History VideoGame / ProfessorLaytonAndTheLastSpecter

* HundredPercentCompletion: Throughout the game you will build a "collection," little odds and ends you acquire by accomplishing puzzles or just clicking on random hiding places, in a manner reminiscent of the previous games' GottaCatchEmAll minigames. The difference here is that completing your collection of more than 20 items achieves absolutely nothing...except this trope.

* BackFromTheDead: In the credits, [[spoiler:Loosha]] can be seen in the background of the last shot with everyone else, despite the repeated {{Please Wake Up}}s followed by sad flute music and a ReallyDeadMontage. Then again, the body ''did'' [[NeverFoundTheBody slip down into the depths of the water]]...
** The one in the credits seems to be a statue of the real thing. The real thing is still dead.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: One optional conversation with townsfolk has him commenting that "when you assume, bad things happen to you and me", a cleaned-up version of a mildly crude pun.[[note]]The normal pun is that when you assume, you make an ''ass'' out of ''u'' and ''me''.[[/note]]
** Emmy eyes Aunt Taffy's candy for much of the game, to the point that Taffy accuses her of "[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything unwrapping my candy]] [[EatingTheEyeCandy with your eyes.]]"

* [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice: Loosha basically kills herself breaking down the dam to reveal the Golden Garden, so that Arianna can use it to cure her illness.]]
** In the episode ''I, Of the Yard'', [[spoiler: Inspector Gilbert took a bullet for Constable Chelmey when the latter rushed ahead during a crime chase.]]
* [[spoiler:HumongousMecha: The excavation robots all join together to make a big one for Descole to use to destroy the city.]]
* [[spoiler:IHaveYourWife: The source of poor Clark Triton's grief through much of the game, thanks to Descole.]]

* IllNeverTellYouWhatImTellingYou: The chief engineer found near the end of the game.
* InMediasRes[=/=]HowWeGotHere: The beginning explains how Emmy, Layton and Luke are waiting for the specter, and then flashbacks to how they got there, and then continues onto the plot thereafter.

* [[spoiler:KillItWithWater: Loosha uses this to stop Descole's machine after it gets back up to its feet.]]

** [[spoiler:The same could be said to Don Paolo and his other disguises. So was Descole his pupil? Or perhaps the other way around?]]

* LongSongShortScene: [[spoiler:Descole's]] Theme is one of the most popular songs in the series, with a breathtaking orchestral version used in the release trailer in lieu of ''the game's official theme''. However, it's used in exactly one short conversation, which segues into the next cutscene so quickly most will only hear the first third of it. Fortunately, it sees ''plenty'' of usage in ''[[spoiler:Eternal Diva.]]''

* MarathonLevel: [[spoiler:Puzzle 170 is two sliding block puzzles in one. Sliding block puzzles in general take a while, and both of these involve moving not one but two blocks to two goals. There is no intermission between the two, either, and there are no hints for the second half. To say nothing about how both of these would alone be the two most difficult puzzles in the series ''separately''.]]

* [[spoiler: PullingThemselvesTogether]]: [[spoiler: During the final battle, Layton, Luke, and Emmy manage to deactivate Descole's CombiningMecha and smash it to pieces. Unfortunately, it effortlessly reassembles itself immediately afterward, forcing Loosha to resort to the KillItWithWater example above.]]
* PuzzleBoss: [[spoiler: Descole's mecha is fought by solving 6 puzzles while BackgroundMusicOverride is in place instead of the usual puzzle theme]]

* [[spoiler:StockNessMonster: Loosha hides in the lake next to the mansion, but the difference is that some people know of its existence. It looks like a big sea lion, though.]]

* ADayInTheLimelight: Compared to the other chapters where Professor Layton is the main character, Chapter 6 has you controlling Emmy, who has gone to London to retrieve some information. You later switch back to Luke and Layton to see what they're doing while Emmy is in London.

* [[spoiler:TheButlerDidIt: It turns out that Luke's loyal butler is the mastermind behind the specter and its attacks. But it quickly gets subverted once it's revealed said butler is Descole in disguise, having imprisoned the real one and Luke's mother in the wine room.]]
* CallBack: The last unlocked episode includes a reference to [[spoiler:the accident that killed Claire]] in the backstory of ''Unwound Future''.

* CatchPhrase: Whenever someone comments that Bucky getting a boat to where they are seems implausible/unfeasible/whatever:
-->'''Bucky:''' The word [X] isn't in Bucky's dictionary, and shouldn't be in yours, either!

