Platform guide
All Professor Layton DS games
Four Professor Layton games came out on the Nintendo DS, and three of them carry a different title in Europe than in America — which is why the box in your hand does not match the list you found. Here they are in release order with the European names, the European dates, what each one is, and the second game hidden inside the fourth that American copies do not have.
The short answer
Curious Village (2008) → Pandora’s Box (2009) → Lost Future (2010) → Spectre’s Call (2011). Play them in that order. In America the middle three are called Diabolical Box, Unwound Future and The Last Specter — same games. All four also play on any 3DS, 2DS or New 3DS.
Tested Professor Layton DS games in stock
Opened, checked against the label and started on a real DS — European versions.
Professor Layton en de Melodie van het Spook (DS) - Sealed Nederlandstalig
Personally tested · Good condition
Professor Layton en de Doos van Pandora
Personally tested · Good condition
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Personally tested · Good condition
Professor Layton en de Verloren Toekomst
Personally tested · Good condition
Professor Layton en de Melodie van het Spook
Personally tested · Good condition
Every Professor Layton DS game, in release order
| European title | American title | Released (EU) |
|---|---|---|
| Curious Village | Same | 7 November 2008 |
| Pandora’s Box | Diabolical Box | 25 September 2009 |
| Lost Future | Unwound Future | 22 October 2010 |
| Spectre’s Call | The Last Specter | 25 November 2011 |
Game by game — the buying notes
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (2008)
The first one, and still the one to start with — the puzzles are standalone, but the story runs straight into the next three and the ending only lands if you have not had it spoiled. Europe waited nine months longer than America for this box, which is why so many English lists give 2008 dates that do not match the cartridge you are holding. It is the cheapest of the four and the easiest to find.
Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box (2009)
A train, a box that kills whoever opens it, and the best-paced mystery of the DS four. Mechanically it is the first game again with a smoother hint system and less obtuse puzzle wording. If you liked Curious Village at all, this is the one that turns you into someone who owns all four.
Professor Layton and the Lost Future (2010)
The end of the first trilogy and the one people name when they say the series made them cry. It is also the hardest of the DS games, with a puzzle difficulty curve that assumes you have finished the other two. Play it third, never first.
Professor Layton and the Spectre’s Call (2011)
A prequel: how Layton met Luke, three years before Curious Village. It is also the one European release that is smaller than the American one — Professor Layton’s London Life, a whole second game built with Brownie Brown, is on the American and Australian cartridges and was left off the European ones because translating it would have pushed the release past 2011. The main game is complete and unchanged; if London Life is what you are after, see the question below.
Why the European titles differ
Nintendo of Europe localised the subtitles separately from Nintendo of America, and on this series it did so three times out of four. The games are otherwise identical apart from the spine and the manual — with one exception that runs the other way: Spectre’s Call is the European name for The Last Specter, and the European cartridge does not carry London Life. If you are matching a second-hand box to a list, match on the year first and the subtitle second.
Or buy one that has already been checked
Every DS card we sell is opened, checked against the label and the shell, and started on a real DS before it is listed — so you know it reads, and you know whether somebody else’s save is still on it. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries.
How to check a used DS cardQuestions we get asked
How many Professor Layton games are there on the Nintendo DS?
Four: Curious Village (2008), Pandora’s Box (2009), Lost Future (2010) and Spectre’s Call (2011). The three that follow — Miracle Mask, Azran Legacy and Layton’s Mystery Journey — are Nintendo 3DS cartridges, and Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is 3DS as well. So the series is four DS games and four 3DS games, which is why a list that says “six Layton games” is usually counting only the numbered ones.
Why does my box have a different title from every list I find?
Because you have the European release and most lists are American. Three of the four DS games were renamed for Europe: the American Diabolical Box is Pandora’s Box here, Unwound Future is Lost Future, and The Last Specter is Spectre’s Call. Only Curious Village kept its name. Same games, same order, different words on the spine.
What order should I play the DS games in?
Release order: Curious Village, Pandora’s Box, Lost Future, Spectre’s Call. That is not the story order — Spectre’s Call is a prequel and comes first chronologically — but the games were written to be played in the order they came out, and Lost Future in particular depends on you having played the first two. Start anywhere else and you spoil an ending you cannot un-spoil.
What is London Life, and is it on the European cartridge?
It is a full second game bundled with Spectre’s Call — a top-down life sim made with Brownie Brown, advertised at over a hundred hours — and no, it is not on the European cartridge. Level-5 left it out of the European release because translating it would have delayed the game past 2011; the American and Australian versions have it. DS cards are region-free, so a North American copy of The Last Specter plays perfectly on a European DS or 3DS if you want it. That is the only reason to prefer the American box on this whole series.
Do the DS games work on a 3DS?
Yes. Every 3DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS, 2DS and New 2DS XL has a DS card slot and plays all four of these. It does not work the other way round: the three 3DS Layton games will not start in a DS. And DS cards are region-free, so a European Layton plays on any DS or 3DS from any region — unlike the 3DS games, which are locked.
What should I check on a used Layton cartridge?
The save and the shell. A DS card holds a limited number of save slots and a second-hand Layton usually arrives part-finished; the game lets you overwrite, so it costs you nothing but a menu. Then look at the label print quality and whether the shell sits flush — counterfeit DS cards are common, and Layton is copied often enough that a suspiciously cheap sealed copy is worth a second look.
Do you ship Professor Layton DS 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 up: all Professor Layton 3DS games — or the whole series in order. Same card slot, different franchise: all Pokémon DS games, all Mario DS games and Animal Crossing on DS.
Dutch reader? Nintendo DS-games — het hele aanbod in het Nederlands.