Support NeoGAF

[HyperZone<3]

Did Layton's excellent art remind anybody else of this?

Great effing movie.

 

[FoxSpirit]

Yes it does... truly a one of a kind movie.

 

[Kobun Heat]

If anyone cares, I threw some sample puzzles (transrated) up on the thing.

I'll post answers if people want them.

 

[Jonnyram]

Yeah, the third one you translated was my favourite of them. I love the ones that have totally lateral thinking.

 

[PantherLotus]

Hyperzone:

That actually looks like it is the same exact artist, and it looks to have the same beautiful style that this game does.

 

[Bebpo]

I started playing this last night and I have to say that I've really enjoyed all the puzzles I've encountered so far. It's the first time I've had GOOD puzzles that require smart thinking in a game in years.

The music is wonderful as well.

 

[Chris Remo]

I want this game SO BAD.

It looks like Miyazaki attempting to emulate The Triplets of Belleville, which is pretty much an awesome combination.

If somebody doesn't localize this I'll probably cry.

 

[Bebpo]

Man the number recognition in this thing sucks ass.

Most of the numbers were fine, but I was doing the downloaded puzzle and I needed to write a 5 and it took me FOREVER to get it to detect a 5. I ended up drawing a 1 with the top->left line extending out and it would call that a 5. :\

 

[john tv]

Man the number recognition in this thing sucks ass.

Most of the numbers were fine, but I was doing the downloaded puzzle and I needed to write a 5 and it took me FOREVER to get it to detect a 5. I ended up drawing a 1 with the top->left line extending out and it would call that a 5. :\

User error!

 

[Kobun Heat]

You have to do it with the right stroke order/count/direction. Remember, the Japanese learn numbers with the same rigid uniformity that they do kanji.

 

[rareside]

Finally got to a point where I'm stuck. Can anyone help me with puzzle 45? Holes, aliens? WTF? I don't need a hint to the puzzle, but a basic translation of what it's asking for would be appreciated.... this is where an extra DS with my kanji dictionary running would help me..

 

[Jonnyram]

Finally got to a point where I'm stuck. Can anyone help me with puzzle 45? Holes, aliens? WTF? I don't need a hint to the puzzle, but a basic translation of what it's asking for would be appreciated.... this is where an extra DS with my kanji dictionary running would help me..

Aliens have spotted a strange implement that humans are using and this is how they describe it: "It makes a hole in paper. And at the same time, it draws a line surrounding the hole to show you where it is. What a strange tool..." What is the tool the aliens saw?

 

[phillipgessert]

Sounds like a compass.

 

[tanasten]

DS.

I love what Nintendo did.

I need more eyes too keep tracking all the games I want to play.

 

[Bebpo]

You have to do it with the right stroke order/count/direction. Remember, the Japanese learn numbers with the same rigid uniformity that they do kanji.

Got a link for the stroke count on writing a 5? I wanna see how the heck they do it.

 

[pilonv1]

The art style for this is cool, is it original or based off something else?

 

[DeathbyVolcano]

So...what are the chances of this coming stateside? Please Nintendo.

 

[Jonnyram]

Got a link for the stroke count on writing a 5? I wanna see how the heck they do it.

 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

that's the dumbest 5 ever

 

[ant1532]

:lol :lol

Also is this game based on a cartoon?

 

[reriel]

The art style for this is cool, is it original or based off something else?

this is the same question I wanna make, art style seem to me much better then others level 5 games, it's really in-house at level 5 or it's inspired from an already existing design (maybe from that books ?) ?

 

[rareside]

Aliens have spotted a strange implement that humans are using and this is how they describe it: "It makes a hole in paper. And at the same time, it draws a line surrounding the hole to show you where it is. What a strange tool..." What is the tool the aliens saw?

Thanks for the translation, Jonnyram. Man, I think my grammar sucks worse than my kanji on that one. Brain teasers have the double challenge when you're learning the language at the same time.

I agree about the 5's too. I once spent over a minute or two trying to get the thing to recognize. Now that I know the correct order maybe it won't take so long.

 

[Error]

that's how I do it...

I dont know how people can do a 5 in a different way

 

[Pureauthor]

that's how I do it...

