Everyone who dug Professor Layton and the Curious Village (see: the entire DS Fanboy staff and its readers), then you'll be happy to know the series continues on unabated in Japan, as Professor Layton and the Last Time Travel has been announced for the region. Level 5 has confirmed that the title will release to eager gamers in Japan sometime in the fall of this year. As it stands right now, this is believed to be the last entry in the series of games.

A teaser site has launched, which you can check out here (or by clicking the "Read" link below). Who else is ready for another dose of Layton goodness?

[Via Go Nintendo]

Professor Layton/Dragon Quest VIII developer Level-5 has announced a release date for their next big project, Inazuma Eleven: August 22nd. The developer has been building interest in their soccer RPG for a long time in a lot of unconventional ways: offering demos on DS cards which also feature exclusive Layton content, creating a pop group, going so far as to buy naming rights to a soccer stadium.

Will the marketing overkill pay off for Level-5? We were pretty sure Inazuma Eleven was going to be huge even before they started doing this stuff, just because of the massive amounts of cred the company has picked up in Japan since Layton and DQVIII.

Here's a puzzle for you, and we think you'll find it to be an absolute humdinger: if you haven't already purchased Professor Layton and the Curious Village, then why not? There are several different answers to this brainteaser, but you'll have to go past the break to find them.

Anyway, Level 5's gorgeous adventure is now available at Target for $26, a minuscule price to pay for what is easily one of the best DS games of 2008 so far. Also in Target's bargains line-up this week: Brain Age 2 (for $17), Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (also $17) and, um ... Petz Bunnyz 2 ($26 too much).

Stop all the downloadin'! It turns out that Nintendo had those "downloadable" Professor Layton puzzles on the cartridge all along! When you download a puzzle, all you're downloading is an unlock code. Which isn't a big deal -- it's not like you're paying for the extra content or anything.

One user figured out how to find that content in the game data, and has compiled all 162(!) bonus puzzles, with screenshots, on a single web page. The solutions are also provided, but hidden behind links so you can actually play these puzzles if you want. Or you can spoil a friend's good time every week as you wait patiently for him or her to complete the download and then blurt out the solution.

[Update: this is actually all the puzzles!]

[Via GayGamer]

When you think about puzzle games, titles that involve abstract geometrical shapes (like Tetris) are probably the first things that come to mind. Professor Layton, though, is a different breed of puzzle game, one that you might not be used to. This charming title makes you solve actual brainteasers -- the kind that make you want to laugh and cry at the same time.

It's hard to imagine a game being completely devoted to puzzle solving. Usually, games will include puzzle-solving elements, but they won't revolve around the whole concept. Yet, Professor Layton manages to do this in a way that's enticing, entertaining, and addicting, showing us that even the simplest ideas can become the best of games if handled properly.

This blogger has spent the last few days boring the rest of the staff rigid about the wonders of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The game has rapidly flown up my list of DS favorites, thanks in no small part to its charming, Miyazaki-esque art style, engaging story, and (of course) wonderful puzzles.

But here's another reason why I love this game: its length. It took me around ten or eleven hours to complete, which is just right. For me, Layton doesn't outstay its welcome, and it also happens to be the perfect fit for my schedule. Of course, now it's over, I'm clamoring for MOAR LAYTON, but I'll just have to be patient.

How about you? Are you the type of gamer who is happy to dedicate seventy or eighty hours to an RPG, or do you prefer games of Layton's size?

See also: 2008's Biggest Blips -- Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Nintendo's absolutely relentless promoting of Professor Layton and the Curious Village has shown no signs of letting up at the ongoing Game Developers Conference.

Siliconera's Spencer Yip spotted this giant rotating projector advert for the game looming over the North Hall of the Moscone Center (the GDC venue), and also reports that nearby bus stops are sporting their fair share of Layton ads. It's great to see Nintendo's American arm being so supportive of the game -- here's hoping all of this hard work reflects in the sales figures!

Oh, how we adore you, Professor Layton and the Curious Village. Not only are you one of the most distinguished DS games of the year so far, but you're also proving a rich source of inspiration for webcomic artists everywhere.

Penny Arcade's take on the Professor's adventure set our ROFLcopter in motion the other day, and our giggling continued after seeing 2P Start's answer to the biggest puzzle of all. Hit the break for the full (totally-safe-for-work) comic!

See also: 2008's Biggest Blips -- Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Having recently wrapped up Professor Layton and the Curious Village, we've been left with nothing to do but curl up and gently rock ourselves in the corners of our bedrooms, pausing only to twitch or shake, and refusing to eat. We just can't hide it: we miss Professor Layton and its puzzley delights. In our less sane moments, we'd even tolerate more of Luke's inane simpering for just one more hit of puzzles about matchsticks, moving blocks, or sliding tiles.

So imagine how envious we felt when we learned that Japan is getting MOAR PROFESSOR LAYTON! No, not the sequels -- we already know about those, silly. Instead, Japanese gamers will soon be able to rent a compilation known as Level 5 Premium Gold from music rental specialists Tsutaya. This desirable collection contains demos of two Level 5 games -- football soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven and Professor Layton and the Devil's Box -- and, most thrillingly of all, a totally original Layton side story. Professor Layton and the Holiday in London features the good Professor in his London office, reflecting on his worldwide adventures with Luke, and solving a dozen new puzzles in the process.

