Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Say what you will about the proliferation of so-called “casual gaming” on Nintendo platforms – but some such games are still able to provide every bit the enjoyment of more traditional platformers, action adventures, role-playing games, and first-person shooters. One game that deserves attention no matter what kind of gamer you are is Professor Layton and the Curious Village. Not content to provide only hours of mind-bending fun, it also succeeds in spinning an engrossing yarn that keeps you coming back for more.
The story begins as Professor Layton and Luke, his young apprentice, are called to the town of St. Mystere by the wealthy widow, Lady Dahlia. The good lady’s late husband, Baron Augustus Reinhold, has recently passed away and left his greatest treasure hidden somewhere within the village. Layton’s assignment is to track down this treasure, known only as the “Golden Apple.” In order to accomplish his quest, he and Luke will have to search St. Mystere from top to bottom, solving puzzles along the way.
That’s really all there is to it, but the rub is in the game’s masterful execution; an adorable art style, terrific use of the DS stylus, a wide array of puzzles to solve (120 of them in the main storyline), and one of the best-told stories available in a gaming experience.
St. Mystere and its residents are completely hand-drawn in a cartoonish, detective-y kind of style. It’s very detailed, and at times I nearly forgot I was playing a game. The Curious Village also features a number of cutscenes with full animation and impressive voice-acting. The introductory and closing cutscenes are both several minutes in length and are some of the most satisfying interludes that I’ve seen. You’ll view other animations of varying length between each of the game’s 9 chapters.
While wandering through the town, be sure to tap everywhere! The stylus is an essential part of both exploration and solving puzzles. Tapping various objects you come across, whether they be signs, barrels, or stones, can uncover hidden puzzles or hint coins (I’ll elaborate on these in a moment). As far as puzzle-solving goes, you’ll use the stylus to its full potential (it’s the only method of control available). It’s used to draw circles, tap buttons, drag objects around, and more.
Of course, the meat of the Curious Village is St. Mystere’s odd obsession with puzzles, and provides the challenge it will take to reach the end of the game. Hint coins are littered throughout the environment waiting to be found, and each puzzle has 3 hints associated with it. There aren’t enough hint coins in the game to unlock every single hint, but there are more than enough to get through the most difficult problems. There are 200 hint coins in total, and I had 135 of them left when all was said and done.
You don’t need to solve all 120 puzzles to find the Golden Apple, but you’ll certainly want to in order to get as much enjoyment as possible out of the cart. In addition, a number of bonus puzzles are available – some can be unlocked as free downloadable content, while others are revealed by accomplishing certain optional goals during gameplay, such as piecing together a painting, or decorating Layton’s and Luke’s hotel rooms with objects you’ll discover along the way.
Level-5’s first DS title is a study in how to create an enjoyable game that you can pick up or put down on a whim, no matter how much time you have to devote to a puzzle-solving session. In total, I spent between 16 and 17 hours in the main game to track down and solve all 120 brainteasers. During my stay in St. Mystere, I found myself trying to figure out the mysteries presented in the storyline, and even managed to solve a few (the game tracks 10 in the Mysteries subscreen) before the Professor revealed them. The story is surprisingly gripping and adds immeasurable value to the actual play mechanics themselves. Professor Layton and the Curious Village deserves a place on the shelf of anyone who owns a Nintendo DS. It’s time well-spent.
| Graphics | 8.9 | Among the best you can find on the DS. The hand-drawn art and animation are detailed and captivating. |
|---|---|---|
| Sound | 9.2 | The music sets the atmosphere perfectly, and the voice-acting is seriously top-notch. |
| Experience | 9.5 | There isn’t much to detract from this adventure. From the fascinating puzzles to the storyline that just keeps pushing you further, I never once turned off the game in boredom. |
| Lasting Value | 8.5 | It's worth multiple spins, but even if you only finish the game once, the bonus content will keep you going for even longer. |
| Overall: 9.2 (Not an average) | ||
