Professor Layton 2 confirmed for US and Europe [Archive]

frederec

03-26-2009, 05:11 AM

More good news from GDC. Seen over at Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/26/gdc09-professor-layton-2-planned-for-north-america-and-europe-t/), Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box should be coming to North America and Europe in the next six months. Level 5 also sounds like they intend to release all six Layton games over here.

Finally.

BLeeP

03-26-2009, 05:17 AM

That's cool and all, but Level 5 REALLY needs to release Inazuma Eleven over here 8-(.

Iron Past

03-26-2009, 05:48 AM

Alright! My wife loved the first one. But when I did my playthrough, I found I had already "helped" on most of the hard puzzles. :p

Spigot

03-26-2009, 05:57 AM

Halle-fricken-lujah.

I was pretty sure they would be released over here but the fact that people had started murmuring that there was no release planned and the lack of any confirmation from Level 5 or Nintendo didn't sit well with me.

I just want to see what my code from the end of the first one will unlock in the sequel! Or is it the other way around? I forget :P

Katslover: Inazuma Eleven is the SocceRPG, right? I haven't heard anything about that in a while!

frederec

03-26-2009, 06:07 AM

That's cool and all, but Level 5 REALLY needs to release Inazuma Eleven over here 8-(.

I agree, not because I like soccer, but because I LOVE Level 5. If they're throwing their support fully behind Professor Layton, hopefully it's a good sign for Inazuma Eleven.

Gorvi

03-26-2009, 06:15 AM

Finally. :) Of course, I say that still needing to buy the original. I borrowed the first one overnight from a friend and loved it, I just need to get it.

Mike Kelehan

03-26-2009, 07:12 AM

It's about goddamn time. I hope Level 5 gives it the same quality localization Nintendo did.

5 more Laytons... I'm stoked.

National Kato

03-26-2009, 07:33 AM

I read this a few minutes ago and it made my morning.

TheFlyingOrc

03-26-2009, 07:33 AM

About freaking time.

Ink Asylum

03-26-2009, 07:34 AM

Alternate Headline: Nintendo Decides to Print More Money.

I loved the first game. So many excellent and challenging puzzles. It's been a while since I broke out my DS.

Mike Kelehan

03-26-2009, 09:08 AM

Alternate Headline: Nintendo Decides to Print More Money.

I loved the first game. So many excellent and challenging puzzles. It's been a while since I broke out my DS.

I don't mind saying it was my favorite game of 2008. It was just pure, concentrated fun. There was no part of it I didn't like.

frederec

03-26-2009, 09:12 AM

In a related note, some students come to my office a couple of weeks ago asking "If I have twelve matchsticks arranged in four squares, how can I move three of them so I only have three squares?" It was a little hard not to laugh, or tell them the answer outright. I made them play with paperclips until they got it.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2008/20080213.jpg (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/2/13/)

TheFlyingOrc

03-26-2009, 09:20 AM

I don't mind saying it was my favorite game of 2008. It was just pure, concentrated fun. There was no part of it I didn't like.

Well, replayability's a bit low.

Mike Kelehan

03-26-2009, 09:43 AM

Well, replayability's a bit low.

That's why we had weekly puzzles to keep me coming back. I played it until I had solved every puzzle on the card and downloaded. I definitely - DEFINTELY - spent more time on it than most $60 games I have. I've got no complaints in that department. Once you solve a puzzle, you're done with it... but there's a ton of them.

KSmitty

03-26-2009, 10:01 AM

Good news for me, great news for my lady as she loved the first game.

biosc1

03-26-2009, 10:03 AM

Well, replayability's a bit low.

Yah, but it was a fairly lengthy game with enough "add-on" puzzles.

Mike Kelehan

03-26-2009, 10:11 AM

Good news for me, great news for my lady as she loved the first game.

Alright! My wife loved the first one. But when I did my playthrough, I found I had already "helped" on most of the hard puzzles. :p

I'm in the opposite boat. I loved the game, but m'lady is more of a WOW person, and I caught a tab open in her Firefox of the GameFAQs page for Layton. I bought it for her, but she just didn't feel it.

