The change in the series ' setting became an issue in later games , where the Japanese setting was more apparent . Starting with the second game , the series localization direction have been handled by Janet Hsu ; One of the first decisions she had to make was how to localize Maya 's hometown and the mysticism of the Fey clan . She came up with the idea that the localized versions of the Ace Attorney games take place in Los Angeles in an alternative universe where anti @-@ Japanese laws like the California Alien Land Law of 1913 was not passed , anti @-@ Japanese sentiments was not powerful , and where Japanese culture flourished . This dictated what should be localized and what should be kept Japanese ; things relating to the Fey clan and the Kurain channeling technique was kept Japanese , as that was Maya 's heritage , while Japanese foods that was not widely known in the West was changed .