Professor Layton and the Curious Village Review

By John Walker Published 19 February, 2008

Curiouser and curiouser.

Version tested: DS

The title is enough to let you know everything about this game. It's gorgeous, elaborate, and silly. It's a game that can only work on the DS, and celebrates all that's engaging and esoteric about the medium.

Professor Layton is a top-hat-wearing fellow who has a penchant for puzzle-solving. He has heard word about a mysterious village containing a special puzzle revolving around an object called The Golden Apple. Travelling with his young companion, Luke, he enters the curious village to discover a town populated by people obsessed with puzzles, and a lot of peculiar secrets. It's a puzzle game, but with one heck of a story.

At first glance, you'll think this is a kids' game. In fact, the opening sequence - a really beautiful animated cut-scene that you'd believe could have come from the mind of Hayao Miuazaki - really feels aimed at children. Prof Layton is an avuncular fellow, cheery of disposition and speaks very clearly and plainly to his buddy. Luke is a chirpy, over-enthusiastic kid, excited by the adventure laying out before them. It doesn't prepare you for a story that's surprisingly dark (there's a murder within the first hour), and then impressively convoluted. And perhaps most significantly, the puzzles are far too difficult for a pre-teen audience. Quickly you realise that your brain was just in the wrong place, and you soon settle into a cartoon world designed for adults.

As I type, I'm still playing the game. I've finished it, which unlocked some new puzzles for me. I then went back through to find a couple of puzzles I'd missed. Completing these, I've now unlocked three further puzzles. So I'm going to complete them before I carry on. Priorities, you see.

There, finished. Every puzzle (all 135) in the game completed. And I'm a better person for it. It took about 15 hours too.

'Professor Layton and the Curious Village' Screenshot 1

Cheeky little brat. Leave him in the car.

This is how it works. You have this morbid and sweet story, involving murders, kidnappings, evil cowled figures, mysterious towers and hidden treasures, as a framework for a collection of superb brainteasers. Is there an internal coherence for everyone you meet stopping you in your hurried tracks and demanding that you work out how many squares can be arranged on a board of pegs, or which of the four people are telling lies in a story? Yes. There is. In fact, a recent Penny Arcade strip betrayed an ignorance of the game by mocking it for this - something that not only does the game mock itself for throughout, but then absolutely justifies with its story by the end.

It's all played with the stylus. You explore scenes and change location in a sort of point-and-click way (although your characters are rarely on screen for this), searching through each scene to find hidden clue coins (exchanged for clues when you're stuck in puzzles, but designed as a semi-limited resource to stop you cheating your way through) and secret puzzles. Characters are tapped on to talk to them, invariably resulting in their giving you a puzzle. And the overriding story encourages you to get to the next tale-telling locale (although after the first section, you can ignore these and explore at your leisure). Puzzles are also stylus-based, very often requiring you to draw on the screen, circle an object, or enter numbers and words through a superb handwriting recognition system.

It's originally a Japanese game, made by Level-5, who you might know from Rogue Galaxy, Dark Cloud or Dragon Quest VIII, released last year. But the large gap for translation and localisation has been entirely worth it. There isn't a missed beat; it's perfectly translated, and superbly reshaped. Japanese-centric puzzles, especially those featuring kanji, have been replaced with Western equivalents. Level-5's RPG background shines through, never subverting the game from what it is - an adventure/puzzle game - but demonstrating a talent for telling a good story. That you can't skip their cut-scenes is a stupid decision, but the first time you see them you'd be insane to want to.

So here's a couple of examples of the sorts of puzzles. Consider this a form of demo:

"The following is written on a piece of paper you picked up:

"_ is 1,000 times _ _'

To turn this strange message into a proper sentence, all you need to do is fill in the _ with a single letter of the alphabet. But what could the letter be? You'll need to use the same letter for all three _s."

Many are visual. Counting the triangles in a convoluted pattern, rearranging blocks so a ball can escape, drawing a shape onto the background. They start off very simple, and then become moderately tough. It's not until near the end that you'll start needing the clues, but it does get really tough. For instance:

"The numbers below follow a certain rule. What is the missing number?

112311?1213"

Good luck with that one.

At some points I found myself remembering algebra to solve puzzles, although I suspect I was missing a simpler route. And what a joy to play a DS game with a notepad by my side, for scribbling out ideas. In fact, wonderfully, for most of the puzzles the DS lets you doodle on the screen, meaning you can make notes, draw out sums, sketch 3D shapes, etc, while on the move.

