Hey all took this PICAT test but haven’t confirmed in MEPS yet. What is the confirmation like? Do I need to know anything specific - better yet any tips?
AFQT: 88
GS: 58 AR:54 WK:63 PC:58 MK:60 EI:59 AS: 54 MC:49 AO:68 VE:62
Every job I keep telling the recruiter that I am interested in they keep essentially telling me, “don’t hold my breath” - is there something I should know in regards to getting into what I want?
I am interested in Mass Comm jobs (degree in Marketing), Language & Intel (very analytical) and Medical (for a complete 180 from what I do - real estate management).

I was accepted into SMU but not given enrollment into Cox. My family and I met with the Cox admissions directors a month ago, and they both said that markets and cultures is a good alternative. My Dad is skeptical that majoring in this will allow for decent job opportunities without having to further my education (meaning grad school). I still want to try to transfer into Cox for real estate, but if that does not work, I need a backup major.
Has anyone majored in it on this sub?

MODESTO COMMUNITY ACTION ASSOCIATION has announced that they are moving forward in development for the community wide effort at batting the escalating issue of unhoused and under housed folks in the area.
Since 2014, the Modesto Community Action Association has worked with various agencies and advocacy groups to build better, more accountable programs that provide real results to this problem. The group consists of both clients and providers of these services, which we feel often need to be given perspectives more often of those who actually use these programs and services.
Our goals include a drop in center and this project, Tiny Home Village.
Our outreach is done with many people who are involved in the daily struggle to survive. We are in touch with people who are dying to be active and involved, yet have no clue where to start. We seek to unite these people in the effort to make real and lasting changes in the waya service is provided and the responsibly we have to fellow human kind to give a hand up, not out, if we have those means.
This is a three phase plan that will identify and attempt to develop a plot of land we can have through either a partnership with a landowner or real estate agent, or with the city or county, using the resources of locally based doners to build a small community of affordable tiny houses and provide the homes as long term solutions for housing.
Each would be equipped with appliances and the community would be secure, with 24/7 on site security and manager who would be also living on site. The units would require the eventual occupants to provide in kind labor and solict financial assistance, to contribute to the effort. Residents will have a case manager and a plan towards self sufficiency, with check in required to be able to stay. There would be no restriction on length of tenancy, and rent would be adjusted to the work hours they contribute to the ongoing effort to keep the community solid.
Tenants meeting every week. On site manager On site security Fully equipped 200-300 square feet units for individual or family. Phase one - demo units (4), community outbuildings, and garden, and staff units.
Family units are larger, up to 340 sq feet. Individuals can be placed in one of three 150-300 sq feet units prr initial design and budget estimate.
The current goal is to raise the funds to raise funds. A funding campaign will be available online soon. We will seek the backing of both government grants and private donations. The committee is going to start meeting on Zoom (see schedule). We are going to be expecting to appoint the replacement of our founding Board member, Lola Kennedy, who passed away after a long illness last month.

I have a choice between two retirement compensation options with this new job. My wife and I now make around 300k in W2 and rental income. I am looking for outside perspectives and whatever input people are willing to provide.
This job would pay 117k with 1.5-2% annual raises without promotions. I'm going easily get one or two 10% raises on the way up if I stay for a decade. This is a rather easy job that I could relax and excell in for a long time, but I don't necessarily want that.
The choice I have to make is either a 403a with mandatory 9.3% contribution with a 8% employer match, and a 5 year vesting period. I would invest in a market index fund and some tech stocks. Hoping for a solid 10% avg annual return, but who knows!
Or go the pension route
A old school, pension that would allow me access to full social security payments (railroad exemption). The pension is vested after just 10 years, but only pays out at 2.25% per year at 59 years (my goal full retirement age). Being 28 means I could probably max out the pension at 80% with a likely end of career early buy out. Otherwise it would be 69%. Leaving after 10 years would leave me with 17.5% vested.
I am leaning towards the 403a due to my interest in going into real estate/investing full time after I have better equity and cash to leverage. This could happen in 10 or so years.
