Blueflower's Gaming Blog and Reviews

[blueflower999]

*Drumroll*
Professor Layton and the Curious Village:
Gameplay: 8/10 I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Puzzle games like this were never really my thing for the gameplay, and they never really will be. However, unlike Portal 2 where it's just puzzles over and over again with different mechanics thrown in here and there, pretty much every Layton puzzle is different from every other Layton puzzle. There are a few obvious exceptions that build on the same idea, but these generally only have 2-4 or 5 times, not the entire game. Now, I don't want to bash on Portal 2, because I freaking love that game, but Layton's variety just strikes me as so much more fun. And also, if you're stuck, you can buy HINTS with HINT COINS. So most puzzles, again, unlike in Portal 2, can be done without a walkthrough. That's not saying that this game is easy, oh no. But we'll get into that later.

Addictiveness: 8/10 This game's main source of addictiveness comes from the plot. However, that's not really addictiveness in its traditional sense, but rather suspense that keeps the player playing the game to find out what happens next. It's a really clever tool on the part of Level-5, and it makes this game more fun for non-puzzle fans like myself!

Story: 10... or...9(?)/10 The game's strong point. I can't spoil anything, and I won't discuss the plot itself here at all, actually. Play the game for yourself! Here's my main problem with the plot. Yes, it's brilliantly written. Yes, it keeps you in suspense for the entire game. But here's the thing; unlike what I would consider to be a good mystery novel (which this plot in a sense is), it doesn't reveal the info about the plot slowly and steadily. It sort of blurts everything out after one event, where the pieces come together. Now, this is fine, but I would rather have it come together slowly. Yes, there were some clues to the main plot twist (No spoilers without tagging them, please!), but I don't know anyone who could have picked up on them, and personally I think that they could have added a few more obvious ones as the game went along, and not just told me everything at one point. So, 10 for the idea, 9 for the execution.

Music: 8/10 The tunes in this game were pretty good. Pretty dang good, actually. I already have 2 songs from Curious Village on my MP3, with the intention of getting more in the future. Here's my main complaint about the soundtrack, though: (I realize I'm being pretty critical, but that's what a reviewer does, right?) a lot of it sounds the same. Now, don't get me wrong, having a similar theme or motif in a game's soundtrack is fine. Heck, you know me. How many times in Mother 3 does it remix Porky's Theme in a song? A lot. But that's not by itself a bad thing. It would be bad if every single song in Mother 3 sounded like Porky's Theme, which it doesn't. However, almost every single song in Layton sounds like it was made in the same style. Which is fine, and it's still great music, but it does get a little old after awhile. One praise that I have to give to a few of these songs is that they really set the tone for the town or the moment, which is well done. All in all, it's a very good soundtrack, but I would have liked a bit more variety.

Professor Layton's Theme

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"The Village Awakens"

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"The Veil of Night"

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Character Design: 10/10 Oh boy, here we go. This game had, absolutely the weirdest crowd of NPCs I have ever seen in a video game. Not necessarily funny "Haha" weird, but just... "What the heck" weird. And I'm not talking about how they speak or act or anything like that. It's how they LOOK. Now, thank God, Layton and Luke look perfectly normal. In fact, Layton is one of my new favorite video game protagonists ever now! He's everything you want in a perfect video game hero! Incredibly smart and perceptive, always putting other people first, always doing the right thing! He may be the only person I've seen in a video game yet that actually resembles a perfect image of a human being. Luke, however, has a lot to learn. He's a bit harsh sometimes, kind of quick to angry too, but he is also the voice of what most human beings will do in a situation. While Layton remains calm and collected, Luke sometimes get infuriated! However, this doesn't mean that he isn't adorable, which he definitely is, and he's a very likable character when all is said and done.

Humor: 6/10 Most of the laughs I got out of this game were from looking at the townspeople. They just look so bizarre! A few of the puzzles were quirky, but this game never really went out of its way to crack a lot of jokes. However, this is understandable considering the extremely serious environment that the story sets.

