Professor Layton | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | Puzzle, adventure |
Developer(s) | Level-5 Matrix Software |
Publisher(s) | Level-5 Nintendo |
Creator(s) | Akihiro Hino |
Artist(s) | Takuzō Nagano Jun Suzuki |
Composer(s) | Tomohito Nishiura |
Platform(s) | Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch |
First release | Professor Layton and the Curious Village February 15, 2007 |
Latest release | Layton's Mystery Journey July 20, 2017 |
Professor Layton [a] is a puzzle adventure [1] video game series and transmedia franchise developed by Level-5. The property consists primarily of seven main video games, a mobile spin-off, an animated theatrical film, and an anime television series, while additionally incorporating an array of secondary titles and media, including a crossover game with Capcom's Ace Attorney series.
The first three games follow the adventures of Professor Hershel Layton and his apprentice Luke Triton, while the subsequent three games and film are prequels, focusing on how Luke and Layton met and their original adventures; later installments also follow the escapades of Layton's children and their respective allies. Each title features a series of puzzles and mysteries provided by the citizens of locales that the main characters explore. It is not necessary to solve all the puzzles to progress, but some are mandatory, and at certain points in the game a minimum number of puzzles must be solved before the story can continue.
Layton series of games had sold over 18 million units by March 2023, [2] retaining the title of Level-5's best-selling game franchise. [3]
The idea behind the Professor Layton formula was a direct result of series creator Akihiro Hino's childhood love of Akira Tago's popular Atama no Taisou series of puzzle books, which have sold more than 12 million copies to date in Japan. [4]
The main character of the original Layton games is Professor Hershel Layton, a renowned archaeologist and professor at Gressenheller University, as well as a polite and well-spoken gentleman. He is called to solve various mysteries in different places, due to his connections to various people and his wide range of expertise. The Professor is accompanied by his apprentice, Luke Triton, a cheerful and curious boy who brings a touch of humor to the story of Layton. According to Hino, Layton is partly inspired by the character of Phoenix Wright of the Ace Attorney series. Assessing the "good points" and "bad points" of the character, he developed Professor Layton. [5] Luke and Layton's character designs, including the latter's iconic top hat, were the work of Takuzō Nagano, whose brief included the requirement of recognisability by form and colour palette, particularly at small sizes.
Series | European title | North American title | System | Japanese release | International release |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Original Trilogy | Professor Layton and the Curious Village | Nintendo DS/iOS/Android | February 15, 2007 | February 10, 2008 | |
Professor Layton and Pandora's Box | Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box | November 29, 2007 | August 24, 2009 | ||
Professor Layton and the Lost Future | Professor Layton and the Unwound Future | November 27, 2008 | September 12, 2010 | ||
Prequel Trilogy | Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call | Professor Layton and the Last Specter | Nintendo DS | November 26, 2009 | October 17, 2011 |
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask | Nintendo 3DS | February 26, 2011 | October 26, 2012 | ||
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy | February 28, 2013 | November 8, 2013 | |||
Spin-off | Layton Brothers: Mystery Room | iOS/Android | September 21, 2012 | June 27, 2013 | |
Crossover | Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney | Nintendo 3DS | November 29, 2012 | March 28, 2014 | |
New games | Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy | Nintendo 3DS/Nintendo Switch/iOS/Android | July 20, 2017 (3DS) / August 9, 2018 (Switch) | October 6, 2017 (3DS) / November 8, 2019 (Switch) | |
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam | Nintendo Switch | 2025 |
Japanese audiences have also received several revisions of previously released games. Both Curious Village and Diabolical Box were afforded a "Friendly Version", in which all weekly puzzles were unlocked and furigana, absent in the first two instalments, added. A release of Curious Village was produced for feature phones, while Diabolical Box was also included in the "Level-5 Premium Silver" and "Gold" collections on Nintendo DS alongside another Level-5 game, Inazuma Eleven . Miracle Mask later received a "Plus" edition, featuring exclusive puzzles, game events and cutscenes in addition to mechanical improvements already seen in the international releases. [18]
Internationally, Millionaires' Conspiracy was rereleased as an enhanced Nintendo Switch port boasting new puzzles, exclusive costumes, and all previous DLC. [19] An enhanced mobile port of Curious Village featuring additional cutscenes and unlockable content has also seen a worldwide release, [20] followed by mobile ports of the second and third games.
