AMA Setsu-AMA

[Fleurdelis]

Interesting :o

okay some others

Is it daylight robbery that the 7,5 mil bike mount isn't playing the Vanguard dungeon theme?
Do you miss the big pink blob? :P
How do you usually go about levelling crafters/gatherers, if you level them at all?

 

[Setsuna]

Is it daylight robbery that the 7,5 mil bike mount isn't playing the Vanguard dungeon theme?

Honestly I still haven't bought this mount! I really wanted it when we first got there but I was still in the process of leveling crafters and all my money was going to that as well as helping friends make their crafting gear too, and I've spent ever since either spending my money on stuff for glams or financially recovering from both of those investments. I will own it one day though, I think the bike mounts in XIV are great besides the new one they have for Light-Heavyweight Savage because that's just that one bike from Yugioh 5D's lol
And actually, I always have mount music off. I like the area music in this game too much for me to always just hear the same song as I travel around in the one mount I always ride in. I don't have much of an opinion on this, I think it probably should play the Vanguard theme but if I wanna listen to it while I fly around to gathering spots or something I'll just open it up on YouTube.

Do you miss the big pink blob? :P

You say that like you ever stopped wearing that coat in the first place! I don't really miss it, cause I still see it often and I think I actually stumbled across a clip someone from your group posted on Twitter pre-pull in M1S. I was scrolling and I stopped when I saw Cherry Pink and went "Oh, is that..?" lol

How do you usually go about levelling crafters/gatherers, if you level them at all?

I am essentially one of my group's two crafters and I've been starting to take this stuff a lot more seriously in Dawntrail so I appreciate this question and I'm super excited to answer it! Basically, there are three options, depending on how quick you want it to be and how much money you have to spare.

Guildleves are easily the fastest and are my first recommendation. With crafters, you can go from Lv90-100 without ever leaving Tuliyollal (or whatever main city for the expansion range you're leveling in i.e. 60-70 entirely in Kugane) or needing any good gear. You just pick up a few guildleves, buy the requested item from the marketboard (in HQ of course, it's double EXP) and hand them in. It can get expensive but you can max out a crafter in something like under 30 minutes. You won't be able to get everything to Lv100 right away because of having guildleve allowances cap at 100, but it's by far the easiest and quickest (although most expensive) option.
For gatherers, you will still need sufficient gear but most of the time if you aren't stingy with spending GP you'll be able to clear guildleves at/above your level easily and will reap the rewards, it just takes a lot longer than crafters because you do still have to actively gather what you're being asked instead of just purchasing it.

The next option is collectibles. It'll take a while to get everything you need to craft them (or needing to know what time and location the special gathering nodes are) but once you do, handing in a bunch of even Lv91 collectibles can skyrocket your EXP. It can be dirt cheap if you want to gather everything yourself to save money, or it can be quicker if you want to buy materials on the marketboard. If you accidentally make too much, you can either sell your remaining materials for money, or if you've already made the collectibles, you can exchange scrips for materia XI and those will sell very well for other crafters who are looking to pentameld. I believe Control is the stat people are looking for most of the time. If we're talking about gatherer's scrips, remember to buy your regional folklore items before just spending on materia to sell for money, because if you're planning on crafting at endgame all the way through the 7.x series you're gonna need them.
This is also where I'll mention the Diadem and the Firmament in Ishgard because not only is it apparently great for leveling crafters and gatherers below Lv80, skybuilder's scrips are great for mounts or minions that they're seemingly gonna keep re-releasing in Moogle Tomestone events later down the line and you can get them while leveling through the Diadem, or just without having to buy them on the marketboard. Good way of getting specific dyes too.

