Professor Layton and the Curious Village
Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Level-5/Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release Date: February 10, 2008
Posted: May 3, 2008
A puzzle game based on brain-teasers with an interesting mystery of a 
The young puzzle-solver Luke and his mentor Professor Layton.story is exactly what any player looking into Professor Layton and the Curious Village will find.
Nintendo DS games that actually utilize the stylus feature for more than the progressionof text are fewer and farther between than they should be. In Professor Layton, the player has the ability to control every aspect of the game with the stylus; from traveling between areas of town, to progressing conversation, and, most importantly, solving puzzles. Also, for a DS game the graphics were crisp and aesthetically appropriate for the game's theme. During cut scenes, short cartoon movies would play and included voice acting for the two main characters. The art styling throughout was appealing and did not make the game feel childish in the slightest. The music throughout, however, was annoyingly repetitive and I found myself playing with the sound off more often than not.
One of the first puzzles the player comes across. Worth a mere 15 Picarats to show that it is relatively simple to solve. The hints are available to purchase with hint coins that can be found while walking around town.
The plot of the game is mostly shadowed by the solving aspect of thegame, but that is to be expected. However, the story was still able to shine through at points. The player controls the Professor himself and his protégé Luke as they travel to St. Mystere to investigate a missing Golden Apple. Upon arrival, shenanigans ensue; the drawbridge breaks, a cat disappears, and a murder; except it is not actually a murder, rather a kidnapping, where the victim is returned shortly thereafter. What is going on, Professor? Not to mention, every one of the town inhabitants are obsessed with puzzles. Better to receive puzzle solving requests from characters than select them from a list. The story was simple and added to the string of various puzzles, which is what counts.
There is a hint system that coincides with the puzzles, which would have been a better idea if the hints had been useful more often when in dire need. Not that they were all useless, but sometimes it felt as if the harder puzzles had the least helpful hints. The puzzles range in degrees of difficulties, rated by the number of Picarats, or points, they are worth, and the types that you go through are quite varied: tricky wordplay, knots, pathing, simple math, liquid transplantation, and even the dreaded sliders. Solving all of the puzzles is far from being a requirement to complete the story aspect of the game, and the player should not feel burdened to always solve every puzzle when presented with one, especially one that is complicated.
Throughout your travels and solving of puzzles, characters will reward your team with several different kinds of items: gizmos, furniture, and painting scraps. Gizmos are collected and assembled into man’s best 
The notorious raft puzzle that appears in every media concerning puzzles in one form or another.friend, who will sniff out hint coins for you on the screen. Furniture is used to improve Professor Layton and Luke’s dispositions towards living in an inn for the duration of their stay in St. Mystere. Different items will promote more or less happiness to each individual. The key is to pay attention to the little clues each person gives you while distributing items, as it will help greatly. Additionally, you receive painting scraps with which you are to put together to view the original painting. Upon completion of these side quests, bonus puzzles will be unlocked.
Something that makes Professor Layton very unique is that it is the first game I have found to include unlockable bonuses that require a code from a sequel game. Sure, Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages on the Gameboy Color had a similar system, but they were complimentary titles, and not sequels. There was some idea of a sequel to Professor Layton before the first had finished development. However, Professor Layton being a game comprised primarily of puzzles, it is hard to deny the company a sequel, as it is difficult to run out of more to solve.
Stating upfront that Professor Layton and the Curious Village consists of 135 total puzzles might not sound as lengthy enough to constitute a video game, but rest assured, there are many hours of game play to be had. Of course the time will vary based on how quickly the player can accomplish enough puzzles to progress the story. Regardless, the story is charming and will drive the player to pick up the game again and again to find out what is going on in that strange village. Or at least to complete the gizmo hound!
TLDR: One of the most fun and simple puzzle-solving games out there, and probably the most notable since the release of Puzzle Quest.
