Professor Layton and the Curious Village is the first in a five part series of games to come out on the Nintendo DS, mixing brainteasers with a story that twists and turns enough to give you a nosebleed. The series is the product of Akihiro Hino, a man many DS owners will likely recognize as the producer of the recently released (in the states) Dragon Quest IX, a good idea as to the cinematic wonder that awaits you in this title.
Before I get into the gameplay or the graphics, I have to point out one of Professor Layton's more astounding aspects: The cutscenes. There are plenty of them, and the more important story moments are fully voiced, fully animated scenes, an amazing feat on the DS.
Professor Layton is a point and click adventure game starring Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke visiting a mysterious village after being summoned by a rich family to figure out the secrets of the "golden apple," a seemingly innocuous inheritance dispute that spiderwebs into a pitfall of mysteries when one of the family members is murdered. In order to solve the mystery of the golden apple, Layton and Luke must go around town, feeding the villager's (and their own) fetish of solving puzzles. During their adventures, players will be participating in various activities, backtracking around town, and solving a wide variety of puzzles.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village introduces several of the game's recurring characters, including Inspector Chelmey, his companion Constable Barton, and a number of other characters I won't name because they're integral to the plot.
Presentation for the puzzles is slightly amusing, especially in one sequence of high danger where Layton and Luke literally stop in their tracks because an object reminds Layton of a puzzle he once heard, and he wants to see if Luke can guess it. Even more amusing (and by amusing I mean concerning) in cases where Layton will be searching for a kidnapped person, and you'll come across a villager saying "Sure, I know where he went, but if you want to know you'll have to solve this puzzle." The character's universal love of puzzles ranges from hobby to fetish to just plain creepy at times.
The puzzles are exactly what you'd expect out of a puzzle game, and there are a lot of them. Although a large portion of the puzzles are recognizable, only a small portion are to the point of easy solving. You'll be doing everything from moving stacks around three plates, to solving tile-set puzzles, to figuring out which of the twisting ropes goes to the correct outlet, and many more. 120 in total. You don't have to do all of the puzzles in order to complete the game, but finding and solving all 120 will unlock bonus puzzles on the main menu. On a side note, solving each puzzle has a charming voice-over depending on which character volunteered to complete the puzzle, including Layton's "a true gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved," and Luke's "Layton's apprentice strikes again!"
Hint coins are scattered around the game like fake grass on a football field, and are used to unlock each puzzle's three hints for those who get stuck. None of the puzzles have timers, and having a calculator or a scrap piece of paper to plot with is a huge advantage. If you "miss" a puzzle, meaning you move to a new chapter or the person giving the puzzle is no longer available, the puzzle is moved to Granny Riddleton's (remember this name) shack, where you can finish the puzzle, and still gain whatever prize it might have given. All puzzles give picarats, a point system that really means nothing.
The villager's puzzles aren't the only activity you will be busying yourself with, however. You'll be gathering gizmos in order to build Gizmo the robot dog. You'll also be seeking out portrait pieces, a jigsaw puzzle that evolves as the game progresses and you find more pieces. Finishing the dog gives you a companion to sniff out hint coins, and finishing the portrait allows the story to progress, but you won't find all the pieces to both of these until late in the game.
I don't think many of the reviewers gave enough credit to Professor Layton's story. The story may not be on the same level as, say, a Tom Clancy novel, but the game will keep you guessing right up until the very end, and has plenty of twists to keep you on your toes. I'll just say, you will never see the ending coming, unless you read a walkthrough.
I give Professor Layton and the Curious Village a 4.5/5, but only because several of the puzzles made me want to throw my Nintendo DS through the wall. The story mode brought me to almost nine hours of gameplay, not including the 26 bonus downloadable puzzles that were already in the game.
Stay tuned for my review of Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.
