Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy

Genre: Puzzle / Graphic Adventure

Players: 1

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Review:

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2014, is the sixth game in the Professor Layton series, and the final game in the series to star the titular Professor Layton himself. Like other games in the franchise, this game combines Graphic Adventure and Puzzle game elements, with this game’s plot having the Professor and his friends racing against the malevolent organization Targent to try to uncover the secrets of the ancient Azran civilization after the discovery of an apparent “living mummy”.

The gameplay here has players observing environments and speaking with various people to investigate the game’s mysteries, with these dialogue sequences interspersed with occasional puzzles. These puzzles generally have some vague relevance to the story, but at times it feels like the story just inserted an arbitrary dilemma just to have an excuse for a puzzle.

At the very least, these puzzles are varied, and generally good. This time around, the game wisely dispenses with the more action-focused sequences of the previous game to put the focus squarely on the story, the Graphic Adventure elements, and the Puzzles. And once again, the game’s touchscreen controls are quite good, and in fact it seems that the entire game can be played using the touchscreen, making one wonder why this game hasn’t been ported to mobile devices.

The presentation here features decent cel-shaded 3D characters in front of backgrounds that blend 2D and 3D elements in a way that can make it difficult to tell the difference. These are joined by some nice animated cutscenes, and backed by a wonderful instrumental soundtrack and some solid voice acting during cutscenes. The result overall is a really endearing presentation that doesn’t push any envelopes, but is still charming all the same.

There is one other element I need to address here. As I write this review, this game regularly sells on eBay for roughly twice the price of the digital version available on the eShop. With the impending death of the Nintendo 3DS eShop in March 2023, this means that your window of opportunity to get this game at a reasonable price will soon be closing. As this game is only available on Nintendo 3DS, this makes it a no-brainer for anyone wanting to add a great Graphic Adventure or Puzzle game to their collection. I highly recommend that you do so – it is an extremely charming game, and an excellent send-off to a beloved character.

tl;dr – Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy is the sixth game in the Layton series of Puzzle Games / Graphic Adventures, and as with its predecessor, it features a good mix of strong Puzzle gameplay and endearing characters and presentation. It’s also pretty pricey on eBay, so you might want to snatch it up at its more affordable price on the Nintendo 3DS eShop before that eShop closes in March 2023. It’s definitely worth it.

Grade: B+

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