Part 9: A Curious Village

Puzzle Remix





3. You're left with only two options at this point, so focus on the direction of the wrapping, and you'll soon find the solution.

I have a pretty big problem with picturing these kinds of things. I dunno, it's not a spacial awareness thing, I think, but I just cannot picture 2D objects in a 3D plane for some reason.










She also gives us a tutorial on "how to brew teas" but we've done that already and it's not complicated so we'll skip that.

Oh but that toy gives us four so we can do something with Hamtaro now!

A Moment of Rest



So, this is actually a really simple pathfinding puzzle. We need to place objects so that Hamtaro walks a mininum number of steps. There's a surprisingly complicated formula to his AI that helps it determine things like "what if I switched the house and apple" but none of that matters because this thing was really not thought out well at all!

...We'll get to that later but for now, all that matters is everything we have only attracts Hamtaro if he's within 3 spaces of it. Apples are his favourite so he'll go there first. This is one of many, many, MANY possible solutions for a minimum of 8 steps.



This really is not a complicated minigame at all, for better or worse. Really, the one that's going to take the most time/effort to clear is the tea brewing.



Our next goal is a mere 14 steps. We'll be able to do that one quite easily with a whole 2 more items but I'll just ignore the rest until we can clear all the remaining goals in one run.

Which is a lot sooner than you would expect. We'll be done with Hamtaro before we're done getting items for Hamtaro!

Puzzle Remix



Now then, back to actual puzzles.



2. The puzzle has set a trap for you in its wording. There are no outright lies, but you will need to read carefully.
3. Just draw a line between the two trees with the greatest amount of space between them. ...No one ever said you had to choose two trees directly adjacent to one another.

Gotta admit, I do sort of like this one for a very simple and clear reason.






This is easily the dad joke of puzzles. I am so okay with that.









3. Picture the golfer taking a diagonal shot relative to the hole. If he hits the ball exactly 11 metres and angles the shot so that this first putt puts him exactly halfway between his starting position and the hole... Do you see where this is going?








You've got a good head on those shoulders, sonny. Mind you, you'd need one to wear that hat.





3. The first portrait you should remove is the girl positioned at five o'clock.

While this is a fairly simple puzzle once you decipher what it is asking, it's just badly worded. You start by picking either direction you can move and then you're stuck with that for the remainder of the attempt, you count five away from where your chosen start point and then it switches to six away just because and to top it all off, who even uses the phrase "anticlockwise?" That's just the translators trying to show off, I swear!








OK, ask away. If you've got any questions about the village or its history, I'm your man.
It's slightly off topic, but do you know anything about a relic known as the Elysian Box?
You may have heard people referring to it as "Pandora's Box" as well.



What I can tell you is that older people in this village jump at the very mention of the supernatural.
From what I gather, it seems they have some connection to the village in the days of its founding.
Unfortunately, that's all the info I can really give you on that subject. Sorry to let you down.





Oh do I have a problem with this puzzle too! Now, quite understandable that most people went for the minimum amount required to win (14/13/13 is the smallest split) under the simple plurality system this election is working under.





The problem there is that you're not asked what you need to win in general. You're asked what you need to "secure" victory - in other words, it's not at what point do you potentially win but rather when can you not lose? In many cases that's the same thing, sure, but not always.



3. Forty votes, minus the three votes cast by the candidates, leaves you with 37 votes. Find the number of votes it takes to gain a majority in a pool of 37 voters, and add one additional vote to that sum to get your answer.

In a simple plurality, all you need is to defeat your closest competitor by 1. With 2 candidates, that'd be a 21/19 split by default but with 3...






Now, personally, my other problem is that this is making the presumption that not only can all 3 candidates vote they would indeed vote for themselves. Given that it's a local election, sure, that first one is fair game but if you're the candidate who's going to get a whole one vote why not just vote for the person who's going to be in second forcing a deadlock? It's not exactly uncommon for people to vote for candidates that they don't want to win just so that someone else might lose.

But at the end of the day this is a simple game for everyone, including children, so expecting a puzzle to take into account tactical voting would be unfair. Still my first thought forever ago was that the answer WAS 21 because that's an actual majority and cannot be prevented even with a clever third candidate.

...Why yes, I do have a tendency of overthinking puzzles and not just the math ones. Why do you ask?







3. Though currently dry, the fountain's big bowl is usually filled with water. Why don't you take a moment to� reflect on this?

...I do have a problem with this one too, but it's with the US version and also not with the puzzle itself. You'll see!










