User blog:Sunshineandravioli/Stuff Sunshine Likes, Issue VII



Review of: Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Media: Video game

Systems: Nintendo DS

Developer: Level-5/Nintendo

Released: 2008 (Japan) / 2010 (North America)

Denizens of the wiki, let me ask you this: when is the last time a video game made you cry? And by that, I mean not in the “tears of frustration and hatred because this level is impossible” way, but in the good way; the way that means that game really, truly moved you and made you feel something? Furthermore, has there ever been an occasion where a game achieved this feat and yet wasn’t a good game? I highly doubt it.

The fact that I was literally, truly crying – and not just getting misty-eyed, mind you, I was pretty much sobbing – after playing the third entry of the increasingly excellent Professor Layton series, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, should serve as a sign of its incredible success of a game. And if that’s not enough for you, consider the fact that tears occasionally spring to my eyes just remembering the game. And that, playing through for the second time just recently, fully aware of what twists and turns the plot was to take, I was still left bawling at the end.

Unwound Future is the pinnacle of the Professor Layton series thus far. And an incredible game all its own to boot.

Now let’s cover just why. (I’ve tried to avoid anything major, but be warned nonetheless that the potential for SPOILERS is there.)

First of all, Unwound Future has several built-in benefits right off the bat, thanks to its predecessors. The base formula of the game has been proven not only once but twice, and two major experiments have already occurred and proved successful – the experiment with Layton’s unusual mix of gameplay (puzzle as well as mystery and a solid plot, all wrapped up point-and-click-adventure style) was tested in the first entry, Curious Village, while sequel Diabolical Box proved developer Level-5’s ability to tell a complex and emotionally moving story. Furthermore, one might recall from my review of Diabolical Box that Level-5 put considerable care into improving upon mechanics and/or shortcomings from the previous game whilst developing their first sequel. Unwound Future continues to do this; the game takes what didn’t work during Diabolical Box and fixes it, then takes what did work and makes it even better.

Perhaps Unwound Future’s biggest fix is the long-awaited perfection of the memo feature introduced in Diabolical Box. Though you may remember the evolvement of the “memo” from my previous Layton series reviews, I’ll sum it up here for those who don’t: in Curious Village, the only space you had to write out any work during puzzles was on the bottom screen during a few select puzzles, and even then there were two issues, being that the lines were bulky and you couldn’t erase unless you cleared the whole screen. Diabolical Box took a big step in the right direction by introducing the memo feature as an option in every single puzzle, being a transparent “sheet” brought up over whatever was on the bottom screen, where the player could write/draw notes, diagrams, whatever they needed to solve the puzzle; however, the issue with the bulky lines and being unable to erase (save for clearing the screen entirely) remained.

In Unwound Future, however, the memo screen is overhauled in a way that effectively solves all prior problems and then some. Just like Diabolical Box, the memo is a transparent screen the player can bring up in every single puzzle, but now there are many options that improve its usefulness tenfold. Now, the memo allows the player to draw with either a thin or thick line, and introduces (OH THANK PICARATS) not just one eraser option but a thin and thick one to match the two “pens”. Furthermore, the player can now draw/write with up to ten colors, which I personally find useful for many of the game’s puzzles. Finally, my one major complaint with the gameplay fixed!! Another memo-related addition is a very memo-like option in the “Professor’s Trunk” menu, which pops up a screen with the same line, eraser and color options as the puzzle memo, allowing the player to write or draw whatever they want on it. Though for some this might not be of any use, I personally found it helpful to write down puzzles missing from my puzzle index in this “menu memo” so I might keep track of which puzzles I still needed to track down.

