I would like to start out by saying that this game is amazing! It isn't as you would expect from a puzzle game. What I would think would be in a puzzle game is a boring menu, no animated movies, no stories, and a boring presentation. But what came out was amazing. It has an amazing story, great animated cutscenes, interesting characters, and it is simple enough for anyone to play. The story is a lot like Paper Mario stories, it has strange twists, weird characters, and even though it is drawn to look strange, it manages to come off as serious. The supporting character, Luke (Layton's apprentice) isn't annoying like Tails is in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Professor Layton is a cool character too, he doesn't come off with any lame catch phrases, he isn't loud and obnoxious (He is willing to admit he's wrong even if he isn't), and he is smart.
The navigation of the game doesn't feel hassled because it shows you where you have to go with a relatively simple map and it isn't like navigating impossible streets.
There isn't a shortage of puzzles. Pretty much any time you talk to someone they will give you a puzzle, but since you can go back later and find old puzzles it isn't necessary to worry much about it. The puzzles are all very fun, even if some are difficult to do it provides you with something to think about and wrestle with.
The dialogue isn't annoying either, when a character talks to you it is usually brief and doesn't feel like a hastle. If you don't feel like doing anything you can get away with just walking around looking for something to do.
And not to mention the art! Everything is hand drawn and it looks a lot like a form of Anime or Manga. The cutscenes look like an actually animated TV show , there aren't too many, so you aren't waiting for their talking to end and the characters move enough so that it doesn't feel like your just watching an enhanced version of the game, plus when talking (in the game or in the cutscenes) the characters mouthes actually move with the words. As if this wasn't already enough, the music is pretty good too.
I haven't even finished this game and I'm already looking forward to the second and third Professor Layton. With wonderful art, music, story, gameplay, and characters this is one game that you don't want to miss.
A+
