Here's a concept: take
Brain Age and write a story to it. Level-5 did just that, creating
Professor Layton for DS, a combination of classic brain teasers and an adventure-style narrative driven by irresistible
Totoro-esque looks -- the celebrated developer even got a University professor to slap his seal of approval on it (but stopped short of making Prof. Akira Tago the game's
antagonistic talking head).
The first game in the trilogy,
Professor Layton and the Curious Mysterious Village, was released in Japan back in February (its sequel arrives
this week, with the third game not far behind) and became the envy of westerners keen to the next
Ouedan or
Gyakuten Saiban breakout hit. Like those series (known as
Elite Beat Agents and
Phoenix Wright in the US),
Professor Layton will be
localized for western audiences. Today, we have the date: February 18th, 2008.
If you can navigate through the language barrier, there's a
playable demo on the official Japanese site.
{ Nov 29th 2007 at 12:55PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Salty Cashews @ Nov 29th 2007 1:00PM
First!
def PD @ Nov 29th 2007 1:13PM
C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER! =P
Todd @ Nov 29th 2007 1:19PM
Third. ;)
rv @ Nov 29th 2007 1:20PM
We aren't stupid(or at least most of us aren't). We can see your post is on top, and no, it doesn't make you any cooler.
Lemmiwinks @ Nov 29th 2007 1:21PM
ah... fresh meat
Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 29th 2007 1:51PM
Dick!
Asshole!
Douchebag!
esch @ Nov 29th 2007 2:39PM
Dick...Asshole...Douchebag...
Dad?
Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 29th 2007 2:42PM
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1771556
Pooky871 @ Nov 29th 2007 1:07PM
Second!
FOXHOUND @ Nov 29th 2007 1:10PM
I see why the kid's hiding by the Professor... that guy in the white suit doesn't look like he has popsicles in his basement for him at all! :(
Seriously speaking, I can only hope this game isn't at normal Nintendo DS game retail price.
SmokestormX @ Nov 29th 2007 1:10PM
Mysterious , Curious or Both at the same time?
Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 29th 2007 1:52PM
The Japanese title translated to "Curious Village," but the official English title is "Mysterious Village."
I like the latter more.
Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 29th 2007 1:53PM
Er, no wait. I had that backwards.
I still like "Mysterious Village" more.
Princess Skittles @ Nov 29th 2007 1:13PM
I'm glad this is coming out here! So many fresh ideas coming to this little system.. so little time.
Gavin @ Nov 29th 2007 2:07PM
And by fresh you mean they took Brain Age, copied an already shallow gaming concept and slapped a storyline onto it. Yeah, real fresh.
def PD @ Nov 29th 2007 1:12PM
Hello Zack & Wiki!
Todd @ Nov 29th 2007 1:20PM
So... this game is about a village that is curious? Curious about what?
Pooky871 @ Nov 29th 2007 1:21PM
@ def PD
oh the good old days of Killer Instinct =P
Lemmiwinks @ Nov 29th 2007 1:23PM
So which is it? "Mysterious" or "Curious?"
The juxtaposition of your post title, text crossout, and the actual box art make for one curious mystery.
creid @ Nov 29th 2007 1:27PM
Earlier in the fall, Nintendo had this on their list for 12/3, then 2/4. So this is more of a delay than a new date.
Will be buying it, as I am a Level 5 fanboy.
Blast Processing Megadrive @ Nov 29th 2007 1:56PM
Upon the second game's release in Japan, the last title in the trilogy has been announced:
Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel
Which will, of course... involve time travel.
... I hate time travel.
Salty Cashews @ Nov 29th 2007 2:26PM
20th!
(yes I counted)
JS Beckerist @ Nov 29th 2007 3:14PM
nope, 19th apparently!
Is it just me or does this look a lot like:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Triplettes_de_Belleville
The triplets of belleville?
Lemmiwinks @ Nov 29th 2007 3:32PM
J' voudrai finir ma vie à Katmandouuuu...
WizarDru @ Nov 29th 2007 2:40PM
Kinda have your chronology backwards there, don't you? Prof. Akira Tago's "Head Gymnastics" puzzle books have been out for a long time. Level 5's producer asked the author if they could make games using his puzzles, and thus the Professor Layton series was born. The game has some 2000 puzzles from his books and 30 new ones that Tago made for them.
Can't wait for this game to arrive.
drun @ Nov 29th 2007 7:52PM
just played the sequent "Akuma no hako". Tha animation and the voice acting is really great...
while there's framerate problem on animation playing...
Richard @ Nov 30th 2007 12:53AM
Kinda reminds me of the Dr. Brain games, which I really enjoyed when younger. (Although I make this comparison based solely on this article without really knowing the specifics of this series.)