"The trick is this: Keep your eyes on the ball, even when you can't see the ball." - Tom Robbins
18 years ago in a small town named Stansbury that lies beyond a desert, a duo of young men's journey as archaeologists began along with the story of this game.
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask tells two sides of a story: the story about a series of incidents taking place in the miraculous city of Monte d'Or in which the gentleman archaeologist professor Hershel Layton along with his two new assistants from the last game - the Last Specter - Luke Triton and Emmy Altava, have a goal: apprehend the Masked Gentleman which is terrorizing the city with his own 'miracles.' With clowns and a circus being a heavy part of the story in the 'present,' the atmosphere of the game from its setting to the soundtrack are at times similar to a PS2 classic named Dark Chronicles, the sequel of Dark Cloud. As well as the other side of the story; the backstory of Hershel Layton, which takes up multiple chapters of this game, is quite the breath of fresh air to the franchise as a whole. The story of the game jumps like this: Present - Past - Present - Past ->, as Luke and Emmy figure that they might learn more about an item named the Mask of Chaos if they learn more about Layton's past of which the MoC is heavily part of.
So they ask Hershel Layton to tell his tale to them.
Although all of the Layton games have at least a little bit of a connection or information towards Layton's past in the forms of flashbacks, or the conflicts have a little bit to do with his personal connections, especially the most recent games up until this point: The Unwound Future and the Last Specter. However, the Miracle Mask is the first game in Layton history where the story itself has a heavy focus on his past. You even get to play during the time when Layton was going to school in his little hometown where he lived with his friends and family that are also a part of this story.
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (2011) is the fifth game in the
popular handheld puzzle adventure game series, the second game in the
second/prequel trilogy, and the first Professor Layton game in the
series to be done in 3D. It was developed on Nintendo 3DS by Level-5. I will mostly focus on the events of the story after this part so I will already tell my thoughts here: The Miracle Mask is one of the better Layton games for sure. The final part of the story is a bit lackluster due to how cliched it is in a sense, but as a whole it's a very family-friendly game with a very nice pacing to it. Alot happens in the story and you get to focus on a different variety of puzzles in the way they're presented - play a battle of wits with couple of scammers and help the detectives to solve the tricks behind the numerous miracles performed by the Masked Gentleman, and there are a few upgraded puzzle styles from the change to 3DS as well. There's quite a few brain crackers in the game.The soundtrack, animated sequences and character writing are mostly consistently decent in the game - and there are no same faces as you can expect from the Layton game in which the faces twist and turn to all sorts of.. things. Aside from the main theme, "The Mask of Miracles," OST's like "Illusion," the track played when you figure out the truth behind the Gentleman's Miracle's as well as the theme of the Casino, "Scorpion," are really great.
The story:
The story begins as Luke and professor Layton arrive at Monte d'Or which is often called the city of miracles mainly due to its, well, miraculous outlook. It's a city which, 18 years ago, began as a single inn in the desert and at an extremely quick pace mysteriously grew into a massive city. The city was "built from nothing" by a man named Henry Ledore who happens to be one of Layton's old friends from his time in a small town named Stansbury.
Layton had yet again got a letter, as tends to happen in all of the games, this time from a person named Angela Ledore who writes that in this fantastic city, terrible things occur. The story kicks right into gameplay in the story's prologue which happens in the city. The 3D character models and a more sluggy gameplay - mostly due to the 3D models and due to the movement and the much worse investigation mode being split - make for a game that takes the fans of the 4 older games some getting used to for a bit, however, the animated cut scenes are still done in the same beautiful 2D as always.
There is a carnival in the city of miracles, and all of a sudden people start screaming. A massive balloon clown falls and afterwards Layton sees statues... ff people, or more accurately people turned to statues! A person walks over a roof with a mask over his face. He claims that the city of Monte d'Or will soon be destroyed, and then this 'Masked Gentleman' gains wings and begins to fly. Layton, Luke and Emmy start to ride horses as they follow after this flying person.
Chapter 1: The Mask of Chaos
A little bit in the past before the prequel, Angela Ledore whom Layton had known 18 years ago during his school days in Stansbury, had sent a letter to Layton's residence which now contains Hershel Layton and his two assistants from Luke Triton and Emmy Altava. She claims that she has been cursed by Mask of Chaos, an item which is known to archaeologists, a mask of omnipotence. The d'Orian police say that a case of Living Paintings has happened before, simply, the drawn things in paintings had become living beings which jumped out of the frames, hence why they even closed the gallery in the city.Two men block the way as Layton and co. head to the Ledore residence: Narcisse and Frankie. The puzzle they give is an active one similar to the puzzle of 'future Luke vs Layton' in the Unwound Future and the active puzzles in the Last Specter.