Difficulty: 9/10 It starts off fairly easy, like most games, but I almost garuntee you'll be stuck on a puzzle or two at some point. And then there are 99 Picrat puzzles at the end. *Whew!* Some puzzles aren't exactly hard, per se, but they take so freaking long to do that they might as well be impossible!

Other Memorable Features: The game has PLENTY of memorable things that they added. Character bios, an option to listen to the soundtrack, plenty of bonus puzzles after the game is completed, puzzles you can get over wi-fi (which I am unable to do), and tons more. Well done, Level-5. Very well done.

Overall: 9.3/10 Despite all the mean things I've said about it, this game rocks. Period. Go out and buy it if you have a DS, you like puzzle games, or you like games with good stories. Or any combination of those! Diabolical Box, here I come!

[SlowPokemon]

But here's the thing; unlike what I would consider to be a good mystery novel (which this plot in a sense is), it doesn't reveal the info about the plot slowly and steadily. It sort of blurts everything out after one event, where the pieces come together. Now, this is fine, but I would rather have it come together slowly. Yes, there were some clues to the main plot twist (No spoilers without tagging them, please!), but I don't know anyone who could have picked up on them, and personally I think that they could have added a few more obvious ones as the game went along, and not just told me everything at one point.

Yeahhh this series tends to do that. Only Miracle Mask, I think, is even remotely guessable. There are definitely a TON of clues in every game that are obvious in hindsight, but I don't think anyone could figure out the mystery the first time they play it. The plot is too all over the place. And yeah in the

Spoiler

tower sequence

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they reveal all the mysteries at once, like you said, rather than spacing them out.

However, almost every single song in Layton sounds like it was made in the same style. Which is fine, and it's still great music, but it does get a little old after awhile. One praise that I have to give to a few of these songs is that they really set the tone for the town or the moment, which is well done. All in all, it's a very good soundtrack, but I would have liked a bit more variety.

Yep, there's another common complaint. ACCORDION. SO MUCH ACCORDION. Literally, in Curious Village, the only pieces that don't have accordion in them are "The Adventure Begins" and "Puzzles." Everything else has the accordion. I think it's great because it gives the game a very European style, simultaneously nostalgic and modern/contemporary. It does tend to get old though when you hear the same sort of thing the entire game, like "The Village Awakens" or "Crumm's Cafe" tend not to be very effective. (See my review of the soundtrack for the full rant, lol)

Character Design: 10/10 Oh boy, here we go. This game had, absolutely the weirdest crowd of NPCs I have ever seen in a video game. Not necessarily funny "Haha" weird, but just... "What the heck" weird. And I'm not talking about how they speak or act or anything like that. It's how they LOOK. Now, thank God, Layton and Luke look perfectly normal. In fact, Layton is one of my new favorite video game protagonists ever now! He's everything you want in a perfect video game hero! Incredibly smart and perceptive, always putting other people first, always doing the right thing! He may be the only person I've seen in a video game yet that actually resembles a perfect image of a human being. Luke, however, has a lot to learn. He's a bit harsh sometimes, kind of quick to angry too, but he is also the voice of what most human beings will do in a situation. While Layton remains calm and collected, Luke sometimes get infuriated! However, this doesn't mean that he isn't adorable, which he definitely is, and he's a very likable character when all is said and done.

On the NPCs.... XD they're so great. Townsfolk are always--ALWAYS--eccentric in the Layton series. Part of the game's charm is seeing the bizarre characters and their quirky personalities interact (usually a bit rudely) with Layton, who by the way is indeed the embodiment of the perfect gentleman. Luke is bit harsh sometimes, but hey. Any thirteen-year-old boy will act rashly (well, most of them will). He's outspoken and definitely aspires to be like the Professor.

Most of the laughs I got out of this game were from looking at the townspeople. They just look so bizarre! A few of the puzzles were quirky, but this game never really went out of its way to crack a lot of jokes. However, this is understandable considering the extremely serious environment that the story sets.

Yeah the townspeople are really creative in their designs, lol. And sometimes the humor is unintentional, like "This empty jar on the ground reminds me of a puzzle..." is just so ridiculous after a while.

