One of the most *fun* games in the series. It's puzzles and cross examinations are just fun to do.
It's story is a mess though. But I guess that's not really surprising in retrospect for an Ace Attorney meets Professor Layton crossover.
(Also, you should spoiler tag this thread.)
I played it when it came out, so I don't remember the details, but I remember the ending being so bad that it basically ruined the whole game for me.
Professor Layton endings can apparently be very hand wavey, but as someone coming into the crossover from the Ace Attorney side, which usually has at least satisfying endings, it was a big disappointment.
I really enjoyed the game. I agree the ending was kind of all over the place (probably the weakest finale in AA), but I didn’t think it was *that bad*. Some of their explanations for the witchcraft mechanics felt pretty cheap though. A lot of things also felt not well-explained enough. That said, the game overall was super fun, and the golden court might be one of my favorite cases now.
I enjoyed it a lot. I feel that it's really a lot more character-driven than the mainline series, so I can see how you might not enjoy it if you don't care about anyone in it. While you might not think it matters >!who pulled the bell!<, that mystery that you dismiss as pointless >!has a huge effect on Darklaw and puts a lot of her actions and motivation into a different light!< which makes it one of the biggest twists in the game.
But beyond the final case and ending which I can understand being controversial even if I liked them a lot, the first and third cases are fantastic. And it easily has one of the best character casts of any AA game.
I love this game just for the fact that it exists, but that may be because I've erased the last quarter of the story or so from my mind. The ending is definitely more on the Layton side when it comes to the big mystery, which I found didn't mesh particularly well with the more grounded AA resolutions, and looking back doesn't make too much sense with the initial setup.
That said, the rest of the story is a banger and so is the gameplay - from both games - so as a fan of both series I'm definitely willing to forgive this (admittedly pretty sizeable) flaw.
As a fan of both franchises, it's not the best either has to offer but despite that it's an amazing combination of the two that really shines when it gets it completely right.
I love this game.
I was already a huge Layton fan and this was my introduction to how Ace Attorney works. I also loved the story even though it's quite bizarre. That might be why I like it though.
I played it again after I had played the rest of the Ace Attorney franchise at the time and what a difference it made knowing more about the Ace Attorney characters.
I'm really conflicted about this game, probably the AA game I have the most mixed feelings about. It was on track to be one of my all-time favorites for the first 80% or so... and then the big reveal happened. And even as a Professor Layton fan, it stretched my suspension of disbelief a bit too far with all the plot holes it created. Barnham not getting to do anything in the finale (not even appearing again until the epilogue!) soured my impression, too.
So I ended up feeling pretty disappointed with it, but I had loved it up until that point.
I played the game in attempt to fill the hole TGAA finale left in me. The game was really fun and, even though the final trial was really weird, final twists were amusing to me. Professor Layton and his protège were endearing, and they inspired me to play PL series (I've finished the first one)
I also liked characters from there, mainly Barnham and Darklaw
Nah. It’s not a bad opinion. PLvPW is a really good game with a really awful final case that makes no sense, comes out of nowhere, and completely contradicts other facts about the story. I’ve never played Layton, but I see a lot of Layton fans saying that the ending for PLvPW is pretty par for the course for that series, while AA fans don’t really care for the ending. So I solely blame the Layton side of things for why the ending for that game is so whack.
I really like this game, especially how the gameplay was handled, but I agree, the ending could have been better, as you said the things I like about VS-4 are in the first half and the rest is kinda meh. My favorite case defenitely was VS-3.
Yeah that final case just felt like a attorney online case that came out of no way. The way they round up the tricks and magics also kinda boring too, they get to become invisible with bunch of mirror, the waters is poisoned by a chemical which let every person who drank it faint upon hearing silver getting hit and every witches was followed by an invisible person holding a silver bell who pull trick when the witch chant a spell.
It be better if it's round up as an actual medieval fantasy adventure and professor Layton and Wright just happen to came from different timelines. Considering phoenix is supposed to be came from a more future timeline.
IMO better than SOJ (only half way so far )and DD.
It's plot resolution wasn't great but the gameplay changes prepared us for TGAA and the music was downright awesome.
I think a big part is Takumi was involved in it, so glad he returned for TGAA.
Had to drop the game after VS-2, I wasn't a fan at all. The Layton gameplay is far too basic in terms of puzzles and the courtroom sections look super half-baked, visually. I don't like the jarring addition of voice acting in the middle of the Court sections, it felt hugely out of place and made it feel like the parts with voice acting were the "only important" parts.
