Henry Hatsworth + Tamagotchi + Metroid = . . .

[Zeta]

http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=103337

This game is the distilled essence of everything I love.

It's a pseudo-sequel to Henry Hatsworth, only instead of playing panel de pon, the bottom screen has a virtual pet you can raise to summon in battle or use it's magical powers to solve puzzles. It can grow into one of 30 adults, and it gives you abilities that open up new areas. I am fucking SOLD.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

I pretty much loved everything about Hatsworth, but it suffered from serious design problems that nearly spoiled the experience.

To the devs,

If you're going to make long, meandering levels (a no-no for portables), have the decency to mark the world maps to indicate which have more than one exit. Okay? Thanks.

[Esrever]

Henry Hatsworth was phenomenal, but the multiple exits thing was a pretty questionable decision. I didn't spoil the experience for me, but it did stop me from going back and finding all the hidden stages.

That said, it's still one of my favourite games, and I'm glad the developers have a new project.

[Radrappy]

I'm sure the games are great and all but how do you guys get over the wonky aesthetics? The art looks borderline amateur.

[Esrever]

Really? I thought Henry Hatsworth was a gorgeous game...

[Dr. BUGMAN]

The characters look much, much better in sprite-form.

http://www.offworld.com/oimages/Hatswor ... _Pixel.jpg

Almost classic Lucas Arts.

The locales, on the other hand, are gorgeous on general principle.

http://www.offworld.com/hatsworth-environments.html

[Radrappy]

I take it back. These are rad. Well what the fucks up with the cover art then?

[Esrever]

?

[Radrappy]

I'd say that's pretty damn terrible.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

So hey, I found some footage of this game. I love the scenery. It looks more like the evolutionary link between Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Bowser's Inside Story than the Lucas Arts-esque Hatsworth, though.

It's also being published by Majesco. There better be no LameStop-exclusive preorder swag.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

So I've just sunk about an hour's worth into this game, and I'm not regretting it! This is for all intents and purposes Henry Hatsworth 2, though all my (admittedly minor) gripes with Hatsworth have been ironed over. It may be too early to tell, but this just may be my absolute favorite DS game.

I'll write a more in-depth review once I finish.

There better be no LameStop-exclusive preorder swag.

Alas, GameStop did get a exclusive pre-order, albeit DLC that I would've been unable to activate, besides. It's gonna eat me up that a portion of this game is forever locked away from me.

P.S. My copy has an obnoxious Nintendo Power endorsement on the cover. Did I get a premature "greatest hits" copy, or do they all have that?

[Esrever]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts (or anyone else's) on the rest of the game. I love Hatsworth to death, and I generally enjoy your "Metroidvania" style games, but I've never been crazy about pet-raising games. (As many a poor, abandoned chao can attest.) So, I'm not sure whether this game is going to be for me or not!

[G.Silver]

Guys I didn't like Hatsworth! :(

I picked it up based on this thread a short while ago and then never reported back. I absolutely loved it at first, I loved the characters, I loved the weird sounds they made, I loved how well they animated, and I loved the thrill of powering up in the puzzle game, or trying to get as far as I could before I started puzzling, or setting up the puzzle so when I came back to it I could totally decimate it in a hurry. The interaction between the puzzle mode and the platform mode was really cool.

But eventually it wore off, the levels didn't really feel very distinct from one another (especially early on) and using those same combos everywhere, I really didn't like how Henry would be "stuck" in place while you did them, and you have to beat on things for so long to kill them, defeating enemies just became really tiresome. The last straw was a level where really big enemies with a ton of HP would block my path, leaving me trapped underneath mashing blocks that could be easily avoided by ducking, but it was so easy to set up combos that last long after I stop pressing the buttons, and I can't duck until the combo ends! The enemies took so many hits it just destroyed my patience, I could have done it if I'd kept it cool and only got one or two hits in at a time, but it would have taken soooo long (and I kept getting impatient, starting a long combo, and getting crushed), I just got fed up. I don't suppose there's another way to do it?

I did have some fun with it though, so I am really curious about this new one.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

I don't suppose there's another way to do it?

I got the feeling that you're supposed to use Robo Q (i.e. Tea Time) as often as possible. If you get a rhythm going between it and the puzzle screen you can obliterate most enemies in short order. This is also a prime way of racking in gems, since they fall more frequently and in greater value the higher your combo is - so make good use of the rocket punch. Ideally you focus on upgrading (IIR) Power Leech, and other super-meter-centric attributes. Also the water mine move (down + b while midair) does insane amount of damage on bosses, course it's not available until you beat four of 'em -_-.

But yeah, the level design left much to be desired (it's not much better in MT :().

HH was more than the sum of its parts, I guess.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

Well, I finished it.

I'm not sure how I really feel about it. While it kinda sorta "fixed" things from HH, at the same time it really didn't hit any of the high notes, either. The humor in MT -- while it has its moments ("It got me philo-so-fizzin'") -- was much flatter than HH, lacking the self-aware punch of its predecessor. Also gone is the Banjo-Kazooie-esque gibberish, which at times made the dialogue somewhat hard to follow. A lot of the power-ups here are hold-over's from HH, but rationed piece-by-piece -- some that were part of Henry's innate moveset, oddly enough. They are acquired early on, but it feels "off" that, for example, the golf-swing slash must be acquired first. On the other hand, I can see this putting each move in a more critical light for new players. The bosses are much tamer as well.

As a "Metroidvania" it cribs heavily from Fusion, unfortunately, even having the same organic doors. Fusion allowed more "wiggle room", though, and deviations can seldom be made here; lots of times the award is just a few gems. Thankfully no ADAM, though! The layout isn't very inspired, either. I mean, the scenery is charming and well-crafted. But on one occasion I had to drop from a platform but an enemy was directly below -- it followed my horizontal movement, and was too big to squeeze around or attack. Maybe one of Chomp's attacks could've gotten him, but odds were I hadn't acquired it. I must point out it's not that big a deal, but at the same time it stands out.

As a pet sim, well, Chomp is low-maintenance compared to the chao. He won't starve if you don't feed him, nor will he get obese and lazy should you "overfeed" him. At worst he gets knocked out of commission from battling till his stamina bar replenishes, then goes about as if nothing happened. Toys & food are more akin to the power-up system to River City Ransom, with a bonus side-effect of becoming weapons. Some forms allegedly have preferences but won't scoff at whatever you should send to the bottom screen. I think giving them what they like just unlocks adjacent forms, but I'm not certain. Switching forms is hassle-free and once you've mastered (think Portrait of Ruin) its respective attack and/or and attribute, you can apply them/it to whatever form you so please. Really, Chomp feels more like the sword system from Muramasa than tomagotchi. He does a lot for battle, but you're not obliged to use him, either.

So, I don't know. I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet. I might've been looking at it too critically, but there's my honest (and probably stilted) take on it. I know some of you like/tolerate Metroid Fusion, so your mileage may vary.

[Dr. BUGMAN]

But on one occasion I had to drop from a platform but an enemy was directly below -- it followed my horizontal movement, and was too big to squeeze around or attack. Maybe one of Chomp's attacks could've gotten him, but odds were I hadn't acquired it. I must point out it's not that big a deal, but at the same time it stands out.

Uh, upon reflection, I did have the move. It's the one the very first form learns! I guess I forgot to "master" the move and completely forgot about it. Mea culpa!