Toronto Thumbs

Meeting Professor Hershel Layton

I accepted a rather unique invitation to attend a press event for the release of Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box some weeks ago. What made the invite so neat was the fact that the actual date of the event was missing and in its place was a riddle that, when solved, revealed that information. Being the apprentice riddle-solver that I am, I found the riddle a breeze. But it did also help to get me in the mindset I’d need to be in for the actual event.

On Thursday, as I entered The Charles Rundle Mansion at Gloucester Square in Toronto, I had no idea that I was about to enter Professor Layton’s world as I never had before. As the big door swung open, who should greet me but Professor Layton himself! Needless to say, I was rather star struck. The fact that he knew my name only added to this, but what else can be expected of such a world-renowned thinker?

The 19th century architecture of the house, along with the tasteful décor and rich furniture, made for the perfect setting to experience the new Professor Layton game. Layton remarked that the house was his summer abode, and directed me into the dining room where there were several riddles to be solved. I moved from riddle to riddle, accompanied by Layton. He offered me hints if I could find hint coins hidden about the room – and I did have to use one of them. The coins were foiled-wrapped medallion chocolates stamped and shaped to look like one-dollar coins. They were also delicious!

After solving all the riddles in the dining area, I was led to the main sitting room where other writers were sitting down with Nintendo DS systems in hand, deep in concentration and completely lost within the game. I sat down, started up my own game, and became hopelessly lost within it as well, only looking up occasionally to crack a joke or make an observation about something that had happened in the game. Commentary such as this came from just about everyone in the front room at some point, but for the most part everyone was so into the game that the room was silent save for some pleasant background music (which included “Greensleaves”) and the muted sounds coming from everyone’s game.

Since Thursday, I’ve been getting lost within the world of Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box daily, and am thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. The game is simply a must-have for anyone who enjoyed Professor Layton and the Curious Village, and is an adventurous, thought-provoking title with a good amount of humour and mystery mixed in that just about anyone should be able to enjoy. I’ll be sure to share more detailed thoughts on the game in the near future.

UPDATE: Here’s that photo of me and Professor Layton. That’s me, on the right, with the giant hair. I’m in a Led Zeppelin cover band. Anyhow I’m pretty sure this photo was taken the exact second he goosed me.

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