So what's not so great? Well, there are a couple of puzzles that just don't make sense. One in particular is plain, flat-out wrong. But it is only two out of 135, for perspective. Frustrating though. Also, toward the end the number of puzzles available dries up, leaving you trudging around the town looking for the few that remain in a bit of a needle/haystack situation. And there's a bit too much reliance on sliding block puzzles later on, with the fresh, wordy challenges disappearing. (I stress, these are those Japanese wooden block puzzles, rather than something as ghastly as a sliding tile puzzle where you rearrange the flat discs to make a picture of a rabbit, or some such bloody rubbish. In fact, there is one such puzzle, but brilliantly it subverts the form, as if mocking all the idiotic "adventure" "games" that think them a valid inclusion.

'Professor Layton and the Curious Village' Screenshot 2

There are too many of these puzzles, but thankfully there's many more varied.

There's also some early problems with the weekly Wi-Fi puzzle download, with many players reporting that the download fails for them midway through - it did for us too. But this, we are assured, is being looked into.

The other thing that bugged me, and maybe this is just me, is the voice of Luke. During the utterly gorgeous cut-scenes (did I mention how gorgeous they are?) the characters are wonderfully voiced, with the exception of the kid character, who come to think of it doesn't really serve any purpose at all. It's one of those over-enthused older-woman-as-young-boy voices that squeak out of the average CBBC cartoon, and to me sounded far too much like Josie Bloody Lawrence for my teeth to bear. The whole story would have made a lot more sense if it were just Prof Layton on his own, removing the somewhat troubling question about why he was travelling with a pre-pubescent boy (to whom he wasn't related) in an unknown village for days on end. (Although a lot of the puzzles were predicated on Layton and Luke asking one another... Um, replace him with a talking cat!)

But tish and fipsy to such complaints. This is utter loveliness, embodying everything the DS has come to mean to me. Puzzles, high spirits, and an embracing of beautiful 2D artwork over complicated 3D fuss. Wonderfully, the ending - which is entirely satisfying and complete - promises that there will be more. In fact, finish it and one of the features unlocked is a place to put in a password (unique to your DS) that will be revealed in the next game in the series. Meta! It is, in fact, the beginning of a trilogy, which is a fact that fills my heart with glee. Two more of these! Hurrah! The next is to be called Professor Layton and The Devil's Box (ooer) and is out now in Japan. Oh, and weird news while we're distracted from the review: there are rumours of a live-action film based on the characters.

Where were we? Oh yes, a really lovely, surprisingly dark, and utterly engrossing collection of varied puzzles. It's getting a 9, and if you tried to argue I should have given it 8 you'd be right on every technical level. But then I'd lift up the top of my skull and show you all the happy it's put inside my head, and then you'd realise you were wrong.

9 / 10

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About John Walker

Read more articles from John by visiting the John Walker archive page.

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Comments (72) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Carlo #1 4 years ago

    So, do i buy the missus this one?

  • Weezer #2 4 years ago

    Wow. Out of nowhere... time to trade in some old shite for this then. I love puzzle games, me.
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 14:12

  • the_dudefather #3 4 years ago

    best DS game in ages

    even had the family helping out to solve a few puzzles

  • PortJourno #4 4 years ago

    Is it out in Europe yet? Or is this an import review?

  • convercide #5 4 years ago

    The first one is 'm'. 1m = 1000mm.

    I so want this game.
    Edited by 2 at 19/02/08 @ 14:22

  • _Price_ #6 4 years ago

    : ) Great looking game and a contender for best name of the year. Sooooo many DS games still to get.

  • Aretak #7 4 years ago

    Do want.

  • Psychotext #8 4 years ago

    FINALLY! Been so long since I played my DS. =(

  • AcidSnake #9 4 years ago

    Didn't think much of this...Now it's a certain buy!
    I'm not really charmed by the art style though...

  • Der_tolle_Emil #10 4 years ago

    This will definetly end up in my collection. Sounds brilliant!

  • Dr.Mott #11 4 years ago

    You should have given it an 8. :p

  • convercide #12 4 years ago

    @_Jaime
    Where'd your post go?
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 14:23

  • _Jamie #13 4 years ago

    :)

    It came across wrong sorry.

    C'ckturd :)

  • Muddtallica #14 4 years ago

    This game looks really, genuinely intriguing, in the best way; I'm just so curious to give this a go, and see what it's all about especially after seeing the trailer. Not to mention the gorgeous visuals...a must-buy for me, I reckon...

  • convercide #15 4 years ago

    @_Jaime

    It was cocktard. :p

  • MoGamer2006 #16 4 years ago

    Anyone got the US version of this? I assume there are no Yank-specific puzzles I should be warned about...?

