Episode 103: Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Puzzles are like crack cocaine for their very special audience.  Whether it be a crossword, a logic problem, or even a riddle, unravelling them shoots a heavy dose of endorphins directly to the brain.  It is therefore no surprise that Professor Layton and the Curious Village was such a resounding success upon release, taking advantage of the portability of the 3DS before smartphones were a given for the general populace.

Combining a charming and relaxed atmosphere with an onslaught of different puzzle types, it was so successful that not only did it have many, many sequels, it even had a spinoff with Ace Attorney.  People fell in love with everything the game had to offer, right down to its devious trickery.

But has this formula of puzzles with a light story attached truly stood the test of time?  Is this better or worse than the point and click adventure games that defined the puzzle genre in the 90s?  Or is Professor Layton just a dull and repetitive ripoff of Sherlock Holmes?

On this episode, we discuss:

Story.

• How compelling is the story that exists in the webbing in between all of the puzzles?  Does its light and charming tone suit the seemingly dark mysteries that surround the curious village?

Puzzles.

• What did we think of the puzzles in the game?  Is there enough variety in puzzle types?  Can you logically push through most puzzles?  Are the ‘gotcha’ puzzles that require lateral thinking unfair, or an essential part of the Layton experience?

Hints.

• Is it possible to get stuck and unable to progress when things get too hard?  Are the hints that are available to the player reasonable without giving too much away?

We answer these questions and many more on the 103rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Professor Layton OST: Tomohito Nishiura 

Is there more to the story of Professor Layton and the Curious Village than we thought?  Is there another game in the series that is an absolute must play?  Which was your favourite puzzle?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

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