Review by: Toni Dimayuga

There are times when you feel like playing an old-fashioned platform game. There are also times when you feel like firing up a “match 3” puzzle game. Wouldn’t it be great if you can play both at the same time, like having tea and crumpets? Well, now you can with Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure.

Don’t let the Laytonesque title confuse you. While Henry Hatsworth is also a proper British chap with a young male sidekick, he’s very different from the good professor. Henry is a monocled, derby-wearing member of the Pompous Adventurers’ Club. Upon learning about a special golden suit that grants its wearer powers, Hatsworth goes in search of pieces of this outfit, which are scattered throughout five regions.

The game is a hybrid of two genres. On the top screen, you play a classic 2D platformer. You can slash enemies with your sword, shoot them, or execute special attacks. You can even (eventually) jump-climb walls, a la Ninja Gaiden. The bottom screen features a match 3 puzzle game very similar to Tetris Attack. A series of colored blocks form at the bottom, and you have to match three or more to remove them before they make their way to the top.

It takes a little time to get accustomed to playing two games. You have to constantly keep an eye on the bottom screen while playing the top screen since the blocks continuously move upward. Additionally, using the stylus to move the blocks may be a bit troublesome when you switch back to the top screen and have to use the D-pad and buttons.

Your actions in one screen directly affect events in the other. For example, any enemies you kill fall in the puzzle. Match them out before they reach the top screen and return to harass you. Meanwhile, amassing enough combo matches on the bottom screen fills your Super Meter, which you use to fire your standard gun, or special weapons like bombs and boomerangs.

When you’ve completely filled your Super Meter, you have access to Tea Time, easily the most awesome part of the game. You jump inside a giant robot suit and are indestructible for a brief period of time. The animation that plays out during this transformation is hilarious. You first see Hatsworth sipping his tea and exclaiming, “Good show!” as a piano tinkles politely in the background. Suddenly it cuts to a frenzied anime-like sequence of the robot zooming upwards in front of the Union Jack, with the sophisticated soundtrack replaced by blaring rock music.

Naturally, Hatsworth isn’t the only person hunting for the mystical wardrobe, as fellow Club member Weaselby is intent on beating the old man to the suit. To cover his bases, Weaselby has hired other people to kill Hatsworth—bosses that you encounter at the end of each stage. This odd bunch includes an opera-singing Fabio lookalike sky pirate and a multiple divorcee who shoots missiles out of her tank, shaped like a wedding cake. The bosses are very challenging, even after you learn their attack patterns. Try to get a Tea Time during boss fights if possible.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is a fantastic game for anyone who loves old school platformers and match 3 puzzle games. Although the two are very different genres, they compliment each other very nicely. You don’t feel like you’re playing two separate games. Highly recommended.

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