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Professor Layton and The Miracle Mask |OT| This Is Another Layton Game (But In 3D)

S

slaughterking

Member
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Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Genre: Adventure, puzzle solving
Release dates:
North America: October 28, 2012
Europe: October 26, 2012
Australia: October 27, 2012
Japan: February 26, 2011

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Story: Professor Hershel Layton, his apprentice Luke Triton, and his assistant Emmy Altava, are asked to visit Monte d'Or via a letter sent by Angela Ledore, an old high school friend of Layton. She requests his assistance in solving the mystery of a man terrorising the city, the Masked Gentleman. He had prophesied the destruction of the city caused by the power of the mask he wore.
As Professor Layton and Luke watch a celebratory parade, the performers suddenly panic and run off, the crowds joining them. When the street clears, several people have been turned into statues. The Masked Gentleman appears on a rooftop, taunts the remaining people from the crowds, then gains wings and flies off. Professor Layton and company give chase to him on horseback. Eventually, he escapes by vanishing in mid air.

Characters:

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Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzRaWG5N4lk

Penélope Cruz & Mónica Cruz play Professor Layton, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfdfwEyk-u0

Visit the official Professor Layton website for more details and screenshots: http://professorlayton.nintendo.com/miraclemask/

Reviews:

Eurogamer - 8

Despite the shift in dimensions, this is a pretty standard Layton adventure. Luckily, since Layton adventures tend to be one of the more dependable highlights of the gaming calendar, that remains a ringing endorsement. The puzzles may be covering old ground more than usual, but the cast of gentle characters and the elegant sepia-tinged mirror-world they inhabit seem to grow in potency with each instalment. Take some time off from the big Christmas releases to explore Monte d'Or: glittering treats await.
Click to expand...

GameSpot - 8.5

How Level-5 could make Layton feel all-new is a puzzle in itself. One thing's for sure though: they've made a huge effort to improve on the existing template in every way possible. The adventures of Layton and Luke are as charming, funny, head-scratching and engrossing as they've ever been, and five games into a series which has stuck to the same structure throughout, that's an impressive achievement. With the promise of daily downloadable puzzles for an entire year and the best presentation yet, there's never been a better time to get on board with Layton.
Click to expand...

GameInformer - 8.25

While I always enjoy the character interactions, the overall story didn’t do it for me this time. You’ll be able to deduce the big mystery right away, so it feels like you’re simply guiding the characters along to reach the conclusion you reached 20 hours ago. It helps that there are still plenty of smaller revelations along the way and that the post-credit video teases the next game brilliantly.

I find it harder to rate the puzzles with each successive game in the series. They all have challenges that make you feel like a genius or that you’ve been robbed. There are some that enthrall you, while others are such a pain that you make it rain hint coins just to move on. The only real shake up here is the top-down dungeon exploration section that appears later in the game. Here you control Layton in real time, rolling boulders, dodging mummies, and digging up treasure.
Click to expand...

Cubed³ - 9
Level-5 has answered its critics once more and delivered a truly splendid puzzle adventure effort for the fifth time in a row. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask may not take full advantage of the 3D elements of the Nintendo 3DS, but it proves to be yet another stunning mix of intriguing story and brain teasing conundrums, all wrapped up with the usual gorgeous presentation expected from the series. Puzzle fans should not be without this latest masterpiece.
Click to expand...

NintendoLife - 9

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask achieves its goal of making a successful franchise transition to 3DS, retaining the charm of its predecessors and making subtle changes to improve the series standards. While solving wonderfully engineered puzzles is the meat of the gaming experience, moments of variety and a few new ideas ensure that the franchise maintains its freshness. Its greatest strength, that takes it from a top-notch puzzle collection to something more, is its story-telling. The broad range of characters, the emotional tone of the storyline and the teasing promise of more makes for an utterly engrossing experience. The question is whether this is worth your money; if you enjoy puzzles and charming tales of adventure, then you should already know the answer.
Click to expand...
 
