Layton games make robots happy. FACT.

The first Professor Layton was a huge crossover hit all over the world, bringing non-gamers to the DS in droves, enchanted by its blend of puzzle and adventure in a rather whimsical shell. Last year's Pandora's Box was every bit as good, and now the saga continues with two more mysteries for the top-hat professor to get his head around.

First for DS is Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, in which the Professor receives a letter from his faithful sidekick Luke. Sounds exciting, but it gets better: the letter is from Luke ten years in the future, painting a picture of a London thrown into disarray. With 165 new puzzles, "significantly more" hand-drawn animations and voiceovers as well as a continuation of the series' support for puzzle downloads, Mystery of the Unwound Future looks like being another slick entry in the series. Check out the screenshots over at the game page now, and check out the first trailer below:

After that comes Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, a temporary title, coming to the 3DS. Although far less is known about this one, the released screenshots show the Professor and his accomplice building a robot and exploring some form of carnival wasteland.

Having two Professor Layton games in its portfolio could be a very smart move for Nintendo: the first two titles have sold gangbusters in Western territories, and if any title is likely to convince the extended market that 3DS is something it needs then it could well be the top hat professor and his flat cap-wearing assistant. Stay tuned as we'll definitely have more on these titles as they develop.