Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright

I feel like it has been years and years since I first heard of this game. I remember very much liking the look of the trailer when it was released – which was also the first time I found out that in Japan, Phoenix Wright has the somewhat hilarious name of ‘Mr. Naruhodo’. In the eventuality, very little of what was in that original trailer made it into the final game intact, but the general concept remained, including the excellent central prospect of making the game about witch trials, including a setting very much recalling The Crucible.

The general idea of melding these two series was a good one. The gameplay of both has always been fairly similar, especially in the early DS games: static (or almost static) scenes could be searched on the touchscreen to advance the story. The crucial differences, of course, being that in Phoenix Wright this led to a trial and in Professor Layton it led to puzzles. The game does the obvious and satisfying thing of having both: as you search for clues to the next trial, you are given numerous puzzles. As I enjoyed every Layton game and the first Phoenix Wright games, this suited me well.

Yes, the character designs between the two games are very different. Layton recalls cutesy European comic book art while Phoenix Wright is more typically anime-style. But the fact that the two kind of clash is actually quite charming, and I like the way the characters from each world have a different ‘speech noise’ for the lines that aren’t read by the actors.

The story is fairly predictable but well-executed. Professor Layton receives a letter telling him about the mysterious city of Labyrinthia and how one girl has escaped – but is on the run from witches with formidable powers. Professor Layton attempts to keep the girl safe but after various magical events (that aren’t actually explained in the main story and then handwaved a bit in an omake sequence) she is taken back to Labyrinthia – as are Layton and Luke.

The girl manages to get caught up in a trial, and is defended by Phoenix Wright and Maya, who also manage to get themselves caught and taken to Labyrinthia. Thus begins an adventure that largely features dramatic witch trials and a mysterious ‘Storyteller’ who distributes pages to the citizens of the town that unfailingly tell the future.

Now, every Layton game since the first has essentially relied on the twist that the inexplicable events happening in the story are in fact explained by imaginary technology (indistinguishable from magic…), so the way this story unfolds ought to be no great shocker to anyone. And also may bring to mind a minor M. Night Shyamalan film. But there were a few things in the big unveil at the end I didn’t see coming, mostly to do with relationships between different characters.

There were a few things that don’t make a whole lot of sense. There’s no good reason the Storyteller doesn’t just remove Layton and Luke from Labyrinthia as soon as he becomes aware of them. One trial – featuring a very appealing girl-disguised-as-a-boy character – doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny well once all the secrets are revealed, making the player wonder how someone could have known to ‘stop time’ and, presumably, disassemble part of a wall. It also kind of skips over the fact that a very real attempt at murder happened, and was averted only by chance. Then there’s the way nobody really has any objections to the way they’ve been made to live, even the ones who have had years of suffering.

Nonetheless, the game is interesting throughout and has a wonderfully atmospheric setting and very entertaining characters, especially all the crazy witnesses and the quirky librarian. Overall, I felt the game was markedly easier than any previous title in either series I’ve played, and graphically Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy had much nicer-looking polygon models, but the novelty of this game, its interesting setting and engaging characters, make it a whole lot of fun. I also very much enjoyed the little omake episodes included as DLC, each with an easy little puzzle.

I would love more of this idea, really. I guess I’d just love another full Layton game, not a weird smartphone vampire game. I’m also not at all sure that Youkai Watch will be a satisfactory substitute. I guess I’ll just have to patiently wait to see what I get!

And you know what? I’d really love a feature-length animation of this crossover! That’s something I’m pretty certain I’ll never see, though. Alas!