Difficulty: 9/10 It starts off fairly easy, like most games, but I almost garuntee you'll be stuck on a puzzle or two at some point. And then there are 99 Picrat puzzles at the end. *Whew!* Some puzzles aren't exactly hard, per se, but they take so freaking long to do that they might as well be impossible!

Yep, it does a nice job of easing the player into the game and gradually increasing the difficulty. Also it's nice that only certain puzzles are required--if you get stuck on one you can always continue with the story and come back to it later.

Other Memorable Features: The game has PLENTY of memorable things that they added. Character bios, an option to listen to the soundtrack, plenty of bonus puzzles after the game is completed, puzzles you can get over wi-fi (which I am unable to do), and tons more. Well done, Level-5. Very well done.

Overall: 9/10 Despite all the mean things I've said about it, this game rocks. Period. Go out and buy it if you have a DS, you like puzzle games, or you like games with good stories. Or any combination of those! Diabolical Box, here I come!

Yeah I like the features! It's great to hear the soundtrack and view all the cutscenes and stuff.

I'm glad you liked it so much! Diabolical Box actually is my favorite of the games, as I've no doubt told you by now, so I'm excited for you to play it.

A+++++++++

[blueflower999]

Thanks for the positive feedback! Slow, I'm really appreciative of your support in me doing these reviews! 

Also, I have a new idea for a review. Expect it later this week. (My weekend is pretty packed out, so it may or may not come soon. If you've been watching some of my posts, you may be able to guess it!)

[blueflower999]

Here we go!

Super Mario Land:

Gameplay: 8/10 It's your classic Mario gameplay on a Gameboy. Not really much to say. Instead of a Fire Flower, they give you this bizarre flower that bounces balls all over the place. It's kinda useful because it can pick up coins for you, but it kinda sucks because it bounces all around and you can only have one on the screen at a time, making it much less useful for offensive purposes. This game really gives you tons of coins. You can ALMOST get a 1-Up on the very first level just from coins! Some of the underground areas have TONS of coins. Also, if you jump to the top of the... thing... at the end of the level, you get a chance to win either 1, 2, or 3, 1-Ups, or a flower powerup. And you need all those 1-Ups for later, trust me. So, then, Blueflower, why only a 8 out of 10? Well, here's the thing; Mario is very hard to see. Yeah, I'm playing this on a Gameboy Color with no option to change the contrast, but still! They made him blend in with the background too much. That, and the controls can be kinda finicky... It's really fun though, regardless. Just make sure you're in a well-lit environment! Oh, and being that I beat this game on the bus, the VERY, VERY ROCKY BUS, I had a lot of ragequits. A LOT of ragequits. Being that this was made to be one of the launch titles for the Gameboy, and almost 10 years before Pokemon, I really can't harp on this game too badly. Each world is only 3 levels long, and there only 4 worlds, but that doesn't mean it's completely without variety! Level 2-3 is in a submarine, and level 4-3 is in a plane, so it turns into more of a space shooter than a Mario game, but it's still fun!

Addictiveness: 8/10 I guess you could say it's as addicting as any other Mario game! Once you beat it, there really isn't much to go back to, but it sure is fun while it lasts! If you're a fan of the original Super Mario Brothers, this is like that on the go! While there are fewer levels, they have more variety and are longer.

Story: 2/10 Yeah yeah yeah Daisy got kidnapped by some alien creep... let's move on.

Music: 8/10 Now here's what I'm talking about! It's on the Gameboy, and for the time, the songs were pretty good! It actually has more and, dare I say, better songs than the original Super Mario Bros! It's actually pretty good. I wouldn't put it past Super Mario World's soundtrack, and it's nowhere NEAR Galaxy's, but for the time, it was pretty sweet! Note that this game came out BEFORE Mario 3,  and that's the game that really wowed everyone in terms of gameplay and music.

Main Athletic Theme

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Underground Theme

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Muda Kingdom (Another Overworld Theme)

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Chai Kingdom

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Character Design: 2/10 It introduces Daisy. I HATE DAISY. Moving on.
...
Oh, and did I mention the Koopas explode? THE KOOPS FREAKING EXPLODE. WHAT WHERE THEY THINKING?!

