Read my better review of the score
here.
What's this? Two reviews in one day? IMPOSSIBLE, you say.
Well guess what? I'VE GOT NO LIFE BUB. SO SHUT UP AND READ.
Soundtrack Review:
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future by Tomohito Nishiura
At last! Here we are at the last game of the original Professor Layton trilogy. I'm pretty sure Nishiura was just holding back the first two games; this soundtrack is definitely superior.
"The Unwound Future (Live Version)" is what this soundtrack begins with, and it is definitely some of the best material the soundtrack has to offer. It is a bit like Professor Layton's Theme but...so much more complex. It's pure, undiluted awesomeness. Go listen to this. Right now. I'm not kidding.
"Puzzles Reinvented" introduces us to the new Puzzles theme, not quite as catchy as the original but definitely a good change of pace.
"London Streets" starts off the first of several London themes (all of which sound somewhat similar). This is the present London theme, and it's definitely very good. The piano plays a simple tune that carries the song through, and it's actually a compelling melody. "Searching for Clues" is the theme for inside buildings in future London, and it's the most lackluster of the London themes. Not all that fantastic, quite honestly. "More London Streets" is the future London theme, and it has a great melody but is quite repetitive and the accordions make it seem "unclean" to me. I don't know what that is supposed to mean. Finally, "A Quiet Town" is the theme for a few buildings like the subway station and the hospital, and it's pretty and melancholy and all that.
"The Gilded 7 Casino" is quite an odd track. It's catchy, makes use of the piano, and doesn't have much accordion. It breaks away from typical Layton tracks and brings something new. It's actually a great casino theme.
Not long after, we have "Chinatown," a great Asian-sounding piece that uses chimes and violin to play off the general London theme heard other places.
Next is another piece where the accordion works perfectly: "Puzzle Battle." Fast, bouncy, and tense, this track is very fun to listen to. "The Towering Pagoda" works well as a tower theme, and the beginning is reminiscent of "Into the Depths of the Dark" from Diabolical Box. "The Professor's Deductions" works well as an indicator of the mystery continuing to be solved. This is the theme during the game where the professor relays his theories and the like, and your eyes get wider and wider until finally you can only say "WTF!" It's exactly the type of theme we've come to expect from a Layton game.
Hooray, more awesome tracks next! "The Research Facility" is particularly great, as well as "The Mobile Fortress"; both of them are dangerous and whatnot, as the game begins to draw to a close. "Puzzles Reinvented 2" is a faster version of the theme, used for the extremely hard puzzles near the end of the game.
Next are the minigames the Professor has in the trunk, all of which use the same theme with heavily different arrangements. "The Picture Book" introduces this theme with a soft, music box arrangement. "The Toy Car" is the best of the three, using an upbeat and more "hummable" version. Finally,"The Parrot" uses the accordion in a waltz arrangement of the theme. All of them are pretty awesome.
End theme time! "Time Travel" is the name of the third game's end theme, and like "Iris" from Diabolical Box, there is the original "Time Travel" with Japanese vocals as well as the U.S. instrumental version. Rather than a music box arrangement, we get a piano version afterwards. It's a wonderful theme, perfect for soothing your tears that are undoubtedly flowing from the leaky faucets that are your eyeballs after finishing the game.
Finally, the bonus tracks. We have three live tracks in addition to the Unwound Future theme heard at the beginning. "More London Streets (Live Version)" is pretty much the best piece on the soundtrack. It's a great example of how much better a theme can be when performed by an orchestra. "The Research Facility (Live Version)" and "The Mobile Fortress (Live Version)" are both completely epic as well. The high quality tracks this game are "The Towering Pagoda"and "The Toy Car," and they still are pretty much unnecessary.
Rating: ****
Track list:
1. The Unwound Future (Live Version)2. Puzzles Reinvented
3. London Streets4. Searching for Clues
5. Tension
6. More London Streets7. A Quiet Town8. The Gilded 7 Casino9. Sorrow
10. Suspicion
11. Chinatown12. Puzzle Battle13. Memories
14. The Towering Pagoda
15. The Professor's Deductions
16. Crisis
17. The Research Facility18. Puzzles Reinvented 2
19. The Mobile Fortress
20. The Picture Book
21. The Toy Car
22. The Parrot
23. Time Travel24. Time Travel (Instrumental Version)25. Time Travel (Piano Version)
26. More London Streets (Live Version)27. The Research Facility (Live Version)28. The Mobile Fortress (Live Version)29. The Towering Pagoda (High Quality Version)
30. The Toy Car (High Quality Version)