I just want to see what my code from the end of the first one will unlock in the sequel! Or is it the other way around? I forget :P

It just unlocks concept art in Curious Village. Nothing to get too excited about.

GrenMag

03-26-2009, 01:04 PM

Yay! There's my wife's Christmas taken care of. We shared a copy the first time around (I played mostly while up in the middle of the night with our newborn -- the music lulled her to sleep really well).

This time, I'm thinking we'll just two copies until one of us finishes. Having another kid just to get time to play a game seems a bit backwards.

Spigot

03-26-2009, 02:57 PM

It just unlocks concept art in Curious Village. Nothing to get too excited about.
Well, now you've gone and spoiled it for me. THANKS A LOT! :P

Mike Kelehan

03-26-2009, 02:59 PM

Well, now you've gone and spoiled it for me. THANKS A LOT! :P

But concept art of WHAT?

Banacek

03-26-2009, 03:04 PM

Holy smokes it's about time. Layton was easily one of my favorite games last year.

NOW BRING ME A HOTEL DUSK:ROOM 215 SEQUEL. DO IT.

Spigot

03-26-2009, 03:07 PM

Holy smokes it's about time. Layton was easily one of my favorite games last year.

NOW BRING ME A HOTEL DUSK:ROOM 215 SEQUEL. DO IT.Isn't that the truth. I keep hoping things like Lux Pain or Time Hollow will fill that void but alas. I'm hoping Lux Pain will be at least good and I enjoyed Time Hollow, but I want a proper Hotel Dusk sequel too.

But concept art of WHAT?Doesn't matter. The mere concept of concept art is enough of a spoiler for me. I hoped it would be a room full of treasure or something...

BlackPete

03-27-2009, 09:17 PM

About time! Now if only there was a new Apollo Justice game announced as well...

Spigot

03-27-2009, 09:55 PM

About time! Now if only there was a new Apollo Justice game announced as well...Exactly. I'm kind of worried that Capcom has just dropped the Ace Attorney series as there has been nary a whisper (that I'm aware of) about a new game since Apollo Justice hit. We had a lot of lead time notice on Apollo Justice so it's kind of odd that we haven't heard anything about a new game yet.

menage

03-28-2009, 03:35 AM

Aaaaaand ..... a movie (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=6431)

frederec

03-28-2009, 06:33 AM

Exactly. I'm kind of worried that Capcom has just dropped the Ace Attorney series as there has been nary a whisper (that I'm aware of) about a new game since Apollo Justice hit. We had a lot of lead time notice on Apollo Justice so it's kind of odd that we haven't heard anything about a new game yet.

How easily you forget. It's not directly an Ace Attorney game, but Capcom did put out Gyakuten Kenji (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyakuten_Kenji) last year, and we'll probably get it before too long. I remember hearing that it might be called "Miles Edgeworth: Perfect Prosecutor," but who knows what the title will actually be.

BlackPete

03-28-2009, 09:44 AM

Spigot

03-28-2009, 09:46 AM

How easily you forget. It's not directly an Ace Attorney game, but Capcom did put out Gyakuten Kenji (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyakuten_Kenji) last year, and we'll probably get it before too long. I remember hearing that it might be called "Miles Edgeworth: Perfect Prosecutor," but who knows what the title will actually be.Well slap me with a radish and call me spicey, I didn't have the slightest clue about that. Why wasn't this front-page news and splashed across the sky in giant writing?

The fact that Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe will be the central characters warms all sorts of cockle-like areas in my jaded heart. I liked Apollo Justice and all, but I missed my old crew.

Now I'm going to be in a good mood all day. THANKS A LOT!

frederec

03-28-2009, 01:45 PM

Well slap me with a radish and call me spicey, I didn't have the slightest clue about that. Why wasn't this front-page news and splashed across the sky in giant writing?

The fact that Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe will be the central characters warms all sorts of cockle-like areas in my jaded heart. I liked Apollo Justice and all, but I missed my old crew.

Now I'm going to be in a good mood all day. THANKS A LOT!

Glad I could help. I'm honestly surprised you didn't catch this when it was first announced for Japan. It did make the rounds as the closest thing to the next Ace Attorney game they were making. I think it's just been quiet because we haven't heard much about the localization in a while.

