Professor Layton and the Devil Flute has not been announced for North America yet, but it's only a matter of time given how popular this series has become. At the Level-5 booth at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, they were showing off a trailer of the upcoming puzzle game as well as a trailer for the Professor Layton movie that will hit theatres in Japan December 19.
Shh Mom examines the Professor Layton series, and its potential future.
Good article. I love the Professor Layton games. I've only played The Diabolical Box and Curious Village, but they were very fulfilling. Aside from joining Phoenix Wright, I think the 3D aspect of the game will definitely bring a new element of puzzle variety. They could even go so far as to have a 3D Rubix Cube in the game (GAH). I'm a little tired of the endless math puzzles, but you know deep down inside that they're good for you, which encourages you to continue despite how difficult it is...
I think one thing that would really make the game stand out in difficulty would be the addition of an expert mode w/ a timer. I don't know how you would be able to implement it the second time through, since most of the puzzles would have already been solved, but I think it would add a bit of a satisfying frantic feeling when you get a correct answer in a given amount of time.
Multiple endings based on the number of puzzles/picarats would also be good.
Finally, it would be interesting if they added a morality mechanic to the progress of the character. I know Layton is polite and everything, but maybe a good spin off would be to add choices that would inevitably affect how challenging the puzzle would be. For instance if you don't help the lady across the street, she gets hit by a car and the resulting puzzle would be a difficult emergency cpr puzzle (as opposed to a "how-many-steps-would-it- take-to-safely-cross-puzzle). Stuff like that...
Again, well written article. This franchise is for people who love to think. I'm glad it's getting some attention.
Never thought about the timer, but I think that would be a pretty great addition, along with the morality. Though I think the morality might be a little heavy-handed, given the normally (fairly) lighthearted tone of the games.
Love the sentiment regarding morality. My issue is this, though: being able to manipulate Layton, like other British gents (Hatsworth) concerns me. I get the puzzle thing...but seeing as Luke isn't truly set in stone (in my thinking), why not divide the puzzles up, and let HIS morality be affected, which, in turn, affects Layton.
The other thing I'm down with is the Expert Mode w/timer. I think would be a ton of fun :)
Good call w/ Luke. Luke goes through adolescence.
I just thought of this, how bout a ranking system? The 3DS will certainly have connectivity w/ either wifi or 4G? To increase playability, I think if they released a weekly puzzle (or even daily would be awesome), then had a ranking system, I think that would encourage a more competitive nature that seems to be all the rage w/ video games today.
If you used some of the points collected from being ranked to unlock dlc or bonus features in the game. Ultimately, it would be ideal to have Level-5 have a competition where they could pit puzzle solvers against each other, w/ prizes.
I mean, if you're wanting to encourage replayability, I think an online aspect is the best way. The article touches on this w/ the mentioning of co-op.
Level 5 is expanding beyond their headquarters in Fukuoka. The Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven developer opened a new office in Tokyo.
This office specializes in mobile projects such as ROID, new enterprises, and overseas business. Sounds like Level 5 is gearing up to distribute their intellectual properties worldwide.
I love Level 5 games. I hope we can expect more great RPGs to come.
(they are working on WKC2 already?)
Trailer is here:
http://www.jp.playstation.c...
Can also download it off the Japanese PSN, but it's hard to spot (just has kanji, no picture).
rawr i do remember seeing that.
Wasn't sure if I remembered correctly.
I'm already hyped as hell for WKC in Feb.
Can't wait for WKC2.. but first WKC needs a good 500 hours of my time :)
How does the first week sales in Japan for Professor Layton and the Specter's Flute compare to the previous games?
I like to think of N4G as the butt of gaming news. It's where all the crap comes out. Just spewing crap every single day. What about real gaming news? What about groundbreaking achievements? I don't care about sales, they don't make a game more "fun". I wanna know about video games, if i wanted to look at sale numbers i would go to some economy website. But wait this is a video game news website, I wabt video game news!
