Level-5 Announces Layton’s Mystery Journey 'Plus' Version For Switch

Seems a little frivolous to release yet another slightly updated version of it.

Though who knows. Perhaps they’re raring up to do a sequel. Not that it’d likely get released in the West or be much better than the first, but still.

too bad it won't come to the west unless Nintendo decides to translate it.

Can Nintendo or Bandai Namco please localise Yokai Watch 4

Great now bring me Yokai watch remaster and 4!!!!!

Japan-only, I'm sure. Western audiences won't care about substituting in the voice actors from the anime, and Level-5 shuttered their branch in NA.

Not exactly what I had in mind when I asked for a new Layton game.

Sorry to be a downer, but here’s my opinion. I am a massive fan of the Professor Layton franchise, and I can say, without equivocation, that LMJ: Katrielle/Millionaires’ Conspiracy is the worst of the series, by a notable margin. I didn’t dislike the game, and I certainly don’t regret purchasing it some years ago, but (again, opinion) if there is a Layton game to revisit and spruce up, this sure as heck isn’t it.

Edit: Of course, there’s the anime! And it’s cool. I just don’t think the Katrielle game stacks up to previous Layton games.

Honestly most recent Level-5 announcements are just making me sad.

Edit: @MagicEmperor I think most people here agree with your opinion

fantasy life/fl2 would be a no brainer on switch, shame Level 5 gave up on the west I love their games

@neufel I fear that might be a bad thing! I’m not too trustworthy, haha! 😏

@MagicEmperor I kinda expected it would be worst. I mean no offense as I too love the series till it started going downhill from Miracle mask onwards.

Even if this is getting released, I doubt if it'll get localized.

I was JUST playing this.

I mean, I'd double dip on a physical release with new content, but the presence of DLC is what put me off from buying the 3DS version in the first place (and I'm glad I waited for the Deluxe release on Switch).

It seems ridiculous to issue a new release just for substituted voice actors, but... business is business.

@MagicEmperor Oh yeah, Layton's Mystery Journey was, far and away, the worst entry in the series. I've been a fan since Curious Village first released in NA, and the downgrade in puzzle quality was extremely noticeable (RIP Tago Akira), and the approach to narrative just sucked. It felt like a worse re-tread of Curious Village's approach, and the move to short, simplistic stories was pretty devastating considering how complex, multifaceted, and emotional the storytelling has become in the second trilogy (and even in the first with Unwound Future).

It's hard to think of a bigger fall in quality via a single entry than the transition from Azran Legacy to Mystery Journey.

Wow level 5 is pissed. Can't blame the US for them making games we don't want to play. Layton was great like 2 or 3 times but enough is enough. Some games we would like but they aren't willing to just ask? Just shutting out completely huh?

This was a decent game to play through, to be fair

Errr what about new games, Level 5? And, you know, bring them to the West. We've been ages waiting for Yokai Watch 4...

In 2 more years we'll have "Layton's mystery journey DX+ ultimate HD". yay

@Socar No offense taken, friend! It’s your opinion and I’ll rock on defending it! Personally, I always liked Miracle Mask more than Azran Legacy.

@Ralizah Apologies if I’m being weird, but I’m happy to cross paths with you, so to speak! You’ve amused me over the years, so thanks! 😄

Yeah, I agree with every point you’ve made about the game. When Mr. Akira died (RIP, aye), I already feared the quality of the series’ puzzles would take a hit. Every aspect took a hit, heh. A true disappointment. In fact, here’s an excerpt of my review, which is barely longer than this short-as-hell excerpt:

LMJ didn’t really start to come alive—but it still didn’t land—until the final case. And even that was ‘the poor man’s Layton’.

And I still feel that way. Oh, well! Every puzzle has an answer, even if some puzzles have unsatisfying answers!

We are still waiting for promised Yo-kai Watch 1 port to Switch (was supposed to release autumn last year) and the localization of Yo-kai Watch 4.

@Jeronan think that's bad? The Inazuma Eleven fanbase will (at this point) be waiting 10 YEARS in between installments of the game (with the last release - GO Galaxy - releasing in 2013, and Great Road of Heroes - the "no-longer-a" tie-in to the Ares anime released in 2018 - being delayed until 2023).

