DS game profile: Professor Layton and the Curious Village

A few games have proven that the Nintendo DS is very well suited for point-and-click-style adventure games. The Phoenix Wright series is a true cult classic and will soon span a new series of titles, and other games, such as Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Trace Memory have expanded upon the genre with great graphic styles and touch screen puzzles. Developer Level 5 has worked on a new DS franchise known as Professor Layton, which has seen two DS releases in Japan with a third one in the horizon; fortunately, North America will receive the first title on Feb. 10th.

Professor Layton is a mix of puzzles and adventure exploration, with a pinch of RPG. There are over 130 brain teasers and graphic puzzles for players to solve; each one has a unique set of Picarats, a point system that determines how challenging the puzzle will be. In-between brain teasers, you will explore the town of St. Mystere and interact with many puzzle-loving characters. You can find and purchase items and Hint Coins, which you can use to unlock one of three hints available for each puzzle.


Your initial goal in the game is to find a mysterious treasure, although the story eventually expands into greater extents. The puzzles in Professor Layton are quite diverse; take these two, for example:

Although a good amount of initial puzzles aren’t particularly challenging, the latter half can really tease your brain, and downloadable puzzles via Nintendo Wi-Fi should keep us playing.

Aside from challenging and addictive puzzles, the story in Professor Layton is intriguing and presented beautifully. Many cut-scenes are available throughout the game, featuring a great-looking art style and decent voice acting. Check out this trailer to get a taste of what to expect:

What: An adventure game with an amazing presentation and addictive puzzle-solving progression. Over 130 brain teasers of various difficulties will keep us busy for a while, and downloadable puzzles will do so as well.

Why: The Nintendo DS is perfect for adventure titles, with the intuitiveness of the stylus for both exploration and puzzle-solving. The series has been very successful in Japan, and Nintendo hopes to achieve similar popularity levels in North America with the first title and the promised sequel.

Who: Professor Layton was developed by Level 5 and published by Nintendo.

When: The first Layton title will be in stores on Sunday, February 10th, and the Japanese sequel has been confirmed for North American release sometime down the road.

Check back here for a full review next week, and remember; you can also grab a brand new DS Lite alongside your copy of Professor Layton.