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The professor and Luke make their way successfully to Reinhold Manor, where they meet Lady Dahlia. But before they start talking, a loud noise startles Lady Dahlia’s cat, Claudia, who runs off. The professor and Luke are now forced to find the missing feline.

Professor Layton Art

I can’t stress enough how much I love the art of Professor Layton.

I’ve solved Simon’s Puzzle, which was pretty easy and involved just some basic geometry. He said I really should find the cat, as Lady Dahlia gets unreasonable when the cat runs off. I went outside the manor and the cat was there, but she instantly ran away again. At the river, Ramon said he saw the cat pass through on the way to town. At the boat, Luke asked the professor to solve another puzzle. A ship with 15 people is sinking and will be down in 20 minutes. There’s only one raft and it can hold 5 people. A round trip to the nearest island and back takes 9 minutes. How mans people will be saved. My first answer was 9. 5 people go on the first trip, one comes back with the boat and get 4 more. It was wrong. What I forgot is that the raft will be back a second time before the ship sinks, so another four people can be saved. The correct answer was 13. In a house in the city, Luke solved another fun puzzle involving candles. Ten candles are burning on a candlestick. The wind blows through the window and extinguishes 2 of them. A few minutes later, you notice one more is extinguished and close the window so it doesn’t happen again. Assuming the rest of the candles will be fine, how many will be left in the end? This is an easy one so I want answers in the comments. There was another puzzle in the store so I went out after solving that one.

At the town square, the man who lowered the bridge for me before told me that the crank used for it was stolen and asked me to find the thief. He also gave me some strange gizmo. Rodney gave me another puzzle at the town hall and this got me another gizmo. Claudio was waiting at the town square so I tried to catch her. She didn’t like that and scratched Luke’s face before running away again. She ran to the west, but I went south first to try and find more puzzles. I solved one in the streets and then I went to the inn where I booked us rooms and found a secret puzzle involving a painting. I went out and to the bridge, where another puzzle was easily solved.

It was time to go after the cat again to the west. In the local bar, a few more puzzles were waiting. I continued chasing the cat towards the park, solving a bunch of puzzles along the way. I caught up with it at the park entrance and used some fish bones and old lady gave me to lure her and finally caught her. Chapter 2 was complete and Chapter 3 started. I went back to the manor and saw that everyone was in a state of panic. Inspector Chemley was there, investigating a crime. While I was chasing a cat, Simon was murdered! I talked to Matthew, the butler and he said he found something in Simon’s room – a strange cog with a hammer and a wrench embedded into it. The inspector said I’m a suspect to, so I can’t leave the city before the investigation is concluded.

Lady Dahlia retreated to her room so I went there to talk to her. She asked me to help solved the case and left. I’ve found a photography in her room with her holding a child, presumably the lord’s former daughter, Flora. I asked the lady about it and she said she never had a child. This was strange so I asked the butler and he said that the women in the photo was the lord’s former wife and her similarity to lady Dahlia is pure coincidence. I’m guessing this will be important later, but for now, I need to go back to town and find Ramon who is missing. I saved my game and decided to take a break.

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Based on a recommendation I got on one of my previous posts and all around good reviews of this game, I decided to try it in spite of the fact that it did not seem that appealing to me.

The result? I like it! It has some fun puzzles and I actually like the style of the graphics and story telling. There’s voice acting and the presentation is that of a cartoon. It also has it’s flaws, though. Some of the puzzles are strange and misleading. For instance, the puzzle with the two farmers. It clearly says that the plot is split in half, but, since the game put some much details into how fast they work, I assumed that this couldn’t be the correct answer, even though it was the first thing that crossed my mind. The one with the dog that got run over was weird to. I assumed i need to move two of the legs from the bottom to the top, but the game wanted them in a cross formation when I pointed them all backwards. Both formations seem perfectly plausible to me, so I really think the game should accept both answers.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village Cover Art

It has that old cartoon style. It reminds me of Doctor Dolittle.

Still, all of this might simply be because I’m not used to the game yet so I will give it some time. For now, I’ve solved eleven puzzles, including a bonus one and also got to chapter 2. I have two mysteries to solve. I need to find the golden apple and find out what was the source of the noise that scared the ladies cat.

