What if Trucy was adopted by Kristoph Gavin instead of Phoenix Wright?
Synopsis: While Apollo Justice and Trucy Gavin go to Kurain Village to channel her father, we alternate to a flashback where Kristoph is the defendant in Turnabout Trump.
Story: The story is definitely a bit on the shorter side, all things considered, but that's definitely not a bad thing. The opening was very well executed, slowly feeding and teasing the reader information as to what's going on in this world. But the flashback, which is the main story, is essentially a complete retelling of Turnabout Trump, only the true culprit is the defendant. It doesn't fall into plagiarism by any means, but I do feel like there was room to try and shake things up a bit. I'll go into further detail during the "Theme Relevance" section, but the parts of the story that ARE relevant to the idea of a Trucy Gavin feel a bit... vague? We see flashbacks of Apollo seeing her a few times in various locations, yet we only see it happen once in-game. It almost feels like there's an entire part of this case that we missed. But without spoiling, I do appreciate the subtlety of the final flashback's ending and the answer it brings to a question that I had since the beginning. Overall, a pretty good story that left me asking a few questions, but definitely engaging.
Presentation: Looked and felt like an Ace Attorney case. The custom Pearl sprites were a phenomenal choice (and actually makes her look like an adult and not a tall child), and while the Gavin Law Offices background had a bigger resolution than 4:3 and made for a taller Examine window, it still felt like a background that would exist in Ace Attorney. I do have a minor nitpick, though, with the date/location box saying "Three Years Ago" every time. Unless stated otherwise that we're back in the present, the reader can infer that we're still in the past. Again, just a minor nitpick, but something to keep in mind should you write something like this again.
Gameplay: It had your standard Investigation and Trial that you'd expect from Ace Attorney. Though a slight change during cross-examinations was when pressing certain statements, you could pick which part of the statement you wanted more information on, which could either provide more information or lead to nothing. While nothing ground-breaking, it was still a pretty interesting addition that actually made the player think a bit more.
Theme Relevance: This is the part where I'm actually a bit torn. While Kristoph adopting Trucy is meant to be the change that triggers the Butterfly Effect, it doesn't really feel like it was utilized to its potential. It does make sense how Kristoph adopting Trucy would lead to him being the one to see Shadi Smith at the Borscht Bowl Club years later, but I feel like Trucy still being the exact same witty and optimistic girl despite having a different father is a bit unrealistic, especially one like Kristoph. Granted, she is a bit more serious in this case, mainly when talking to and about Kristoph, but she's basically the original character when she's speaking to Apollo. I would imagine there being some sort of larger difference in personality. That all said, since the focus of the case is on Gavin's trial, it was, as stated in the "Story" section, pretty good. Again, it's logical how Gavin would've been in that situation after being the one to adopt Trucy, and it's not an exact clone of the original case, even with that change.
Final Thoughts: "Paint Ghosts Over Everything" was a pretty good case. It had things I enjoyed and things I felt like could've been improved. But you most absolutely should be proud of yourself, izukonos, and I encourage everyone give it a playthrough should they publish it.