Nintendo Switch and the Joy-Con Drift

By now there are so many occurrences of this problem and Nintendo is still not able to squash these problems.  I hope that this blog post can serve people who continue to suffer from this stupid hardware issue.

When dealing with Nintendo's bad joy cons, you should avoid it at all costs and use alternate controllers.  The natural option to deal with it is by looking at the alternate joy cons around (Youtube has plenty).  I've listed here the Dobe TNS-0163 as this is one of those alternative joy cons one can use.

You can also look at using specialized controller grips that will solve portable play but you'll need a separate controller when you dock the Switch.

• Hori Split Pad Pro (Daemon x Machina or Black or other recoloured versions) - This controller is amazingly good!
• Dobe TNS-19252
• Dobe TNS-18133
• Dobe TNS-19210
• Ipega-SW029 - it's a stretchable controller and since its max length is 280mm, the Nintendo Switch Lite can also use this controller.
• Ipega-9163A Tomahawk
• What I used for my Nintendo Switch Lite is the Ipega 9083 (Offline) (Take note that this is the non-upgraded version as the upgraded version Ipega 9083S removes Switch support!)

If you go this route, you will need the Pro Controller or the 8BitDos to serve as your controller on dock.  you don't have to suffer joy-cons.  Ditch the official Nintendo ones!

Nintendo DS Shoulder Button Unresponsive

I have to slap my head on this as I used to do these sort of cleaning tasks back in the day with the Famicom and the Megadrive.  The old DS I have started having issues with the R button.  It was responding at random and so I thought the button was just busted.  In fairness, the system is really old, and literally glued together due to numerous abuses from other people.  I decided to do a quick Google search for possible solution and the simplest solution to give the button a good and hard blow should do the trick.  There was probably way too much dirt on the contacts and this was apparently all I needed.  Phew.

Random Thoughts: Youtube Channel App on Wii

Yes, I still use my Wii on some occasions.  Usually, it's just to browse the web or use the Youtube app and its hapless streaming and buffering insanity.  I remember long ago before the html5 video days that Youtube videos used to stream at 240p reliably on the Internet Channel but those days are long gone.  While the Youtube app plays videos at crisp visual detail, the buffering insanity means you'll barely ever get to watch anything.

Last night, I had an idea to improve my usage experience of this horrible app.  This is to play only videos with smaller resolution when encoded on Youtube.  You'll spot video preview images that sport a letterbox-like black borders versus those that have the full screen when you search for videos.  I think that these imply the video source uploaded to Youtube was not ideal and the server encoding ended up producing odd borders.  Less video image information per packet, should mean better buffering, hopefully.  I tried it on one video and got reasonable streaming performance.  I will look for other videos and see if this theory works.

As a funny extra random thought.  Try browsing the Nintendo Miiverse using the Internet Channel and laugh at Nintendo.

Random thoughts: Wii and Youtube PLUS Latest on ALSA

I've been playing around with the Youtube app from the Nintendo Shop Channel and the old Wii and it buffers like there's no tomorrow.  I found a tip online that suggested to set the MTU (Maximum transmission unit) to 1500 instead of 0.  A higher MTU means more data is being transmitted per packet.  This seemed to improve the Youtube streaming.

On ALSA and Ubuntu, the last bit of my research lead me to Realtek's own ALSA fork as the daily HDA drivers from Ubuntu do not do me any good.  I could not wrap my mind around trying to dkms it, so instead, I'm going to shop around for a decent sound card.

That's all!

Nintendo Wii U and the Samsung HT-BD2

So, after studying how to get the my Wii U to work with the Samsung bluray home theater system, I figured out a few things.  First of all, most likely due to a recent firmware upgrade, it is now possible from the TV setup menu of the Wii U settings to set the audio to go to HDMI, A/V cable, or both.  This became key to setting up the system (and it's very easy to miss!) as the Samsung HT-BD2 does not have any HDMI input.  For you to use the home theater system with other devices, you either use the digital audio in (which was abysmal the last time I've seen it used) or the auxiliary in (which worked much better).

Using the Wii component cables, I had hooked up the audio cables on the AUX in ports of the home theater system.  I also set the Wii U to use both HDMI and A/V cables for audio.  It worked really well but I realized that if the home theater system was turned on after booting the Wii U, the Wii U detects there's no device active on the A/V cables so it will automatically disable those.  To recover from this, you'd want to turn on the home theater system first before booting the Wii U.  If you get into the situation where the Wii U disables the sound, visiting the Settings app on Wii U re-enables the sound settings saved.