Anyhoo, aside from this much-needed overhaul of the memo function, much of the base gameplay remains more or less the same. Players advance in the game by exploring the environment, talking to NPC’s and solving puzzles, with all three being intertwined – NPC’s are found by exploring the world, and explorations/conversation might result in puzzles; Unwound Future wisely conserves Diabolical Box’s visual differentiation between when a local is simply chatting and when they’re planning to give you a puzzle. By talking and exploring, players find hints and clues towards solving the central mystery driving the plot, as well as several smaller branching mysteries that emerge as the player advances. (On that note, let it be known that Unwound Future has perhaps the most complex mysteries of the series thus far, with many apparent “solutions” ultimately proving to be elaborate red herrings. It adds an admirable level of excitement to the game, not quite knowing what is real and what is a lie until literally the very end.) Furthermore, players unlock three additional mini-games throughout the story, playable through the “Professor’s Trunk” menu, with the challenges/items needed to complete them found bit by bit as the player continues to explore and solve puzzles. (More on those in a moment.)

Unwound Future does, however, introduce a couple of minor tweaks and advances. Most notably, Unwound Future introduces the concept of finding hidden puzzles or particularly well-hidden hint coins (returning once more as the collectible item that allows you help on more difficult puzzles) via more “thorough” investigation – that is to say, in certain cases you may have to tap the same onscreen location several times before being rewarded with a hint coin or puzzle, with a special sound and visual effect (the latter of which varies depending on where the player is tapping; sometimes it’s a cloud of dust, other times a splash of water or a flurry of leaves) serving as the indication that one needs to tap more than once.

Furthermore, Unwound Future introduces three brand new mini-games just as Diabolical Box did, and continues to make them more challenging. Unwound Future’s mini-games include the “parrot” game, where the player must place a series of rope perches to allow a parrot to make deliveries; the “toy car” game, where players utilize a limited amount of turns to direct a toy car through a variety of obstacles and collect items on the way to the goal; and the “picture book” game, where the player must use acquired stickers to fill in the blanks in a storybook in a way that makes the story flow sensibly. Personally, I quite enjoy the latter two, the storybook being simple and cute (albeit perhaps a tiny bit too easy) and the toy car fun and just challenging enough. The parrot, however, I find unnecessarily and frustratingly complicated, to the point that often I just give up and look up the solution online (something I don’t enjoy doing; I much prefer being able to say I figured it out all on my own). Thankfully, Mr. Parrot (somewhat) makes up for his annoyingly difficult mini-game by helping you locate hint coins in-game. (He also plays a minor role in the actual plot, but I’ll let you see that for yourself.)

Aside from these minor tweaks, Unwound Future also includes a brand-new addition that, while not exactly major, is still worthy of mentioning: the “puzzle battle”. Occurring at three points through the story, the “puzzle battle” is more or less a normal puzzle, but with a few noteworthy exceptions. First of all, there are no hints allowed in the “puzzle battle”, and there’s no option to quit and try later – you have to keep trying until you get it right, and only then can you exit and advance. However, there’s also no picarats at stake during the puzzle battle, and it isn’t replayable in the puzzle index after completion; it’s a one-time story event. That said, I’m not entirely certain what to think of the puzzle battle as a whole – on one hand, it helps break up the masses of exposition and action they often occur inbetween, gets the player more involved in the situation, and helps weave puzzles into the events of the plot itself. Yet at the same time, they’re not that different (or even more difficult) than normal puzzles, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of point to their inclusion. Still, they certainly don’t negatively impact the game or gameplay, so I’ll let you form your own opinion.

Now then, let’s move onto my favorite part of this game: the plot. As I mentioned earlier, Level-5 already had game one to prove that they could actually interweave a mystery and cohesive plotline with a puzzle game, and game two to prove that they could make that plot complex and moving. Now, confident in those two components, Level-5 can move on to the next great test, the one that would ultimately make fans of the series laud Unwound Future as much as they do.

Say it with me, everyone: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!

If you’ve read my previous Layton series reviews, you’ll recall that I already applauded the series’ attention to detail with their characters, making even the most throwaway character unique, memorable and rounded. Well, Unwound Future continues to do this, but – particularly with our main characters – takes it another step further. Now they take us into the minds, the emotions, the motivations of these people, especially our leading men (well, boy and man), self-proclaimed apprentice Luke Triton and the namesake Professor Hershel Layton.

