Professor Layton and the Curious Village, a popular puzzler for Nintendo's DS, is now available for Android

There are mountains of puzzle games available on Android, but the quality of most is lacking. How, then, can a mobile gamer find a quality puzzler in the Google Play Store? Elementary, my dear Watson… er, Layton. The popular DS puzzle title, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, is now available for Android.

There are a few other Layton games in the Play Store, and while they are all excellent, they don’t quite measure up to Curious Village. After all, Curious Village is the first title in the Layton series and the only one on mobile to actually star the titular detective. The game follows the deductive professor and his young assistant Luke as they unravel the mystery of a mysterious small town. The game packs in over 100 mini-puzzles and mini-games, and the story is filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end.

The Android port gives the game a new coat of paint, upscaling everything to HD and adding in new animations. As it was originally released for the Nintendo DS in 2007, the gameplay is already designed with touch in mind. The puzzles are engaging and varied, and the soundtrack and art direction are top notch. While the game is priced at USD $9.99, which is a bit high for a mobile game, puzzle game fans will find it well worth the cost of admission.

I have a special place in my heart for Curious Village. I received it as a Christmas gift from my wife in 2010 along with a Nintendo DS Lite. I remember staying up late into the night, promising myself (and my sleepy wife) that I would turn the game off after the next puzzle. Of course, the next puzzle led to another, and another, and so on until sun up. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go charge up my DS Lite.

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