From the late 2000s to the mid-2010s, my gaming experience was all about learning to become a gentleman. This was a central topic which ran throughout the Professor Layton series. If Professor Hershel Layton wore a trench coat, I wore a trench coat; if he drank fruity tea, I drank fruity tea; if he was reminded of a puzzle during the most inappropriate of times...well, you get the idea. This is to say that the Professor Layton games were a huge part of my formative gaming and indeed, my self-education. So why is it that, today, my views of the series are so often tainted?
The answer may be found in the last title of the series: Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy. This a game that, regardless of its merits, never sat well with me. There was no Hershel, no Luke, no aggressively brilliant jazz score. It wasn’t a Professor Layton game — to my mind, at least.
This week marked the five-year anniversary of Layton’s Mystery Journey’s US and European 3DS release. It also means that it has been five years since we last had an original Professor Layton title on console – longer still if, like me, you struggle to include Mystery Journey with the other mainline games.
Is it fair to say that all hope of another Layton entry is gone and, if so, is it fair to blame Mystery Journey? This is a puzzle indeed, and, as I learned from the master of etiquette himself, a true gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved...
Level one of Level-5
In order to solve the mystery of the lost franchise, we must go back to the beginning. The year was 1998 and former Rivershillsoft employee Akihiro Hino formed a partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment to work on projects for the PlayStation 2, if he did so under his own company brand. Choosing a name to reference the highest mark on a Japanese report card, Level-5 Inc. was born and, after working on projects such as Dark Cloud, Dragon Quest VIII and Rogue Galaxy with Sony, the studio began self-publishing games by the mid-2000s.
Keen to cash in on the adult-oriented audiences that Dr. Kawashima’s giant floating head had brought to the DS, Level-5 began working on a title that would work for children and adults alike. The kind of game that your Grandma can buy you for Christmas and have a crack at herself after polishing off a glass of sherry.
It was in this process of development that one of the all-time great duos were formed. Much like Mario and Luigi, Mario and Sonic, or Mario and, err, Rabbids (?), Akihiro Hino enlisted the help of puzzle book writer and real-life quizard Akira Tago to help birth a franchise that was both fun and (in the loosest sense of the word) educational.
Building a true gentleman
The finished product was not just one, but six games (and a crossover, a feature film, a manga series, mobile app, and enough Stove Pipe hat merchandise to send shares through the roof). Professor Layton and the Curious Village was released in 2007 to deservedly high acclaim. The puzzles were fiendishly puzzling, the central mystery was genuinely mysterious, the top-tapping jazz score from Tomohiro Nishiura provides one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time, and P.A. Works provided feature film-level animated cutscenes. Feature. Film. Level.
The original trilogy was so eagerly met that the trio of prequel games was quickly released in the following three years (Professor Layton and the Spector’s Call on DS, and both Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask and Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy on 3DS). It is true, each entry does get somewhat wackier than that which preceded it (this is a series that genuinely moves from an inheritance dispute in game one to — SPOILERS! — literally resurrecting the dead by game six), but that was part of the series’ charm. Professor Layton was a household name, and this silly little franchise could run forever, right?
Wrong. Excluding Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, which would release in Japan in 2012 before a Western localisation landed monstrously late in 2014, we haven’t seen our top hat-wearing, Laytonmobile-driving, tea-drinking Professor in near enough eight years.
And, unfortunately, it is unlikely that we will ever see him again.
The rise and fall of Level-5
You see, following the success of the Layton series and some strong franchises with Inazuma Eleven and Yo-kai Watch, Level-5 had fallen into disarray. Taking a break from Layton after not one, but two trilogy endings which caused emotional damage, Level-5 hit big with Yo-kai Watch in Japan, selling over one million units in its first year and beginning a cultural following that even rivalled the likes of Pokémon – yeah, it was a big deal.
The issue was that this Japanese folklore-heavy series just didn’t have the same effect on Western audiences – who would have thought it? While the first game sold a respectable 400,000 units in the US, interest in the franchise steadily waned with the sequels. This wasn't helped by the long periods that it would take for Level-5 to localise them – it took over three years for the first game to reach Europe, and we have near-given up hope Yo-kai Watch 4 will ever appear outside of Japan.
