Monday, August 29, 2011

Set aside two copies of Professor Layton and the Last Specter for me, will you?

Actually, make that one copy of Professor Layton and the Last Specter and one copy of Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call, if you don't mind.

The first game is the North American version of the fourth entry in Level-5's vaunted Professor Layton series, by the way, while the second game is the European version.

Professor Layton and the Last Specter's Japanese cover art. 
Why am I buying both? Well, I'm buying Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call, which will be released on Nov. 25, because I (strangely) prefer the alternate art that graces the covers of the Euro versions of the Professor Layton games to the art that graces the covers of the North American and Japanese versions and I'm buying Professor Layton and the Last Specter, which will be released on Oct. 17, because apparently it's going to be the only English version of the game that will contain Professor Layton’s London Life, a 100-hour RPG (developed by Mother 3-makers Brownie Brown) that I believe unlocks after you finish the main adventure.

I'd prefer to buy just one copy of the game (that being Spectre's Call), to tell you the truth, but, alas, I absolutely must experience the much-talked-about London Life. So, two copies it is.

12 comments:

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Holy. Crap. 100 hour RPG? That sounds epic enough as it is, but...featuring Professor Layton? I gotta catch up...I haven't even played Diabolical Box OR Unwound Future...

Bryan Ochalla said...

Well, it's called an RPG, Justin, but there is one hitch: It doesn't feature random battles (or any battles, for that matter) or anything like that. Basically, it sounds like you wander around town, helping people with chores and tasks and such. So, really, it sounds more like an Animal Crossing sort of game to me. Still, I'm interested in it -- especially since it was made by the folks at Brownie Brown.

As for not playing Diabolical Box or Unwound Future ... I hear ya! I played through DB, but haven't even started Unwound Future yet. Ugh!

Unknown said...

Two copies! That's hardcore, Bryan!

I've only played Unwound Future, so maybe I should play catch up and get a copy of Curious Village, since this one takes place before that. I'll be reviewing this one, too, so I'm pretty excited! Once I've done a couple of reviews and the novelty has worn off, I'll stop mentioning them, I swear!

The official Nintendo announcement I covered for VGW actually states that unlike the Japanese version, the US version will have London Life playable from the start, so you can use your US copy just to play that and your Euro copy to play the main game, if you really wanted! I think that's a nice feature for those of us who may start to get frustrated with the puzzles in the main game (me!)

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Anne! Yeah, I try my best to be hardcore (not!) :P

Yes, you should definitely try Curious Village -- if you liked Unwound Future, of course. If you hated it, maybe not :)

Don't worry about mentioned reviews. I understand the excitement, and I think it's great you're writing them!

Finally, as for your comment about London Life being playable from the start: That's great! I may actually play London Life before I even start the main game, as I've been looking forward to trying it ever since I first read about it.

Viewtiful_Justin said...

I'm with you on that one, Bryan.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Holding off on the main game doesn't seem as though it would be a big deal, does it, Justin? I mean, I love the series and all, but I'm fully expecting the story and puzzles to be "more of the same." London Life, though, now that's something new and different!

Viewtiful_Justin said...

Exactly.

Bryan Ochalla said...

BTW, I just read that calling London Life a "100-hour RPG" is a bit misleading. Apparently, comparing it to Animal Crossing is much more accurate. You basically run around town doing errands for folks in order to make money, which you can then use to buy/build a bigger home and (I believe) furnish that home. So, while you could spend 100 hours doing those things, it sounds as though most folks will get sick of it well before then. Still, I want to try it!

Unknown said...

Yea, I've heard everyone say "it's 100 hours!" but there has been no real discussion of exactly what you'll be doing for those 100 hours... Thanks for doing that bit of research! I'm sure it'll keep me occupied for at least 20 hours, anyway!

Bryan Ochalla said...

I think part of the problem, Anne, was that you had to complete the main adventure in the Japanese version before you could access London Life. Apparently few of the folks who actually gained access to it were interested in letting non-Japanese audiences know what London Life consisted of :)

Anyway, I'm with you -- I'm sure this mode will keep me occupied for at least a bit of time, but I doubt it'll keep my occupied for anything close to 100 hours. I guess we'll find out soon enough!

Garry G. said...

We will defenetly be getting the euro one in our house. I think practicaly everyone in our family has finished all these games at least once!

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, Garry! Ah, that's great to hear - that your entire family likes these games. Hopefully all of you end up liking this one, too :)