After the surprise success of the first Layton game, Level-5 rolled this one out the door immediately. Sounds like a certain lawyer series I know. They mostly forewent new gameplay mechanics, the only major addition being a memo pad the player could access while solving puzzles. The original DS version has a very crude implementation of this feature. You can only draw in one color and one size, and the only way to erase things is to press a button that erases the entire screen. It's comparatively primitive to what the series would do with the memo pad later, but it was a step-up from Curious Village. I would still recommend the mobile port however, as it utilizes the fuller version developed later on.
The real star of Diabolical Box is the story and atmosphere once again. The mystery surrounding the Elysian Box is full of twists and turns, and the places you go to investigate it all have unique charms. The Molentary Express appeals to my inner five year-old's love of trains, Dropstone is a quaint little village, and Folsense has a foreboding yet melancholic quality that perfectly sets the story's mood.
Unfortunately if there is one area where it's clear this game was rushed, it's the story's ending. If you switch off your brain and don't think about it, it's a heartbreakingly bittersweet story of two lovers who were torn apart, and the chance for their family to be repaired in its twilight. For years that was all I got out of the ending, and I loved it.
Unfortunately this last playthrough really opened my eyes to how poorly put together the ending is. The first game's ending admittedly relied on a ridiculous premise, but it had at least put in the work to foreshadow it and remain internally consistent. It was wild, but it followed all the rules it had set for itself and gave the player several clues ahead of time. Here, while there are clues to the game's big reveal, parts of the ending really clash with what the story had established prior.
It turns out that Folsense is not the bright city it appears to be. In fact its been rundown for some time. It looked like it was populated and in good repair because the town has been flooded for decades with a hallucinogenic gas. The source of this gas was a mine underneath the local duke's castle. The very same metal that is the source for this gas was used to craft the Elysian Box, and the reason everyone who opens it dies is because the expect to die from opening it, and the gas fulfills this fantasy. The true purpose of the box was to deliver a message from the duke, Anton, to his former fiancee, Sophia. Sophia had fled Folsense after the gas from the mine caused many in the town to die. She was pregnant at the time and wanted to ensure her child's safety. She founded the village of Dropstone, and fifty years later asked her granddaughter Katia to go to Folsense, find Anton, and explain what had happened. Supposedly the box never made it to Sophia, as it was stolen by highway robbers and switched hands the last fifty years.
But in one final twist, it turns out the box did actually make it to Sophia right before she died a year ago. She received the letter Anton had hidden in a secret compartment, and placed her own inside it. The letter says that she always loved Anton and left to secure the life of their child. She missed him dearly though, and looked forward to the day she could see Anton again in the afterlife. Anton is moved by this, but begs Sophia's forgiveness as he needs time to get to know their granddaughter before he can rejoin her.
On the surface, this is a sweet and moving ending. And for a long time that's all I thought of it. Unfortunately I'm older and smarter now, and I can't help but notice the many gaps in this story. We'll start with the people of Folsense. According to Layton's summation at the end, none of them were real. Layton, Luke, and the other characters who came to Folsense with them were all in the grips of a shared hallucination, including any and all conversations shared between the travelers and the 'citizens'. Now, the hallucinogenic gas was already a big pill to swallow, but the idea that the people weren't real actually breaks the plot of the game. Leaving aside the fact that multiple characters are present during conversations with these 'phantoms', many of them tell Layton and Luke information that's crucial to unraveling the mystery. But if those people they're talking to don't actually exist, then how did Layton get that information?
What's even weirder is that dialogue with these 'phantoms' often implies a solution to this problem. Several of them mention not being as young as they look, or feeling more tired as of late. Like Anton, they could've been real and just appeared younger than they were. But the Professor says they don't exist, so we have this entirely avoidable and unnecessary plot hole.
Then there's the Elysian Box itself. The Box's murderous reputation being a case of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy is an interesting idea, but it does beg the question of how it got that reputation in the first place. I wouldn't call this a plot hole, because there are feasible explanations, but it would've been nice to have one in the game. Besides, it's peanuts compared to the biggest issue with the box, that being Sophia's letter. We know that Anton sent the box out 50 years ago. Sophia's letter was dated one year before the events of the game. We know that box had to have traded hands several times in order to develop its reputation. So that means one of two scenarios happened: either Sophia kept the box for 50 years and then sent it out one year ago, or the box was stolen before reaching her, somehow made its way to her eventually, only to get stolen again. The latter is obviously an improbable and weird chain of events, but the former doesn't really work either. In only one year the box killed multiple people and developed its reputation? That doesn't track.
I could go on, but that would be belaboring the point. The crux of the issue is this: the ending only works if you don't think about it. But this is a mystery and puzzle-solving game, where the whole point is encouraging the player to think. You can't just turn your brain off right at the end, because the game relies on your brain being on to play it. It's unfortunate because its predecessor at least put in the effort to make its twist internally consistent. Considering how quickly this game went through production and came out, I wouldn't be shocked to find out that this was something they overlooked in the rush to get the game out the door. But a rushed, flawed plot is what it is, no matter the production circumstances.
It's frustrating because I do still want to recommend this game. Its puzzles are better, the characters are endearing, and its a lot of fun to play. But the ending really soured the whole experience. This game could have been great, but it crashed and burned right before crossing the finish line. I guess all I can say is try it for yourself, but know beforehand the ending won't make sense. If you can accept that going in, you should have a good time.