E

emb

Member
Eh, not really digging that box art.

By the way, would LaytonGaf say that playing the Last Spectre is a prereq for this one? They're part of a new trilogy, no?
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
What I'm curious about is how many puzzles have been altered from the original release. It was very interesting finding out that Layton 1 was about 2/3rds puzzles from that game with 1/3 being new or from the second game, and so on.
 
P

Peff

Member
emb said:
Eh, not really digging that box art.

By the way, would LaytonGaf say that playing the Last Spectre is a prereq for this one? They're part of a new trilogy, no?
Click to expand...

Not really so far. It does introduce the characters and the running villain but this one seems to be pretty much standalone otherwise.
 
E

Exterminieren

Banned
Just downloaded my copy.

Nice to see they've tweaked the presentation so much. Production values are as high as you'd expect, although there's a few notable bits of ghosting, such as in the
horse chase.
 
D

Drago

Member
Never played Layton before so I'm quite interested in this game, but I'll probably try to pick up Last Specter before I pick this one up. LS is the start of the prequel trilogy with this one being the second part, right?
 
Link1110

Link1110

Member
Peff said:
Not really so far. It does introduce the characters and the running villain but this one seems to be pretty much standalone otherwise.
Click to expand...

It helps a bit
at the end when the running villain comes out of left field in a kind of dumb plot twist
but other than that you'll be fine. I'll put a spoiler under this that tells you everything you need to know. It spoils Last Spectre and Eternal Diva (I've never seen it, so this is just what I understand of it.)

Jacques Descole is a guy who hunts for treasures for some unknown reason. First he went after a hidden garden in Last Spectre and then something (I forget) in Eternal Diva. He's pretty evil, being perfectly willing to use and kill other people in his search for treasure.
 
C

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
getting this, for sure. Layton is one of my favourite series


next week probably, backlog is HUUGE
 
S

stupei

Member
I put down a reserve order at a locally owned place and told them to call me as soon as it gets in, but now I'm wondering if I should wait until Tuesday and use this as a Target B2G1 game.

I'm not sure I want to wait, but Style Savvy has been a surprising amount of fun. It could definitely hold me over another two days...

But it's Layton.
 
B

Bladenic

Member
Finished 2 a while back, started 3 but still in first chapter. Love the games though, will get this when I have a 3DS.
 
T

Trancetronic

Member
Looks great. Although the trailer when they showed the puzzles, the puzzles are too animated now. I liked the ominous creepy art[still images] with the creepy(to me) puzzle solving music from Curious Village/Diabolical Box. For some reason the art to me is cool, but I find it really unsettling, especially with that "music box"-esque puzzle theme.

Anyway I'll be downloading this on my 3DS, playing it, and showing friends and family the puzzles like I usually do. The best part of Layton games is having other people solve puzzles you've completed in the puzzle index, and watching their faces as they overthink even the simplest puzzle.
 
G

GSR

Member
Looking forward to it, but not sure when I'll get around to it. VLR + NaNoWriMo = little time for Layton next month. Nevermind the fact I'm importing Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney.
 
B

braves01

Banned
I'm probably gonna get this, but I might not play it for a while since I've still got 2/3 of Last Specter to play through. And 999/VLR, Ghost Trick, Ace Attorney 2/3 HD...Not sure why, but I'm really into these adventure games recently.

I hope the cutscenes are better quality in this one though. They look better from what I've seen, but in 1-4 they are sooo compressed.
 
B

BassForever

Member
It'll feel really weird to not have a boxed version of this, but daily puzzles is going to be a big reason to get this digitally. Also getting my hands on the Donkey Kong bonus game doesn't hurt.
 
A

axisofweevils

Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
Really impressed by the 3D so far, but not playing much of it yet, because I want to (re)play the previous 4 Laytons first.
 
Velcro Fly

Velcro Fly

Member
What is a good starting point? Reggie said on the Nintendo Direct that this was but I've heard quite differently.

