Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Level-5 / Nintendo

Lauren: I always used to hate logic puzzles. I'd skip over them for crosswords and anagrams in a heartbeat. But then Anthony introduced me to a British gentleman known as Professor Layton. I honestly didn't think I'd get much further than the introductory puzzles in this game, yet I found myself completely addicted right from the get-go. It was an excellent game, even further than the puzzles were concerned.

Layton has an artsy, cartoonish style all its own. From the first cutscene, I felt drawn into their mysterious little world. The atmosphere is simply fantastic, and it's further improved by the wonderful music. Every song perfectly suits its scene, and even the puzzle-solving music occasionally gets caught in my head nearly a year after finishing the game.

The voice acting, however, really takes the cake. Layton has a very fitting British accent, while his apprentice has more of a Cockney tone. Each voice fits the character perfectly, and even some of the characters' common lines still get caught in my head along with the music.

The plot is fascinating - a real mystery indeed. I love it when games can still surprise me with their plot twists, and Professor Layton was no exception. I very much enjoyed how all the loose ends tied together. The characters had a lot of personality, and they received some interesting development along the way.

As far as the gameplay goes, it's mostly a series of logic puzzles strung together by a point-and-click style adventure. The puzzles range from easy to infuriating, whether they require deep thought or trial and error. For example, sometimes you'll be doing the classic "which of these people is lying" brainteaser, and another time you'll be arranging items as though they're parts of a Rubik's cube. There's a lot of variation to be found here.

If you happen to get stuck, and most people will, you'll be able to find "hint coins" scattered throughout the village. You can view up to three hints for each puzzle, all generally making the solution gradually more clear. I was stumped on a few of them even after the third clue, but the challenges were still welcome.

What I found most interesting about the puzzles in Layton was the fact that most didn't require mathematical solutions or a scrap piece of paper - they generally make you think outside the box. You may find that you're thinking too hard out of habit, only to find that the solution is right under your nose. It's a very clever design.

The adventure doesn't end when the storyline does. You can find many unlockable challenges that are considerably more difficult than most of the story puzzles. Even more puzzles are available for download, and these generally vary in difficulty.

What more can I say? The graphics, music, voicework, and gameplay were all very well done. It's an excellent game, but if you really dislike brainteasers, it might not be for you. Still, bear in mind that its charming presentation turned this puzzle-hater right around.

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Anthony: Sorry, Henry Hatsworth. You may be a dapper English gentleman, but you weren’t able to steal my heart from the other delightful English gentleman on the DS. Professor Layton was a lovely little game that has me clamoring for a sequel.

I loved this game. Everything about it oozed charm, and there was no single aspect of it that had any functional problems. The graphics were cool and cute, perfect for the setting. Dialog was clever, and at times surprisingly funny. Puzzles were often engaging, with some having me really stumped until I realized whatever mean piece of wording they’d slipped in to trip me up. The bits of voice acting were great, and the period music was catchy and fitting. The balance was good, because you could always go back and try puzzles you missed, and the town was littered with hint coins to help you out...

But what really sticks with me even now is the story. Sure, I knew it was a mystery tale, but given the cartoony nature of it all and silly puzzle integrations, I really wasn’t expecting much from it. I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised as the mysteries of the town unraveled. It caught me off guard, and given I feel many RPGs I've played lately fail to surprise or interest me with their plot twists, for this little gem to throw me for a loop is pretty awesome.

If I have any complaints, I’d say that that despite having ten different mysteries given to you throughout the game, they all get solved in pretty rapid succession, so that makes it a little less climactic. Though the weekly downloadable puzzles were a nice touch, I would’ve liked to have seen more, especially since I solved one in approximately two seconds. And a few times it wouldn't let you take notes on the screen when it might've been helpful.

They’ve made me into a fan with this game, and I’ll be eagerly waiting the next version. This is the kind of game that really just worked on every level to me. It made me smile with the style and dialog, it surprised me with the plot, and it was satisfying to figure out the logic puzzles. Unless you have an absolute aversion to puzzles, I highly recommend it.