The ensuing financial difficulties and slew of cancelled projects meant that Level-5’s hiatus from the Layton series could not have come at a worse time. Tragically, in 2016, the death of Akira Tago meant that things looked bleaker still.
Without Tago's iconic puzzles, what would another Layton game even look like?
Layton's Mystery Journey
Well, it would look a lot like 2017’s Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy, which initially released on 3DS and mobile before receiving a 'Deluxe' Switch port a few years later.
The game is a hollow shell of everything that made the Layton series great. The puzzles, now designed by Kuniaki Iwanami, are not puzzling, there is no mystery to be found mysterious, the toe-tapping jazz is replaced by jazz which is notably un-tappy, and, to top it all off, there’s no Layton.
Playing Layton’s Mystery Journey, I tried to convince myself that perhaps the Layton franchise had always been this way and I had just grown up – pfft, these puzzles aren’t easier, it’s me who has gotten better. This simply isn’t true. Sure, putting Layton’s name in the title is enough to tangentially link the release to those which had come before it, though the game shares about as much DNA to the original as Pokémon Dash does to Pokémon Red and Blue.
There is such a noticeable downgrade with the loss of Tago's genius and the whole game suffers because of it. Even Hino’s writing isn’t up to the mark here. Splitting the central mystery down into several smaller cases means that there is no build-up to the finale and who the heck signed off on adding a talking dog to the game? A town full of robots in the Layton series I can believe, but come on.
It might be unfair to attribute all the blame for Layton’s demise on Mystery Journey. The game did well enough for Hino to write a 50-episode anime spinoff – and if that isn’t a clear sign of success then I don’t know what is. What is apparent, however, is that it failed to reignite the puzzling passion of its predecessors for most Layton lovers.
So, what now?
In 2020, a GamesIndustry.biz report stated that Level-5 would be ceasing all operations outside of Japan, with the chances of future Western localisations being extremely unlikely. In Japan, the studio continues to release Switch titles — Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu, Megaton Musashi, and Megaton Musashi Cross in 2020-2022, and Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road of Heroes is expected to release next year. The last Level-5 game that we saw receive a Western release was Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold back in 2020 – hardly the firework ending from the studio that developed some of the most popular franchises on Nintendo's previous-gen handhelds.
So where does this leave Layton? A studio in disarray and a prior entry to leave a bitter taste in the mouth is hardly an ideal place to find the franchise today, but this is not to say that Layton is necessarily dead just yet. Level-5 is one of the studios that, time and again, desperate fans call on Nintendo to acquire. The big-N has published each Layton localisation in the past and each to a good level of success. The opportunity — however unlikely — is there, but even if that miraculously happened and Nintendo bankrolled a comeback, there's still the case of Akira Tago's absence. Perhaps Layton is truly gone.
The sign of a great mystery is all in how you wrap it up, and Layton’s Mystery Journey provided no Agatha Christie reveal. In good faith, the chances of Level-5 releasing another Layton game at the moment are about as slim as Luke ever changing out of that little blue jumper — seriously, how many of them does he own? — but to see the gentlemanly professor return and wash away the sour taste of Layton’s Mystery Journey would be most edifying, and would bring his case to a proper close.
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Level-5 died with the 3DS essentially. They milked their good series to death and completely lost any and all goodwill in the west(which was already strained with their inconsistent localization and poor communication and extremely long waits for localizations in an era where most devs that weren't indie moved to simultaneous release or a least cut waits down to only a few months)
Now Layton is dead, Yokai watch is a shambling Japan only husk and they can't even get an Inazuma eleven game out the door...for a series that was near yearly before.
I stopped even attempting to care about anything they do several years ago and would be surprised if they survive the decade without going under.
I still prefer Yokai Watch games over than Pokemon games.