* [[spoiler:TheChessmaster: Descole is the one behind the specter rampaging the city's streets at night]].

* [[spoiler:CombiningMecha: Descole's digging machines combine to form one large machine which serves as the final boss]].

* [[spoiler:CoverDrop: That golden pattern on the title screen is pretty cool-looking, I guess... wait, hold on, it's the entrance to the Golden Garden and the final story puzzle!]]

* [[MommasBoy Daddy's Boy]]: Jakes' son keeps going on and on about how great his father is and, when upset, threatens to report Layton and his assistants to him.
** During the postgame, [[spoiler: he's clearly distraught over the fact that his father has been arrested. Emmy starts to call him out on the evil that Jakes did, but Layton tells her that it's simply [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes the love a child has for his parent]], and to let him be.]]
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: [[spoiler:If you check the water level of a place the specter will appear and compare it to that place normally, it actually is lower, just like Luke says.]]

* {{Expy}}: Jakes' son slightly resembles [[TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]], except a bit fatter...

* {{Fangirl}}: Hanna is one for Inspector Groskey.
** An episode shows that she was completely upset about where her life was going to until Groskey came in attacking a local thug; cue love at first sight.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: If you enter the building under the arch [[spoiler:long after it has been destroyed]] in Highyard Hill, you'll met a woman named Naiya. When you talk to her, she mentions an [[Anime/ProfessorLaytonAndTheEternalDiva opera house built over the sea. Professor Layton comments he would like to go to a place like that someday]].

* LostForever: Averted. After you finish your business in London, despite never needing to return for plot-related reasons, you can go back there via car to get any puzzles you missed.
** Played straight with hint coins; after the first hotel room [[spoiler: gets destroyed]] you can no longer return for them if you didn't pick them up the first time around.
* MacGuffin: The Specter's Flute
** [[spoiler:It doubles up as a MementoMacGuffin that Arianna's father left behind after getting it from the BlackMarket.]]

* [[spoiler:MissingMom: Clark tells Luke, and anyone else who asks, that his wife Brenda went out of the city, but Luke suspects she left Clark because she went away without telling ''him'' where she actually went. The whole time, she is being held captive beneath the wine room with the family's real butler]].

* TaremeEyes[=/=]TsurimeEyes: Arianna switches between both types depending on her mood.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Wherever you need to go in Misthallery, "Bucky's there!"

* [[spoiler:UnwittingPawn: Clark's adoration for his family is exploited by Descole and his cronies, and so he remains silent to prevent the bad guys from hurting his family on the spot.]]

* [[BigBrotherInstinct Younger Brother Instinct]]: Tony is very protective of his older sister [[spoiler:so he spreads the rumors of the 'calamity witch' by painting a 'witch's mark' on the homes of anyone who speaks ill of Arianna. The homes bearing the mark are then destroyed. This leads the people to believe that speaking ill of the 'calamity witch' will bring ruin upon them. Of course, it also leads Arianna herself to believe that she really is a witch.]]

* [[spoiler:BeneathTheEarth: Where you must go to fulfill the final quest of the main story.]]

* CloudCuckooLander: Puzzlette, still.

* FetchQuest
* FishingMinigame

* HopelessSuitor: Rory spends all day, every day, standing outside the train station waiting for his girlfriend. Occasional quests involve you getting him something to eat since he won't move.
** Also Belle, from ''UnwoundFuture'', for "Fluke."
-->"Belle + Fluke 4ever"

* LooseCanon: This game throws characters together without regard for the main games' canon. Their personalities remain intact, but, for example, none of the ''CuriousVillage'' characters are [[spoiler:robots]].

* BlondeGuysAreEvil: Third Eye Jakes.

* NoExportForYou: An odd case, this one. Though the game was translated and localised for US release, London Life was in fact cut from the PAL release, being replaced by multi-lingual support, of all things.

* AnInteriorDesignerIsYou: You can decorate your room according to various themes, such as Cute, Modern, and Elegant. Other characters may be your roommate, but will only stay if the decor is to their liking; different characters prefer different styles.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: If you enter the building under the arch [[spoiler:long after it has been destroyed]] in Highyard Hill, you'll met a woman named Naiya. When you talk to her, she mentions an [[ProfessorLaytonAndTheEternalDiva opera house built over the sea. Professor Layton comments he would like to go to a place like that someday]].

