Professor Layton and the Unwound Future



The third game in the Professor Layton Widget Series.

The first trilogy concludes with Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (Last Time Travel in Japan, Lost Future in PAL regions). One week ago, a demonstration of a time machine went horribly wrong, causing its inventor and the Prime Minister to disappear without a trace. Now the Professor has received a letter postmarked ten years in the future, as that era's Luke asks him for help to undo the chaos that Future London has fallen into.

Please place examples that apply to the series as a whole on the main Professor Layton page.

"Luke: This ladder should lead us down into the research facility. Ah yes, Captain Obvious to the rescue once again."
 * Abhorrent Admirer: Belle, for "Fluke". The young one, I mean.
 * Abnormal Ammo:
 * Are You Sure You Can Drive This Thing?:
 * Behind the Black: Hazel has a habit of cowering behind the opaque part of the DS.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: . On a lesser scale, Becky's politeness towards guests depends on whether her grandmother is listening at the moment.
 * Blatant Lies:
 * But for Me It Was Tuesday: Partial example. Layton distinctly remembers . It is a partial example because it wasn't just another Tuesday for him, as that was the day
 * But Now I Must Go:.
 * Captain Obvious: Layton says, "There's something going very wrong," when the time machine had just exploded.
 * Then there's this exchange:
 * Then there's this exchange:

"Shmarton: You're one of the fellows behind the incident at the casino, aren't you?
 * Chekhov's Gun:
 * Continuity Nod: Quite a few of them, mostly to Curious Village:
 * Luke notes that Don Paolo had once tried to run them over with a Ferris wheel.
 * When you tap the Towering Pagoda which is in the distance in the area just before its entrance, Flora will say "That tower is even taller than the one in St. Mystere!"
 * When you have to, tapping the curtain will cause Flora to say, "Why don't we just make a glider and fly away?"
 * In the sticker book metapuzzle, several stickers are of Curious Village characters.
 * Luke still has Don Paolo's mask of Chelmey.
 * There's one to Diabolical Box as well: Examining the underground railway entrance in Chinatown (without tapping the Shoe icon first) will have Luke say "The railway is useful, but it's no Molentary Express..."
 * And one to both games simultaneously: if you tap the manhole cover outside one of the subway stations, Luke remarks, "Remember the last time we went into the sewer?"
 * One of the pictures during the credits is of  ...in the exact positioning as the picture in Curious Village's credits of
 * Conveniently Empty Buildings:
 * Cool Car: The Laytonmobile goes Up to Eleven in this game.
 * Cute and Psycho: Puzzlette might count - she's breezy and ditzy and speaks in an incredibly Moe-Moe girl-idol voice when she's not MURDERING SAPIENT INSECTS WITH A FLYSWATTER.
 * The chick even has a punching bag and a spiked flyswatter.
 * Darker and Edgier: Considerably so in comparison to the rest of the games in the series. For one, it's the only game in the series where
 * Deadpan Snarker: Future Luke, as seen in this conversation:

Future Luke: Let's say I am. What would you do about it?

Shmarton: I'd get my boss Shmelmey to give you a knuckle sandwich...if only he hadn't gone off to the bathroom!

Future Luke: Well, lucky for us, he's not here. We'll just be going now.

Shmarton: If you run off, I'll make sure my boss squishes you like a bug when he finds you!

Future Luke: Duly noted."

"Flora: Nothing livens up a den of iniquity like a potted plant."
 * Even Flora gets a bit of this, when they're making their way through the tower in Chinatown.

