While Dr. Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights may seem like a copy-and-paste of Professor Layton, it does a few things to set itself apart. The game has a fighting aspect, for instance, which consists of turn-based battles, revealed by an ESRB rating:
“Players search for clues, solve puzzles, and engage in turn-based combat against ghostly “spirits.” These brief battles consist of energy attacks that lower enemies’ hit points; damage is indicated by colorful light flashes, and spirits disappear when defeated.”
Dr. Lautrec has 3D solutions to puzzles as well. You can also scrutinize objects from different angles and zoom in and out of scenery to compare it to your map. The full ESRB rating is as follows:
“This is a puzzle-adventure game in which players assume the role of an archaeologist on a quest to find hidden treasure in 19th-century France. Players search for clues, solve puzzles, and engage in turn-based combat against ghostly “spirits.” These brief battles consist of energy attacks that lower enemies’ hit points; damage is indicated by colorful light flashes, and spirits disappear when defeated. In one cutscene, police officers shoot at a large creature that knocks them to the ground. During the course of the game, the dialogue includes some mildly suggestive remarks (e.g., “[He] manages to be both a nihilist and a womanizer,” “Is not parrying romantic advances the best part of being a woman?” and “I have no intention of becoming anyone’s lover.”). Some sequences also contain references to alcohol (e.g., “Milady, a whiskey please. Something strong enough to make me forget it all” and “[D]on’t get so drunk that you start tearing up the place.”). In one scene, a man is depicted blowing smoke from a pipe.”
I wonder if those comments about being a womanizer and not intending to marry are connected to Lautrec himself…
