Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights does not pilfer from Professor Layton, hope for sequels, says Konami

A portion of a Planet3DS interview with Konami’s Noriaki Okamura…

Planet3DS.de: There are obvious parallels between your game and the Professor Layton franchise by Level-5, for example the hand-drawn backgrounds or Lautrec’s top hat. In what way did the Professor Layton games inspire you during development?

Noriaki Okamura, Konami: The Layton series is a game that I truly respect and it’s true that I am inspired by it. It might sound like an excuse to people who feel this game is inspired by the Layton series, but I did not intend to make the game look like the Layton series. As for the hat, I just thought it would be awkward for a gentleman of the 19th century to be not wearing one.

Planet3DS.de: Lastly, let’s take a look into the future: Are the adventures of Doctor Lautrec and his assistants open for other consoles or sequels? Or how about a fighting game in cooperation with Level-5: Doctor Lautrec vs. Professor Layton?

Noriaki Okamura, Konami: I would love to challenge other consoles in the sequels. Most importantly, we need the users to enjoy playing this game and I would be delighted if more and more users will think they would like to play a sequel of this game. Layton vs….well, what do you think? I personally respect the company, Level 5 very much, so it would be an honor for me. At first, I would like all the users to enjoy this game so that there would be plenty of opportunities ahead.