Nintendo Wii U and my HD TV

So here's a fairly significant update from my tests for some form of TV control via my Wii U gamepad for my Ovation 32" HD TV (OVA-HKC32A5).  For control, my bare minimum requirements are volume control and powering up and down my TV.  In my previous post, I found a signal buried in the Wii U's Akai manufacturer to provide some minor semblance of functionality.  Unfortunately, it's woefully inadequate.  This time, I've gone without much success until I reached 'T'.  All through that time, I was only testing using the volume + and - buttons but since the recent finds, I've decided to also test the INPUT button.  So without further ado, I give you the signals I found in addition.

TAG Signal Type 1 surprised the hell out of me as at this time I had come to get used to nothing ever happening.  Pressing 5 will change the sound mode on the Ovation TV.  Pressing Volume - will open the TV source menu.  The A button will decrease the volume while D-pad right will increase the volume.  D-pad down will alter the picture mode.  Pressing either the left or right stick will decrease the volume of the TV.  None of the other buttons seem to have any discernible effect.

Telefunken Signal Type 21 is the next one.  Again, pressing 5 will change the sound mode.  Pressing on Channel down button changes the picture mode.  D-pad down does this as well.  The volume buttons are properly mapped, so that's a good thing.  D-pad left increases the volume.  INPUT button toggles the sleep mode of the TV.

Telefunken Signal Type 23 is another.  The volume buttons are once again properly mapped.  INPUT button opens the TV source menu.  D-pad left decreases the volume and D-pad right increases the volume.  The channel up and down buttons browse the source menu up and down respectively.

Last one is Telefunken Signal Type 24.  INPUT button once again opens the TV source menu.  Channel up button decreases the volume.  D-pad right increases the volume while D-pad left decreases it.  Power button is properly mapped so it's now possible to turn on the TV and fiddle around with the volume settings.  This is pretty much the bare minimum of what I want my Wii U TV remote to do.  Shame Nintendo had to make me go through an enormous amount of tests just to find this.

Nintendo Wii U and TV Signals

Good grief, Nintendo.  You clearly don't know how to make a user friendly app.  I've gone down to 'P' with no sign of progress except for the Akai one.  I read somewhere that the Akai TVs were rebadged Samsung TVs so that gave me some hope in using the Samsung signals.  I did go through those though and came away with nothing!

Nintendo has a search page for TV remote signals on their website but its all hidden in this crazy ajax search box.  Please let people browse the actual database.  Some people may actually want to try different codes on their TVs and not something tied specifically to their model number.  If you have a wealth of information there, let the people actually see it!

Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition not on Wii U?

Hey Ed Boon, skipping on Wii U like all the other developers, eh?  How hard is it to simply release an Ultimate Edition DLC pack on Wii U and sell it on eShop instead of pressing discs?  C'mon.  This ain't right!

This is Insane!

I've begun searching through my Wii U TV signal to find a hopeful possible remote control code to use to interface with my TV.  The old Ovation LCD TV (OVA HKC32A5) is an OEM LCD TV from the manufacturer HKC down in Shen Zhen, China.  Unfortunately, it looks like this is no longer being sold here so I figured finding out a possible replacement for my remote control in case that piece of equipment breaks would be a fine idea.  Nintendo's interface is so sucky though so it's been time consuming going through each of the TV signals from the Wii U's database.  Is it so hard to automate the IR transmission and have a progress bar go through every signal type of every brand and have the user just tap Work or Didn't Work?  Gah!

I've gone from letters A to F brands and probably will resume on the letter G when I turn the machine back on.  The lone success case is Akai Signal Type 10 but it's far from perfect.  The remote signal mapping is totally weird in that signal type.  Pressing Vol + would change my picture mode while pressing INPUT would increase my volume.  0 will open the TV's option menu while 7 scrolls up.  8 enters the menu and also increases the volume (if the menu is not open).  The rest of the buttons do not do anything.

I'll be back with an update if I find a better signal type or with a note if I did not find any signal whatsoever.

Random Thoughts: New Super Mario Bros. U and other stuff

Last night, I used the Luigi Guide on the Final Battle and I could not wait to get through this agonizing experience.  All through my time playing this game, I've felt more and more angered by this game.  It's drudgery.  It's a total drag to play.  It's unfortunately the game my nephew wants me to play.  Whoever thought of the Luigi Guide should be shot.  The idea of making players progress by seeing some scripted play through just downright sucks.  Allowing players to take control right after the segment they got stuck only partially alleviates my grievances of this concept.  I would have preferred a level having dynamically set difficulty configurations than this.  Make the player go through the level and feel like they accomplished something.  I hope never to have to play this game ever again.

