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KBlade's Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Review
Overview and Impressions:
After absolutely adoring the first game, I played the second game the moment it got released. After a few minutes of gameplay, my thoughts were "This game is fantastic!".
The story takes place after the events of the first game. Layton and Luke receive a letter from the Layton's teacher, Dr. Andrew Schrader. It says that there have been rumors of a box which will kill anyone who opens it. They arrive at the scene to find Doctor Schrader seemingly dead. The only clue left over is a train ticket to the Monetary Express. This train is supposedly well known and they ride on it. Then, this is the start of their huge adventure.
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Gameplay:
The puzzles are very interesting and difficult. This game has some very difficult puzzles. Thankfully, they still have the hint system from the last game where you unlock hints from using Hint Coins from different objects you find from adventures. Also, it has a new memo function which means you can throw away the pen and paper.
There are some puzzles which are mind numbingly difficult. At times, there are some repetitive puzzles but overall, you'll get hooked on solving these puzzles for hours.
The exploration is the same, you use a shoe and tap the people to talk to them. As boring as it sounds, it actually works on this game.
A new addition are mini-games. They are actually quite fun and they unlock new puzzles.
8.5/10
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Graphics:
There are very lush and colorful graphics. The sprites are excellently done, the backgrounds are fantastic, the cutscenes look amazing, and the graphics are just really good overall. The puzzle art is great, and everything looks very well made. It has amazing visuals.
The only possible flaw I have is the problem with the hamster mini-game, where the 3d sprite is blocky. But it's not very noticeable.
9.5/10
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Sound:
An amazing soundtrack which fits the exact mood of the game. There is an option to play back all the music in the game. The SFX is very good also, and it is used very well. The game has music to fill almost every situation.
There is a lot more voice acting here, which is fantastic. The entire music of the game is well made, and the voice acting fits all the characters.
The only flaw is the repetitiveness of the "I got it" and the like. But that's just nit picky.
9.3/10
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Replay Value
The mini-games add an extra touch to it. There are a lot of unlockables, such as the ability to replay the cutscenes, music, voice acting and the like. There are also puzzles unlocked by completing certain conditions (be warned though, these are hard!).
The problem is the repetitiveness of the puzzles. There are puzzles that are replayed over and over again but harder. Some are recycled from other puzzles with a different theme. Also, there's not point in replaying a puzzle you already know the answer to.
7.5/10
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8.7/10
An excellent puzzler for the DS and well worth your time. It may be lacking in replay value but it's an amazing game everyone should try.
