Over the years, four Professor Layton games have established a strong fanbase on the Nintendo DS platform. Following its four successful titles on the handheld, Level-5 had finally moved on as the newest Professor Layton game is now available on the Nintendo 3DS. With Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask being the second game in the prequel trilogy that Level-5 wanted to make for the series, is there anything new added to the formula that fans have loved until now?
Let’s take a look on what’s HOT and what’s NOT in our review of Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask.
HOT
Upgraded and More Interactive Visuals
Jumping from the Nintendo DS to the 3DS have significantly improved the visuals when it comes to this latest Professor Layton game. From the still images that fans are accustomed to in the four Layton DS games, the visuals in the Miracle Mask are completely rehashed making it more pleasant looking. This time, the colors are more vivid, character models now move and every movement that the character does during a conversation has become interactive. As for its cutscenes, expect to see more of them in glorious 3D, where even at the maximum setting, the intensity will not strain your eye. Compared to the previous titles, the world in Miracle Mask is now livelier, unlike the boring-flat world on the Nintendo DS games where not only the visuals were subpar, the pixels and environments looked washed up.
Another Mystery to Solve
Miracle Mask takes place a year following the events of the Last Specter. Stepping into the shoes once again of Professor Layton, Emmy, and Luke, players have another mystery to solve and that’s figuring out the identity of the Masked Gentleman. The game starts off with the letter that Professor Layton have receives from his high school friend Angela that encourages him to go and look for her in the city of M’ondor. On the day Professor Layton and the gang arrive in the city, they witness the horror that the Masked Gentleman has spread in the town, thus leading them to investigate the mystery and find out who is the person behind the mask. In their quest to find out the person behind the mask, players will be taken to the younger years of Professor Layton where more interesting stuff about him and his past will be revealed. For newcomers in the series, playing this game is just about right as this is somewhat of a prequel to the series.
As with all Professor Layton games, the story is quite interesting though it can be predictable – but that’s not the case in Miracle Mask. Throughout the game, more mysteries will be revealed where fans will be engaged to its story, and the plot that is unravels can be quite shocking. Expect to meet interesting characters along the way that will give you a smile in your face as some of them are funny and others just bizarre but in a good way.
Challenging & Weekly Puzzles
For fans who have been playing all Professor Layton games, one of the things that they can expect in this new entry aside from new story are new puzzles. As someone who played all Professor Layton games since the very first game released, I noticed that puzzles in every game become more challenging and in the case of Miracle Mask, the game’s new puzzle types will give fans some challenging ones to solve. Just like with other games, expect to solve a lot puzzles and for players who are seeking for more can download a puzzle every day for the whole year – now you are looking to solve more than 400 puzzles!
