For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.
By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or over,
have read our
Privacy Policy
and agree to the
Terms & Conditions. Geographical rules apply.
Good news for gentlemanly purveyors of devious puzzles, fine teas and refined animated cinema. Viz Media, a San Francisco company specializing in the localization of Japanese entertainment for English speakingconsumers, announced during theAnime Expo 2011in Los Angelesit will be bringing the anime film Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva to inquisitive North American audiences.
Originally releasedin Japan in 2009, and later shipped to the UK via Manga Entertainment in 2010, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva is the first filmic adaptation of the handheld puzzle game series.It takes place three years before the events in Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, and follows Professor Hershel Layton and his boy assistant Luke Triton as they tussle with old foes and life-or-death puzzle games while in pursuit of eternal life and the lost land of Ambrosia.
The movie closely resembles the visual style and tone of the Professor Layton games, and even allows viewers a moment or two to solve the on-screen puzzles before moving along. The games' developer Level-5, which also had a significant hand in the film's production, has already announced its intentions to create a sequel to the film, and further entries every winter depending on their success.
For the time being, Viz Media didn't say if it would be seeking a full-out theatrical release in North America for Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, but given the franchise's relatively small demographic outside of Japan, odds are Layton's western fan base will be shouting out answers in the comfort of their own home.
Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.
