Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure Review

Henry Hatsworth is on a mission to collect all of the components of a magical golden suit to cement his number one ranking in the Pompous Adventurer's Club. Every step of the way, a Willy Wonka-looking jerk named Weasleby comes after him with menacing machinations or outrageous boss characters.

The top screen's platforming plays like old-school Ninja Gaiden plus guns. But when an enemy is defeated, it floats down to the bottom screen and becomes a colored block. Down here the mechanics work exactly like Planet Puzzle League, lining up colored blocks to eliminate them from the board before they rise to the top to terrorize you again. Essentially, you'll kill a few guys, make some jumps, clear out the puzzle, and repeat.

Initially, this unique mechanic, the cute animations, and the over-the-top British-isms charmed me. Like trying to keep spinning plates from crashing down, the gameplay gimmick demands constant focus on two fronts. This is used best during boss battles against the likes of a robotic top hat, a vain singing sky pirate, or an old man in a wheelchair and his beefy nurse. It's quite satisfying to dodge lasers and melee attacks up top while also trying to handle vines or a cracked screen messing with your puzzle.

The level designs are fine at first, but it's not long before they get overloaded with cheap instant deathtraps. Imagine dying after a series of tricky jumps in Super Mario Bros. and instead of being able to run back there and try again, a Tetris screen pops up every 20 seconds and you have to clear a few lines before it'll let you control Mario again. A pit that once took a minute to get back to now seems to take 10 as you have to stop again and again to fiddle with the blocks. You'd think that the ability to save up power to craft an invincible suit of armor would help with the tough spots, but it is terrible for navigating platforms and only helps you find the bottom of a pit faster.

If you're a huge Planet Puzzle League fan and have a large well of patience to draw from, Henry Hatsworth might be up your alley. Similarly, hardcore platformer fans will find this a trying test of skills. Henry Hatsworth could have been one of the most unique and interesting games on the DS, but some baffling design choices hold it back from greatness.