Herlock Sholmes

It’s only fitting, really. My first meaningful action here was to uplift the rival of the Great Detective past the finality of death. Now, in my final meaningful act, I will take out the man himself.

A Holmes With No Sherlock

Shu Takumi wanted to make a game with Sherlock Holmes in it.

This is true for what immediately preceded the creation of The “Dai Gyakuten Saiban” Great Ace Attorney, but also more generally. From developer interviews, it’s clear Shu had wanted to make a game with Holmes in it for some time before DGS actually ended up manifesting. It’s understandable, given [endless ayana words about history of the mystery genre in japan and how woah arthur conan doyle’s work was influential worldwide].

A Joint With No Reasoning

Similarly, the idea for Ace Attorney was one of two Shu Takumi had for creating a mystery game. The other involved correcting the deductions of a detective.

Now. Why would a great detective make the wrong deductions?

This is, in many ways, an answer to the eternal burden of a mystery game. Because gamers? Are not detectives. They just aren’t on average going to be hyper-attuned to details in a way that is above average for a human. But you want them to feel like they are. How do you do that? Sometimes they don’t bother. Sometimes the rest of the world is contrived, or the protagonist has some unique advantage. At times, the unique advantage afforded to the protagonist is simply a consequence of being the player, that your ability to use logic is unclouded by the issue of actually being in the stressful situation in question.

Looking across the border to the forbidden territory of Danganronpa, the way they handle this in the first game is kind of funny. Because you just. Aren’t smarter than average at all. The people who are actually intelligent are kind of dragging you along in order to prove their own points or accomplish something incoherent.

In AA, the prosecutor is supposed to kind of be smarter or more well equipped than you, which they use to feed the whole underdog vibe of the game. This… works. Sometimes. The problem is that the people who aren’t the prosecutor are generally way less competent. Which is fine for like, Lotta Hart. But it can stretch disbelief that every single detective in the series is uniquely incompetent (except Ema, I guess, who just hates you)

Nowhere is this dilemma more confusing than it is with our beloved Herlock Sholmes, a character codified in fiction as the Smartest Guy, Ever, Famously And In Casual Idiom Language (no shit sherlock).

Why is he always wrong? About everything?

Susato seems to imply that his deductions aren’t bad, per say, but he just gets tripped up on some specific details. Which like… I guess? In a literal sense, that is what the gameplay mechanic of the Dance Of Deduction is.

Is it that? Is he a smart guy that’s a little scatterbrained and quirky so he needs your help? Is he a genius just pretending to be incompetent for… some reason? Is he actually just an idiot?

It’s interesting, to say the least. I think beyond the surface level entertainment Herlock provides – a significant amount, really, as whatever I may think about it on this analytical level, the joint reasoning segments are certainly quite fun – this question of how much he truly knows is what keeps him interesting.

A Character With No Value

That said, I don’t believe there’s anything else. Beyond what I’ve gone over, I think there is basically nothing to say about Herlock Sholmes as a person. Or character, since he’s not real.

He does things that are a sane reaction for someone who has to work as a private investigator and act in self-interest. Except when he doesn’t (see above). A good person doing good, one might say.

Perhaps someone else could say some words about his relationship with Iris, but to me, all that amounts to is an understanding that TGAAC believes adoptive fathers to not be in any way lesser than biological ones; they are just as capable of being problematically neglectful, and this is just as unworthy of addressing or doing anything interesting with.

But, as is known in a rankdown with Swiggle always at the ready to explain he is not like other girls, there are many different ways a character can be evaluated beyond how complex their individual psychology is. So we can talk about some of those. What is Herlock Sholmes doing?

A Joke With No Punchline

He’s kind of funny.

That’s it, that’s the whole section.

When I first played DGS in whatever year that was, I thought Sherlock Holmes was really fucking funny in it. But when I finally returned to complete the duology upon its official English release, he… wasn’t?

It’s strange, and I’m not confident if this was a consequence of anything tangible or just my tastes and sense of humor changing. Another possible theory is that he’s funnier in the fan translation. Perhaps the more natural dialogue that works to make the whole thing more readable in general detracts from his quirky appeal.