Several mobile games were made available in Japan, [21] including a crossover with Kaitō Royale, but have since become unavailable after their distribution services were closed. Another game, initially planned for 3DS and mobile, dubbed Layton 7, was announced in 2013, featuring the Professor as a selectable avatar in a mafia-style social game. It was again presented at the 2015 Level-5 Vision, but failed to materialise within its release window and has since been removed from the company's website.
Hino confirmed plans for another entry under the Mystery Journey banner prior to the release of Millionaires' Conspiracy, [22] later suggesting that a game starring the Professor and based on his arc in the anime series would be the franchise's next installment. [23]
In February 2023, a Switch-bound game titled Professor Layton and The New World of Steam was announced in a Nintendo Direct presentation. [24]
The games employ an integrated structure of adventure-style exploration, dialogue sequences, and regular story-prompted puzzle solving. The player (as Professor Layton, Luke, and other characters) explores their environment in the manner of a point-and-click adventure game, using the touch screen to talk with non-player characters, learn more about the environment, or locate hidden secrets such as "hint coins" that may be used during puzzles. Often, when interacting with a person or object, the player will be presented with a puzzle, valued at a certain number of "picarats", a type of point system within the game. Solving the puzzle correctly will earn the player the full number of picarats, but a wrong answer will reduce the points by small increments with each attempt, until it reaches a minimal picarat number. In order to progress the plot, the player is required to solve specific puzzles, or to solve a minimum number of puzzles. If the player permanently leaves an area or otherwise significantly progresses the plot, puzzles they have yet to find and/or solve are regularly compiled and placed into a collection, often in the form of a "Puzzle Shack" owned by a character known as "Granny Riddleton", or with the aforementioned Riddleton's cat, "Keats", which they can return to and attempt to resolve later. Curious Village contains a total of 135 regular puzzles, while Diabolical Box contains 153, Unwound Future 168 (the latter two having another special puzzle obtained via the use of codes found in the previous game), Last Specter 170, Miracle Mask 150 (165 in the "Plus" edition), Azran Legacy 165, and Millionaires' Conspiracy 185.
The puzzles take the form of brain teasers, most of which are only loosely tied to the plot, developed for the first six games under the oversight of Akira Tago, famous for his best-selling Mental Gymnastics series. They encompass a diverse range of styles, from logic puzzles to lateral thinking problems, mazes, math problems, sliding-block puzzles, and others. The games allow the player to bring up a translucent memo screen they can write on, using the stylus, to work out their answer before submission. If the player is stuck, they may spend one hint coin to receive a hint. Each puzzle has three regular hints available, and, from the third game onwards, feature "super hints" that tend towards nearly solving the puzzle for the player, but which can only be bought with two hint coins and after the three other hints have been revealed. The puzzles are not timed, though some require correct timing, and others, such as mazes and sliding puzzles, may challenge the player to achieve completion in a limited number of moves.
Each game features an additional set of three unique meta-puzzle minigames that can be accessed when the player has access to the pause menu "Layton's Trunk". These minigames generally require the player to complete specific puzzles in the game to receive items and/or challenges within the minigame. For example, in return for solving particular puzzles, characters in Curious Village will award the player with an item of furniture, which then must be placed within a set of apartments to Layton's and Luke's exacting desires; the minigame cannot be completed until all the furniture has been collected. Completing the story and minigames also unlocks a series of especially difficult puzzles, known as "Layton's Challenges". Prior to its cancellation, players of the four DS games could use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service to connect to the internet and access a "weekly puzzle" service, whereby they could download a new puzzle for each week following a game's release for a set period; later mainline 3DS games would expand on this with a year-long daily puzzle service via the Nintendo Network.