I don't expect, or even really want, new Layton games. As the article writer alludes to, the series pretty much died alongside Akira Tago, and Layton's Mystery Journey only cemented that fact for me. "Hollow" is a good word for it: it looks like Professor Layton, superficially, but there's nothing to grab onto. The cast (including the MC) are non-entities, the puzzle design sucks, and the stories are really basic and unsatisfying. Which is a shame, given how amazing the series became after Unwound Future.
All I want, but don't expect to get, are remastered ports of the first two trilogies. That would make me happy. Every series has to die some time, and I'm perfectly satisfied with six mainline games and one spinoff. I just want to be able to access them on modern hardware. That sort of happened when the first trilogy was ported to Android, but I'd hate to see the second trilogy be lost to time.
Where did Level 5 go, I wonder?
The franchises that they owned were good, but didn't really have that big of an appeal for wider audiences. So when their best franchises began to stagnate and decline, they began to hemorrhage money.
They used the money they've earned from the success of Layton, Yokai Watch and the first Ni No Kuni to make other games, but they too were decent games for niche audiences.
I'm sad that they fell so far down the ladder, but looking at their release history for the last decade, I can't say that I'm all too surprised.
Honestly, the series peaked with Unwound Future. Everything after just felt like it was going through the motions.
I got the first Professor Layton Christmas Day of the year it released. Wanted it so badly but was unsure my parents would be able to nab a copy as it was sold out continuously here in the uk when it came out.
I have very fond memories of sitting in the living room until late at night with all the lights off bar my DS screen and the Christmas tree lights flickering. It was downright magical and I remember telling my friends at the time it was my new favourite game of all time, surpassing even OoT (which, funnily enough, I don’t think I’d even put in my top 5 these days).
While I don’t think QUITE so highly of it these days, I do still think the first four were wonderful titles, particularly the third. Two and four I kind of liked at the time (I’ve replayed them all since and have warmed to those two a lot more and don’t think there’s a great deal of quality difference between the first four) but Village and Future hold a very, very special place in my heart.
Having said that, Miracle Mask was the weakest of the original six and after feeling very lukewarm on it and Azran Legacy (even after a replay), I kind of fell off the series. It would be a long time until I returned for PLvsPW and LMJ.
Long story long, I really didn’t like either. I felt the puzzles were lame and the stories in both were so lacking. Sure, the former had an interesting narrative hook but that reveal at the end threw a bucket of cold water over the whole game, while it was already on shaky ground.
So, would I like more Layton? Yeah!!!! Despite not having enjoyed the last four titles (I did like the very tangentially related app game though), I’m a sucker for pining for the past. Would I rather a future without Layton or a future with a Layton that’s a husk of what it was? I’ll always go the latter because, no matter how unlikely, there’s always the anticipatory promise that the magic could be back
On the subject of where beloved series have gone, my partner keeps hoping for a style boutique game for the switch.
Its a shame level 5 have gone the direction they have, their games couldn't of sold that badly surely? And yet smaller games like those from NIS can continue to get western releases.
I didn't want to feel depressed on a Saturday afternoon yet here we are.
I was never in a position to really enjoy these games when they originally came out, between them not really being available here in Ireland and me just being far too young to find much interest in them. Nowadays however, especially after playing their rival series in Ace Attorney, I obsess over these kinds of highly intricate, plot driven puzzle games and to not be able to play....any of these games (apart from an entry set way, WAY in the future) on current gen hardware is heart-wrenching. I love Level-5's work (Yo Kai Watch is what got me into Japanese culture as a whole for crying out loud!) and to see them basically Thanos-snap themselves from the entire rest of the world sucks. If there was any series Nintendo should grab from them, above all else though: it's Layton.
Just give us a Switch collection of the original games (or two, if you want to split them)
It's a fantastic collection of 6 awesome games, 1 awesome movie, 1 surprisingly good anime series, and 1 really bad Switch game. Overall, that's an AMAZING franchise and we don't need more.
All we need is a way to play those first 6 games on a television monitor. Switch collection port please?!
One thing, the anime is an very extended adaption, not really a spin off. And it explains Hershel's and Luke's whereabouts and their relationship with Katrielle. I have the Japanese Blu-rays and found it more fun than the game its based on.
