Dr. Lautrec & the Forgotten Knights

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

My Playtime: 40+ hours & still playing

Genre: Adventure Puzzle

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I will always love Professor Layton.  But it appears another Professor in a top hat might just steal my puzzle-loving heart.  Dr. Lautrec is the complete opposite to Layton.  He is surly, terse, and sarcastic.  Not interested in being a perfect gentlemen, his ultimate goal is to solve that elusive mystery.  And I LOVE it. 

Paris, France - Late 1800's.  Underneath the bowels of Paris, there were treasures hidden underground.  This brought the rise of the adventurer.  Dr. Lautrec will not belittle himself to call himself an adventurer, but he enjoyed the challenge each treasure wrought.  With his assistant, Sophie, he searched the labyrinths for the ultimate mystery.  However, one day, a man and a woman showed up with a unique puzzle that might change the world for the better or the worse.

The puzzles ranged from easy to moderate.  When you first start a mission, Milady will give you a map that will lead you to an entrance of an underground labyrinth.  The map consisted of a riddle that pertained to a place within Paris.  Lautrec and Sophie will pretty much figured the riddle out for themselves and occasionally ask for your input.  There are no penalties for being wrong here.  When you are in the dungeon, this was where your frustration will mount.  One form of puzzle-solving is where you push crates around to form a path.  However, there were some places the police patrolled and if they spot you, you have to return to start and any efforts you have made will be reset.  Finally, the true puzzle solving comes when you are about to enter a room with a treasure.  The puzzles were basic.  They consists of "putting small shapes together to form a picture", "a minesweep/picture puzzle", "what's difference?" and figure out which "piece" belong.  So, don't expect much mind-bendin but will get harder as you progressed.  This was the only time you are graded.  At the end of every mission, you earned a max of 100 pts for every puzzle solved without any problems.  Less if you made any errors.  These points were used for buying healing items for your Treasure Animatus.

The piece de resistance to the game was the slight RPG element.  Each treasure was possessed with a spirit called Treasure Animatus.  With your assistant's help, you used your animatus that you have already tamed to tame others.  It was a challenge at first, but as you progressed through the game, it became fun.  Trying to figure which Animatus would be the best to use.  You were only allowed to carry 3 into a dungeon.  Each one has a weakness and strength.

The main story was intriguing but tended to get lost when you were doing sidequests.  Sidequests have their own little sidestories that help explain and build the relationship between each of the characters.  Another great aspect was the fact you get to learn some French history.  To finish the main story, it took me over 30 hours.  As an added bonus,after you finish the main story, there are additional sidequests to finish loose ends.  The dungeons were definitely harder to navigate.  So expect an additional 20+ hours of gameplay.

The graphics were sharp and clean.  Very eye pleasing.  There were 3 types of visuals that was used throughout the game.  There were the flat drawings that was used regularly.  Transversing Paris and the labyrinths, you were in a 3D environment.  And occasionally the usual FMV.  The designs for the characters were unique and original.  The BGM and the voice acting was superbly done and perfectly cast.  I did find that certain characters' precise enunciation to be a bit irritating at times.  There were practically dialogue in every scene.  The characters were quite charming and interesting.

If you are looking for a game that is chock full of brain twisting puzzles, then I would hesitate to recommend this to you.  The puzzles were simple and repetitive that it might not be your cup of tea.  There was still a challenge but not the variety.  Other than that, I highly recommend this game.  Engaging characters, interesting storyline, good graphics, good voice acting and a mix puzzle-RPG element made this game one of my new favorite games.  This game has the perfect amount of challenge and entertainment to keep you hook.  Like Layton, there isn't much replay value but definitely going to keep it in my collection.  I sincerely hope they create a sequel.  A must buy.