Iwata Asks: Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney details
Nintendo published an Iwata Asks for Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney a few days back. Right now the discussion can only be read in Japanese, as the game has not been released (yet alone announced) for North America/Europe.
A bunch of details from the Iwata Asks have been translated, at least. There’s a roundup below covering how the project got started, tidbits about meshing the two series together, and more.
– Crossover between the two series had been thought about for awhile
– One of Hino’s dreams was to collaborate with Ace Attorney and creator Shu Takumi
– While Nintendo’s Brain Age games served as Layton’s inspiration, Ace Attorney has always held its place in Hino’s mind as the Layton series’ rival
– Hino admired the series’ charm and the flow of the Ace Attorney games
– Both of these influenced Layton’s design
– Hino feels that the two series are actually rather similar
– Hino: “From the outside, Professor Layton and Ace Attorney appear to be made with completely opposite game designs in mind. Professor Layton was created to go in a direction games don’t usually go, and Ace Attorney was created to appeal to the fans. However, even though the superficial interfaces are incredibly different, the core wrapped inside the package is essentially the same game.”
– Hino knew a crossover wouldn’t be possible until Layton was an established franchise
– Idea was presented to Capcom in 2010
– Takumi first heard about the project when he was working on Ghost Trick
– Takumi wasn’t involved with Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney’s initial development because of his commitments to Ghost Trick
– In May, he was called out to a yakiniku restaurant by the producer of the project in what Iwata termed the “Capcom tradition”—the practice where a superior takes hapless subordinates out for food when they want to reorganize existing projects
– Takumi was reluctant at first to work on the project
– In his mind, Ace Attorney has always been its own little world
– When the phrase “witch trials” came up during a brainstorming session held in Level 5’s Tokyo office over the first half year, he started thinking: “What would it be like for Phoenix to hold trials in a world where magic exists?”
– Most important factor in changing Takumi’s mind was that if he was going to do a crossover, he wanted to do something that would’ve been impossible in just the Ace Attorney world
– The idea took such a hold that before he knew it, that Takumi found himself working on the script when he’d merely gone over to bounce some ideas off of the staff
– Running with the idea of magic and witch trials, Level 5’s team put out the idea of having an “ultimate criminal, one where anything he writes would become true”
– Iwata noted that usually, one company takes the leadership role in collaborations; having two companies work together to write and compose the music together was unusual
– Programming was generally done by Level-5
– Art direction was generally Capcom’s job
– Music equally divided between Layton and Ace Attorney tracks
– Art required more attention, especially on Professor Layton’s end
– The team tried to adapt the Professor Layton style of art to Ace Attorney’s
– Transforming Ace Attorney from 2D to 3D and transformation of the characters into anime cutscenes both took some time
– Other characters in the game are a mix of both styles
– Mahone is drawn completely in the Ace Attorney style
– If you look carefully, you can tell which side the characters fall, but the blending of the two styles is still very natural
– Hino was most proud of his city’s design and graphics
– Setting was medieval, so he found it especially interesting to note the differences between Labyrinth City and Layton’s fantasy London
– Hino wanted a world that was balanced between realism and fantasy
– Takumi enjoyed the 3D effect in the cities, which gave them a sense of awe
– Takumi says the game is packed with 30 hours of content, easily
– Takumi also said that Professor Layton fans will enjoy seeing a new, more playful side to the Professor
– Ace Attorney fans will enjoy both the nostalgia of seeing Phoenix and Maya interact again, as well as the newness of the situation.
– Takumi: “The logic and scientific investigation that’s held up in the series up until now won’t apply to this world where magic exists, so you’ll have to put together a new logic.”
– Hino feels that the game encompasses the best of both series
– The crossover shouldn’t be viewed as just a side-story (with its implied throwaway, subpar quality), but as a fusion that embodies the feel of both games
– Hino suggests that players listen to the ending song once they finish the game, which is a hybrid of the two main themes played by a symphony
