Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS)

The Professor Layton series has been a hit in Japan and a sleeper hit in Western states. The third installment, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, hopes to duplicate the success of the first two, but is it enough this time around? Yes.

The game starts out with Layton and Luke receiving a letter from a supposedly future version of Luke. From here, the game spawns an incredible turn of events ranging from time travel to a few run-ins with old friends and fiends. The game's story is phenomenal like always, and constantly keeps you on your toes guessing as it twists itself through plot-twists. That being said, the story felt right. It was never rushed, and was kept at a great pace, just like the first two. I found the story to not be as compelling as the previous title, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, but it still kept me captivated and wanting more each chapter. Speaking of chapters, the game is split into about 10 chapters, and the game will take you 6-8 hours to complete, adding countless more for all 165 puzzles and extra games and challenges. The overworld is huge, mainly taking place in Future London, and spanning multiple areas such as Chinatown and even Present London. Navigating is much easier thanks to the nicely implemented undergrouond railways, letting you go from one place to the
next.

The whole premise of the Professor Layton titles is puzzles. And the game is full of them. Any citizen around town's got puzzles for you, and interacting with items usually spawn Layton or Luke to challenge each other with a puzzle that reminded them of that item. The puzzles are great this time around, ranging from difficult to just right. Hint coins are scattered around town, and these help you unlock hints for those super tough puzzles. New this time around is the super hint, which costs two hint coins, and usually gives away the answer to the puzzle. These puzzles take place on the lower screen of the DS and have great touch-screen compatibility as you slide blocks and write numbers. I did have trouble with handwriting recognition, but that was just me. Navigating around London is easy, just tap the foot in the lower-right corner of the screen and tap where to go.

Aside from the main quest, Layton's chest offers tons of things to do. If you're lost and need to recap on the story, just tap Hershel's journal and you'll be caught up in no time. The puzzle index is also in here, so if you want to replay a puzzle anytime, just stop in here. The new minigames this time around include Luke's toy car, which offers a fun diversion as you navigate yourself around a little course. Also new is the storybook, a Mad-Libs-esque story, letting you collect stickers and complete picture books. The best one, though, takes place in the parrot mini-game. This little fellow, helping you in your main quest as well, helps you deliver packages to citizens in a fun test of skill. If that isn't enough, just like the last game, Nintendo's offering weekly puzzles in the form of Wi-Fi events, but don't expect any if you're not hooked up.

Once more, the music is the best it's been, offering a new remix on a monotonus puzzle tune, and featuring beautiful pieces for the areas of London. The graphics didn't receive much of an update, but it didn't need it. The crisp voice acting and greatly scripted video sequences are a great addition as well.

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is a fantastic DS title. You can start here, or with any of the previous titles. The story may not be as compelling as before, but it's fantastic puzzles and gameplay keep you around for more. A pure masterpiece on the DS.

Pros:
Phenomenal Puzzles
Great Audio/Videos
Tons to do!

Cons:
Story not as compelling

9.5/10