The latter in particular is delved into in this character-development exercise (he certainly needs it more, in my opinion – though a great character, the often stoic and always reasonable professor often comes across a little more flat than the energetic, realistically childish Luke), and the results couldn’t be better. After all, in spite of all the puzzles he solves, Layton is truly a man surrounded in mystery for the first two entries in the series. Why is a mild-mannered archaeology professor so interested in solving mysteries and being a gentleman? Why is he so adamant about not removing his trademark top hat? What exactly is he to the little boy that, without explanation, follows him everywhere? (Many theories sprung up prior to and even following this game, most of which can be summed up with the quote “Luke, I am your father.” I’ll let you consider and/or discover the legitimacy of these theories on your own time.) What’s with his self-made “rival”, Don Paolo, who’s constantly popping up and causing trouble, even though Layton claims never to have seen him before in his life? And for goodness sake, what is underneath that hat of his??

Unwound Future serves to answer all pretty much all of these lingering questions, providing us glimpses of the professor’s past – but you can do all the backstory reveal you want, and it’ll be simply an excuse to flesh out a character’s background unless you have a legitimate in-story reason to consider the past. And believe you me, Unwound Future absolutely has a legitimate reason: a prominent figure from Layton’s past reappears, and in combination with this game’s many mysteries, forces the professor and other characters to delve into shared pasts. All the while, we see glimpses of something past the face of logical calm that has characterized Layton for the past two games, expert twinges of thought and emotion that steadily grow, weave into something that makes sense, and culminates in the aforementioned closing scene that inevitably leaves me in tears. By the end of that scene, I and, I’m sure, all other players know for sure the answer to what lies beneath Layton’s top hat: a fully three-dimensional, utterly believable man whose most astounding ability is not his puzzle-solving, but his ability to elicit emotion through his struggle not to show any at all.

Though Layton is of course the focal point of this surprisingly character-driven installation in the series, it is certainly worth noting that the many other characters also help drive the plot along, with the majority of the events in Unwound Future due in part or entirely to the actions of characters realistically driven by their pasts, their emotions, and their relationships with others. With their trademark care, Level-5 presents these little character-driven plots and subplots in ways that make the characters seem very real, the way they act and feel and speak always very much in-character and incredibly believable; for example, there is a smaller, briefly visited subplot with Luke that truly does feel like the worries of a young boy and his subsequent reactions to them. Furthermore, there’s several tiny, unimportant to the story yet well-done mini-subplots with some of the NPC’s Luke and Layton meet during their adventure – for example, a misunderstanding and subsequent argument between an old married couple that the duo accidentally gets involved in, a meeting with a man who keeps his distance from the family he loves because he knows they aren’t so fond of him, repeated run-ins with a young lady who forms a passionate, girlish crush on Luke, and so forth. Every single character in Unwound Future, even the most minor ones, has a backstory, family and friends, a personality, a reason for the things they do. For fans of good character development like myself, it’s truly a treat.

Perhaps even more importantly, Unwound Future features some of the most complex and well-done antagonists in the entire series, maybe even in video games as a whole. I can say honestly that the quality of the villains in Layton’s adventures has improved throughout the series, from a more generic antagonist in the first game to a more developed one in Diabolical Box, and Unwound Future is absolutely the pinnacle. All the “bad guys” in this game are not evil simply for the sake of being evil; in fact, I’d go so far as to say they’re not really “evil” at all. Rather, Unwound Future’s antagonists are real people who have lashed out in retaliation for one thing or another; they’re hurt, they’re scared, they’re alone, they’ve been betrayed, they’ve lost sight of what’s important – and in this twisted way, they’re desperately and frantically calling out for help. It’s a truly heartbreaking sight that makes you engaged even to the characters most games would prefer you hate, and I applaud Level-5 not only for daring to make antagonists with hearts, but for succeeding beyond belief. Aside from these masterfully crafted villains, Unwound Future also takes a surprising turn by taking an antagonist from earlier in the series (the aforementioned more generic villain from the first entry, who also made a brief appearance in game two, less as an antagonist and more as a roadblock of sorts) and putting him through the character-development machine, giving him actual emotions and a backstory in a surprising and successful move, one that expertly provides explanation for his actions in the previous games, which at the time seemed merely like senseless antagonism.

