Professor Layton investigating Europe this September

Level-5's Professor Layton and the Curious Village delighted critics and players alike when it appeared back in late 2008. The game combined mind-bending puzzles with an intriguing murder mystery storyline and sumptuous graphics into a highly successful Nintendo DS title. As previously reported,...

Level-5's Professor Layton and the Curious Village delighted critics and players alike when it appeared back in late 2008. The game combined mind-bending puzzles with an intriguing murder mystery storyline and sumptuous graphics into a highly successful Nintendo DS title. As previously reported, Curious Village came in at number seven on ELSPA's top ten for all game formats list in the first half of 2009.

It should, therefore, come as no surprise that Nintendo announced a sequel was in the works and has finally confirmed a European release date of September 25 for Professor Layton and Pandora's Box. The puzzlefest has been dubbed Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box in North America and is due out one month earlier than Europe on August 23.

According to the Mario Factory, Pandora's Box reunites renowned puzzle-solver Professor Layton with his trusty sidekick, Luke, as they "set out on a voyage of discovery to uncover the mysteries surrounding the suspicious death of Professor Layton's mentor, Dr Schrader." It appears the duo has discovered a ticket for the Molentary Express train next to Schrader's body and thus "begins their adventure travelling from the big city on the luxury train into the unknown."

"You mean we have to wait two whole months for another adventure?"

In addition to 150 new brainteasers, riddles, and logic puzzles--30 more than the original--Pandora's Box includes three new minigames: Camera, Hamster, and Tea Set puzzles. Camera lets players collect parts to form a camera to take photos of crime scenes, and Hamster requires logic to help your portly pet hamster lose some weight. Meanwhile, Tea Set requires mixing three ingredients to create palatable concoctions.

Returning from Curious Village are downloadable bonus puzzles to keep players occupied once they finish the main quest. According to Nintendo, "a new puzzle will also be available each week for a limited period of time after the game launches." Meanwhile a code from Curious Village will allow existing fans to unlock an exclusive puzzle.

11 Comments

  • teresaford

    Posted Oct 12, 2009 8:11 pm GMT

    How many Professor Layton games are currently available in the US. What are the names. I have the curious village and the box. Are there any others

  • 8smokes

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 7:56 pm GMT

    The curious village was great and this is going to be even better. I wonder when the N. American release is.

  • Bigcol1611

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 3:38 pm GMT

    @little-socrates

    Yeah same here, might try and get both games together on a special offer or something like that!

    I thought they changed the name in america to diabolical box because they wouldnt know what 'pandora's box' is??

  • Darrogamer06

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 2:50 pm GMT

    Better one month later than 9 months with the previous one. Looking forward to it since the Curious Village is one of the best DS games even if it is difficult at spots.

  • wwesvr09fan

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 1:44 pm GMT

    LOL

  • wwesvr09fan

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 1:43 pm GMT

    lol

  • Little_Socrates

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 1:03 pm GMT

    I need to go get my hands on Layton 1...

  • danielwd

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 10:41 am GMT

    i liked the diabolicle box. It just seemed good.

  • Nikki-No-Credit

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 10:37 am GMT

    :O want this game NOW!! i loved the curious village ive completed it twice and loved it both times, it was surprisingly replayable and i cant wait to get that code to get the puzzle in curious village, this has sooo made my day now i have a release date to look forward to, its going on the calender

  • aNorthernMonkey

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 10:04 am GMT

    'The Diabolical Box' was really just the literal translation of the Japanese title I think, that's been out since last year.

    'Pandoras Box' is pretty much the same thing but with a little meaning since 'Pandora's box' is almost synonymous with all the evils in the world. Maybe the Japanese aren't familiar with the myth of Pandoras Box, or maybe it's just another example of how Japanese titles seem very literal.

    I think Pandora's Box is a catchier title to sell, (it also sounds less scary for kids).

  • abvance

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 9:17 am GMT

    Why the name change of 'pandora' from 'diabolical'?

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