So I beat "Professor Layton and the Curious Village"... Hey, this blog reminds me of a puzzle... Feb 21, 2012 12:41PM PST

During spare moments between playing blockbuster games over the past few months I've been slowly chipping away at "Professor Layton and the Curious Village".  It's been available for a few years now, and although it's my first foray into the franchise and I have nothing to really compare it to, I think it holds up pretty well.

I like the game's cartoonish presentation and think the Ol' English sleuth vibe is quite charming.  The game centers around a primary mystery which is ultimately solved after figuring out dozens of smaller puzzles along the way.  The D-pad need not apply for this point-and-click interface. All movement and puzzle manipulation is strictly stylus-oriented, which is pretty solid in its own right.

Screen-cap image of the game's fully animated intro:

The puzzles themselves range from easy to hard, with most falling somewhere in between.  Some are mathematical.  Some are visual.  Some are logical.  Some require the player to move parts around like those flat rectangular plastic puzzles with the sliding square tiles.  There are a couple of long-term puzzles that are eventually solved by collecting rewards from other puzzles.  Then there's the puzzle within the puzzle: finding all the ones that are hidden in background objects and revealed with a precise tap of the ol' stylus.  Entering a new area or room usually results in mad tapping all over the touch screen in search of hidden puzzles, or hint coins that can be used to unlock hints in future puzzles.

When all was said and done, I was able to solve all but 6 of the puzzles I encountered.  I just couldn't figure them out, and see no point in searching for solutions on the web and ruining them.  Also, there were maybe 10 puzzles I'd yet to find or unlock.  Maybe I'll go back and look for them, or maybe I'll just move on to the next Layton game.

One of the puzzles encountered in the game:

One feature I really like are the weekly downloadable puzzles.  I just like it when developers add free content to a game.  Online support for the game ended a while ago, but I was still able to download 26 puzzles from 2008.

What I liked:

Cartoonish art style, polished voice acting.

Most puzzles give your reasoning skills a firm testing.

Plenty of secrets to be found for those who are patient enough to look for them.

What I didn't like:

No complaints, really.  The game delivers exactly what it's meant to and does it well.

image links:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1b/Professor_Layton_and_the_Curious_Village_NA_Boxart.JPG/250px-Professor_Layton_and_the_Curious_Village_NA_Boxart.JPG

http://www.videogamesblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/professor-layton-and-the-curious-village-screenshot.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2228/2314309375_a5a60c62fd.jpg

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Comments (13)

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• Love the Layton series

  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Midlife_Gamer
  

  Having played the 4th one recently, I was still able to go back and download the puzzles for the other three. Also, I believe there is a hidden unlockable that can be accessed by the DS manual - the next game in the series has a code for the previous game.

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  • I noticed that.

    Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Raised_on_Nintendo
    

    I thought that was a brilliant idea!  I never saw anything like that.

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• Amazing Series

  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  gamecollector912
  

  The Professor Layton games are by far some of the best puzzle games available.  I think, because the story line is so in-depth, that this series may just stick around awhile longer.  I cannot wait for the new 3DS Layton release!

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  • That'll be cool.

    Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Raised_on_Nintendo
    

    I agree @ story line.  Once it climaxed, I couldn't put it down.  I played the last 4 hours or so nonstop, eager to learn how everything tied togather.

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• I need to find the sequels

  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  rangergirl
  

  I loved the first game, and managed to hook one of my co-workers on it. 

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  • There's a bunch of em.

    Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Raised_on_Nintendo
    

    I can see why, too.  They're well crafted.

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• David

  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  BrokenH
  

  I wish I stayed into puzzle games. I remember going through Maniac Mansion & Shadow-Gate. My art teacher Lynn introduced me to Myst. I beat one of the Monkey Island games but cannot remember which one. However, as I got older I fell out with the genre. Perhaps I'm not as "logic-smart" as I used to be. lol.

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  • this is different.

    Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Raised_on_Nintendo
    

    the puzzels are kind of seperate from the quest.  They don't connect with the environment.  They introduce a puzzle screen, you solve it (or not), progress a little further, discover another puzzle, solve it (or not), etc.  It's not like finding keys or treaures, more like a bunch of mini-games loosely tied to an overall story.

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• Funny. . .

  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Pacario
  

  . . .I'm also playing through this game, albeit slowly, at the time of your post.  I'm at chapter 3.  I'm enjoying the game, but I do feel the quality of the puzzles is inconsistent.  A few I just don't think are very well explained or designed.  Or I could just be stupid, which I don't doubt!  Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to see this game through before I get distracted by something else.

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  • I hear ya

    Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Raised_on_Nintendo
    

    Some are no-brainers.  Others seem tough, but hinge on a subtle nuance of interpretation.  Here's an example of one I remember (posted in white font to avoid spoiling, highlight to reveal):

    You land on a newly discovered planet and count its inhabitants.  You count 233 males, 153 females, and 54 inconclusive.  How many aliens are on the planet?

    Answer: 1.  You are the only alien, the rest of the creatures are native to that planet and, thus, aren't alien.

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• Layton

  Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Cary Woodham
  

  I didn't like Prof. Layton because it had too many math problems.  I hated those in high school.  BUT, the Prof Layton animated movie is fantastic.

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  • Right.

    Posted: Feb 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  Raised_on_Nintendo
    

    True, there are some tough ones, but I learned that the ones which seemed to involve complex math hinged rather on the proper interpritation of the riddle.  See above reply for an example.  

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• I wanted to like this game so much

  Posted: Mar 21, 2012 12:00AM PST by  drmcst
  

  I really loved the art style, but I just kept getting stumped on some of the beginning puzzles and I refused to look up the answers as well. Maybe I'm just not meant to play this series.