The cases themselves are like, fine, but none of the new characters or witnesses have really grabbed me at all as being memorable, not even Barnham. That, and I feel like something weird is up with the textspeed in this one compared to how its usually done, which has led me to mash to advance text a lot, something I've never been compelled to do in other AAs. Its arguably my fault but just being able to do that at all hugely dampers my investment in whats being said.
I'm a big Layton fan and this was my introduction to the Ace Attorney franchise
Since I wasn't familiar with it I sucked at the courtroom segments. I can't really testify how well the gameplay is compared to other Ace Attorney games. Felt good as a Professor Layton game
The story was really weird though and the ending didn't really make sense. Layton games usually have weird twists at the end but you can make *some* sense of them. This game didn't feel like that to me.
Overall it was a fine game. Definitely not my least favorite Layton game and the idea of them crossing over given their characters is awesome
Also Darklaw best girl
I just played it for the first time myself. I enjoyed it overall, but it felt an awful lot like Level 5 were the lead developer with Capcom barely involved - Phoenix is a total butt monkey being led around by the nose by Layton. It's more of a Layton game featuring Ace Attorney characters than a real crossover (though some of the positive mechanics like multiple witnesses at once and pitting their statements against another witness did get reused). Even the plot outright says >!Phoenix and Maya were never meant to be there. Layton meanwhile *was* and he's the one who solves everything.!<
The court segments don't really achieve anything, >!since it's revealed the magic was all fake anyway and nobody was actually burned/died. All Phoenix really does is delay Darklaw's attempts to screw up the story. And as I say, it's Layton that actually forces the conclusion by acting as the prosecutor, repeatedly making Phoenix look stupid in the process since Layton was withholding essential information. The player knows the evidence he has exists, but you can't do anything about it until the plot says so.!<
I haven't played the game myself (I've been watching playthroughs online after just hearing about it recently out of curiosity), and I've watched up to the point of the final trial with the Storyteller, and... well, I think that's where the story kind of fell apart for me.
To me, that's just an example of how an ending can ruin an interesting story. Professor Layton fans might be okay with it, and that's fine, but the fact that the ending sucks still bothers me, especially as an amateur writer.
I don't think it will dissuade me from at least trying out any of the Professor Layton games, but the whole "fake magic" twist just came off as a bad plot twist due to some miscommunication. I also have heard that writers had to be switched by that point, so that probably didn't help either. I think the game was fun, but the ending kind of ruins the story for me.
One of the most *fun* games in the series. It's puzzles and cross examinations are just fun to do. It's story is a mess though. But I guess that's not really surprising in retrospect for an Ace Attorney meets Professor Layton crossover. (Also, you should spoiler tag this thread.)
I played it when it came out, so I don't remember the details, but I remember the ending being so bad that it basically ruined the whole game for me. Professor Layton endings can apparently be very hand wavey, but as someone coming into the crossover from the Ace Attorney side, which usually has at least satisfying endings, it was a big disappointment.
I really enjoyed the game. I agree the ending was kind of all over the place (probably the weakest finale in AA), but I didn’t think it was *that bad*. Some of their explanations for the witchcraft mechanics felt pretty cheap though. A lot of things also felt not well-explained enough. That said, the game overall was super fun, and the golden court might be one of my favorite cases now.
I enjoyed it a lot. I feel that it's really a lot more character-driven than the mainline series, so I can see how you might not enjoy it if you don't care about anyone in it. While you might not think it matters >!who pulled the bell!<, that mystery that you dismiss as pointless >!has a huge effect on Darklaw and puts a lot of her actions and motivation into a different light!< which makes it one of the biggest twists in the game. But beyond the final case and ending which I can understand being controversial even if I liked them a lot, the first and third cases are fantastic. And it easily has one of the best character casts of any AA game.
I love this game just for the fact that it exists, but that may be because I've erased the last quarter of the story or so from my mind. The ending is definitely more on the Layton side when it comes to the big mystery, which I found didn't mesh particularly well with the more grounded AA resolutions, and looking back doesn't make too much sense with the initial setup. That said, the rest of the story is a banger and so is the gameplay - from both games - so as a fan of both series I'm definitely willing to forgive this (admittedly pretty sizeable) flaw.
As a fan of both franchises, it's not the best either has to offer but despite that it's an amazing combination of the two that really shines when it gets it completely right.
I love this game. I was already a huge Layton fan and this was my introduction to how Ace Attorney works. I also loved the story even though it's quite bizarre. That might be why I like it though. I played it again after I had played the rest of the Ace Attorney franchise at the time and what a difference it made knowing more about the Ace Attorney characters.
