u/brobnik322

A discussion I was having about my personal problems with 4-4 made me consider a small change that'd improve it for me.

What if the MASON System had been designed without any involvement from Phoenix Wright... Maybe even designed by Kristoph... But, Phoenix hacked into it during the process of the events, showing what the Mason System does in-game?

Maybe he didn't have hacking skills, exactly - but called in a favor from Ema to change the original system and show his recordings.

The benefits it'd have:

• It fixes up the small plot hole where the court doesn't trust Phoenix enough to be a lawyer, but does trust him enough to personally design a test of the new legal system
• Phoenix starts off more as an underdog, and has to rely on cunning and guile to get the truth out; rather than having the deck stacked in his favor from the start
• Since Kristoph is already in jail at the beginning, this raises the stakes. The MASON system may have initially only shown his biased side of the story, and he may have set it up so that he'd be released to the world again and take no responsibility for his crimes. He comes across as even more prepared and intimidating as a result.
• It explains why the events are so fractured, and occasionally weren't even possible; the initial MASON system was set up to present the jurists a false story, and Phoenix is gradually tweaking it to show bits and pieces of the truth
• Thematically, it fits with the game's overall themes: the system of law we're used to don't always show the truth, and there need to be ways to work around it.
• There'd be a reason why the MASON/Jurist system never appears in later games: Phoenix proves how fallible it is, how it could've been used to get a false conviction, and they have to go back to the drawing board

The downsides:

• Phoenix performing yet another crime for the greater good may not go over so well
• The game was supposed to promote a jurist system in Japan, and this'd show how the Jurist system could be sabotaged

And points that could be good or bad:

• Lamiroir being in the jury would be a big coincidence, rather than Phoenix setting it up. Less plausible, makes Phoenix seem less prepared and cunning; but Phoenix also might come across better for not intentionally selecting a biased jury
• It doesn't really change Apollo/Klavier/Trucy's actions or role in the finale; good if you liked what they did, bad if you thought they could've been handled differently
• (EDIT) This paints The Mason System in a more negative light. It shifts from a case about showing a plausible and effective reform to the system that give power to the people; to a warning that new legal systems may be just as bad as the existing ones, and that people can be manipulated. This fits with the game's darker tone, but removes some of the hopefulness at the end.

Thoughts? Maybe this is just disguised complaints about my peeves with the MASON System's framing, but it feels like it's a tiny enough change that wouldn't affect gameplay, but massively change how the themes resonate.

I'd especially like to hear from people who liked 4-4 to hear if this would improve it for them, or if this removes something they liked about the original.