I remember a time when I loved top-hats. I couldn't get enough of them. Even though I did not posses one at the time (hey, I don't even have one now =C), I loved them for one reason, and one reason alone: it was the symbol of a true gentlemen. Someone you could ask a favor, and would do so without question, someone who would treat you with the up-most respect, despite whom you were. Someone who would have vast knowledge in various things, some would say a professor or scholar. This was the person I wanted to be. I wanted to be a true gentlemen, and as a result, I was a sucker for top-hats. I also loved puzzles, but I wanted to see a game that involved puzzles that were riddles, mind-benders, stuff like that. No such game came across me.

So when I heard from my brother that there was going to be a puzzle game involving over 100 brain-teasers that required thinking "outside the box", I was excited. I was waiting for this kind of game for a long time. But then I heard that the main character was a true gentlemen, who worked as a professor at some university, loved drinking tea, and accurately lived in England such as I, my head exploded with joy. it was a match made in heaven. I never thought such a creation could exist, but it did. I was going to get the game as so as I could, but that meant waiting three months for Christmas >.<

When the wait was finally over, I finally got it. The cover was promising, the professor looks awesome, and the puzzles looked....puzzling. So I put it in my DS and started playing it. I was met with a title screen and Professor Laytons theme, which matches the professors personality perfectly. This is a very nice piece of piano and violin. In fact, most of the music is done by just the violin and piano (mainly). Could you imagine two more perfect instruments to go together? I can imagine the professor having the ability to play both of them. But I digress. Lets talk about the story.

The story starts straight after you enter in your name, as you receive a letter from Luke Triton, the professors assistant. So the story is told in the light of a flash back on an event that has already happened. Awesome-sauce. So the game starts with a cut-scene with the Professor Hershel Layton driving along the country side, and Luke looking out the window. Might I add that these cut-scenes are top-quality. They look like they have been taken out of some anime film, yet at the time, there was no Professor Layton anime film. Incredible. They created these cartoon cut-scenes just for the sake of this game? That is attention to detail if I've ever seen it.

So the story is that the Professor receives a letter (which will be a recurring theme in the Professor Layton series, starting off with a letter) from Lady Dahlia, about how his husband - Baron Augustus Reinhold - has died. The
Baron stated in his last will and testament that whoever solves the
mystery of the Golden Apple will inherit his fortune. And of course, the professor is called for help. A true gentlemen always helps a lady in need, as he would say. I think he does say it, accurately. The first wall of text is voice acted. After this, it won't be voice acted until a cut-scene appears. The professors voice is just awesome. It's exactly what I expected from a true gentlemen-scholar-professor. I always want him to talk when a cut-scene appears. Luke's accent is cockney, which suits his part. And he's only a boy, so I wonder were his parents are? I thought this at first, but then found out the answer in a future Professor Layton game.

The map to the town was provided, but the path is encrypted within. So, as your first puzzle, you must find the route to town. Allow me how the puzzle system works. Each puzzle is worth a certain amount of Picorats. the higher the Picorats, the harder the puzzle is. This can range to 10-99. If you get the puzzle wrong, then a fraction of Picorats is taken away from the puzzles total. Get it wrong again, and you lose another fraction. After this, there is no penalty of Picorats for getting a puzzle wrong. You can unlock hints if you are stuck. These cost hint coins. Hint coins are found all over the place. Tap somewhere suspicious and you might find one, but you get ten to start off with. You can unlock three hints, each one making the puzzle a little less subtle than it seems. most of the time, the hints are useful. But sometimes, they might not help you, due to how one thinks and how the hints are instructed, and on very rare occasions, the hints refuse to help you at all!

After you complete a puzzle, you get the Picorats, and you carry on. Sometimes there are hidden puzzles lying around for you to find. Sometimes, the professor will say "You know, that bucket reminds me of a nice puzzle you might like, Luke." when you tab a certain item. I remember when I made fun of this by saying how the simplest thing could remind me of a puzzle. It annoyed a lot of people, so I stopped. The puzzles are a dream. They are the perfect thing to keep your brain on your tip-toes. Half of them are trick questions, but spotting the trick in the question to solve it is the real fun in the game. It wasn't until the third game that I got used to this aspect.

Sometimes, when you complete a puzzle, you will receive a piece of furniture, a piece of a picture, or a part for a robot. These are mini-games that you will acquire very soon in the game. They are sort of like carry on mini-games. You won't be able to solve them straight away. But after solving enough puzzles, you will have all the parted needed. Here's a run-down on each mini-game. The hotel room requires you to place furniture in either rooms that catches both Luke's and the professors interest. I found myself often switching the furniture back and forth to see what they like. The painting is basically a jig-saw puzzle. The robot is really simple, you just need to add the parts together as you find them. No brain power needed, really.

