Brainteasers always hold a certain sense of wonderment for people. The ones that can do them well usually get the amazed “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” from their peers, and the ones who can’t understand them usually throw them down in frustration. Professor Layton panders to the former. In Professor Layton and the Curious Village, you have to meander through the town solving mysteries and the various puzzles that the townsfolk will throw at you. You wouldn’t think it would be possible to have a different puzzle for each situation, but this game will prove you wrong at every turn. It will even pull the cheapest of tricks as you poke a seemingly inanimate object that will ultimately result in a puzzle.

As Professor Layton, you are going to solve all these puzzles because it is the only way that you get any answers from the townsfolk. Most of the people that you poke with your magical stylus finger are going to need your help in some way, whether it is deciphering routes they should take to go to work to avoid those that they don’t like, or merely figuring out which cog fits the crank to lower a bridge (which is one of the first puzzles you encounter). Think that all these puzzles seem out of place most of the time? Well so do the characters, who will occasionally comment on how ridiculous it is to be mulling over a puzzle during a time of crisis.

The characters are all quite enjoyable, including the venerable Professor Layton, who is so sure of his abilities that his young assistant Luke aspires to be just like him one day. The characters that they encounter in the village of St Mystere all have a story to tell and all wind up being vital to either the main problem at hand or one of the mini-investigations that you can engage in.

Musically, the game is pretty basic but it works. The whole game has an underlying music track that you won’t notice until someone actually points it out. It is lighthearted enough that it keeps your mood calm even as you struggle through some of the more complex puzzles later in the game. If any fault lies with the music is that it might be too much in the background.