Doctor Lautrec And The Forgotten Knights Has A Touch Of Professor Layton

Konami’s "treasure adventure" game has a flattering formula. Doctor Jean-Pierre Lautrec, the game’s star character, kind of looks like Professor Layton with his towering top hat. He also has a young assistant, Miss Sophie Coubertin, who is a student at the University of Paris.

That’s right Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights is set in Paris, 19th century Paris. The two met while Sophie interned at the Museum of Natural History where Dr. Lautrec works. People look up to him as a genius and (surprise!) he loves solving mysteries. Actually, that’s all he loves. Lautrec isn’t concerned with right or wrong, just solving puzzles and excavating treasures.

While the characters sound like they stepped out of a Level-5 game, Konami’s game looks like it has a different style of play. You can directly control the Doctor and explore areas. There’s also some kind of fighting component, which hasn’t been revealed. Screenshots make it look somewhat RPG-ish with HP and attack stats.

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights is on track for a spring release in Japan.