The Professor Layton for Smash Ultimate support thread! See OP for where to meet us next after the boards close. Thank you for all your support!

[BluePikmin11]

Honestly, the biggest problem with the supposed "third-parties must be icons" rule is that Sakurai's perception of how iconic or significant a character is may not match that of the fans. Sakurai always personally felt that the Original 8 of Smash were all the greatest Nintendo characters people would think of back during Smash 64, even though I know some people would disagree on Fox. Sakurai also felt Bayonetta was pretty significant, so it's not a stretch to think that Professor Layton could be included because of how significant Sakurai may feel he is. Professor Layton was a defining third-party franchise of the DS and 3DS era with 15 million copies sold as of 2013, which is impressive for a game that was 6 years old at the time the linked article was published.

I do not think Sakurai's perception of the original 8 affects anything, as that was long before third-parties would be included in Smash.

However that Bayonetta article just blew my mind. I wish I had this article before she was confirmed as the final DLC character. This would have been a very helpful article back then, but it was translated months late.

If Sakurai does pay attention on gaming history, then he would definitely know of Layton's history and probably keeps track of it. Especially noting that at one point, Sakurai and Hino were together at a 2009 conference at the time the biggest Layton game Unwound Future came out in 2008 in Japan.

 

[Curious Villager]

That's actually quite an interesting article to read, thanks for sharing that True Blue Warrior.

I do agree whith what Sakurai considers as significant may not necessarily line up with what the general Smash community considers as worthy for Smash, the man had interest in including Geno for one.

It's worth noting that even Miyamoto at one point praised the series along with games like Animal Crossing for getting a lot of females into gaming during the DS era and Miracle Mask is what helped kickstart the 3DS launch in Japan. And as Blue noted, Sakurai and Hino are both aware of the interest of Layton in Smash.

 

[BluePikmin11]

A new HD remake of Professor Layton: Curious Village is coming to mobile:

https://www.famitsu.com/news/201805/29158055.html

I wonder when we will be getting this game on the Switch.

 

[GoodGrief741]

*sigh* Why is Level-5 all about mobile nowadays?

 

[fogbadge]

*sigh* Why is Level-5 all about mobile nowadays?

spite i believe

 

[Curious Villager]

A new HD remake of Professor Layton: Curious Village is coming to mobile:

https://www.famitsu.com/news/201805/29158055.html

I wonder when we will be getting this game on the Switch.

Oh gosh, hopefully they will port this to the Switch too, I'd buy in a heartbeat!

I'm very happy to see that their adding some new scenes as well.

Also I've been gone for a few weeks, what happened to this website, new updates?

 

[fogbadge]

Oh gosh, hopefully they will port this to the Switch too, I'd buy in a heartbeat!

I'm very happy to see that their adding some new scenes as well.

Also I've been gone for a few weeks, what happened to this website, new updates?

no they just cleaned their screens

 

[So_many_mails]

My dream scenario at the moment is for them to talk about the Katrielle Port at E3 and then segue that into a character trailer for the Professor. Seems unlikely that they'll even mention it though.

 

[BluePikmin11]

I really hope Level-5 gets a big marketing plan ready soon, because seeing these reviews of U.S. employees working at Abby are horrible to read:

https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/LEVEL-5-abby-Reviews-E1441661.htm

I wish that YO-KAI WATCH succeeded in the West years ago so that this kind of thing could be avoided. We might not see any hardcore marketing for future Level-5 franchises like Layton, Inazuma Eleven, or Snack World in the near future.

 

[So_many_mails]

Do you think that the 'new Layton switch game' the head of Level 5 talked about could be at E3? Or was it just the Lady Layton port in the end?

 

[Curious Villager]

I don't know. Level-5 is kind of like Gamefreak and usually reveal their games at their own times. I don't think they ever revealed a brand new Layton game at E3 other than the Ace Attorney crossover if I recall and that might have been more on Capcom's part..

 

[fogbadge]

I don't know. Level-5 is kind of like Gamefreak and usually reveal their games at their own times. I don't think they ever revealed a brand new Layton game at E3 other than the Ace Attorney crossover if I recall and that might have been more on Capcom's part..

wasnt that revealed at a level-5 event?

 

[Curious Villager]

wasnt that revealed at a level-5 event?

I honestly don't remember. I know the main series games did though.

 

[fogbadge]

I honestly don't remember. I know the main series games did though.

it has been a few years since it was out and it was in the making for a while but it was so worth it

 

[Curious Villager]

So with the recent trailer going by and gameplay being shown off, I guess we might as well try and get the ball rolling now.

I did not expect to see every veteran coming back for this installment, unfortunately that means we'll be getting less newcomers this time around but hopefully they will make up with that for DLC.

