From a situation of feeling around to finding a way to a "turnabout". That's the theme

Could you tell us how this collaboration came to be?
Takumi: Hino, director of Level 5, came to Capcom and the project started early 2010. I was busy with Ghost Trick at the time, and I was to join the team after finishing that.... but at that time, nobody had any idea what kind of game it would be (laugh).

How was the development structured?
Takumi: The game's planning and sounds of the Professor Layton and Ace Attorney parts were handled by its own company. Programming was done by Level 5, character design and graphics by Capcom, we divided the workload kinda like that. What cost a lot of time was the story. Together with Hino, we had several 'boot camps' at Level 5's Shinagawa site.

How did you come to choose this time's theme, 'Witch trials'?
Takumi: When I first heard about the plan, I wanted to something I wouldn't be able to do in the proper Ace Attorney[i/] series. And I thought, isn't there something that would also fit to the fantasy-esque worlds of [i]Professor Layton? "Then it has to be the witch trials!", I thought. And regarding "the mob trials[/i], when I imagined a trial in a medieval world, an lawless image came to be, with more freedom, with people yelling "I saw it!" "No, that's wrong!", intervening from the audience... (laugh) It seemed interesting for the game, so I used that. And actually, having Nick and professor Layton being busy with the trials that are even more chaotic than usal, it's more fun than I had imagined.

Could you tell us where you focused on with this game as a mystery title
Takumi: I felt that besides this time's "mystery", that professor Layton's adventure movie-esque elements shouldn't be absent. I think that the mystery element is really concentrated in the concept of the medieval witch trials. Things natural to the modern world, like fingerprint analyses or other scientific methods don't exist there. Instead, you're hurled into a world where the rules of science of the real world don't apply, where a witch exists who uses magic to commit crime. In this incomprehensible situation, what are you going to use to build your logic and how are you going to defend your client? To find a way to turn things around in total darkness, that's the theme this time. On the other hand, professor Layton is also in full use of his 'puzzles', and with him chasing the secret behind the mysterious town, we have a double layered story.

What would you have fans of the series and non fans pay attention to?
Takumi: I like the things that happen when the personalities of the two groups of protagonists interact with each other, like a chemical reaction. There are of course conversations the fans will expect, but also things they won't expect... Especially for my 'home ground', the trials parts, I invited Layton and had some fun with hi..... no, he gave me a great performance (laugh). You can expect the professor you know, and even a professor you had never seen before.