Professor Layton and the Curious Village

[dk_xcalibur]

Now that I have a DS I just found out about this game: Professor Layton and the Curious Village.

Gamestop had it in their coming soon list and I checked it out on Wikipedia. Wikipedia had a link to the game's official website (Japan), where you can play a short demo. This might be on the next games I get for my new DS.

What does everyone else think of this game?

[dk_xcalibur]

No post about this game:confused:. I'm kind of surprised because it's a huge hit in Japan and is coming state side shortly.

[Shortay]

Only just saw this thread :)

This game looks great, it's supposed to be really great. It's been well received in Japan anway.

[dk_xcalibur]

Did you check out the website? If so, did you enjoy the demo?

[Shortay]

Did you check out the website? If so, did you enjoy the demo?

Haven't checked it out no, but I will later :) Is the demo good?

[dk_xcalibur]

Haven't checked it out no, but I will later :) Is the demo good?

My first impression of the game was that I thought the art style looked really cool. After playing the demo and finding out what kind of game it is, I started to get excited for this to release. I'm debating whether or not to pre-order it or buy it a month or two after release. I think it's being released the week before or after Super Smash Bros. Brawl....which I already have pre-ordered so it puts me in a bind with money.

[Shortay]

My first impression of the game was that I thought the art style looked really cool. After playing the demo and finding out what kind of game it is, I started to get excited for this to release. I'm debating whether or not to pre-order it or buy it a month or two after release. I think it's being released the week before or after Super Smash Bros. Brawl....which I already have pre-ordered so it puts me in a bind with money.

Could you give me the link for the demo, I can't find it?

[dk_xcalibur]

Could you give me the link for the demo, I can't find it?

http://www.layton.jp/

[dk_xcalibur]

I noticed that they now have a demo for the second game also. I just played that demo and thought that was better then what I played on the first game.

[The shoemaker]

I noticed that they now have a demo for the second game also. I just played that demo and thought that was better then what I played on the first game.


A second game? nice. Well I just bought it today, and i've played it for four hours, and all i can say is, wow. It might not look it, but this game is really fun.

For people who don't know this is a puzzle game. A very good puzzle game for that matter. It starts off Professor Layton was invited to do something (can't remember :p)So he gets to this Mysterious village, and well it's just, odd. I can't really explain how everything happens, or the mood of the village but it's a good mood.

And well since I can't really explain the story I'll move on to the puzzles. I think the puzzles work really well, on how you progress through the story. almost everyone you talk to has something they want you to figure out. From finding out, at a dinner table, who should sit where, to trapping pigs in between ropes.

Anyways there are lots of ways to do puzzles. It could be, writing a number, circling an answer, moving objects, or just thinking. and Ecah puzzle you get points for doing. the more points the puzzle is worth, the harder the puzzle. but if you get the wrong answer, if you try the puzzle again, the points you will receive will decrease. And if you try the puzzle again after you've beaten it, you wont get any more points. so you have to try and get it on your first shot.

But this kind of puzzle game would be waaayyy too hard without hints. The first hint you will get, is if you fail the puzzle, on the screen where you select if you want to try the puzzle again, it will tell you a little hint that might help, or confuse you even more. Or you can just purchase hints. Throught the village you will find Hint Coins. During a puzzle you can use a hint coin to purchase a hint. But you can only get three hints per puzzle. And also you can't just use hints on every puzzle. There is a limited amount of hint coins in the village, so you must use the coins wisely.

The Graphics for the game, are well very good, or terrible, depends how you look at it. the game has cartoon like characters. It looks kind of like a comic book. But the picture suits it well. But you might think, they could have done so much better and used 3-D models, with better colors, but personally, I like it how it is.

The music is the same as the graphics. Personally, I love it and think it matches the setting of the game, and the whole mood of the village. kind of a mysterious vibe. But the music is very repetitive, almost every puzzle has the same music, and the Village has the same music all the time. I like it, I'd prefer, more variety of music, but it's more of a personal opinion.

Like I said the game play, is puzzles. But if you didn't already know, everything is done with the stylus. walking, talking, investigating, puzzling, everything. But when your in the village, it's a point and click type thing. you can't exactly walk too much. you can walk to different areas, but you can't walk around the area your in. The screen stays in the same position the whole time. Once again, it's a personal opinion, if you like it like this or if you like to have free control.