I also like the idea on living off a small percentage of a retirement account to leave my future children a large inheritance. The pension is also currently underfunded by 40+%..... I'm worried the oversight boards might step in to stop the bleeding. I am uncertain on the death benefits, trying to find that out now.
I feel like I am missing something about pensions, they really don't appeal to me, but everyone seems to think I'm insane for leaning to go with the 403a. Everyone at this new job takes the pension. I'm very worried I'm ignorant of some major factors here.
Thanks in advance! Sorry for my spelling and grammar. I'm really bad about writing like I am speaking.

This is a similar scenario to a question that came up in my ACAMS practice test. I changed quite a lot of the question but the scenario isn't uncommon in TM workflows I've been a part of.

A compliance officer for a money transmitter has several correspondent locations in the same geographic area in the United States. Customers are immigrants from Country 1, and the majority of their funds are sent to Country 1. In a meeting with one of the correspondent agents, it was recently discovered that two new customers have been consistently coming in 4 times a week and sending funds to the same recipient in Country 2. The combined cash transactions total $8,000. What is a possible money laundering red flag with the activity by the two customers?

Correct answer is "just below CTR thresholds". I thought the correct response was "remittance to the same person in two different countries".
I see why the CTR thresholds are suspicious, but also, why is it not suspicious that the same person resides in two countries?

So why a female you might ask? Why not some bros? Well to be honest I’m bisexual and married to an amazing guy so me and most straight dudes don’t have much in common. Sorry I’m not into sports (can talk generally about the sports ball) I don’t game 24/7. I think I’m just an interesting person to get to know. Here is a list, in no particular order, of cool facts about me. Feel free to use one of them as a conversation starter.
• Once had dinner with a Pulitzer Winning play write.
• Almost drowned once delivering pizzas.
• Drove from Ohio to Yellowstone straight through (about 28 hours)
• Work with a comic book creator on a comic book.
• I one lots of Volkswagens. Like for real
• Have a waterfall inside my greenhouse
• I love photography and probably take too many photos and have over 35k photos in my camera roll.
So if any of this interests you shoot me a message. Yay

I (38F) have three kids from a previous marriage and my fiancé (40M) has one child from a previous relationship. I’ve already done all my estate planning to make sure my assets gets distributed to my kids in the event of my death.
Now with a second marriage on the horizon, I’d need to get a pre-nup to make sure my assets still goes to my children in the event of death/divorce. I want to structure it in such a way where if we were to split down the road, we each walk away with the assets and liabilities that we came into the marriage with. To give you a bit of context, I’m a high earner and stocking a way quite a bit for retirement and have a good amount of equity in my house. My fiancé is also a high earner in his own right but has a different philosophy when it comes to financial planning and does not have anything saved for retirement (as well as a huge IRS debt). His net worth is still $100K’s positive (some real estate) but my NW far exceeds his and the disparity will be even wider as time goes on with future contribution/growth to my retirement portfolio.
I wouldn’t be opposed to buying a new house jointly 50/50 but it’s not a possibility for him due to not having the cash for the down payment. So the only option is for he and his son to move into my house. I understand the pre-nup in the event of a divorce. But what about in the event of my untimely death? My kids would be going to their biological father, but what about my house? He’d either take over the home and continue living here possibly forever, or he and my (future)stepson would have to move out of the house so the proceeds from the sale would go to the estate to be divided out to my children, as I intended? Both of these scenarios just don’t seem right…
How do others manage through this type of financial planning when it comes to blending a family?

Toob Proclamation : Early Warning (The Weaver Returns)
During times of political crisis, the focus of an entire country is on the issue. And then things change and the news cycle moves on. The revelation of Epistocide has shocked the G.U.S.S to its’ core, and confirmed the fears of what had lurked in the unconscious minds of many. In between the existential dread and the horrified soul searching, of course, one can find time for the much more calming pastime of defense policy. In this case, the clones have realized that they need to have early warning capability for the entire Ria system, lest something sneak up on them.
