This is a game I've had my sights on for a LONG time. Like, since I saw it in Nintendo Power 7 years ago. Honestly, I really didn't know what to expect after waiting for so long, but I was very very pleasantly surprised with this great game.
The action is good. Hatsworth moves just about as fast as he needs to to maneuver the platforming and enemies, and you need to constantly be keeping your combos in mind in the later levels so you don't get squashed in and murderized, because this game is harrrd. I would say in terms of general difficulty, it's probably one of the hardest original DS games I've ever played.
In terms of gameplay, it's your standard jumping and platforming affair. You slowly get new powers like a wall jump and a dash move, but that's it in terms of your mobility. You use a cane/sword to combo up enemies, and once you kill an enemy it goes down to the puzzle screen. The puzzle game on bottom is just Panel De Pon. You match blocks and tiles to get up a puzzle bar which can restore your health, activate powerups, and if you get it all the way, you can activate it for a big invincible super-robot suit.
The game has character in spades from the uber-English Tea Land it's set around. Hatsworth and his myriad of enemies are all very silly, and the music is also great to compliment it. The story is nothing incredible, but the characters are written very entertainingly, and I'll say that I genuinely didn't expect the twist at the end.
Verdict: It's not the best platformer ever, but I really loved it. In my opinion, you'd be hard pressed to find a better 3rd party action game of this quality on the DS. It'll always remain in my heart around where Loco Roco 2 is: A very charismatic platformer that I'll remember forever :)
The action is good. Hatsworth moves just about as fast as he needs to to maneuver the platforming and enemies, and you need to constantly be keeping your combos in mind in the later levels so you don't get squashed in and murderized, because this game is harrrd. I would say in terms of general difficulty, it's probably one of the hardest original DS games I've ever played.
In terms of gameplay, it's your standard jumping and platforming affair. You slowly get new powers like a wall jump and a dash move, but that's it in terms of your mobility. You use a cane/sword to combo up enemies, and once you kill an enemy it goes down to the puzzle screen. The puzzle game on bottom is just Panel De Pon. You match blocks and tiles to get up a puzzle bar which can restore your health, activate powerups, and if you get it all the way, you can activate it for a big invincible super-robot suit.
The game has character in spades from the uber-English Tea Land it's set around. Hatsworth and his myriad of enemies are all very silly, and the music is also great to compliment it. The story is nothing incredible, but the characters are written very entertainingly, and I'll say that I genuinely didn't expect the twist at the end.
Verdict: It's not the best platformer ever, but I really loved it. In my opinion, you'd be hard pressed to find a better 3rd party action game of this quality on the DS. It'll always remain in my heart around where Loco Roco 2 is: A very charismatic platformer that I'll remember forever :)