Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Infobox VG
title = Professor Layton and the Curious Village


caption =
developer = Level-5
publisher = vgrelease|Japan|JP|Level-5
vgrelease|North America|NA|Nintendo
vgrelease|Australasia|AUS|Nintendo
vgrelease|Europe|EU|Nintendo
designer =
series = "Professor Layton"
engine =
released = vgrelease|JP=15 February, 2007vgrelease|NA=10 February 2008 [ [http://professorlaytonds.com/ Professor Layton and the Curious Village | Nintendo ] ] vgrelease|AUS=10 April 2008vgrelease|EU=7 November 2008 [ [http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2008/professor_layton_comes_to_nintendo_ds_9465.html] ]
genre = Adventure, puzzle, interactive novel
modes = Single player
ratings = vgratings|CERO=A|ESRB=E|OFLCA=PG
platforms = Nintendo DS
media = 64 MB + 64 KB EEPROM
requirements =
input = Stylusnihongo|"Professor Layton and the Curious Village"|レイトン教授と不思議な町|Reiton-kyōju to Fushigi na Machi is a point and click adventure game that includes over 120 brain teasers for the player to solve. The game was developed by Level-5 for the Nintendo DS, and is the first installment of the "Professor Layton" series. The game was released in Japan, and was later released in North America and Australia. the European release was announced as 7 November 2008.

Overview

"The Curious Village" involves the game's eponymous character and his assistant Luke searching the village of St. Mystere for the "Golden Apple", a treasure claimed to be left by the late Baron Reinhold for anyone that can deduce the puzzles that he left behind to find it. The player moves the pair through the village to talk to villagers and search areas, often leading to puzzles that the player must solve, using optional but limited hints, in order to progress in the game.

A sequel titled "Professor Layton and Pandora's Box" has been released in Japan for the Nintendo DS, and the third game is in development.cite news |first=Anoop |last=Gantayat |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Professor Layton Returns |url=http://ds.ign.com/articles/764/764487p1.html |format= |work=IGN DS |publisher=IGN |id= |pages= |page= |date=2007-02-14 |accessdate=2007-02-16 |language= |quote= ]

Gameplay

"The Curious Village" is a point-and-click adventure game, with the player controlling the movements of Professor Layton and his young assistant Luke around the village of St. Mystere in order to locate the "Golden Apple" and solving other mysteries that arise during their searching. St. Mystere is divided into a number of sections, which the player can move between, though some sections are inaccessible until certain parts of the story have been advanced or they have met a minimum requirement of number of puzzles solved. The player can talk to characters or investigate objects on screen by tapping them. In many cases, the characters will ask Layton and Luke to try to solve a puzzle; there are also hidden puzzles that can be found by investigating certain objects. As the story progresses, if the player has not solved some of the puzzles made available by talking to characters, these will be collected at a special location so the player may still attempt them.

Puzzles range from a brain teasers, sliding puzzles, logic puzzles, and other mathematical riddles. The player is presented with the puzzle and the value of the puzzle in "picarats", and is given unlimited time to solve it. Each puzzle has three hints available for it, but the player must spend one "hint coin" to see each hint. Hint coins are limited; the player starts with ten, and more are available by searching around the village. Once the player feels he has the answer, he enters it, either by selecting an answer, drawing a circle around a specific part, or entering the answer through character recognition on the DS's touchscreen. If the player is correct, the picarats are added to his total score, and is sometimes rewarded with an item. If the player is incorrect, they can retry the puzzle indefinitely, though the first two times they are wrong, the value of the puzzle will decrease by approximately ten percent each time. Optionally, a player can quit a puzzle at no cost and try another, though certain puzzles are mandatory to progress. Once a puzzle is completed, the player may retry it at any time via the game's menus.

As a reward for completing a puzzle, the player may earn one of three rewards. Gizmos are collected in order to create a robot dog that can help sniff out hint coins for the player. Pieces of a portrait can be assembled as in a jigsaw puzzle. Pieces of furniture can be distributed between Layton's and Luke's rooms at the inn to try to satisfy the overall happiness of both. By completing all 120 puzzles in the main game and each of these additional puzzles, the player can access 15 additional puzzles accessible as a bonus item in the game. The game is compatible with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing players to connect to the internet and unlock new puzzles. The first unlockable puzzle was made available on the day of the game's Japanese release, and one new key has been released every week thereafter. A new key is released every Sunday. There is also a "The Hidden Door" that is only available after the player finds a unique code in the sequel "Professor Layton and Pandora's Box" that contains development art of the characters in the game..