""Take one more step, and I'll rearrange your kneecaps!""
 * Disc One Final Dungeon: The Towering Pagoda is built up as the other Layton's hideout for much of the game, but there are quite a few loose ends left over when you're done.
 * Doing in the Wizard: Toyed with,
 * Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Subject 3.
 * Downer Ending: The ending for the game's storyline is quite a downer, with the Professor  The one for the first trilogy is more bittersweet, with
 * Dropped a Bridge on Him: Poor, poor Beasly.
 * Enemy Mine:
 * The Family for the Whole Family: They're even called "The Family."
 * Flashback to Catchphrase: We see in this game where Layton got his top hat.
 * We also learn why he decided to become gentlemanly, and who inspired his catchphrase "That's what a gentleman does!"
 * Foreshadowing: Hey look, it's Pavel! Oh, you're looking for ? Well, good luck with that, thanks for the puzzle, and tell Ryoga I said "hi." Come The Reveal...
 * Also, another puzzle giver talks about how he . Luke assumes he just wandered into a wormhole, but the reveal makes everything make more sense.
 * Not to mention the statue of the boy and the author. *sniff*
 * Two steps outside the clock shop you can see that it.
 * Frictionless Banana Peels: A recurring puzzle in this game. It differs from the Frictionless Ice puzzle in that it is often possible (and necessary) to avoid slipping by finding a route around the peels.
 * Fridge Logic: An in-universe example:  Answer:   And so the web begins to unravel.
 * Future Me Scares Me: And how!
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: It's implied in a flashback that.
 * Goggles Do Something Unusual: At one point in the Towering Pagoda, Layton is forced to put on a strange pair of goggles in order to see the puzzle that will unlock the next door.
 * Got Me Doing It: DING!
 * Hair-Raising Hare: Subject 3. Years of being experimented on have left him misanthropic and cranky enough to give even Shadow the Hedgehog a run for his money.
 * Goggles Do Something Unusual: At one point in the Towering Pagoda, Layton is forced to put on a strange pair of goggles in order to see the puzzle that will unlock the next door.
 * Got Me Doing It: DING!
 * Hair-Raising Hare: Subject 3. Years of being experimented on have left him misanthropic and cranky enough to give even Shadow the Hedgehog a run for his money.


 * Hard on Soft Science: The Prime Minister is talked into participating in the time machine demonstration after Dr. Stahngun needles him over abandoning the hard sciences.
 * He Is All Grown Up: We get a glimpse of what Luke would look like when he's older.
 * Heel Face Turn:

"Professor Layton: And even in the future, you seem to need my help in solving [mysteries]. Your constancy can be quite a comfort in these uncertain times, my boy. Luke: Er... Well, thank you... I think."
 * Hopeless Suitor: Poor Rosetta (for Layton) and Belle (for Luke).
 * Hypocritical Humor: Layton disappears for a short period when the gang are heading for the Towering Pagoda, and Luke and Flora are naturally concerned. Flora remarks that Luke is "just lost without him," which is a nice bit of pot-kettle-black coming from Little Miss Separation Anxiety. Of course Luke calls her on it, but it's all quite good-natured.
 * Ice Queen: Bill Hawks' wife, who behaves as though attending the scientific event at the start of the game is somehow beneath her and the food isn't good enough.
 * to ensure that Layton will chase him, although the specific motive for this act is never actually stated.
 * "In Layman's Terms: a memory scanner."
 * Incredibly Lame Pun: "Paint me " from Slate and "drone" from Beasly.
 * Inelegant Blubbering:
 * Inferred Holocaust / No Endor Holocaust:
 * Interface Spoiler: Inverted: the game's interface helps to hide the biggest plot twists from the player by
 * Intergenerational Friendship: At one point, Layton and Luke find a statue of an author who became friends with an ill boy, and who wrote children's adventure books. Eventually the boy died of his illness. The "author" looks a great deal like Layton . Luke returns to that statue when he's troubled by.
 * Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: In the casino, Layton, Luke and Future Luke are being shot at by SMG-toting members of The Family, yet no one gets shot despite the large amount of collateral damage. Justified in that
 * I Was Quite a Looker: Florence in Puzzle #46
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
 * Karma Houdini: . Despite being the one responsible for the explosion ten years before the present and causing the deaths of probably dozens of people, including, he is never punished.
 * Light and Mirrors Puzzle: One is midway through the Towering Pagoda.
 * Lighthouse Point: The lighthouse in the middle of the Thames, instead of at the mouth of the river like a normal lighthouse.
 * Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Very subtle, but; when you first meet Hazel he is terrified of Layton's hat, so he shies away and hides behind a wall. Naturally, this wall is the side of your DS.
 * Loophole Abuse: Layton and Future Luke try to prove themselves to one another by, obviously, presenting puzzles. Luke starts by challenging Layton to find a spade in a set of four cards, and Layton does the same on his turn.
 * The Man Behind the Man:
 * Manly Tears:
 * Masquerade:
 * Memento MacGuffin: As we learn in this game, Layton's hat is one.
 * Miniature Senior Citizens: Margaret is about as short as her granddaughter Becky, who doesn't look much older than young Luke.
 * Minion with an F In Evil: For someone nicknamed "Lockjaw", he sure can't seem to keep his mouth shut...
 * Mood Whiplash: Considering all the concentrated awesomeness that had occurred just before, few saw that ending coming.
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Belle keeps calling Luke "Fluke," intended as a term of endearment.
 * My Future Self and Me: Luke and future Luke.
 * Not So Stoic:
 * Papa Wolf: We finally see Layton become truly pissed off when.
 * The Pollyanna: Flora.
 * Polly Wants a Microphone: The hint coin-finding pet in this game is a parrot. Sadly, the meta-puzzle where the parrot learns words and repeats them back was replaced in the English version.
 * Punny Name: Rosetta Stone, the archaeology student.
 * Also, Puzzlette, for well... obvious reasons. Her name in the Japanese version is Nazolene, "nazo" being a Japanese word for "puzzle".
 * Reality Ensues: First time we get to see Layton at the university he works at and pester a student to finish her homework.
 * Red Herring: YMMV, but partway through The Summation it really seems like  is going to be revealed as either the Big Bad or Man Behind the Man.
 * Reverse the Polarity:
 * Although this is a much more realistic example of this trope, as
 * Rule of Cool: After being cornered behind some slot machines by The Family, Professor Layton and Future Luke work together to find a way to escape. Their solution? Did I mention that they managed to do this while under fire?
 * Save the Villain:
 * Sequel Hook: At the very end of the game, . The game ends, not with "The End", but with "To Be Continued". Perhaps there will be something after the prequel trilogy is completed.
 * Similar Squad: There's a Family member named Layman, who is similarly dressed to Layton and gets several of his catchphrases wrong. Layton never comments on this. There are also Shmelmey and Shmarton (Barley and Chelton in the UK version), who are similar to Chelmey and Barton.
 * Snow Means Love/: The ending: it starts snowing at the end of the game, even though the weather conditions and the foilage on the leaves would imply summertime.
 * Soft Glass: Averted.
 * Start of Darkness: Don Paolo's motivation against Layton (oh, hey!) is finally explained.
 * Stealth Insult: From Layton to Luke.
 * Start of Darkness: Don Paolo's motivation against Layton (oh, hey!) is finally explained.
 * Stealth Insult: From Layton to Luke.