The graphics in the game are very good. Each part of the town in a piece of art painted to bring life to the game. The attention to detail is great. But everything isn't just for decoration. If you tap some parts of the town, instead of a hidden puzzle or a hint coin, you might find a comment by the professor or Luke about that part of the town. These are interesting to read to get their opinion on things. Some of them are even humorous. Half of the game I spend trying to find these comments. This truly isn't a game to rush. This is a game to cruel in a fancy chair and play for hours on end, with a cup of tea by your side, getting into the mood and atmosphere of the game as the plot gets ticker and thicker. But one thing I don't get is why do the villagers look the way they do? They all have a unique head shape, and sometimes it easier to remember then by the shape of their head rather than their name.

Of course! How could I forget? You might come across a "Mystery", in which something in particular has puzzles Professor Layton. When it is solved via the main story, it will be stamped with a Layton Stamp (well, that's what I like to call them). You can try and find out how to solve the mystery before the professor, if you wish. I might have never done so before, but I always give it a try. The music in puzzles is soothing, calming, and not distracting when your solving a puzzle. Perfect! The music outside a puzzle, however, matches the mood where ever you are. Sometimes the music even stops to add effect. Wonderful. There are some pretty epic pieces in this game. Shame I can't remember what they are called (apart from professor Layton's Theme). I love how the music in the village is eerie yet calm. It just creates a certain mood that I can't explain.

When you complete the game, the fun doesn't stop there. There are extra puzzles in the bonus section for you to solve if you completed certain things in the game. These are much harder puzzles than the ones in the main game. What's more, you can download a new puzzle every week! No new puzzles are being used for this game, but these puzzles are a great filler until the next game is out. Then there is the Extras section. If you have collected enough Picorats (this is basically the main reason for them), you will unlock parts of this section, such as the music, or cut-scenes. There's even the "hidden door", which can only be opened to those who have the second game in the series. The second game has a secret code unique to that DS. Who knows what could be behind there? Perhaps concept art, or maybe a puzzle?

Overall, I would give this game a 9.3/10      This game is a dream come true. The puzzles are perfect, just what I wanted. The main character is very respectable and is one of my favorite Nintendo characters. Just what is under that top-hat? He never takes it off. this game is a must play to all those that adore puzzles and true gentlemen. I might not be a true gentlemen now, but one day, I shall achieve the title of a true gentlemen. Luckily, I had all the fun with this game before it mysteriously got glitched. I don't know what happened, but it was weird. I no longer posses the game, but i will always remember it as one of the games that I dreamed about, and coming true before my very eyes.

I just started playing this game last month and have 2 of the series but then i got lazy after the part when you have to investigate the killer i didn't even leave the house lol

Hey why you dont post any Screenshots of this game?

I played it and loved it, even though all the really math-involved puzzles frustrated me and made me look like an idiot. Hah. I enjoyed it though! The characters lacked a lot of depth and there's not much to get into besides just puzzles puzzles puzzles. The story is interesting but not really enticing, so I'd say it's mostly just for people who enjoy puzzles but with also a backdrop of story which gives a little motivation to move on and complete it, unlike Brain Age or something similar.

The second Professor Layton was really hard though. I didn't even get that far because it was just so difficult that it became a chore for me. I'm bummed because I really wanted to submerge into the series, but I guess I just don't have the critical thinking for it. I did pretty all right at the first one though, so maybe I didn't try hard enough. It's been a couple years since I played the second one so maybe I'll give it another go. And the first one, for that matter. It's a lot of fun.

I don't mean to be off topic, but Professor Layton actually kind of reminds of me another game I love, called Hotel Dusk (also for DS). It's a point and click mystery type game. You may want to check it out? =) I can't recommend it highly enough, and I don't know many people that know of it.

death_nation : I don't normally add screens to any review I make because for three reasons. One, it would slow down my typing speed to find the picture, two, to save space in the review, and three to avoid having to edit the post for people that might not be able to see the picture. Besides, I don't know anyone that adds screen shots to their reviews.
KG : If I see it, I might buy with with the remaining money on my gift card, thanks.

Hey I'm new just thought I would post saying I love the review, Professor Layton for me was the perfect casual game to dip in and out of and with such a classy main character made me feel somewhat dignified playing the game too aha. As for your curiosity into what is under that hat of his I urge you to youtube a series of videos I found very funny parodying the game I think it's called Professor Layton and the malignant growth. Enjoy

Haha that first paragraph about top hats is interesting. Great review though. The DS does have some really great titles..I've been meaning to try this series sometime. I haven't yet, but eventually I'm sure I will.