This has taken on a myriad of forms. The biggest are massive RADAR arrays and listening stations, whose antennas reach up to the skies they watch. Beside them are powerful infra-red scanners, positioned on space and in hidden silos on the ground. All of these are connected to self-sufficient Lorenloop-outfitted monitoring complexes, where hundreds of technicians and analysts tend to the great arrays and feed data into massive mainframes. What the low technology and frustrating overheat rates cost in annoyance, they more than make up for in real-time monitoring of the system. When given enough computing power and time, the clones have even learned to exploit the strange properties of the space air to extend their practical scanner range.
Filling out the magical gaps are old fashioned scryers and mystics searching into crystal balls or peering into magic mirrors; their success rate is much less certain–but when they are right, they are entirely correct. Less talked about are para-precognitors, resting in strange lakes. Backed up by enchanted paper tapes and punchcard-mechanical computers, their utility is untested. Seemingly brought to life by royal protocols, their appearance is unexpected–and apparently kept need-to-know. What they are looking for is unknown.
But there is something new with this program: hope. Instead of just watching the skies for hazards, the G.U.S.S deliberately looks out to the heavens. Telescopes, first made for mapping, but also for observing stellar phenomena, are being built. Many of these are ground-based installations, aiming their lenses at given points; some are radio systems listening to the hum and flicker of cosmic radiation. In space, orbiting telescopes stare deeper into the cluster.
The crowning achievement of this effort rests on Kabria, where a gravity wave detector has somehow been brought to life. After the barely successful attempts of the Vaa to tutor individuals in what the current grand unified theory of physics was, the independent execution of such a project was a sudden split from their tutors and one that left both pride and a slightly bitter taste in the parts of their brains that mapped to taste organelles. Some guess that this is a political project, but others can see that there is deeper psychology at play–a surly scientific adolescence.
Cynics will note that this entire program is politically motivated, and that it often provides the High Kommand with extra intelligence needed to bypass logjams and make immediate quick decisions. Optimists will note that the strange musical files made from stellar noise and ambient radio are a sign of a newly scientific culture that’s looking outward more and more than ever before. Whatever someone finds themselves saying, one thing is clear: defense policy often goes beyond the people it’s supposed to protect and impacts entire civilizations. And of course, one can never predict the effects.

I (38F) have three kids from a previous marriage and my fiancé (40M) has one child from a previous relationship. I’ve already done all my estate planning to make sure my assets gets distributed to my kids in the event of my death.
Now with a second marriage on the horizon, I’d need to get a pre-nup to make sure my assets still goes to my children in the event of death/divorce. I want to structure it in such a way where if we were to split down the road, we each walk away with the assets and liabilities that we came into the marriage with. To give you a bit of context, I’m a high earner and stocking a way quite a bit for retirement and have a good amount of equity in my house. My fiancé is also a high earner in his own right but has a different philosophy when it comes to financial planning and does not have anything saved for retirement (as well as a huge IRS debt). His net worth is still $100K’s positive (some real estate) but my NW far exceeds his and the disparity will be even wider as time goes on with future contribution/growth to my retirement portfolio.
I wouldn’t be opposed to buying a new house jointly 50/50 but it’s not a possibility for him due to not having the cash for the down payment. So the only option is for he and his son to move into my house. I understand the pre-nup in the event of a divorce. But what about in the event of my untimely death? My kids would be going to their biological father, but what about my house? He’d either take over the home and continue living here possibly forever, or he and my (future)stepson would have to move out of the house so the proceeds from the sale would go to the estate to be divided out to my children, as I intended? Both of these scenarios just don’t seem right…
How do others manage through this type of financial planning when it comes to blending a family?

We’ve been together for a few months. I am deciding to migrate over to the United States, I’ve been between a rock and a hard place with this decision. He’s been asking me what’s the plan if I do decide to stay and I told him I don’t really have one and he gets upset every time I say that. He’s a planner. He plans everything.
