I got this game on release day. It was available on the eshop for download, so I did just that (it took a few hours and I had to delete a bunch of stuff off my SD card to make room, but I did it). Anyway, I figure at least some people are interested in this, I might as well say something about.
I played a fair amount of it, though I haven't gotten to the point where the respective main characters meet yet; it jumps between their two stories as if it's two separate games. The stories are, of course, intertwined, but they have yet to cross.
The story is, at this point at least, unabashedly supernatural. Witches, a mysterious world inside a book, people getting sucked into said book, etc... It a kind of story that we've all probably seen before. Both games have had plenty of supernatural elements, but they decided to turn the fantasy dial up to 11 on this one. It works in the game's favor, though. Wacky Crossover = Wacky story. It would have felt weird if they tried something like this with a story that was even a little serious.
Gameplay-wise, it's both games rolled into one. At the moment, the 4 characters aren't together, so the gameplay elements are separate. The Layton parts of the game play like Layton games: Travel around, click stuff, and solve puzzles. The world isn't littered with puzzles like other games, however. 5 hours into the game and I only had 8 puzzles. Also, none of the puzzles were anywhere near the difficulty of the ones that I grew used to. They were all jigsaw puzzles and little trial-and-error games where you'll get the answer just by fiddling with buttons enough; nothing so far had me use any logic or thinking, though a couple were pretty interesting.
The sound effects are true to each game. When you play the Ace Attorney parts, you have all the same bleeps, text noises, and whip cracks that the old games have, and the same is true for Layton. The courtroom parts are just like they have always been, so anyone liking Phoenix Wright will enjoy it. All the witness and lawyers are as quirky and wild as ever. The only difference is the ability to use hint coins found in the Layton areas to help you with the case.
Other than that, elements from each games' play style haven't crossed over into each other, though that may change. At the moment it feels more to me like a Phoenix Wright game with the investigation part being done by Layton and Luke, and while I like the puzzles and investigations, just like when playing a Phoenix Wright game, I find myself wanting to just get the investigation over with so I can get back to the courtroom.
Anyway, I'm finding the game fantastic, and I really hope the game gets an English release.
I played a fair amount of it, though I haven't gotten to the point where the respective main characters meet yet; it jumps between their two stories as if it's two separate games. The stories are, of course, intertwined, but they have yet to cross.
The story is, at this point at least, unabashedly supernatural. Witches, a mysterious world inside a book, people getting sucked into said book, etc... It a kind of story that we've all probably seen before. Both games have had plenty of supernatural elements, but they decided to turn the fantasy dial up to 11 on this one. It works in the game's favor, though. Wacky Crossover = Wacky story. It would have felt weird if they tried something like this with a story that was even a little serious.
Gameplay-wise, it's both games rolled into one. At the moment, the 4 characters aren't together, so the gameplay elements are separate. The Layton parts of the game play like Layton games: Travel around, click stuff, and solve puzzles. The world isn't littered with puzzles like other games, however. 5 hours into the game and I only had 8 puzzles. Also, none of the puzzles were anywhere near the difficulty of the ones that I grew used to. They were all jigsaw puzzles and little trial-and-error games where you'll get the answer just by fiddling with buttons enough; nothing so far had me use any logic or thinking, though a couple were pretty interesting.
The sound effects are true to each game. When you play the Ace Attorney parts, you have all the same bleeps, text noises, and whip cracks that the old games have, and the same is true for Layton. The courtroom parts are just like they have always been, so anyone liking Phoenix Wright will enjoy it. All the witness and lawyers are as quirky and wild as ever. The only difference is the ability to use hint coins found in the Layton areas to help you with the case.
Other than that, elements from each games' play style haven't crossed over into each other, though that may change. At the moment it feels more to me like a Phoenix Wright game with the investigation part being done by Layton and Luke, and while I like the puzzles and investigations, just like when playing a Phoenix Wright game, I find myself wanting to just get the investigation over with so I can get back to the courtroom.
Anyway, I'm finding the game fantastic, and I really hope the game gets an English release.