At this point, I just want to see the Layton franchise receive some sort of acknowledgement. Hopefully they will at least get a trophy or two...

 

[fogbadge]

So with the recent trailer going by and gameplay being shown off, I guess we might as well try and get the ball rolling now.

I did not expect to see every veteran coming back for this installment, unfortunately that means we'll be getting less newcomers this time around but hopefully they will make up with that for DLC.

At this point, I just want to see the Layton franchise receive some sort of acknowledgement. Hopefully they will at least get a trophy or two...

well we have had third party trophies in the last one so why not

 

[So_many_mails]

I'm hoping for trophies too.

I feel kind of bad for Level5, developing games for Nintendo consoles for years and years and still nothing in Smash. They even made the top 4 highest selling 3rd party DS games (Dragon Quest IX, Layton 1,2 and 3)

 

[Curious Villager]

I'm hoping for trophies too.

I feel kind of bad for Level5, developing games for Nintendo consoles for years and years and still nothing in Smash.

I feel like if Level-5 wants some representation in Smash. They should really be approaching Sakurai themselves. Didn't Snake and Sonic make it in because their respective companies approached him for it? I think even Ubisoft did it for Rayman's trophies.

But yeah, I'd be pretty dissapointed if the franchise doesn't at the very least receive some trophies this time around.

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

I really do hope Nintendo is open for more more 3rd party characters in Ultimate even if its DLC after the release of the game. I do feel like Nintendo is going to have to scrape the bottom of the barrel when it comes to their own 1st party characters, so I'd rather see more big name 3rd party characters associated with Nintendo get in.

If any 3rd party rep "deserves" to be in smash, I'd say its Professor Layton. I mean the franchise is popular, has a bunch of games, and nearly exclusively on Nintendo consoles. From a purely businessmen point of view, having Layton in Smash is advertising for your own consoles.

If level 5 for some reason doesn't like the idea of Layton being a fighter, he could still have a stage, an assist trophy, and some regular trophies. It the very least I'd like him as an assist trophy, like bomber-man.

 

[Curious Villager]

With the lack of any new third party reveals at E3 (unless you count Snake and Bomberman's assist), I wonder if we will be getting any this time around, at least for the base roster. I mean yeah there is that Simon Belmont leak floating around and I suppose he could work out since Konami's on board.

It does make me wonder on the prospect of DLC though. I'd imagine Sakurai had to go through a ton of hoops just to get 5 third party companies on board for the base game. I don't know how easy it is to negotiate for third parties as DLC but if so, it might be for the best to start rooting for Level-5 and Layton asap. Especially if we get another ballot this time around.

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

With the lack of any new third party reveals at E3 (unless you count Snake and Bomberman's assist), I wonder if we will be getting any this time around, at least for the base roster. I mean yeah there is that Simon Belmont leak floating around and I suppose he could work out since Konami's on board.

It does make me wonder on the prospect of DLC though. I'd imagine Sakurai had to go through a ton of hoops just to get 5 third party companies on board for the base game. I don't know how easy it is to negotiate for third parties as DLC but if so, it might be for the best to start rooting for Level-5 and Layton asap. Especially if we get another ballot this time around.

I actually think more 3rd party characters are likely. 3rd party characters and veterans sell very well, just take a look at smash 4's DLC where they made up the majority. This isn't only limited to smash bros., neatherrealm studios has a bunch of DLC 3rd party characters and returning characters as well.

Ultimate has included all the veterans back, and I have a feeling there also going to focus on 3rd party characters as well. At this point I feel like we've got all the major "hype building" Nintendo characters already in smash, so it make sense to me that the only way to get major "Hype Building character" is 3rd party.

 

[Curious Villager]

I actually think more 3rd party characters are likely. 3rd party characters and veterans sell very well, just take a look at smash 4's DLC where they made up the majority. This isn't only limited to smash bros., neatherrealm studios has a bunch of DLC 3rd party characters and returning characters as well.

Ultimate has included all the veterans back, and I have a feeling there also going to focus on 3rd party characters as well. At this point I feel like we've got all the major "hype building" Nintendo characters already in smash, so it make sense to me that the only way to get major "Hype Building character" is 3rd party.

I hope you're right then. Hopefully they will have at least one brand new third party company join in for Smash Ultimate's base game.
And hopefully said third party is Level-5....

 

[fogbadge]

With the lack of any new third party reveals at E3 (unless you count Snake and Bomberman's assist), I wonder if we will be getting any this time around, at least for the base roster. I mean yeah there is that Simon Belmont leak floating around and I suppose he could work out since Konami's on board.