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I tried out this one yesterday, but I don’t think I will be playing it anymore. The best way to describe it would be Pokemon without the exploration. Or the leveling. Or familiar monsters (to me at least). There’s one town, navigated by menus. You get a random monster by drawing a glyph on the screen or shouting something in the microphone, then you go and train it at your ranch. You need to feed it and let it rest when it gets too tired. Every now and then there’s a tournament where you can win money and other stuff and increase your rank. Once you hit a wall, you try and get a new, better monster by summoning or breeding. All you get in the game are menus. You train through menus, watching a training animation every time, you travel through menus, and basically, you fight through menus. The fights aren’t that good either. You get a screen on which you click to move closer or move away from the enemy and, based on the distance, chose one of 3 attacks. After one minute, the one with more health wins.

Monster Rancher DS Box Art

The box art looks nice, but the game didn’t suck me in.

Basically, for me, it’s a duller and more tedious version of Pokemon and I do not like it one bit. Time to try another one.

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My computer is acting up again. I can’t afford to do anything about it right now, so I was hoping to start using my DS again. The problem is, I didn’t follow the platform for a while now, so I have no idea what to play.

Any suggestions for a good newer DS game? I’m looking for something not to short that I could digest in small chunks. Almost any genre is OK. Please comment!

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I started in a small cottage where I was living since the events of Book One. Due to lack of any real action, I have lost most of my skills. I got some water from the well, filled my water skin and got my equipment. When I opened the front door, a message was waiting for me. The message was written by a man named Darun and it said he was waiting for me at Wayfarer’s Jolly in Eastwillow. It sounded urgent so I decided to make my way there.

Eschalon: Book Two, Player's Home

While the style remains the same, the graphics definitely received a polish in Book Two.

The first building in Eastwillow was the smithy. I spoke to Keebo, the blacksmith and asked if he has any work for me while I’m there. He said a woman named Brelinda asked him to make her a valuable sword, but never paid for it. Since it’s been a year now, he asked me to simply retrieve the sword. Brelinda’s house was to the south. She told me that Keebo was late in making the sword and almost missed the Constable’s birthday entirely. Since the sword was the birthday present, this puts things in a new perspective. I’m not entirely convinced Keebo shouldn’t be paid, but it definitely isn’t as black and white as I thought.

Darus was at the inn as expected. He told me that he was someone from my past, from before I wiped my memory and much earlier than the events of the War for Thearmore. It seems that the goblins weren’t the ones responsible for the invasion, but were actually controlled by a general who now controls the taurax. They have recaptured the Crux of Ages and their vast army is now sweeping across the land. They are looking for the three remaining Crux and will stop at nothing in order to acquire them. Darus and I are actually members of an ancient guild called Crius Vindica and our sole task is to prevent the Crux from ever being reunited. Before he could tell me anything else, an arrow flew through the window and killed him where he was standing. I took the arrow that killed him, in the hope of finding his killer at one point, and I also took a strange looking glass. I reported the murder to the innkeeper and asked him about the looking glass, but he couldn’t tell me anything.

Eschalon: Book Two, Character Screen

The character screen also received a facelift, as well as an upgrade of options.

I proceeded to talk to everyone in town. A girl named Wendy asked me to look for her brother, somewhere to the east and ask if she could live with him for a while. The local priest asked me to help with one of his apprentices who started acting strange and disappeared recently. He said I should check the well behind the church. The well had a ladder leading into the depths below so I climbed down into a cave. The cave led to a series of catacombs which I tried to fully explore, but it was not easy without having any points in cartography skill. I finally managed to find Julian but he was completely mad. He kept talking about “Four Stars” and “The One” and, even though I tried my best to calm him down, attacked me, so I had to kill him.

After using the key to get his possessions (he won’t need them), I came back to town and told the priest about what happened. I then went back to the blacksmith to ask him about the arrow and aside from telling me it’s a pretty good arrow, he didn’t know much. The magick shopkeeper, however, said that the shop owner, her uncle, should know more about the looking glass. She said he lives in a house by a lake to the west so that’s where I will be going next. Right now, I saved my game and decided to take a break.

After loading the game back up today, I started to explore for a bit and, since it got dark soon, I did a bit of thieving. I mean, Richard (the character) is a thief. In Brelinda’s house, I’ve found some suspicious papers showing that the Constable was making some strange withdrawals. I also tried to go to his house to steal the sword back, but by then, it was day again so I couldn’t do it. Instead, I went east and pretty soon got to a farm the owner of which is getting attacked by giant dragonflies. He asked me to find their nest and destroy it, so I went looking for it. I killed a few, but it was dark again and I was low on health so I traveled back to Easthollow. I saved my game again and stopped playing.

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After waking up, I searched the town again. I’ve found an abandoned house by the south gate and easily broke in. In there, I’ve found a body and on it a note explaining how to enter the Repository. I need to register at the inn under a fake name. The innkeeper took me to a special room from where a secret passage led to the repository. I got in, showed my amulet to the Vault Keeper and opened my chest. It contained the legendary Crux of Ages and another note.