I'm seeing lots of mixed reactions on this game all over the place. What happened to Professor Layton...?

The most boring Layton, finally coming to Switch. I can barely contain my excitement.

Yay! Another version of the worst Layton game...
Maybe they will fix the horrible and convoluted ending? Add fun and challenging puzzles?
Yeah, very hard pass for me. In fact, I regret playing the original. The only thing I liked in this game was her Italian rival.
It's a shame because the rest of the series is so good (my favourite being Unwound Future).

My wife would like them to release the originals on Switch too. She didn’t care for this one as much.

@DarkTron I can understand why they don't do Yo-kai Watch 4 since it hasn't been localized yet.

But when it comes to Yo-kai Watch 1, it just doesn't make sense its only available on the Japanese Switch e-shop. That one was already fully localized on the 3DS, so it's just infuriating they won't release it on the Western e-shop for the Switch.

I used to be so excited whenever I saw the name Level-5. Dark Cloud, Dragon Quest, Rogue Galaxy. Then Wonderflick happened, and unhappened, and that was pretty much that. Ni No Kuni was good though, but it still hasn't been the same. 😢

I've been looking forward to Katrielle's adventures since the first announcement in Japan, but all these fan barks in the comments are certainly selling it to me even more. I remember when FFXIII was called "absolute worst Final Fantasy", and when I got my hands on that game... you may already know how it went.

@MagicEmperor I believe my wife is in complete agreement with you. She found the story to be less interesting and that the puzzles were not as fun. She would also prefer to play as Layton himself. She never even got around to finishing it... Good thing I bought it on a steep sale for her! haha

@nhSnork Well, think about it this way, the gameplay feels Layton but with much weaker puzzles and the story feels more like a saturday morning cartoon than the amazing stories previous games had. Its not a "bad" game in itself, it would have been more enjoyable if I did not know how great Hershel's stories were. Can't speak for the anime as I have not seen it.

@Tobiaku funny, it's the previous games that have favourably felt like Saturday morning cartoons to me - perhaps thanks to the kind of Saturday morning cartoons I watched as a kid and to the fact that later classics like MLPFiM, LPS2012 or [to some extent] Hanazuki were all Saturday morning cartoons, too. Goes to reiterate the whole "one man's cure" thing.😄

I don't get why more people don't care about the yo-kai watch franchise and also if 4 get's localized does that mean we get a season 4 as well.

yep. sounds like level 5

@TsukiDeity Haha! Well, when the price is right! Gotta love steep sales.

Let's have a sequel to Phoenix Wright x Layton!
Cuz man, that was the last one in the series that I really enjoyed.
These newer ones just don't have the same spirit, as others have said😐

@quinnyboy58 Fantasy Life on Switch would be so awesome

@MagicEmperor Hopefully the amusement I've provided has been more in the vein of "laughing with" me than "laughing at" me, although I suppose even the clown has his dignity.

Yeah, I knew the puzzles would probably not land as well, but I wasn't expecting as extreme a regression as we ended up getting. We went from complex story arcs that stretched across entire trilogies of games to ridiculously simple mysteries that are resolved so suddenly that you don't even have an opportunity to try and engage with them. Nuanced characters to... well... the tiny, underwhelming cast of LMJ.

It sucks that Level-5 has scaled back their distribution efforts so much, almost ensuring future Layton games don't make their way westward, but maybe the franchise dying is for the best. We got six good-to-amazing games out of it, at least.

@Jeronan oh no, I'm not trying to undermine the complete stupidity of the Yokai Watch delays, I'm just comparing them to the travesty that is Inazuma Eleven Ares' handling (in fact, Yokai Watch seems to have been announced and released in between the period of Inazuma Eleven delays, so clearly priorities are being handled chaotically).

@Ralizah Huzzah! I’m late in replying! 😄 I assure you, I was laughing with you because you amused me. You once referred to a game that flopped as a “wet fart,” which made me laugh out loud in an inopportune environment, unless I’m mistaken. Anyway! Yep. Everything you’ve said about LMJ is the truth, in my eyes. If this is truly the end, well, we still have those solid adventures to revisit, yeah. Rock on!