Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Nintendo 3DS) Review

Welcome to Labyrinthia, a mysterious place filled with medieval settings and witchcraft…This is the main setting of Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and it is indeed a Curious Village where once Pandora's Box has been opened it looks like things could lead to a Lost Future (okay, enough of the weak connections!). Basically, Phoenix Wright and trusty aide Maya Fey are over in the UK as part of a legal exchange and swiftly become embroiled in the twisting and turning tale that surrounds this seemingly trapped-within-a-storybook location. Not alone, though, Professor Layton and sidekick Luke Triton are enlisted surreptitiously by certain folk within Labyrinthia to unravel the real happenings there and pull back the veil on what is undoubtedly one heck of a grandiose puzzle.

 With the key team members of both the Ace Attorney and Professor Layton series working in tandem, the question was always going to be how well they would gel and if the two gameplay styles would synthesise properly. The splendid news for all budding attorneys and puzzle-solving gentlemen out there is that the two of them go hand-in-hand perfectly, like they were meant to be together all along.

Early on, players are introduced to the basic mechanics of the Professor Layton and Ace Attorney games - how to scour areas for hint coins and brain-teasing puzzles on the one side, whilst learning the best interrogation techniques to pick holes in shaky witness testimonies on the other. Then, as the game progresses, the usual batch of characters from the series start crossing over into new territories, with various permutations of character interactions taking place - Hershel Layton working with Maya, for instance, Phoenix Wright with Luke, and so on. The switch between Layton puzzling and Attorney shenanigans plays a big part in the action not growing tiresome, with the changeover of styles coming at the perfect time - normally just as the trekking around town, hunting down clues and solving puzzles starts to grate, it leaps to the trial scenario and vice versa. The timing of the hand-over was always going to be a delicate operation, but it is all navigated with expert precision.

There are still times where the story seems unnecessarily elongated in places, and traipsing back and forth constantly in Layton mode or long-winded 'Pressing' of witnesses to squeeze more information from them can be off-putting during lengthy sessions, but in the long-run, there is so much enjoyment from the 25-30 hours contained in the main story that by the time the final credits roll, any lingering moments of aggravation from slower moments are long forgotten. The added humour and smatterings of references for long-term followers of both games also helps to make for a special experience and the story itself - whilst familiar to those that have played earlier Layton titles (no more said on the matter!) - holds enough draw and includes sufficient twists and turns to keep gamers locked to their 3DS systems for more hours than is probably healthy!

What is of particular note is the new additions included. Rather than lump two old modes together, Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi is back after a hiatus from the series - and definitely with a bang - bringing along some new features to the traditional courtroom battles. Rather than merely focusing on one witness at a time, for example, numerous ones can be interrogated at the same time, listening to multiple people throw their two-penneth into the ring. On top of that, reactions from others to a particular witness' testimony can also be scrutinised for further details, with audible responses heard during key lines of testimony and a simple scroll across all characters revealing who has something to say in retort. As if that was not enough, though, there are also times where various elements of one specific testimony can be compared to see if a previous comment contradicts a new statement, adding whole new layers previously unseen in Ace Attorney's past. The usual 'Press' (for further information) and 'Present' (evidence) options are still there as before, but the new additions make for far more intricate and intriguing sparring sessions. On the Layton side, the only real change from the norm is that finding Hint coins (for helping solve conundrums) is now made easier thanks to the on-screen cursor sparkling at the appropriate time, whilst merely turning orange if a point of interest to investigate or blue when able to zoom in for a closer look - minor, but still a worthy addition hopefully carried forwards. Other than that, the level of difficulty on the puzzles side appears to have been toned down somewhat, most likely to appeal to the Ace Attorney crowd unused to overly taxing cryptic conundrums.