Last specter analysis 2:
One thing I love and admire so much about last specter that I'd completely forgotten about is
The worldbuilding of Misthallery is fucking hype.
Strap in, this is a long one.
Last spectre does such a GREAT job of explaining the reasons why things are the way they are in Misthallery, and using the environment to the story's advantage very subtly.
To explain what I mean, we'll start with the black ravens.
We know them, we love them, they're our favorite black market running kids.
But why do they run the black market anyway? It's fairly odd for children to be managing everything.
As a kid I never questioned it (mostly because kids running things feels like a cool idea when you are one) but there actually IS an explanation if you're paying attention.
Their parents all used to work at the abandoned factory descole later turns into a hideout, but when the factory got shut down, they lost their jobs and were unable to make ends meet. One of the kids (i swear it was wren or socket but I don't remember well enough to be sure) mentions their mom being so distraught by it she hardly has the energy to do anything.
So the factory workers' kids found more creative ways to earn a living out of necessity. They are the ones feeding their families (which is incredibly sad).
Now then why did the factory close down? Well, because of Evan Barde. Specifically because the factory was polluting the air ARIANNA was breathing in.
Immediately the story has inextricably linked the factory, barde manor and the market to eachother, and simultaneously given you another reason for Evan Barde to be hated by the townspeople, but also for you to sympathize with him, since he was doing it for arianna.
This bad boy can fit so much impact on the story despite never appearing once I swear to god—
Another example:
Misthallery's water system. The water in Misthallery is used to the story's advantage in a lot of ways, the pipes give the melody a reason to be everywhere, the boats give you a reason for quick travel, the mist gives a reason for the specter to be hidden, and the dam gives us a reason for descole's mech to be defeated.
But the ways these are implemented also makes sense in-universe, when you consider it.
The reason loosha was found by the Barde kids is because they live next to the reservoir. The reason the pipes all lead to Barde manor so Arianna can play music into them is the same.
The reason they live next to the reservoir at all is because both the manor and the reservoir make sense to be higher up. A mayor's residence should overlook the town, and a water reservoir can disperse the water evenly over town much easier when helped by gravity.
Luke even mentions people have been getting sick since the specter arrived, WHICH MAKES SO MUCH SENSE IN HINDSIGHT,
because descole has been hiding his excavation machine from the DIRTY ABANDONED FACTORY SHUT DOWN FOR POLLUTION
IN THEIR WATER.
ALSO also, the canals help the grand finale by giving us a REASON for the dam breaking at the end not being of much risk to the misthallery residents themselves. The black ravens are not just breaking the dam so willingly because they're desperate (even if they might be). They're also aware of the fact that the surplus of water will seep into the canals and disappear naturally. Layton himself explains this fact to badger in a later part of the game (who is worried about it until you solve a puzzle for him). Misthallery can't flood for very long due to the canals.
Misthallery's worldbuilding is so good because it does not simply introduce locations. It links those locations to eachother THROUGH the story, and it explains WHY those locations are the way they are at the time the story happens. It makes misthallery feel so much more real and lively. I feel like it could actually exist, like it does exist in some place I haven't been yet.
Instead of just walking through PLACES, you're walking through STORY. The environment in misthallery MATTERS, it's not just something to look at.
Last specter is genuinely my favorite game for many reasons, but this is a big one.