Sleeping Dogs seems OK.  The game's mission structure is quite unimaginative and sometimes, just downright lousy.  It's unforgiving difficulty setting also makes for a crazy time for players, but so far, it's been kinder to me for some reason.  Unfortunately, the story just doesn't feel like a Hong Kong film.  The lines and writing feels more like Western games like GTA and Mafia than something from an Ekin Cheng triad movie.

Saints Row IV is HILARIOUS!!!  Enough said.

Mass Effect 3 has been an awesome, awesome ride.  Somehow, playing the Wii U version doesn't feel less or lacking.  Sure there are some small bits and pieces that aren't there, but they aren't significant enough to make me angry.  Great game on Wii U.  Please BioWare.  Please put Mass Effect 1, 2 and all the DLCs on Wii U.  Please.

Thoughts on Wii U

First thing I noticed is the constant updates that streamed into the machine.  It was annoying, but it seems to have tamed down.

The Wii U Gamepad was sweet but I couldn't step out of the room and keep the connection to the console.  Pitiful.

Nintendo seems to be in the spot where third party developers just don't care about the console.  Maybe they should instead do everything like them producing games like NBA Courtside, the canned project NFL Retro Football, 1080 Snowboarding and Wave Race.

A few thoughts...

My DSi XL suddenly refused to connect to my WiFi even though it works on all my devices including my old banged up DS (circa 2004).  After a short check with Nintendo's site, they recommended a Quick Power Cycle (QPC) of the router.  I unplugged my DSL modem (disconnected while playing SWTOR!!!) and my router (for 30 seconds) and hooked everything back.  My DSi XL connected once again fine.

Been slowly pushing my graphics detail on SWTOR while still playing on Wine and am noticing a few things.  Unlike Witcher 2 where I played on horribly low resolutions, I couldn't take 800x600 on SWTOR.  Adding Bloom and High Shader Complexity slowed the game down too much, but setting the Shader Complexity to low gave the game a nice layer of polish while not compromising too much in terms of performance.  Still managed to play the game at 1024x768 on Wine.  So, nice!

The Nintendo Wii - DS Connection

I had a previous blog post about how the Gamecube and GBA connectivity was severely underused but had tremendous potential. It's something that I had hoped the Wii and DS could pick up and really take to the next level but with the system nearing its death for the Wii U, it looks like this is about it. I figured I'd put the spotlight on the one game that I think took this particular feature and implemented it really well, Driver: San Francisco.

Driver: San Francisco seemed to be an incredibly multiplayer-oriented game and surprisingly, it's not really touted all that much. A second player can pop in and out to provide some support via an extra aiming reticule but what seals this multiplayer package is the intricate gamplay provided by the DS connectivity.

With the DS, you can provide support by stunning AI cars as well as put up blockades. You also get a map to help figure out routes and look for objectives in the current map. Here's a basic rundown of the feature as well as how to get it working.

Start the story mode, turn on the DS and go to download play. Driver: San Francisco should show up and tapping it will download the software.

The DS player gets a few gameplay options:

1. City Map where you can view cops location as well as points of interest.
2. Roadblock deployment. This allows the player to drop police roadblocks, but you cannot deploy it too close to Tanner.
3. Mission Support. Depending on the mission, you are able to stun enemy cars.
4. Felony hacking to drop the felony levels of the Wii player.

You can check out more by heading to this excellent article from Wired.

I figured I'd also give a definitive run down on games that do support this feature.

Guitar Hero 5 / Warriors of Rock /Band Hero (Here, Here and Here)

Mii Channel with My Personal Trainer: Walking (Here, Here and Here)

Pokemon Battle Revolution with Pokemon: Pearl and Diamond (Here and Here)

Castlevania Judgment with Castlevania Order of Ecclesia (Here)

My Pokemon Ranch with DS Connectivity (Here)

Animal Crossing City Folk with Animal Crossing: Wild World (Here)

DS Download Service (Here)

My Word Coach (Here)

Naruto Shippuden Ryujinki and Naruto: Shinobi Rumble - This is ONLY for the Japanese version! (Here and Here)

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time for both the Wii and DS games (Here)

Geometry Wars: Galaxies for both Wii and DS (Here and Here)

Big Beach Sports (Here)

Batman: Brave and the Bold for the Wii and DS (Here)

Ultimate Band (Here)

Jam with the Band (Here)

At the end of the road, we only have a few games that use this feature. I hope this article can help those who want to find games that utilize this unique and incredible feature. The original forum thread discussion I had can be found here.