Before heading inside the residence it's actually pretty nice to see Layton a bit nervous as he has not seen her since his school years. Angela lives in a massive residence and the theme of the manor is quite majestic. Angela's husband is named Henry Ledore, the leader of the city, who is also Layton's old classmate.
The Mask of Chaos. Layton himself claims to have seen it disappear, supposedly for forever, along with a person. Layton claims that his best friend named Randall Ascot, during their school years, had discovered the mask. Despite the mask being found, Randall was not and he's believed to have died. The search for him however still lasts all these years later, and the Masked Man had somehow stolen the Mask of Chaos recently.
Luke and Emmy ask Layton to tell them more about his past and Randall, his best friend, as we learn that Randall was the very person who made Hershel get interested in archaeology in the first place. And so the first chapter closes up.
Randall, Angela, Henry and Layton used to live beyond a desert in a town called Stansbury.
The massive city of Monte d'Or exists in the desert.
Chapter 2 The Secret of Norwell
We focus on Layton's past, a flashback. Layton has a friendly sword fight with Randall Ascot in school - we are familiar with Layton's sword skills from the Diabolical Box - we see Hershel lose "again" to him and we hear Layton say "I have no interest in archaeology." Randall pushes Layton usually on his archeology events and now he tells about finding the Mask of Chaos which is supposed to be only a legend. Layton heads home, where his mother Lucille says that weird black suited men came earlier and Layton's father might be in trouble but Layton finds his father and he's OK.
At night Layton and Angela arrive at Randall's place where he shows the Mask of Chaos to them. Randall claims that the mask contains a puzzle - it's a key to finding an ancient civilization and an unimaginable amount of wealth along with it.
Chapter 3: Discord in Monte d'Or
Layton mentions that there's a parade every night around the Celebration Boulevard. Angela talks about how Dalston, a bully-type person from Layton's past who is a rival of Henry due to hotel business, might be the Masked Gentleman. However, Dalton himself makes up a pretty good theory about how Angela might be the Masked Gentleman, you see, Henry was in love with Angela, Angela was in love with Randall. Henry took everything from Randall as he supposedly died and Angela might have been trying to exact revenge for many years now. To turn the city which Henry founded into ruins... Layton and Dalton get a threatening letter from the masked gentleman. Layton and co. head over to the mayor's office to talk about what he has in plan to take down the Masked Gentleman. What's happening right now is that the mayor has created a special task force to take down the perp, including inspector Grosky from the last game, Last Specter, among a couple other new characters of "Scotland Yard's finest," as Luke puts it.
During the gathering of the police Detective Bloom has a case of people being turned into horses by the Masked Gentleman, the truth behind the mystery is easy to figure out in its basics but the facts that Layton lays out expand the trick to be very believable, and the same goes with the next one.
Detective Sheffield, a cube-headed man, has a case of art. The Masked Gentleman apparently, as was mentioned before, has made the characters inside paintings run out of them. The trick in of itself might not be as clear to everyone as this has a chemistry answer to the puzzle. Sheffield also later mentions that he has a perp in mind but needs more evidence.
Detective Grosky has a case of people being engulfed in flames. At the morning of the previous Sunday, 13 people had received an ominous letter calling these people to a plaza unless they wish to die. During the carnival at the plaza the 13 people were all on a small tent and then bursted into flames, along with the entire tent. No potential hiding place under the tent and what's crazier the 13 people appeared in their homes suddenly, all fine. Not remembering that anything beyond arriving on the stage. However there are some clues: They all were on the same popular squash club. No eyewitnesses saw any of the 13 got on the stage. The answers to this mysterious puzzle might not be that surprising but Layton does somewhat think outside the box to get the answer to what was going on with the victims which I doubt many would think of.
That night the Masked Gentleman were to perform their miracles once again. Who are his accomplices and who is he? Angela and Henry had gotten letters as well and have arrived. The Masked Gentleman appears and does a miracle air walking trick. Panic attack happens as people start to fly towards the air. The amusement park named Tingly Town is to be his next target. The Gentleman mentions another mask: The Mask of Order which would be capable of defeating the Mask of Chaos that the Gentleman possesses. As the bully-type Dalston whom Layton used to know gets arrested, Layton and co. head back to the hotel and Layton continues his backstory about Randall and the Mask of Chaos.
Chapter 4: Angela's Tears
18 years ago once more. Randall, Layton's best friend, wants to show his discovery that happened in Norwell to Layton and Angela.
