Topic: Future of Professor Layton Franchise Speculations

Hello, everyone! I have recently completed Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. It has been announced by Level 5 that the next game, Azran Legacies will be the final game with Layton as the head character. However, this does not mean that we won't see future games in the Layton universe.
This thread is for people to speculate what they think the future of the Layton series will be like!
I believe that after Azran Legacies, there will be games similar in design to the Professor Layton series, but with Hershel's father as the lead character. Here are a few reasons I have to believe this-
1) When exploring the Azran Ruins in Miracle Mask, you find an item for your collection called the Enigma Coin. The description states that it looks like a hint coin, but it isn't one. It looks exactly like a hint coin, but it is faded and silver, and it has a letter R on it instead of a letter L for Layton.
2) The name of Hershel's dad is Roland, which begins with a letter R. Admittedly, this doesn't necessarily mean anything, because Hershel's LAST name is found on hint coins, but I don't see at as too much of a long shot to think that this is what the R stands for.
3) It makes SENSE that they could find a faded hint coin of the past that Hershel's father failed to find. Perhaps he had explored the Azran Ruins prior to Hershel and Randall?
4) In Roland's profile in the Top Secret section, it says that he loves adventure and 'even solved a case or two back when he was his son's age...'.

So tell me what you think of my speculation, and contribute some speculations of your own! I'll post some images showing the proof behind the things I speculated shortly.

I haven't think about this this way but it sounds like it could be treu.

Either what you said or Luke takes over.

Yeah, I saw Luke taking over as the most plausible thing before playing Miracle Mask. He supposedly has a mystery to solve after Unwound Future. But based on these hints from Miracle Mask... I see Layton's father taking over as a bit more likely.

I haven't put much thought into this mostly because I'm sad to have no more "Professor Layton" games, even if the series itself may continue. Layton is one of my favorite game characters. I'll admit, it's possible we'll get Professor Roland games, but I still think Luke is more likely, the ending of Unwound Future made that seem so likely. Level 5 could also still change their minds and return to Layton again. Even if it's unlikely, I really hope for that!

Yeah, after seeing the ending to Miracle Mask, I'm really sad that there's only one more Layton game. Especially when Miracle Mask showed us how much Layton's character could be expanded upon.

emmy could have her own game

That is an idea I failed to consider. Where was Emmy during the original trilogy? Was she having adventures of her own?

Then again, who knows what the writers have planned for the end to the prequel trilogy. Oh no, I hope nothing happens to Emmy!!!

But while we're considering other Layton characters, what about Flora? Maybe she grows up and has her own mysteries to solve...

The thing about Emmy is... in the translated version of the Azran Legacies trailer, you can hear her from a dark room saying 'Goodbye, Professor... it's been fun.' This leads me to believe Emmy will sacrifice herself in the name of the Professor in the sixth game. Which makes sense, really. I mean, Level 5 has to make up with SOME excuse as to why Emmy isn't in the original trilogy.

The coin was actually found with the flying parrot outside the Dromedary hotel Layton, Emmy, and Luke were staying at. It wasn't found in the ruins. Sorry to burst your Roland bubble.

I feel like Layton could of gotten more out of the ending of miracle mask. Randall didn't really thank him, he was just astounded by what Layton found out.
But even though it's unlikely, I wanna see Randall do a bit more adventuring with Hershel. :3

@Zach777 Ah yes, you're right. Totally forgot about that. But still, it's the only collection item that was important enough to actually have a prompt come up in the game from Layton aside from the first one.
@Happy_Mask Eh, I felt it was a satisfying conclusion. But I agree. The robot cutscene towards the end was adorable, though.

I thought it was an awesome ending, but I just thought Hershel could have gotten more out of it. And I agree, the robot cutscene was awesome.

Aboute Emmy, Mayby she is a spy for targent and thats why she takes so many pictures?
Anntyway, the moste logical thing to do after the Layton series end, will be to make Luke the main character.and let us see him became a true gentelman.
And I am pretty keen aboute making an anime aboute Layton and Flora ^^

@Tobias I like that theory. It would sort of explain how Emmy just suddenly appeared to Layton in Last Spectre.
Also, did anybody else find the animation when Emmy is taking pictures in Miracle Mask to be ridiculously absurd?

Thank you, and by the way, it is not impossibel she sends the pictures when she is alone, and to not forget, The leader of Targent knew aboute secret places as Ambrosia and even "The Healing water of Misthalley", and yes I find her picture taking absurd. Not just in Miracle mask but almoste everytime.

Oh, It was the animation itself I found to be ridiculous with her spazzing about, taking several pictures within seconds.
And again, I think that your theory is rather good and certainly a possibilty.
Was Ambrosia ever referenced anywhere else in the Layton universe? I don't think it was in Eternal Diva...

In the eternal diva, Ambrosia is the island our heroes get to later in the movie. Dr Schröder did reaserch on the ambrosian kingdom in the movie. And it looks like Jean Descole had his base there untill Layton came there. (I never got it, Was it Mr Wistler and Malina or Descole who livd there?)

And one other theory I got is that maybe Misthalleys healing water was Ambrosias elixir of life? It did save that girls life.

Oh, all right. It's been a while since I've seen Eternal Diva, that makes more sense now. I'm not sure who lived there... maybe Mr Wistler and Malina originally lived there, but Descole did something sneaky and took over, as he's good at doing. I hope we find out the origins of Descole in the sixth game, I find him to be an intriguing villain. I don't think he's all that bad... especially the way he dislikes the Targent leader's idea of world domination in the ending cutscene of Miracle Mask. He's not the nicest guy, but all things considered, he just seems to be sort of an anti-Layton. Sort of what Dark Pit was to Pit in Kid Icarus: Uprising. I don't think that the idea of them teaming up against Targent in Azran Legacies is very far-fetched...

That theory also seems sound. Maybe all three Azran legends are interconnected?

I wont call Descole an Anti Layton, I prefer to think He is the last memeber of the Azran civilization. Maybe the Ambrosian king?
Think at it as this:
Ambrosia may be the heart of the Azran civilization, and once theire beutifull queen died, they did everything to save her, the queen may be the woman in ice in one of the trailers for the next game. Lets say the Ice she is inside is made by the healing water. To make the frozen to cover her body, they had to get her from the warm clima of Ambrosia to a coder place. they made all that underground ways to get there. They also made traps and death ends to prevent anyone to find the queen.
Somhow Descole did survive, maybe he was frozen too? noone knows what realy happend exept the writeres of the series