Expansion Slide Pad - What the hell?

Famitsu just spilled the beans on a new Nintendo 3DS slide pad contraption that adds buttons and a second stick for the 3DS. It is nothing short of monstrous to look at and even worse, it will likely fragment the market of the 3DS to those who own one and those who don't. What was Nintendo thinking when they were doing this? I have no fucking clue.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory DS Glitches

I've been blasting through the game a second time around and just wanted to post a few quick thoughts. The first one is really annoying because on my second playthrough, I've been trying to unlock the bonus outfits and everytime I get one, I lose it when I shut the DS off. It's very annoying but I guess nothing I can do about that.

The second glitch is the damn Manhattan Streets bug that causes a mission failure when you climb up the crates to get to the main streets to Zherkezhi's apartment. It's only now that I realize that there's an internal time limit as someone actually dies around the six or seven minute mark and counts as a civilian kill. Strangely enough the check for mission failure happens exactly at the moment Sam climbs the crates. That's how some people trigger the glitch and result in mission failure. I only happened to figure this out while playing on the DSi XL. You'll hear the sound effect of someone getting hit with a sticky shocker as background noise. If you get that sound before you climb the crates, you will stumble into the glitch. If you get the noise while the cutscene between Lambert and Sam is playing, you will get through the mission just fine. So, in short, to pass this glitch, you just need to play the level as fast as you can.

Thoughts on Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory DS

I finally got through this game and it sure is a respectable port though it definitely has some serious issues. It's tough to get around with the frame rate issues and the overly complicated controls, but if you find yourself forgiving enough, you might stumble upon some fun in it.

From a controls point of view, it's bad enough that the game demands you use the entire DS for just about everything. It's really difficult to wrap your mind around controlling Sam Fisher on it and being a lefty makes things even worse. Unfortunately for us lefties, the game is only designed for right-handed players. Controlling the camera while moving Sam was a chore. Eventually, I figured something workable for me. By placing the thumb strap (remember that from the old DS?) on the index finger of my right hand, I could manipulate the camera like using a touchpad of a laptop while having the stylus ready with my left hand for the lock picking parts. Fortunately, because Splinter Cell is a deliberately slow-paced game, having to change gripping positions for camera and the action buttons doesn't penalize me.

Having that out of the way though doesn't put you in the clear. There's so many game glitches and the frame rate is very atrocious. The game even refuses to save on the final checkpoint of the game! All annoyance aside, I had a good time with Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory but I certainly wouldn't recommend this game for purchase. Rent this game first before deciding!

Don King's Prizefighter: Joe Calzaghe vs Buster Dog

For a couple of times, I've played as Joe Calzaghe on Don King's Prizefighter and fought some boxers like Chris Eubanks and Andre Berto, for the most part without encountering much trouble nor resistance. I then began to think about seeing how I'd do against my overpowered boxers. Naturally, that meant Joe Calzaghe vs Buster Dog at hard difficulty.

I brought everything I learned from the Andrew Golota fight into this bout, defending smart and moving away when I get in trouble. Also, I decided to give my game plan a little tweak here and there. Normally I'd throw plenty of body jabs to hurt and stiffle the opponent's offensive, but that did not work well in stopping Buster's assault. For this fight, I decided to try and throw more body hooks instead as they are more damaging than the jabs and straights.

At the first round, the speed and power that Buster brought to the table was immediately felt. He got some good combinations in but I kept moving and throwing body hooks. As the round went on, I realized that the hooks were good weapons in stopping his punches. It allowed me to stun him on multiple occasions and really wear him out. It was at this moment that I thought that the fight was pretty much it.

When round two started, Buster quickly reminded me this wasn't the end yet, with him losing none of that speed and power that made him dangerous. I could not put together a better offense here and was at one point, in trouble of getting knocked down. Fortunately, I was able to knock him down to get an otherwise closely contested round.

After that scare, I wasn't going to ease up on him. I made sure to stay diligently on offense and defense. Everytime I put him down however, he just got up, showing no signs of ever slowing down.

By round seven, I was contemplating that the fight was going to go all twelve rounds, as Buster just kept at it and I kept chipping at him, hurting him as much as I could. When the knockdown came, I realized that Buster was finished. The ten count came and I had finally knocked him out.