But hopefully they will do a sequel and give us a good Layton game again
This is a phenomenal series that I got into way too late, but that did bless me with the ability to buy them all as soon as I needed to experience another.
Sadly the prices went up for some of the 3DS games, but I either saved or waited til they were on sale. I can only hope they do a compilation some day on a new system and draw a crowd back.
It certainly went nowhere for me - I'm early in Unwound Future and Mystery Journey is among my most anticipated future meals in the binge. Agree to disagree, but it took one trailer for Katrielle and her surroundings to give unmistakable series vibes to me; a talking dog is somewhat exotic but hardly too much so in a franchise that keeps upping the stylishly surrealist ante with every game as it is. Prolonged consistent mass hallucinations in full sync, anyone?😜😄 And far be it from me to complain, mind you.
As for the future - only time will tell, but there were periods when no one expected a new Rune Factory, SaGa or Mega Man to ever happen either. Even western releases don't look all that ghostly to me, seeing as, according to the article itself, it has mostly been Nintendo helming them anyway. And with all due respect to Akira Tago, I don't think he would ever expect the torch pickers after his untimely passing to be Akira Tagos in the puzzle field any more than Layton himself would ever expect Luke to grow up into another carbon copy Hershel. The mileage on the subsequent puzzles will always vary anyway, but what Tago-sensei did was help make his evident flame for puzzles into a mainstream video game BONFIRE.
This bonfire deserves to keep burning indeed, and I'm personally more optimistic that it will - both in the eventually possible new franchise entries AND in all the games Layton series will have inspired just like the games of decades past inspired a lot of what we discover and enjoy nowadays.
The only game I've played from the franchise is the Switch version of Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy, I liked it for what it was.
I wouldn't mind eventually playing the other games in the series at some point though.
Level 5 has clearly downsized quite a bit, so they don’t have what it takes to make a Layton game, nor does its odds of profitability compare to their Free to Play games, especially since Ni No Kuni Crossroads was an instant hit. It naturally became a lower priority and that’s fine. The series had a good run. I just wish Mystery Journey wasn’t so frustrating in not having a story and then ending in a major cliffhanger (which I the anime has kept up with tbf, but I’m not putting that time in).
Sad to see Layton just disappear like it has. I think if we’re going to get anything else substantial from Level 5 it’s most likely to be Ni No Kuni 3.
They need to make a good animated series. Not janky budget anime like the one they made, but like the cutscenes in the games which are my favorite part.
Hmmm … I quite enjoyed LAYTON'S MYSTERY JOURNEY: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy – Deluxe Edition. In fact, it's one of my favorite games on the Switch!
I actually thought the smaller case structure built up nicely to the larger case; different, but just as good imho. The soundtrack also had plenty of charm.
With more puzzles than the previous games, I'd suggest anyone sitting on the fence give it a look. That said, I feel bad for those who didn't connect with Katrielle as I did. That being the case (and if you didn't care for Layton vs. Wright), it has been a long time.
That’s too bad for what’s happened to Level 5. But I grew out of the Layton games after the 3rd game on DS. Just can’t really get into anymore.
Where did it go? In my collection duh, playing it whenever I want cause it’s the best puzzle series in DS & 3DS :-3
I'm surprised Level 5 games never made a successful jump to the Switch. Lots of studios that were not used to HD-tier system development did not transition well or at all (Pokemon, Alphadream).
Recently picked up all the DS and 3DS entries. It would be nice to see these all remastered for the Switch, but I'm not holding my breath.
Typical baller move. Step 1: Make the six best games ever. Step 2: Die.
imo the Yokai Watch games were actually pretty great! I have been waiting for 4 for so so long, and hopefully if Nintendo does ever acquire them, they localize 4.
One thing that killed the series early for me was the LONG wait for the second game.
I own all the layton games and while I would appreciate a new trilogy I doubt they could pull it off atm. Better leave it as is.