Normally I wouldn't leave this in such a state but, well, look at this. Look at it! I know it's mostly just because of the DS algorithm for parsing written characters so I can kind of understand the "D" being mistaken for an "O." That "B" is very clearly not an "A" no matter how you slice it though!

...I know it's unfair to hold this against the game itself because this is Nintendo's fault moreso but I'm doing it anyway. Because this kind of thing crops up a lot more often than just this one here. And only in the US versions of the series to boot. This was a conscious decision that people realised was stupid in the first game of the series and still kept using in relevant and "appropriate" moments afterwards in lieu of an on-screen keyboard because???

This is a dumb design decision. It makes it annoying to deal with writing things. Not just puzzle answers. Naming your save file. Naming your hamster. Naming things and answering puzz;es in other games. Just... just stop it, okay?

Anyway, "BED" is...








50 years sounds like a long time for a person, but I suppose it's not very long for a village.
Quite so. But this fact just invites more questions. Why did this settler come here in the first place?
It's hard to believe he or she simply set forth from their old residence to found a new village...

Well, that took a bit longer than I'd have liked to get through... almost entirely my fault, yes. Moving on!



Same as before. No, really. You'd think it'd have changed by now but nope!

Dropstone



We'll grab these coins and then move on to... somewhere. There is something else we can do on this screen by examining the stage, but it just makes Luke remark that the competition hasn't started yet.

One thing that isn't immediately obvious is that functionally the competition area and somewhere we've already been would have some degree of visibility to one another.



As a result, in-game it's totally possible for Layton (or someone else) to notice this change here. The giant cow balloons should also easily be visible here but I may in fact just be putting more thought into this than Level-5 ever did.

...Almost certainly am, even.



Don't just come up to me and start talking like you know me, OK?
I was dreaming up the world's most amazing hat, but you came along and derailed my train of thought!
Oh, I did? I'm sorry about that.
Sorry, are you? Well, don't just say it, prove it! By solving this amazing puzzle I thought up.

But I... I don't want to? Also you're asking two at once here*.



Honestly, I just wanted to grab this now because it's time limited and once we continue the plot much further it falls into Granny R.'s shack and we're good about avoiding that.



Now that we know about the livestock competition, we can move left from the village centre here. We couldn't do this before because... reasons that I don't remember.



But now that we can, we'll grab two more hint coins and talk to this large man blocking the path.



Since you're new in town, let me clue you in on a few key facts about Dropstone.
I know you're interested, so don't act all bashful and reserved on my account!
Listen, if you only know one name in Dropstone, make sure it's Mr Anderson's.



But he's a top bloke who treats everyone with respect, even the postman. That'd be me, by the way.
You can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his local postie.



That reminds me, I just saw a pair of unusual characters head up towards Mr Anderson's house.
They said they were policemen from London, but something about them seemed awfully fishy to me.
Two people, huh?
Are you referring to Inspector Chelmey and his assistant?
Chelmey, you say?



Do you think there's a connection between this Mr Anderson and the Elysian Box, Professor?
Well, it seems that Mr Anderson serves as the head of this community.
It's only natural that he'd know about who and what passes through this area.
He's a big fish all right. You're bang on the money about that.



Yes, I bet those two officers are being waited on like kings at Mr Anderson's as we speak.
But enough chit-chat. We've got a festival going on now, so go and have some fun!

And with that, we can now move past Parcelle and get closer towards the back of the village. But first, there's that small building right to our left which we can go into.



Like before, we'll grab these hint coins and then say hi to this lady.



Of course. My name is Hershel Layton, professor of archaeology, Gressenheller University.
Charmed, sir. Welcome to Dropstone, Professor Layton.
My name is Dorothea and I am a maid in the service of the Anderson family.
Tell me, what brings you to our humble village.
My companions and I are after an artefact known as the Elysian Box. Have you heard that name before.



The master, madam?
Oh yes, excuse my thoughtlessness. I keep forgetting you're new here.

W-we just met. How can you "keep" forgetting?

You see, I'd venture there's not a single resident of our village who doesn't know Mr Anderson.
I see. Well, if it's possible, we'd be very grateful for an audience with Mr Anderson.
Normally I'd say he'd be glad to receive you, but lately he's been preoccupied with his daughter.
I don't mean to pry, but has there been some issue between Mr Anderson and his daughter?



Secretly planning a trip alone? I hope she's not planning to run away...
What's worse is that the master has started to suspect something is going on behind his back.
But after much discussion, we servants have decided to give her a warm send-off.
So you're in support of allowing this girl to go off on her own? Why is that?



