Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy Review

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

My Playtime: 25+ hours

Genre: Puzzle/RPG

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

Professor Layton and his crew have discovered that all their investigations actually led to a treasure left behind by an ancient civilization, called the Azran.  A mysterious girl, named Aurora, will become your guide as you travel the globe, to unlock its true mystery.  However, a sinister group, Targent, was also on the chase for the Azran treasure.  Can Layton solve the mystery before the treasure falls into the wrong hands?

Returning fans won't be disappointed with the game.  Things pretty much stay to formula.  The voice actors and the BGM remain the same.   Unfortunately, there was still not a lot of voice acting.  What was slightly different was the fact you flew by plane to different parts of the world.  No little buggy here.  So, instead of being confined to a city, there were 8 different places to visit and each with their own unique culture.  The only downside was the fact the areas were small and the story in each were short.   Personally, I felt the story suffered a bit from jumping around from one place to another, creating a lack of depth and diverting from the main plot.  It just didn't have the mysteriousness that I have come to expect.  However, the ending didn't disappoint.  It culminated into something cool.  It will shock you and then make you teary-eyed.

Note for parents: I know that there are a few young players and I will like to warn some parents that the ending may be intense and possibly traumatic for your children.  It was a great ending but can be a bit much for the younger set.  Please play at your discretion.

Next, let's talk graphics.  Graphic-wise, it hasn't changed too much from the previous 3DS game.  The characters' movements and drawings definitely had more of a natural feel this time around.  However, the main improvement was to the puzzles' designs.  They became even more interactive!  The pictures above the puzzle moved as you try to solve the puzzle, i.e. you jumped over a tomato, a tomato will flop onto the patty.  In retrospect, this did affect the type of puzzles you'll be playing.  There were still "deep thinking" ones but puzzles using the stylus has become the dominant type here, i.e. finding your way across the ice, jumping boats, dividing up logs, etc.  I found I barely used the memo function at all.

Now, the only thing that really bothered me was the magnifying search function.  Before, the background was stationary.  But now it moved along with you.  It was headache-inducing.  You'll get use to it, but it can be rather annoying when you are searching for hint coins.  You're moving and the background is moving.  Ugh~

Here's what new.
1) In the bottom left corner of your briefcase, there is a bubble with a question mark.  Make use of it ASAP.  This will trigger a world-wide item hunting game.
2) There was a part at the beginning where you are being bombarded by missiles and have to use your puzzle skills to destroy them.
3) There will be an icon labeled World Times.  After visiting a new area, it will trigger a release of 3 news articles.  These articles will lead you to another puzzle or an extra area.
4) Here are the 4 new mini-games:
a) Nutty Roller - A squirrel needs help moving his nut through an obstacle course.  With correct placement of rocks and acorns, the nut should roll to its goal.  This was personally difficult for me.
b) Dress Up - Eight different characters will make a request for you to design an outfit for them with their exact criteria.
c) Bloom Burst - A garden needs your help of ridding itself of the poisonous mushrooms and reviving the rosebushes.  Placing flowers at strategic points to clean up the garden.

For those not familiar with the games, you are Professor Layton.  Your help is needed in solving a mystery that revolves around the Azran legend.  You talk to people scatter throughout the different towns for clues but they won't give it to you that easily.  You will have to solve a puzzle to earn it.  If you are having problems, there are 3 hints and 1 super hint.  I suggest using them sparingly since you have a limited amount of hint coins.  As you gather clues and solve puzzles, you get closer to solving the mystery.  Should you play the other games before?  Highly recommended, but not necessary.  Since this is a finale to the Azran trilogy, playing the previous games and seeing the movie would make better sense of the background story.

Overall, this was a decent game that tested my thinking capabilities.  I finished the main game within 24 hours.  And still have over 20+ hours of additional content to tackle.  Well, worth the $30.  If you enjoy a good brain teaser with a good plot, look no further.  Get it when you can.  I still think $40 is a little steep.  If you aren't a fan of puzzles, pass this one by.  Was this the best Layton?  Not really.  But I did enjoyed it and definitely adding it to my gaming shelf.