Far as I'm concerned the Layton series is a goner, though I wouldn't say there could never be another new entry since Hino expressed interest in covering Layton's disappearance (even though the anime already did that job). I would personally prefer a new mainline game featuring or starring Al and Lucy (from the mobile spin-off Layton Brothers) who I find more interesting then Katrielle and her gang ever could be.
One of my key issues with the Katrielle game is how the cases are about 'everyday' problems, the kind of troubles that you expect to see in a little kids cartoon or something. I wouldn't have necessarily wanted something 'grand' like the prequel trilogy (especially the last two games as I have mixed feelings on their stories) but the game should have primarily or entirely focus on what Kat was aiming to do in the first place; finding her missing dad. It still baffles me that the anime series, specifically its Layton-&-Luke episodes, already covered that (along with Kat's origin) before a potential sequel could. It doesn't help that the mystery of Sherl the talking dog is absolutely ignored, and the "big plot twist" in the game's final episode kinda came out of nowhere and was just underwhelming imo.
All I know right now is that I want both the Layton Brothers game and the Ace Attorney crossover to be ported to Switch and, as mentioned earlier, for the dou of Al & Lucy to appear in a new mainline entry but the chances of those happening is even more sad than the current state of Level-5.😞
Layton is one of my absolute favourite game series and it's sad to see it fizzle out. To the developers' credit, Azran Legacy was originally supposed to be the last Layton game, and choosing to end the series after two strong trilogies was a respectable move. But the Katrielle game showed they still had an interest in continuing the overall franchise, and for all that game's faults I would have loved to see Kat's search for her father continue.
@Ralizah correction. Six mainline games and TWO spin-offs.
You’re forgetting Layton did a dual game with Ace Attorney 😉
@YoshiF2 I was thinking of the Ace Attorney one when I wrote that. Mystery Journey is already on Switch. And also doesn't count for me.
And is also probably technically mainline.
I slept on this series for way too long. I borrowed Curious Village from a coworker once and absolutely LOVED the game. I've been a fan ever since. I've played through the main six in release order - I just played the prequel trilogy over the span of the last year - and also own LMJ for the Switch but haven't played it yet. Not sure if I'll ever play Layton vs. Wright without a port though. Eternal Diva is also a fairly decent animated film.
As much as I'd like to see more Layton titles, the franchise is unfortunately tied to Level-5 and their tumultuous fortunes over the last few years. I like many of their franchises (Yokai Watch included), but them regressing to Japan only means I think any further releases from them are unlikely unless Nintendo steps in somehow.
Can't anything just end? Have we been so trained to expect every single thing that ever had more than two iterations to continue forever? When was the last time in human history a Batman movie WASN'T in development? We should enjoy what came before and look forward to new ideas. I don't want my kid's kids choking on their leftovers like they're choking on mine.
I absolutely adore the Layton series, but I can't imagine Level-5 in their current state going back to the series. Even if they were to try and make a new game, there's a good chance it would be an underwhelming experience.
And this article was great timing, as I had literally just started playing the Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright game earlier today. It's the only Layton game I hadn't played before, so hoping it's a good one.
Look, I love Professor Layton. I played the series in my adult life and relatively recently. At a time where I started to feel like to games no longer "clicked" anymore, Layton brought back a complete nostalgic sort of joy. It's something special.
That being said, I don't see any way forward for more entries, and sometimes it's just better to let things end. Layton's character arc had already ended by the time of Lost Future, necessitating further entries to be prequels. The series spent its creative energy. Trying to create further adventures would inevitably ring hollow, which I can only imagine being more disappointing. The best to hope for is that Level-5 continues to preserve the franchise. (It's available on mobile, but only the original trilogy)
Things are perfect left as they are, we don't always need more, a lesson more gamers should take to heart. If anything, I wish Katrielle was given treatment to become a successor, instead of just being lambasted. At least a sequel to create a standing spinoff series (a la Ace Attorney Investigations), though I suppose there is that anime.
You know the phrase about how it's impossible to catch lightning in a bottle twice? To my mind, Level-5 somehow managed to do it six times... a seventh truly would be impossible
I never played it, but from what I can gather from the internet, the last game on Switch bombed (especially in Japan). That’s probably why.