The third is more for gatherers but also applies to crafters: filling out your crafting/gathering logs. If you're just crafting gear for yourself at your current level (let's say 94 for example) you'll just passively pick up a lot of EXP by gathering everything yourself in areas like Urqopacha and Kozama'uka, and then crafting the associated materials you need in order to make gear like Pink Beryl accessories or Cobalt Tungsten weapons. Remember that every time you craft a new item for the first time you get bonus EXP and I want to say this goes for gathering as well? But even if it doesn't, crafting your own gear yourself will mean that you're gathering a lot and will likely max out MIN/BTN before all eight of your crafters. Personally I feel it's very rewarding to gather and craft everything myself, and it saves me a lot of money. If you're gonna be crafting at max level a lot you should be making your own HQ gear at lv100 anyways.

For fisher specifically, I've heard ocean fishing is a fantastic way to level, but it's also time-gated and requires you to buy your own bait and things to reap the benefits of it fully. I believe it can also be inconsistent? I dunno I just find fishing fun in general so I've never really struggled to level it.
Custom Deliveries also give you great EXP but are locked behind 12 per week. Even if you have everything at max level you should constantly be doing custom deliveries every week because it's the best way of easily getting scrips, especially gathering.

A big piece of advice I'd give is that if you're levelling crafters, greed EVERYTHING you find in dungeons in the expansion range you're wanting to level, and desynthesize the gear and weapons because it's free crafting materials that you don't have to gather or make yourself. It saves you time and money by taking advantage of what you're already doing. You just pick them up over time if you're just playing the game regularly or doing your roulettes or something.
If you're gonna be continuing to craft at max level and especially if you're trying to provide for your group, you'll likely want to specialize in CUL, ALC, and one of the remaining six depending on what you're making specifically whether it's armour or weapons and what class those are being made for. I went with GSM because my bf plays AST and the weapons are made by goldsmithing. Specializing in crafters can not only give you a boost but there are specific recipes only available for specialized crafters. Having a boost to CUL and ALC for food and potions is handy, but the orchestrion rolls for things like EX trials can only be made by ALC specialists, so it's an extra little way to get some extra money from my group for my services. Also, if you're currently making ilvl710 gear and fail the HQ% chance, don't get rid of them! Trade them in to augment your successful HQ ilvl710 gear next patch.

Always remember your Superior Spiritbond Potions for faster materia gain, and your Engineering Manuals or Survival Manuals for a boost to EXP!
I hope you get Good quality while crafting often and your Revisits proc constantly while gathering! Thanks for your questions!

 

[Fleurdelis]

You say that like you ever stopped wearing that coat in the first place! I don't really miss it, cause I still see it often and I think I actually stumbled across a clip someone from your group posted on Twitter pre-pull in M1S. I was scrolling and I stopped when I saw Cherry Pink and went "Oh, is that..?" lol

oh good grief I'm THAT recognizable @_@

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

Which Love Live idol do you think is most likely to buy one of the super-large Buicks from the mid-1970's?

 

[Setsuna]

Which Love Live idol do you think is most likely to buy one of the super-large Buicks from the mid-1970's?

I'm not super familiar with cars in general. From the little I do know, I really get the feeling that the idea of having a large car from the 60's/70's/80's, especially an American one, would definitely appeal to Mari. Yes, it's an obvious answer to give her a car because of things like New winding road, Shiny Racers, or Yosoku Fukanou Driving, but I think it's more about the time period and the country of origin for her.
Despite being rich enough to afford a personal helicopter I get the feeling that she'd really appreciate things from that time period/part of the world. Despite known for being Italian I could see her really wanting to embrace the American side of her heritage (again, New winding road has always given me that feeling) and being really interested in vintage stuff, especially for music. Like she strikes me as the kind of person to have all the music she listens to on her smartphone from last year but would still prefer to have it blasting from a vintage CD player if given the choice. I see Mari as the kind of person who would either really shine in something like a 1960's AU fanfic or would be really interested in that kind of thing herself. Given her lavish upbringing yet rebellious demeanor a big car from the 1970's is exactly the kind of thing I'd see her loving, both driving Kanan and Dia around in, and flaunting it in front of her mom.
I know this is more of like a specific question but I genuinely love the opportunity to talk about something like a headcanon like this, so thank you for the opportunity! I hope my answer was still interesting despite Mari feeling like a boring choice lol

 

[Yellow Bommen]

What are your favorite Shantae games?

