Why Last Specter is Secretly the Best Layton Game

[@Thanosferatu]

When I initially played Last Specter, I'll admit I was a little disappointed it was not the sequel to Unwound Future (that we are thankfully finally getting in 2025). I also thought the final twist was somewhat underwhelming. However, after having replayed it alongside with Miracle Mask, Azran Legacy, and the best video game film, Eternal Diva, I have come to appreciate it more over time.

[@AurumAlex64]

Yeah, that's pretty much the same transformation I had with this game as well. I find it's a very good game to just chill around the town for awhile, which is always a fun thing to do in Layton games.

[@romainmahij876]

The last specter was the first Layton game I played, and it has always been my favorite, and I now beter understand why, thank you ! The fact that it is the Layton formula back to the template constructed the vision I had for all the other games and then became my definition of what a Layton game was. I also loved the Curious village for the same calm and peaceful atmosphere, and the two games are in my opinion the closest ones. I really wish to find that same ambiance in the new world of steam even tho I really doubt that it's what we are gonna have. And the fairy tale part of the game that you talk about made it the perfect game for the kid I was. I am really thankful that you pointed out all those elements, it makes me understand why the game is so important in my eyes et makes me love it even more 😆 By the way I find the musics of the last specter are the best through the all franchise, especially town of mist/Mistallery night

[@AurumAlex64]

Layton music is always great. For some reason, "A Strange Story" is the one that always gets stuck in my head from this game.

[@PuyoPuyoMan]

I recently decided to replay the prequel trilogy to "prep" for New World of Steam and just about an hour ago as I write this I finished Last Specter, totally came across this video by accident while looking up something about London Life and I have to say it was really good. I remember not thinking much of the game when I first played it back in the day, and after finishing it for the second time I found my opinion hasn't changed much over the years. In particular, I really agree with your point about how the story seems to "buckle" under weight of putting so much in the second half. You feel the "presence" of Jakes for the entire game as NPCs will bring him up frequently, and as the corruption of the police force comes into clearer view; however, as you say he's revealed to be an incredibly goofily simple villain. And of course, Descole showing up to steal the spotlight in the grand finale to cause a bunch of property damage. While my thoughts on the story itself remain mixed, after replaying the game and watching this video I have to say I think I've come to appreciate the game "thematically" more, the children facing the consequences of the adult's actions for instance. I never would've considered the fairy tale theme though, that was a really cool bit of analysis and made me reconsider some parts of the story that I originally found somewhat clumsy. Anyways, that was just some ramblings since it's fresh on my mind, I'll definitely be coming back here for the Miracle Mask retrospective when I get around to playing through that (that's a game I remember almost NOTHING about).

[@AurumAlex64]

Yeah, I like Last Specter more than most, but it's still comfortably in the bottom half of the series for me. The fairy tale aspect is interesting because it's pretty understated as far as Layton aesthetics go . Like Future London is obviously going for that steampunk-esque future, and Monte D'or is clearly Las Vegas, but I don't think it's immediately obvious that Misthallery is a "fairy tale" town. I remember being surprised when Emmy said Misthallery jumped straight out of a fairy tale on my last playthrough before thinking, "Oh yeah. I guess she's kinda right." It's interesting they seem to return to this idea in the Ace Attorney crossover, with it's much more medieval inspirations and the fact that literal stories govern the fate of the town.

[@magolor-3100]

I've been playing every layton game for the first time. Last specter is in my top 3. Loved everything about it so much

[@TyllToons]

Thank you so much for this video. Spectre's Call has always been my favourite game, and I was very surprised when I found out it wasn't generally very well received among Layton fans. In my mind, this is the essential Layton game, combining the formula and gameplay perfect by Lost Future with the themes and less ambitious type of stories of the first two games. It just feels like home. It's my comfort game that I come back to again and again. It's the last game that truly felt Layton-esque, and it is refreshing as you said to just stroll around and enjoy the life in town. I love how it combines such a care-free and relaxed setting with a very dark and melancholic, eerie atmosphere that's always lurking in the shadows. There's a lot of human tragedy in the game, yet I was never able to see the twisted theme of adults runing the lives of their children, and the true nature of the spectre even though Luke talks about this in the game. It all seems so obvious in hindsight, just like the many fairy tale connotations. This game is so rich in its themes and stories it tells, while not being a very ambitious game at all, which I always prefered. I don't need a grand tale on the fate of mankind, I just want to enjoy a lovely day out, exploring the countryside, solving some puzzles, maybe having a cup of tea. This is the game I always think of first when I think of Layton. It's what a Layton game should be. Combined with arguably the best puzzles in the series, the most beautiful graphics, and some of my favourite music, I can't help but put this as my #1 Layton game, no doubt about it. Though I've always had a soft spot for Miracle Mask and love that game just as much, I would say this is the best Layton game, and your video helped broaden my understanding of the game and reinforce my love for it.

