The Professor Layton series is consistent in the extreme; every game has a variation on the same plot, in a similar environment, acting as a vector for puzzles in the same style as previous games. There's definitely a formula.

That formulaic nature almost forces me into reviewer cliches. "If you didn't like Professor Layton before," I might say, "there's nothing here to change your mind." "Fans of the puzzle-adventure genre will be well-served here." Even the previous Professor Layton review opened with a note about how similar these games are.

But a true gentleman finds a solution to every puzzle put before him, whether it be a tangle of steel cogs or a review of a game that is almost identical to its predecessor. Luckily, I did feel that Professor Layton and the Last Specter improved on its forebears, in both perceptible and imperceptible ways. I like all the other Laytons, but I like this one just a little better. Try this puzzle and then head past the break to read more!