  • the_dudefather #17 4 years ago

    "Anyone got the US version of this? I assume there are no Yank-specific puzzles I should be warned about...?"

    so far for me, not really, some with Lbs, quarts and US currency, but doesn't really effect the puzzle

  • kissthestick #18 4 years ago

    Fuck NOE, gonna import this :)

  • FenderMaster #19 4 years ago

    did they just have a dig at resident evil 4?

  • shido #20 4 years ago

    don't even hesitate about buying this game.

    An absolute gem. Enjoying every second.

  • HiddenAway #21 4 years ago

    I want this too. When's it due for us poor Europeans?

    No I don't want to import. I'm not THAT desperate yet :p.

  • MoGamer2006 #22 4 years ago

    @the_dudefather

    thanks - game has been duly ordered!

  • Whitewalker #23 4 years ago

    Looks truly lovely.

  • UncleLou #24 4 years ago

    So, is there even a European release date yet? I am not desperate for a new DS game right now, so if it's released within the next few months, I'll wait. If not, I'll import.

    Cheers.

  • red_shift #25 4 years ago

    i want this.

  • BadBoyBonner #26 4 years ago

    Kept GF quiet for over 4 hours last night - allowing for some serious CoD 4 time - worth it's weight in gold.

    I got onto the 6th puzzle, presentation is flawless and I can already tell it's a game I will enjoy very much.

    "Best DS games in ages" seconded well apart from the recent Advance Wars obviously.

    EDIT - US version £22 including shipping @ Play Asia (for those that don't mind importing)
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 15:33

  • Waffleaber #27 4 years ago

    This game is truly excellent.

    It seems a natural progression from the Brain Training type games by putting more and more gameplay into puzzle games. If this sells well we could soon get the point-and-clcik rebirth we need.

  • tentonipete #28 4 years ago

    luke's voice is SO annoying. it's not only the overenthusiastic woman-ness but also the dick van dyke cockney accent.

    owl right prowfessah lietown

  • Benno #29 4 years ago

    better than gears of war then?

  • botherer #30 4 years ago

    not_luigi - there's one far worse than the digital clock display. Unless I'm losing my mind, there's a puzzle based on a number of words apparently featuring "silent" letters. They don't seem very silent when I say them out loud.

    Edit: Yes, come to think of it, there's nothing wrong with the digital clock one at all.
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 16:08

  • Benno #31 4 years ago

    will probs send this to my mum for mothers day, she likes the brain training puzzle stuff

  • funkstar #32 4 years ago

    not_luigi: if the digital clock one is the same one im thinking of, then it's not wrong at all (counting the number of times 3 consecutive numbers show up?)

  • absolutezero #33 4 years ago

    Dammit I just ordered Phoenix Wright 3 + Apollo, not I have to risk bank fees and get this aswell.

  • funkstar #34 4 years ago

    ah ok i see your point now! yeah i just figured that since it made the point of it being a 12 hour clock that it meant we should treat 0 and 12 as the same,
    IE: you can refer to half-past midnight as 12:30, but you can't refer to half-past noon as 0:30
    (if that makes sense?)
    therefore, count both as 12

    and, FWIW, my 12 hour clock only displays a 12 :)
    Edited by 2 at 19/02/08 @ 16:06

  • lemonfist #35 4 years ago

    Next to Picross DS, this is by far the best puzzle game on the system.

  • BadBoyBonner #36 4 years ago

    Digital Clock - my reasoning


    Here's what I thought.

    111n = 10 times

    0111
    0222
    0333
    0444
    0555 = 5

    1000 = 1

    1222 = 1

    Then times by 2 as 12 hour clock completes two cycles in one day.

    Answer is 34


    Edit - no twelve hour clock will EVER display 0000 - it will either be 12.00am or 12.00pm
    Edited by 3 at 19/02/08 @ 16:20

  • stoic #37 4 years ago

    Good review and a great game.
    I don't think penny-arcade was critizing the game so much as trying to be tongue-in-cheek though. Judging by the accompanying news-post they seemed to like the game quite a lot...
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 16:17

  • funkstar #38 4 years ago

    not_luigi: someone disagrees with you heh... personally i dont pay that much attention to whether 12 hours clocks display 0 or 12 in the wee hours :)

  • LOLLERS #39 4 years ago

    Professor Gayton more like.

  • aldo_14 #40 4 years ago

    Professor Gayton more like.

    Wow, with a wit like that you must pull all the chicks!

  • psychokitten #41 4 years ago

    Definitely worth importing, it'll probably work out cheaper than a Euro release anyway.
    Great game, unless you really hate brainteasers. The animation style reminded me of Miyazaki too.
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 17:21

  • toythatkills #42 4 years ago

    So wait, what puzzle is flat out wrong? The clock one is definately fine, and the silent letters one is also fine as far as I can tell - it'd be a shame if someone didn't buy the game based on a reviewer not being able to understand a puzzle.