I do have somewhat of a plan on what I’ll do, but not a detailed one. I have been doing some research regarding my situation. Last-night we were discussing it again and he got mad because I haven’t come up with a solid plan as yet and broke up with me because of it. I have been asking for his help or if he has any ideas as to what I should do. Every time this topic comes up it turns into an argument and I don’t understand why. My situation back in my home country is very bad and I really do not want to go back to that and he’s not really understanding that. Change won’t happen overnight. It’s my life and my decision. Why does it affect him this much to drive him to break up with me so abruptly. I’m young and still trying to figure out life. Am I being inconsiderate or is he being inconsiderate?

Is there anyone else who shares a sense of discontentment towards their work? I am currently 33 years old and have spent a significant portion of my life working in the corporate sector. I began my career in a developing country and later immigrated to the United States. I managed to advance up the corporate hierarchy and reach an annual income of approximately half a million dollars before ultimately deciding to leave my job out of frustration. I experienced feelings of humiliation and perceived unfairness within the corporate environment. It seemed that the more effort I put into my work, the more I was taken advantage of. Throughout my professional journey, I encountered numerous managers who displayed narcissistic tendencies. As a result, I find myself harboring intense anger and resentment, to the extent that I am willing to forgo employment and potentially face homelessness. I am currently experiencing burnout and barely managing to cover my rent by working as an Uber Eats driver.
I have developed an interest in monitoring the economy, and I strongly believe that the Federal Reserve has contributed to its deterioration through unfair practices and by catering to the egos of those in the Bay Area who have amassed substantial wealth, while treating individuals from outside the area poorly. I feel lost and consumed by anger, unsure of how to proceed with my life. I now perceive dedicating so much of my time and energy to work, working six days a week for twelve hours a day, as a mistake that resulted in the theft of my own life. Has anyone else experienced similar emotions? I would greatly appreciate any advice or guidance on how to navigate this situation and move forward in life.

So, we are all aware what we read and write will never occur. But something I've thought about recently, is what kind of impact would our pairings being real have?
There is only one openly gay soccer player. The impact that such a big name player coming out would be huge. There would be a lot of backlash because there are so many countries that still have problems with it. I know that in America, we don't have much of a problem with it but we are barely a footnote in the beautiful game. But so many Central and South American countries still do. And a gay player wouldn't be allowed in Muslim countries at all. The Saudi pro league bent thier own rules for Cristiano Ronaldo but it was for him and his girlfriend. But would they being willing to do the same if such a great player was gay?
But what are your guys thoughts? Not just about my footie questions but the spaces you write in?

Gonna write a 10-page essay for 2 comments and a 33% upvote rate but whatever
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It's true.
The Ace Attorney fanbase is generally more analytically intelligent than most other visual novel fanbases, so it's very disappointing to see so many people lulled by AAI2's cheap parlor tricks while failing to grasp the beauty of AAI. Truly the biggest L for this subreddit.
Let's start with the overarching story: AAI is about an international smuggling ring, and AAI2 is about a man who tricks people into committing murder. That alone should dictate which game is better, but everyone seems to love Simon Keyes because of how random and unpredictable the twist was. I fail to see why the smuggling ring is so slept-on; perhaps it's too realistic or down-to-earth and the community would rather have a final villain plotting to steal the moon? But more on that later.
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AAI has the biggest cases of "Seinfield is unfunny" in the series, because AAI2 is an unofficial translation and thus more accessible to people. On the other hand, AAI is only available as a DS cartridge (rather expensive), the only game not available on the 3DS eshop or Steam. Of course most people played AAI2 before AAI. SO MANY things got ruined by AAI2. I honestly think this is one of the reasons AAI2 did not get a localization.
Let's see some of the highlights:
The Great Thief Yagatarasu - Hit the hardest by this. Kay Faraday parading around the fact that she is the Yagatarasu in AAI2 is vastly different from her doing the same in Kidnapped and Ablaze. In AAI, starting from the first case, the Yagatarasu is this mysterious thief that supposedly has a lot of intel on the smuggling ring and we only get to see his silhouette and calling card. And don't forget his theme, Yagatarasu - The Gentleman Thief, which really does set the mood and fit him perfectly during the fleeting moments it plays. Kay only pretended to be the thief in two cases. I think the scarcity of the Yagatarasu appearances is what really makes the reveal so intriguing.
