Professor Layton Series

I'm not done with Miracle Mask, the fifth game in this series, yet, but I thought I'd say a few more words about the series as a whole.

Anyone who's familiar with these games knows that they're a puzzle gamer's comfort food.  Few of the puzzles are very difficult, and there are plenty of hints for the tougher ones.  While they can get a bit tricky, they all need to be solvable on a tiny DS screen, so there's a sharp upper bound on complexity (although I'm starting to hate those damn block-pushing puzzles).

Those who haven't played the games might be surprised to learn that story is also a big focus.  I've never found any of these stories very compelling.  Some sort of mystery is afoot, which is apparently supernatural, but always has a rational explanation.  Never mind that these explanations typically involve hallucinogenic gas or robots impersonating people.  Also, most of the villains are extremely cartoonish, and speak like Liquid Snake ("DEAR BROTHER").  Needless to say, I actually have a hard time remembering most of the key details of the first four games.  I guess I'm supposed to find the anachronistic "old-English" setting charming, but unlike most Japanese takes on the west, this one sort of baffles me, what with all of the contorted Caucasian faces and strange geography (is Miracle Mask set in the midst of an English desert?).  I do rather like all of the beautifully animated cutscenes.  It's no surprise that developers Level 5 would eventually collaborate on a game with Studio Ghibli, as the Layton games have a distinct Miyazaki influence.

In any case, if the Layton games aren't rewarding puzzlers, and the story's so unmemorable, why have I bothered to play so many of them?  Well, I suppose it's because they really are comfort food.  Like the Dragon Quest series, you know exactly what you're going to get with a Layton game.  The model has barely changed throughout all of its iterations.  After Demon's Souls, this was just what I was looking for.

In fact, I'm going to go ahead and throw out the 'C' word - "casual".  In the West, we would reserve that title for games like Bejeweled or Candy Crush Saga, but those games could never hold my interest, because they seemed so goal-less.  The Layton games give you much more do, and plenty to see along the way, but they flow just as smoothly, and work well for bite-sized play sessions.  I think we associate Japanese games with a certain kind of hardcore mentality, but there are plenty of examples of casual Japanese games, if we broaden our definition slightly.  Remember, even the Japanese RPG developed as a more laid-back, accessible version of the Western ones.