    It's certainly not very fair on the game to claim a puzzle is wrong in a review without being 100% sure.

  • OrangeGoblin #43 4 years ago

    Is MovieTyme reliable? Its web design makes it look really really dodgy. Desperately want to import this but a) really don't need any more games and b) am worried the DLC won't work for me even though it has worked for other Europeans, I'm just paranoid like that. Someone push me over the edge.

  • erp #44 4 years ago

    MovieTyme are fine. I've ordered lots of stuff from them and have never had any trouble. Their average delivery times have been really quick for me too - sometimes within 3 days - although if they're short of stock in can take closer to a couple of weeks.

    Nothing at all to worry about concerning legitimacy though.

  • botherer #45 4 years ago

    toythatkills - I think it's safe to say I've somewhat recommended people buy the game, and perhaps been a little positive about it. However, can you explain the silent letters puzzle to me, because I'm fairly convinced it's gibberish?

  • sneetch #46 4 years ago

    "Yes. There is. In fact, a recent Penny Arcade strip betrayed an ignorance of the game by mocking it for this - something that not only does the game mock itself for throughout, but then absolutely justifies with its story by the end."

    Erm. No. If the reviewer had read the accompanying newspost he'd see that Tycho "got" the game completely. He simply commented that (from Penny-Arcade http://www.pen ny-arcade.com/2008/02/13) "... every person you meet breaks into "puzzle" the way that viking ladies tend to break into song, out of nowhere, and now you're riddling out some jackhole's insane chicken scratches."

    They most certainly were not "mocking" it.

    Edit: BTW excellent review otherwise, it's tempting me to get a DS :)
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 19:09

  • toythatkills #47 4 years ago

    The silent letters puzzle -

    Each of the words has a letter that you don't specifically pronounce, whether it's the 'e' in tune or the first 'h' in rhythm. It asks you for the word that makes a noise, or something like that, so the answer is the one which had no silent letters. Made sense to me when I did it (after some hints). It certainly doesn't seem broken.

  • RoughGem #48 4 years ago

    I think the wrong puzzle might be the triangles within triangle one near the start.

    I'm pretty sure it can be done in six (with the two side triangles of the middle row and the the bottom of the top triangle making the centre one without having to draw another one*) rather than the seven it demands

    * worst explanation ever
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 18:39

  • abdallah #49 4 years ago

    Well written article as usual John. Another sale here.

  • botherer #50 4 years ago

    Silent letters puzzle:

    We gathered all the chickens and children together and I absolutely dispute that you don't "pronounce" some of those letters. That's not what a silent letter is. The 'h' in rhythm is of course silent, much as the 'h' in my name is. But the rest are letters that define the sound of the word, and as such are not silent in any way. and the giraffe said, "On the first Monday of the month - you've got to be joking!"

  • Kazzahdrane #51 4 years ago

    Don't want to read the comments for fear of spoilers, but had to add my "Best DS Game in Ages" comment to the growing pile. SO glad I imported this. Even before release I managed to get my assistant manager at work interested in it (he ordered a copy for himself and one for his mother-in-law) and a couple of friends too.

    Hopefully the strong sales I've been hearing about will guarantee the 2nd game an English release. Nintendo/Level 5 need to get this out in Europe ASAP!

  • Wyrm #52 4 years ago

    It's superb. And it looks gorgeous.

  • yagisencho #53 4 years ago

    The digital clock puzzle upset me as well, as I grew up with one that showed '00:00' for midnight, while the game assumes that all digital clocks show '12:00' for both noon and midnight. Anyway, excellent game.

  • Stupid_Fat_Hobbit #54 4 years ago

    botherer:

    Completely agree on the silent letters. If "tune" was pronounced like "tun" I suppose you could say the e was silent. But as it is, just no.

    Spot-on review, by the way.

  • VMerken #55 4 years ago

    A strong background in mathematics and love of iconic comic characters such as Tintin and Astro Boy dictate my purchase of this product.

  • toythatkills #56 4 years ago

    Hmm, of course you're correct about the silent letters, but I think in the context of the puzzle it's perfectly alright, for me. It's plain enough what they're after, even if it's technically wrong. I mean, the hint you're given makes it pretty plain what the answer should be. The review implies that the puzzle is unsolvable as a result and that is definately not the case.

    Seems a bit harsh to single it out like that, still.

  • Rush2112 #57 4 years ago

    I ordered this from Movietyme last week for £14.99 and I've put 7 hours into it since Saturday. It's wonderful.

