There are a lot of people who credit TellTale Games with reviving adventure games in the west, specifically with The Walking Dead. That’s fair, but adventure games have been on a steady comeback for almost a decade now, and it’s actually Capcom’s doing thanks to their Ace Attorney franchise. Text-heavy comedies that force you to pay attention to dialogue and occasionally get very dark, the Ace Attorney games are a unique shot in the arm for the medium, a welcome break from playing assassins and soldiers and other hardened men. Along those same lines, Level-5′s whimsical Professor Layton games are straightforward puzzlers that start normal and eventually take a turn for the fantastic. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised it took this long for these two titans of handheld head-scratchers to team up.
Professor Hershel Layton and his assistant Luke Triton are drawn into this latest adventure by a mysterious girl named Espella, who’s being followed by dangerous people with unusual, supernatural abilities who are wreaking havoc in London, Meanwhile, Phoenix Wright–with Maya Fey in tow–is on his way to a special attorney’s conference in London. One thing leads to another, with Phoenix and Maya having to clear Espella of assault, leading to all our heroes getting trapped in the mystical storybook world of Labyrinthia, home to actual, honest-to-God witch trials. It sounds like it escalates pretty quickly, and it does–usually, Layton games slowly build up to the fantastical elements, but Layton vs. Wright drops you in the thick of it all pretty quickly, and maybe it’s for the better.
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney literally mashes both separate gameplay types into a single title, switching perspectives between Layton and Phoenix each chapter. In chapters where you follow Layton, you’ll search towns for clues, getting bits of story and world lore from characters while solving puzzles and finding invaluable hint coins. When it’s time to follow Phoenix, you head into the courtroom to do mental battle with the lives of your clients at stake. Listen to witness testimonies, find the holes in their story, and show ‘em what happens when they lie in court. The Layton chapters are methodical and comfortable–the Phoenix chapters are high-tension and exciting.
Layton vs. Wright starts out with a pretty standard Ace Attorney-style trial, but the meat of the game deals with a kind of legal battle Phoenix and Maya have never faced before: witch trials, with bloodthirsty crowds, witnesses pulled in off the street, no forensics, and the ridiculous uphill battle of having to explain things with sense to people who have none. Instead of just one witness, now you have to deal with multiple witnesses, conflicting stories, and catching when one witness’ testimony might cause another witness to remember something important… or change their story. By having to do more mental juggling as well as sticking to the ludicrous rules of a medieval court, the trial segments feel fresh, instead of only sticking to the standard Ace Attorney formula.
While this seems like the perfect marriage of puzzle and adventure elements, my only real problem with Layton vs. Wright is that its difficulty is pretty inconsistent, almost entirely on accident. The hint coins–while handy for the more difficult puzzles in the Layton chapters–can also be used to absolutely breeze through trials in the Phoenix chapters. Really tough puzzles sometimes only offer you 20 Picarats, while super-easy ones offer 40, not painting a clear picture of what kind fo challenges you’ll be facing. There’s also the problem I always have with Ace Attorney games, where it doesn’t matter if you’ve figured out when a witness is lying or if a piece of evidence is important… you have to wait until Phoenix has figured it out. While fun and well-written, the trials are very linear and are focused more on following the story than doing any detective work of your own.
Even with those caveats, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a total blast, and when Layton and Wright finally face each other in the courtroom, it’s fanservice all around for lovers of both franchises. A twisting story takes fan-favorite characters to the heights of fantasy ridiculousness and back, and the entire ride is worth it.
REVIEW ROUNDUP
+ Perfectly combines Professor Layton and Ace Attorney gameplay in alternating story chapters
+ Great writing with references to past games and plenty of fanservice
+ New trial mechanics add to the game’s more intense moments
+/- Inconsistent balance is annoying for longtime series fans expecting a challenge, but forgiving-enough for beginners
+/- Story is laser-focused specifically on Layton and Phoenix (and Luke and Maya, of course), but few other favorite supporting characters
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