Games I Enjoyed Playing:
The Professor Layton series
The Professor Layton trilogy is a puzzle game franchise, featuring Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke as they solve mysteries.
The three books are titled as follows:
- Professor Layton And The Curious Village
- Professor Layton And The Diabolical Box
- Professor Layton And The Unwound Future
Out of the above games, Diabolical Box is my most favourite, though I'd recommend playing all three games in order.
This trilogy also has a prequel trilogy which was released after the first three games. It's like Star Wars' original six films where the first three films released take place after the events of the latter three films. Those games are:
- Professor Layton And The Last Specter
- Professor Layton And The Miracle Mask
- Professor Layton And The Azran Legacy
Out of the above three games, I enjoyed Miracle Mask the most. Howevre, I haven't been able to get my hands on a copy of Azran Legacy yet, so I had to watch Azran Legacy's playthrough on Yotuube.
These games are even harder to find copies of than the original trilogy (at least, copies that are easily affordable enough) online, especially Azran Legacy.
There were attempts to do sequel games after the first six games such as the Katrielle games and the Mystery Room game, but they didn't catch on as much with the fanbase. There was, however, a crossover game between Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright that has since gained a kind-of cult following years after its initial release.
As of 2025, there will be a new game in the series coming out called Professor Layton And The New World Of Steam, which takes place post-Unwound Future.
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life or its remake Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life
Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life ws the first-ever game in the Harvest Moon franchise that I ever played. So when a remake came out in 2023, I knew that I had to get it.
What appealed to me about Wonderful LIfe was the general simplicity of the game. There weren't a lot of festivals, which meant that I could focus on the day-to-day life of my farmer, and though the marriage mechanics were a pain (trying to woo and marry a bachelorette in one year is not easy in-game), I still enjoyed getting to know all the characters. One of my favourite parts was definitely mining/digging for artifacts, mainly because they brought in a good amount of in-game currency. If you want a slower farming sim game, I'd highly recommend picking up a copy of the remake.
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
Harvest Moon: Magical Melody REALLY appealed to me when I was younger. Why? Because of the musical elements.
I love music. IRL, I'm a musician and I grew up in a family that all played the piano. We'd listen to classical music frequently on the radio at home or during car rides, and I took plenty of music lessons as a child. Playing Harvest Moon: Magical Melody was therefore right up my alley with collecting all the music notes to save the Harvest Goddess.
As of this writing (Jan. 20th 2025), there is no sign of any remake for this game, much to my chagrin. I really hope they consider doing so at least for PC/computer if not for the Nintendo Switch or Switch 2.