I loved and 100% the DS games. Really fun and it's a shame the franchise died the way it did.
They should've quit while they were ahead
Hmm interesting. I’ll never understand business things. How can you have such surprise hits and then not survive one misstep? And that’s assuming that the last game really didn’t sell.
I would argue that the series had already overstayed its welcome earlier. The games were mechanically too similar, so after a while you knew to expect no surprises. Only the plots got more and more ridiculous. I played the first six games (I think?) but I wouldn’t want more of the same. I’d like a reboot but with a renewed scope.
Some commenters above argued that you can’t keep a series fresh, I disagree. But to successfully do so you must refrain from repeating yourself! Look at mainline Mario games, every entry does something new and different.
I didn’t hate Katrielle. I thought it was an attempt to reboot the franchise and introduce the series to new players, so I forgave it being a bit easier. It’s a shame they never made a follow up because it had a lot to like, even if it wasn’t quite the same as the previous entries in the series.
Level-5 needs to get their act together as a whole, learn how to prioritize and know their limits of scale. Every bit of gold they've stumbled on was instantly ground into dirt, not EVERY hit they make needs to be a "cross-media franchise". Fantasy Life could've been a staple series, instead it got mobile shovelware sequel and a spiritual successor "Snack World" that didn't carry any of the original appeal. They seriously never attempted making another Dark Cloud style game? or just a regular safe JRPG of their own after working with Dragon Quest? This company always felt absolutely brimming with potential that just keeps getting snuffed out by poor decisions.
I feel sad. I ❤️ Proffesor Layton. Heh.
They made 6 great games (plus vs Ace Attorney and a movie) and that pretty much covered the full story. The series disappeared afterwards because Level-5 seemed more interested in making awful spin-offs instead of a proper Layton 7. I've no intention to play Mystery Layton Journey (or whatever it's called) and ruin the series' fantastic legacy.
Really enjoyed the way this article was put together.
The Layton games hold a very special place in my heart — especially the first title. It was such an exciting game to come from the DS: brimming with character, quirk and countless cracking conundrums. There was nothing quite like it at the time, and the hours I spent pootling around the mysterious village are among some of the most enchanting I’ve experienced in a video game.
After five sequels, however, the claim that there’s “nothing quite like it” doesn’t quite ring true anymore. While each new game expanded the scope of the story (adding ever more fantastical elements along the way) the gameplay itself didn’t really evolve in a compelling direction. I also felt that the high-stakes, cinematic narrative of the later games was at odds with the quaint charm that made the first game work so well.
With the first title, it felt strangely natural to follow the titular English gent around a charming, sleepy village populated by bunch of loopy puzzle-lovers. The unhurried pace of village life meant that the puzzles never affected the game’s pacing, and Layton’s gentle demeanour lent the whole experience a tranquil, soothing quality. For a game full of devilish brain-twisters, it was a remarkably relaxing affair. I feel that some of these elements were lost by recasting Layton as the globe-trotting, world-saving superhero of the later games.
But the past is past, and the future unknown (if not unwound). Personally, I feel it would take a lot of vision and effort to reinvent Layton again in a compelling way, and I’m not sure if Level-5 is really well placed to do that in its current state. I’d rather not see him cack-handedly resurrected for the sake of it. As much as I love Hershel, I think he would be the first to say, “a gentlemen must never outstay his welcome.”
Things end.
TV series, Film franchises, Book shared universes, Video games. At some point either the audience or the creator gets bored, and things need to stop. The best works of fiction are those that have a beginning, middle, and end where the story grows and flows until the final act and all the loose threads are cleaned up. You don’t get tired of the characters, or things start to repeat.
I think Layton went on for about 4 too many games as the storytelling and the puzzles became repetitive and a chore. But the first three were great.
Wasn’t it rumoured to come to switch???
I'm surprised they don't even port the classic Layton games to Switch.
I need them to either make a new one, or port a collection to switch. Or both.😂
"Without Tago's iconic puzzles, what would another Layton game even look like?"
