This first entry in a series trumped its sequels on our DS Top 30 list.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village
The Professor Layton series is known for having a stunning hand-drawn, water-color art style accompanied by fully animated and voiced story scenes. The presentation is magnificent and the charm literally comes pouring out of the DS for the entire length of the game. Professor Layton and the Curious Village is the first in the series, setting the standard for the following sequels (and later, prequels).
The game is played by exploring every nook and cranny of the titular village, using the stylus to navigate between still-shots of each area. It's somewhat similar to the old-school Resident Evil games and their fixed cameras, but physical character movement is taken out of the equation. In each area, the player can tap around the screen to search for puzzles to unlock and solve, which earn reward points known as Picarats to further the story. Valuable hint coins can also be found by poking and prodding the scenery, which can be spent on clues that help solve the trickier puzzles that may cause the player some difficulty.
Once a puzzle has been located and started, the player must then solve a riddle, navigate a maze, work out a geometry-based conundrum, arrange matchsticks into a picture, or any other of the more than 130 brain-teasers in the game. The puzzles range from simple to nightmarishly difficult. Fortunately, the player need not have to solve them all at once or in numerical order, and is often presented with many paths throughout the game that allow you to take a break from one puzzle, search elsewhere and solve others until you're ready to go back and take another stab at it.
While solving their way through the game, the player is treated to a soothing, yet thought-invoking soundtrack of gentle accordion and xylophone instrumental pieces. While slightly repetitive, the music never gets in the way or distracts from the often intense concentration required.
The quirky world in which the Professor lives is full of interesting and unique characters that are always happy to stop and chat, but curiously enough, all of them are extremely partial to puzzles, much like the Professor himself. In fact, most of the game's puzzles are found simply by talking to the denizens of St. Mystere, who will exchange a quick brain-bender as commonly as if they were simple greetings. When asking for directions to somewhere or information about someone, the villager will often say “I'll tell you, but first you have to solve my puzzle!” It can get a little grating after the 50th time it happens, but fortunately Layton always remains composed and polite, for he is, and often reminds us that he is, a true gentleman.
That's not to say that the game isn't all just boring anticlimaxes involving jolly chats and cups of tea. The stories of Professor Layton have come to be known for their perplexing mysteries that are slowly clued in piece by piece until you come to the shocking truth that's usually wilder and stranger than anything you could have guessed. There's plenty of adventuring to be had too, with enough dire situations to keep any action fan happy. Like the Phoenix Wright series, the game can also have some witty humor that may pass over the head of younger players, but there's never a need to resort to violence or cussing to make the game edgier. Layton's too cool for that.
At its core, Professor Layton is a puzzle-solving game and the base concept is no different to what could be found in any supermarket's magazine rack, but it's the execution that sets it apart with an engrossing story and a lovable cast of characters. The number of puzzles included is overwhelming, especially considering that players with Wi-Fi connectivity can also download an additional collection of puzzles that were added to the server each week after the initial release of the game (all of them are still there to grab even now!).
Once the main game is complete, players will also unlock an additional series of super-hard puzzles depending on how many Picarats they earned during the game, with an extra special reward for finishing them all. There is also a super-secret area that can only be opened once you play and complete the sequel, further adding to the enticing secrets of the game. I won't spoil any of the contents, you just have to go play the game and find out for yourself.