I gave both a quick go. Well, I gave Ace a go and returned to my game of the first Layton.
Ace seemed pretty fun. Like 999 but without all the weird and maybe more critical thinking and less pixel hunting.
Layton....well, I kinda remembered why I stopped playing. I think I was pretty close to being done the first game, but found te pacing a little weird, if that makes sense. Some of the puzzles got a bit too tedious, especially in the way that they were just fired at you....combined with my inability to just walk away without solving one. Like I enjoy the process, but a lot of them just kind of seemed pointless or not rewarding in the grand scheme of things. I'll probably try one of the later ones to see I'd just a change of scenery helps because I love the concept.