By now, there’s a fair few games in this series, but it’s the second one–Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box–that truly stayed with me. Even now, its soundtrack still plays in my head when I do research for my essays, piecing together the information like one of Layton’s puzzles.
Its mysteries lingered in my mind...
I got the game for Christmas circa 2010, and I remember playing it religiously on my Nintendo DS, determined to make it through every puzzle thrown my way. I was gutted when the Christmas holidays ended and hadn’t managed to solve them all. Its mysteries lingered in my mind when I sat in class, staring out the window.
A box that is said to kill anyone who opens it...
The game follows Professor Layton and his little apprentice, Luke, on a voyage with the ‘Molentary Express’ in pursuit of a deadly legend–a box that is said to kill anyone who opens it. However, that is only the beginning. As the story unfolds, new mysteries come to the surface as you encounter peculiar people and rumours. In total, the game presented about ten overarching mysteries.
Meticulous storytelling but also the atmospheric soundtrack...
What made this game so special to me was not just its meticulous storytelling but also the atmospheric soundtrack that made every moment feel cinematic. Truly, I felt like Layton’s apprentice myself, completely immersed in this world full of secrets. Looking back now, I realise that so many details flew over my head as a child, like the name of the eerie town of ‘Folsense’, a subtle clue hinting at its very nature: a false sense of reality.
Every detail mattered...
The first game in the Layton series, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, already won me over, even making me emotional when I replayed it just recently. But it was Pandora’s Box that solidified my love for this series. It wasn’t merely about solving the puzzles, but about uncovering a world that presented me with so many riddles, where every detail mattered and every conversation held a hidden clue. Whether I caught those or not was up to me, but I distinctly remember my pride even after solving only the first few puzzles.
I was shocked to find out that none of my friends at university have even heard of the Layton series. I like to think that maybe this game is part of the reason I’m still drawn to uncover mysteries, even or especially in the mundane moments of everyday life–always looking for patterns, uncovering hidden stories, and piecing together the meanings.
To me, this game is art–its logic is perfectly intertwined with an eerie atmosphere and emotional narratives that would hook anyone with a knack for storytelling. The fact that nearly 15 years later, I still think of the Professor and Luke when trying to solve the puzzles of my very own essay, is testament to its brilliance.