Another thing that really adds to this game is the voice acting. Everybody, has an English accent, and that's another thing that adds to the mood of the game. You only hear their voices during cut scenes, but when they do satrt talking, it's something your very glad they put into the game.

You might be thinking a smart guy like you will be done this game in no time, and wont play it again because you remember how to do all the puzzles. Well that's bull. I've done a few puzzles so far, and there was this one I felt very proud of myself for completing, so I tried it again, but i couldn't remember how to do it. It was like i saw the puzzle for the first time. So I predict you'll get a lot of replay value of of this game. Plus, every week you can download new puzzles, so that helps!

Those are just the basics of the game, and there's lots more to it so this game should be well worth your money. Also I'd just like to say that It's also refreshing to use your brain, instead of your thumbs.

Graphics 8.5/10
Gameplay 8.5/10
Music 8/10
Re play value 8/10
Difficulty 8/10 If you do all puzzles 9/10

Overall 9/10


(these are just my rough opinions, I'm not very far in the game)

[Pocketim]

A second game? nice. Well I just bought it today, and i've played it for four hours, and all i can say is, wow. It might not look it, but this game is really fun.

For people who don't know this is a puzzle game. A very good puzzle game for that matter. It starts off Professor Layton was invited to do something (can't remember :p)So he gets to this Mysterious village, and well it's just, odd. I can't really explain how everything happens, or the mood of the village but it's a good mood.

And well since I can't really explain the story I'll move on to the puzzles. I think the puzzles work really well, on how you progress through the story. almost everyone you talk to has something they want you to figure out. From finding out, at a dinner table, who should sit where, to trapping pigs in between ropes.

Anyways there are lots of ways to do puzzles. It could be, writing a number, circling an answer, moving objects, or just thinking. and Ecah puzzle you get points for doing. the more points the puzzle is worth, the harder the puzzle. but if you get the wrong answer, if you try the puzzle again, the points you will receive will decrease. And if you try the puzzle again after you've beaten it, you wont get any more points. so you have to try and get it on your first shot.

But this kind of puzzle game would be waaayyy too hard without hints. The first hint you will get, is if you fail the puzzle, on the screen where you select if you want to try the puzzle again, it will tell you a little hint that might help, or confuse you even more. Or you can just purchase hints. Throught the village you will find Hint Coins. During a puzzle you can use a hint coin to purchase a hint. But you can only get three hints per puzzle. And also you can't just use hints on every puzzle. There is a limited amount of hint coins in the village, so you must use the coins wisely.

The Graphics for the game, are well very good, or terrible, depends how you look at it. the game has cartoon like characters. It looks kind of like a comic book. But the picture suits it well. But you might think, they could have done so much better and used 3-D models, with better colors, but personally, I like it how it is.

The music is the same as the graphics. Personally, I love it and think it matches the setting of the game, and the whole mood of the village. kind of a mysterious vibe. But the music is very repetitive, almost every puzzle has the same music, and the Village has the same music all the time. I like it, I'd prefer, more variety of music, but it's more of a personal opinion.

Like I said the game play, is puzzles. But if you didn't already know, everything is done with the stylus. walking, talking, investigating, puzzling, everything. But when your in the village, it's a point and click type thing. you can't exactly walk too much. you can walk to different areas, but you can't walk around the area your in. The screen stays in the same position the whole time. Once again, it's a personal opinion, if you like it like this or if you like to have free control.

Another thing that really adds to this game is the voice acting. Everybody, has an English accent, and that's another thing that adds to the mood of the game. You only hear their voices during cut scenes, but when they do satrt talking, it's something your very glad they put into the game.

You might be thinking a smart guy like you will be done this game in no time, and wont play it again because you remember how to do all the puzzles. Well that's bull. I've done a few puzzles so far, and there was this one I felt very proud of myself for completing, so I tried it again, but i couldn't remember how to do it. It was like i saw the puzzle for the first time. So I predict you'll get a lot of replay value of of this game. Plus, every week you can download new puzzles, so that helps!

Those are just the basics of the game, and there's lots more to it so this game should be well worth your money. Also I'd just like to say that It's also refreshing to use your brain, instead of your thumbs.

Graphics 8.5/10
Gameplay 8.5/10
Music 8/10
Re play value 8/10
Difficulty 8/10 If you do all puzzles 9/10

Overall 9/10


(these are just my rough opinions, I'm not very far in the game)

Wow, EVERYONE is doing reveiws now! I like it!