Spigot

03-28-2009, 03:43 PM

Glad I could help. I'm honestly surprised you didn't catch this when it was first announced for Japan. It did make the rounds as the closest thing to the next Ace Attorney game they were making. I think it's just been quiet because we haven't heard much about the localization in a while.I seriously don't recall hearing a thing about this and that was why I was getting a little concerned, as I heard that Apollo Justice didn't really set the charts on fire over here.

I'm sure Phoenix Wright & co. will have cameos, if nothing else, and concidering that Gumshoe is one of my favourite characters in the series, I'm more than happy to play a game with him as one of the central characters instead of being on the periphery.

I should hunker down this summer and just play through the 4 Ace Attorney games in one big push.

BlackPete

03-28-2009, 10:26 PM

Mike Kelehan

03-28-2009, 10:52 PM

How easily you forget. It's not directly an Ace Attorney game, but Capcom did put out Gyakuten Kenji (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyakuten_Kenji) last year, and we'll probably get it before too long. I remember hearing that it might be called "Miles Edgeworth: Perfect Prosecutor," but who knows what the title will actually be.

That was thought up by fans. Recently, Capcom trademarked Ace Attorney Investigations.

You really can't say that they dropped the ball with the series; it took them several years to make Apollo Justice. We're spoiled because they started rapid-fire translating them after there were already 3 in Japan.

Urizen

03-28-2009, 11:30 PM

Banacek

03-29-2009, 01:45 AM

The series coming to the West was inevitable. Still, confirmation and vague releases are better than nothing. I'm another whose wife commandeered the DS for this game.

I suppose this is a good time for us to take a look at all the downloadable puzzles we've been sitting on.

I would, but I lost my copy of the game in a move. I was so sad when we unpacked everything and I realized that my copy of Professor Layton wasn't there. I had a bunch of extra post game puzzles to solve.

astranoir

03-29-2009, 08:46 AM

I didn't see this thread until today. So excited about this coming out!

Spigot

03-29-2009, 05:37 PM

Yeah I can understand why Apollo Justice didn't go over too well, even though it's one of the best games in the series -- it was pretty rough accepting the face that Phoenix Wright got disgraced and had his lawyer's badge stripped from him, who knows what happened to Maya and Pearl, and the rest of the cast basically disappeared.

It's like watching your favorite TV show then one day they suddenly changed all the cast members then expected you to still enjoy the show as-is.The final case in Apollo Justice was a great bit of fan service for fans of the Phoenix Wright installments and I liked the new characters... it was just difficult to make the jump to them and not compare it to the cast from the previous games.

I also felt that the use of the investigative tools was far too underutilized. They were awesome when you got to put some of the DS specific interfaces to work but they just weren't used enough!

I'm still excited about a new Ace Attorney game, whatever the cast. It would be even nicer if they did what they did for the first three games and released the Japanese version with the full english translation on it. I like being able to shave off 3-4 months of wait time by importing :)

Chris_D

03-29-2009, 05:56 PM

Layton 2 is a day one purchase for me.

BlackPete

03-29-2009, 06:48 PM

The final case in Apollo Justice was a great bit of fan service for fans of the Phoenix Wright installments and I liked the new characters... it was just difficult to make the jump to them and not compare it to the cast from the previous games.

I also felt that the use of the investigative tools was far too underutilized. They were awesome when you got to put some of the DS specific interfaces to work but they just weren't used enough!

I agree that the final case in Apollo was truly epic. It's definitely one of (if not THE) best cases in both series combined. And I want more, dammit! I was also a bit surprised that the investigative tools were forgotten almost as quickly as they were used -- they could've done SO much more, like maybe throw in a red herring or two to crank up the difficulty. :D

Layton is already a day one purchase for me, so there's not much more I can say about Layton. :D

Cyrillus

03-29-2009, 08:33 PM

and there was much rejoicing.

Variable Gear

04-17-2009, 11:23 AM

Yay! More stupid puzzles to solve!

Banacek

04-17-2009, 11:36 AM

God I love your weekly 'login and shit on as many threads as I can' routine. It's not tacky or predictable or anything.

