside from that, the pacing was so quick that it ended up giving the characters no time for actual development. So while I knew exactly who was who, and everyone did have a unique quality or two about them that made them memorable, they still didn't really stand out as much as I would like. ("Stand out" isn't the best way to describe what I mean, but I hope it's clear that their... well, characters, needed fleshing out.) There were also moments where characters' motivations just didn't make sense (though not many - most of the time, those were clear).
This quick pacing did really take its toll on the case in other ways, too, especially during Part 1. There were a lot of characters introduced very quickly (because it didn't take long to investigate each location), so I felt overwhelmed by the amount of profiles by the time I was done. However, the number of characters is actually fitting for this case - there just needs to be more dialogue and some slower pacing.
There was also a character (arguably two, but I think one of them is not that bad) that was WAAAAAY too young for their sprite set. Aging them up by, like, 6-8 years would've probably solved that problem. Small potatoes, though.
The biggest twist, aside from the killer - while VERY cool, and I would've never expected it (I was literally trying to figure it out, too!) - did disappoint me a tinge, because I don't think it was hinted at enough. Zekrom did say that there were some hints in an earlier part of the case, but I really did not see them at all, and even then, I feel like there should've been a couple more closer to the reveal - which was literally dropped like a bomb. (That's not a bad thing by itself - I really liked that - but it does merit a suiting setup.)
The killer's identity was quite surprising, and I never expected it - in a good way. However, I felt like this person's character should have been fleshed out a lot more during interactions with them (especially post-reveal), given the amount of information that we had found out about them beforehand.

That's about all I can say without spoiling anything - an impressive job, especially with the case logic and killer, but some major touch-ups are needed in terms of case length and character development. I'm pleasantly surprised - and keep in mind, (unless I'm mistaken) this is Zekrom's first case! Big props to them.

Presentation: Mostly good, with some hiccups. There were a lot of custom sprites imported from the Random Characters thread, and they all worked well. There was also a good amount of custom music, which I enjoyed. Custom and edited backgrounds enhanced the experience. However, the pacing of some of the music was strange (there was one theme that literally only played for one frame, which I clicked through - there are some less jarring examples), and there were a couple of grammatical mistakes (though not many). Overall good, though!

Gameplay: Nothing much to say here, as most of this case is investigation and trial segments, BUT there was one new game mechanic that lets you use a literal lie detector on people - both during the investigation and trials. I was pleasantly surprised by this! There were also a couple of segments where you literally go into the defendant's dreams (future, baby!) to figure out something important to the case, which had some puzzles! I really enjoyed these, even if they were a bit too easy, in my opinion. The only real complaints I have are that there were a few moments where I felt I should have been able to present a piece of evidence at a statement, but wasn't, and that the pathing when Moving between locations was a bit confusing.

Theme Relevance: I can't say much without spoiling the case, but this case fit all three themes. It is set in the future (with a premise to match the new gameplay!), and it does incorporate a supernatural element and there is a twist involving the narrator.

Conclusion: This was wildly impressive for someone's first case. A VERY strong contender for this comp. Watch out.

Super legenda's review:

Spoiler : :

Ah yes, the Ultimate Crime Motive: being a loner, that's relatable.

Story: The part with the biggest potential... but sadly, with some pretty big flaws, the whole plot is a really unique concept, with many giant bombs of twists, but... it lacks in execution, the case is a LOT of work done for just 3 months, with several decently sized parts, but as it shows, in exchange everything went over too quickly, not giving time for things to develop, and in certain cases, having really giant logic leaps and even completely out of nowhere things. The main big twists in the case would be completely shocking and incredible in normal circumstances, but due to the pace and them not having any noticeable foreshadowing, they get a "What??" from me, they are still great twists, but could be developed better. But, I believe that this is Zekrom's first case, so it still is one hell of a cool story for a first time, true potential right there.

Presentation:: It was pretty good, there was a good amount of both Canon and Custom sprites sets, and a giant amount of non AA music and many custom backgrounds, the "Dream sequences" stands out, being pretty... psychedelic.
There has been some grammar mistakes, weirdly placed music that for some reason instantly stops in the very next frame, and especially, Dialogue boxes that often are toooo long and usually surpasses the usual 3 lines per box.