VideoGame A Beautiful Step Up for the Series... Until Fridge Logic Kicks In
After the surprise success of the first Layton game, Level-5 rolled this one out the door immediately. Sounds like a certain lawyer series I know. They mostly forewent new gameplay mechanics, the only major addition being a memo pad the player could access while solving puzzles. The original DS version has a very crude implementation of this feature. You can only draw in one color and one size, and the only way to erase things is to press a button that erases the entire screen. It's comparatively primitive to what the series would do with the memo pad later, but it was a step-up from Curious Village. I would still recommend the mobile port however, as it utilizes the fuller version developed later on.
The real star of Diabolical Box is the story and atmosphere once again. The mystery surrounding the Elysian Box is full of twists and turns, and the places you go to investigate it all have unique charms. The Molentary Express appeals to my inner five year-old's love of trains, Dropstone is a quaint little village, and Folsense has a foreboding yet melancholic quality that perfectly sets the story's mood.
Unfortunately if there is one area where it's clear this game was rushed, it's the story's ending. If you switch off your brain and don't think about it, it's a heartbreakingly bittersweet story of two lovers who were torn apart, and the chance for their family to be repaired in its twilight. For years that was all I got out of the ending, and I loved it.
Unfortunately this last playthrough really opened my eyes to how poorly put together the ending is. The first game's ending admittedly relied on a ridiculous premise, but it had at least put in the work to foreshadow it and remain internally consistent. It was wild, but it followed all the rules it had set for itself and gave the player several clues ahead of time. Here, while there are clues to the game's big reveal, parts of the ending really clash with what the story had established prior.
It turns out that Folsense is not the bright city it appears to be. In fact its been rundown for some time. It looked like it was populated and in good repair because the town has been flooded for decades with a hallucinogenic gas. The source of this gas was a mine underneath the local duke's castle. The very same metal that is the source for this gas was used to craft the Elysian Box, and the reason everyone who opens it dies is because the expect to die from opening it, and the gas fulfills this fantasy. The true purpose of the box was to deliver a message from the duke, Anton, to his former fiancee, Sophia. Sophia had fled Folsense after the gas from the mine caused many in the town to die. She was pregnant at the time and wanted to ensure her child's safety. She founded the village of Dropstone, and fifty years later asked her granddaughter Katia to go to Folsense, find Anton, and explain what had happened. Supposedly the box never made it to Sophia, as it was stolen by highway robbers and switched hands the last fifty years.
But in one final twist, it turns out the box did actually make it to Sophia right before she died a year ago. She received the letter Anton had hidden in a secret compartment, and placed her own inside it. The letter says that she always loved Anton and left to secure the life of their child. She missed him dearly though, and looked forward to the day she could see Anton again in the afterlife. Anton is moved by this, but begs Sophia's forgiveness as he needs time to get to know their granddaughter before he can rejoin her.
On the surface, this is a sweet and moving ending. And for a long time that's all I thought of it. Unfortunately I'm older and smarter now, and I can't help but notice the many gaps in this story. We'll start with the people of Folsense. According to Layton's summation at the end, none of them were real. Layton, Luke, and the other characters who came to Folsense with them were all in the grips of a shared hallucination, including any and all conversations shared between the travelers and the 'citizens'. Now, the hallucinogenic gas was already a big pill to swallow, but the idea that the people weren't real actually breaks the plot of the game. Leaving aside the fact that multiple characters are present during conversations with these 'phantoms', many of them tell Layton and Luke information that's crucial to unraveling the mystery. But if those people they're talking to don't actually exist, then how did Layton get that information?
What's even weirder is that dialogue with these 'phantoms' often implies a solution to this problem. Several of them mention not being as young as they look, or feeling more tired as of late. Like Anton, they could've been real and just appeared younger than they were. But the Professor says they don't exist, so we have this entirely avoidable and unnecessary plot hole.
Then there's the Elysian Box itself. The Box's murderous reputation being a case of Self-Fulfilling Prophecy is an interesting idea, but it does beg the question of how it got that reputation in the first place. I wouldn't call this a plot hole, because there are feasible explanations, but it would've been nice to have one in the game. Besides, it's peanuts compared to the biggest issue with the box, that being Sophia's letter. We know that Anton sent the box out 50 years ago. Sophia's letter was dated one year before the events of the game. We know that box had to have traded hands several times in order to develop its reputation. So that means one of two scenarios happened: either Sophia kept the box for 50 years and then sent it out one year ago, or the box was stolen before reaching her, somehow made its way to her eventually, only to get stolen again. The latter is obviously an improbable and weird chain of events, but the former doesn't really work either. In only one year the box killed multiple people and developed its reputation? That doesn't track.
I could go on, but that would be belaboring the point. The crux of the issue is this: the ending only works if you don't think about it. But this is a mystery and puzzle-solving game, where the whole point is encouraging the player to think. You can't just turn your brain off right at the end, because the game relies on your brain being on to play it. It's unfortunate because its predecessor at least put in the effort to make its twist internally consistent. Considering how quickly this game went through production and came out, I wouldn't be shocked to find out that this was something they overlooked in the rush to get the game out the door. But a rushed, flawed plot is what it is, no matter the production circumstances.
It's frustrating because I do still want to recommend this game. Its puzzles are better, the characters are endearing, and its a lot of fun to play. But the ending really soured the whole experience. This game could have been great, but it crashed and burned right before crossing the finish line. I guess all I can say is try it for yourself, but know beforehand the ending won't make sense. If you can accept that going in, you should have a good time.