Professor Rutledge is famous for writing about the legendary Mask of Chaos and it's twin mask. Beyond a simple puzzle lies a map towards the 'Masks'. According to the ciphers which Randall deciphered the masks belonged to a civilization that's been gone for a long, long time. There is another map leading to a place that has not been found but is known by archaeologists named Akbadain. Angela takes the Mask of Chaos from Randall and escapes because she doesn't want Randall to go to Akbadain due to the dangers. As Layton and Randall find her she mentions about her brother who had disappeared. Henry the current husband of Angela is also some form of servant of Randall's family, and he knows everything about his excavations.
Chapter 5: On the Gentleman's Trail
The day when the Masked Gentleman will create "miracles" in the area of Tingly Town in the city is now. Heading towards the quarters where the most likely innocent Dalton's being kept by the police to hear what they have to say. At the HQ they make it clear that Dalton is being kept captive due to his resources and him owning a horse, however he mentions that there's a horse track with many horses - the police had naturally questioned the place's manager but Layton decides to go investigate it himself. A chariot from the racing track was said to be out during the statues incident - a great vehicle in carrying statues around - and the chariot being "repaired" (taken apart and taken elsewhere) was signed by Henry, the owner of the entire city. Layton claims to have somehow figured out the Levitation Miracle's trick from visiting the racing track as well. Back at the Ledore mansion, Layton confronts Henry straightforwardly about his connections to the Levitation and Petrification miracles. Later on a citizen named Serena who tends to hang around everywhere where the M.Gentleman appears is saying that something is going on at the Scorpion Casino.
At the Scorpion Casino the two trickster weird men who Layton and co. had to puzzle-battle before, before arriving at the manor, are also in there. This time they have a puzzle about numbers in all columns adding up to the same number vertically and diagonally. However the way Layton goes at this is pretty great. As Layton and co. head to Tingly Town they witness Halloween-themed park around themselves. Layton and Luke quickly ride one of the machines while Emmy stays behind, and after inspector Grosky appears, telling them that he's found a clue, a poster, saying: "a new spin on miraculous." They assume it has to do with the spinning things - ferris wheel, etc, that are around the amusement part. After solving 4 puzzles around the spinning machines of the amusement park, they gather 4 Mask of Chaos cards which form a map that all lead to Tingly Tower which happens to be the park's control room. And now it's time for the next "miracle." The masked gentleman appears and leads them in the tower. Then he escapes again and Layton and co. run after him to find that no visitors are left on the crowded amusement park.
The M.Gentleman kidnaps Angela to lure them back to the control tower and then he claims that there will be a massive body count and his next miracle will be visible from anywhere on the city. The final act will happen tomorrow.
Chapter 6: The Ruins of Akbadain
Layton's flashback about his best friend Randall continues once more. Before embarking on their journey to Akbadain, Randall gives a donut-shaped rock with markings on it to Angela for safekeeping and Henry, Angela's current boyfriend and Randall's butler-type friend helps her not to keep worrying about Randall. Layton and Randall head to the desert, south of Stansbury where the Mask of Chaos, that Randall spent three months deciphering, leads to. And here's the real kicker: the long-gone civilization which the mask relates to is from one called Azran, and Azran Legacy happens to be the final Layton game of the second trilogy. Anyway, Azran is a legendary civilization and its existence was never proven; Randall believes that Azran created the Akbadain ruins.
The gameplay in the ruins of Akbadain is different from the other Layton gameplay titles. You travel with Randall in a 3D adventure game type of manner, dig the site, check for traps and tricks and mummies that exist in the vast ruins.
Chapter 7: The Reunion Inn
According to Drake the Scorpion Casino security man, when Henry was underage he had already started creating the city of Monte d'Or, so he needed a person who would co-sign the purchases Henry needed; that person was a woman who has apparently passed away a long time ago. Layton gets an idea about what happened in Tingly Tower when he hears his old acquaintance the bully-type Dalton utter the words "dark," so Layton, Luke and Emmy decide to head towards Tingly Tower once more. Everyone disappearing has to be just a trick, right!?
As they head inside, it's pitch black and Layton explains: The Masked Gentleman used the Tower's rotating floor mechanism to rotate the tower 180 degrees. There's an exact replica of the Tingly Town on the other side, but... why has it gone unnoticed? Henry is the person responsible for building it according to informants, so Layton needs answers and it's time to talk to the man.
At Henry's place he claims he has nothing to do with the fake Tingly Town. Layton comes up with an unusual answer to his questions: maybe Henry is hiding something else than the truth behind the masked man? And that's when Layton sees Randall's aged mother who has come to Monte d'Or to live with Henry after her husband died. Layton heads to Mayor Williams to check out his suspicions about Henry; are they on the wrong track of not? So he goes and asks Williams about all the information on what properties Henry owns in the city.
