Takumi: Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney Has a "Double Layered Story"

Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney arrives in Japan at the end of November, which will lift the lid on one of the year's most intriguing cross-over titles. Combining the two different worlds — and their distinctive styles — within a medieval setting may sound slightly crazy, and that's probably because it is.

That doesn't stop people getting excited, of course, including the creator of the Ace Attorney series, Shu Takumi. In an interview with OtonaFami, as reported by Official Nintendo Magazine, Takumi explained how the setting and cross-over allowed him to explore new ideas that were previously unsuitable.

I wanted to [do] something I wouldn't be able to do in the proper Ace Attorney series. And I thought, isn't there something that would also fit to the fantasy-esque worlds of Professor Layton? 'Then it has to be the witch trials,' I thought. And regarding the mob trials, when I imagined a trial in a medieval world, a lawless image came to be, with people yelling "I saw it," "No, that's wrong!" It seemed interesting for the game, so I used that.

I felt that Professor Layton's adventure movie-esque elements shouldn't be absent. I think that the mystery element is really concentrated in the concept of the medieval witch trials. Things natural to the modern world, like fingerprint analyses or other scientific methods don't exist there. Instead, you're hurled into a world where the rules of science of the real world don't apply, where a witch exists who uses magic to commit crime.

In this incomprehensible situation, what are you going to use to build your logic and how are you going to defend your client? To find a way to turn things around in total darkness, that's the theme this time. On the other hand, Professor Layton is also solving puzzles, and with him chasing the secret behind the mysterious town, we have a double layered story.

Fans of both series are no doubt crossing their fingers that the concept will work, while those of us outside of Japan are simply hoping to get news of localisation in the West. While we wait and Japan gets ready for the case to begin, we may as well take another look at the Tokyo Game Show trailer from last month, below.