It was followed by ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheMiracleMask''. There's also an animated feature set between those two, ''ProfessorLaytonAndTheEternalDiva''. It was feared that the game was never going to be released overseas, but it was eventually released in October 2011.

* LaughingMad: [[spoiler: Jakes]] pulls this out rather fast after meeting him.

* ShoutOut: The old lady selling candy right outside the market is appropriately named Aunt Taffy.
** Emmy pointing out a (step)ladder, calling it a ladder. [[AceAttorney It's a shame there's no one to argue it with.]]

* BagOfHolding: The Mini Chests. The woman selling them lampshades how it doesn't make sense that they can hold objects bigger than themselves.
* BatFamilyCrossover: This is the only format in which it's possible to see characters from all of the currently existing PL games, and watch them interact with each other too. For instance, the museum curator (from ''Last Specter'') becomes friends with Katia Anderson (from ''Diabolical Box''), and Ingrid (from ''Curious Village'') rents a room to Dr. Stahngun (from ''Unwound Future'').

-->"Picking flowers without permission is a crime! It's called...misdemeanor...floral assault...WITH MALICIOUS INTENT!"

* ShipTease: The game actually hints, very slightly, at the possibility of [[spoiler:Luke/Flora. He's genuinely upset when you tell him that he's forgotten to meet her as he promised. Later, when he realizes she's been abducted (as part of the main storyline), he's absolutely outraged and declares that he will make the guilty party "pay dearly, or my name isn't Luke Triton!"]]

* SocializationBonus: Shipley allows players to trade items through Tag Mode, but more importantly, Segal runs a Social Club that allows the player to see their friend's London Life avatars. Supposedly, a special character appears if you interact with the Social Club at least ten times. [[spoiler:This would be Future Luke, who then takes up residence at the casino.]]
* TwentyBearAsses: Several quests, but usually those involving fishing or flower picking.

-->'''Professor Layton:''' Oh dear. I seem to have stepped on a hexagonal spanner.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: One optional conversation with townsfolk has him commenting that "when you assume, bad things happen to you and me", a cleaned-up version of a mildly crude pun.[[hottip:*:The normal pun is that when you assume, you make an ''ass'' out of ''u'' and ''me''.]]

** That [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime flute]] looks rather familiar as well... [[hottip:*: When compared to Saria's Ocarina, not the actual Ocarina of Time itself.]]

* WastedSong: [[spoiler:Descole's]] Theme is one of the most popular songs in the series, with a breathtaking orchestral version used in the release trailer in lieu of ''the game's official theme''. However, it's used in exactly one short conversation, which segues into the next cutscene so quickly most will only hear the first third of it. Fortunately, it sees ''plenty'' of usage in ''[[spoiler:Eternal Diva.]]''

** At one point, Beth laments that Doland's handwriting has deteriorated since Clark became mayor. [[spoiler: [[FridgeBrilliance This makes a lot more sense when you realise that this would be around the time that he was taken hostage and replaced by Descole, who probably wouldn't have bothered with copying Doland's writing style.]] ]]

* ConvenientlyEmptyBuildings: Thanks to Luke getting messages out to the townspeople through Doland, no one is injured. [[spoiler:But it turns out that Luke wasn't always right and Doland evacuated the people to prevent them from realizing the specter's identity]].

* ForTheEvulz: Right before the final showdown, [[spoiler: Descole, having given up on finding the Golden Garden in Misthallery, decides to completely wipe the town off the map. Why? Because he's got a GiantMecha and ''because he can'', that's why!]]

--> [[TheHobbit Thief! We hates it forever!]]

* LuckBasedMission: Fishing and Flower-Picking. You may find yourself screaming at the game for the amount of Notfish and hazards that can occur while fishing (such as losing your fish or your line snapping), or for things like getting stung by a bee. If you chose "Child at Heart" for your character trait, [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]].

* CuteShotaroBoy: Luke, of course, but Crow easily qualifies as well.

* FakeLongevity: Of the 100 promised gameplay hours, most of them are going to be spent working if you want to earn enough wealth to purchase the Golden Gloves, which cost 99,999,999 wealth.

* LuckBasedMission: Fishing and Flower-Picking. You may find yourself screaming at the game for the amount of Notfish and hazards that can occur while fishing (such as line snaps or loosing your fish), or for things like getting stung by a bee. If you chose "Child at Heart" for your character trait, [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]].

* RoyalBlood: According to the {{curse}} on the PlotCoupon, a female descendant of the royal family will die if it's destroyed.