    I'd also like to recommend movietyme. I've now used them 14 times and everything has been delivered within 5 working days.
    Edited by 1 at 19/02/08 @ 23:33

  • Ranger101 #58 4 years ago

    This game is absolutely awesome.

  • PinkSpider #59 4 years ago

    My rabbit chewed through my DS charger :'( And then great games appear (again).

  • aine #60 4 years ago

    i just finished this, and i'm intrigued to know what the "wrong" puzzle was (although i apparently missed three puzzles over the course of the game, it may have been one of those) - if it was the "silent letters" one, i wouldn't consider that to be wrong as such - the letters in question may have an effect on the sound of the word, but they aren't actually pronounced themselves. and as for the digital clock one, i have never seen a 12-hour clock (which is what was specified in the puzzle) display 0:00 for midnight, only 24-hour clocks do that surely?

    One problem I did notice, though, is the game seems to spoil itself a bit near the end - ie you solve the mystery of the vanishing crank slightly before you discover that Flora is the "Golden Apple", and if you read the "mystery solved" text beforehand it explicity reveals this fact

  • Fido128 #61 4 years ago

    Just finished this 20 minutes ago.

    Absolutely brilliant from start to finish, with not a single dip in enjoyment levels anywhere. I don't even think a 10 would have been unreasonable in this case - the game oozes charm, and John's review was spot-on. Now to wait for the second, which will probably be out in the US in ... late-2008. :(

    If you haven't imported this magnificent game, do so now! It's a few pence over twenty quid at Play-Asia, and worth twice as much.

  • warthog2k #62 4 years ago

    A complete joy - Brain Training meet Broken Sword! Even better than Bejewelled: The RPG (Puzzle Quest)
    Downloadable extras too.

    Love the looks, the game has a nice pace to it and the puzzles are mostly solvable with a bit of thought. Got a bit stuck on the Digital Clock one myself as I forgot the 11:1x sequence There's a few puzzles that could be worded slightly better, and a couple can be 'cheated' (like the 8 identical weights puzzle - though I went back and solved that one properly after I'd stumbled over the solution!), but the whole thing is put together so wonderfully that you can easily forgive these minor flaws.

    Still looking for Puzzle Number 12 though...

  • Balfa #63 4 years ago

    This is my favourite of your reviews, Mr. Walker. And I really want the game, now. I also want to see the happy inside the top of your skull.

  • Wyrm #64 4 years ago

    The puzzle with the sinking boat is a cheat as it doesn't tell you how many people are required to row the boat back to the ship from the shore until you give an incorrect answer.

  • SirClive #65 4 years ago

    This is my favourite DS game ever. Superb animated story (reminiscent of some Studio Ghibli stuff as others have mentioned) and some great puzzles. This is what the brain train games should be doing. Make it an enjoyable quest instead of an unrelated collection of minigames.

    I am only 25 puzzles in, but am loving every minute of it.

  • cak #66 4 years ago

    Ok, I'm coming late but since I've just finished the game, I would like to say the final word about the wrong puzzle.
    There's no need for spoilers, I won't give away the solution: the puzzle is the one that tasks you with placing inside a square nine numbers, chosen from 1 to 51, in such a way that they give the same result when multiplied horizontally, vertically and diagonally. The game asks you to input only the number to be placed in the central square, but the solution is not unique. The nine numbers ARE unique, but several combinations are possible, each with a different central number.

    Btw, great game.

  • bionutz #67 3 years ago

    yeah, great game!

  • Futaba #68 3 years ago

    Near the end now, love this game. The sequels are instant buys for me.

  • spacenugget #69 3 years ago

    Game deserves a better score IMO.
    Amazing, only a few hours in and loving everything about it..... well Im very dissapionted about one thing.
    My own stupidity, which has been a recurring problem. My ego has taken quite the beating with this :o/

    still amazing. :)

  • _Hayko #70 3 years ago

    @spacenugget: I hear ya. I've cocked up on some of the easy puzzles by not thinking through the question hard enough. I though I'm such a div for not getting it the first time.

  • Sar #71 3 years ago

    Love this game to bits. Brilliant, and well worth getting.

    10/10 for me :)


    The DS needs more games like this!

  • Les #72 3 years ago

    Got this game the other day. Had a hard time tracking it down but finally found it on eBay from a seller in Hong Kong. Cost little (15 euro) and was delivered fast. But I suspect that it is an illegal version, though very carefully manufactured.

    Does anyone else have experience with pirated stuff through eBay? Is it best to give negative feedback to the seller or will that result in a counter negative feedback and thus less chance of winning bids?

    Guess that if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is...