Have you ever played a Professor Layton game? You really should. They’re chock full of light little puzzles like what you might find in a doctor’s office book of brain teasers. They test your logical reasoning when it comes to rearranging matchsticks or using conflicting statements to tell who is telling the truth. Heck, they might even be good LSAT practice.
However, the real joy of Layton is that those barely connected puzzles are arguably just a pretense to a casual but oh-so delightful adventure game story. Completing the puzzles gives off a kind of “sitting in a cafe vibe,” so of course the world of Layton is a scrumptious anime Europe full of great names and accents and twisty detective mysteries and warm autumn tones. There’s a reason why Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright was such a natural crossover.
However, it goes even deeper than that. Stick with the Layton series long enough and you’ll uncover a treasure trove of convoluted continuity that inches up on Metal Gear Solid territory. Between the prequel and sequel trilogy you’ll uncover ancient mystical civilizations, do battle against villainous puzzle organizations, and even learn shocking details about Professor Hershel Layton himself. And you thought he was just a dude in a top hat.
The bonkers Da Vinci Code-esque Layton continuity might be its most niche appeal, and we get why the developers at Level-5 wanted to scale things back. But its absence does make Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy – Deluxe Edition just a little disappointing. This revamped 3DS port is the franchise’s first appearance on the Nintendo Switch. The gorgeous animated vignettes look even better, the theme song still slaps, and they didn’t cut the Brexit jokes. But the game’s somewhat nonessential nature remains.
That’s not to say there’s nothing here for hardcore Layton-heads. Along with just being a great cute character that you can dress up, there are plenty of questions surrounding Katrielle herself as yet another inexplicable Layton child alongside Alfrendi. Plus the overarching mystery involving a group of London billionaires called the Seven Dragons has topical “eat the rich” vibes. There’s even a talking dog.
But the bulk of the game consists of one-off yarns to solve that are fine but quickly grow boring and low-stakes unless you really leisurely pace yourself. Someone turned one of Big Ben’s clock hands into a giant cookie. Let’s investigate a murder that’s just a publicity hoax. A bird pooped on a movie reel. When you aren’t invested in the plots, it also becomes that much easier to turn the game off when an otherwise nifty puzzle or minigame even slightly stumps you. I’m sorry, but I just don’t care properly navigating this hallway or evenly leveling up this RPG party if it doesn’t advance a satisfying plot.
Playing Layton’s Mystery Journey more than anything reminded me just how much I appreciated the old Layton games and also how Professor Layton is still my most-wanted Super Smash Bros. character aside from, like, Doom Guy. Why not? The series has a great relationship with Nintendo. Terry Bogard fights Duck Hunt in this game now so clearly there are no rules. And Layton in Smash would be a great counterpoint to Phoenix Wright in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
We’ll have to wait and see if Professor Layton joins the battle, but in the meantime Layton’s Mystery Journey is a breezy jumping on point for Switch owners new to the series. Just know that there could’ve been so much more rabbit hole to fall down.
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