Manfred von Karma

CantFaketheFunk
15. Manfred von Karma

Oh, Manfred.

A certain someone might have dethroned you from the position of "PW's final boss," but they didn't have to face you in the courtroom.

Manfred is the best prosecutor in the series. His daughter, Edgeworth, Godot... none of them compare to the ironclad "holy ****" that is Manfred von Karma. Self-sustaining objections, the fingersnap of doom, his "I am the Devil" Objection. Manfred defines perfection in the court, and because of that is probably the most genuinely intimidating character in the series. (In a way, it sort of makes his daughter a bit more sympathetic, because she is trying to live up to an ideal that she never CAN--Manfred is beyond every other lawyer in the world of the games, bar none)

He's intimidating, evil, brilliant, and one of the few villains to actually deliver bodily harm to Phoenix in the form of DON'T TASE ME, BRO! Taking him down is one of the best moments in the series, and truly, truly satisfying. However, he's not higher because... while he's an amazing final boss, that's all he is. That's all he really COULD be, to be fair--if they'd tried to reuse him, it would have gotten old quite fast. And he's not really much of a character beyond that... but that's okay, because as a prosecutor and enemy he's goddamn amazing.

Naye745
8. Manfred von Karma

He doesn't inspire as much hatred as Dahlia, nor does he do so much to affect you like Engarde. What puts him over those other two is that you actually get to face off against him in the courtroom. As far as the prosecutors you face go, he's definitely the best. He always has a counter to any of your HOLD ITs and OBJECTIONs, and he kicks your ass for 95% of the case before you nail him in the end. It's great stuff. Von Karma's attitude, his commitment to being perfect, is another thing I love about him. For Engarde and Dahlia, their criminal tendencies are mostly about their own selfish motives. Von Karma cares more about his perfect record than anything else, whichI suppose is a bit ridiculous, but I think it's a cooler and more interesting character trait than just Engarde and Dahlia's motives. So yeah, for those two big reasons he's the #1 PW villain in my view.

SSBM_Guy
8. Manfred von Karma

http://www.court-records.net/mugshot/karma.png http://www.court-records.net/screenshot/PW/gotshot.png http://www.court-records.net/screenshot/PW/scaryentrance.png http://www.court-records.net/arts/OA%20-%20Karma.gif http://www.court-records.net/arts/artbook/artofgs-087.jpg http://www.court-records.net/arts/artbook/artofgs-088.jpg

Case(s): DL-6, 1-4

Oh man. Manfred von Karma...the first ever "real" murderer. All the other murderers before this were simple and easy. Sahwit was nothing. REDD WHITE OF BLUECORP was intimidating...that's it. Dee...not even a murderer. Yanni...he was taking instructions. But...von Karma? Hell, even in Trial 1 and 2, he was probably more evil than anyone else before him. <_< I mean, seriously. Let's see...where to begin...well, trial 1 would be where you first meet him. There's a lot of hype about von Karma...Edgeworth telling you that he was his mentor. The fact that von Karma has been prosecuting for 40 years and haven't lost a single case. Yeah. Then, you actually meet him in court. And holy damn. He is completely insane and annoying. He is easily the hardest prosecutor in the entire series. He just objects to everything you say. You can't make a single argument. And hell, even his OBJECTION will take you down. You're just going along and BAM. This demonic sounding OBJECTION. You're just completely scared, thinking what the hell just came out of your DS. It turns out to be von Karma's voice. Yeah. It's the perfect voice. The voice that pretty much comes from the demon himself.

