Professor Layton and the Last Specter

Professor Layton and the Last Specter
North American box art. Characters, from left to right: Luke Triton, Hershel Layton, and Emmy Altava
Developer(s)	Level-5
Publisher(s)	Nintendo JP: Level-5
Director(s)	Usuke Kumagai
Producer(s)	Akihiro Hino
Composer(s)	Tomohito Nishiura
Series	Professor Layton
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	JP: November 26, 2009 NA: October 17, 2011 EU: November 25, 2011 AU: December 1, 2011
Genre(s)	Puzzle, Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Aggregate score
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	83/100
Review scores
Publication	Score
Adventure Gamers
Destructoid	7/10
Eurogamer	8/10
Famitsu	34/40
Game Informer	8.5/10
GamePro
Game Revolution	B+
GameSpot	8/10
GameTrailers	8.6/10
IGN	9/10
Joystiq
Nintendo Power	8.5/10
The Daily Telegraph
The Escapist

Professor Layton and the Last Specter, known in Japan as Professor Layton and the Devil's Flute (レイトン教授と魔神の笛, Reiton-kyōju to Majin no Fue^?) and in Europe as Professor Layton and the Spectre's Call, is a puzzle adventure video game produced by Level-5 for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. Last Specter is the fourth game in the Professor Layton series, and is a prequel that takes place three years before the first trilogy, detailing how Professor Layton met his apprentice, Luke Triton and introducing Layton's assistant Emmy Altava.

Professor Layton and the Last Specter also includes an additional role-playing game entitled Professor Layton's London Life, available from the start of the game. London Life, in which players interact with various characters from the series in a town called "Little London", was advertised as having over 100 hours of content. London Life was removed from the European versions of the game because the translation of texts would have significantly delayed the game's release.

The game was released during 2009 in Japan, and was the highest-selling game there during the week of its release. It saw release in North American and PAL regions during 2011.

Professor Layton and the Last Specter is a puzzle game presented in the style of an adventure game. The player controls the actions of a group of three protagonists as they move about a village called Misthallery: Professor Hershel Layton, his assistant Emmy Altava, and a young boy named Luke Triton. While in the village, the three of them are presented with several mysteries that are solved as the plot progresses. Misthallery is divided into several sections, although many require the plot to progress to a certain point before they can be accessed. In order to move about Misthallery, players tap a shoe-shaped icon on the bottom-right corner of the touch screen, and then the arrow representing the direction of the path they wish to take. While in Misthallery, the player is capable of tapping anywhere on the bottom screen of the Nintendo DS system to investigate objects and reveal bits of dialogue, hint coins, collectible items, or hidden puzzles. Likewise, if a non-player character is visible on the screen, they can be tapped to initiate a conversation.