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Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Hands-On Preview #2

by Daan Koopman - March 18, 2014, 2:42 am EDT
Total comments: 1

The story is written, the world is set and the excitement is building.

When we last left our heroes in the previous preview, everyone got sucked into a weird, mysterious book. At the other end of that book lies a place called Labyrinthia, and this shall be the stage for the majority of the adventure. As we first come back to Professor Layton and Luke, both seem to quite confused. Without a clue as to how they landed here, they start to explore the town in search for answers. What they find is that Labyrinthia is a big puzzle within itself, and everyone has a puzzle with them at all times. Once again, the puzzles and story go hand in hand and the context for these puzzles is framed quite well. There are also the different puzzles on display, which will test your logical thinking and require you to put everything in the right places.

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As you go further into Labyrinthia, all the people you meet are up in arms about a certain parade going on. The dynamic duo decides to take a look and find themselves there at the parade in question as the Storyteller passes by. The Storyteller tells the people what will happen in the short term and everybody seems excited about this; however, The smiles soon disappear in despair as the new story told to them was not what they were hoping for. Rather, it warns for the impending doom of the witches and how they are planning to kill two people. The Professor and his assistant ponder why a simple story could be believed so easily and why the common folk are truly scared of the things to come.

The townsfolk of Labyrinthia don't respond in kind to that, however, and they soon find themselves in a pickle. They try to outrun the guards and are quickly saved by a mysterious voice. This mysterious female voice turns out to be Espella Cantabella, who brings them to safety in a back alley of the town. The duo wonders what happened to Espella after they split up, but the details seem to be extremely vague to her at first. Later on, she starts to recall some things and Professor Layton seems to realize that something seems amiss. This is proven further as they meet Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey, who are fully convinced that they have been bakers for many years now. Hershel, Luke and Espella go to the archives to find answers about the witches and the world as a whole.

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After a series of events, they find a secret chamber under the library and within it lays a terrible surprise- a wall mural which dictates the Grand Fire, an event that happened many many years ago. The great witch Banzella shrouded the land in flames and the entire city was burning down to a crisp. Since the occourance of that event, knights in the area bring witches to justice and put them through terrible court trials. Espella and the others wind up being separated for a time, but soon it turns out that Espella is now part of a trial herself. This is where the second chapter begins and things start to heat up in those moments.

Phoenix Wright, who is still convinced that he is a baker, is asked to defend Espella in this trial and it doesn't take long for him to realize who he truly is. He takes his rightful place in life and prepares himself for one rough case. Witch Trials are somewhat different than the regular cases in the Phoenix Wright games and it is here where the game starts to show its true colors. The player will still look upon evidence, hear out witnesses, find contradictions and present findings to the judge. Like mentioned last time, you can use hint coins to help out now, but there are also structural changes to the trials. There are no forensics, so you will have to take real evidence and sketches of pictures for granted in these situations. It is logic that you will have to use to overcome the Inquisitors, who will stop at nothing to overcome their foes.

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There are also changes to the cross examination and these are certainly the most apparent changes of them all. For starters, not one witness takes the stand, but instead multiple witnesses will be on trial at once and they will all have their own stories to tell. You will have to discuss the logistics with each one and use trusty evidence to find holes in said stories. Sometimes when you ask to elaborate on comments, the other witnesses will have thoughts of their own. You can stop what you are doing at any time and straight up ask others why they are so deeply in thought. It creates an interesting and dynamic experience in which the team of witnesses will easily contradict one another and where the story can end up being turned around completely.

You are also asked, however, to explain elements of magic and spells at hand. After Layton's search through the archives, he finds a book that is called the Grand Grimoire. This book will tell you everything about how spells work and that is required to make them happen in the right ways. It will prove to be an incredible help during these Witch Trials, and you are certainly going to need it. No one wants to end up being called a witch, as the ultimate punishment for that crime is being thrown into a gigantic pit of fire. Now you, the player, can only save Espella and see the story unfold before your very eyes in Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, which will be available in Europe on March 28!

Talkback

ShyGuyMarch 18, 2014

I saw the headline and immediately thought this was round 4 of NWR March madness.

(I vote Phoenix Wright)

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3DS

Game Profile

Layton Kyouju vs. Gyakuten Saiban Box Art

Genre Adventure
Developer Level-5

Worldwide Releases

na: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Release Aug 29, 2014
PublisherLevel-5
RatingTeen
jpn: Layton Kyouju vs. Gyakuten Saiban
Release Nov 29, 2012
PublisherLevel-5
Rating12+
eu: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Release Mar 28, 2014
PublisherNintendo
Rating12+
aus: Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Release Mar 29, 2014
PublisherNintendo
RatingParental Guidance
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