Seriously, Lotta's testimony isn't so bad...but with von Karma around? Yeah. He will just completely rip you apart. Hell, if von Karma was the prosecutor for 1-1, it would be incredibly difficult to win. It will definitely be longer than only one trial day, that's for sure. Yeah. von Karma just has complete control the entire trial. von Karma even manages to get Edgeworth the Guilty verdict for a few seconds...until Maya comes out to save you. That was great moment, with Maya's outburst. Seriously. Then...comes Trial 2. von Karma says the trial will end in 3 minutes...and he almost gets Edgeworth the Guilty verdict...again. But Larry saves the day instead of Maya this time. Really not much to say in Trial 2...same deal with Trial 1. von Karma shoots down every point you make until Phoenix manages to prolong the trial for another day. Then comes Investigation 3. Here, von Karma gets a bit more backstory. That von Karma fought Gregory Edgeworth in court...right before DL-6 happened. And that Gregory got von Karma his only penalty in his entire career. Also...it turns out that von Karma was also the person who wrote to Yanni about the murder plans. Then...

That's when it happens...when von Karma faces Phoenix finally...outside of court. This sets the scene for a pretty epic moment. Phoenix and von Karma try to chat about everything going on about the case, but von Karma doesn't talk. Eventually, once you show the letter to von Karma...he pulls out a taser. Yeah, that's right. Phoenix is, like, "DON'T TAZE ME, BRO", while von Karma has that sinister smirk on his face. He zaps both Maya and Phoenix...yeah. Just to get that letter. I mena, seriously. You don't get more awesome than that. Don't mess with von Karma in court or else your case just completely falls apart and your client will be declared guilty. Don't mess with von Karma out of court or else you'll get zapped.

Trial 3 of Case 1-4. I just may very well call this the best trial day ever. I mean, let's see...Polly's cross-examination...solving DL-6...and finally nailing von Karma. But the main thing here is von Karma, so let's focus on that. von Karma just sorta sits back in this trial day. He even offers Phoenix to cross-examine Polly. Eventually, Edgeworth is finally declared Not Guilty...only for Edgeworth to confess he did DL-6. Yeah...this is all going according to von Karma's plan. He wasn't able to take down Edgeworth in Case 1-4, but he's going to try once more for DL-6. And he's going to go all out...after all, he was the one who did the murder. But it doesn't hit Phoenix and Maya that he did the murder until later on. Once they did realize...yeah. That was just...whoa. Of course, von Karma is completely fine at the accusation. In fact, he just simply laughs it off. However...once you pull out the metal detector...yeah. That's the beginning of the end for von Karma. You can tell, as this the first time he begins to sweat. You finally get von Karma to go the defensive...that's a great feeling. And this is followed by...the epic headbang. This still remains as one of the best moments in Phoenix Wright history. 3 days to hold off von Karma...and it's the damn toughest 3 days there is. And then you finally manage to take him down. He just bangs his head against the wall as you feel a great surge of satisfaction. Yeah...von Karma is one of the best villains.

So...a summary of why von Karma is so great. Easily the most toughest opponent in court, thus making the case very difficult. Everything about von Karma is intimidating, even his OBJECTION. The taser moment and all of 1-4 Trial 3...just complete excellence from von Karma. He may have a had a stupid reason for murder...after all, the only thing Gregory did was score a penalty on his record. But yeah. von Karma is just a completely excellent villain as a whole. He's just...wow. Completely great. And yet...there's 7 characters who are better than him. Yeah...PW's cast is just that damn awesome.

transience
5. Manfred von Karma

- the first time I played 1-4, I hated von Karma. he was annoying, he objected at everything, he was just a huge nuisance. - replaying it, though? he's the greatest lawyer the game has ever seen. you could fuse Phoenix, Edgeworth and Franziska and you still wouldn't be able to touch von Karma. he is absolutely perfect, right down to the point where it seems like he's won the case even without any real evidence. - von Karma puts the fear of god into Phoenix moreso than any other prosecutor. he basically won a Guilty sentence, and useless Maya of all people was the only thing keeping Edgeworth alive. he's just a perfect lawyer. he doesn't even so much as sweat until you present the metal detector. - as a "last boss", von Karma is absolutely perfect. there's nothing more thrilling than taking this guy down in Phoenix Wright -- no, in gaming period. I don't particularly like the guy, but as far as an antagonist goes, no one's close in the PW series.