Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village

This afternoon, I decided that before doing anything more productive, I’d finish the first DS game I bought, the brilliantly charming Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village. It hasn’t been eating up the most recent part of my life (shame the same can’t be said of Patapon and its sequel) but I at least put enough hours into the fun little game to solve all its puzzles, including the bonus ones. And I’m proud to say that I didn’t need any help beyond the in-game hints to solve ’em, although some of the more annoying trick puzzles took me quite a while, and I did have to resort to a guide to help me find a couple of the hidden puzzles right at the end. Hidden in windows indeed!

As someone who grew up playing The 7th Guest, the puzzles here were comparatively very easy (could solve one of the hardest ‘99 Picarat’ puzzles here in seconds because it was in that game), but then the target audience is younger and back then, games generally were made more of a challenge.

But over and above the puzzles and gameplay, it’s the world and story created here that really charm. I have to say, I love it when Japanese writers take a stab at making a very quaint and twee British world. Few things can be more charming than the nostalgic, idealised and stereotypical portrayal of early 20th-century European life than the one here, where the Holmes-like Professor Layton and his little sidekick Luke (who I remain very pleased they redubbed with a cockney accent for the UK release, even if it was even more over-the-top, because…well, everything about the game is over-the-top and that suits the game well) can blithely go around a town where a murder investigation is underway and find puzzles everywhere, commenting on it all in their broad accents.

I also find myself rather amused that there is a thriving yaoi-based fandom for the games…tsk tsk tsk!