[@AurumAlex64]

The Layton games are so much fun to talk about, Last Specter in particular. I love this series as much as I do because I think you can make a good case for why each game could be somebody's favorite. I'm happy that I seemed to be able to do that for this one!

[@TyllToons]

@@AurumAlex64 The main takeaway I always got out of Spectre's Call is that it's bad to isolate yourself from the rest of the world, and you should see some people in your life. That's something you didn't even bring up. There's so much to find in this game! It's super rich

[@ormapa1206]

I normally play Layton vs Phoenix Wirght every summer, but this time I decided to buy the rest of the games and play them. I'm starting with the prequels, which are the ones I've experienced less, I really loved Spectre's Call, especially the atmosphere. The town felt really nice; it is weird to describe it. The story was also really nice, and the analysis of the children you did was very interesting. Now it is the turn of the movie and then miracle mask.

[@paulichiwi3930]

I love analysis videos like these for Layton, I can't wait to see more of your videos regarding the other games after I watch your Miracle Mask one

[@lavii3355]

Last Spector was my first Layton game and it instantly shot to the top of my favourite videogames of all time when I finished it. To this day, I still cry at the ending, and Misthallery feels like a second home to me. It’s always seemed fairly unappreciated in the fanbase so I was really happy seeing you made this video!! Amazing retrospective.

[@mar_nevadensis]

Last specter was the first Layton game I ever played and because of that it will always be my favourite. It meant a lot to me. You did an amazing video!💕

[@aviserig]

So glad to have found this series of reviews... even if I watched them in reverse order 😂 Misthallery is by far my favorite town of the series. It feels like a real place more than the others. Plan to make reviews on the original three?

[@AurumAlex64]

Yup, I plan to do all of the Layton games at some point, but it'll take a while

[@aviserig]

​@@AurumAlex64don't rush it. This is quality. And you still have plenty of time before the new one.

[@bm_burger]

Last Spectre is also my favorite Layton game! Something you brought up thats a unique "Laytonesque" thing is the bizarre pacing of these games. Usually it should be a problem when the mystery plot isn't moving fast, but in Layton games we kind of just want to hangout in the world, there's a cozy feel to them. I like your exploration of the storybook themes because imo they can sort of be applied to the Layton series on a much grander scale. The Layton series is tbh very whimsical and childish, but I think its always painted in a sort of nostalgia that gives the games a signature feel. With both their artstyle and anachronistic setting, they always feel like they take place in the past. They're also filled with slapstick and pulpy action and goofy characters. Acts of true evil are rarely depicted, and a lot of the darker elements are usually downplayed compared to other "detective fiction" Weirdly though I think it kind of adds to the melancholy I sometimes feel with these games. They evoke the feeling of revisiting an old piece of media you enjoyed as a kid, even when they're brand new. I'm not particularly bothered by Jakes' slapstick comeuppance or Descole's saturday morning cartoon antics because like with the rest of the game they evoke the feeling of a "lost age", a storybook world that we can no longer go back to as adults. Last Spectre I recall being particularly distraught towards the end of it; I was so in love with the characters and world I was genuinely anxious about it ending well before I got there. The themes you mentioned I feel are very (appropriately) English, my mind comes to Tolkein's depicting of The Shire and its scouring in the original LOTR books. The rustic, simpler storybook world that we simply cannot go back to, but we still have this desire to protect it in the wake of industrialization, corruption and the other woes of the modern world.

[@AurumAlex64]

The laid-back nature of most of Layton's games is arguably the best thing about them. I think my issue with Jakes' slapstick is it really highlighted how 2-Dimensional his character felt; the awful laughing scene earlier was a rare instance where the series felt like it was talking down to its audience. But other than that, it's a great game.

[@bm_burger]

@@AurumAlex64 the laughing scene was definitely bad lmao. super awkward because its has an entire cutscene dedicated to just that. and yeah even worse because it feels like it promises the audience to be more invested in the character than they should be, he's neither important to the emotional climax OR the physical one. They must have just been flexing their animation budget but I'll forever be a "Jakes gets stuck in pipe" defender, there's something so uniquely childish about that, its very roald dahl to me lol

[@TheBrixHub]

This is an amazing video! I'm so glad that I found your channel :) I think Spectre's Call/Last Spectre is one of my favourite Layton games, but I've always had trouble finding what works for me. I really love the music and location of Misthallery especially :)

[@unknownbowser1439]

I'd also like to argue that the puzzles are very good in this entry as they are varied and challenging

[@oh_van_go]

last specter introduced me to the layton series so it holds a special place in my heart 💞 whether it be nostalgia or not, your video essay confirmed all my feelings for the game, and even added new details and concepts i hadn’t yet even thought of when thinking abt its story. such an amazing video!!