The series and its protagonists are based in and around an anachronistic contemporary London inspired by the 1960s, where antiquated technologies and vintage designs are still dominant. Each story features one or more original locales, each with their own unique geographies and local population. A common aesthetic element across these are urban areas and architectural landmarks in expressionist style.
Title | Hershel Layton [25] | Luke Triton [26] | Emmy Altava [27] | Katrielle Layton | Sherl | Ernest Greeves |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Curious Village | Yo Oizumi (JP) Christopher Robin Miller (EN) | Maki Horikita (JP) Lani Minella (NA) Maria Darling (UK) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Diabolical/Pandora's Box | ||||||
Unwound/Lost Future | ||||||
Last Specter/Spectre's Call | Saki Aibu (JP) Lani Minella (EN) | |||||
Eternal Diva | Maki Horikita (JP) Maria Darling (EN) | Saki Aibu (JP) Emma Tate (EN) | ||||
Miracle Mask | Maki Horikita (JP) Lani Minella (NA) Maria Darling (UK) | Saki Aibu (JP) Lani Minella (EN) | ||||
vs. Phoenix Wright | Maki Horikita (JP) Maria Darling (EN) | N/A | ||||
Azran Legacy | Maki Horikita (JP) Lani Minella (NA) Maria Darling (UK) | Saki Aibu (JP) Lani Minella (EN) | ||||
Millionaires' Conspiracy | N/A | N/A | N/A | Kasumi Arimura (JP) Rosie Jones (EN) | Koji Yakusho (JP) James Barriscale (EN) | Kentaro Sakaguchi (JP) Tom Clegg (EN) |
Nazotoki File | Kōichi Yamadera (JP) | Sōma Saitō (JP) | Kana Hanazawa (JP) | Jūrōta Kosugi (JP) | Kyōsuke Ikeda (JP) | |
New World of Steam | Yo Oizumi (JP) | Mio Imada (JP) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Each series of games and media feature narrative threads connecting the stories together, but only the prequel sequence of Last Specter, Eternal Diva, Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy features a plot-important arc. Other games and media do not have any overarching structure, but do follow a chronological order by way of the appearance and development of recurring characters.
As part of the "second series" of the franchise, a feature-length anime film directed by Masakazu Hashimoto, titled Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, was released in Japanese theaters on December 19, 2009. Produced by P.A. Works, the company responsible for the animated cutscenes in the original six games, it contains an original story which takes place between the events of Last Specter and Miracle Mask chronologically. [7] The film was a general success in both Japan and Singapore, where it also received a cinema run. Manga Entertainment released a full English dub of the film on home video in the United Kingdom on October 18, 2010, which Viz Media republished in North America on November 8, 2011. [41] A second film was initially planned for release between the fifth and sixth instalments, but failed to materialise.
An anime television series, titled Layton Mystery Tanteisha: Katori no Nazotoki File, starring the characters of Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy and featuring the original two series protagonists, began airing in Japan on April 8, 2018. [42] The series was directed by Susumu Mitsunaka at Liden Films, with creative direction and series composition by Akihiro Hino and character design by Yoko Takada, and consists of 50 episodes. [43]
Humour manga intended for child audiences was serialized beginning in February 2008 in the special edition of Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic . The manga, titled 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), covers many mysteries in the story. Several chapters are based on the games; most of the others are original stories with little relation to the game canon. The chapters also included puzzles for the readers to solve. The complete series was collected into four volumes, released between November 2008 and June 2012. Tokyopop has released all four volumes in German under the name Professor Layton und seine lustigen Fälle. The series has also been released in Spanish under the name El Professor Layton y sus Divertidos Misterios by Norma Editorial, in French as Professeur Layton et l'étrange enquête by Kazé Manga and in Italian as Il professor Layton e i misteri buffi by Planet Manga.
