For your platforming/puzzle goodness, you can't go wrong with this game.
Gameplay on the top screen is classic action/platforming, including elements from nearly every design school out there, and it comes together really well. You'll find combo attacks, pop-up and chase maneuvers for mid-air battling, dashes, wall jumps, butt stomps, sub-weapons, melee and shooter elements, a combo system, upgradable skills in a gem-based God of War/Astro Boy system, and plenty of classic platforming goodness. All the level design elements you'd expect to see are there too. Hatsworth slides on ice, dodges pits, encounters screen-freeze areas where a barrage of baddies attack, takes to underwater areas (complete with low gravity, higher jumps, and air bubble "push" areas), and plenty of good old fashioned platforming. As a particularly impressive note, new enemies are being introduced evenly throughout the entire game, but that number quickly moves from a dozen or so to nearly 30 different types by my count. This game just keeps bringing more and more to the table.
But this is the Puzzling Adventure, right? So what's up with that match-three game on the bottom screen? The link between the "puzzle realm" and Hatsworth emerges from the very beginning of the game, and it's an integral part of the design. Enemies and item pick-ups all make their way down to the bottom screen, where Tetris Attack (Planet Puzzle League) is played. Removing three or more blocks at once will add to your puzzle meter – which fuels your robot transformations, as well as sub-weapons – and while the top screen freezes during puzzle mode, the puzzle will slowly scroll as you focus your attention back on the top screen, so you'll need to balance between removing enemies that could potentially respawn, cashing in match-three for more supers and bigger weaponry, using the puzzle to solve platformer areas (fill in missing blocks, or the like) or cashing in on support items that lurk on the bottom screen.
The real challenge here was blending the two game types, and it totally works. Each screen feels like its own game, but they're also tied together very well. Depending on enemy type, different blocks move down into the puzzle. During boss battles, specific attacks will render the bottom screen useless or add in new immobile areas of the puzzle that need to be worked around to remove. For as many enemy types as there are in the game, there's an equivalent number of ways the team has messed with the classic Tetris Attack formula, and it keeps things fresh on both screens. My worry was that each of the two sections of the game would feel like half-games. That's simply not the case. With Henry Hatsworth, you're getting a full-on action/platformer, and a full-on puzzle game too. If you could cover up and disable one of the two screens, you'd still have what feels like a polished, robust offering for each respective genre.
There are some flaws, but the good far outweighs the bad. The game can be pretty unforgiving at times, having knock-back on attacks, and placing enemies in tough locations during demanding gap-jumping. It never gets too overbearing, but Hatsworth is always walking the line between a game for the younger crowd, and one to satisfy the hardcore. By the time you hit world three or so, it's on to some pretty demanding gameplay. Hatsworth keeps his collision, and oftentimes he'll attack, but also be blown back from getting hit, making it a tough one to feel comfortable with using. Certain levels aren't that great either, otherwise it's mostly great.
The graphics are sound are well done as well. The style is beautiful, but it isn't always the most technically impressive game. Everything has a nice, clean look, and animation frames were saved to ensure lots of enemies. The sound is a nice mix of pseudo-orchestrated music and classic midi tones. It's decent overall.
While it's flawed, it shouldn't prevent you from buying this platformer/puzzle game hybrid. With around 10 hours of play, you can't go wrong.
Final score: 8.5/10