And do you prefer lynxes or snow leopards?

Thanks, Setsuna.

 

[Setsuna]

What are your favorite Shantae games?

I love Shantae, I strongly believe it's one of those indie series that goes overlooked way too often. If anyone reading this likes 2d action platformers, metroidvanias, or Zelda games, you'd love Shantae, go play it!
I've played all of them so far besides the GBC original, and I think they're all solid. However I think it's hard to argue against the idea that Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is just the best game in the series, without question. It feels like a big step up from Risky's Revenge because the game just feels more polished and well-made, the upgrades are fun and pretty much all useful and the movement is incredibly fluid and fun. The boots specifically might be the best part, it's like having the Speed Booster from 2D Metroid with levels and enemies and rooms built with that incredible speed in mind. Propeller Town is a highlight of every playthrough because once you get to the point where you have the boots and cannon, it's so much fun to blast through rooms at turbo speed and a quadruple jump. NG+ speedruns are really cool because of that. Pirate's Curse is another of those games I could pick up and 100% whenever because it's just that well-made and easy for me to just fall into. It was my first and nothing has topped it since.
Seven Sirens has come close, though! While I became a fan of the series before Half-Genie Hero released, Seven Sirens was the game I was the most excited for so far. It felt like a great opportunity for them to really tweak the problems Half-Genie Hero had (which, while it's still a good game, felt a lot different at points and didn't have great pacing) but still respect the good parts of that game and push them forwards. I think Shantae had a tough time really settling into an identity of what it wanted to be in terms of gameplay, and Seven Sirens feels nearly perfect with the things that they decided on. The dances and animal transformations are both useful and interesting, the game can still feel fast-paced with fluid movement, and I want to see something like the card system continue into other games in the series. I love having extra abilities and rewards from defeating enemies in my metroidvanias, and the card system from Seven Sirens feels just like collecting souls in Castlevania Aria or Dawn of Sorrow. And that's one of my favourite parts of those games. If I was kinder to myself and had a lot more patience/determination, Seven Sirens feels like a game that I would learn to speedrun, it's one of those games that I really wanted to 100% in Steam achievements but couldn't quite get there.
I don't think Risky's Revenge or Half-Genie Hero are bad games, but they definitely don't feel as solid as Pirate's Curse or Seven Sirens. They feel like they were prototypes for those games and ways to test out and refine ideas. I hope the series doesn't fall into a pattern of bad game, good game, bad game, good game because Risky Revolution is such a cool idea for a modern video game and I'm hoping to god it's good. I've become a big fan of WayForward over the years and I trust in them.

And do you prefer lynxes or snow leopards?

They're both cute! I don't think people show enough love to bigger cats. People seem to be scared of them a lot more often. If I had to choose between the two it'd be lynxes, pictures of them often make them seem fluffier which makes me want to cuddle them more, and their paws are super cute. Something about the white and black fur pattern of snow leopards is really neat, but isn't my kind of thing honestly.

 

[Megan]

What's your favorite Japenese location?

What's your favorite toy?

 

[Alex_Among_Foxes]

As promised, what's your favorite sandwich?

What's your least favorite sandwich?

 

[Setsuna]

What's your favorite Japenese location?

So I've actually got a lot of answers for this question, and I like it a lot! So that means this will be a long answer, enjoy a huge wall of text.
Seeing as I've never been to the country myself (something I'd absolutely love to do, clearly!) a lot of what I know about these locations or what they mean to me comes not from first-hand experience or memories but mainly either seeing videos, hearing about them, or from what they mean in things like anime that I've seen. Everything I'll answer with means something to me in some way. To start with stuff that isn't related to Love Live:

Tsukiji Fish Market is probably the first time a place in Japan really caught my eye. It's apparently a big tourist attraction both inside and outside Japan, and every time I've seen videos or pictures of it I think to myself that it'd be absolutely lovely to go. There's something fascinating to me about the process of catching these huge fish, processing them and selling them at the market, and both the idea that they can be bought at the market or in restaurants. Japanese cooking in general is really comfortable to me because of a lot of videos I've seen and the thoughts growing up that I wish it was more of a part of my life. In a way it sort of represents the culture I came from, how I missed out on it growing up, and the process of now catching up to it when I'm older and can appreciate it more.