The note said that it was in fact me writing the notes to myself. I somehow came into possession of the Crux of Ages together with my brother and was hunted by a powerful goblin shaman. He uses a technique based on memories in order to track people, so the only way to hide was to erase my identity. The problem is, my brother didn’t manage to do that and is now being held captive and tortured by the goblins at Vela. I am to go there and set him free.

Since I already have the waypoint, I quicktraveled to Vela and started scouting the place. The place was filled with traps, so I had to go back to Blackwater a few times to rest and restock on recovery items. I decided to explore to the north first and found another goblin warlord. Thanks to some nicely placed explosive barrels, he was disposed of easily. He dropped a golden key, so I took it and went south.

Eschalon: Book One, Nice Misty Scene

With good styling, any game could look good, no matter how low the tech.

After defeating a minotaur-like monster and a bunch of goblin archers, I have finally found my brother in a building in the south. He was chained to a cross in a way that it would be impossible to free him without killing him. He told me that the goblin shaman is somehow controlling the chancellor and this is why there is no one defending Thearmore. In addition to that, the Crux of Ages might somehow prevent the mind control and that is why it’s so important. In the end, he asked me to end his suffering and I complied. It was either that, or leave him die in agony.

Eschalon: Book One, Nice Lighting

Even lighting effects can look good in low tech.

I now have to go to Shadowmirk and warn the wizards there of an impending goblin attack. According to my map, Shadowmirk is actually the strange tower I passed by on my quest to clear the slimes from the Marshes of Boradan. Since I have already found the back entrance and opened the front gate, it was easy to enter this time. I’ve killed the floating eye and then continued to explore a tower. I’ve encountered an empty candlestick with some jeweled eggs engraved on its surface and soon encountered a puzzle room which would send me back to start if I stepped on the wrong tile. Past the room were two chests, each with a sign above it that contained a riddle. One was “give me strength”, and the other was “ease my pain”. My guess is, I need to put an item in each chest, but at this point, I have no idea which item to put where. I assumed I will get the items in the tower, so I continued to explore. In another room, I’ve found an apprentice mage named Walter, who told me that the mage I’m looking for resides on the top floor of the tower. The only way to get there is to solve the tower riddles and this is what he is attempting to do as well. The problem is, he dropped the key to the necromancy lab in the arachnid chamber and is now too drained to get it.

I got the key to the necromancy lab and opened it. All the rooms were filled with bones but there were no enemies. I went to the last room where I got a bunch of items and potions in a chest. Sure enough, as I looted this chest, a bunch of skeletons spawned from the bones, so I had to fit my way out. Since I explored everything I could, it was time to go back to the puzzle room. I tried putting a healing potion in one chest, and one of the two unidentified potions that I got in the lab in the other chest, and it worked. I stepped on the teleporter and appeared in another room. I got the key from a nearby barrel and opened the door to level two.

The second level was much easier. It started off with a short and simple teleporter labyrinth which led me to the main residential area. After doing some looting and stealing, I’ve soon found the proving room where a leaver released a raptor and two giant lizards to attack me. I killed one of the lizards while the other one attacked the raptor, and then I finished both of them. I continued up the stairs to the third level. This was the top level so I’ve found Erubor here. He was already aware of the impending attack and of the fact that the chancellor is being controlled. According to him, the Crux of Ages needs to be found (the last note I wrote to myself said I should not tell anyone I have it) and brought back to its rightful place, the Bastion Spire. The problem is that every conceivable entry to the Spire is blocked now, since the chancellor isn’t allowing anyone there. The only way to access it is the way the goblins took when they stole the Crux in the first place – the portal at the goblin citadel.

Eschalon: Book One, A Nice View

This view was a nice reward for climbing the lighthouse.

In order for me to get to the citadel, I need four keys, one in the wizard’s chamber, and three in possession of various goblin warlords. I already have two, so I just need the last one. Lucky for me, the giants managed to acquire that one and the wizard has already sent word of me coming for it. The giants live in the deserts to the southwest, which, as I’ve been told, is pretty much the toughest place in the region, so I decided to go there, since I’m brave, and a hero and all. On the way there, I got the last waypoint which is also in the middle of some ruins. I also had to fight 2 taurax to get to it. After passing through the southern gate, I decided to do some exploring and arrived at an abandoned lighthouse. I’ve cleared it of enemies, found a boat at the docks in the back and managed to turn the beacon back on. As I was getting out I got ambushed by a heap of goblins and I have to say, demon oil turned out to be extremely useful.