Three books based on the Professor Layton series were also published, though they have only been made available in Japan. They consist of Professor Layton and the Wandering Castle (レイトン教授とさまよえる城, Reiton Kyōju to Samayoeru Shiro) in 2008, Professor Layton and the Phantom Deity (レイトン教授と怪人ゴッド, Reiton kyōju to Kaijin Goddo) in 2009, and Professor Layton and the Illusory Forest (レイトン教授と幻影の森, Reiton kyōju to Genei no Mori) in 2010.
The Layton series has been the subject of several playable experiences and live events, featuring standalone scenarios involving characters such as the Professor and Katrielle.[ citation needed ]
The Professor Layton series has been generally successful in the UK, the US, and Japan. Professor Layton and the Curious Village sold over 700,000 units in Japan in 2007. [60] The game was also the top selling game for the Nintendo DS in the United States in the first three weeks after its release. After it was restocked in the UK, sales of Professor Layton increased 54%, moving it from 10th place to fourth place.
Curious Village received generally positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game had an average score of 86% based on 48 reviews. On Metacritic, the game had an average score of 85/100, based on 57 reviews. The combination of the adventure game and "brain training" genres received mixed appreciation. Some reviewers praised the game for the successful combination with 1UP commenting on how the game's approach is much better than games where the puzzles were integrated into the environment. Other reviewers felt that these two genres do not merge well within the game; Game Informer noted that while the player is given numerous small puzzles to solve, the mysteries of the main plot are basically solved for the player. The game was noted to have little replay value; once all the puzzles were solved, there was no point in playing through them again. The presentation of the game, including both the general European art style and cutscene animations, was appreciated by reviewers. Hyper's Darren Wells commends the game for its "clever concept, with plenty to solve and unlock as well as its fantastic presentation". However, he criticizes "some puzzles feeling tacked on and the music can get annoying".
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box was considered to be a major improvement from the original. According to Famitsu , the game had sold 815,369 copies in Japan as of July 9, 2008. [61] The UK's Official Nintendo Magazine awarded the game a score of 92% (and consequently their Gold Award medal), praising the increased number of puzzles, animated scenes and voice acting, but complained that it could be slightly repetitive at times. IGN gave the game a score of 8.5 and also their Editor's Choice Award.
The series was popular enough to inspire a feature-length movie called Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva . It has been released in Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, the UK, Spain, the US, and Canada. It received primarily positive reviews and is considered one of the better video game adaptations into film. It was released in the UK on the 18th of October, with a full English dub. [62]
Nintendo Power listed series mascot Professor Layton as their 10th favorite hero, citing his use of brains over brawn. [63]
The series went on to become one of the most successful Nintendo DS exclusive series, with the lifetime cumulative sales of the first four Professor Layton games standing at 10 million units sold in October 2010, [64] and 11.47 million unit sales worldwide for the franchise ahead of the release of Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask in February 2011. [65] Later announcements expanded the figure to over 13 million copies sold in March 2012, [66] 15 million unit sales in August 2013, making it the company's best-selling game franchise, [67] and over 17 million shipments by June 2018. [20]
Yo Oizumi is a Japanese actor, comedian, television personality and voice actor. He is a member of the theatrical and musical unit TEAM NACS, and is represented by Creative Office Cue. His wife Kumiko Nakajima is a drama producer at Fuji TV.
Tomohito Nishiura is a Japanese video game music composer. He works primarily on games developed by Level-5.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a puzzle adventure video game for the Nintendo DS system. It was developed and published by Level-5 in Japan and published by Nintendo worldwide. It was released in Japan in 2007 and worldwide the following year. It was re-released in Australia using the British English localisation and European artwork to replace the previously released North American localisation. Curious Village is the first game in the Professor Layton series, followed by Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. An enhanced mobile port of Curious Village featuring additional cutscenes, subtitled "HD for Mobile", was released in 2018.