The entire prefecture of Hokkaido would be wonderful to visit, but especially its capital city of Sapporo and Odori Park within it. It's home to the Sapporo Snow Festival, which is an event I've wanted to go to for years and years. Whenever anyone asks "What's something you wanna do in Japan", if I don't mention Love Live I'll mention the snow festival. Growing up in a big city in a snowy country has helped me really connect with Pokemon's Jubilife City, and I'd love to see Sapporo with my own eyes, as Jubilife was based on it. Something about knowing that there's a real place that inspired one of my favourite fictional locations ever, enough to call it my second home, makes it really meaninful.

Yes, Akihabara is really cool and I'd love to go, but for more of a less obvious, more specific location, I have to mention Shibuya Crossing. I'm such a huge fan of massively popular areas with tons of people around and Shibuya Crossing is like the definition of that for me. It's one of those super populated city areas with skyscrapers and everything, similar to Times Square, and I can't shake the feeling that it'd feel really comfortable and enjoyable for me, just appreciating the sights. It's another big tourist destination, and I'd really love to see a massively popular area, especially if it includes stuff like huge buildings or trendy fashion.

One of my favourite things to tell people who are completely unaware about Love Live and wanting to get into it or are curious about it is that basically every place you'll see throughout each series is a real place that you can go visit, and each location usually means something emotionally to someone. Maybe your favourite character has a really touching scene on this bridge or in this store, maybe it's their favourite location or something important happens there! In Love Live Sunshine there are a lot of scenes of characters visiting the same areas that previous characters walked in or performed at because those are considered sacred ground for idols, and the same goes for real life too.

As for locations that mean a lot to me because of Love Live, the first one worth mentioning is Kanda Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Tokyo. Not only is it close to Akihabara which would make it convenient for visiting multiple places in one trip, it means a lot because of Love Live School Idol Project, and it's a major location µ's trains at, where several members of their group come together, and where several important moments in the plot take place. Near the end of the series it's also filled with decorations cheering µ's on for their victory in the Love Live finals. In Sunshine, it's visited many times by the main characters as it's become tradition after µ's performance to visit the shrine to pray for good luck for Love Live, as it's the exact location a legendary group prayed for theirs. Nozomi Tojo serves as a maiden at this shrine and she was made into the shrine's official mascot in 2015.

Another area that means a lot in both SIP and Sunshine is Nebukawa Station. It's a location heavily featured in a very emotional episode near the end of School Idol Project, and is revisited in Sunshine for one of the major turning moments in that anime's plot. It's incredibly meaningful because of the ways these two scenes connect and contrast the two series with each other, and what I'm ultimately left associating it with is the scene in Sunshine where Aqours decide they don't have to follow in the footsteps of µ's and they can truly shine by creating their own path.

There are so many places in Uchiura or Numazu that I could say mean a lot to me but Uchiura's Mito Beach and Numazu's Harbor Floodgate are the first ones I think of.
The beach means a lot to me as it's a location heavily featured in Sunshine, especially near the beginning of the series, as it's where Aqours first begins training, where they eventually find the name of their group written in the sand (something that becomes a recurring instance throughout the series and something fans will often do themselves) and the location Aqours ultimately decides to place the flag displaying their victory of Love Live, as it can be seen by everyone in their community as they pass by.
Numazu's Harbor Floodgate is a location where some of my favourite character moments from Sunshine's season 1 happen. It's the location at which Yoshiko finally decides to stop running away from who she wants to be and accept herself and join Aqours, supported by the people around her. It's the location of the scene where I decided on who my favourite member of Aqours was for the first time, as there's a really sweet talk between You and Mari, going into You's feelings about a current situation she doesn't feel she can talk to anyone else about, with Mari supporting her, not wanting You to make the same mistakes she did in the past.

