Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

[Valigarmander]

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Review for the Nintendo DS from 1UP.com

After finishing the first Layton adventure, Curious Village, I immediately started longing for a sequel to the quirky puzzle adventure. Neither as explicitly casual as Personal Trainer: Walking nor as "gamer-friendly" friendly as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Professor Layton straddles a middle ground between the two, being friendly to non-gamers, but containing enough challenge and extra content to appease the hardcore. I've been waiting a long time for Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, but the game still lives up to my expectations in every way.

For those new to the series, the game relies on critical thinking, intuition, and logic to move forward, in lieu of timed button presses or other sections that require good hand-eye coordination. You work your way through a progressively difficult gauntlet of puzzles; some of them relate directly to the story (like searching for possible escape routes a murderer may have taken), while others are random, contextless puzzles presented by the game's eccentric townsfolk (like moving a stack of pancakes from one plate to another, but keeping the biggest on the bottom).

If you're the type of player who looks at games purely from a cold, calculating, number-of-features view, Diabolical Box is a better game than it predecessor. It has the same beautiful artwork, animated cut-scenes, and the same excellent voice acting, but you'll find more puzzles overall, and extra minigames as well. One task, set apart from the main puzzle-solving storyline, has you gathering parts of a camera to reassemble the machine piece by piece. Another has you helping an overweight hamster get back in shape.

I especially enjoyed the new tea-making minigame, which lets you interact with Layton's puzzle-crazy denizens in a new way. It's one prerequisite to unlocking everything in the game: you serve each of the final chapter's residents a speciall-blended tea from ingredients you find along your journey. It adds a new element for the sequel, but it also caused me the only frustration not brought on by a mind-breakingly difficult puzzle: early on, some characters will demand concoctions you don't possess the ingredients for, but once you do get the right mix of leaves they demand, you have to wait for them to grow thirsty again before they'll accept the drink.

Solving every puzzle isn't necessary to beat the game, but it's a goal I chase with a single-minded mania. At some points in Diabolical Box, you have to have solved a specific number of puzzles to progress. I have no idea if it's a reasonable number, or if sets lofty, unattainable requirements for people playing through the game for mere enjoyment. Besides, does anyone venture through this game without trying to solve each and every puzzle? Unfathomable!

But for less obsessive adventurers, Granny Riddleton's shack stands somewhere on the outskirts of every stage. Forgotten and lost puzzles pop up in her home, so you never have to worry about leaving any stray riddles behind. Still, you might find it a little outdated to have to click all over the entire screen and talk to the same characters over and over to find new puzzles. But a hypothetical "Layton View" that would highlight puzzle locations might eliminate the fun of searching every inch of the game's levels and reading Layton's thoughts on the things you interact with. Regardless, there are far fewer puzzles hidden in hard-to-find places than the last game; almost every puzzle is tied to a character or an easy-to-spot object.

Diabolical Box isn't a multiplayer game per se, but with three save slots on the cartridge, it encourages a friendly competition of intellects. While on your own, you might leisurely work your way from puzzle to puzzle; when another person is playing, it's a race to see who can solve the most puzzles the fastest. Diablolical Box's main menu provides an immediate, irrefutable record for all three save spots, telling you how long the player has spent on the game, and how many puzzles are completed.

I understand that my passion for this methodical, brain-bending style of game isn't universal. But I love books, and Diabolical Box turns my DS into a book of puzzles -- a book I can pick up and peruse at my leisure, or close and think about when I come across a particularly vexing conundrum. Level-5 could've been lazy and offered up the exact same formula as the Curious Village, thrown in some new puzzles, and I still would have received the game with open, enthusiastic arms. But Diabolical Box shows that the game's developers aren't content to just sit on their laurels -- they take a wonderful game, and make it even better.

I've never played Curious Village, although I've heard good things about this game. Any fans of it here?

Check the link for screenies and video.

[Luigiman7]

My mom loved the first. It looked pretty awesome, and she'll definetly get this one.

[Robotazy]

Getting it.

[Antisocial]

The second sequel is already out in Japan; what took them so long?

After going through much frustration with the first one, I'm looking forward to getting this so I can hate it too.

[Valigarmander]

I got the first in the series today. If I like this one enough, I might get the second.

So far, pretty interesting. Solving the puzzles makes me feel smart. :3

[Valigarmander]

Beat The Curious Village today. It was pretty fun, now I'll have to get the sequel sometime.

Also, Professor Layton is a pedophile. Boys and girls.

[Luigiman7]

My mom beat it, but she won't tell me what happened. I gotta play the damn thing myself.

I'm looking forward to it.

[LASER BEAR ASSAULT UNIT]

Both of the games are fantastic.