Gameplay: The gameplay aspect of the case was pretty well done, and I gotta say, was on the Harder side of things, as I was stuck for a long time in the first investigation due to not finding a specific evidence, and needed to check the walkthrough a good amount of times for several contradictions, though also, I must admit that while most of the contradictions do make sense, a bunch of the harder ones were also tough due to being around some pretty big leap.
There's also a new gimmick: A remote that works as a lie detector, outside court it works like the Magatama, starting Psyche Locks sequences, though it also allows to do something else in those parts. In trials the player can pick between Press or use the control in each statement during several cross examinations to find a lie, which is pretty cool.

Theme relevance: I don't want to go into spoilers territory, so I'll make it short, the case makes a really good use on its themes, with a future setting where tech is amazing, a supernatural element, etc.

Conclusion: Truly, a case with tons of potential, it just needs some good fleshing out to make everything make sense, and slow down the pace a bit, and it can be top notch in my opinion.

You should call ZekromFan57 "Blackrune", because that was... one hell of a turnabout.

Blackrune... Pokemon Black... It's all coming together.

Just looked it up, Zekrom is also black in color! *mind blasted to pieces*

[ZekromFan57]

Spoiler : Review Responses :

Spoiler : risefromtheashes's Review :

the pacing was so quick that it ended up giving the characters no time for actual development.

I made my main focus the story and the case itself, but by doing that I didn't have as much time to flesh out the characters (e.g. with more dialogue for each scene). If I were to redo it, I probably would've given each character more dialogue, but coming up with large amounts of dialogue isn't one of my strengths.

there just needs to be more dialogue and some slower pacing.

I'll certainly keep that in mind when I'm making my next case.

The biggest twist, aside from the killer - while VERY cool, and I would've never expected it (I was literally trying to figure it out, too!) - did disappoint me a tinge, because I don't think it was hinted at enough. Zekrom did say that there were some hints in an earlier part of the case, but I really did not see them at all

If I'm guessing what twist you're talking about correctly, the hints I was talking about were in the introduction sections in the first and final parts, although I understand if they were a bit too subtle to pick up on.

The killer's identity was quite surprising, and I never expected it - in a good way. However, I felt like this person's character should have been fleshed out a lot more during interactions with them (especially post-reveal), given the amount of information that we had found out about them beforehand.

Looking back (the choice of words there was not intentional), I definitely should have given the killer more interactions with the player, beforehand especially to give some build up. However, I put most of my effort into the trial sections (for better or worse), and at the time, didn't want to give too many hints towards the culprit's identity (although I definitely should have given more hints).

(unless I'm mistaken) this is Zekrom's first case!

You're not mistaken (although I did make a practice case in order to better understand the UI before making this one).

However, the pacing of some of the music was strange

This was mainly due to the scenes being shorter than I had planned. If I have time, I'll probably go back and adjust them.

There were also a couple of segments where you literally go into the defendant's dreams (future, baby!) to figure out something important to the case, which had some puzzles! I really enjoyed these, even if they were a bit too easy

I originally planned to make another puzzle with a bigger grid and more options, but I thought that it'd take time away from the rest of the case, so I made the rest of the puzzles more or less location hopping and presenting.

This was wildly impressive for someone's first case.

Thank you!

Spoiler : Super legenda's review :

not having any noticeable foreshadowing

When it comes to story writing (in general, not just AAonline), I'm never really sure how much foreshadowing to use, that's something I'm definitely going to work on.

the "Dream sequences" stands out, being pretty... psychedelic.

Psychedelic? I... assure you, no illegal methods were used to get ideas for this case!

Dialogue boxes that often are toooo long and usually surpasses the usual 3 lines per box.

That's something I planned on fixing (didn't realise I was doing it for a while) but I must've missed some. If I ever have time to give this case a tune up, I'm gonna make that a top priority.

while most of the contradictions do make sense, a bunch of the harder ones were also tough due to being around some pretty big leap.

One small step for man, one giant leap in logic for lawyerkind!

Truly, a case with tons of potential, it just needs some good fleshing out to make everything make sense, and slow down the pace a bit, and it can be top notch in my opinion.