Odaiba is a place I'd love to visit, as it's Nijigasaki's home turf, and I make it no secret that I really love Nijigasaki. Odaiba's Rainbow Bridge is one that means a lot to me. It's the setting for the video for Mirai Harmony, a song that means a lot to me and makes me emotional every time I listen to it, and the video was the first time we saw these characters in the art style of the anime that we'd come to associate them with in the future. Many places in Odaiba seem super cool, especially ones featured in Nijigasaki's anime such as Sega Joypolis, which was featured in one of my favourite episodes of Nijigasaki's first season, and Tokyo Big Sight, a big convention center that would be the model for Nijigasaki High School in Love Live.

What's your favorite toy?

The Meowsic Interactive Cat Piano! I mean, just look at it! And the "meow" sound it makes? Absolutely incredible, one of the great gifts of our time, truly.
But I also like kid's toys that are based on pieces of technology from fiction. Things like a toy version of a PokeDex are really cool to me, because obviously they can't make it 1:1 like the real thing, but it's often a different experience that's still interesting to me, especially being made for kids.

Thanks for your questions! Hopefully it wasn't too much? haha

 

[Yellow Bommen]

What are your twenty favorite 'Love Live' girls?

Thanks, Setsuna.

 

[Megan]

In a way it sort of represents the culture I came from, how I missed out on it growing up, and the process of now catching up to it when I'm older and can appreciate it more.

Do you have Japanese roots and if so: are there things you do so you stay connected to them?

 

[Setsuna]

As promised, what's your favorite sandwich?

Y'know I fully expected this and said that I would come up with an answer and then I uhh... didn't come up with an answer. Breakfast sandwiches are ones I make often (both easy and delicious), and I really love a good ham and cheese, but honestly my answer is more of an awkward one? Just saying "a good deli sandwich" is really vague but I'm the kind of person to say the more toppings the better, and I just think a really good deli sandwich with a bunch of different meats and stuff really cannot be beat. I was gonna mention my favourite sandwich shop here, but after finding out it's basically only a local chain I'll refrain from doing so. It's just a place that I make sure I go every time I visit home.
BLTs and club sandwiches are great too, I have a big love in my heart for them.

What's your least favorite sandwich?

I would have answered this question with Reuben a few years ago because I found the flavours too strong, but over time I think I've gotten more accustomed to eating the different parts of the sandwich by themselves and can now fully appreciate it for what it is. I know this is a cheap answer but I'm going to say both Peanut Butter and Banana as well as Shrimp Po' Boy because banana and shrimp are two things I either don't enjoy eating or just cannot stomach. Not a death allergy or something, it's just not good for my body.

What are your twenty favorite 'Love Live' girls?

Top twenty? That... is a lot. It's hard to answer such a big number when the most I'm fully familiar with are somewhere around 35? Besides picking a favourite for each group (for the most part, picking a favourite Aqours is near-impossible for me) I'm just going to list out some of my favourites or ones I like just to fill them out. So in no particular order:
Nico Yazawa, Nozomi Tojo, Maki Nishikino, Dia Kurosawa, Ruby Kurosawa, Yoshiko Tsushima, Riko Sakurauchi, Mari Ohara, Ayumu Uehara, Yuu Takasaki, Setsuna Yuki, Karin Asaka, Kasumi Nakasu, Leah Kazuno, Rina Tennoji, Mia Taylor, Chika Takami, Hanamaru Kunikida, Shioriko Mifune, You Watanabe.

 

[Setsuna]

Do you have Japanese roots and if so: are there things you do so you stay connected to them?