Tago did not contribute to Layton vs. Wright (at the very least he's not credited), and while the puzzles from this game were nowhere near as brilliant as the conundrums you could find in both trilogies, they are still miles better than those featured in Mystery Journey. In fact I'd go as far as to say that they are among my favorites in the whole series, because boy are they nicely crafted. Almost all of the puzzles were tied to the overarching plot and had a character from the story (be it a member from the main cast or an inhabitant of Labyrinthia) involved in some way, which made them very engaging from a purely narrative perspective. Were they too easy? Certainly. But what they lacked in difficulty, they more than made up for in charm. Maybe the franchise just doesn't need to come back, but if a new Layton - with Hershel as the protagonist - had as much love poured into its puzzles (along with an actually interesting storyline), I would be content with it.
As one of my all-time favorite franchises, it absolutely kills me how it went strong for so long before being left to the wayside. To me, the story and production value was the greatest selling point, so I feel LMJ could have been great in its own way, but they really missed the mark on it. Here’s hoping the franchise comes back someday!
Last year I had a great retrospective discussion with Bob from “DearestHershel” about the state of the franchise on the Level With Us podcast, and I think he summed up how special the setting of the series was when he said that it captured real-world European locations in a fantastical, anachronistic way. I miss this series!!
It’s not that often that I will play through every game in a series and not get bored, but the first 6 Layton games made me do just that. I still have the fondest memories of the first one, but they were all great. The last couple seemed to drag a bit though. Would be keen for the professor to make a comeback.
I'm not sad about the lack of Layton, I am however sad about the lack of Yo-Kai Watch 4 localisation
I adored that series. When Level 5 effectively said screw the rest, bye bye that went.
The worst thing to die with the game series was the music. No one can argue that the music that was orchestrated would always hit the right tones and elevate every scene it went with. I do hope another company can buy out the rights to the game and revive it because although the game style may be stale for this current age the stories and ofc music to come out of those games really captured me as a kid and made me really fall in love with the series as a whole.
He had a very good run of games on mainly the DS but also the 3DS if I remember correctly. The spins were decent play throughs as well. A truly excellent series which a fair few in the family enjoyed. Great memories. I wouldn't mind a new game since it has been so long but I am not desperate for one
Into retirement I guess, these games were always going to be in trouble once the 3DS gad gone, the dual screens were pretty much a necessity for these games.
I managed to enjoy the Katrielle game even though it paled in comparison to almost everything that had come before it. It felt nice to have a sort-of console Layton game that could also be taken on the go. I had also skipped the 3DS release due to the presence of paid DLC (which is included by default in the Switch version).
At this point, I'd settle for a port of all of the originals and be content that the series concluded on a high note.
I fondly remember seeing a couple of elderly women in the DS section back in the day checking out the Professor Layton games and other brainteaser-style games, which they intended to buy for themselves. What a lightning in a bottle the DS was before the cancer of smartphones took hold!
Eh, I liked the games but I'm fine with them being done. They were all basically identical anyway, there was little improvement or substantive change between them.
@Pikachupwnage This exactly!
I don't understand what happened to LEVEL5 to be honest.
They made a port of the original Yo-kai Watch 1 to the Switch and then only released it in Japan, while the game was already localized for the 3DS.
I was just absolutely baffled by this, like they don't even want to make money or something? I had my wallet ready to buy Yo-kai Watch 1 on the Switch if it had released in the West.
It's the same with Yo-kai Watch 4, which they promised to release in the West, but never did. /shrug
@Savage_Joe And if you read the part about Yo-kai Watch 1, where I said it was already localized.
So all they had to do was included the Western language packs and release it in Western Switch stores.
@Savage_Joe LOL! What part did you not understand? Yo-kai Watch 1,2 and 3 was released in the west on 3DS and thus localized.
So the Switch port of Yo-kai Watch 1 could have easily been
released in the West, since they already had the localization available from the 3DS version.
Yo-kai Watch 4 was developed for the Switch and only released in Japan and never received a localization.