Yeah, and the final reveal: be honest here. The twist of it being Byrne, Calisto and Badd would have hit much harder on everyone's first playthrough of AAI without knowing anything from AAI2. What really dampens the Yatagarasu is the fact that he is brought up too many times by Kay in AAI2 (and even just her soundtrack name). Also the fact that the Yagatarasu calling card is the inverted version of the smuggling ring leader's instruction cards, to send a message that the Yagatarasu was only a few steps behind the ringleader, was absolutely brilliant and a much better last-minute twist than anything else the series ever came up with.
Calisto Yew/Shih-na - She was with Lang for his first appearance, and every consecutive one. That's what made her reveal so impactful. After AAI2 came along, she was just another one-off character. To be honest, the twist that she was Calisto Yew was completely unexpected, although maybe I should have realized beforehand. I also think the way she is finally cornered is pretty awesome. Setting alight the coat to reveal the Bahbalese ink burning green, pretty symbolic of her smuggling acts finally brought to light.
Shi-Long Lang character development - I'm surprised how no one mentions this. It's on the same level as Sebastian's development, and I think the only reason it's so slept-on is because in AAI2, the cases are normally so dull that you have no other choice but to focus on the characters, while AAI Lang shares the stage with the rest of the plot. The way he goes from respectfully hating on prosecutors as a super serious officer to "Lang Zi says: ...just go already!" and supporting Edgeworth in his trial after the credits is super awesome. Him getting fired from Interpol is worse than Yuri Cosmos getting demoted after Turnabout For Tomorrow in terms of discomfort food. I feel like the way Lang is introduced in AAI2 really does discredit all his character development in AAI.
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Now let's compare all aspects of each game:
Case 1 (general): Visitor > Target. Visitor is the most underrated case in the series, and Target is a 3-hour long snooze-fest. Target is a case 1 yet fails to be an intro case and thus is not good, that's what it boils down to.
Case 1 (witnesses): Visitor == Target. Visitor brought back Maggey who is one of the blandest characters in the series, but Target's defendant wasn't any better. Target also managed to fumble de Killer's appearance into a very boring confrontation, so they are about tied.
Case 1 (culprit, single-case): Portsman > Knightley. The prosecutorial interactions were much more fun than that overconfident bodyguard.
Example --
Portsman: It's a possibility. Maybe your salary's been cut so much that life is getting a little too rough to handle...?
Gumshoe: I'll have you know that I eat three square meals every day, pal! ...OK, so all three of them happen to be instant noodles, but...
Portsman: Poor thing. What an evil prosecutor you were paired up with. And what a motive, no?
Case 1 (culprit, whole game): Knightley > Portsman. Sure. The case 1 culprit can have a huge impact on the overarching story. Knightley was one of the better plotwise characters of AAI2.
Case 2 (general): Airlines > Imprisoned. Airlines just edges out Imprisoned slightly, but I admit Imprisoned is the only AAI2 case that deserves all the praise it gets. But I think the twists and turns were just a bit better for Airlines, especially the final Logic flashback segment as Lablanc slowly fell over the railing.
Case 2 (witnesses): Airlines > Imprisoned. Zinc Lablanc carries the entire case, like Luke Atmey did. Rhoda Teneiro was also cool. Jay Elbird and Frank Sahwit can't compare, and even Keyes' performance in this case, even knowing that he manipulated Knightley's death, doesn't quite reach Airlines' level of beautiful simplicity here. Dogen was just a plot device in this episode.
Case 2 (culprit, single-case): Meele == Roland. Both had godawful motives and mild characters.
Case 2 (culprit, whole game): Roland > Meele. Of course, because Roland got a whole other backstory while Meele stayed the same.
Case 3 (general): Inherited > Kidnapped. Yeah, alright. Who knew that letting you play as Gregory Edgeworth in the events leading up to DL-6 would be more interesting for the audience than actually coming up with an original idea? F for effort, I guess.
