Platform guide
All Professor Layton 3DS games
Four Professor Layton cartridges came out for the Nintendo 3DS in Europe — and almost every list gives you three, because the fourth is a crossover with Ace Attorney that people file under the wrong franchise. Here are all four in release order, with the European dates, where each sits in the story, and the region rule that catches people out on 3DS but not on DS.
The short answer
Miracle Mask (2012) → Azran Legacy (2013) → Layton vs. Phoenix Wright (2014) → Layton’s Mystery Journey (2017). The first two finish the story that started on DS; the other two stand alone. 3DS cartridges are region-locked, so buy the European version for a European console — the four older DS games are not.
Tested Professor Layton 3DS games in stock
European versions, opened, checked and started on a real 3DS before they are listed.
Professor Layton en de Erfenis van de Azran
Personally tested · Good condition
Professor Layton en het Masker der Wonderen
Personally tested · Good condition
Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle en het Miljonairscomplot
Personally tested · Good condition
Professor Layton en het Masker der Wonderen
Personally tested · Good condition
Every Professor Layton 3DS cartridge, in release order
| Game | Released (EU) | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Miracle Mask | 26 October 2012 | Second trilogy, part 2 |
| Azran Legacy | 8 November 2013 | Second trilogy, part 3 |
| Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney | 28 March 2014 | Crossover with Ace Attorney |
| Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy | 6 October 2017 | New lead — Layton’s daughter |
Game by game — the buying notes
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (2012)
The first Layton in 3D, and the first with the puzzles drawn as models rather than paintings — which some people prefer and some quietly hate. Story-wise it is the middle of the prequel trilogy that began with Spectre’s Call on DS, so read that one first. It was a launch title in Japan in February 2011 and reached Europe twenty months later, which is why Japanese-dated lists put it in the wrong place.
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (2013)
The last game with Layton himself as the lead, and the one that closes both trilogies — the ending only works if you have played the six before it. It is also the one we pay the most for: on our own shelf a boxed Azran Legacy costs roughly twice what a Miracle Mask does, which is what happens when a series ends on a console that is already being overtaken.
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2014)
Half puzzle game, half courtroom game, and a real Layton rather than a spin-off — Level-5 and Capcom built it together and it is written to be played without knowing either series. Most “Layton on 3DS” lists leave it out because it belongs to two franchises at once. Europe got it on 28 March 2014, five months before America — the rare case where the European box came first.
Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy (2017)
Layton’s daughter Katrielle takes over, and the shape changes with her: twelve self-contained cases instead of one long mystery, lighter in tone, no trilogy to catch up on. That makes it the easiest of the four to start with and the least satisfying if you came for the old story. There is a Switch version from 2019 and a mobile version, but the 3DS cartridge is the only one you can hold.
The region rule, and why it only bites here
Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS cartridges are region-free: a European card runs on any console from any region. Nintendo changed that with the 3DS, which checks the region of every cartridge before it starts. A Japanese or American Layton will simply refuse to boot on a European console — no menu, no warning worth reading, just a stop.
It matters on this series because the four DS games are region-free and the four 3DS games are not, so the same shelf holds cartridges with two different rules. If you buy from outside Europe, check which of the two you are buying.
Or buy one that has already been checked
Every 3DS cartridge we sell is European, opened, and started on a real console before it is listed — so it boots on your machine and you know whether somebody else’s save is still on the card. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries.
See every 3DS game we haveQuestions we get asked
How many Professor Layton games are there on the Nintendo 3DS?
Four cartridges: Miracle Mask (2012), Azran Legacy (2013), Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (2014) and Layton’s Mystery Journey (2017). Lists that say three are leaving out the Ace Attorney crossover, which is a full Layton game that happens to share a franchise with Capcom. The four earlier games — Curious Village, Pandora’s Box, Lost Future and Spectre’s Call — are Nintendo DS cards, and they play on a 3DS too.
What order should I play them in?
Release order, and start on the DS. The seven-game story runs Curious Village → Pandora’s Box → Lost Future → Spectre’s Call → Miracle Mask → Azran Legacy, with the last two on 3DS. Layton’s Mystery Journey is a fresh start with a new lead and can be played on its own, and Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright sits outside the main story entirely — play it whenever.
Are 3DS cartridges region-locked?
Yes, and it matters more here than on DS. A 3DS game only starts on a console from the same region, so a European Layton needs a European 3DS, 2DS or New 3DS. The four older DS Layton games are region-free and play on any of them. Everything we sell is the European version, so it works on a European console.
Do the DS Layton games work on a 3DS?
Yes. Every 3DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS, 2DS and New 2DS XL has a DS card slot, so all four DS games run on the same console as these four. The reverse does not work: a 3DS cartridge will not start in a DS or DS Lite. If you own one 3DS, you can play the whole eight-game series on it.
Which Professor Layton 3DS game is hardest to find?
Azran Legacy, going by what it costs us to buy one. On our own shelf a boxed Azran Legacy sits at roughly double a Miracle Mask, and Miracle Mask and the Ace Attorney crossover come in far more often. We can only speak for what passes through this shop, not for the whole European market — but the pattern has been consistent for years, and it is the same pattern you see with any series that ends late in a console’s life.
What should I check on a used 3DS Layton cartridge?
The region, first — a Japanese or American copy simply will not boot on your console. Then the save: 3DS cartridges hold the save on the card, so a second-hand one usually has somebody’s progress on it, which you can delete from the game’s own menu. And check the card contacts and the label print, as with any second-hand cartridge.
Do you ship Professor Layton 3DS games across the EU?
Yes — tracked shipping from the Netherlands to all 27 EU countries, no customs charges inside the EU, and 30 days to return an order. Your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
One console down: all four Professor Layton DS games — or the whole series in order. Same cartridge slot, different franchise: all Pokémon 3DS games, all Mario 3DS games and all Animal Crossing 3DS games.
Dutch reader? Nintendo 3DS-games — het hele aanbod in het Nederlands.