It was still a tough fight but nowhere on edge like the Golota fight was. Buster is always dangerous if you give him a chance to hit you. This time, I was more than prepared to face him.

Don King's Prizefighter: Andrew Golota vs Buster Dog

A couple of hours ago, I entertained the thought of giving myself an interesting bout on Don King's Prizefighter for the DS. For most of my time playing the game, I've used my created boxer, Buster Dog to mow down the opposition. Being the strongest boxer in the game with decent skills overall, I figured it would be more interesting this time around if the tables were turned against me. Specifically, a boxer of my choosing versus Buster Dog.

In choosing the boxer I would use, I wanted to use one who would have very standard statistics if not underpowered in comparison to this fictional boxer. Once I bumped into Andrew Golota and checked the statistics 2k had given him, I knew the match was set.

It would be Andrew Golota vs Buster Dog, 12 rounds in the Trump Taj Mahal. I set the difficulty to 'Hard' knowing that using any boxer other than my customized ones, it would provide an interesting challenge.

When the first round came, I was in for some highly intense combinations and I did not expect anything less. Buster Dog gave me all I could chew and then more. None of my punches would hurt and he would slip in some slick combinations that left Golota stunned for most of the round. I made a critical error in trying to beat him to the punch thinking my jabs would disrupt his attacks opening up some combinations. Suffice to say that I paid the price dearly with one knockdown in his favour.

Much of the opening two rounds were the same as I tried to figure out what I could do to stop this monster from completely annihilating me. Eventually I started to find my own rhythm, fighting much smarter and moving away when I could. I believe it was the third round that I manage to get a knockdown of my own, a clear sign that this was going to be a war.

I tried to fight as smart as I could and learned a few more as I went to deeper waters. Buster was not slowing down in spite of the two knockdowns I have given him. There were rare instances where I hurt him bad enough to see him cover up, but many times I could not capitalize those instances. At the same time however, I had kept my defense as best as I could and manage to scupper much of his assault, save for two critical errors, giving Buster two rounds via knockdowns.

At the last few rounds, I decided that if I tried to keep trying to knock Buster out, I would get a few my way. Struggling in survival mode, I decided that even though I probably have lost the fight on the judge's cards, it was worth a shot to try and outbox Buster and force a decision.

The final bell rung to end round 12 of this thrilling war. In an instant, the judge's rendered their decision and surprised was I from the scoring that I just could not let this pass without some photographs.

You read it right. Buster Dog won the fight though from the judge's cards, I would have figured it would have been a majority draw instead. A part of me feels that had I fought smarter in the first two rounds, I may have squeaked it out. Regardless of the outcome, I had a great time with this bout as well as learned a few things should I go for another match of this kind.

Another screenshot below for the statistics of the bout. You decide who fought the better fight.

Some thoughts of the day with Don King's Prizefighter

I went back to playing Don King's Prizefighter on the DS. At this point, I have totally beaten the game and have moved on so to add a little spice, I decided to played an exhibition match on hard mode using Archibald Moore vs Rocky Marciano on the classic 30s ring. I wanted to put everything as authentic as the game could to present the classic Marciano vs Moore battle and put myself on a real stiff challenge. Marciano on Easy and Medium is a cakewalk but on hard, he is deadly lethal. I really had to fight my heart out to a 12-round unanimous decision. I did not realize I had set the game on twelve rounds so I was really wondering while slugging out with Rocky how long the fight was and boy it was a thrill to get the final round and beat him.

At the opening bell, Rocky hurt me with some real lethal combos and I was in real trouble. I had not put my fighting cap on and that was a real wake up call for me to keep my defenses up. To literally walk into his combinations is not the smartest thing to do so I paced myself and worked on more defense and unloading shots and jabs when it was really open. I could tell at round one I was barely hurting him but I kept on the peppering jabs, focusing on the body mostly. I was able to rest a bit and keep most of lethal powershots at bay. That was survival mode and I survived round one without kissing the canvas.

As it turns out, the judges called the round even. I was surprised when my cornerman called it an even round. We had to work on slowing Rocky down and keep on hitting him when he was open. The plan was to wear him down and have the damage accumulate, focusing on the body combinations more than the head. It was foolish to try and go for the head when there was still a lot of power in his shots. For rounds two to six, this was the approach and I did not deviate from the game plan.