I dont know how people can do a 5 in a different way

Um, a single line without lifting the pen from the paper, starting at the head?

 

[Error]

Um, a single line without lifting the pen from the paper, starting at the head?

it'll look like shit if I did it that way ^^;

 

[Beer Monkey]

The atmosphere and the setting is very Miyazaki but the character designs not as much.

A localized version of this is now my #1 desired DS game.

 

[PantherLotus]

For addition to the OP:


Sales
MC - First Week - 136,736

 

[Kobun Heat]

It's so awesome that this is actually selling. Keep churnin' em out, L5.

 

[rareside]

Has anyone accidentally gotten the correct answers in the game, for the wrong reasons? Just played again for a few hours, and it happened on multiple occasions that on the first guess I got the right answer, but for a different reason.

Puzzle 49 Spoiler

Spoiler

For instance, the puzzle where it asks you "X is 1000 times as much as XX." For some reason I thought roman numerals had something to do with and guessed correctly based on the numeral for 1000. Little did I know I should have been thinking about the metric system.

The puzzles continue to amaze me.

 

[Kleevah]

Um, a single line without lifting the pen from the paper, starting at the head?

This is the only way i manage to make it register as a 5 in brain age.

 

[Doctor_No]

I LOVE this game, but the character recognition is HORRIBLE. This isn't too much an issue during the beginning of the game where you only input numbers, but when you start inputing text to answer questions it becomes very frustrating (this is a bigger headache especially if you aren't sure if you have the right answer). I've spend the last 40 minutes trying to input the word "compass" to answer the puzzle. The text input is almost random.

Finally was able to input the text by randomly putting dots for the letter I couldn't get.

Here I randomly made dots and they all came out to be the same character "&#12508;"

Other examples. . . I'm not sure how these are recognized as chracters.

Here's my attempt at writing "Monster", it came out as "Esokuza"

 

[Bebpo]

I like your last drawing on the right :lol

But yeah, great game! not-so-great recognition software

Spoiler

...for gaijin.

I think you really have to have a Japanese mindset and think like a Japanese person would when writing anything.

 

[Doctor_No]

I like your last drawing on the right :lol

But yeah, great game! not-so-great recognition software

Spoiler

...for gaijin.

I think you really have to have a Japanese mindset and think like a Japanese person would when writing anything.

The original picture I drew was actually more obscene, but I decided to draw T-rex instead

But where the character recognition fails is that its not based on the kaki-jun (stroke-order), to a large extent its based on what inputs are registered in which of the four boxes. Which is why you can write with just dots.

If you have one dot it becomes a one stroke character, it actually doesn't matter too much what you write. This is the reason why the random multi-dot input becomes "bo" which has six-strokes.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Has anyone accidentally gotten the correct answers in the game, for the wrong reasons? Just played again for a few hours, and it happened on multiple occasions that on the first guess I got the right answer, but for a different reason.

Ah, but they all have to be the same letter, not different ones.

 

[rareside]

Ah, but they all have to be the same letter, not different ones.

True, the math didn't add up for my reasoning, but sometimes in this game the math doesn't necessarily need to be perfect (in the traditional sense) to be a right answer.

 

[Jonnyram]

I just beat the game with all the story mode puzzles done so I have to beat the extra stuff now. I have to say, this game has one of the best stories in a game... the way everything comes together at the end, with an absolutely ridiculous twist (or two), and it's oh so charming. I can't wait for the next chapter.

Time on the clock at the end was 13 hrs.
The final puzzle was a beast, at 70pts. I think there are even harder ones in the extra stuff, plus there's the weekly downloads. Man, I'm all puzzled out for now though.

 

[Kobun Heat]

True, the math didn't add up for my reasoning, but sometimes in this game the math doesn't necessarily need to be perfect (in the traditional sense) to be a right answer.

Oh, I see what you're saying. I misunderstood at first.

 

[DCharlie]

&#33521;&#22269;&#32051;&#22763;&#12392;&#12375;&#12390;&#12399;&#12397;

 

[Snowball]

How many puzzles are there in the game?
Thanks.

 

[Jonnyram]

120 during the story. 15 additional ones outside the game. + a new download every week.

 

[En-ou]

can you post some instructions on how to get the download every week?

