Topic: Konami Announces North American Release for Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights

[Crimm]

The 3DS puzzle/adventure game is scheduled for a summer release.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/25421

Konami officially confirmed their plans to localize their upcoming Nintendo 3DS title, Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights for North America. Scheduled for a summer 2011 release, Doctor Lautrec gives players control of the titular doctor as he moves around Paris of the late 1800s, solving both puzzles and mysteries via the application of logic.

The graphic adventure/puzzle title, which strongly resembles Level-5's Professor Layton series, uses the 3D effect of the new handheld to give the player the opportunity to examine puzzles from all sides. The game will also allow the player to zoom in on aspects of the scenery that may serve as landmarks along the a mysterious map that Lautrec and his assistant Sophie are following in the hopes of finding the lost jewels of the French monarchs.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

"Strongly resembles" might even be an understatement. I read a magazine preview of Lautrec today and the level of similarity is staggering. This is Layton in just about every possible way - a genius and his assistant, old-fashioned French aesthetic, mysterious plot, animé cut scenes, puzzle gameplay... everything. Not necessarily saying that's a bad thing, but it's going to have to work very hard to stand on par with or above Level 5's series.

[Crimm]

Laurtec is actually a DOCTOR of archaeology. Layton is a PROFESSOR. It's totally different.

I don't want to editorialize in news (downloads don't count) so I didn't go into too much detail about the similarities. However, Konami is smart to get this out when they are. North America won't get Mask of Miracle this year, so we won't have a 3DS Layton. This game will be compared to a DS title instead. In Japan it's a whole different, and less advantageous, situation.