Yeah I do actually, I'm half-Japanese, third generation. My dad is full Japanese but didn't really keep the language or most of the cultural aspects because his family had already moved out of the country by then, and he learned English growing up. I like to joke to some people that I'm the whitest Asian person my friends know. I find it awkward to mention if it isn't directly related to the conversation topic because I think especially as anime was starting to take off in the west there were a lot of teens online just claiming they were Japanese and making up Japanese because people were weebs and wanted clout. For me it doesn't feel like something I want to push on people and most of the time the most I have to say about it is receptionists having a really awkward time trying to pronounce my Japanese last name or a small handful of people seeing it and assuming I know the language/am more comfortable speaking it than English and approach me in Japanese. It's awkward having to respond "Oh I'm sorry, I only speak English".

On that topic though, learning the language is something I've tried on and off both because it directly plays into my hobbies (video games, anime/manga, and especially idol/seiyuu content that isn't subtitled online) and because it's probably the thing that would help me connect to those roots the most. Again I love the idea of going to Japan and experiencing it first-hand but it's a really uncomfortable situation for someone to see my name and assume I'm a local or know the language, like I'd be lying to people. Language barriers fully terrify me and it'd be the worst thing to put someone in a situation where it's natural for them to assume that and then pull the rug out from under them, and do that to everyone I tell my name to because I wanted to travel.
Cooking is probably the next biggest thing, I have a lot of traditional Japanese recipes saved because the cuisine would interest me even if I didn't have those roots. I love watching things like daily life vlogs or home cooking videos by small Japanese youtubers and it sorta gives me that sense of being able to experience that kind of thing for myself. There's a lot of dishes or meals I would absolutely love to cook for myself or family and friends that would represent my culture, or times my dad has cooked or told me and my mom something he grew up eating.
I think video game localization is really cool and it allows me to pick up on some smaller things occasionally that I never would have heard or thought of. Playing Love Live School Idol Festival introduced me to holidays like Setsubun, Golden Week, and Tanabata that we simply don't have here and looking up things like cultural festivals, holidays, and the significance those events have and continue to play in the lives of people in the country are really cool. I love seeing things like how the language is structured, learning about words we don't have in English or ways people speak, or phrases or cultural events that have significance to them that we've never heard of in English. There's a pun in Love Live combining the name "You" with the food "Yakisoba" to make "Youkisoba" and it's genuinely one of my favourite little things I've seen in localization.
One of my favourite things to try and connect with those roots is watching content of my favourite seiyuu on YouTube for things like TV shows, radio talk shows, live performances, or anything like that. There are these certain speech patterns or ways of addressing people that feel so unique to Japanese when compared to English and they not only perfectly align with my interests (there's something so incredibly unique about watching Shuka and Kyan order a pizza live on stage that you don't get anywhere else that perfectly scratches an itch in my brain somewhere) but always fascinate me in some way. It always feels unique and exciting to me just hearing them speak and interact with each other.

Thanks for your questions!

 

[Fleurdelis]

If you could choose one healer job to be your personal healer for the rest of your FFXIV time, what job would you choose?

 

[Setsuna]

If you could choose one healer job to be your personal healer for the rest of your FFXIV time, what job would you choose?

I'm married to an Astrologian main, the choice has pretty much already been made for me!

But honestly, even if it wasn't for him, I think Astro might be the choice I'd go for anyways? They all have things I like in their kits (Benediction, Expedience, Kardion, just to name a few) but I think generally Astro has more things I feel like I can personally benefit from and respects how I mitigate a lot better. Things like Earthly Star, Macrocosmos, and Essential Dignity are all about delayed healing after you've taken a good amount of damage, and I respect a healer who picks me up when I'm low on health a lot more than one who's constantly keeping me at full HP. Receiving cards makes me feel special and the changes to cards mean I'm receiving them a lot more and consistently receiving them instead of "please make an exception for me, I've been a good tank!"
As a tank, especially one who loves to run dungeons, you can really tell when you're at max level and your healer doesn't know what they're doing. But I feel like it's especially noticeable when you have a really good Astro, more than the other healers. Maybe I'm just spoiled because of my marriage, but when I'm being healed by them I feel both respected in how I want to mitigate pulls (instead of something like Holy stuns or Eukrasian shields preventing my TBN from breaking), but also like I'm never in any danger and they'll have my back. As a tank who relies on her own self-made shield I'd prefer regen healers to shield healers, and would prefer Astro to White Mage.
That being said, my healers in my group are White Mage and Sage, and I'm really grateful for both of them, it's really fun to work with them and actually strategize how we want to heal and mitigate through mechanics, I think we work together well, even if I miss my bf healing me.

