I am surprised at how enjoyable this game was for me. I had ignored it for a long time, thinking it was probably a pretty half assed crossover for the sake of brand recognition, going by what I had heard of it before. Definitely ran into a case of needing to form my own opinion. I am someone that's only barely into Layton games, as I only played Curious Village, but it still entertained me a lot.
From what I understand this is the first time either franchise went 3D, and with that in mind they did a good job, especially considering the art style had to account for both of them. Animated 3D models like what we find in the future Ace Attorney games but with drawn on 2D details that are more in the style of Layton games, with great backgrounds and courtroom design.
The music is great, compositions that remix and resemble older tracks from both franchises but in the fantasy theme, as well as totally new ones. It always fits and is a joy to listen to while going through the story.
I guess I should say, I didn't mind Phoenix and Maya being the dumber ones cause... they really are. The Professor and Luke drive a lot of the investigation, true, but Phoenix and Maya have a drive to the truth on their own which is what leads to their contribution. The title of "VS" is pretty misleading as it's largely a story about them working together, but I really enjoyed their dynamic. I appreciate how the fantasy elements are incorporated in a pretty natural way, and the resolution was surprisingly intense, I do think that this ranks as one of the top 3 stories in the Ace Attorney franchise on the 3DS alongside the GAA duology.
Gameplaywise we find a good balance of both franchises mixing, as the investigation parts are "Layton" sections where asides from gathering clues you solve puzzles to progress, and then we get to the courtrooms which are all just Ace Attorney gameplay. There's only 4 trials in the game, but they are really good and introduce new mechanics in the multiple witnesses interrogations that would influence the GAA games.
Sadly it's in the puzzle solving where the game has its big flaw, the puzzles are too simple and often easy. Even as someone that's not deep into Layton games I can feel how this aspect is underwhelming, especially when you can't fail like half the puzzles, including the final one that closes the game. Nevertheless, at least they never annoyed me, but their simple design keeps this game from being great at representing the Layton side.
All in all though I found this really enjoyable, many great moments in the story and fun to be had with the characters. It is also interesting how it clearly influenced Shu Takumi while making The Great Ace Attorney, and makes me wonder if it also influenced future Layton games. Either way, I really recommend going into this one with an open mind.
From what I understand this is the first time either franchise went 3D, and with that in mind they did a good job, especially considering the art style had to account for both of them. Animated 3D models like what we find in the future Ace Attorney games but with drawn on 2D details that are more in the style of Layton games, with great backgrounds and courtroom design.
The music is great, compositions that remix and resemble older tracks from both franchises but in the fantasy theme, as well as totally new ones. It always fits and is a joy to listen to while going through the story.
I guess I should say, I didn't mind Phoenix and Maya being the dumber ones cause... they really are. The Professor and Luke drive a lot of the investigation, true, but Phoenix and Maya have a drive to the truth on their own which is what leads to their contribution. The title of "VS" is pretty misleading as it's largely a story about them working together, but I really enjoyed their dynamic. I appreciate how the fantasy elements are incorporated in a pretty natural way, and the resolution was surprisingly intense, I do think that this ranks as one of the top 3 stories in the Ace Attorney franchise on the 3DS alongside the GAA duology.
Gameplaywise we find a good balance of both franchises mixing, as the investigation parts are "Layton" sections where asides from gathering clues you solve puzzles to progress, and then we get to the courtrooms which are all just Ace Attorney gameplay. There's only 4 trials in the game, but they are really good and introduce new mechanics in the multiple witnesses interrogations that would influence the GAA games.
Sadly it's in the puzzle solving where the game has its big flaw, the puzzles are too simple and often easy. Even as someone that's not deep into Layton games I can feel how this aspect is underwhelming, especially when you can't fail like half the puzzles, including the final one that closes the game. Nevertheless, at least they never annoyed me, but their simple design keeps this game from being great at representing the Layton side.
All in all though I found this really enjoyable, many great moments in the story and fun to be had with the characters. It is also interesting how it clearly influenced Shu Takumi while making The Great Ace Attorney, and makes me wonder if it also influenced future Layton games. Either way, I really recommend going into this one with an open mind.