 * Strong Family Resemblance: Claire and Celeste could practically be twins..
 * Take Your Time: Contains a particularly Egregious example near the end of the game. The Big Bad has activated his, and you want to go back and solve any puzzles you may have missed? No problem!
 * Even worse, at the very end, you, yet you can STILL go back to leisurely mess around! Weirdest of all, there's a (telegraphed) Point of No Return right near that point, just like you'd expect -- but it's the puzzle immediately after the one where the time limit kicks in, so
 * Teacher-Student Romance: A one-sided version: Rosetta, one of Layton's students, makes thinly-veiled references to how she's looking forward to their private sessions. Layton, for his part, seems to know what she's implying (he stutters a bit) but is clearly not interested. Leads to a Crowning Moment of Funny during the credits, which show Rosetta and Layton in their "private" session...with Luke and Flora. Layton and the kids are evidently having a great time; Rosetta, not so much.
 * This Cannot Be!:
 * Time Travel
 * Title Drop


 * Naturally, the dialogue in the Japanese version also had a Title Drop, but for its own title ("The Last Time Travel"), therefore being a bit different.

"Layton: This is... utter madness."
 * Tranquil Fury: Layton at the end, once he's worked out what's really going on here. He remains gentlemanly and reserved throughout, but loses the soft-spokenness in his voice and his beady little eyes suddenly become... unsettling.


 * Traumatic Haircut: Well, sort of.
 * Triang Relations:
 * Twenty Minutes Into the Future: Or ten years. We still don't know when that means. See the Schizo-Tech entry on the main Professor Layton page.
 * Unfinished, Untested, Used Anyway:.
 * Unfitting Music:
 * Universal Driver's License:
 * Universal Driver's License:


 * Unwitting Pawn:.
 * The Un-Reveal: Just as Beasley's about to tell us all about how he became a Puzzle Bee, Puzzlette cheerfully interrupts him with a flyswatter. Several times.
 * Verbal Tic: A prominent NPC has one. Is it Cogg? BZZT! Beasley? BZZT! Max? DING DING DING!
 * Villainous Breakdown:.
 * Villainous Breakdown:.


 * Wham! Line:
 * Which Me??: Luke. Layton solves this by referring to them as "Big Luke" and "Little Luke".
 * Yank the Dog's Chain:
 * Zany Scheme: