Professor Layton and the Curious Village[a] is a puzzle adventure video game for the Nintendo DS system.

[4][5] The game centers on Professor Hershel Layton, and his self-styled apprentice, Luke Triton, investigating the fictional village of St. Mystere about an artifact known as the Golden Apple, an heirloom that the late Baron had left as a test to determine who would receive his fortune after his death.

The residents of St. Mystere particularly enjoy brain teasers and will often ask the player to help solve them by using the system's touchscreen to submit answers in exchange for their cooperation in the search.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village was met with generally positive reviews, praising both its approach to combining the adventure and puzzle genres, as well as for its presentation and animated cutscenes.

The player controls the movements of Professor Layton (voiced by Christopher Miller) and his young assistant Luke (voiced by Lani Minella in US English and Maria Darling in UK English) around the village of St. Mystere to locate the "Golden Apple" and solve other mysteries that arise during their search.

St. Mystere is divided into several sections, some of which are inaccessible until the story has advanced to a certain point or the player solves a certain number of puzzles.

Hint coins are limited; the player starts with ten, and more can be found by examining suspicious objects around the village.

There are also puzzles in which the player must make a sequence of moves in order to reach some final state, and cannot submit an incorrect answer.

Gizmos can be attached to assemble a robotic dog with the ability to sniff out hidden hint coins and puzzles.

The game opens with archaeologist Hershel Layton and his young assistant Luke driving to the town of St. Mystere, summoned by a letter from Lady Dahlia, widow of Baron Augustus Reinhold.

The Baron stated in his last will and testament that whoever solves the mystery of the Golden Apple will inherit his fortune, and several people have attempted and failed.

The two enter the town and find that most of the population is fond of puzzles and brain teasers, which Layton and Luke are adept at solving.

They see a large, haphazard tower that occupies one side of town that no one can get to; people hear strange noises emanating from it at night.

Layton and Luke retrieve the cat and, upon returning to the mansion, discover that Simon has been murdered and the case is already under investigation by Inspector Chelmey, a renowned detective.

However, Matthew, the butler of the Baron's mansion, tells Layton about a small gearwheel that he found in the room near Simon's body.

A strange man stuffs Ramon into a bag; they give chase but are unable to catch him, though they do find another gearwheel similar to the one before.

With Luke in tow, Layton heads for the tower, using the key to unlock a secret wall in a dead end.

As they regroup at the Reinhold manor, Layton realizes that there is more to the treasure than just Flora, as the birthmark points to the Baron's riches.

Luke finds a switch on the portrait of Flora in the same location as her birthmark which leads to a secret room filled with gold.

As the game ends, Layton, Luke, and Flora leave St. Mystere without the treasure, allowing the residents to continue on with their lives.

Chiba University Professor Akira Tago supervised direction on the game's development, with Level-5 President and CEO Akihiro Hino serving as producer.

[10][11] Its creation was a direct result of Hino's childhood love of Tago's Head Gymnastics series of puzzle books, which have sold more than 12 million copies in Japan.

An album titled Layton Kyouju to Fushigi na Machi Original Soundtrack was released in Japan only, containing all the music featured in the game.

[43] USA Today gave the game all ten stars, saying, "While children as young as age 8 will enjoy the mystery, some of the puzzles will be too hard because they require advanced math concepts.

"[20] The Daily Telegraph gave it an eight out of ten, calling it "a delightful game, and an excellent addition to the DS’s library.