Review 05: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Developer: Level-5
Platform: NDS
Year: 2009

Summary:
Solve the mystery of the legendary Elysian box which is rumored to have killed its past owners with Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke.
What is it?:
This is the second game from the Professor Layton adventure and puzzle series. Player have to solve various puzzles and explore different areas to aid the professor in his quest to solve the mystery behind the Elysian box. Each puzzle is worth a certain amount of "picarats", the resource of the game. Collecting the picarats helps unlock special features in the game such as character profiles, story art, etc. If the player solve the puzzle wrongly, the value of the picarats earned will drop. Fortunately there're three hints for each puzzle. Unfortunately, you have to spend a hint coin for each hint which is not easy to collect. These hint coins are hidden throughout the game or they can be earned sometimes through certain tasks. Puzzles can be revisited once again even if they are solved successfully accessed from one of the tabs at the game's menu. There are also some mini-games to be played located in the game.

Is it hard?:
The game is actually quite straight forward. You just need to go to one point to get to another. The only problems are the puzzles to solve to get there. I face the biggest challenge (or temptation) of not going online and looking up for the answers to the puzzles. Because of the variation of the puzzles, you really have to use your head to solve the puzzles. There's a total of 138 puzzles to be solved in the gameplay but there are also additional puzzles that can be unlocked. So I have to say that the difficulty varies from person to person. Some of the puzzles are easy but some can be... difficult.

(A simple puzzle could look like this)

(Slightly challenging...)

Artwork:
I actually like the artwork of the game for it's simple and clean graphics. It gives a nice feel to the game especially the cut scenes. It makes the story of the game more interesting.

(Character design)

Audio:
The background music can get actually quite repetitive at times but it's not all bad. Voice dub is decent but it cannot beat the original Japanese voices. I quite actually like the voice of professor Layton though.

Is it fun?:
Only if you like puzzles.

The trailer to the upcoming movie: (with subtitles)