Thought Prism Recommends: Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney

Hello, and welcome to Though Prism Recommends, the blog series where I tell you guys about things I find to be worth watching or playing. I know it's been a while since the last one, but I was busy with finals until 20 minutes ago. Today's topic shall be the 3DS game known as Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney.

Now, I'm sure many of you lovely readers have heard of the franchises I just mentioned, but for those who have not, allow me to explain. The Professor Layton series is a story-driven puzzle game, where the titular character explores mysterious locales with his assistant to shed light on wholly befuddling events. Puzzles are thrown at the player periodically as they explore and talk to other characters. The Ace Attorney series, on the other hand, is a courtroom drama game, where Phoenix Wright must defend his clients by presenting gathered evidence at the most opportune moments, as well as pressing witnesses to uncover the truth. (I might not even be a brony if is wasn't for Ace Attorney, but that's a story for another day.)

This game, in short, is the pinnacle of the crossover genre (well, apart from Smash Bros, but come on, it's Smash Bros). It takes aspects and characters from both game series' and combines them in such a way as to render Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney far more than the sum of its parts. For instance, the often confusing and repetitive evidence gathering segments from Ace Attorney have been completely replaced by the Layton series' gameplay. And the tense courtroom sections, complete with a cool, if easy to grasp, new mechanic kick in just as the player was about to get bored with wandering around and chatting with folks. Other plusses include the relatively small number of Layton puzzles, such that the player might actually be compelled to finish all of them by the game's ending, and the fact that the new prosecutor isn't a jerk, dominatrix, or convicted felon, merely a man of opposing convictions to Phoenix.

Seeing the characters of Layton and Phoenix interact with eachother is also a nice touch, and while certainly a draw, the main aspect that sets this game apart from those it combines is the plot. The level of emotional drama, intrigue, and tension was cranked up to 11 here. In fact, the weekend after release, I think I must have played the game for over 12 straight hours, that's how invested I was in the outcome.

And did I mention the soundtrack is amazing? Because it is. Getting to hear fully orchestrated remixes of all the epic Ace Attorney tracks is a treat, and the music as a whole is comparable in quality to Super Mario Galaxy.

As of today, I feel that all of these qualities add up to make Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney the best game currently available on the 3DS, and I highly encourage everyone to try it out, even if you've never played a Layton or Ace Attorney game before. Because in all honesty, it's the best entry in both franchises.