Perfection. This series has always had a spot in my heart. When I discovered the HD versions on iOS I got back into this series really hard, a series that really had a big part in my youth. Unwound Future will always have a soft spot, as it’s not only my first Layton game, but also the first game that made me cry, but The Last Specter was a glorious surprise.
Playing through the first trilogy of this series, you encounter a lot of the same stuff. You can even see puzzles having the same general idea; there’s a version of every puzzle from the first game in each of its successors. The first installment of the series’ prequel trilogy does something to improve the gameplay that gives it an inch on Unwound Future. It keeps the player engaged in a way that the others had trouble with. Pacing can be really tough in these games since the core gameplay revolves around taking a moment to decipher a brain-teaser. Puzzles can vary greatly in how much interaction they require from the player.
Here, there are some moments where the game asks you to remember things and deduce things, and answer a round of questioning from Layton as he walks you through an epiphany of his. This may seem simple, but it really engages the player into being involved in the progression of dialog outside of tapping the text-box whenever prompted with the end of a sentence.
Between these little tweaks, boundless content, and a finale that really made my brain AND my heart soar, this is my new favorite Layton. I wasn’t planning on attempting to play the two 3DS installments, but the closer I got to the end of this one the more I wanted to go for it. I’m so excited for the new Layton on Switch.
Playing through the first trilogy of this series, you encounter a lot of the same stuff. You can even see puzzles having the same general idea; there’s a version of every puzzle from the first game in each of its successors. The first installment of the series’ prequel trilogy does something to improve the gameplay that gives it an inch on Unwound Future. It keeps the player engaged in a way that the others had trouble with. Pacing can be really tough in these games since the core gameplay revolves around taking a moment to decipher a brain-teaser. Puzzles can vary greatly in how much interaction they require from the player.
Here, there are some moments where the game asks you to remember things and deduce things, and answer a round of questioning from Layton as he walks you through an epiphany of his. This may seem simple, but it really engages the player into being involved in the progression of dialog outside of tapping the text-box whenever prompted with the end of a sentence.
Between these little tweaks, boundless content, and a finale that really made my brain AND my heart soar, this is my new favorite Layton. I wasn’t planning on attempting to play the two 3DS installments, but the closer I got to the end of this one the more I wanted to go for it. I’m so excited for the new Layton on Switch.