The Let's Play Archive

Professor Layton and Pandora's Box

by Dragonatrix

Part 6: Returning Point

Puzzle Remix



Compared to last time, this recap will be mercifully short. Let's get right to it!



3. If you've already figured out which animals can make it to the exit, congratulations. But think for a moment about the title of this puzzle. All of the animals are free once they leave their cages, but it can be a jungle out there. Just because an animal can find its way to the exit doesn't mean it'll make it out alive...












2. Every time a given person relays the message to another person, the number of people who know the message will increase by one.
3. One minute after the game starts, two people will know the message. If each of those people then goes on to spread the message, by the end of the second minute, a total of four people will know the message. Do you see where this is going?








Still, don't get your hopes up about finding that little boy. He could be anywhere.
Goodness, listen to my husband. Sometimes he can be a little negative without realising it. I, for one, am cheering for you. Best of luck finding that little one!



We haven't had much of a chance to gain new parts after collecting the frame from Samuel, but from now onwards we'll gain them at a pretty decent clip.

Suspense






Molentary Express

Well, let's think for a moment. We now know that Tom's a li'l doggie and we've seen that weird girl carrying a dog but she was heading this way. We've been through every room en route since then and seen neither hide nor hair of her.

Well, when we ran into her before it was just by the Observation Deck so that seems like a good place to check first.



And we'll run into Chelmey waiting outside Babette's room along the way too.


I was just about to head over to Babette's and inform her that her child is no longer aboard the train.
Inspector, we are mere moments away from discovering Tom's location. Could I ask you to give us just a while longer to ponder on the situation?
Still don't want to face the truth, eh, Layton? Fine, since you're so intent on it and seeing as Babette is napping right now, I'll wait a while longer.
The moment she wakes up, though, I'm taking my findings to her. Got it?



Understood. I plan to do just that, Inspector.
We'd better find the girl with the dog as quickly as we can, Professor.

That should be easy enough to do. Let's just keep going and...



Hrm, this guy's new AND he's in the way of the door to the deck.



Oh hey, one of these. At a scant few moments throughout the game, there's minor barriers in place that are removed if you've completed a specific number of puzzles. They're all very easy to just forget about since their amounts are low enough to be beaten and then some long before you get even close to the check itself. Case in point, right here where we've gotten 24 done already.


I can't see how I could dislike a couple of ardent puzzle-solvers like yourselves. Let's be pals, eh?



Normally when you get past these barriers, the person or object in place is a non-issue afterwards. In this case, Grousley's still there which is kind of weird.



Oh, sorry about that. Now, what's with you two? What can I do you for?
We're looking for a young lady with a small do. Have you seen anyone fitting that description?



Thank you very much. We'll just be on our way.
Now hold it right there, top hat!
I see how it is. Get ol' Grousley to answer your question and then scoot off without a word.
I told you what you wanted to know, so the way I see it, you should at least lend a man a hand.
I'm terribly sorry, sir. I didn't realise you required our help. How may we be of service?
A friend gave me this puzzle because I love art, but... Maybe you'll have better luck with it than I've had. Fancy giving it a go?

Um, no, not really.



Alright fine, I'll just get this done sharpish then and we can move on.



Now, as for that girl you were asking about, she's probably on the observation deck behind me.



I told you we'd be getting these at a quick pace.



And thankfully, the person we're looking for is just enjoying the sights herself.


The Golden Apple

Silence



: Uh...





Hey! It's you!





I'm sorry. It's just...



Hmm...
Professor?



Huh?



All right?



End

Molentary Express



Quick! Grab him!



To think we were chasing after a dog all along...!
Ho ho, right you are, Luke. Now let's get him back to his owner.



Of course not. Come along now.

And with that, Flora officially joins the party!

If you somehow don't know, Flora's kind of like the Professor's adopted daughter in a sense. After the events of the first game, he became her legal guardian and somehow she went unmentioned until now beyond being in a handful of short scenes. Not the best start to that very important role, huh?

That aside, there's not much else we can do right now, so we'll just head back to Babette's room to finally return Tom.




THIS is Tom?!



How dare you compare my darling Tommykins to some common street mongrel?!
Lost dogs are no matter for Scotland Yard. Next time he goes missing, find him yourself!





Don't you walk away from me! I want to have a word with you about your atrocious manners!

Fade to black number 1...



He's such a darling that I feared someone might have kidnapped him and held him for ransom.



Good idea, my boy.
Eep.
I do believe a reward is in order. Here, I know it's quite, ahem, generous, but I insist!



