Topic: Looking to get into the Professor Layton series

I'm completely new to the series but not new to puzzle adventure games. However I'm not sure where to start and if each story plays off each other. I'd rather just get my feet wet and I currently own a 3DS so which would you recommend picking up? If each game is self contained then I'd prefer getting a 3DS title.

Any fans of the series want to help a newbie out?

I've played the games in a fairly random order, so it's possible to play like that. However, I strongly recommend you play them in order.

The games will occasionally reference events and characters in previous games, so playing in order will help. Some of the references can be important details to the overall plot.

There's an original triology consisting of Curious Village, Pandora's Box and then Lost Future. That was followed by a prequel triology consisting of Lost Spectre, Miracle Mask and then Azran Legacy.

You can play either the original triology or the prequel triology first, since they contain no important references to the other triology. So I'd recommend playing either Curious Village or Lost Spectre first.

Wow thanks a ton for the info! That's exactly what I was looking for.

I totally dig the art style of the series. Reminds me of Tin Tin

I'm a recent new fan of the series myself. I started with the original trilogy (still need to play Unwound Future, tbh) and am planning on just playing them in release order. There's nothing wrong with playing the prequel trilogy first, though.

Start with the original game (Curious Village). Mainly because Unwound Future (the final game of the first trilogy) is arguably the best Layton game, and story-wise, it will have so much more of an impact after playing the previous 2 (especially the ending).

But you can pretty much start anywhere, as each of the stories is (mostly) self-contained. You just get more out of the stories and the various characters' development if you play them in order.

I really like all of them and started with the first and went in order after that. 2 & 4 are regarded as the weaker entires (which I'd agree with) but it's hard to argue against the 3DS versions being of a higher standard animation/presentation/content wise, comparing Curious Village and Azran Legacies in these areas highlights how far they came. The original has barley any voice acting at all in comparison to the 3DS versions which went all-out in this regard just to give an example.

Though my favourite is the 3rd. It requires a bit of suspension of disbelief but the high points are fantastic. The ending is unmatched in my opinion in all videogames I've played. Perfect.

I just think it's amazing that it is pretty much universally accepted which one is the best. And with six games to choose from, too (seven if you count the Phoenix Wright crossover). This might be the only game series like that (at least on Nintendo, maybe Halo or Mass Effect or something has one, I don't know).

Totally agree with what others have said, with the added emphasis that I would make sure to play in order within the trilogies. I do think something would be lost if some of the various character reveals were spoiled. I play one of these every six months or so and just finished The Last Specter. The Unwound Future is one of my favorite games ever.

Professor Layton for Smash (Switch)!!