Professor Layton and the Last Specter - press event and Cort's impressions

Last week, Nintendo invited me to a place I rarely see: the inside of a pub. The purpose was to celebrate the upcoming release of the prequel Professor Layton and the Last Specter with a bit of puzzle-solving competition among some of the press and media outlets here in San Francisco.


While I didn't lug around cameras etc. to capture the action like some (my friend and teammate for the challenge, NintendoGal, did though to great success), but I did bring my wits along, although I was clearly outmatched against some *cough cough* who had already played through the Japanese version and could conjure answers within seconds. Nevertheless, it was a good time with some British-inspired snacks and some Layton-inspired beverages.

After the battle of knowledge, it was mainly a time for socializing, which I used to play more of the game with my +1 guest, and on my way out, was given not just a copy of the game, but a nifty t-shirt that defies logic by making me look more in shape than I really am.


Without spoiling any of the story or puzzles, be reassured that the animation is again top-notch, and the picarat quests satisfying enough to effortlessly sink hours in without even realizing. The thing that really surprises me though is just how much content I keep running into.. every hour or so I unlock this new feature, or that new side-quest mini-game. Plus, the whole London Life RPG game as a bonus... I have just scratched the surface, but it's definitely one of those things that I can tinker around without pressure for ages. I may finish everything in this little DS game cart in time for the next Layton adventure (and not that crossover business, as cool as it looks), but no guarantees on that. And then Skyward Sword coming along...

Thanks to Nintendo for the invite!