Professor Layton and his pint-sized apprentice Luke are gearing up for yet another adventure together but now on the Nintendo 3DS. ‘Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle’ successfully launched in Japan and the reception for this new game was overwhelming. Hungry for the myriad of puzzles this series offers that are both tricky and entertaining, the adventures of Layton and Luke provide countless people with hours of fun, clean entertainment.
Having originally launched in 2007, the ‘Professor Layton’ series has been highly successful as people of all ages and backgrounds have grown to love the eloquent and gentlemanly Professor and his young, spunky apprentice. The game has such a strong following that when talk emerged of making the next one in the series for the 3DS, resistance had been met. But it seems that any fears that the series would be ruined by moving to 3DS technology have been quickly quelled.
Keza MacDonald from IGN.com was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek at the Japanese version of the game and had this to say, “The first thing you notice is that Professor Layton sounds way sexier in Japanese (and Luke sounds much less annoying). The second thing, though, is the huge leap in graphical quality. The characters are all actual models now, cel-shaded and outlined in black. It’s a relief to see that the Professor Layton series has been updated without losing any of its style or soul. That beautiful watercolour aesthetic works just as well in 3D, and we finally have some conversational animations rather than pretty but static images.”
The games are released in Japan first and then the subsequently in the West. When we’ll be able to see an English version of this game remains to be seen. Having already beat ‘Professor Layton and the Unwound Future’ months ago, I’m extremely eager about the upcoming release of this newest game, whenever it may be. ‘Specter’s Flute’ still hasn’t been given a Western release date, so this can take some time. Nevertheless, it’s in the works and that’s all that matters.