 

[Snowball]

120 during the story. 15 additional ones outside the game. + a new download every week.

Thanks Jonny,

How long it takes to beat the game?
Is the PLOT interesting as the graphcs are?
Is 120 a good number of puzzle to be busy for a while?

 

[Jonnyram]

Took me 13 hrs to beat it.
The plot plods along slowly, continually bringing up new mysteries, until the last part of the game where BAM! it all starts coming together.
The puzzles are more than enough, for a single episode, IMO.
I'm looking forward to the next game, but I need a break. I wouldn't want it to be released next week or anything.

For the weekly download:
1. Select last option in main menu &#12402;&#12415;&#12388;&#12398;&#12514;&#12540;&#12489; (secret mode)
2. Select your saved game
3. Select &#36913;&#21002;&#12490;&#12478;&#36890;&#20449; (weekly nazo transmission) - the top left option
4. The options on the next screen are - do a puzzle, download a puzzle, wi-fi settings.
5. Hit the middle one, download. Then click OK!

Surprised you can actually play the game though, if you can't navigate the menu

 

[Llyranor]

Wait. One puzzle a week.... until when?

 

[Jonnyram]

Just solved the final puzzle, #135. It took hours

Also, I just noticed there's an option in the secret file that lets you watch the movies, listen to the music, samples etc. and see a ton of art. Awesome stuff.

 

[ant1532]

Is this game based on some cartoon? If I don't watch it will I be a little unfamiliar with some things?

 

[Sagitario]

Is this game based on some cartoon? If I don't watch it will I be a little unfamiliar with some things?

Nop...

 

[Viceroy Fizzlebottom]

Just wanted to bump this to say I picked this up over the weekend. Had wanted to earlier but it was sold out. The store I went to on Saturday had a big campaign to push sales so

So far, really enjoying it - pleasantly surprised to find that the puzzles aren't BS and actually required some thought (was afraid it might be dumbed down for the younger audience given the miyazaki-ish feel). And I'm actually glad there aren't a bunch of dialogue trees to plod through too - honestly I'm getting just what I wanted - a whole bunch of brainteasers.

P.S. For those of you who also played Rogue Galaxy: Did you notice how the Layton town map music sounds a lot like the music for the town in Vedan/Bedan? They're both Level 5 so it's not too surprising, just a bit nostalgic I guess.

 

[BorkBork]

Sequel Info and Screens from 1up:

With Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village just released in Japan, Level-5 has wasted no time in announcing the second part of the planned trilogy, Professor Layton and the Devil's Box.

With a more sinister title than the first game, the follow-up has a somewhat darker storyline, including a bit of horror. The box in the title is a mysterious container, inside which is a note that warns the opener of their certain death, presumably at the hands of the devil who the box supposedly belongs to. Layton and Luke discover a dead body early on in their journey; could it be a victim of the box?

Like in the previous game, Professor Layton teams up with his ever-helpful assistant Luke. The perceptive pair find themselves on a train known as "The Morentory Express" in pursuit of the box. The train is full of cabins accommodating a cast of suspicious people, not unlike a popular murder mystery flick from the '70s.

With the new scenery comes a cast of new characters, starting with Professor Andrew Schroeder. Schroeder is an old friend of Layton's, and it is a letter from him that leads to Layton getting involved in this episode. Other important members of the cast are a bulky serviceman, a suspicious fellow wearing sunglasses, and an impudent man whose face reveals a certain degree of evil intent.

Like Mysterious Village, Professor Layton and the Devil's Box features a huge selection of puzzles created by Akira Tago, Japan's famous puzzlemeister. From a library of more than 2,000 puzzles, Level-5's Akihiro Hino selected more than 130 for inclusion in Mysterious Village, and a similar number can be expected in this installment. The menu on the opening screen allows for access to a "secret file" via passwords provided in both this game and Mysterious Village, so there looks to be a firm connection between the episodes.

With the game's system closely following the first one, development could be quite far along at this point, but we don't have any concrete release date just yet. Surely the final part of the trilogy won't be too far behind this one too, as well.

You lucky bastards.

 

[tebiro boy]

Just played the online demo - fantastic stuff, and can't wait to get hold of the full game.

The DS is continuing to impress with its awesomeness.