Confirming the cause will never happen, because I don’t have the motivation to replay TGAAC once, let alone twice with subtle translation distinctions. So a mystery it will remain.

He is like, situated in odd places and positions in case 2. This is funny. Hah.

It is, perhaps, the most notable thing about him for the entirety of the first game. Peaks early.

A Thread With No Plot

According to sources that may or may not be reliable, Kazuma Asogi wasn’t planned from the beginning to be brought back from the dead.

I have no idea if this is true – there’s certainly no foreshadowing so unambiguous that I find it impossible to believe, but it’s a little weird. But if it is true, it explains how fucking weird the entire process of how this happens is.

What? Huh??? The reveal is weird though I respect it. But the logistics are. Eh?????? Amnesia is such a silly and unnecessary feeling addition here. Why does Stronghart assign him to just sit around by Barok? Why does he have to wear??? A mask?? Because he’s Japanese? 

Why does Sholmes do fucking any of this? He’s aware of the assassination program, and knows they’d just send another guy if he stopped Asogi, so he. Stops Asogi? Am I forgetting something? What the fuck is the plan here? It seems like it would have to rely on him assuming Asogi has amnesia, which he can’t have possibly known during the brief period of time he’d need to set it up. Also, how much was the crew involved? Just, like in practice… eeeuueuuurgh.

 In a Doylist sense, it’s all for the sake of the reveal for the viewer, while potentially performing a retcon. But the Watsonian one…

Man, what the fuck is up with Watson? He’s literally just some guy. Which is the joke, and I kind of appreciate that, but why did Sholmes choose him to lie about? I dunno. My memory on this isn’t that great, so I won’t outright call this a plothole, but it all feels very… fuzzy.

A Labyrinth With No Exit; A Maze With No Prize

Which is my take on Sholmes as a whole. He’s a man of mystery with nothing inside him. There are no answers to satisfy you, because fundamentally, the reasons he does things have nothing to do with him at all. He’s here because his creator wanted Sherlock Holmes in the game. He’s incompetent because his creator wanted a mechanic that involves a detective who is constantly wrong. When that mechanic isn’t needed, his level of competence can be anything.

I rewatched the final Dance of Deduction. I didn’t re-experience anything else for this post, because I’m evil, but this felt like the most important bit. And my suspicions were confirmed: it answers nothing. It contains no resolution for the unclear core that lies within Herlock Sholmes.

In this dance, we learn just how smart Herlock really is. He's been hiding this from the player all along! this moment is where they got the "dance" Part of the name from.

This scene was just perfect, the moment you realize he was just playing around with Naruhodo and then shows his real genius around Mikotoba... just brilliant, they nailed both characters and it truly show how much they love and respect the originals!

What are these comments talking about?! He does nothing! The distinction from the Ryunosuke dance of deductions is that he doesn’t say stupid bullshit and instead just doesn’t put forth an answer at all. It’s the same exact prompt but with you filling in an absolute blank rather than what is effectively one. What is this segment. This is positioned as a major moment. What is it accomplishing? 

It’s fun, I guess. A little. I am not a wholly soulless husk. I like the tap dancing bit. But this scene’s popularity only makes me feel slightly less insane than the oh-so-hype final AA3-5 final contradiction does. 

It really does feel like it should mean something. This is the game defined by the presence of Sherlock Holmes. This is the moment the proper investigation tactics of this setting’s Holmes and Watson are revealed, without the self-insert shoved in there. This is where we see his true capabilities! And I don’t care. I feel like it tells me nothing about him beyond the fact that he used to be besties with a man from another country who shares his hobby of being half a father. It’s nothing.

You’re welcome to feel otherwise. He’s clearly a fan-favorite, and I’m happy he was able to do something for so many people. But for me, he’s a joke, and not one funny enough to last the many hours this duology takes.

Herlock Sholmes exists to facilitate a mystery. As such, perhaps Arthur Conan Doyle would be proud? But I don’t think he would. It’s not a very good mystery.