A playable demo of "The Curious Village" is available on its official web site. [ [http://www.layton.jp/fushigi/taiken/index.html レイトン教授と不思議な町：WEB体験版 ] ]

Plot

Specific order of events in the game will vary depending on choices that the player has made during the game, but the overall plot remains unchanged.

The game opens with Professor Layton and his young assistant Luke driving to the town of St. Mystere by request of Lady Dahlia, widow of the late Baron Reinhold. The Baron has left in his last will and testament that whomever solves the mystery of the Golden Apple would inherit the Baron's fortunes, and several people have attempted and failed. The two enter the town, and find that most of the population is fond of puzzles and brain teasers, both which Layton and Luke are adept at solving. They also see a large, haphazard tower that occupies one side of town that no one can get to, but that people keep hearing strange noises emanating from at night. Layton and Luke meet Lady Dahlia, other family members including Simon, and their servants, but before they can discuss the matter further, Dahlia's cat Claudia flees to the open. Layton and Luke chase Claudia through town, eventually catching her, and return only to find that Simon has been murdered and the case already under investigation by Inspector Chelmey. Chelmey initially suspects the two, but as their alibi holds up, lets them go, but tells them to stay of out of the murder investigation. However, Layton cannot help to notice a small gearwheel near Simon's body.

As Layton and Luke continue their search for the Golden Apple, they learn that one of Dahlia's servants, Ramon, has gone missing (which makes Chelmey even "more" suspicious.) As they search for him, they find a strange man stuffing Ramon into a bag; they give chase but are unable to catch him, though they do find another gearwheel similar to the one before. However, they are befuddled as the next day, Ramon is back as if nothing had happened. They continue to explore the town, eventually led to the town's abandoned amusement park by a young girl. As they explore the Ferris wheel, a sinister figure uses a remote to tear the wheel from its moorings, sending it chasing after Layton and Luke, who barely escape as the wheel smashed through a locked building. Exploring the wreckage, they find a key shaped similar to the tower, and Layton gets an idea of what's going on in the village. The two return to face Chelmey, who Layton realizes is an impostor. The man reveals himself as Layton's arch-enemy, Don Paolo, seeking the Golden Apple for himself and who tried to use the Ferris wheel to knock Layton out of the picture; Paolo escapes before Layton can capture him.

With Luke in tow, Layton heads for the tower, using the key to unlock a secret wall. Inside, they discover the man that previously had kidnapped Ramon, named Bruno. Layton exposes the truth with Bruno's help; all the residents of St. Mystere are robots, created by the Baron and Bruno to challenge the wits of anyone seeking the Golden Apple, explaining why all the townsfolks were obsessed with puzzles. Simon wasn't murdered, only that he malfunctioned; similarly, Bruno kidnapped Ramon in order to perform repairs. Having solved the puzzle of St. Mystere, Layton and Luke climb the tower, solving puzzles along the way. Eventually, the pair reaches the top of the tower, and much to their surprise, find a small house there. Inside, the young girl from before awaits. She reveals herself as Flora, the only daughter of the Baron, and was the treasure that the robots were protecting. However, this realization is short-lived as Paolo returns in a flying machine, and starts demolishing the tower. Luke escapes down the stairs, but Layton is forced to improvise a glider to take Flora and himself to safety as the tower collapses. As they regroup at the Reinhold manor, Layton realizes that there's more than just Flora as the treasure, as a birthmark on her shoulder points to the Baron's riches. A note from the Baron congratulates those that had followed the clues, and tells Flora to take the treasure, warning that if it is taken, all the robots will stop functioning. Flora opts to leave it as a way to repay the robots for their years of service to protect her and as her friends. As the game ends, Layton, Luke and Flora leave St. Mystere, having not taken the treasure, allowing the residents to continue on with their lives. Flora leaves the village with Layton and Luke, with the village-folk seeing them off. Pictures of Flora, Luke and Professor Layton laughing and living together are shown during the game credits.

As the first part of a trilogy, the main story ends with a "to be continued" message with a picture of Luke and Layton at a train station.

Development

Chiba University Professor Akira Tago supervised direction on the game's development, with Level-5 President and CEO Akihiro Hino serving as producer.