Always been interested but I've never really put forth the effort to get into the series.
 
M

MNC

Member
Is it weird i play layton games mostly for the story? Cant wait to buy this one, though. That "story doesnt do it for me this time" has me a bit worried though.Currently going through spectre.

Also why does every 3rd layton game seem the most epic in story/locale :eek: (unwound future, and now ancient civilization announced)
 
Alex

Alex

Member
silkysmooth said:
What is a good starting point? Reggie said on the Nintendo Direct that this was but I've heard quite differently.

Always been interested but I've never really put forth the effort to get into the series.
Click to expand...

The narrative is very thin and simple in all of them, you're largely playing for the puzzles. I don't think it's odd to enjoy the trappings and atmosphere, it has a nice charm to it, but it's most def window dressing to the meat that is the puzzles. IMO, there is no poor place to start, and if there was you could find your way out of it in 20 seconds by FAQ diving.
 
A

axisofweevils

Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
Anyone else having trouble downloading the Daily Puzzle?
It gets to halfway then keeps telling me that it could not access the extra data, and to power off and reinsert my SD Card - which works fine with all other games. Perhaps I'm too early?
 
S

slaughterking

Member
Alex said:
The narrative is very thin and simple in all of them, you're largely playing for the puzzles. I don't think it's odd to enjoy the trappings and atmosphere, it has a nice charm to it, but it's most def window dressing to the meat that is the puzzles. IMO, there is no poor place to start, and if there was you could find your way out of it in 20 seconds by FAQ diving.
Click to expand...

No way, the story is just as if not more important than the puzzles.
 
Alex

Alex

Member
slaughterking said:
No way, the story is just as if not more important than the puzzles.
Click to expand...

Yeah, sorry, I could never even dream of playing a Layton game for the story in any capacity, can't even register that. It's fun and well done in a contextual sense for stringing the puzzles together but that's about it, for my tastes.
 
S

SpaceBridge

Member
Alex said:
Yeah, sorry, I could never even dream of playing a Layton game for the story in any capacity, can't even register that. It's fun and well done in a contextual sense for stringing the puzzles together but that's about it, for my tastes.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I've tried three time to get into the Layton games on my friends recommendation because he know how keen I am on story. Sadly, Layton is mostly a puzzle game with very little story. I'll admit they're doing a good job of tying the puzzles into the narrative bit it still feels transparent.
 
N

Nugg

Member
Bumhead said:
Never played a Layton game before but tempted to pick this one up. Good place to start?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Even if there's some minor references to other episodes, like some recurring characters, it's a standalone story, you won't be lost.
 
P

piteru

Banned
has anybody with the pal version downloaded the first puzzle?
im trying to download it and it gives me an error.
it tells me to switch off 3ds,and insert again the sd card,and if the problem persists,delete the extra data and create it again.
i have done this..twice in..2 3ds,but i cant download it
anyone else having this problem too?
thank you in advance
 
M

MLH

Member
Game arrived this morning. The 3D is really clean and looks good on the XL. But the 3D characters look really weird to me, they seem to have lost something coming from 2D.

For those in Europe, don't forget to register your game for a chance to get the Layton luggage tag.

 
M

MLH

Member
piteru said:
has anybody with the pal version downloaded the first puzzle?
im trying to download it and it gives me an error.
it tells me to switch off 3ds,and insert again the sd card,and if the problem persists,delete the extra data and create it again.
i have done this..twice in..2 3ds,but i cant download it
anyone else having this problem too?
thank you in advance
Click to expand...

Yeah I just tried and got the message: "Could not access the extra data. Hold down the POWER button to turn off the power and reinsert the SD card."
I'm not really sure what the problem is.
 
A

Alrus

Member
I would day one this if I had the money, Layton is probably my absolute favorite DS series alongside Ace Attorney. I'll have to wait a bit though, I'm broke :(

And yeah I'm going to have to get used to the UK dub, I imported all the previous games from the US :/
 
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