Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit will see an English release for the first time on September 6, 2024, 13 long years after it was first made. But that doesn’t mean fans haven’t been aware of it or had no way of playing it. Ace Attorney Investigations 2 has a well-loved fan translation; even the Ace Attorney Wiki used the fan translation’s character names in place of their official Japanese names on their pages. While they’re now slowly being phased out by the official English names as they’re revealed, fans aren’t on board with all of them.
One of the new names we know is of Prosecutor Edgeworth’s recurring rival throughout Ace Attorney Investigations 2, called Sebastian Debeste in the fan translation. Debeste is a phenomenal pun worthy of the Ace Attorney series, and it fits nicely with the jokes made in the original script. His Japanese name, Ichiyanagi, can also be read as “Ichiryuu,” or “first class,” which he frequently calls himself. This is treated as him calling himself “the best” in the fan translation.
What is his name now? In a screenshot shown on the official website, we know his name is officially “Eustace Winner.”
Some fans have been taking this goofy name better than others, but many are not pleased with the change. Eustace is an incredibly popular character, even appearing as one of only two Investigations characters on the Ace Attorney 20th Anniversary celebration illustration made by Kazuya Nuri in 2021. His popularity combined with the clever appeal of his fan-given name has left a lasting impression on players. Familiarity is comforting, and “Eustace” is not a change many want to see.
But honestly, it’s a good name. “Eustace Winner” sounds like a pun of “useless whiner,” which ties back to how his full Japanese name is also one interconnected pun. “Ichiyanagi Yumihiko” is a pun on the phrase “isshi naki yumi o hiku,” or “to draw a bow without an arrow,” a useless action. “Winner” is also an appropriate new nickname for himself, which is still in character with “the best” and “first class.”
A similar shock was felt back in 2021 when the character Sherlock Holmes in The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles was revealed to have been renamed “Herlock Sholmes” in English. But this name has historical relevance as the version of the great detective faced by the great thief Arsène Lupin, and its silliness matched the character perfectly—and fans ended up loving it after the initial shock had worn off. It wouldn’t be surprising if this turned out the same way for Eustace, who realistically wouldn’t have kept his fan name in the official translation anyway. It’s a goofy name to match his own initial goofiness, and it isn’t out of line compared to the other puns in Ace Attorney’s history. After all, one of the murder victims of the first Ace Attorney Investigations game is named “Deid Mann.”