I see. May I enquire as to what those wishes might have been?
Well... I myself have only heard scraps of the story from other people, so I can't say much.
But whatever the request, it's one that the young mistress seems to feel is extremely important.
Oh, look at that. Here I am gossiping away when there's supper to prepare.
Please excuse me, Professor Layton. I need to get back to work.
Oh, wait a second! ...Rats, she's gone.



If she is, doesn't it seem strange to you that the family servants are cheering her on?
Yes, very. And think about the consequences should Mr Anderson find out what's been going on.
The servants must have a truly solid reason if they've resolved to keep a secret like this.



You're not the only one, Luke. But enough speculation. Let's go and explore more of the village.
OK, Professor!

Yeah, after all we're not here for plot or talky scenes. We're here for nature's greatest natural reasource: puzzles.



And look, here's one now!



Yep, he's a cute one. Oh, if you like cats, Professor, I've got just the puzzle for you!

But what if I don't like cats, Luke? What then?



I suppose we'll just have to make do by leaving and heading past where Parcelle was.



Like normal, we'll grab the two coins and then prod this individual for information.



I was hoping for a freebie, so I told Mr Beluga one of my puzzles to break the ice.
Unfortunately for me, he got all hot under the collar when he couldn't solve it.
Here, maybe you'll have better luck with it.

045 Baggage Claim

Puzzle Remix





1. There are probably a few boxes you're dying to move right off the bat, but if they're stuck in place, start by moving the boxes you can to free up some space.
2. Start with the two square boxes on the left. Moving them up as far as they will go should help you clear enough space to move one of the rectangular red boxes below.
3. Move one of those green square boxes down into the space where your luggage will eventually go to help you free up some space.

Now ordinarily this is where I'd make a sarcastic quip about how it's no wonder Mr. Beluga got angry over this because it's an awful sliding puzzle. Ordinarily. In this case, I'm going to say that I don't mind it too much because it's actually really easy despite how complicated it looks. I dunno, maybe I'm just biased because this is one I didn't need to look up an optimal solution for.






End

Dropstone[/b]



With people like you around, maybe we might actually solve the mystery of the Molentary Express.



Could just be a wild rumour, though. Who knows?
An uncharted town?! Wow, I wonder if that's true!

Man, I hope so because that'd be interesting. And also it's a rumor in a video game.

Anyway, there IS another puzzle on this screen. But it's a mean one because you'd never think about it.



Because you get it from a giant empty field.



Yes, and the weather is so nice that even the animals grazing in the field seem to be in a good mood.
Hmm, this seems like the perfect time for a quick puzzle. See if you can solve this one.

I can't right now.



And we can't head past Romie towards that giant manor in the background either so we'll head to the right from here...



It is impressive, to say the least. I'm sure that massive manor belongs to Mr Anderson.
So that's where Inspector Chelmey and his assistant went, right?
I'd like to see this place for myself. Can we go and take a look?



Besides, I imagine the Andersons already have their hands full with their current guests.

And since this is a nice, quiant little spot with a good view we'll take a short break here and return for the livestock competition shortly...







Puzzle Remix



Hey so, remember what I said before? Yeah uh...



1. Start by placing a rain tile on each day where our friend didn't wear a hat.
2. Once you place the rain tiles down as described in Hint 1, you may notice that there are no more places left for your cloud tile. You could place it down on one of the days with a hat if that day was the second day of cloudy weather in a row, but no two days in this week appear to have been cloudy...

This is only a version difference I'm pointing out because of how unbelievably bizarre it ends up being. Remember, the above is the European version.





This is the American version. And despite all appearances, hints, etc. it IS considered a version unique split by things that keep track of that stuff. Why? I don't know. The only apparent difference I can see is that the EU's week in the solution starts on Monday whereas the US one starts on Sunday.

But that's not important enough to warrant a version difference notification so I don't get it. Any ideas?





1. Comparing A, B, or C with the picture on the far left is a lot of work, and it can be hard to find differences. So why not forget about that black-and-white picture for a moment and just focus on finding the differences between pictures A, B, and C?





1. When crossing back over from B to A, you want to move as quickly as possible, so make sure you put yourself in a position to cross over to A on the one-hour horse when possible. However, if you always make traveling back on your one-hour horse your top priority, you may end up wasting time on other legs of the journey. Don't assume you always need to return from B to A on the one-hour horse.
2. In order to move all your horses from A to B in the shortest amount of time, you'll need to cross over from A to B three times and return from B to A twice. How do you make the most effective use of this limited number of crossings?