Lost Professor Layton Game Rises From the Ashes, Literally

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Lost Professor Layton Game Rises From the Ashes, Literally

Key Takeaways

  • Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror has been recovered almost 16 years following its release.
  • The Japan-only feature phone game was found on an old flip phone that looked like it had survived a fire.
  • An English fan translation of Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror is planned for the future.

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of gaming experience under my belt, I can confidently say that discovering long-lost games is like unearthing buried treasure. The recovery of Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror, a game that has been lost to the sands of time for nearly 16 years, feels nothing short of miraculous.

A previously overlooked Professor Layton game was discovered on an old mobile phone that seemed to have endured a fire. This game, titled Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror, miraculously re-emerged almost on the eve of its 16th anniversary.

While various Professor Layton games have been adapted for mobile devices, what sets “Mansion of the Deathly Mirror” apart is that it’s an entirely unique adventure designed specifically for feature phones. This game was initially released in episodes, with the first episode launching on October 10, 2008. Unfortunately, “Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror” has only been accessible in Japan and hasn’t been available for purchase since 2014.

Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror Recovered After 16 Years

16 years after its initial release, I recently stumbled upon a long-forgotten adventure game that had been brought back to life by a passionate group of gamers. According to a tweet from RockmanCosmo, game preservationist Yuvi successfully retrieved the final three chapters from an old Fujitsu F906i phone, a Japan-exclusive device from 2008. Previously, I had managed to recover the first three chapters of Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror back in February 2024.

The Phone With the Lost Professor Layton Game Might Have Survived a Fire

As a dedicated gamer, I’m thrilled to share some exciting news! The team working on game preservation aims to translate the elusive “Mansion of the Deathly Mirror” into English. While they haven’t set a definite timeline for this project yet, it’s a promising step towards unearthing more hidden gaming treasures.

Initially, “Professor Layton and the Mansion of the Deathly Mirror” was made available as an exclusive service on MobageTown (now known as Mobage) in 2008. A year later, it was re-released with a subtitle “-REMIX-“. The 2009 version of the game presented different puzzles but continued the same story, which took place between the events of “Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box” and “Unwound Future”. The screenshots from RockmanCosmo suggest that Yuvi obtained the original version from 2008.

Lost Professor Layton Game Rises From the Ashes, Literally

Besides grassroots attempts like these, there are ongoing commercial efforts to preserve games designed for old-school feature phones, particularly in Japan. Notably, publisher G-MODE recently brought back “Persona 3 Aigis: The First Mission,” a 2006 feature phone game, releasing it on PC and the Nintendo Switch in June 2024.

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2024-09-19 01:13