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Professor Layton

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Professor Layton series
File:ProfessorLaytonseries.jpg
Developer(s)Level-5
Publisher(s)
  • JP: Level-5


  • KR: Nintendo
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
ReleaseThe Curious Village
  • KR: September 11, 2008

The Diabolical Box
The Final Time Journey

The Specter's Flute
Genre(s)Puzzle, adventure, interactive novel
Mode(s)Single-player

The Professor Layton series ("Reiton-kyōju series" (レイトン教授シリーズ) is a puzzle video game series for the Nintendo DS, currently consisting of three games. Three more are due for 2009/2010. The games are developed by Nintendo and Level 5.

Each title is based in a series of puzzles and mysteries given by the citizens of towns that the main characters visit. It is not necessary to solve all the puzzles to progress, but some are mandatory.

History

Professor Layton was a direct result of Akihiro Hino's childhood love of Akira Tago's popular Mental Gymnastics series of puzzle books, which have sold more than 12 million copies to date in Japan.

Games

  1. "Professor Layton and the Curious Village" (レイトン教授と不思議な町) [1] (Episode 4) [2]
  2. "Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box" (レイトン教授と悪魔の箱) [3] (Episode 5) [2]
  3. "Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel" (レイトン教授と最後の時間旅行) (Episode 6) [2]
  4. "Professor Layton and the Specter's Flute" (レイトン教授と魔神の笛) (Episode 1) [2]

There was also a "Friendly Version" for The Curious Village, from which all weekly puzzles are unlocked, as well as the game being slightly easier for those who were troubled previously. For Diabolical Box, the Japan-only "Level-5 Premium Silver/Gold" collections on Nintendo DS included an exclusive side-story, "Professor Layton and the Holiday in London" (レイトン教授とロンドンの休日) in addition to the actual game and another Level-5 game, Inazuma Eleven. The Holiday in London includes ten puzzles, some of which are from the first game, and a short storyline, set in Professor Layton's London office, in which he reminisces about his previous adventures around the world.

Main characters

An English gentleman, professor of archeology at Gressenheller University in London and one of the protagonists, notable for his skills at solving puzzles, as well as his signature top hat.
The other protagonist, Luke is Layton's assistant and apprentice.
An orphaned young lady whom Layton and Luke met during the events of the first game, and since then she lives with them. Her name is Aroma in the Japanese version.
A famous detective from England.
A mad scientist who was banished from the scientific community due to illegal practices, and declares himself as Layton's arch-enemy.

Characters introduced in Diabolical Box

An "immortal vampire" who holds the key to the mysterious events in a town and is the original owner of the elusive "Elysian Box".
Sophia is Anton's true love and Katia's grandmother. Has a connection to the box, but died a year prior.
Katia a mysterious girl who seems to be connected to Anton, the box, and is Sophia's granddaughter.

Characters introduced in The Last Time Travel

A man named Klaus who disguises himself as Older Luke to trick the Professor and Luke to thinking they're in the future.
  • Claire/Sally
Professor Layton's love from the past. She was killed while working on the original time machine, but brought back for Layton. In the end, she tells him she has to go back to die. She originally says that she's Claire's twin sister named Sally.

Characters introduced in The Specter's Flute

  • Remi Altava [5]
A female colleague of Layton's, who plays a key role in the plot.

Gameplay

The game is essentially a collection of puzzles with exploration sections between them. The puzzles take the form of brain teasers and are only loosely tied to the plot, although the player must solve a certain number to progress. A hint system is included, which requires the use of "hint coins", found hidden in the landscape of the game and in limited quantity, to reveal each hint. The player is given ten hint coins at the start of the game.

All puzzles were created for this series by Akira Tago, who is famous for his best-selling Mental Gymnastics series. Curious Village contains 135 puzzles, and Diabolical Box contains 150 puzzles.

Wi-Fi compatibility

All games in this series are compatible with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing players to connect to the internet and download new puzzles every Thursday at noon (UTC-9). In the downloadable puzzles, the player cannot earn any additional picarats, and rather than use the hint coin system, a new hint is provided weekly.

The additional puzzles are not actually downloaded each week but rather unlocked, so with the use of an action replay or appropriate cheat device the extra puzzles can be unlocked early without connecting to Nintendo Wi-Fi.

Plot

The Curious Village

Main article: Professor Layton and the Curious Village

The game's plot revolves around Professor Layton and his young assistant Luke. The pair are invited to St. Mystere by Lady Dahlia, widow of the late Baron Reinhold, to solve the mystery of the Golden Apple. The Baron stated in his last will and testament that whosoever should solve the mystery would inherit everything he possessed, but no one in the town has any idea what this Golden Apple is.

The Diabolical Box

Main article: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

The main story revolves around Professor Layton and his young apprentice Luke travelling to meet Layton's mentor, who has sent them a letter about a mysterious box. Layton's mentor writes that he wishes to have Layton take care of his information if anything were to happen to him. Professor Layton and Luke rush to the mentor's home to find him killed under mysterious circumstances. From there the pair travel to discover the secrets of the "diabolical box". The game contains 138 puzzles in the main story. However, there are a complete total of 153 puzzles to be unlocked.

The Last Time Travel

Main article: Layton-kyōju to Saigo no Jikan Ryokō

Little is known about the story other than that it takes place in the future London. There is also information given in an exclusive Japanese trailer that points to the possibilities that Professor Layton and Luke may be trying to escape from the future London, after being transported there in a time machine, where they also encounter an older version of Luke.

The Specter's Flute

Main article: Layton-kyōju to Majin no Fue

Announced on March 11, 2009 by Famitsu, it appears to be the first installment in a new trilogy of prequels, set when Luke first became Layton's apprentice. The story starts when the Professor stumbles upon a mysterious fog-enshrouded town, home of the legend of a great giant who menaces the countryside whenever the so-called Devil's Flute is played. The young Luke plays a key role in this legend, and so does Remi Altava -- a female colleague of Layton's and a new main character introduced in the game. The game's release is set to be in Fall 2009.

Feature film

An animation film, called Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, is going to be produced by Masakazu Kubo, who is mainly known for producing the Pokémon films. It will be an original story, separate from the game series.[3] It takes place after the events of The Specter's Flute.[2]

On March 2, 2009, Level-5 opened the official Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva website. It contains four commercials about Layton and Luke, in the form of puzzles. The site lists a December 19, 2009 release date.

Manga

Manga intended for child audiences has been serialized since the February 2008 special edition of Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic. The title of this manga is Professor Layton and the Cheerful Mystery (レイトン教授とユカイな事件, Reiton-kyōju to yukai na jiken), covering many mysteries in the story.

References

  1. ^ "Level 5's new game's genre is unknown? New style game to train your brain" (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  2. ^ a b c d e "レイトン教授映画公式サイト『レイトン教授と永遠の歌姫』" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  3. ^ a b "Layton Kyoju and the Devil's Box becomes a movie quality" (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  4. ^ "小栗旬がレイトン教授でゲーム声優初挑戦" (in Japanese). 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
  5. ^ "Professor Layton and the New DS Trilogy: News from 1UP.com". 2009-03-11. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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