Eschalon: Book One, Mountains.

The mountains seem a bit out of place on a static screen, but in motion, it looks fine.

After this, I decided to try and get to the giants, but not before finding a wrecked caravan and a letter addressed to a woman in Blackwater. I decided to deliver it, but first, I wanted to get to the giants on the western shore of the area. On the way there, I’ve found a strange building with three teleporter pads. Only one of them was working and it transported me a bit to the west of Blackwater in a tiny area completely walled off by mountains. There was nothing there as far as I could see, so I went back and finally got the giants’ village. I talked to the chief and, after explaining to him what my goals are, he agreed to give me his key, but only after I do a task for him. I need to recover their last chieftains’ skull from a hunting camp in Baron’s Thicket. At first, I thought I will have to fight the hunters, but it seems they had a sort of Jurassic Park thing going on and kept live raptors to hunt for sport. Off course, the raptors broke loose and killed everyone. I got the skull and I came back. Oh, by the way, as it turns out, that teleporter in the strange building near the village actually was a shortcut to Blackwater. It was dark when I got there so I didn’t see a lever that opens a passage. This will definitely be useful, no matter how you look at it.

I quicktraveled to Loneloft by the south gate to try and find that oasis from which the talking tree asked me to get water. It wasn’t too hard to find, but it was protected by traps and taurax so I had to do some tedious kiting. Since I can’t quicktravel in the desert, I had to use the teleporter. On the way there, I brought the skull to the giants. The chieftain gave me the key and even promised the giants’ aid in the assault on the citadel. I used the teleporter and then quicktraveled to Bordertown to get to the tree. After giving the water to it, it told me about a bow, made from its branches, buried with a hero in the Tanglewood Ossuary to the south. Before going there, I went to Blackwater to heal and rest up. I went there, fought a bunch of ghosts, zombies and skeletons and got the bow. The problem is, while it does do more damage than my current bow, it also weighs a lot, so the only way I can cast spells while wielding it is if I remove my gloves completely. I guess I have to put a few points into strength finally. I went on through the tunnels, pulling levers and killing zombies, and finally realized that the tunnel leads to Crakamir (the desert). I got out in northern Crakamir and decided to go assault the citadel now. I have a few side quests left, but at this point, I really don’t think it’s worth it to waste my time on those.

The giants kept their promise and the assault on the courtyard was easy. Once we killed everyone there, I had to go in alone as the giants are too big for the goblin structures. I was running a bit low on arrows, but I decided to risk it and go in anyway. The main entrance was blocked, so I had to find another way to the next floor. I was exploring the side passages, clearing goblins and other monsters on the way and eventually got into the main chamber from the back. After clearing the area, I pulled the levers to open a way out and used the keys to open the gates to the next floor. I was extremely low on arrows by now, but luckily, I’ve found a teleporter that takes me back to the strange building I mentioned before. I used it to get there, and then used the other teleporter to get to Blackwater. I bought a bunch of arrows and other supplies and went back.

Eschalon: Book One, View of the Throne Room

The Throne Room.

The second level was pretty straightforward. I had to fight some spiders first, then I went through a labyrinth inhabited by three taurax (minotaur) and finally I have reached the shaman. He tried to offer me money to leave, but I decided to use the opportunity to attack him by surprise. I kept a stack of 9 assassination arrows just for this battle and I used all of them to kill him. After this, I plundered his riches and then used the teleport to get to Bastion Spire. I put the Crux on the pedestal and went to see the chancellor. The effect of the Crux was instantly noticeable and the chancellor thanked me and summoned a council to question me. My quest was completed.

Eschalon: Book One, Ending Screen

The game ends with text, which was to be expected from a low budget title.

This was a great old school game which I recommend to all fans of the genre. If you loved games like Baldur’s Gate or even the older D&D style games I cannot recommend this one more. It has all the elements that make these types of games great.

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I just realized i haven written anything about this game in a while. I have prepared a post but it somehow slipped my queue. There is no point in writing to much now, but I just wanted to say that I have actually completed the game, only a day or two after my last post. It was not hard at all and I even managed to defeat the green dragon, who was the toughest enemy in the game. My assassin was also max level so I had no real reason to continue playing that character. I actually even completed all the side quests, including all the extra spells I could learn.