Spigot

04-17-2009, 11:39 AM

Yeah. It might have been charming once, but it's pretty much eroding what little credibility he's got left.

Just report him to the admins.

Mike Kelehan

04-17-2009, 12:03 PM

I hate first person shooters. Maybe I should make it a point to go into FPS threads and announce this.

Spigot

04-17-2009, 12:46 PM

I hate first person shooters. Maybe I should make it a point to go into FPS threads and announce this.Nah. He's just being a dick today. Just keep reporting him.

Ink Asylum

06-30-2009, 11:58 AM

Professor Layton is on Twitter, (http://twitter.com/TopHatProfessor) posting a riddle or two a day to generate interest for the upcoming sequel.

Chris_D

06-30-2009, 05:09 PM

Just followed, looks like a bunch of fun!

RandoM51

07-01-2009, 08:36 AM

bums me out these are taking so long to receive localization.

Ink Asylum

07-07-2009, 01:06 PM

Professor Layton (http://twitter.com/TopHatProfessor) on twitter has been joined by his apprentice Luke (http://twitter.com/ApprenticeLuke) and his rival Don Paolo (http://twitter.com/DonofScience).

The interactions between them have been quite entertaining. They do a good job staying in character, even when responding to fan questions. More companies should put their fictional characters on twitter. It's great targeted marketing.

Ink Asylum

07-07-2009, 09:25 PM

The Layton Twitter drama is getting more intense. Don Paolo has kidnapped Professor Layton and will not release him unless his fans can solve an unidentified number of puzzles in 36 hours. The puzzles are posted here. (http://s1.zetaboards.com/Don_Paolos_Hideout/index/) As they are solved by the forum posters new ones are added. It's only been going on for an hour or so but it's a lot of fun.

RandoM51

07-10-2009, 01:35 AM

The Layton Twitter stuff is fake, it was done by a fan. So much drama over it now on a particular site. :)

Chris_D

07-10-2009, 06:36 AM

I think at the end of the day, whether it's by a fan or "legit", doesn't make any difference to my enjoyment of it.

Still, the Layton twitter account has had a serious case of twitter diarrhea lately.

Ink Asylum

07-10-2009, 08:51 AM

Yeah. Lots of unnecessary drama. I say he should've kept going, unless Nintendo personally requested he stop or sent him a CAD. Though Wednesday was a very busy day with all the characters posting a lot because of the kidnapping, it was still the best series of twitter posts I've read in a long while.

When you get right down to it, he shouldn't have tried to pass himself off as an official spokesman for the series. If he put on his twitter page that he was doing this for fun he could have avoided all the drama. If you're going to be a fake twitter or blog for a famous celebrity or character, say you're fake up front, like Fake Steve Jobs. Then, at least, people know what they are getting and will not get upset when the truth comes out.

The Don Paolo twitterer isn't stopping, and they're keeping his forum going as a Layton fansite and riddle forum. I'm trying to get in contact with the original @TopHatProfessor to see why he stopped and if he heard from Nintendo. If he quit just because I'm considering taking up the mantle and collaborating with @DonofScience.

National Kato

08-19-2009, 02:08 PM

This still coming out next week?

Spigot

08-19-2009, 02:12 PM

As far as I know, it is. I even have a little promo bookmark telling me to pick it up NOW, but alas, I can't use it to summon the game...

According to the EB where I preordered my game, it's hitting the 24th.

OUX

08-19-2009, 06:01 PM

Wait... I have to choose between this and Batman?

Spigot

08-19-2009, 09:02 PM

Wait... I have to choose between this and Batman?Or get them both. Play Professor Layton 2, get stumped, go beat up some goons, refresh your brain and return.

Iron Past

08-21-2009, 03:09 PM

Wait... I have to choose between this and Batman?

And Metroid Trilogy. Sigh.

Ink Asylum

08-24-2009, 12:10 PM

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is in stores in North America! Go, puzzlers, and join me in uncovering the secrets it contains!

I went out on lunch to get the game. Checked Best Buy first but, as expected, they didn't have it. If it's not a big name release they usually don't on launch day. I almost bit the bullet and went to EBGames, but then I remembered I work three blocks from the Nintendo World Store. Fuck you, EBGames and your $5 DS markup!

