Following Specter's Call, Level-5 started development on the next game in the series. It started out as another DS game, but after looking at a developer kit of the Nintendo 3DS, Akihiro Hino decided to order development to start over from scratch to take full advantage of the new console's capabilities.
The result is Miracle Mask, the first of the 2 Layton games on the platform. Let's take a look:
The Story:
One day, the Professor receives a letter from Angela Ledore, a woman he went to high school with.
In it, she asks for help. Her city, Monte D'Or, is being attacked by an individual known as the Masked Gentleman, who apparently can perform terrible miracles. Layton, Luke and Emmy arrive at Monte D'Or just in time to see the Masked Gentleman turn half the people in the City Plaza into stone. It's up to the Professor to figure out who is this man and what is he after. The story is as expected absolutely engaging. In this game we get to see Layton's past in detail and how he became the perfect gentleman we all know and love. It's got tragedy, humor and intrigue all the way through, culminating into a heartwarming climax that you would have to be very bitter not to love. The "Episodes" menu from Specter's Call returns with extra cutscenes that further develop the story and the characters, and this time they all get unlocked as you go through the story.
Overall it's yet another wonderful tale of mystery that will engage you like few stories in games can.
10/10
The Gameplay:
Taking advantage of the capabilities of the 3DS, the game now gives you a new control scheme to explore the 3D environments. This time, you have an actual cursor, like in a point and click adventure game that you drag around by using the touch screen. It allows for 3D investigation that wouldn't be possible in the 2D areas of previous games. Another noteworthy aspect of the gameplay is the added variety. At certain times in the game, you will encounter certain different gameplay styles according to what makes sense in the context of the story. I would like to mention the Zelda-like dungeon with 6 floors where you see things from a top-down perspective and solve puzzles reminiscent of Nintendo's action-adventure series. Aside from this, though, it's the same deal we all know already: Numerous puzzles that will test your brain in various ways.
Overall, the gameplay does a fantastic job of complimenting the story, having variety and staying true to what made this series what it is.
10/10
The Audio:
Once again Tomohito Nishiura gives us a wonderful soundtrack that gives the world of the game great atmosphere, complements the emotional moments of the plot and just has you humming to it.
The voice acting is as always absolutely stellar.
10/10
The Graphics:
Taking advantage of the capabilities of the 3DS, the whole world of Layton is now a fully 3D cel-shaded environment. The characters also now have 3D models, and in some cutscenes are actually fully animated. Some people dislike this and prefer the visual consistency between FMVs and the 2D ingame visuals of previous games. Me personally, I appreciate that Level-5 is trying to fully use the capabilities of the system. The use of 3D is pretty superficial, as it doesn't compliment the gameplay like in other 3DS titles and is just for visual spectacle. It should be noted, however, that this game was a launch title in Japan, and since the artists didn't have any basis to follow, I think they can be forgiven.
9/10
Overall the first 3D entry in the series is an excellent chapter that brings a welcome breath of fresh air into the series while still staying true to what makes it special.
Final Grade: 10/10
It was without a doubt a pleasure to play through the titles of this series back to back, and now the wait for the final chapter of the saga, Azran Legacy, begins. See you next review ;)