[coire]

Yeah, I got the game (import, thanks to some friends overseas) and I think its a great game. It combines point and click style gameplay, with sense and logical reasoning puzzles pretty well!

[mechanix]

I picked this up today and am about two hours into it. It's so truly awesome. It's like the 7th guest but not rubbish.

and to further stress how awesome this is, I downloaded the weekly puzzle updates in the UK with a US copy of the game. Honestly didn't think it would work, but it did. Possibly the best I've ever felt about being a European Nintendo fan...

[The shoemaker]

Mr. Rodriguez has my copy of the game right now so I haven't played it for a month. I really want to play it because I only have about 20 puzzles left, and I've just got the Layton's challenges and I really want to finish the game.

[The shoemaker]

Dang. i was 10 puzzles away from beating the game, when my sister saved her data over my file. Now I got to re start the whole game :(

[dk_xcalibur]

Dang. i was 10 puzzles away from beating the game, when my sister saved her data over my file. Now I got to re start the whole game :(

You and your sister again!!!!!!!!! I thought you were locking your stuff up?

[The shoemaker]

You and your sister again!!!!!!!!! I thought you were locking your stuff up?

Well she likes the game so I let her play it. But she accidentally saved over my file. Anyways I don't mind starting over, I can get more pricates now.

But still I was sooooo close to beating the game.

[dk_xcalibur]

Well she likes the game so I let her play it. But she accidentally saved over my file. Anyways I don't mind starting over, I can get more pricates now.

But still I was sooooo close to beating the game.

I have a $25 gift card coming my way and also some DS games to trade in so I'm either picking this, Kart Wii, or Wii points up in the next week or two.

[pdRydia]

Well she likes the game so I let her play it. But she accidentally saved over my file. Anyways I don't mind starting over, I can get more pricates now.How old's your sister? Probably old enough to learn about save files and how to manage them. The DS is great, because you can just plug it into the wall, close the clamshell, and leave it there until later--like, say, till your brother gets home and lets you know which save file you can save over. ;]

I grew up with 3 brothers & shared SNES carts, so I learned to manage save files quickly. I didn't actually start to accidentally save over files till I got older (and more forgetful! Hurr!)

[The shoemaker]

How old's your sister? Probably old enough to learn about save files and how to manage them. The DS is great, because you can just plug it into the wall, close the clamshell, and leave it there until later--like, say, till your brother gets home and lets you know which save file you can save over. ;]

I grew up with 3 brothers & shared SNES carts, so I learned to manage save files quickly. I didn't actually start to accidentally save over files till I got older (and more forgetful! Hurr!)

16, and our data looks similar because our play time ended in the same two digits, so I dunno what she was thinking. And she's not the type to wait for me to come home, she's more of a yeah it's not mine so it doesn't matter what I do with it type of person =p

But now that I've started over, were having a race to see who will finish it first. She always claims that she's better than me in video games, but we all know who will win this race.

[The shoemaker]

whew I finally beat the game. And i must say, it's one of my most enjoyed games I've ever played. I can't wait for the next game. The story and music was so good, I can't wait to see the new ideas in the next game.


SPOILERS KINDA

In the top secret section, the mysterious door really bugs me. In order to access the sequel, I must buy the third game in the series. Because I need a password to unlock the new game, but i must buy the new game first then It will give me the password to open the sequel, very mysterious. (ho ho) I was all excited when it said if i figure out the password I'll be able to play the sequel. I was thinking I would find the password somewhere in St. Mystere, but the instruction booklet said i must buy the new game which will tell me the password. I guess that will add some re playability to the game even when I get the new one. But i wonder if the password is actually in St. Mystere, I just have to figure out the one last puzzle to get the new game. probably some random person said it.

END OF SPOILERS

anyone know when the next game is coming out anyways?

[dk_xcalibur]

anyone know when the next game is coming out anyways?

It's already out in Japan. You can actually play a demo of the second game on Japan's Prof. Layton website.

My guess is this November because it took about a year to get The Curious Village so I'm thinking around a year for the next game and since Japan got the second game last November.....

[The shoemaker]

It's already out in Japan. You can actually play a demo of the second game on Japan's Prof. Layton website.

My guess is this November because it took about a year to get The Curious Village so I'm thinking around a year for the next game and since Japan got the second game last November.....

Japan is getting the third game in november I think too.

Hopefully it doesn't take too long because I want to play the next one badly.