I absolutely adore Professor Layton, but we don't really need more games. The Miss Layton game was terrible, although the anime was very enjoyable.
All I need at this point is one or two collections with either 3 or 6 games per Switch cartridge. ^_^
@Jeronan There are costs to release a game, even if it is already localized. They obviously don't want to spend their money on the relaunch of a game that didn't sell well in the West.
I explained this to you on the other news thread.
I don't know, I think leaving the franchise to die wouldnt be that bad, sometimes, I wish Capom also let Ace attorney die in peace, they shouldnt have continued after the original trilogy.
I noticed that it had been a while since I’d seen any new Level-5 games but I didn’t know they were planning on shutting down operations outside of JP. It’s really a shame because they had some slam dunk titles on the 3DS especially with Fantasy Life. Guess any chances of ever getting a Fantasy Life sequel are gone. As for Prof. Layton I think that this is maybe the only outcome available and honestly I’m ok with that. Id rather Prof. Layton be remembered as a series with only high points rather than have it degrade in a sad attempt to keep the series relevant. There are a lot of series that made it big on handheld consoles that will probably never see a new entry. I doubt we’ll ever see another Pushmo, I’d be very surprised if Nintendo made a new Rhythm Heaven and Rocket Slime will prob never see a new entry. The looming end of official support and ceasing of online operations for the 3DS in march really is marking the end of the handheld era of gaming. Many games that utilized dual screen tech and the 3DS camera will probably not get ported.
Ace Attorney and Professor Layton are at the top of my favourite game series. I really enjoyed the 6 mainline Professor Layton games and the VS Phoenix Wright spin-off. I prefer the original Layton trilogy, though I don't mind the one that came after. I think it's best to leave the series as it is. I don't believe Level-5 will (or can) bring this series back. Still, I hope one day another studio can bring the original 6 games back to modern day consoles, fully drawn in HD.
But yeah, I miss you Layton. I know it sounds cheesy, but these games really have a special place in my heart.
I played most (possibly all) of the PL games on DS/3DS when they were new. Although I initially enjoyed them, slogging through the plots and dialog wore me down.
If they are remade/remastered, it would be nice to provide a 'puzzles only' mode for customers who want to skip the plot.
I've played the Layton games a lot over and over. I really like the second one the most, Pandora's Box. Lost Future is excellent and cinematic. Fourth was rather great, then the last two weren't as good at all, the 3DS style and writing and atmosphere all lost. Playing the Live London theme from 3 in Azran Legacy was so unfitting, it was atrocious, even with such a dazzling theme for that part. I'm fine if the series never continues, it had six games, none of them really bad, it told a story, it ended on a mystery as it should have. Oh, and there's a seventh game, right, never played it and based on the trends the series was trekking through, it wouldn't have kept the charm from the original ones I liked.
@Sherlock- The extra cost argument only applies for physical releases. They could have released it digital only in the eShop in the West. Would have cost them nothing, other than unlocking the other eShop regions and adding the language packs to the game download. Since the game is already available in the Japanese eShop.
@Jeronan Yes, I had already told you this on the other news thread. I'm all for a digital release of the game, although it's becoming increasingly clear that they're not willing to launch their games outside Japan anymore.
@Sherlock-
Well that is pretty obvious, since they haven't released anything for years other than the two Ni No Kuni ports by Bandai Namco.
And we will have to see if that Inazuma Eleven game is actually going to release this year. Not that I play it.
Only games from LEVEL5 I enjoyed were in fact the Yo-kai Watch games on the 3DS.
It's the only reason I still hold on to my new 3DS XL (along with Pokemon X and Ultra Sun, which I still like to play now and then).
@Jeronan Well, you're the one who didn't seem to understand why Level 5 isn't launching its games outside Japan:
"It's the same with Yo-kai Watch 4, which they promised to release in the West, but never did. /shrug"
They did promise to launch the game in the West, but this was before it came out in Japan. When YW4 was finally released, it turned out to be the worst selling game in the series. I doubt we're going to see a localization or even a fifth game.
LoL this aged well !
This has aged extremely well, also thank you for using my video!
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