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, known in Australia and Europe as Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, is the second game in the Professor Layton series by Level-5. It was followed by a third game, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. The game follows Professor Layton and his self-proclaimed apprentice Luke as they travel cross-country by train to solve the mystery behind a mysterious box that is said to kill anyone who opens it. An enhanced mobile port of Diabolical Box, subtitled "HD for Mobile", was released on December 5, 2018.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, known in Europe and Australia as Professor Layton and the Lost Future, is the third game in the first trilogy of the Professor Layton puzzle game series by Level-5 and in conclusion the final game of the first trilogy. It was first released in Japan in November 2008 and was later released in North America in September 2010 and in Europe and Australia in October 2010. In the game, Layton meets an older version of his apprentice, Luke, who brings him to a terrible future he wishes him to help fix. The game received critical acclaim by critics, praise for its story, puzzles, characters, soundtrack, and has since been cited as one of the best games of the series. An enhanced mobile port of Unwound Future, subtitled "HD for Mobile", was released on July 13, 2020.
Professor Layton and the Last Specter, known in Europe as Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call, is a puzzle adventure video game produced by Level-5 for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. Last Specter is the fourth game in the Professor Layton series, and is a prequel that takes place three years before the first trilogy, detailing how Professor Layton met his apprentice, Luke Triton and introducing Layton's assistant Emmy Altava.
Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva is a 2009 Japanese animated mystery film directed by Masakazu Hashimoto, written by Aya Matsui from a story by Akihiro Hino and produced by P.A. Works and OLM. The film is based on the Professor Layton video game series by Level-5, taking place between the events of the video games Professor Layton and the Last Specter and Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. In the story, renowned opera star Janice Quatlane contacts her former teacher, Professor Hershel Layton, after encountering a young girl who claims to be the reincarnation of her dead friend. While Layton and his apprentice, Luke Triton, are attending one of Janice's performances, they get unwillingly pulled into a puzzle-themed battle royal where the winner will apparently receive "the gift of eternal life". According to Level-5, the film stays true to the games, with music, puzzles and characters.
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is a puzzle adventure video game developed by Level-5. It is the fifth game in the Professor Layton series, the second in the prequel trilogy of games, and the first in the series to be developed for the Nintendo 3DS. Miracle Mask was released as a launch title for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan in February 2011, becoming the best-selling game on the day of the system's launch. The game was later released worldwide in October 2012. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Plus, an enhanced edition featuring new puzzles and added cutscenes, was released on the Nintendo eShop in Japan in February 2013.
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a visual novel adventure puzzle video game for the Nintendo 3DS, and was developed by both Capcom and Level-5, the latter publishing it in Japan while Nintendo published it worldwide. The game is a crossover between two game series from both developers, combining the puzzle and exploration elements of Level-5's Professor Layton series, and the general trial mechanics of Capcom's Ace Attorney adventure series, the latter enhanced by the addition of a few new elements, including multiple witnesses, a concept continued with into the prequel series The Great Ace Attorney. Shu Takumi, the series director for the Ace Attorney series, assisted with the scenario designs for the game. The plot focuses on Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright, along with their respective assistants, working together to solve the mystery behind a young girl that they both encounter separately, and a strange world they are brought to through her, with Layton focused on solving puzzles and finding clues to solve the mystery, while Wright focuses on defending people who are put on trial for being "witches".
Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights is an adventure game for the Nintendo 3DS. It was co-developed by Konami and Winkysoft and designed by Zone of the Enders director Noriaki Okamura. The game is set in late 19th-century Paris, and follows the eponymous protagonist, archaeologist Doctor Lautrec, on his quest for a hidden treasure of the Bourbon dynasty.
