
	Platform DS Genre Puzzle / Adventure Publisher Nintendo Developer Level 5 ESRB E +10 (Everyone) Released September 12, 2010

- Maintains the Professor Layton mystique - More than 160 puzzles - Strangely relaxing - "Memo" function is great for figuring out the tougher puzzles

- The story-stopping puzzles drove me to distraction

Review: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (DS) Review: Dragon Quest IX (DS) Review: Nostalgia (DS)
Newsletter
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: Subscribe \| Unsubscribe

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future

Score: 9.0 / 10

Okay, I'm old. At least, I'm old inasmuch as the fact I have a hard time buying into Professor Layton's crazy fascination with puzzles to the point where his obsession actually gets in the way of advancing the story.

It's not word for word, but here's the gist of one early situation where I just about

Advertisement

- DS Game Reviews
- Puzzle Game Reviews
- Games Published by Nintendo

lost it with the game.

Luke says, "Someone left a banana peel here. I'm going to throw it in the bin."

"That's a civic-minded thing to do, Luke," Says Professor Layton. "Here's a puzzle to make the chore go faster."

I don't have anything against puzzles. In fact, there are some really

Advertisement

good ones in The Unwound Future. But when they appear in the most mundane of places or actively get in the way of forwarding the story, no matter how brief, something inside me groans. I just want to explore what's going on with the story, why the Professor and Luke have been (apparently) flung into the future, a future where Luke's future self is asking for help.

The story elements are rolled out with animated cutscenes in typical Professor Layton whimsical fantasy. It's relaxing, even tackling some of the more challenging puzzles; the ones I plunked down a handful of Hint Coins and had to really puzzle over didn't make me tense-up. It also remains very satisfying to complete each challenge, which range from math to logic to careful observation.

As the only game franchise that my wife actually wants to play, I have no problem giving the Unwound Future a massive stamp of approval.

- Aaron Simmer

(September 30, 2010)