With Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is coming soon, I feel like it’s a good time to enjoy the first one: Professor Layton and the Last Specter.
Release: 2009
Original console: Nintendo DS
Developer(s): Level-5
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Genre(s): Puzzle
Series: Professor Layton
Recommended handhelds to play: Nintendo DSi XL, Nintendo 2DS
Best for
- People who love puzzle games overall
When you want to sit back and immerse yourself in solving puzzles, the whole Professor Layton series is a great option.
Each puzzle is ordered from easy to difficult, and sometimes it doesn’t take you much time to find out the solution. Other time, however, you could be angry for not finding the answer for days.
- Layton fans
If you find yourself to be a Layton fan, thanks to my suggestion on Curious Village, Diabolical Box or Unwound Future, you will continue the series with the new trilogy, starting with the Last Specter. I highly recommend playing this game after the previous trilogy, and before starting the 3DS era.
Emmy will be the new member of the Layton squad, together with Luke that we’re acquainted with from the previous 3 games.
Unlike the previous trilogy, the Last Specter opens a complicated story that you must start it first before trying Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy.
Worst for
- People who want to emulate this game on a retro emulator
Professor Layton and the Last Specter is perhaps one of the many games that is strictly required to play with a Nintendo DS or Nintendo 3DS. Without dual-screen and stylus, the game is sometimes really difficult to enjoy. So, at least buy an original hardware for this game.
Recommended handhelds to play
I only recommend either Nintendo DSi XL or Nintendo 2DS to enjoy a DS game. Nintendo DSi XL is always the best way to enjoy a DS game, with pixel-perfect IPS dual screens. While the Nintendo 2DS doesn’t have such big and crispy display, it has C-Pad (a concaved analog stick) for moving your character, and I think the 2DS is the most comfortable handheld to hold at the moment.
There are too many retro handheld emulators that can play DS system well, but they pack dual 3.5-inch screen in a maximum of 6-inch screen, and I don’t really enjoy trying that. After all, I always recommend using the native handheld for its own system, unless you want convenient features like save states or fast forwarding.
