We're in a bit of a puzzle section in the 1001 list here, but to prove that it's not all grids and numbers is Professor Layton and the Curious Village, another Nintendo DS puzzler staring the impressive intellect of Professor Layton and his cockney apprentice Luke.
I must admit to having no prior knowledge of the professor before hunting down a couple of his releases for this 1001 list and haven't bothered checking them out in the many years since. It's time to crack open this Nintendo DS and no doubt find the charger, for how else are we going to solve the many mysteries of St. Mystere?
Fun Times
I was definitely not expecting the story to be introduced by a cockney lad, and for that frankly bland set of screens to make way for animated and even voiced cutscenes on a Nintendo DS. My tiny little mind has been blown before I even get to the gameplay.
Yes, Professor, why are we going to help solve an inheritance dispute? It's not the kind of line you're expecting to read in this charming little puzzle game about a guy and a cockney child driving a Citroën 2CV through the country, is it? But here we are, pootling along dusty roads recounting the death of Baron Augustus Reinhold, and his peculiar will.
The look of The Curious Village thus far is lovely. It's like an old, dirty, watercolour or something, hidden away in a book that you've plucked from the shelf on a curious whim. It may star a comical sounding cockney child, but Luke's voice here doesn't put me off, and I'm really interested in finding out just what this game is about.
Puzzles, I gather, but how? It's not long before we find out.
The professor has been sent a letter from Lady Dahlia, who seeks our expertise in solving the riddle of the Golden Apple. But she's not stupid. She won't even tell us where this curious village actually is, giving us our first challenge to prove we're the right guys for the job instead - a maze you'd find on the back of a cereal box or something.
The voicework stops at this point, so I guess the vocal talents of these folks are being saved for when it really matters, and the puzzle of trying to get into the village in the first place doesn't matter.
This is the format that The Curious Village primarily takes. A map on the top screen gives you an idea of where you are in town, and the bottom screen shows what you're looking at. You'll need to poke around things of interest to make any sort of progress, like a point and click adventure title, really. The obvious starting point to lowering a drawbridge must surely be to tap on the bloke standing right next to it...
From there, you'll go into the puzzle itself. A description of the puzzle and what is required of you is found on the top screen, with the puzzle on the bottom, complete with hints if you need them, and a little tutorial on how to use the stylus with regards to this particular puzzle, if necessary.
As you head through the village, everyone you meet will have a puzzle for you, and you can click on all sorts of scenery to find little bonuses, like coins you'll need to pay for any hints you'll find yourself needing.
Navigating the town is reduced to touching arrows, and the animation is minimal, but it looks so detailed and stylish - it's almost a shame the puzzle screens are so simple and wordy in comparison. It's almost like two different teams were working on different parts of the game.
Anyway, the puzzles are coming thick and fast, and they've all been quite varied so far. Some have really messed with my brain already. I'm liking The Curious Village and haven't even met up with Lady Dahlia to get the plot started yet.
In our way is a classic, a variant of the wolf and chicken over a river puzzle. If there are more wolves than chickens, the chickens get eaten. Up to two animals can cross the river at a time, but at least one must, otherwise the raft doesn't move. Can it be done? Obviously, yes. How well can it be done?
Frustrations
Two hints, I paid for. Two. And neither of them really told me anything that I didn't already know, but at least no actual chickens are at stake here. We just need to convince this bloke that Professor Layton is indeed Professor Layton (presumably business cards aren't a thing in this game) using our brainpower alone.
Right after we go all the way back through town to look for Claudia, the cat scared by a mysterious sound from the room above - a room and a sound that will no doubt figure into the bigger mystery to be found in St. Mystere - the big picture puzzle of Professor Layton and the Curious Village.
Final Word
But that'll have to wait, I'm sorry to say, but wait I will, because I look forward to playing some more of Professor Layton, both this game and the other we'll be getting to. I've even got them both on cartridges should I want to spread out on the sofa, feet up, solving mysteries in a strange little village, and there are more to track down beyond those titles too.
Puzzles come in all kinds of guises, and if you're the kind of person that wants them separated and straight to the point, Professor Layton games are definitely not where you want to be heading to get your puzzle fix.
If, however, you like a mystery story to follow along and work your way through, Professor Layton is a great choice. Kind of like Ace Attorney, only with a bit more gameplay, a more hands on. Both series I can see myself playing a lot more of, for their own reasons.
For Professor Layton, it's the charming look and feel of it all. It's like cosying up to a good book, except that instead of reading anything, like a normal book, we've got to do some activities, like those Usborne puzzle books of old.
Now I really want to see if those Usborne books hold up today... Thanks, Professor.
Fun Facts
An actual professor from Chiba University supervised the development of this game, Professor Akira Tago, who wrote a hugely successful series of puzzle books in Japan - books that directly inspired Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino to make these games.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village, developed by Level-5, first released in 2007.
Version played: Nintendo DS, 2008, also via emulation.