It’s no surprise that puzzle games like the Professor Layton series are hugely successful in Japan, a country where prepping for elite universities starts at age two. Japanese folks have been taking to Prof. Layton on his quest for more Picarats, like their guilty hunger for Beluga whale meat.
Game play of Prof. Layton and The Diabolical Box is similar to Prof. Layton and the Curious Village. Obviously, the prof is back, and so is his plucky assist Luke Triton. Following elegant anime movie sequences, you are lead through a puzzling quest to discover the re-claim the Elysian box, a piece of magical machinery, sort of like the puzzle box from the Hellraiser series, only not quite as demonic. (Having not finished the game yet, I can’t tell you if it has the power to summon the grim Cenobites, with spikey Pin-Head in tow, but I will update you all when I get there. However, given the PG nature of the game, this seems doubtful….)
The bulk of the first half takes place on the Molentary Express. A posh, turn-of-the-century steam-engine, filled with quizzical guests who want nothing but to challenge you with logic problems, riddles, puzzles and more. A cool addition to this second release are the mini-games you pick up along the way like the hamster maze or the broken camera puzzle. The further you progress, the more involved the games become.
Puzzle-fiends rejoice! Those with low spatial IQ (like myself), give a low, mongoloid cheer. I’m not going to lie, I wouldn’t have gotten very far without the Walkthrough I discovered online. The unlockable puzzle clues are not always all that helpful; if you aren’t too familiar with the kind of language that the Prof. Layton series uses, you might be equally vexed. However, it isn’t the end of the world, one can always skip the puzzles that have you stumped and try them later.
On the other hand, if you played through The Curious Village, and are looking for more, this is the perfect game for you. Many of the characters from the first game are back, or at least have cameos. Replay value is also fairly high. Once solved, the puzzles can be played later. Don’t believe me, here’s a quote from Nintendo exec, Cammie Dunaway:
“Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box draws players in with its compelling storyline and animation, but that’s just the beginning,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The captivating and challenging riddles keep players saying ‘I need to try just one more puzzle.’
Also, If you live in the US, you are in for a treat because the Prof may be coming to your town! Gamers in Minneapolis, Miami, Boston and Seattle have been recruited to join the hunt for the puzzling master. Clues of his whereabouts are posted on the game’s site, here.
Sidenote: While the third Prof Layton game has been available for months in Japan, Professor Layton: The First Movie, is already now production. It will be produced by Japanese studio TOHO and will get an entirely new story drafted by Level 5 president Akihiro Hino. Hino is the brains behind all the previous Layton games as well as directing the forthcoming Dragon Quest IX. The game’s voice actors will reprise their roles for the feature animated films. See some previews below.
