Grabs you with its charm, hooks you with its challenge, and makes you crave more.
The game begins with a short animated movie that is one of the finest cutscenes I've seen in any game, ever. It's extremely brief, but the art style draws you in instantly. If "Curious Village" was a terrible game, I would play it anyway just to appreciate the design. Look at any screenshot of the game and you'll get a bit of an idea. The art style is quirky, but still tasteful. And as a side note, the soundtrack is extremely repetitive but nevertheless fantastic.
The plot starts of simply enough, with the quest for an item in a disputed will, but soon it thickens. People are not who they seem to be, the tower at the center of town is a source of great mystery, people disappear. It gets quite intriguing, and there are some satisfyingly crazy plot twists to wrap up the game.
With the plot and art design so good, the game delivers a one-two punch that is impossible to resist. The gameplay doesn't take anything away from the experience (although it doesn't add anything either), as it's very simple, with tapping on the screen ruling all, from how you walk to how to solve puzzles.
And now to the meat of the game--puzzles. You can come for all the flash--the art design, the plot, the outstanding soundtrack--but at the end of the day, you had better like puzzles, or this is not a game for you. Solving puzzles drives the plot--at one point, it is literally impossible to advance without having solved a certain number of puzzles. Brainteasers, riddles, math problems--the puzzles take all forms, some frustrating and some easier. Some might seem unsolveable, but there are hint coins scattered throughout the game that allow you to unlock hints that might lead you in the right direction. Although you are not required to solve every puzzle in the game, the feeling of accomplishment whenever you solve a brainteaser is unmatched.
So, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a superb game, and one of the best titles ever released for the DS. It has boatloads of charm, but an acceptable plot and a ton of puzzles that make it more than just flash. Only buy this game if you like puzzles, though, otherwise you'll just be throwing down the game in disgust. "Curious Village" misses out on perfection only for the occasional puzzle that's way too hard, and the repetitive soundtrack.