This should’ve been a match made in heaven. And in some ways, it really is. The story winds up being undeniably fascinating, and even though I wasn’t fully on board with its initial premise of witches and magic, I became a believer by the end. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t salvage the rest of the game, which feels like something that was a bit haphazardly thrown together without any real thought or imagination.
The reason I say this is because rather than feeling like one whole cohesive experience that smartly meshes the best aspects of both Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton, the entire experiences feels like you’re playing two separate games. During certain sections, you’re playing as Phoenix in the courtroom, doing battle by cross examining witnesses and presenting evidence. And during the other sections, you’re playing as Professor Layton, scouring the environments for clues and solving puzzles along the way. Basically, you’re doing exactly same things you’ve done in all of the other Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton games. But when a crossover like this comes, I was expecting more ingenuity in terms of how these great franchises can mix.
Even something as simple as solving a puzzle to understand the true meaning behind a piece of evidence is only utilized once in the entire game. Yes, only once in the entire game does puzzle and courtroom cross, and it happens in the final case. In a game that’s about Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton, how can you only use that gameplay mechanic once? Doesn’t that seem like one of the most obvious things to do? And of course, the one time it’s used, it’s actually pretty damn interesting, and it leads to memorable revelation.
I’m also going to rant about Professor Layton for a bit. He’s a bad character. Not in terms of morals or villainy, but just a poorly designed one. Layton is a genius-level detective with an even keel attitude and a penchant to help others in need. Basically, he’s perfect. And that makes him boring. Near the end of the game (don’t worry this isn’t much of a spoiler), Layton drones on and on, basically revealing the truth by himself because of course he’s figured it all out. On the other hand, Phoenix is interesting as a character because he seems realistic: he makes mistakes, and is constantly trying to turn things around in his favor when the odds are stacked against him. Obviously, he always ends up winning because it’s a video game story, but it at least humanizes him in a way that makes him more compelling.
All that being said, I feel like the ending is really good, and it makes me mad that the first 80% of the game was so uninspiring. Neither Layton or Phoenix really had a chance to shine in this crossover. All of the Layton puzzles are way too easy (I ended up using only one hint), and Phoenix’s courtroom shenanigans feel half-baked because you can only hold a max of 8 pieces of evidence in your Court Record, whereas in other Phoenix Wright games you were often holding a dozen or more.
You know what Level 5 and Capcom should’ve done to make the gameplay more interesting? This:
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