I expected pacing to be one of the main criticisms, seeing as taking it slow is not one of my strong points (I tend to want to get straight into things when playing cases, and I guess that just carried over when I was making one). Hopefully I can improve on that in future.

Thanks for your reviews! I'm definitely going to use the constructive criticism when I make my next case, and if I ever go back and improve/fix this one (though I'm probably going to keep the content largely the same, I might try to flesh the characters out a bit more with some more dialogue).

If anyone wants to play it, a link to the case is below on the signature.

[Super legenda]

Gem Thieving Turnabout, by FenrirDarkWolf and DreAmCatcher.
Themes Used: Keeping it Simple, They Shall Not Kill, Roulette Rules (Brave New World)

Spoiler : risefromtheashes'sReview :

*takes off fursuit head* "You were saying?"
- Kristoph Gavin

Overview: Theft, gem vore, and scalies. (Like furries, but with scales.) There are also furries.

Story: Pretty short, but sweet. No major complaints here - though I don't have a lot to say. I wish the case had had a bit more length and substance to it, but for what it was, it was like a cute little fairy tale. I enjoyed it!

Presentation: The best part of this case! LOTS of custom sprites made by DreAmCatcher that I really enjoyed, and some custom evidence! The PLvPW music used was actually quite fitting - it reminded me of "The Enchanted Turnabout" by Ana_.

Gameplay: There weren't a lot of gameplay moments - a couple of short cross-examinations, and a few moments to present evidence. Not much, but nothing wrong with that!

Theme Relevance: Nobody died, the universe was not AA's, and the case was simple. Well done!

Conclusion: I do want to say that while my review for this case is very short compared to the others, as this case is quite short, that is not a complaint. I enjoyed this case! It's a wholesome, short and sweet fanfiction type of deal, and I think it does a good job of being that. Well done to Fenrir and DreAm!

Super legenda's review:

Spoiler : :

I agree, that's a pretty common thought.

Overview: Don't you just like, really hate it when you just want to relax with your friends in a nice cabin in the woods, but then someone just steals all the snacks? Well, that did not happen to me, but I'd be angry for sure.

Story: The case is short and simple, but still pretty nice, it's an unique setting with really unique characters, which really adds to this short fun plot!

Presentation: The case's strongest aspect by a lot, everything is custom and unique, there are no humans in sight, but rather, fantastic creatures, which is just awesome, the locations looks pretty good, and the music is solid too.

Gameplay: This is also pretty simple, with some examining for evidence and a few cross examinations, but it still works, and also the case actually contains a Super Objection (for the ones that don't know, basically presenting 2 or more pieces of evidence at once in one statement), and is good.

Theme Relevance: The case is about someone stealing food (actually gems which the characters eats) and nobody dies, the setting is truly unique and in a completely different world, and the case is simple but still fun.

Conclusion: The case is really pretty short, but remember, lenght says nothing about quality, the case has enough length to be good, plus an extremely unique setting and characters and everything else, this case is really enjoyable.

Well... Wow, all of the reviews have been posted! Now... we only need to work on the Awards ceremony, which will probably take some time, as we have planned many cool things, just for you!

[risefromtheashes]

THE AWARDS CEREMONY IS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!!! IF WE CAN ACTUALLY DO IT!!!!!

[Super legenda]

THE AWARDS CEREMONY IS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!!! IF WE CAN ACTUALLY DO IT!!!!!

What do you mean "If"?? We'll do it!

[DJJ6800]

THE AWARDS CEREMONY IS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!!! IF WE CAN ACTUALLY DO IT!!!!!

What do you mean "If"?? We'll do it!

Just as long as it doesn't take forever to do *coughclcmancough* it'll be great! But seriously, take all the time you need.

[Super legenda]

THE AWARDS CEREMONY IS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!!!! IF WE CAN ACTUALLY DO IT!!!!!

What do you mean "If"?? We'll do it!

Just as long as it doesn't take forever to do *coughclcmancough* it'll be great! But seriously, take all the time you need.

We'll try.

[Super legenda]

Warning, in case of severe lack of news, is because we killed ourselves adding all the characters.