[@WhiteComet623]

Good video. A bit meandering, but effective and thought-provoking, which is more than I can say about a lot of KZbin videos. Speaking of thoughts, you establish the game's interest in the aesthetics of fairy tales, but then go on to talk about how the game "is more interested in the utility behind [fairy] tales," but I don't think you develop this very well and it seems to me like it's a central part of your argument. The practical utility of a (Western) fairy tale is in its didacticism - its ability to instruct; to impart some wisdom or moral. The value of Little Red Riding Hood, as I'm sure you know, is its ability to easily transmit to children the concept of stranger danger, effectively making the reader or listener a little wiser and a little more worldly. It's been ages since I've played the game, so correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that both the game and your analysis of it are weakened by the fact that no one seems to learn anything by the end of the game. At least nothing that you clearly identify in this essay. Your own support for this utility claim is to illustrate the kids' independence and instinct, but if the kids are just right, then what kind of lesson is there for them to learn? We solve the mystery of Misthallery, yes, but for a game that you suggest is concerned with the utility of fairy tales, what moral lessons are instilled in the characters, or, considering that it's a video game, in the players? Genuinely glad this was recommended to me though. Subscribed. Keep up the good work!

[@AurumAlex64]

This is a very good critique, and you are right that the tale of the specter doesn't clearly relate to some kind of moral lesson. What I will say is that I think Last Specter is interested in the utility of fairy tales in so far as it acts as a cultural touchstone for the village. When Descole reads about "a pack of bandits invad[ing] a small village" in the opening, he is ironically (an unwittingly) referring to himself and his cronies. The game frequently presents the search for the Golden Garden as a prolonged desecration of the soul of the town. "I think the time has come to pen the next chapter," Descole says, changing and altering the tale for his own ends. Last Specter clearly views this as a bad thing. In that sense, the game wants to say that the meaning of the fairy tale isn't as relevant as the fact that it's purity should remain intact -- if we were to change the nature of the tale, or the character of the town, we would lose something invaluable in the process. However, I also think the tale does have something didactic to teach, specifically with Arianna. Arianna does seem to learn a lesson at the end of the story. "I used my illness as an excuse to close myself off from the world. The people in town didn't push me away, it was my own doing." I think what Last Specter wants to suggest is that Arianna used Loosha as a way to seclude herself in her manor. "The farmgirl knew that in times of danger, she needed only to play the flute and the specter would appear again," Descole reads. The specter is an infinite security blanket for Arianna. So when Loosha decides to sacrifice herself by finding the Garden, she gives Arianna a second chance at life and forces her to acknowledge life outside of that security blanket. Here, it seems to suggest that the utility of a fairy tale is only as much as its ability to adapt -- if the lessons that tale imparts are outdated or counterproductive, it should be allowed to fade away, just as Loosha and her species did. I think these two perspectives explain the dual representations of the specter we see in the game (one that protects the town vs. one that attacks it). Now, where I think you're absolutely correct in your critique is that I can't reconcile these two views as cleanly as I'd like (or perhaps suggest in the video). I think the latter reading foists way too much accountability on Arianna. It ignores the fact that she was sickened by the poisoned air of Misthallery (when the townspeople built the factory), it ignores the fact that the police chief robbed her of her inheritance by changing the will, it ignores the fact that the townspeople essentially punished her for the sins of her father by abandoning her in a tattered old manor. I don't like the idea that the tale of the Specter is supposed to teach Arianna a lesson, because on many levels, I think it's the adults' fault she closed herself off, not herself. A key part of Last Specter to me is that the adults have failed their children; and critically, most of the adults align with finding the Golden Garden. I think why this might not be so clear comes down to the fact that the game is legitimately ambivalent as to whether finding the Golden Garden is a good thing. This is a recurring conflict within the prequel trilogy. Miracle Mask juxtaposes the decline of rural Stansbury with the rapid growth of urban Monte D'or, which Randall uses as evidence that Henry "betrayed" his duty to his home. In Azran Legacy, the Azran experience great technological progress amongst a rapid moral decay, leading to their ultimate destruction. (Notably, Azran Legacy name drops Misthallery only to mention that Targent now occupies the Golden Garden for their own nefarious ends). Considering Azran Legacy ends with Layton rejecting the gift of the Azran, I think there's credence to the idea that Last Specter thinks finding the Golden Garden was a mistake, despite it saving Arianna's life. The long and short of it is I think Last Specter's interest in fairy tales makes more sense if you view it as a proxy for a kind of "value conservatism" argument about progress.