It does make me wonder on the prospect of DLC though. I'd imagine Sakurai had to go through a ton of hoops just to get 5 third party companies on board for the base game. I don't know how easy it is to negotiate for third parties as DLC but if so, it might be for the best to start rooting for Level-5 and Layton asap. Especially if we get another ballot this time around.

well a fair amount of dlc last time was third party so it might make sense this time around seeing as most of rest were cut veterans and we dont have any of those

 

[Curious Villager]

I just made a custom HUD icon for Professor Layton. Let me know what you think, I might do more of these for other characters too.

 

[fogbadge]

I just made a custom HUD icon for Professor Layton. Let me know what you think, I might do more of these for other characters too.

please do

 

[Curious Villager]

Will do, I've made a version with all the palette swaps too.

 

[BluePikmin11]

So, with Sakurai pouring most of his resources on making every veteran return for Smash Ultimate do you think this limits the number of potential 3rd party newcomers from unrepresented companies he could negotiate with like Level-5, Activision, Ubisoft, etc. Will he just stick to Konami, SEGA, Capcom, Square Enix, and Namco to add third party characters from to save time and money?

 

[Curious Villager]

So, with Sakurai pouring most of his resources on making every veteran return for Smash Ultimate do you think this limits the number of potential 3rd party newcomers from unrepresented companies he could negotiate with like Level-5, Activision, Ubisoft, etc. Will he just stick to Konami, SEGA, Capcom, Square Enix, and Namco to add third party characters from to save time and money?

I think he's probably going to stick with those five for the base game. He might add Simon Belmont or someone as the additional third party newcomer. If we are lucky though, there might just be one extra third party company yet to be revealed to be on board for the ride. But that might have to take a Smash Direct to be revealed for that.

I'm curious though, what other major Japanese third party companies have yet to get any sort of representation in Smash other than Level-5?

 

[BluePikmin11]

There are not many Japanese third party companies that are as big as Level-5 right now. Koei Tecmo maybe is one, but that is about it really.

 

[Curious Villager]

Oh, they are the guys behind Dynasty Warriors and Dead or Alive right?
I see. I guess we'll probably have to step up our game for Layton then.

By the way, I've uploaded the Hershel Stock icons over at Tumblr the other day and it already got more than 100 likes and reblogs. It's nice to see the fandom still supporting the prof, even though their a bit too silent. Guess I'll have to stir them up a bit, I might work on a Smash Ultimate styled model for Hershel, I'll see how that project will go.

 

[BluePikmin11]

I am going to try beating this game once and for all.

 

[Curious Villager]

I am going to try beating this game once and for all.

Good luck and have fun, Curious Village is a relatively short game compared to later entries so you should be fine.

 

[BluePikmin11]

Managed to clear 3 chapters and 45 puzzles in one day.

My IQ just multiplied playing this game, this has a lot of fun puzzles, though a few blew a fuse from my brain. (Mostly the math ones)

 

[Isaac: Venus Adept]

I've only played a small amount of the Layton games but I'm all for him. He deserves to represent Level 5 more than Jibanyan. I made these to show my support

 

[BluePikmin11]

New press release about Layton Mystery Journey:

https://nintendosoup.com/yo-kai-wat...ry-journey-are-getting-new-games-in-the-west/

"LAYTON’S MYSTERY JOURNEY™ is the latest in the beloved Professor Layton catalog. The LAYTON SERIES™ debuted in 2007 with the release of Professor Layton and the Curious Village on the Nintendo DS platform, and built a phenomenon that continues to delight puzzle and adventure fans from around the world, selling over 17 million games to date. The Layton series of titles are comical, puzzle-laden adventure stories focusing on solving intricate mysteries. This evolution of the Layton series follows Katrielle Layton, daughter of the famous (and missing) Professor as she solves smaller mysteries in London, all woven into an intriguing overall grand conundrum. The strength of the franchise coupled with the globally successful launch of the new game series created the perfect formula to develop a new animated series built around its legacy, which debuted in Japan on Fuji TV in April 2018."

Sales for the Layton franchise have now reached 17 million.

 

[BluePikmin11]

Sakurai and Hino are both at the HOBBY Fair in Japan:

次世代ワールドホビーフェアに来ています。パネルが圧巻だな！ pic.twitter.com/g3FVedRdlj

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) June 23, 2018

勢揃い！ pic.twitter.com/ScE5C14LRQ

— 日野晃博 (@AkihiroHino) June 23, 2018

You think they will announce something together?

Maybe?

 

[King Sonnn DeDeDoo]

Its kinda strange, whenever I see an online discussion about 3rd party characters for smash I usually try to suggest Professor Layton, which is met with "lol how would Layton even fight?" but actually after explaining his moveset potential and prominence with Nintendo, most people seem to be very open to the idea of Layton in Smash from what I've seen.