My, how generous!

...But yeah from NOW is when we start to get more hamster toys. Took long enough; still can't do much with just this though.

Anyway, fade to black number 2...




How much longer until we get there, Professor?
I'm not entirely sure. Why don't we rest until we get there? That should make the time pass faster.



And with that, we've already finished the first "mystery" of the game.

Yeah, uh, that this counts as one of them is quite telling about how hard they were stretching it. Since we haven't run into all 10 yet I won't update the second post with this at the moment.

Instead, let's just leave this room and return to our own.




Well, until I found that little dog I'd just been relaxing in my room.
Really? You've got your own room?



Wow! You do know that's the room right next to ours, don't you?
You were just a wall away from us and I never so much as suspected you were there.
It would seem that my powers of observation are rather rusty.

Fade to black number 3...

Silence



My word! Why has the train stopped?
What's going on?

Molentary Express



Hey boss-man, just chill out. There's a broken train, like, just sitting on the track.
Until we can move that thing out of our way, we're not going anywhere, man.
Then get your rear in gear and move it now! I won't have your laziness tarnishing the Molentary brand!



I will not hear excuses, especially not from a layabout conductor like you who barely earns his keep!
I don't care how you do it! Just get it done!
OK, OK, I'll give it a shot. Just turn it down a notch, Unko.
"Unko"?!



OK, all right, sure. Whatever you say, your majesty...



Right, so this presents a bit of a problem. Good news is that for the moment we're finally off the train. Bad news is this is our only shot to grab those hint coins (if you care) and Beluga has nothing of interest to say.

We can only go left from here, so we'll follow Sam.




Oh, sorry, Mr Passenger. See, there's this giganto freight train parked on the tracks and it's blocking our way.
Clearing the tracks is gonna take some time, so, um, sit back with something fizzy and wait.

Sam has the right idea; let's just rela-

I see. Can I lend you a hand?
For real? Aw yeah, that'd be way helpful!
You think you can find a way to move the train blocking the tracks so we can, like, get moving?



Yeah, uh, there's no way we can move a train so we should just leave this to the majestic and noble SteveHank.



Layton, what did I just say?! It's not like there's any hint coins here or anything.




026 Train Swap

Puzzle Remix



Try not to think too hard about the logistics of how this works in practice.



1. Your first goal is to get the cars from the shorter train to their assigned places.
2. Move the red car marked 1 to the space on the far-right side of the upper track. After that, move all the white cars down to the lower track, and you'll be able to slide that first red car into its assigned spot.
3. Apply the method described in Hint Two to move the other cars, and you'll have those trains switched around in no time!

I suppose this counts as a sliding puzzle. Because I am an awful hypocrite, I don't mind this one as much though.

Because it's absurdly easy and the method I employ while very simple is not the most efficient. That you can get away with that, without it shooting the move counter over 100 by default is kind of a godsend honestly.







End

Molentary Express



Looks like we're good to go. Gimme just a sec and we'll be up and runnin' again.

Fade to black number... four? Sounds right.



It shouldn't be too much longer before we arrive in Dropstone.
I wonder if we'll find any useful information there.
I hope so.



So, just as a brief reminder: 4 puzzles total in this update. 3 have given camera parts.

...Try not to think about where this one came from either.

The good news, however, is that we're now done with Chapter 1 at last. Unlike Curious Village, there isn't a "chapter complete" stamping scene or intermediary moments.

The best news is that we're finally off the train for real! Sweet, sweet freedom!








Puzzle Remix






1. You never know what secrets the area around the window might hide. Try using those studs stuck around the frame of the window to simplify things.
2. Open the Memo function and, using the studs around the window, divide the picture into 10 squares. There, now doesn't that make things easier?













BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!



Much like with Curious Village there are several puzzles accessible as DLC. Not so much any more thanks to the DS WiFi stuff being removed a long while back now, but thankfully they're all on-cart so we can still get to them.

If you're wondering why we're starting with number 2, well... 1 is yet-another-sliding puzzle so we'll deal with that later.




1. There are plenty of solutions if you were free to make lots of moves, but you need the answer involving the fewest moves. Also, only numbers in the two rightmost columns should move.

They also have only one hint each. They cost no coins, give no picarats etc. etc. because they're external bonus extras.





1. The next time the clocks look the same, they won't be pointing at 12:00. Once you realize that, it's just a simple calculation problem.





1. Those two squares that stick out on the far right are part of an edge of the finished piece.





1. It helps to know that opposite faces on a single die always add up to seven. Use that as the basis for your deduction.