| Atamania | |
|---|---|
 Japanese series logo. | |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Developer(s) | Level-5 |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS,Mobile phone |
| First release | Surōn to Makuhēru no Nazo no Sutōrī
|
| Latest release | Layton Brothers: Mystery Room
|
Atamania (アタマニア)[1] is a series ofcasualpuzzle video games published byLevel-5. The series comprises two, unrelated series of puzzle games.Tago Akira no Atama no Taisō (多湖輝の頭の体操,Professor Tago's Mental Gymnastics) is a collection of puzzles created byAkira Tago, a Japanese professor who has authored a series of books within Japan under the same name. Players read through stories and solve puzzles at their own leisure.Surōn to Makuhēru no Nazo no Sutōrī (スローンとマクヘールの謎の物語,Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's Intriguing Tales) is based on the concept oflateral thinking puzzles, books authored byPaul Sloane andDes MacHale. The games have drawn comparison to theProfessor Layton series, which is also published by Level-5.
A third branch of the series, entitledMystery Room, was also planned, but the title was ultimatelyrebranded as aspin-off of theProfessor Layton series, entitledLayton Brothers: Mystery Room. Level-5CEOAkihiro Hino stated in 2008 that moreAtamania titles were under consideration, but aside fromMystery Room, none have since been announced.[2]
InSurōn to Makuhēru no Nazo no Sutōrī (スローンとマクヘールの謎の物語,Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's Intriguing Tales), the player is tasked with solving lateral thinking puzzles, a type of puzzle created by authorsPaul Sloane andDes MacHale.[3] In lateral thinking puzzles, the player is given bare details about a strange circumstance, and the goal is to deduce what happened through a series ofyes–no questions. For example, a girl takes an umbrella to school, knowing it was sunny outside. A player would then be asked why she would do such a thing, and be given the option of asking yes–no questions to figure out the answer. The player might then ask whether or not it rained the day before, and, if that were the case, eventually conclude that she was returning an umbrella that she had borrowed the day prior.[3] InNazo no Monogatari, the player is capable of asking questions by connecting two words or phrases,[4] causing a question to automatically be generated from them. In order to solve a puzzle, the player is asked to complete a multiple-choice quiz with many possible answers in order to ensure that they have found the correct solution to the mystery.[3]
Nazo no Sutōrī sold 144,000 units within the first month of its release on May 21, 2009;[5] it would receive a sequel the same year on September 3, entitledSurōn to Makuhēru no Nazo no Sutōrī 2 (スローンとマクヘールの謎の物語2,Paul Sloane and Des MacHale's Intriguing Tales 2).Nazo no Sutōrī 2 introduced a "mystery challenge" mode, which adds new challenges to the game as a player progresses through the game's story mode.[6] Both games were also made available on Level-5's ROID service, a gaming platform formobile phones in Japan.[7]
Tago Akira no Atama no Taisō is based on a series of puzzle books of the same name written by Akira Tago, who has taken part in the development of puzzles in both this series and theProfessor Layton series.[2] In Atama no Taisō, the player reads through storybooks based on Akira Tago's puzzle books, and is presented with puzzles to solve at their leisure.[2] If a player is not able to solve a puzzle in the game, they have the option of revealing the answer to the puzzle. There were four Atama no Taisō games released, in sets of two. The first set was released in Japan on June 18, 2009. It consisted ofDai-1-Shū: Nazotoki Sekai Isshū Ryokō (第1集 謎解き世界一周旅行,Episode 1: A Puzzle-Solving Adventure Around the World) andDai-2-Shū: Ginga Ōdan Nazotoki Adobenchā (第2集 銀河横断謎解きアドベンチャー,Episode 2: A Puzzle-Solving Adventure Across the Universe). The second pair was released on October 8, 2009; it consisted ofDai-3-Shū: Fushigi no Kuni no Nazotoki Otogibanashi (第3集 不思議の国の謎解きおとぎ話,Episode 3: A Puzzle-Solving Fairytale in Wonderland) andDai-4-Shū: Taimu Mashin no Nazotoki dai Bōken (第4集 タイムマシンの謎解き大冒険,Episode 4: A Puzzle-Solving Trip on a Time Machine).[6]
Players tilt the Nintendo DS system on its side to solve puzzles, so that the system resembles a book, comparable to the system used inBrain Age andHotel Dusk: Room 215. Each episode has about 400 puzzles, totaling over 1,500 puzzles within the series.[2] The series has sold comparatively poorly: the first episode was the seventh best-selling game on Japan on the week of its release at 10,000 units, charting belowNazo no Monogatari despite the latter having been released several weeks earlier.[5]
At the company's annual conference in 2009, Level-5 announced a third branch of the series, entitledMystery Room.[8] InMystery Room, the player would follow the lives of Poccho and Sly, two genius detectives in the fictional Brewster Detective Agency, the top-rated agency in theUnited States.[6] The two worked in the "Final Investigation Room", and would solve crimes based solely on information they have gathered from other detectives.[8] The game was to be played by selecting a crime from a list of options, and then using thetouch screen of the Nintendo DS to examine materials.[6]
The game was originally planned to release in 2010,[6] but the title was not released and all but its trailer was removed at the last moment from Level-5's 2010 presentation at theTokyo Game Show.[9] The title was later given a "Spring 2011" release date, but it would again be delayed indefinitely to "deliver a product of desired quality.".[10]Mystery Room appeared again at Level-5's annual conference in October 2011, where it was announced that the Nintendo DS version of the game had been cancelled,[11] and the title had been ported toApple'siOS, where it would be released asLayton Brothers: Mystery Room, a spin-off of theProfessor Layton series featuring the son ofProfessor Hershel Layton.[11][12]