Speaking of characters, let me briefly discuss the voice actors who bring them to life in this game (like in Diabolical Box, voice acting appears both in cutscenes and in certain pivotal points of gameplay). Christopher Robin Miller and Lani Minella return as Professor Layton and Luke, respectively, also reprising several characters they also voice that return to Unwound Future with somewhat more major roles (Miller plays an inspector from Scotland Yard and the aforementioned returning antagonist, while Minella plays Flora, a sort-of-main character who appeared in the last two games, who I neglected to mention due to A. spoilers and B. her mysteriously being overlooked by the character-development machine, and subsequently remaining the most two-dimensional character of the main cast). Both turn in expectedly wonderful performances, with Miller in particular deftly handling Layton’s more emotional scenes; as with the previous games; however, some of Ms. Minella’s performances as more minor characters (including Flora) fall flat in comparison to her ever-lovely work as youthful, excitable little Luke (though her work as one especially spoiler-ific character hits the mark for the most part). Unwound Future also features a few new voice actors, two of which in particular deliver excellent performances as the game’s aforementioned complex and compelling villains: Yuri Lowenthal (who has done quite a bit of anime and video game voice work, including as the title character in the Prince of Persia games, Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto, and Ben Tennyson in Ben 10: Alien Force/Ultimate Alien) and Liam O’Brien (probably best known here as Gaara from Naruto, where he also works as a writer for the English adaptation). Both men do superb work, Lowenthal in particular (not only does his voice work expertly carry the downfall and emotional arc of his character, but it wasn’t until first hearing the character’s voice that I finally understood why Layton fangirls across the globe blush and squeal over his character).

As for the cutscenes where these wonderful voices appear, not only are there even more of them, but they seem to be steadily improving in quality. The cutscenes in Unwound Future just seem to take everything that made us ooh and ahh in the last two games, and then either add more of it, make it better, or both. More flashbacks! More action scenes! More epic swooping shots, neat camera angles, pans of beautifully painted environments and crowds full of individual characters! More absolute tearjerking sadness that makes you hide in your room weeping for a bit! (…or maybe that last one was just me. I doubt it, though.) For any fan of art and/or animation, I recommend the Layton games, and particularly Unwound Future, highly; the visuals and cutscenes here are surpassed perhaps only by the full-length Layton movie (which I also recommend, as it’s fantastic based on art and animation alone).

Now then, I’ll have to avoid my usual summary of the plot here; Unwound Future’s storyline is so epic and twisty that I can’t bring myself to rob any potential players of the thrill of the game’s first few wonderful surprises. Instead, let me briefly discuss the environment of this third installment.

Remember in my review of Diabolical Box, where I discussed how there was a change from the single, relatively small locale of St. Mystere in Curious Village to several different environments, giving the feel of a larger, more realistic world? Well, Unwound Future, in a weird way, both preserves Diabolical Box’s changes while also going back to the ways of Curious Village. That is to say, this third installment takes place almost entirely in a single, contained location – and yet this single, contained location is enormous, a good twice the size of St. Mystere. It’s so incredibly sprawling, in fact, that it ends up divided into several sort of sub-locations (ie. Chinatown, a laboratory, several different districts/sections of the main city, etc.), some of which can only be accessed at certain points in the plot and/or after solving a certain amount of puzzles. To avoid players becoming frustrated at having to trek long distances across this newly enormous map, there are three “subway stations” at critical points in the city (one in the middle of the main city, one in the aforementioned Chinatown, and one at a separated sub-location that can only be accessed by subway) to allow quick, easy transport across the map. Though most of the game takes place in this metropolis, Unwound Future contains a “scene-change” akin to Diabolical Box’s as well; this area consists of three separated “sub-locations” that can be moved between via bus, which is available in a similar manner to the aforementioned subway. Furthermore, unlike in Diabolical Box, players can return to this location to search for forgotten hint coins, puzzles, et cetera after the end of the plot event that takes them there and back; however, this is only so prior to entering the “finale” chapters of the game, at which point events in the plot make this travel impractical.

