Short Version: I enjoyed it for the simple adventure it was trying to be, but it's hard to ignore how inconsequential each episode feels in the plot as a whole.
I've been a fan of the Layton series ever since I got my 3DS. I think I'm in the minority when I say that I felt the prequel trilogy was more interesting then the classics, likely because I started with them. Regardless of whichShort Version: I enjoyed it for the simple adventure it was trying to be, but it's hard to ignore how inconsequential each episode feels in the plot as a whole.
I've been a fan of the Layton series ever since I got my 3DS. I think I'm in the minority when I say that I felt the prequel trilogy was more interesting then the classics, likely because I started with them. Regardless of which Layton games we prefer, I think all fans were excited with the announcement of Lady Layton, later titled "Mystery Journey". It was going to pass on the torch to his daughter, Katrielle, and introduced a new mystery with the famed professor going missing.
After finishing the game, my thoughts were mostly positive at first, but after giving it more thought, I started having mixed feelings. I'll start with the positives, I feel like this game has really good writing and the best humor in series. The jokes made me laugh and I really liked the use English terms and slang like "donkey years". I also felt that the cast of characters were likable. Katrielle's a very chipper yet intelligent protagonist, Sherl's a lovable grump, and Ernest, Emiliana, and everyone else were just super fun to be around.
Unfortunately, I feel like the game didn't properly take advantage of it's episodic format. The cases feel too self contained to be connected to one another. There's still a sense of continuity with most cases involving one of the titular millionaires, but even so, none of the cases ever involved or hinted at a "conspiracy" until the end. This would be fine for something like a TV show, but in a story driven video game, it can feel like none of the chapters really matter.
Without spoiling too much, the second to last case's title made me think something crazy was going to happen that could lead to major stakes in the final case. Instead, everything that happens in the second to last case is solved at the very end of it, having no effect on the final case whatsoever. It's SO inconsequential, that I feel like cutting this case out of the game would have effected NOTHING, even more so than any of the other cases in the game which at least have the excuse of introducing the millionaires one by one and giving other characters interesting backgrounds (there's this other one involving the Inspector's wife that's complete filler, but at the very least I give it credit making itself obvious filler and not teasing me in to thinking it was important).
I didn't hate this game, there were things that I really liked as a Layton fan and none of the characters stood out as particularly unlikable. Most of the cases, if treated as individual stories like TV show episodes to a cartoon, can be seen as fun and charming on their own. Also, I did really like the final case since there was a twist that I genuinely didn't see coming. But the reason I didn't see that twist coming was because they never built up to the ending with the cases and instead chose to make feel inconsequential. The least they could've done were slight hints, but they didn't even give that much.
I can't in good faith recommend this to a newcomer, which was the developer's intention for this game, since it would make for a terrible first impression of the Layton series. It's hard to even recommend it on it's own merits since I could see many people being bored with the lack of an overarching plot in an episodic game of all things. I can only really recommend this to Layton fans who are willing to lower their expectations.… Expand
Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' ConspiracyYour Score0 out of 10User Score
