Forum Overview :: Nintendogs
 
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) by Last 02/14/2008, 2:15pm PST
You play a Professor / apprentice team as they investigate the titular village in search of treasure. Each person you talk to has 1d5 short puzzles for you to solve to get rewards and push the story forward. Rewards are in the form of picarats (coins) that seem to have no use besides scorekeeping at first - I did run into a character that promised something good will happen if I get enough picarats but I have not found out what it is yet.

The picarat value of a puzzle decreases with each time you fuck up the answer, so there's a benefit to getting it correct on your first try. You can also find secret puzzles by clicking around in each room - a weird bookshelf might have a book-arranging problem hidden in it, a vase may have a flower pattern matching puzzle hidden in it.

There are hints for each puzzle if you need them, but hints cost 1 hint coin each. Hint coins are found hidden in the environment. Click on a lamp or box and a hint coin drops out like so much Castlevania. You can also re-do any puzzles if you want AND if you overlook a secret puzzle there is a place where you can go to find them later on.

The puzzles include trigonometry problems (find the radii of the circle, determine the angle of the shadow), logic puzzles (Alice is three years older than bob, bob is twice alex's age, the sum of the ages is 30, etc), optical illusions (which line is longer? Which of these things is not like the other?), traffic jam or sliding block puzzles, matchstick arranging (change this picture to another picture by moving only three matchsticks), trick questions (You only have one match. You need to light the stove for cooking, a lamp for seeing, and a fireplace for warmth. Which should you light first? What's the last letter in the Alphabet?), and many more.

Pros:
* Charming game with a charming setting and pleasant atmosphere. The game is peppered with anime FMV that are well-done and load seamlessly. You can still skip them if you want.
* Dialogue is far less awkward than regular Japanese games. PLCV uses the floating head conversation style but most people aren't very yappy so you don't have to click through 30 screens of "..." and other bullshit.
* 130+ puzzles plus weekly puzzle downloads means that there's a lot of fun to be had.
* Wide variety of puzzles! I tried to list the different types above but only listed about half of the kinds I've seen so far.


Cons:
* The puzzles are a little inconsistent. The difficulty range makes it a little hard to tell what the target audience is. There is an ample hint system but you'll really only need to use to help figure out what exactly is being asked sometimes. If this game is too easy for you then I'd suggest buying Picross instead.
* Literally, one of the questions is "You need to buy chairs for an arena that shows concerts and also has sporting events. Which type of chair is the best?", then they show you five chairs and you circle one. Based on what criteria, you ask? Who the hell knows without looking at the hints.


Overall: Positive! If the difficulty increases as the game progresses Very Positive!


Here's a couple word problems to give you an idea.

* 15 people are trapped on a ship that will sink in exactly 20 minutes. There is a 5-person lifeboat on the ship and the water is full of sharks so swimming is not an option. A round-trip to the nearest island takes 9 minutes. How many people can be saved?

* A man has 10 pills and has to take one per day, starting today. The pills are of decreasing dosage and MUST be taken in order. However, they look identical on the surface so the man is going to number the pills to tell them apart. What's the fewest number of pills he must mark to guarantee that he takes them all in order?

* How many times per day will a digital (non-military time) clock display three or more of the same digit consecutively? Examples 1:11, 2:22 and so on.








NEXT REPLY QUOTE
 
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) by Last 02/14/2008, 2:15pm PST NEW
    Time! by Jerry Whorebach 02/14/2008, 2:42pm PST NEW
        Re: Time! by Last 02/14/2008, 2:47pm PST NEW
            Psh by Worm 02/14/2008, 3:14pm PST NEW
                Except one is 13 and another is 14, I guess. That's gonna cost me pikachus :( NT by Jerry Whorebach 02/14/2008, 3:50pm PST NEW
                    13 is correct, 14 still wrong. by Last 02/14/2008, 4:20pm PST NEW
                        OH GOD WHY DIDN'T I FINISH HIGHSCHOOL NT by Jerry Whorebach 02/14/2008, 4:24pm PST NEW
                            32? NT by Jerry Whorebach 02/14/2008, 4:27pm PST NEW
                                You can't fool me with false modesty. by Last 02/14/2008, 4:42pm PST NEW
                                    Zero, a digit? Psh! (Maybe if you're an amputee?) NT by Jerry Whorebach 02/14/2008, 5:04pm PST NEW
                                        Face it, you lost. Go and shut yourself somewhere even more in. NT by Fussbett 02/14/2008, 9:16pm PST NEW
                                            This is the worst Valentine's Day ever. NT by Jerry Whorebach 02/15/2008, 12:52am PST NEW
                        Oh, a whole day? 18, right? by Worm 02/14/2008, 4:40pm PST NEW
                            oh and all the other elevens NT by Worm 02/14/2008, 5:44pm PST NEW
    Forgot to mention that Can Deny Rape is TRYING to RUIN this game grrrrrrrrrrrrrr by Last 02/14/2008, 2:46pm PST NEW
    Halfway through. Puzzles are SIGNIFICANTLY harder. That's good. NT by Last 02/15/2008, 1:24pm PST NEW
    Re: Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) by Last 02/19/2008, 6:14pm PST NEW
        I downloaded the rom, perhaps I will play this. NT by Jhoh Creebul, Witch Toucher O_O 02/19/2008, 9:36pm PST NEW
            HMMMMMM PERHAPS NT by Faggot 02/19/2008, 10:04pm PST NEW
                Okay thanks faggot. NT by Jhoh Creebul, Witch Toucher O_O 02/19/2008, 10:21pm PST NEW
    I am curious (village). by Jhoh Creebul, Witch Toucher O_O 02/21/2008, 1:30am PST NEW
        Re: I am curious (village). by Jhoh Creebul, Witch Toucher O_O 03/05/2008, 9:50pm PST NEW
 
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