Let’s see, now, what have we covered? Nice edits and additions to gameplay mechanics, (mostly) fun new mini-games, awesome plot and character development, lovely cutscenes, and an enormous new environment. I suppose the only thing to cover now is the extra features, which are basically the same as the predecessors: the “bonus” menu contains weekly puzzles (downloadable via Nintendo Wi-Fi), the puzzle index, Layton’s Challenges (the bonus puzzles) and Top Secret. Again, fifteen bonus puzzles are available in Layton’s challenges – three for each completed mini-game, three for completing the story, and three for solving all the other puzzles. Furthermore, the “picarats” earned from completing both in-game and bonus puzzles once again unlock features in the Top Secret section, among them character profiles, artwork, music, voice clips, movies, and “the Hidden Door”, where players can unlock an extra puzzle by entering a code from Diabolical Box. The character profiles are doubly improved in that players not only unlock bonus profiles for completing all the puzzles in the game (as they did starting with Diabolical Box), but now each profile contains several poses (and in some cases, costumes) for each character that can be cycled through by tapping the screen; a few even contain animated sprites. And besides, it’s worth unlocking these bonuses if only so you can rewatch those beautiful, beautiful cutscenes whenever you want.

Overall, Unwound Future is without a doubt the pinnacle of the Layton series, and in my humble opinion, is just plain a great game all its own. The story is fantastic, the characters three-dimensional, the art and animation simply amazing, the gameplay much-improved and tons of fun – and as I’ve stated many times before, and as I will state many times in the future, if the ending doesn’t leave you in tears, something’s up with you. Even if puzzles aren’t necessarily your thing, even if you have no interest in the rest of the Layton series, no matter what your excuse, I say everyone should play this beautiful, wonderful game. And if you’re curious to see how the Layton series fares after putting out what seems to be the highest they can go, well, just tune in to Stuff Sunshine Likes next week when I review game number four, Professor Layton and the Last Specter. Until then, farewell, and go play Unwound Future!!

Overall Score: 10/10

The Good Points, in Sum: An excellent, complex, mystery-filled plot, abundance of extremely effective character development, equal care in developing main and background characters, perfection of the memo system in puzzles, more great puzzles, absolutely beautiful art and animation, an enormous environment to explore, new fun mini-games, the mother of all beautiful tearjerker endings, ability to go back to separated, seemingly one-time-only locations, minor improvements in bonus features, excellent voice acting, did I mention the mother of all beautiful tearjerker endings?

'The Bad Points, in Sum: The “parrot” mini-game is frustratingly difficult, new “puzzle battle” feature does not provide much positive effect on gameplay, Minella’s performance as Flora and other lesser characters can be bland/grating, Flora is mysteriously skipped over by the character-development machine, you will cry like a baby at the ending

Recommended for: Professor Layton fans, anyone who loves a good story, character development fans, Steampunk lovers, fans of Victorian/British stuff, action fans, adventure fans, romance fans, mystery fans, people who love being surprised, fans of three-dimensional/tragic villains, anyone looking for a good cry, lovers of art and/or animation, puzzle fans, point-and-click adventurers

Consider Before Playing…: I would highly suggest choosing a good time and place to complete the game – seriously, don’t beat Unwound Future in a public place, or if you have anywhere to go immediately afterwards, unless you want to explain to people that your tears are because of the ending of a DS puzzle game. Aside from this, remember that Professor Layton is a game based majorly around puzzles, so make sure your desire to see this awesome story unfold outweighs any potential hatred of puzzles you might have (and if it doesn’t, maybe you could just watch the cutscenes and piece together/have someone explain to you what happens inbetween?). To those who might be sensitive to such things, be warned that Unwound Future contains some very mild violence (nothing graphic) and a brief depiction of alcohol (for all of five seconds). Though Unwound Future is more recent than the other Layton titles I’ve reviewed, I’d still recommend buying it used, where it’s cheaper and more readily available; most of the major game retailers I’ve seen fail to have (or at least display) any Layton games, even the extremely recent Last Specter, so used is most likely the way to go.