 

[Yellow Bommen]

What are your favorite Final Fantasy 5 characters?

Thanks, Setsuna.

 

[Setsuna]

What are your favorite Final Fantasy 5 characters?

I do love FF5. My favourite character is Lenna, I have a lot of love towards characters like her, and my second favourite is Krile, then Galuf. Krile in particular is special since there's also a Krile in FF14 who's become one of my favourite characters in that game, partially because of the association to FF5. Galuf however was a character I really didn't expect to like as much as I did, but thought he was fantastic. And I agree with the people who say Gilgamesh is great and is one of the best parts of FF5. He's great too.

 

[Yellow Bommen]

What are your favorite Ace Attorney games?

Thanks, Setsuna.

 

[Setsuna]

What are your favorite Ace Attorney games?

Ace Attorney is kinda strange to me because I definitely had a phase where I was super into it, but it feels like the series has been over ever since that phase of mine ended and I got caught up with the series and played all the games. Nowadays I have fond memories with the series but I'd really only say maybe slightly above half of the cases in the games are good.
I've played all of them and finished most of them (excluding Great Ace Attorney 2 and Investigations 2 which I'm sure someone will say is a crime) but my favourite has always been Dual Destinies. I think Athena as a character is really charming and appealing to me, playing as her and getting to see things from her perspective was really exciting, the story between her and Simon Blackquill is really interesting and has some neat moments (such as the bit where Athena believes she can just reassemble her mom with a machine after she was killed) and I think Blackquill or Klavier might be my favourite prosecutors in the series and they both appear in Dual Destinies. I like the music, I do actually like the look of the games in 3D both in and out of the courtroom (though I think Great Ace Attorney perfected that look afterwards) and I think Turnabout Reclaimed is just one of the best, funniest, most endearing cases in the entire series. It sums up a lot of what I love about Ace Attorney: funny characters and moments on top of a genuinely touching story. If you made me pick one case specifically to be my favourite, it'd either be Turnabout Reclaimed or Turnabout Academy. And while I think Turnabout for Tomorrow does rely too much on "Hey guys we brought Edgeworth back isn't he cool?" I do think both the pressure of having only one day left before a potentially innocent man is executed is really heightened by having a showdown in an exploded broken down courtroom. It also includes a few characters I absolutely adore, namely Juniper Woods, Jinxie Tenma, and Myriam Scuttlebutt.
I think the first game is absolutely iconic and worthy of its status as a classic, I think overall the story is great (though I do agree with people's opinions on the ending of Turnabout Sisters being poorly written) and I appreciate that Rise from the Ashes tried a lot of new things and would ultimately still be relevant in introducing Ema (who's just one of my favourites in the whole series). Trials and Tribulations also had a really high bar because it always seemed to me like it had to both establish the fact that the first three games were actually an over-arching trilogy as well as being able to resolve that trilogy. Even on its own I think it's got the strongest story in the entire series, it definitely succeeded at what it set out to do. Seeing the scene where Terry poisons himself in the courtroom to protect Dahlia is actually what got me interested in the series in the first place.
The other games either feel like they have one really great case and fall flat for the rest (especially Justice for All) or are still solid entries but have things that hold them back, like the first Great Ace Attorney.
I do think Layton vs Wright is underappreciated though, because even if the courtroom sections are simplified from what I remember, I just think the idea of incorporating magic into courtroom evidence is really cool. I really appreciate when fantasy media goes out of its way to establish how its magic works, properly communicate those ideas to you, and then ask you to understand or answer questions based on those rules.

Thanks for your question!