Professor Hershel Layton is the eponymous main protagonist of the Professor Layton series, created by Level-5, in which he and his apprentice Luke Triton investigate mysteries while solving various brain teasers. He also appears in an animated movie, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, and has featured in manga and novels that have not been released in English. His birth name was revealed to be Theodore Bronev in Azran Legacy.
Layton Brothers: Mystery Room is a puzzle adventure video game for iOS and Android, published by Level-5. It is a spin-off of the Professor Layton series, following rookie investigator Lucy Baker, who works with genius detective Alfendi Layton, son of Hershel Layton, in a special department of Scotland Yard's crime investigation unit known as the "Mystery Room". The game was released in Japan on September 21, 2012, and in English on June 27, 2013. An Android version was released on September 5, 2013.
Atamania (アタマニア) is a series of casual puzzle video games published by Level-5. The series comprises two, unrelated series of puzzle games. Tago Akira no Atama no Taisō is a collection of puzzles created by Akira Tago, a Japanese professor who has authored a series of books within Japan under the same name. Players read through stories and solve puzzles at their own leisure. Surōn to Makuhēru no Nazo no Sutōrī is based on the concept of lateral thinking puzzles, books authored by Paul Sloane and Des MacHale. The games have drawn comparison to the Professor Layton series, which is also published by Level-5.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is a puzzle game developed by Level-5 for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the sixth entry in the Professor Layton series, making up the third and final part of the prequel trilogy of games and, according to Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino, it was intended to be the last Layton title to star Professor Layton himself as the protagonist. However, with the announcement of Professor Layton and The New World of Steam in 2023, this is no longer the case. The game saw a release in early to late 2013 in all territories except North America, where it was released on February 28 of the following year.
Carmen Sandiego Adventures in Math is a series of five games released in 2011/2012 for the Wii, and is part of the Carmen Sandiego franchise. The style of the games are reminiscent of comic books. The 5-part series were the first English language console games from the Carmen Sandiego franchise since The Secret of the Stolen Drums. These "short, educational detective adventures" were only available as a download through the Nintendo Wii Shop. The games were developed by Gamelion Studios, and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. They could take up to 6 players, and required 600 Wii points. Maths topics included in the games include: Symmetry, Identifying angles, Graphing coordinates on a grid, Logic puzzles, Working with fractions, Solving equations, and Tangrams. The games are designed for elementary learners across grades 3–5.
Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy is a 2017 puzzle video game by Level-5. It is the seventh main entry in the Professor Layton series and follows a new protagonist, Katrielle Layton. It was released for Android, iOS, and the Nintendo 3DS, in 2017, and an enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch in Japan in 2018, and worldwide in 2019. A manga adaptation of the game drawn by Hori Oritoka began serialization on March 20, 2018, in Shōgakukan's Ciao magazine, and an anime adaptation, Layton Mystery Tanteisha: Katori no Nazotoki File, began airing on Fuji TV and other channels in April 2018.
Layton Mystery Detective Agency: Katri's Puzzle Solving Files is an anime television series produced by Liden Films. Centering around characters from Level-5's 2017 video game, Layton's Mystery Journey, part of the Professor Layton franchise, the series began airing on Fuji TV's Adventure Sunday programming block from April 8, 2018 and concluded on March 31, 2019. Novelisations of episodes 1-9 and 11-13 were published by Shōgakukan's Junior Bunko in four three-case installments.
Doctor Hauzer is a 1994 survival horror-adventure video game developed by Riverhillsoft and published in Japan by Panasonic for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. The player takes on the role of Adams Adler, a newspaper reporter investigating a mansion for clues to the whereabouts of the eponymous Hauzer, a famed archeologist who has mysteriously disappeared. The game tasks the player with navigating the large mansion by collecting useful items, solving various puzzles, and avoiding deadly traps.
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is an upcoming puzzle-adventure game by Level-5 for the Nintendo Switch. It is part of the Professor Layton series and is scheduled to be released in 2025.