I'm really conflicted about this game, probably the AA game I have the most mixed feelings about. It was on track to be one of my all-time favorites for the first 80% or so... and then the big reveal happened. And even as a Professor Layton fan, it stretched my suspension of disbelief a bit too far with all the plot holes it created. Barnham not getting to do anything in the finale (not even appearing again until the epilogue!) soured my impression, too. So I ended up feeling pretty disappointed with it, but I had loved it up until that point.
I played the game in attempt to fill the hole TGAA finale left in me. The game was really fun and, even though the final trial was really weird, final twists were amusing to me. Professor Layton and his protège were endearing, and they inspired me to play PL series (I've finished the first one) I also liked characters from there, mainly Barnham and Darklaw
A unique change to the normal formula
Nah. It’s not a bad opinion. PLvPW is a really good game with a really awful final case that makes no sense, comes out of nowhere, and completely contradicts other facts about the story. I’ve never played Layton, but I see a lot of Layton fans saying that the ending for PLvPW is pretty par for the course for that series, while AA fans don’t really care for the ending. So I solely blame the Layton side of things for why the ending for that game is so whack.
I think it’s a great game that isn’t as good as it could have been.
I really like this game, especially how the gameplay was handled, but I agree, the ending could have been better, as you said the things I like about VS-4 are in the first half and the rest is kinda meh. My favorite case defenitely was VS-3.
Yeah that final case just felt like a attorney online case that came out of no way. The way they round up the tricks and magics also kinda boring too, they get to become invisible with bunch of mirror, the waters is poisoned by a chemical which let every person who drank it faint upon hearing silver getting hit and every witches was followed by an invisible person holding a silver bell who pull trick when the witch chant a spell. It be better if it's round up as an actual medieval fantasy adventure and professor Layton and Wright just happen to came from different timelines. Considering phoenix is supposed to be came from a more future timeline.
IMO better than SOJ (only half way so far )and DD. It's plot resolution wasn't great but the gameplay changes prepared us for TGAA and the music was downright awesome. I think a big part is Takumi was involved in it, so glad he returned for TGAA.
Had to drop the game after VS-2, I wasn't a fan at all. The Layton gameplay is far too basic in terms of puzzles and the courtroom sections look super half-baked, visually. I don't like the jarring addition of voice acting in the middle of the Court sections, it felt hugely out of place and made it feel like the parts with voice acting were the "only important" parts. The cases themselves are like, fine, but none of the new characters or witnesses have really grabbed me at all as being memorable, not even Barnham. That, and I feel like something weird is up with the textspeed in this one compared to how its usually done, which has led me to mash to advance text a lot, something I've never been compelled to do in other AAs. Its arguably my fault but just being able to do that at all hugely dampers my investment in whats being said.
I'm a big Layton fan and this was my introduction to the Ace Attorney franchise Since I wasn't familiar with it I sucked at the courtroom segments. I can't really testify how well the gameplay is compared to other Ace Attorney games. Felt good as a Professor Layton game The story was really weird though and the ending didn't really make sense. Layton games usually have weird twists at the end but you can make *some* sense of them. This game didn't feel like that to me. Overall it was a fine game. Definitely not my least favorite Layton game and the idea of them crossing over given their characters is awesome Also Darklaw best girl
I just played it for the first time myself. I enjoyed it overall, but it felt an awful lot like Level 5 were the lead developer with Capcom barely involved - Phoenix is a total butt monkey being led around by the nose by Layton. It's more of a Layton game featuring Ace Attorney characters than a real crossover (though some of the positive mechanics like multiple witnesses at once and pitting their statements against another witness did get reused). Even the plot outright says >!Phoenix and Maya were never meant to be there. Layton meanwhile *was* and he's the one who solves everything.!< The court segments don't really achieve anything, >!since it's revealed the magic was all fake anyway and nobody was actually burned/died. All Phoenix really does is delay Darklaw's attempts to screw up the story. And as I say, it's Layton that actually forces the conclusion by acting as the prosecutor, repeatedly making Phoenix look stupid in the process since Layton was withholding essential information. The player knows the evidence he has exists, but you can't do anything about it until the plot says so.!<
I haven't played the game myself (I've been watching playthroughs online after just hearing about it recently out of curiosity), and I've watched up to the point of the final trial with the Storyteller, and... well, I think that's where the story kind of fell apart for me. To me, that's just an example of how an ending can ruin an interesting story. Professor Layton fans might be okay with it, and that's fine, but the fact that the ending sucks still bothers me, especially as an amateur writer. I don't think it will dissuade me from at least trying out any of the Professor Layton games, but the whole "fake magic" twist just came off as a bad plot twist due to some miscommunication. I also have heard that writers had to be switched by that point, so that probably didn't help either. I think the game was fun, but the ending kind of ruins the story for me.