Humor: 0/10 This game laughs at me, not the other way around.

Difficultly: 8/10 The fact that I can beat it shows it's not impossible, but dang! This game is freaking relentless! Worlds 1 and 2 are pretty easy, but dang! 3 and 4 have jerkish enemy places, and BARELY ANY POWERUPS in the entire level! It basically says this: "OK, if you want powerups, you have to get them at the end of the level roulette. Oh, but you can't get extra lives then. So it's a lose-lose for you!" The bosses are all fairly easy when you know what to do, but the final boss can be a real pain and really gets your blood pumping hoping that you can finally beat this jerk of a game! Oh, and the Koopas explode. Wonderful. A lot of it also involves precision jumps over gaps, and like I mentioned above, if you can't SEE MARIO, the jumps are almost impossible to make all of them. It's really hard and requires intense focus if you're PLAYING THIS GAME ON A ROCKY BUS.

But if you're not on a bus, it's not that hard.

Other Memorable Features: I hear the sequels are better, but I certainly liked this game, despite how much it pissed me off. The Starman theme is the Can-Can music! Aw yeah!

Overall: 8/10 Pretty good of a game, but doesn't beat Super Mario World as my favorite 2D Mario game!

[Dudeman]

Humor: -1/10 This game laughs at me, not the other way around.

Fixed that for you.

Oh, and...

snogs

[blueflower999]

Where's the typo? Can you give me the whole sentence, please? I really don't feel like reading through the whole review to see it. 

[MaestroUGC]

I find this review to be quite droll.

[SlowPokemon]

I liked Super Mario Land, haha. It was one of the first games I downloaded onto my 3DS when the eShop opened, and I had a lot of fun with it. The first overworld theme is my favorite piece of the game, but the underground theme is cool and egyptian too. I'd probably give it a 7/10.

Have you played any of the Mario & Luigi RPG games? They're a personal favorite of mine in the RPG genre. The writing is so brilliant. The humor would get like a 20/10. If you haven't played any, I'd get on that pretty soon.

Superstar Saga, the first one, is for GBA and is the hardest, but if you stick it out the story is hilarious and rewarding.
Partners in Time is my personal favorite--Mario and Luigi fighting an alien invasion is just too awesome to miss.
Bowser's Inside Story is probably the best one quality-wise, and features amazing writing, particularly for Bowser and Fawful.

But yeah those games are all awesome and you won't forget them easily. That's my recommendation of the week.

[Dudeman]

Have you played any of the Mario & Luigi RPG games? They're a personal favorite of mine in the RPG genre. The writing is so brilliant. The humor would get like a 20/10. If you haven't played any, I'd get on that pretty soon.

I have to agree. The M&L series is amazing not only in gameplay but in story and humor as well. If you don't play it at some point you are going to miss out.

[blueflower999]

I've played only a little bit of Bowser's Inside Story, and liked what I saw. But I don't own any of the games themselves. I'm not a huge portable game player unless I really know I want it.

But I'll look into it now. After Mega Man and Layton are done. 

[SlowPokemon]

Aha. I remember when I finally found Superstar Saga used in...2010 I think. I was so excited, because I had previously played Partners in Time and Bowser's Inside Story and knew it would be epic and HILARIOUS. And of course it was.

That's why I can't wait for Dream Team this summer! :O

[MaestroUGC]

M&L are games.

True fact.

[SlowPokemon]

Oh, a side note--if you decide to get a Mario & Luigi game (I'd recommend Partners in Time first), be sure not to look too much up about it! There are plenty of spoilers you could stumble upon, and the game's twists and shock moments are much better when experienced blind.

[blueflower999]

Not as bad as Layton, though, right?

[SlowPokemon]

No I suppose not. But be sure not to look up anything about the stories, particularly ANYTHING about the end of Partners in Time in particular. There's something there that's pretty unpredictable and is probably all over the Internet, so just be careful.

I really think it's a great series to play blind though, as I did--the plots are just so all over the place you have no idea what's going to happen next.