Banacek

08-24-2009, 12:27 PM

I need to get this...

Spigot

08-24-2009, 01:41 PM

I have my copy in hand. It shall be played this evening!

OUX

08-24-2009, 01:53 PM

Ink Asylum

08-24-2009, 02:02 PM

I will be avoiding it whenever possible. I hate that they're getting a pre-order bonus for Assassin's Creed 2 that's actual gameplay content. I can't pass that up, as much as I hate the store.

Spigot

08-24-2009, 02:07 PM

Fuck Gamestop. The guy there swore up and down the release wasn't until tomorrow because that was when they got it in. Yeah I just went to wal mart and picked it up. I am finally on the never-giving-gamestop-business bandwagon.Heh. My EB has had their copies in since at least Saturday. They would have sold them to me earlier but, you know, street dates and such...

Ink Asylum

08-24-2009, 03:09 PM

Nothing crawls slower than the last ten minutes before leaving work on new game day.

Ink Asylum

08-25-2009, 09:28 AM

Just what I wanted from a sequel. No radical changes to the system, just dozens of new puzzles to solve. I believe I'm doing better at this point than I was in the first game. So far, at about 50 puzzles in, I've only used hint coins for one of them and only guessed wrong on 3-4 of them, much to my chagrin, only to realize my mistake and get it right the second time.

The story has yet to kick into gear, its still mostly exploration and establishing characters. I'm hopeful it will be as intriguing as the first game's.

I miss my favorite minigame from the first title, the room arranging one. I really enjoyed trying to figure out the best arrangements based on their verbal cues. The hamster minigame is interesting but kind of simple so far. Hopefully it will get more ridiculous once I have more pieces. The camera puzzle is a nice distraction but the tea one is mostly just trial and error.

As a whole, though, I'm loving it and turning to it whenever I have 5 minutes or more of free time.

National Kato

08-25-2009, 09:29 AM

Picking up my copy after work today.

Spigot

08-25-2009, 11:20 AM

The only puzzle I had to use hints on was the stupid suitcase puzzle, but I blame that on the fact that I was working on it at 5am after having been up since 7am the day before.

Otherwise, I concur with Inky. Great stuff so far... my brain is starting to fire neurons that have lain dormant for far too long.

Lutheran

08-25-2009, 04:25 PM

I won't lie I have used a few hint coins..ya the suitcase was a pain in the neck and I used 1 for the professors hotel room but I knew from the beginning that something was off with that one area but didn't think the answer was going to be so easy. Sometimes I overthink these things. BTW at the Gamestop by my house , the guy told me he sold 10 of these already today..I was shocked. Of course he had sold around 250 Batmans since midnight ( 1 to me as well heh ).

Ink Asylum

08-25-2009, 05:21 PM

I used coins for the "What's wrong with this train scene?" and "Painting the flag" puzzles so far, but that's it.

Gwinny

08-25-2009, 05:29 PM

Best Buy was out of the game. Jeez, I guess it did make inroads with more casual players. Luckily Wal Mart had it in stock, so I grabbed it there. The banner across the front "Over 150 Brainteasers!" I could do without, as it kind of cheapens the box art and makes it look more like one of those minigame shovelware collections, but it's more Professor Layton. Awesome!

jpublic

08-25-2009, 06:52 PM

So very awesome. Especially after the suckfest that was Flower Sun and Rain.

(Yes, I'm STILL irritated about that one.)

Chris_D

08-25-2009, 09:35 PM

Ordered mine from Play Asia yesterday. Time to wait for the inevitable restock. Glad it's meant to be so awesome.

Mike Kelehan

08-25-2009, 09:41 PM

I got one for me and one for my roommate at Best Buy today, and was pleased to find that it had a big standing display, holding many copies of the game. It also had six sample puzzles, which transfixed me to it so deeply, an employee came to ask if I needed anything.

Professor Layton 2 is rated E10, because unlike the original, it has an "Alcohol Reference." I haven't seen it yet, so I can only imagine it's, "I say, Luke, I have a puzzle for you: I'm thirsty and sober, and the fridge is over there. How will you solve this?"

