Professor Layton and the Lost Future (Hands-On) (Nintendo DS) Preview

Previously going under the roughly translated title of Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel, stemming from the Japanese name Layton Kyoju to Saigo no Jikan Ryoko, Nintendo has confirmed that it will continue to market the popular series that mixes traditional adventuring with brain-teasing puzzles completely differently in the US and Europe by giving the third title a slightly altered name dependant on the region. Therefore, after hitting Japan in November 2008, the US will receive Professor Layton and the Unwound Future on 12th September this year, whilst Europe will get Professor Layton and the Lost Future on 22nd October, and Cubed3 got the chance to test an early release down in London, UK at Nintendo’s Post-E3 event.

The Lost Future is the conclusion of the originally planned trilogy of adventures featuring the extremely dapper Professor Layton and his trusty cockney side-kick, Luke Triton and features over 165 new puzzles for players to get their heads around. As Nintendo itself says, ”Solve mind-boggling mysteries, uncover terrible secrets…and travel through time to save London!” This promises to be the most in-depth version so far, with the conundrums being intertwined with the storyline more than ever before in order to provide an almost seamless experience throughout, unlike Curious Village that felt quite disjointed in places.

This time the tale focuses on the Hershel Layton receiving a letter from none other than his own trusted companion, Luke, yet this version of the young lad is actually from ten years in the future, talking about something horrendous that has occurred in England’s capital, London. The task placed before the Professor is to unravel the new mystery before him, and find out if this is indeed related in any way to the recent disappearance of the British Prime Minister after his special test with a time machine that led to a large explosion. Thus begins an adventure full of the usual logic problems, optical illusions, taxing riddles, mathematical quizzes, brain-teasing puzzles and unusual conundrums to decipher, all wrapped up in the normal highly polished package, with even more beautiful hand-drawn visuals and stunning animated video sequences than before, plus the wondrous, French-tinged soundtrack and plenty of impressive voice acting throughout that we have come to expect following the first two entries.

Everything plays just as before, with perfect use of the stylus, intuitive menu screens, the chance to hand-write notes during puzzles, as well as seeking out hint coins around each new location and interacting with scenery and people milling about. In Professor Layton and the Lost Future, there are three new mini-games to help pass the time, more story reveals about Layton’s past, a pet parrot to look after, and the inclusion of the ‘Laytonmobile.’ As well as the regular hint system, there is also now an extra special Super Hint option that is available for the price of two hint coins at a time. As with the last couple of games, Lost Future gives owners the chance to download new puzzles each week, long after the main game has been completed.