Case 3 (witnesses): Inherited > Kidnapped. Mainly because Ema Skye was absolutely useless in Kidnapped. Lauren Paups was also pretty bad. Inherited only had some meh witnesses, nothing outstanding, but still better than Kidnapped.
Case 3 (culprit, single-case): Gustavia > Lance. Well, yeah. Lance did kill only in self defense, while Gustavia and Dover had a whole storyline going. I feel like Kidnapped was meant to be a breath of fresh air from the constant murder grind, like Stolen. Too bad neither case ended up being great.
Case 3 (culprit, whole game): Lance > Gustavia. Well, not quite Lance himself, but the effect it had by prompting Ernest Amano to forge evidence, get caught and questioned, and give up the evidence to the KG-8 incident was pretty impactful. Gustavia, while the first of many things that ticked off Keyes, was also the only part of his story that wasn't really carefully intertwined with anything else.
Case 4 (general): Reminiscence == Forgotten. Interestingly, the one case everyone seems to like in AAI is actually not that great, all things considered. Forgotten was a very slow case with boring investigation sequences all around, but Reminiscence had terrible character interactions and was paced horribly.
Case 4 (witnesses): Reminiscence > Forgotten. Detective Badd blows everyone else out of the water. The Judge was alright, and Gumshoe was pretty subpar. But still, better than whatever AAI2 was trying to do with Lotta Hart and Nicole Swift.
Case 4 (culprit, single-case): Calisto == Blaise. I can't really say one was better than the other. Calisto's double murder and escape managed to top the previous 3-4 for "best loose end", but Blaise was no slouch either.
Case 4 (culprit, whole game): Calisto > Blaise. Doesn't need an explanation.
Now for the opinion that will get me downvoted. Turnabout Ablaze is a better case than The Grand Turnabout, both as a finale and in general.
Firstly, Colias Palaeno was a better final plot device character than John Marsh. Palaeno was introduced as this very suspicious character, only to later become the most helpful witness in the entire series, and the only person who didn't lie, ever. Despite overdoing his coupon-dealing gimmick, it never really got old or tedious. And come on, he was just a cool guy all around. His interactions with Alba were also very interesting considering the history between their countries. Palaeno is the perfect example of how to write a compelling plot device character.
On the other hand, John Marsh never really made an impact and his edgy teenager persona was just meh. Him refusing to take revenge on Dogen in the end was cool, but he was still not as good a character overall. His kidnapping was mainly to develop Courtney's character, but even she was not that interesting in the end. And his twist of being the president's son was very underwhelming, if I'm being honest.
Every case 5 is traditionally the resolution of two different murders. For AAI, it was Ka-Shi Nou murdered in the Allebahstian embassy, and Manny Coachen murdered in the Bahbalese embassy on the same night. For AAI2, it was the body double's murder out of the blue and the real president's murder 12 years ago. Surely Ablaze has a much better premise already.
Ablaze is a very symmetrical, well-organized case with the themes of duality. Allebahst has strict migration laws and an old army general as the ambassador, who appears to be a kindly old man. Bahbal is a very lax tourist country with a young advertising ambassador who is suspiciously cheerful. And yet, Ambassador Alba is the villain behind the smuggling ring while Ambassador Palaeno is hopelessly clueless about his secretary Coachen. I really like the dynamic amongst the characters here. Even Coachen gets characterization from Palaeno's relationship with him and sadness at his death.
Honestly, I thought the premise of the country split in two was a very intriguing setup. Even for people who aren't super interested in history-esque topics, the case should provide a novel setting. The competition to see which embassy had the legitimate statue, the goodwill ambassadorship involving the Steel Samurai, the reuniting of Cohdopia, everything really felt like something big and exciting was happening.
How many people actually played Ablaze fully? I bet half the people who hate on Turnabout Ablaze here don't even know that the embassy was set on fire in the case. They only watched Alba's breakdown, went on the wiki to find out the two victims, and called it a day before formulating their opinion. They missed out on everything, like the safe-opening puzzle and the secret of the Yagatasaru key/"knife", and figuring out how the two statues and the body got transported between the embassies.