"Layton's" creation was a direct result of Hino's childhood love of Tago's "Head Gymnastics" series of puzzle books, which have sold more than 12 million copies to date in Japan. The game makes use of many puzzles from Tago's books, all of which have been modified to support the DS stylus and touchscreen. [ [http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000217531 Akihiro Hino Interview] ] Tago also contributed 30 brand new puzzles to the game, developed specifically with the unique capabilities of the Nintendo DS in mind. [cite web| last = Lumb| first = Jonathan| authorlink =| coauthors =| date=2006-10-11| url =http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3154379| title =Professor Layton Preview| format =| work =| pages =| publisher =1UP| accessdate =| accessyear =] [cite web| last = Cochran| first = David| authorlink =| coauthors =| date=2006-10-18 | url =http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=7066| title =Level-5 Interview with Akihiro Hino| format =| work =| pages =| publisher =Games Are Fun| accessdate =| accessyear =]

Reception

VG Reviews
1UP = Acite web | url = http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3166174 | title = Professor Layton and the Curious Village | publisher = 1UP | first= Jeremy | last = Parish | date = 2008-02-12 | accessdate = 2008-05-30]
Edge = 7/10cite journal|title=Professor Layton and the Curious Village Review|author=Edge staff|year=2008|month=April|journal=Edge|issue=187|pages=95]
EGM = 8.8/10cite journal|title = Professor Layton and the Curious Village Review|year=2008|month=April|journal=Electronic Gaming Monthly|pages=78]
GI = 7.5/10cite web | url = http://gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/A0E33D81-DCB6-45EC-B167-F45F6C3C8ACA.htm | title = Professor Layton and the Curious Village | publisher = Game Informer |first = Matthew | last = Kato | date = 2008 | accessdate = 2008-05-30]
GSpot = 9.0/10cite web | url = http://www.gamespot.com/ds/puzzle/laytonkyoujunofushiginamachi/review.html?sid=6186070 | title = Professor Layton and the Curious Village | date = 2008-02-14 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | first = Aaron | last = Thomas | publisher = GameSpot]
GT = 9/10cite web | url = http://www.gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=4050 | title = Professor Layton and the Curious Village | date = 2008 | accessdate= 2008-05-30 | publisher = Game Trailers]
IGN = 8.0/10cite web | url = http://ds.ign.com/articles/851/851856p1.html | title = Professor Layton and the Curious Village Review | first = Craig | last = Harris | publisher = IGN | date = 2008-02-13 | accessdate = 2008-05-30] |
rev1 = Giant Bomb
rev1Score = 5/5cite web | url = http://www.giantbomb.com/professor-layton-and-the-curious-village/61-11865/reviews/ | title = Professor Layton and the Curious Village - Review | date = 2008-03-07 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | first = Jeff | last = Gerstmann | publisher = Giant Bomb] |
GR = 86 (48 revs)cite web|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/936050.asp |title=Professor Layton and the Curious Village Reviews |accessdate=2008-05-30 |publisher=Game Rankings]
MC = 85 (57 revs)cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ds/professorlayton |title=Professor Layton and the Curious Village (ds: 2008): Reviews |accessdate=2008-05-30 |publisher=Metacritic]

"The Curious Village" received generally positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game had an average score of 86% based on 48 reviews. On Metacritic, the game had an average score of 85/100, based on 57 reviews. The combination of the adventure game and "brain training" genres received mixed appreciation. Some reviewers praised the game for the successful combination with 1UP commenting on how the game's approach is much better than games where the puzzles were integrated into the environment. Other reviewers felt that these two genres do not merge well within the game; Game Informer noted that while the player is given numerous small puzzles to solve, the mysteries of the main plot are basically solved for the player. The game was noted to have little replay value; once all the puzzles were solved, there was no point in playing through them again. The presentation of the game, including both the general European animation style and cutscene animations, was appreciated by reviewers, though some found the accordion-heavy soundtrack to be repetitive.Fact|date=July 2008

"The Curious Village" sold over 700,000 units in Japan in 2007. [cite web | url = http://ds.ign.com/articles/840/840183p1.html | title = Professor Layton Tops the Charts | publisher = IGN | first = Anoop | last = Gantayat | date = 2007-12-07 | accessdate = 2008-05-30] The game was the top selling game for the Nintendo DS in the United States in the first three weeks after its release. [cite web | url = http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17417 | title = Saling The World: Professor Layton Tops North American DS Charts | publisher = Gamasutra | date = 2008-02-15 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | first = Danny | last = Cowan ] [cite web | url = http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17553 | title = Saling The World: Professor Layton, Apollo Justice Impact DS Charts in U.S. | publisher = Gamasutra | date =2008-02-22 | accessdate= 2008-05-30 | first = Danny | last = Cowan] [cite web | url = http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/column_index.php?story=8821 | title = Saling The World: The Sims 2: FreeTime, Gundam Lead Worldwide Charts | publisher = Gamasutra | date =2008-02-29 | accessdate = 2008-05-30 | first = Danny | last = Cowan]

References

External links

* [http://professorlaytonds.com/ Official Site]
* [http://www.level5.co.jp/ Level-5 Official Site] ja icon