The biggest hotel of Monte d'Or, the Reunion Inn, is said to be a place where the Masked Gentleman struck according to detective Bloom, who told about it to inspector Grosky, so next up Layton and co. head to speak with Bloom. Detective Bloom claims that the police has figured out who took the chariot for one of the "miracles" however there's no leads towards the Masked Gentleman. Bloom asks Layton to go investigate the Reunion Inn as it's the most ideal place for a criminal to reside in. Also, Layton says that the Gentleman only wanted to make it seem so that Henry would seem suspicious, but he's still holding some secrets, just unrelated to the culprit.
The Reunion Inn is a massive castle so trying to find the Gentleman in there is going to prove to be quite the challenge. In the private room of Henry Ledore in the hotel, Emmy and Luke find a journal which contains the expedition for finding Randall. The boy was never found, Henry found the treasure that Layton found and used it to become rich and everything was forgotten. Henry's room contains dozens of investigation books on Randall so it seems he's to only one who did not give up. Layton was investigating another room and as he comes back, he shows a surprising find that he made: He found the Real Mask of Chaos. Who planted it in Henry's room and why?
In the lobby. Layton gets a book - an unfinished children's story about five friends in the woods and a treasure - and then the lights go out. Layton believes that the book is an "invitation" by the Gentleman - "find me with the clues in this book." One book subtly shows the way towards one room where another book is hidden in, one after another.
All of a sudden Detective Bloom is seen visiting a suspicious man who says that they've found "two of the three" - places which Layton found in Last Specter and Miracle Mask's flashback.. The man continues: "find the mask."
And at the very end the Masked Gentleman is unmasked. He sort of reminds me of Future Luke from The Unwound Future.
Chapter 8: The Final Miracle
The massive miracle promised by the Gentleman is the destruction of Monte d'Or. A massive flood of sand happens on the city and Layton and co. must stop it.
The deepest chambers of Akbadain; the place that is hidden beyond the treasure (that was just another trap to stop people from making their way to what Akbadain truly protects) exists right below Monte d'Or. Luke finds a manhole with Akbadain's markings and the group heads down to find the true final chamber of Akbadain with a pedestal that requires the Mask of Chaos and the Mask of Order to activate a puzzle; and Layton has them both with him despite only having one Mask.
And after solving the puzzle, the entire city starts to lift up.
Couple of consecutive final twists happen in this chapter.
Epilogue
The exposed Masked Gentleman is standing in the middle of the city. The true treasure of Azran was not the money but the archaeological treasure which Layton now found but it's not delved in-depth in this game, as the next one will most likely explain it all. And the mystery deepens. Someone was behind using the Masked Gentleman as a puppet for all this time and it's Descole dressed up as someone, claiming that he's already won. Layton solving the puzzle of Akbadain was what Descole had planned.
After Descole escapes, Layton explains the true miracle of the city of Monte d'Or and it all relates to Preserving everything instead of Taking everything, from Randall.
Descole is in the opened ruins of Akbadain (he calls them "infinite") and all of a sudden dozens of armed helicopters and a man claims that the area belongs to Targent - they take control of the area. As the Targent boss dude beats Descole up and begins to unmask him, Descole's assistant throws a smoke bomb and escapes with him.
The man, possibly named Targent, claims that "they" have access to all three of the places created by Azran civilization, and soon they will have the power of the Azran as well. To be continued . . .
So: Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is one of the more eventful entries in the game series with a decent amount of good puzzles and atmosphere in the storytelling, but it has a major problem.
A slight problem: the current investigation mode which feels like a downgrade from the first four games.
The major problem: the plot twists related to Layton's past are too easily guessable that it feels rather too cliche. As a player I wanted them Not to do what they did. The twists are basically the core of the entire story from the beginning so when they end up being bad, the entire game does leave a bad aftertaste.
However: The puzzles are on average better than in the earlier titles in my opinion and the story ends up being a really strong build up to the final Hershel Layton game (so far) so in case you want to play the Azran Legacy, playing the Miracle Mask is suggested - note that the Last Specter also has a few bits and pieces foreshadowing what will take place during the Azran Legacy. The most important thing about The Miracle Mask, however, is the chance to get to see Hershel Layton's past in Stansbury which was a very entertaining experience and a great addition to fleshing out our main character.
Let's see how this ends...!
First trilogy
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Second trilogy
Professor Layton and the Last Specter
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy
Other games
Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire's conspiracy
No comments:
Post a Comment