Unlike Ablaze's very uniform and straightforward setup, The Grand Turnabout is just a speed-rap of a case with very sporadic events that feel like it's just thrown at you randomly so you never get bored of one single topic. So right after exposing Blaise as the killer, you find the president of Zheng Fa is murdered. You go to question someone, but she is currently judging Roland's trial for the murder of Knightley. Then Blaise turns out to not get in any trouble for what happened in Forgotten. Then Marsh gets kidnapped and you decide to join the trial and help Sebastian. He then runs away and you stall for time until Marsh is found and Sebastian comes back and proves that Blaise tampered with evidence. So he gets arrested after all and Roland is guilty. Then you get a mysterious radio call telling you to go to an orphanage, where you find out that the real president (along with some other guy) was killed there 12 years ago. With a very tedious Little Thief investigation sequence. Now you trace back who called you on the radio and pin every single crime in the game onto him. And Dogen helped, a bit. The end.
There were zero compelling aspects of the case. It feels like the case was entirely written to showcase character development for half the cast, and the actual plot points are half-assed and not bothered with. The final reveal is just a cheap cop-out by going "oh actually A and B are connected. Wow!". I feel like The Grand Turnabout is actually the worst-written case of AAI2 in terms of sheer writing. Every event is random until the final reveal. The way the events proceed is also very weird and feels very unpolished. The investigation drags on way longer than Alba's confrontation does. No way people like this mess of a case more than Ablaze just because it has more rewarding/overstimulating moments at times and uses shock value.
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It's funny that AAI has the overarching plot be straightforward and each individual case have its twists and turns, while AAI2 is the exact opposite. Each case basically feels like the game just leads you along a long, drawn-out and boring path to the answer while the actual overarching plot is this convoluted, improbable steaming mess of a story.
I really don't think Keyes was all that special. Sure, there were minute hints scattered throughout the game before he is revealed to be the mastermind. Sure, he had a compelling motive. But in the end, it all boils down to "oh remember all that? well, the major twist is that they are connected!". Just a weak cop-out finale that manages to be flashy enough to woo half the audience. But what I really dislike about Keyes is the way he was caught. I personally think that final villains should try to not get caught. Keyes was so cocky that he was toying with Edgeworth on purpose. Kidnapping Kay and John, teasing Edgeworth over the radio, he basically flew too close to the sun and paid the price. Alba, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with Edgeworth or the rest of the cast.
I think half of what makes a compelling villain is how they try to avoid being caught. Alba managed to stay low and avoid detection for 10 years, while still running the smuggling ring. His confrontations felt very calm and collected, and just overall very professional at maintaining his innocence. Unlike Keyes who just keeps laughing at you and mocking you. Sure, both characters had high egos, but bottom line: Keyes got too cocky from a few successful manipulations while Alba maintained his confidence in his position which he has decades of experience in.
Yes, Alba was very stubborn and makes the final fight drag on, but that should be a good thing for his character. Shows he is very experienced and well-prepared for law enforcement. Honestly, my one complaint is that his fight didn't drag on even longer; I think that him losing his ambassadorship was a bit too easy and he should have put up more of a fight regarding that. People say Alba was too generically evil, but I think that he is actually unique in the way that he is the first pure villain as afinal villain. Remember, von Karma and Gant were not full-time criminals; they were law enforcement who killed once and then were caught trying to cover up their crime. Engarde was an actor who only cared about publicity. Godot was, well, not exactly a criminal. Gavin was a lawyer who did anything to win his case and held grudges. Up until then, we never had a professional criminal as a final villain until Alba. Taking someone like him down should be expected to be difficult, long and tedious. Also his breakdown was much more rewarding than Keyes' getting beat up by animals, mostly because Keyes kinda deserved more than that. If Keyes had been punished harder, his breakdown might have been more satisfying than Alba's, to be fair.
