Is this the end for Professor Layton?

We've not even had the latest Professor Layton game (Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask) for Nintendo 3DS over here in Europe, and yet Level-5 has just announced a brand-new Layton for Japan in 2013.

Professor Layton Choubunmei to A no Isan, as it will be known in Japan, marks the end of an era. According to Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino, this will be Hershel Layton's final adventure.

Whether that means the end for the Professor Layton series full stop or whether it just means there will only be spin-offs from now on - as with the Phoenix Wright series - remains to be seen.

The game looks set to feature all the familiar Layton tropes - maps branching all over the place, people offering you random puzzles in order to progress, etc., etc. If you've played a Layton game before, you'll know exactly what to expect.

All the characters are rendered in 3D, though, unlike the DS Layton releases. The video shown during today's Nintendo Direct broadcast contained flashes of paranormal activity, so we can no doubt expect a storyline as mental as the usual Layton plot.

For now, we'd just like Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask to be released as soon as possible here in the UK if you wouldn't mind, Level-5.

Click on the screenshot above to see how the new Professor Layton looks.