[@LeafarBlade]

Nice video!

[@ShaneStapler]

i dont know anything about layton and i have no idea what is going on or being discussed, but it was an enjoyable listen. was nice seeing the little animations and photos, i like the art style a lot.

[@AurumAlex64]

The art style of the Layton series is super endearing. And yeah, there's going to be pretty frequent stops to the Layton series for the foreseeable future, because there's a new one coming out next year, and I want to try and cover as much of the series as I can before then.

[@ShaneStapler]

@AurumAlex64 I'll be there for it, confused and all 🙏🏽 in future, may i recommend some simple, brief gameplay rundowns or synopsis video sections? just to make it easier for non-fans of the related franchise to understand the basic premises.

[@CamilleChauTempsDesCerises]

Mistahellery is my favourite town from the Pr Layton series 😊

[@Natelu-Sama]

revisiting this because i desperately want to be playing miracle mask but i cant let myself or ill play too much and miss my dead for my dissertation lol i wonder what the proffessors genre-hopping here means for layton 7 (or 8? ive not played katrielle yet, idk if its actually its own thing or not) the OT are all different genres of straight mysteries- the train in pandoras box especially evokes that classic christie-adjacent feel, but all three are clearly evoking that turn of the century feel, especially with the wacky steampunk tech. hell, laytons whole thing is being a gentleman lol as you outline here, last spectres very fairytale, from memory (and the first chapter) miracle mask is more of a late 1900s style detective story with the setting so clearly inspired both by vegas and brazil, and azran legacy goes full pulp adventure story, complete with "suprise! your ally was a secret fascist leader the whole time!" (last crusade much!) all this to say new world of steam is clearly taking cues from the OT in its steampunk elements (and apparent lack of female characters) but being set in actual america means itll hopefully go for something truly fresh, rather than just future london again. personally id love layton in steapunk bladerunner but thats maybe a bit much for these games lol

[@AurumAlex64]

I honestly have no idea what NWOS is going to be at this point, we've just seen so little of it so far. At the very least, we can (probably) say this steampunk city will actually be real this time

[@Natelu-Sama]

@AurumAlex64 yeah obviously i cant be too critical based on the, what, 2 minutes of gameplay and 30 seconds of teaser, but it seems like they want me to think its the fourth layton rather than the eighth. hopefully its just marketing and itll be original in its own way but im not feeling the nostalgia trip theyre selling me in an ideal world its a danganronpa v3, in the nightmare world its more dial of destiny

[@AurumAlex64]

@@Natelu-Sama Yup, 100% agreed. I'm all for continuing the series, less excited about milking Layton 3 some more. Especially since the entire point of Layton's storyline in Katrielle's anime was "maybe it's time for the series to move on from figures like Hershel Layton," which I talked about in my NWOS video

[@Natelu-Sama]

great video! last specter sits happily at the bottom of my list (tho ive not gotten around to replaying miracle mask yet) but youve definitely given me a bigger appreciation of it :D ... shame the puzzles are still mostly pretty terrible lmao

[@AurumAlex64]

Yep, I would put Last Specter in the bottom half as well. I think it's a really interesting game, but it is very much "business as usual" for the series. I did a full replay of the series last year, and I actually thought the puzzles in LS were much better than I remembered. On the other hand, Unwound Future's puzzles felt very derivative of Diabolical Box's, and LMJ's were even worse than I remembered.

[@Natelu-Sama]

@AurumAlex64 i also replayed most of them last year, weirdly, but i liked futures puzzles a lot more. true, theyre less original, but ultimately when theres over 100 in each game im not so worried about that (and besides, theres worse things you can be that like pandoras box :P) LS had far and away the most puzzles that were either so obvious they were throwaway or just math. its the only one i didnt 100%, for that exact reason

[@AurumAlex64]

@@Natelu-Sama I definitely agree about LS not being fun to 100%. It's super weirdly paced in that there are only 61 puzzles in the first 6 chapters (which I'm pretty sure is lowest ratio in the whole series), but then chapters 7-9 have a grand total of 74 puzzles (and chapter 8 is only like 20 seconds long). So the entire back half is one brain-melting pace killer if you choose to do everything.