Few Things Satisfy Like a Puzzle Solved

Well, either that or finishing a Professor Layton ending. I've finished three Layton games now, and even though each had some particularly rough spots, they have all had incredibly satisfying endings.

Basically I finished Unwound Future on the plane. I put about 3 hours in the airport terminal on a layover. Then I did another 5 on the actual plane ride. I had another 45 minutes left the morning which I would have finished on the plane had my DSi not run out of battery.

So what is it that makes this series so great? Well, I'll start off with the only thing holding it back, it's gameplay. As much as I love solving puzzles and being a braniac badass, there are still times when I play a Layton game and I feel frustrated and confused. Don't get me wrong, working the puzzles in as gameplay is extremely unique and is what gives Layton it's signature feel. The new Layton game even mixes things up by offering different puzzle sequences like Puzzle Battles and Subway Rides. But still, near the end of the game the pace of the puzzles eventually catches up to you and a player can't help but feel exhausted or overwhelmed.

Even so, I can't wait for the next game. Unfortunately it will literally be two years until it comes out in the states and by then I'm sure their will be a new one on the way, either in Japan or on the 3DS. Maybe Nintendo will speed up the Layton timetable for the DS in acordance with the new 3DS release.

But going back to gameplay, in a discussion I had with Brad before I left. He, being a fan of the character design, wished for a more expansive Layton game. We explored the possibility of a full on console Layton game and sure, Level-5 could be the company to do it.

I'd love to see it get the first class treatment. The music for the series is already fantastic and I've always thought of Layton to be a great hero type. He's the action star we should want and the one we should look up to. Everyone is all wrapped up in these masked heroes who immediately resort to violence. I find it refreshing when I play as a character who's outsmarting his way to victory but still had flashes of action star quality. In the past Layton has sword fought villians and in the newest one, he put together a machine gun out of a few broken slot machines. He ended up firing coins back at some mobster thugs and sent them packing. It was pretty cool.

There's no explanation for any of this, why he is able to be so athletic, but in a weird way he's also believeable. No matter what the situation somehow he's always a step ahead. It's a little cheap, like he always has a Get Out Of Jail Card. But heck, if Layton sprouted wings and flew around like a bird to save the day, I'd pretty much be ok with it.

As far as the story, it's pretty in depth already. It'd be kind of hard to just jump right in. At end of the third game, a lot has happened, including an explaination about how Layton got his Hat, why his arch-nemesis hates him, and also a storyline involving Luke leaving. Don't worry it's not a spoiler as it's eluded to during the game. If Level-5 were to take this series to consoles, it'd probably have to be a remake of Curious Village or maybe a reimagining of the story and characters.

As far as a Review or score for this game, I'll just say I'd urge everyone to try the series out somehow. There are a few things that a player would have a better understanding of having played previous games, like why is there a girl named Flora hanging around with them, but it's nothing that's impossible to over come. Outside a few things like that, they're pretty isolated games.

But if it's not your cup of tea, at least you can make that decision having understood why. It didn't click for me the first time but then the second time, it all of a sudden became one of my favorite franchises. So you never know.

David

Also on a side note, I watched the new A-Team movie on the plane. I thought it was good. Anyone else?