The Depth and Character of Professor Layton Lost future

The following blog WILL contain spoilers for lost future

Professor Layton is a big part of my life so I've spent a lot of time dissecting the games. Lost future (or unwound future if you are American) just so happens to be my favourite of the games I've played. 

The depth this game has is amazing. It's so raw... so realistic. 

While this game can be batshit insane, with paid actors, underground cities and mobile fortresses, it is quite grounded in its message. Everything happens because of one mans greed for power and money. Bill Hawks caused the events of the game with one selfish action, resulting in the death of at least 3 people we know the identity of (Claire and both of Clive's parents) Demetri warned Bill of what could happen if he proceeded in his time machine experiment, and he went ahead anyway. Despite all of his selfishness, he STILL benefitted from this, eventually becoming the prime minister. Also him receiving absolutely no consequences even at the end of the game, while EXTREMELY infuriating, is often true to real life. If you have power, you can get away with murder.

In Lost Future you also see much more depth to Layton's character while in turn also revealing Don Palo's motivations for chasing Layton to the ends of the earth and attempting to squander his plans. You see this established relationship between Claire and Layton, how him still wearing the hat she gave him shows how he cares for her and how it is all ripped away because of Bill's actions. The title of the game refers to this as well, talking about THEIR lost future. The future they lost directly because of Bill Hawks.

On the topic of ripping stuff away, Clive's actions are also caused by the experiment. The explosion from the time machine ended up ripping away both his home and his family, all while he watched. Obviously this built up anger and resentment in him, causing him to build the mobile fortress to level London. Clive was such a great antagonist for the game, being more than a cheap plot twist to try to outsmart the players. His cutscenes provoke so much emotion. While a bit off topic, his VA was absolutely incredible.

The game allows the characters to show so much raw emotion than the previous games and is brimming to the top with character and uniqueness. The ending when you hear Clive crying for his parents and Layton having to hold him back made me sob like a baby. You also see Layton break his usual calm and composed demeanor and we actually see him cry on screen, making the ending so much more impactful. This is my favourite game by far, and if you have never played it, I hope this convinced you to give it a shot.