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AAI also has a better soundtrack than AAI2, and you can fight me on that. AAI2 may have some earwormy tracks, but it's like this: AAIs soundtrack actually sounds like it was composed for the game. Tracks like the Yagatarasu's theme (not Kay, the actual Yagatarasu) and Torn Apart Countries fit the mood and set the grandiose atmosphere perfectly. AAI2s soundtrack is just the artist taking a picture of the character, showing it to a composer, and going "make a theme for him". The Man Who Masterminds the Game may be more catchy than The Enemy Who Surpasses the Law, but the latter definitely suits its respective character and confrontation as a whole more. And I just gotta appreciate a fitting theme more than an earwormy one.
Honestly, Objection 2009 was better than Objection 2011 just because it felt so much more satisfying in a calm, procedural manner, like "Okay, so we figured this out. Make a mental note of this for later". Objection 2011 is a TV-show opening for Edgeworth. It might be very catchy, but I honestly think it doesn't fit a single moment in which it is played and is just an overstimulation.
Also I will get ostracized for saying this, but Lying Coldly was a perfect take on how a pursuit theme for Edgeworth would sound, that Wanting to Find the Truth completely ruined in favor of sounding more like a generic pursuit theme. It may be a good song, but it has none of the charm that Lying Coldly had.
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AAI2s translation team, to be honest, did a pretty bad job. (Preface: yes I know criticism like this is mean and uncalled for but since AAI2 isn't even their game, I think it is fair to criticize their take on it after they imposed themselves onto Capcom's game.)
Let's start with the voicelines. Sebastian Debeste's voice actor was the only one who did a good job. Everyone else's voices were way too "high-quality sound" to fit AAs theme. Like, especially ProZDs take on Gregory Edgeworth, who sounds like a 20 year old with a smoking problem and a mouth that's 2cm in diameter. It especially contrasts von Karma's voice in Inherited and is clearly out of place. Sorry, but ProZD was an absolute garbage casting choice for Gregory. I don't care what you say, Courtney is not British. Knightley and Shields' voices are just too realistic and not AA sounding. Keyes and Blaise are the only other objections that almost fit the bill, almost.
Again, though, massive props to Sebastian's voice actor. He absolutely nailed his voiceclip.
On a related note, I think Alba and Calisto's objections are actually not bad because remember, they are (Alba definitely, Calisto I assume so since she works for him) foreigners who originate from Cohdopia. It makes sense for them to have an accent when speaking English, and with only one word to go off of, their accent sounds exactly like one would expect. It's surprising how most people can't make that basic connection and instead go straight to mindless hating. Ace Attorney's fanbase is supposed to be smarter than that.
Okay now back to the translation team, the overall dialogue for AAI2 feels much more dry. It's not as easy as you'd expect to capture the tones of each character during the translation, and the translation team kind of failed at that. The dialogue for the returning characters, especially Gumshoe and Kay, feel much more uniform and really lack the charm that AAIs official translation had. Try playing AAI and AAI2 in alternating cases side-by-side and the difference becomes clear as day.
Not just the dialogue in general, but also the quips and banter during the investigation sequences between main characters. Especially that one time in Inherited in which young Shields quotes Godot's "blacker than a moonless night" soliloque, for Gregory to think to himself "note: coffee has a bad effect on lawyers". If you really think about it, this took place before T&T and there is no way Godot would just quote Shields, so it's a really weird continuity plothole that both people say the same thing, like a 4th wall break. It's supposed to be a joke, but come on. Capcom wouldn't actually do something so unprofessional like that, and the translation team really had to make that weird joke a permanent part of Capcom's game. It's an official game so it's supposed to be more professional than using 4th wall breaks like that. This may seem nitpicky, but again - official Capcom game.
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Of course, people can like whatever they like. You may prefer a culprit that is over-the-top crazy more than a down-to-Earth one. You can like an unpredictable, convoluted overarching story more than a well-written one. But objectively, from a critical, unbiased point of view, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is a much better-written, higher quality work than Gyakuten Kenji 2. No amount of rose-colored glasses can change that, sorry.