[dk_xcalibur]

I just picked this game up at Gamestop for only $22.49 because I had a 25% off used DS games coupon. I can't wait to finally play this. I've been talking this game up since last fall. I'll post my first impression of this game on Wednesday. (I also picked up Boom Blox for the Wii)

[dk_xcalibur]

I'm 1 hour in and I'm loving it! Some puzzles were really easy but there was one that I had a tough time with so far. The puzzle I'm refering to was the digital clock puzzle. I kept trying to do it in my head and it wasn't until I wrote down some stuff that figured it out. My favorite thing about the game is the story and style. I think I would watch a movie about this game if one existed.

[The shoemaker]

I'm 1 hour in and I'm loving it! Some puzzles were really easy but there was one that I had a tough time with so far. The puzzle I'm refering to was the digital clock puzzle. I kept trying to do it in my head and it wasn't until I wrote down some stuff that figured it out. My favorite thing about the game is the story and style. I think I would watch a movie about this game if one existed.

Good thing I heard their making a professor Layton movie. Glad you like it, I love it. And if you like the first hour, you'll love the game, it's amazing. And I was also stuck on the clock puzzle when i first started, but now that one is easy compared to the others.

[dk_xcalibur]

I just finished this game over the weekend. I was not able to find all of the puzzles so I'm working on that now. I'm only missing a couple so I'm searching all over the village looking for missing puzzles.

The game was awesome and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

[pdRydia]

I'm hoping we get the sequel announced at E3. :]

[dk_xcalibur]

I'm hoping we get the sequel announced at E3. :]

Nothing official yet, but they have been releasing the games in Japan about a year apart, and we got the first game a year after it was released in Japan so November is my bet for the second PL game.:p

[pdRydia]

Nothing official yet, but they have been releasing the games in Japan about a year apart, and we got the first game a year after it was released in Japan so November is my bet for the second PL game.:pAnd what better time to announce its November release date than July? That gives you 4 months for saving and practicing your elite accounting skills, by which you will somehow manage to afford all the awesome games coming out between now and the end of the year!

[The shoemaker]

Well I finally beat the game. Although I beat the main game a bit ago, I just finally beat all 135 puzzles. I tell yeah, number 135 is well, not friendly. Good thing there's still the weekly puzzles for me to beat. But I was a bit disappointed that I got nothing for beating all of them.... I'm pretty sure Layton said at the beginning of the game that you'd get something. Or maybe it was I would get something if I got lots of Piracrates. I ended up with 5058. But I think there's at least 7000, so I'm guessing I have to beat the game now without making any mistakes....

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

I just finished this game, too! (http://kongwen.wordpress.com/2008/08/17/complete-professor-layton/) I thought the puzzles were great fun, but the main story parts of the game were a little bit repetitive (go here, click this, talk to him, go here, click this, etc.). Not bad, though. The music could have used some more variety, too.

I've beat all 120 puzzles from the main game, but I still don't have the Inn mini-game-puzzle thing finished. I don't know how I could be missing Inn items, unless you get some from puzzles in the Bonus section (I have barely scratched the surface, there).

[The shoemaker]

I just finished this game, too! (http://kongwen.wordpress.com/2008/08/17/complete-professor-layton/) I thought the puzzles were great fun, but the main story parts of the game were a little bit repetitive (go here, click this, talk to him, go here, click this, etc.). Not bad, though. The music could have used some more variety, too.

I've beat all 120 puzzles from the main game, but I still don't have the Inn mini-game-puzzle thing finished. I don't know how I could be missing Inn items, unless you get some from puzzles in the Bonus section (I have barely scratched the surface, there).

I'm almost certain that you get all the items from the in game 120 puzzles. But you must arrange them so that each person is happy with their stuff. Also, Layton has more things than Luke. Oh and reading your blog is what determined me to beat the remaining few puzzles. It's crazy, puzzle 135 is a block moving puzzle, the least amount of moves that puzzle can be beat in is 81 :0.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Hmm... everyone seems pretty happy with the stuff they have right now. I guess I'll move them around a bit more and see what I can do.

Those moving block puzzles are really fun but frustrating. Kudos to you for finishing them all!

[pdRydia]

There's a whole bunch of the block puzzles in Clubhouse games. I was sure to beat them all before giving the game to my Mom.

Any news on when the sequel to this game is getting released? I haves me a hankerin'. =/