Spigot

08-26-2009, 06:14 AM

The banner across the front "Over 150 Brainteasers!" I could do without, as it kind of cheapens the box art and makes it look more like one of those minigame shovelware collections, but it's more Professor Layton. Awesome!I thought the same thing about that banner but a quick look at the first one shows that it has the same kind of crap slathered across the front of it too. Oh well.

So very awesome. Especially after the suckfest that was Flower Sun and Rain.

(Yes, I'm STILL irritated about that one.)That'll teach you to listen to me! I'm still impressed you stuck with FS&R as far as you did. Weaker men have tried less and failed.

Professor Layton 2 is rated E10, because unlike the original, it has an "Alcohol Reference." I haven't seen it yet, so I can only imagine it's, "I say, Luke, I have a puzzle for you: I'm thirsty and sober, and the fridge is over there. How will you solve this?"That is awesome. I like how the game has made some very... subtle... allusions to the fact that Luke is INSANE and the Professor doesn't think of him as his apprentice. Oh, the innuendo you could work into this game if you so desired.

I did a random guess at the one about painting the squiggly line painting as I wasn't 100% clear about whether the same colour could touch at the intersections of the lines. I'm currently trying to figure out how to divvy up that monstrous meal that Luke & the Professor ate on the train but my brain was very sleep deprived last night when I was attempting it.

Ink Asylum

08-26-2009, 06:24 AM

Spigot

08-26-2009, 06:37 AM

I was doing just FINE on those accursed sliding block puzzles, until I found a secret 80 picarat one that I worked on for about a half hour before giving up last night. Even with all three clues I cannot manage to finish it!I can usually do those sliding block puzzles (the 'Save The Princess' ones in the first were quite fun) but they seem to have ramped them up significantly in Diabolical Box. That first one with the garbage on the train nearly drove me mad. I eventually solved it, but it was one of those situations where I could see what needed to be done but had NO idea how to do it until things just clicked into place.

Gwinny

08-26-2009, 02:47 PM

I thought the same thing about that banner but a quick look at the first one shows that it has the same kind of crap slathered across the front of it too. Oh well.

Ah! I was going to dig out the box for the first one but I was too lazy. I withdraw my comment, then. :o

That trash sliding box puzzle was hard! Hershel Layton ain't playin'! I think that one took the longest of the puzzles I've encountered thus far, but I'm only up to #20 or so.

Tayaya

09-02-2009, 08:19 AM

I was doing just FINE on those accursed sliding block puzzles, until I found a secret 80 picarat one that I worked on for about a half hour before giving up last night. Even with all three clues I cannot manage to finish it!

I finally hit this puzzle yesterday... the 80 Picarat "garbage disposal." I didn't think it would be that rough, since I can do all of the "get the ball out" puzzles in the first game in the minimum number of moves. FOUR HOURS LATER, I solved it, and can now do it routinely, but holy shit was that hard.

It's fun when you finally feel like you're making progress because the pieces aren't totally locked only to realize you're working backwards and guiding the trash back to where it started...

Should finish this tonight, as I'm well over 100 puzzles solved.

Tayaya

09-02-2009, 08:20 AM

I can usually do those sliding block puzzles (the 'Save The Princess' ones in the first were quite fun) but they seem to have ramped them up significantly in Diabolical Box. That first one with the garbage on the train nearly drove me mad. I eventually solved it, but it was one of those situations where I could see what needed to be done but had NO idea how to do it until things just clicked into place.

Oh just you wait, Spiggy.... if you thought the one on the train was bad, I pray for your sanity that you never find the hidden one.

Ink Asylum

09-02-2009, 08:45 AM

I finally finished the 80 picarat trash puzzle a couple days ago while on the train. I don't even remember exactly what I did. The next time I try it I'll probably have to figure it out all over again, but at least it's done.

Now all I have left are two goddamn Knight's Tours, the Cube/Angle puzzle, and whatever is in the last house.

Spigot

09-02-2009, 12:41 PM

Oh just you wait, Spiggy.... if you thought the one on the train was bad, I pray for your sanity that you never find the hidden one.The worst thing about that first garbage puzzle was the fact that there were so few blocks to work with, so I thought it should have been much easier than it was.

Sigh.