As you may recall, the next chapter in the Ace Attorney saga won't follow Phoenix Wright's continued courtroom exploits but instead jumps over a hundred years into the past. Dai Gyakuten Saiban, currently referred to as The Great Ace Attorney, takes place during Japan's Meiji era (1868-1912) and stars Wright's ancestor, Ryuunosuke Naruhodo. And if this article that sources Famitsu magazine is telling the truth, the game will also guest star the one and only Sherlock Holmes!
You won't actually play as Holmes, but him and Naruhodo will work in tandem in a new gameplay mechanic called "Joint Reasoning." Of course, you can't have Holmes without his trusty partner Watson, but I bet you've never seen Watson like this before: She's an eight-year-old prodigy named Iris Watson! But is that really so odd considering this series frequently employs child assistants? And it's not like the character of Watson hasn't been reinterpreted in any number of different forms — from a robot to Lucy Liu.
The main Great Ace Attorney page only shows silhouettes of the new characters, so they aren't technically confirmed just yet. Give it time. Holmes and Watson should be properly revealed on September 11.
The Great Ace Attorney for 3DS has no Japanese release date yet, and a Western release has also not been announced.