More frustratingly still, this compendium was given away for free back at last September's Tokyo Game Show, under the name of Level 5 Premium Silver. This can only lead to one outcome: Professor Layton and the Ridiculously Pricey Ebay Auctions.

If our incessant bleating about the greatness of Professor Layton and the Curious Village hasn't already caused you to crack and buy the game, then we're hoping these videos might be the final straw. Featuring the first four puzzles from the game (conundrums that range from easy to fairly testing), they do a pretty good job of representing how difficult the game is.* Needless to say, these contain spoilers.

After the break: another two puzzles, and a direct-feed version of the intro to this marvelous game. You're weakening! Admit it! Give in to Professor Layton's puzzley pleasures!

* So long as you don't count that accursed puzzle featuring the dog made from matchsticks which is then run over.

See also: 2008's Biggest Blips -- Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Square Enix and Level-5 have both previously been reticent about Dragon Quest IX, showing little and saying even less. In fact, the last we heard anything about a possible release period was back in August when it was delayed until 2008, except for Yoichi Wada's assurance of the game's progress. A delay like that won't happen again, according to Level-5 president Akihiro Hino. Hino told Famitsu that he set a goal for 2008 of finishing not only Dragon Quest IX, but the soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven, the third Professor Layton game, and White Knight Chronicles on the Playstation 3.

Hino also mentioned that Level-5 would announce a new RPG soon, also for release this year. It's the 10th anniversary of Level-5, and they're celebrating it with work.

For the four people who don't check Penny Arcade three times a week: today's installment of the webcomic is about Professor Layton. Specifically, the tendency of pretty much everyone in the game world to have a pressing puzzle need that you must address before they are willing to have basically anything to do with you.

In the accompanying news post, Tycho refers to the game as a "logic opera," in that "every person you meet breaks into "puzzle" the way that viking ladies tend to break into song, out of nowhere, and now you're riddling out some jackhole's insane chicken scratches." It's a pretty astute way to describe the randomly puzzle-ful world of Layton.

In case you're not familiar with Penny Arcade, we'll warn you: there is adult language to be found! We mean "adult language" as in cursing, not talking about taxes or politics.

Whatever your opinion about social networking sites, one thing's for sure: they're hella popular. Somebody at Nintendo has clearly clocked onto this, because Professor Layton and the Curious Village now has its own Facebook page, along with screenshots, wallpapers, a trailer, and 220 friends at the time of writing (more than double the number acquired by this blogger in eight months). That's right: you can now have a game as a friend. And if we were going to cyberstalk befriend a game, we'd totally choose to be friends with a mysterious and clever one like Professor Layton.

See also: 2008's Biggest Blips -- Professor Layton and the Curious Village


[Via Go Nintendo]

We've been excited about Professor Layton and the Curious Village for some time now. With every new screenshot and video released, that excitement quickly grew into obsession, and then infatuation. Last Saturday night, we were barely able to sleep, scrunching our eyes tight shut whenever our mums would come and check on us, and bouncing on the bed in excitement when she left. But now -- joy! -- it's here! And it's really good! We know because these people told us so!

1UP -- 85%: 1UP reviewer Jeremy Parish felt that the game was more than the sum of its parts: "Admittedly, the game's puzzle and story elements likely wouldn't stand well on their own -- the puzzles are excellent but often rely on certain tricks of language that, once spotted, become transparent in subsequent iterations; the adventure game is unrepentantly simple and linear. The genius of Layton is that they don't stand alone. Instead, the two game types work together harmoniously, resulting in something altogether more entertaining than its base components."

GamePro -- 75%: GamePro's assessment, meanwhile, was slightly less glowing, criticizing the puzzles for being anywhere between laughably easy and horrendously hard. In the end though, they rather liked it: "For all its frustrations, Professor Layton does have its merits. The overall vibe of the game is charming and immensely likeable and the basic game mechanic is solid. There is also a ton of things to do: aside from the puzzles, there are other neat extras that I'll let you discover on your own. Even if the uneven difficulty robs the game of some of its fun and the slow, methodical pacing might lull some gamers to sleep, for puzzle lovers and brainy gamers, Professor Layton definitely has a lot to offer."

GameSpy -- 90%: GameSpy simply adored Level 5's game, praising the developer for going the extra mile with the storyline and game world: "Professor Layton and the Curious Village is an incredibly original and thoroughly entertaining addition to the Nintendo DS library. Level-5 could have easily packaged the puzzles into a barebones daily format and have ended up with a game that's as entertaining as the Brain Training series. Instead, Level-5 went the extra mile and wrapped these puzzles into a beautifully presented world inhabited by endearing characters amid a compelling murder mystery. The effort paid off."

Good news if you've already completed Professor Layton and the Curious Village: you're really good at puzzles. More good news for you: even though the game's been (officially) out for a day, new content is already waiting for you on Nintendo's servers. Nintendo is already making good on the downloadable puzzle feature. Between the early launch, the sequel news in the manual and the day-one DLC, it really seems like Nintendo has been accelerating the lifespan of this game.

However, there was similar content available in the Japanese version on release day. Also, it took a year to get the game here in the first place. That's not terribly speedy.