By round seven, I got my first knockdown and I noticed his power punches were getting slower. That was the first real sign for me that Rocky was getting hurt (also the first time I realized the game emulated this). I needed to start pouring in and opening up with the combinations because going in on the defense will allow Rocky to recover. Rocky did get a few hooks and uppercuts in but they did not do as much damage as they did before. I started to balance out my assault on both the body and the head while still maintaining a good defense. Rocky is darn dangerous at any point in the fight if you let him have his day, so do not forget about defense!

I started to get more power combinations in and hurt Rocky more and more. Still, I did not forget to apply defense. Rocky was getting a bit discouraged and frequently bobbed, and weaved instead of throwing his attacks. For rounds nine, ten, and eleven, I had Rocky backed on the ropes for a good half round, hurting him and giving him the time of his life. I finished round eleven with two knockdowns knowing full and well that I had control of the fight and I was way ahead on the scorecards. With round twelve I knew I had it and I sealed the deal with another knockdown.

The score card read Moore - Marciano, 360-302. I racked up a total of six knockdowns. The first few rounds were a bit of a knife's edge as Marciano had some powerful shots. As the fight wore on, it got a bit easier. I have no doubt that on another day, Marciano would probably knock me out. Today though, was my day.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

"Every puzzle has an answer."

That puzzle for me had been this quirky Japanese game series, Professor Layton. Years ago, I've seen this title and it never seemed to arouse my curiosity, at least, not enough to actually go out and find it. Here was yet another DS title, albeit with a charming simplistic animation direction, that attempts to cram mini games down DS owners throats. With this conclusion, however, the game was somehow lodged at the back of my mind, whispering softly every now and then.

When the game finally came out in America, that seemingly small voice had grown more vocal. The charming characters had somehow found their way to my good side. But deep down, I knew Layton was nothing more than a dressed up puzzle game. It was the only thing I knew it was really about.

Even with that mindset however, somehow, it was a title I had never totally forgotten, and it seemed like something I would be willing to try now. This, I think, is the first real credit to Level 5's game. No matter what you see in the Layton games meat, the art design is always welcome no matter who you are. And at times, it may be so good that it beckons you to play it.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village unfolds as a sort of crime mystery filled with puzzles from the puzzle-addicted folks of St. Mystere. You accompany Professor Layton and his young apprentice, Luke in their quest to solve the mystery of the Golden Apple. Sounds like Sherlock Holmes? Indeed it is. Layton was indeed designed after the fabled inspector from London according to Level 5.

The puzzles you encounter range from the obvious, to the deft, to the devious. No matter who you are, there will be something that will make you scratch your head. This smoothly combines mind bending puzzles with a story that, by its own right, is a cleverly presented one. Layton also side-steps from the common pit fall of most adventure games. The puzzles aren't ones that you'd end up trying to turn lipstick to bullets (This is a reference to one game I absolutely abhor). Instead, the puzzles stand on their own and have little to no connection to the running plot. They are simply devilishly mind twisters meant to stir your thoughts.

This is the real meat of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. It's as I thought it would be. But there is a certain charm to it that keeps you going. Professor Layton's real power comes from the puzzles and a total charm of story.

But here, in its strength, lies the game's weakness. The puzzles you solve, don't have a life span that goes beyond it. For the hundreds of puzzles packed in the little cartridge, once it's done, there's no more going back to it. And frankly, the puzzles are often so absorbing, you might end up talking to people hoping they'd toss you another one. Often they do, but this gradually leads you away from the plot and into a puzzle hunt. At times, the dialogs will be totally unimportant and simply serve as a tack on to provide you with puzzles. I don't mind, but it doesn't make it all the more natural.

With this problem though, the game does gracefully guide you back to the plot. The expertly created animated cut scenes deliver the kind of feel that gets you right back into the game. It's also so well done, you'd want to go back and see it again. The voice acting is also equally superb. This is one area, that I believe the English version surpasses the Japanese version. The voice actor for Layton delivers the kind of intelligence you'd expect from a man of his stature. Luke shows the typical curious apprentice. In fact, a lot of Layton's characters are really typical but again, these are things that you tend to not mind a lot.

To say Professor Layton is a triumph of innovative game design would be a lie. But to think that Professor Layton series does not deserve merit would be a disservice as well. The truth is, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is as good as they say and is far more accessible than most of the conventional fair games out there. It's the one game I don't mind tagging along, even if the game concepts seem quite too simple for a single package. I wonder the longevity of the series, but till I hold the sequel in my hands, cheers to Layton and Luke!