The Curious Village. Just short of greatness.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village for DS. 4 stars. It was an enjoyable game that mixed point and click adventuring with puzzle solving. I felt compelled to play it till the end. However I didn't agree with some of the puzzle logic. If I've spent all 3 hint coins (coins found in various places in the village used for a total of 3 hints in each puzzle) and I still can't figure out the solution, there's an issue. Even after the puzzle was solved and the game explained how you should reach the solution, it often still didn't make sense.
The story itself is pretty interesting, focusing on the village of St. Mystere as well as the strange occupants of said village. You control a pair of puzzle solvers, Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke Triton, who are searching for the elusive golden apple (the macguffin for this story, left behind by the late Baron in order to test who is worthy of his inheritance). There's an unexpected twist at the end, and some of the events that occur actually keep you guessing and are pretty well executed.
The game sets up quite a number of mysteries for you to solve early on. This could've potentially added another layer of awesome to the game, incorporating your puzzle solving into cracking the case! Unfortunately all that potential was wasted when I reached the final area of the game with all mysteries unsolved. Layton then proceeded to simply remind me of each one, and automatically solve them himself. Rubbish. Near the end I found myself skipping some puzzles and just trying to be done with it, only to have my progress come to a screeching halt when I was told I needed 15 more puzzles in order to move on to the end. Hopefully they've fixed some issues to better the sequels.
My issues with the game did slightly take away from the experience, but not enough to where I wouldn't recommend this charming and fun outing in the small town of St. Mystere. I enjoyed how original the game was. I've never really played a puzzle game in this fashion. I loved the artistic direction, and the animated FMV. The game is bursting with charm, and Layton himself is such a joy to watch, being such a patient and polite character no matter what the situation. The score was catchy and fun, with a touch of anxiety, as if something bad could happen at any moment. The sound cue that played when you save your game was extremely satisfying. Great sound design. I'm not ready to immediately jump into another Layton but maybe after some time passes.