I feel like a lot of people would like Layton in smash, but usually people have another 3rd party character who they more actively show support. we just gotta hope Sakurai could see the potential appeal of a more casual oriented character added to smash, because it feels like we don't have the vocal support over some of the other 3rd party characters.

I still think we're gonna get some more 3rd party characters in Ultimate, and I hope Layton fits the role of the nearly Nintendo exclusive 3rd party character like how Bayonetta did.

 

[Curious Villager]

Sakurai and Hino are both at the HOBBY Fair in Japan:

次世代ワールドホビーフェアに来ています。パネルが圧巻だな！ pic.twitter.com/g3FVedRdlj

— 桜井 政博 / Masahiro Sakurai (@Sora_Sakurai) June 23, 2018

勢揃い！ pic.twitter.com/ScE5C14LRQ

— 日野晃博 (@AkihiroHino) June 23, 2018

You think they will announce something together?

Maybe?

Oh wow, that's amazing! I doubt anything will be announced but I hope that least some brave fan will step up again and suggest Layton in Smash to both of them...

Its kinda strange, whenever I see an online discussion about 3rd party characters for smash I usually try to suggest Professor Layton, which is met with "lol how would Layton even fight?" but actually after explaining his moveset potential and prominence with Nintendo, most people seem to be very open to the idea of Layton in Smash from what I've seen.

I feel like a lot of people would like Layton in smash, but usually people have another 3rd party character who they more actively show support. we just gotta hope Sakurai could see the potential appeal of a more casual oriented character added to smash, because it feels like we don't have the vocal support over some of the other 3rd party characters.

I still think we're gonna get some more 3rd party characters in Ultimate, and I hope Layton fits the role of the nearly Nintendo exclusive 3rd party character like how Bayonetta did.

Yeah I think the problem is that the Layton fandom just isn't as vocal and passionate enough to support him, our support base also seem to have a very low morale with constant moping of "Oh he's too obscure", "Oh other third parties are more highly requested", "Oh he's not iconic enough", "Oh Jibanyan is more likely". A lot of fans also have this defeatist attitude in where if he is not shown off in the first trailer, they quickly give up.

I agree that we as fans need to become more vocal in our support and contribute more to what he can do. Every character has their detractors on how they will never happen, but if Sakurai takes notice of the vocal support, I'm sure he will at least consider the character. The man considered someone like Geno twice, after all.

I'll try to finish the model off before the reveal of a potential second ballot come DLC period, the fandom just needs a boost in morale imo.

 

[BluePikmin11]

I have been researching lately on third-parties lately, and have been thinking about this quote a lot:

https://sourcegaming.info/2016/02/23/nintendo-dream-interview-with-sakurai-part-2/

-Final Fantasy VII (FFVII below) has never been released on a Nintendo console, so how did Cloud end up appearing in Smash?

Sakurai: Final Fantasy (FF below) is one of the few uniquely Japanese game series revered by players around the world. I think fans across the globe have hoped a character from one of those series would appear in Smash, so it was only a matter of time. At the same time, there are only so many big-name titles we can work with at this point—mainly because we’ve covered most of those bases. Aside from the major globally-recognized franchises already featured in Smash, there really aren’t that many left.

I have been thinking that the next third parties for Smash Ultimate will be ones from globally recognized Japanese game series. Do you think Professor Layton would be one of those, given that Level-5 is one of the biggest Japanese 3rd party companies out there, with Layton being among the few series that had reached worldwide success?

 

[Curious Villager]

I have been researching lately on third-parties lately, and have been thinking about this quote a lot:

https://sourcegaming.info/2016/02/23/nintendo-dream-interview-with-sakurai-part-2/

-Final Fantasy VII (FFVII below) has never been released on a Nintendo console, so how did Cloud end up appearing in Smash?

Sakurai: Final Fantasy (FF below) is one of the few uniquely Japanese game series revered by players around the world. I think fans across the globe have hoped a character from one of those series would appear in Smash, so it was only a matter of time. At the same time, there are only so many big-name titles we can work with at this point—mainly because we’ve covered most of those bases. Aside from the major globally-recognized franchises already featured in Smash, there really aren’t that many left.

I have been thinking that the next third parties for Smash Ultimate will be ones from globally recognized Japanese game series. Do you think Professor Layton would be one of those, given that Level-5 is one of the biggest Japanese 3rd party companies out there, with Layton being among the few series that had reached worldwide success?

I would hope so, but who knows at this point. I don't know too many Japanese third party franchises left that can feasibly get a character in Smash, or are vocally supported, but that might just be my own ignorance though.

What Japanese third party characters currently have support? I know Simon Belmont is a popular pick, there is Phoenix Wright, Jibanyan, Sora, Dragon Quest is also a popular series though I don't know who the most popular character there is.