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So, yesterday I decided to ditch the dungeons for a while and just try to make money. Week three was easy as pie and I actually had lots of inventory and items left for week four. I started to stock up on items when their prices drop and then wait to sell them when it rises. I also upgraded my shop because it seems that, the more expensive the furniture and the decorations are, the more money the customers have. I started buying and reselling more expensive items and pretty soon I got the 200.000 I needed for week four.

Recettear -

I know it’s probably a cultural difference, but characters like these make the game harder to play publicly.

After week four, I had about 100.000 and an even bigger inventory left. For a while, all the items were insanely cheap, but I decided to risk it and kept buying. I also bought a vending machine and started using it to sell food and other lower value items that I could buy an unlimited amount off. Since my merchant level was over 20, I was making lots of money even selling at base price. The deadline was getting close and I was at about 300.000 when the market exploded. Pretty much all the items I was buying at decreased prices suddenly greatly increased in price. I ended the week with over one million pix. Since all I needed to pay was 500.000, I had another half a million left.

Recettear - The Annoying Character

This one is part of the whole “annoying and mean, but in reality insecure” troppe.

As it turns out, this was the last week of payment so my store and house are now mine to keep. I stayed through the credits and the game told me I unlocked New Game+, which allows me to start a completely fresh game but with the items, shop and cash I had in a save slot I choose. I also unlocked survival mode in which the payments never stop and grow bigger and bigger every week. The last mode i unlocked is endless mode which allows me to continue the completed game with no pressure and no more payments.

In any case, the story is completed and I can now decide to continue and try to unlock more stuff, or I can go and play a different game. Whatever I choose, this game will probably stay on my hard drive for a long time. I definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes cute characters and fun mechanics.

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So I got to the end of week three. Bad news, I had less than 10 000 pix and Recette was forced to live out the rest of her days in a cardboard box. The good news, it was all a dream. I am back to day 2 with all the money I had left, my store upgraded and all of my inventory intact. I guess I get to try again.

Recettear - A Nice View of the Town

The game can be very beautiful at times.

The greatest news is, even Louie kept his XP. While losing terribly, I also managed to get the next hero, a mage this time. He has a hard time believing that Recette is in fact the owner of the shop and prefers to address Tear.

Recettear - A Hero

This is another hero, though I can’t remember her name.

On my first go, before I lost, I managed to get to level 15 of the second dungeon and lost there against Charme. This time, though, Louie’s level was a bit higher and he had better gear so I beat her easily. The next level is actually a boss run so I got that out of the way to. In any case, I am in week three again, and things are looking much, much better, though I’m not actually sure I will make it this time either. The certain thing is, if I don’t make it, my inventory will be even bigger next time.

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I got this game today, and I must say, I really, really like it. Basically, you run an item shop for RPG adventurers. You buy stuff low and sell high, all in order to pay of your dad’s debts. Every week, you have a certain amount you need to repay and the amount goes higher and higher. The game is extremely cute and has a happy atmosphere.

Recettear - Main Character

A cute kid is the trademark of any JRPG of the 2D kind, I guess.

Every day, you can also hire an adventurer to go to a dungeon and possibly get some new merchandise that way. The risk is high, as it takes allot of time, and if the adventurer dies, you only get to bring a single item back, but if you do well, it’s definitely worth it.

Recettear - First Payment

I pay my dues.

I started the first week with some spare change and used that to buy some swords at the Merchant’s guild. I sold all of those at a profit and then went to the Adventurer’s guild to see how that works. Lucky for me, a rookie adventurer named Louie was looking for work, so I got him for free. We entered the first dungeon and he died at level 3. Now, he doesn’t really die, but this meant that I only got a single item. I used the cash from that item to buy and resell some more stuff and then went to try again. This time, we managed to get to level 5 of the first dungeon and got the treasure, which was actually an adventuring license for Louie. As of now, he won’t be working for free anymore. After some more buying, adventuring and selling, I managed to get the 10 000 and then some that I needed for the first week and that was it.

For the second week, I needed to make 30 000. I started off with clearing the first ten levels of the next dungeon with Louie. I didn’t do it in one go, but I might as well have as it was pretty easy. This also means I defeated the Slime King and a giant mouse. While doing this, the prices of candy rose up, so I managed to make some money out of that category of drops. A day or two after my adventuring, the prices of heavy armor dropped to half, so I bought a bunch in preparation for the future. Pretty soon they rose back up and this is how I made enough money for week two. Before I did that, though, I managed to let Louie die in a dungeon again.

Recettear - Louie, The Swordsman

The first hero! He will die often.

Anyways, It’s week three now and I need to make 80 000 this time, I don’t know if I’ll make it, but I will do my best.

Capitalism, ho!