‘Professor Layton 7’ Announced For Smartphones

The “Professor Layton” series is considered to be one of the most beloved franchises in the puzzle and adventure genre. Originally coming out for the Nintendo DS and 3DS, the series managed to spawn a number of sequels that continued the story of the series while also exploring new elements. This is why it came as a major shock to fans that the next instalment in the “Professor Layton” series, titled “Layton 7” in Japan, will be coming to smartphones instead of the 3DS.

It appears that “Layton 7” will be incorporating some new elements that haven’t appeared in previous games. Like in the other instalments, “Layton 7” will continue to be a mystery-solving title, but the screenshots from Siliconera show that the game will now involve cards and fortune telling, with a supernatural mystery that involves a vampire.

While it’s not much of a shocker to have mobile spin-offs of popular game franchises, the fact that the game is numbered shows that “Layton 7” is not a mere spin-off, but a continuation of the long-running franchise. The news has resulted in a mixed response from fans of the series, with Kotaku taking the news negatively.

The negative reaction is probably because the “Professor Layton” series has usually come out for the Nintendo 3DS and that “Layton 7” was originally scheduled for a 3DS release way back in 2013. While a 3DS release isn’t impossible, the fact that there was no mention of the Nintendo handheld in the Level-5 announcement did not make matters smoother.

With “Fantasy Life 2” is also a smartphone exclusive sequel, it appears that game publisher Level-5 is now taking a keen interest in mobile gaming. Nintendo has also announced a partnership with DeNa games as it forays into mobile gaming.

“Layton 7” is set for a summer release in Japan for both iOS and Android devices. More details for the game will be revealed in the near future, although there was no mention if the game would be a standard one purchase affair or if Level-5 will experiment with the free-to-play model.

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