Is Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney as Cool as it Sounds?

It’s been nearly two years since Level-5 and Capcom’s 3DS Layton-Wright crossover was announced, but as of yet pretty much all the Western world knows about it is that it exists. It’s out on November 29th in Japan, and hasn’t been officially announced anywhere else yet; given the enormous waits we’ve had to endure for localised versions of other Level-5 games, it’s unlikely we’ll see it any time soon. This is definitely sub-optimal, because the combination is exactly as interesting as it sounds.

Having played Layton Vs Ace Attorney at Tokyo Game Show this year, my impression is that this crossover is a bit more Layton than Wright – about 75% puzzle-solving and 25% court-case-cracking, at a guess. The trailer, which you can see below, shows Luke, Layton, Phoenix and his assistant Maya all solving puzzles – sadly there’s no indication that we’ll see Layton shouting “OBJECTION!” in a prim English accent from behind the courtroom bench, though.

The story begins in London – albeit a Japanese-imagined watercolour version of London, naturally, where the streets are clean and there’s a portal to another dimension hidden under Tower Bridge. The TGS demo was split into two parts: Layton’s, in which he and Luke receive a visit from a terrified girl in a red cloak and things quickly get supernatural, and Wright’s, in which he has evidently flown to London to defend the same girl against a murder charge.

Wright’s episode opens in classic Ace Attorney style: with a cutscene of the purported crime that leaves you with plenty of questions. The red-cloaked girl – called Mahoney, in this Japanese version (fun fact: Phoenix Wright’s Japanese name is Ryuuichi Naruhodo) – is shown apparently beating someone to death with a Blue Badger police mascot on a ship, presumably bound for London. As ever, though, things are not as they seem. This tutorial court case plays out just as in any Phoenix Wright game, with Maya helpfully reminding Phoenix of how to examine the evidence and testimony of a flamboyant security guard for contradictions. The major difference is the upgrade to fully-animated 3D graphics, and *almost* full voice acting, both of which really add to the daytime-TV-drama feel of the courtrooms.

“

Sadly there’s no indication that we’ll see Layton shouting “OBJECTION!” in a prim English accent.

It’s only when Layton’s chapter starts that the supernatural twist becomes evident. Layton and Luke are having a pleasant chat in Layton’s rainy London home, pontificating on the existence of witches, when Mahoney bursts in out of the night and asks for their help. She’s then spirited away by a giant, shadowy, red-eyed creature that appears out of nowhere. From there, the short demo leads Layton and Luke after her through London’s rainy streets, with two quite pedestrian puzzles on the way – they unlock a hidden portal underneath what looks like Tower Bridge, and find Mahoney tied up within.

The demo cuts off here, but it’s a safe bet that the mysterious corridor leads to the supernatural dimension known as Labyrinth City, the setting for the majority of the game – Mahoney, according to the trailer, is being chased down on suspicion of witchcraft. Once again, it’s the 3D graphics – which you’ll already have admired if you’ve played Mask of Miracles, the first 3DS entry in the Layton series – that make the Layton section feel different from what we’ve seen of the series so far in the West.

These two episodes are totally different, gameplay-wise, but it looks like they will come together when Phoenix and Layton join forces in Labyrinth City to defend Mahoney and the game becomes more coherent. Unless you’re extremely good with your written Japanese, you won’t get much out of Layton vs Ace Attorney in its original language – although some of the game is voiced, as mentioned before, not all of it is. A Western release hasn’t been totally ruled out, though – Level-5 was gauging community interest in unlocalised games last year, and this came out on top.

Keza MacDonald is in charge of IGN's games coverage in the UK, and loves both Layton and Phoenix Wright - though Layton would obviously win in a fight. Follow her on Twitter and IGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com