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Posted on July 6th, 2005 - 2279 Reads

Rated Everyone Denki Blocks Game Boy Review Silver Award

-- Written by Clark Kent Nielsen



 Tetris was the puzzle game to have back in the days of the original Game Boy. Then again, Tetris came packaged with the Game Boy if I'm not mistaken, so not too many people missed out on the craze. From then on, it has been an on-going pursuit to create "the new Tetris," a puzzle game one can't afford to not have in his/her pocket. For the Game Boy Advance, Denki Blocks may be just that.

An over-elaborate puzzle game seems like a waste of time and energy. Say what you will about the graphics in Denki Blocks, I like them. For a GBA game to get carried away with visual flair means a lot of distracting graininess. Denki Blocks is very clean and sharp and reminds me of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. However, for those with poorer eyesight, it can be a bit difficult to accurately see the small "bonus shape" printed off to the side of the playfield. Musically, it is getting to the point where every puzzle game is required to have an upbeat, kooky soundtrack. Denki Blocks is brimming with pleasantry and light-heartedness. While I enjoy the fun music, I know many people who do not, but Denki Blocks plays no differently with the volume off.

Denki Blocks is an ideal puzzle game. Unlike the hundreds of aim-and-drop puzzle games, Denki Blocks really makes you think. Each square playfield is littered with colored blocks. These blocks are controlled by you. They move in unison and are only stopped by walls or neutral, stationary blocks. I know, it's really hard to explain, but it works like a charm. The puzzle is solved by connecting all the same colors together. Like colors automatically stick together, so the trick becomes trying to solve the puzzle without making a big mistake and getting stuck. Many puzzles have bonus stars you can earn, too, by either connecting three colors in the same pattern or solving the puzzle so it looks like the "bonus shape." This takes a bit more practice, patience, and skill to pull off, and these stars in turn give you access to super-special puzzles.

The puzzles start out rather easy, but later levels can get overwhelmingly hard. Because this is a game of thought and planning, I'm not going to say it's frustrating. Yes, it will surely tax your brain -- in ways you never thought possible from a mere video game -- to the point where you will want to smash the Game Boy into several pieces just to show it who's boss. This is a thinking game, though, and the only problem comes from your own cognitive limitations. No offense. It is unfortunate, however, that you are limited to one undo. An undo just moves the blocks to the last space they were occupying. This comes in handy when you accidentally stick two blocks together before their time, but you generally end up needing to undo two or three moves at once. Because you can't do this, you'll have to constantly reset the entire puzzle.

With over 250 puzzles, there's plenty to keep you going. Each puzzle also has a "par" number of moves that you can try to obtain if you're still looking for a challenge. Denki Blocks also features a hot seat multiplayer mode. "Hot seat" means you pass one Game Boy between two to four players. Each player takes a turn making a puzzle (by connecting so many blocks together) for the other players to solve. It's very amusing to think you've come up with the ultimate puzzle only to find that your friend has made the exact same one, and you can't remember how to put it together. This game works really well as hot seat, because you can play with someone who doesn't own a GBA. It works great to break the ice on long plane rides. However, the lack of link cable support is disappointing. Denki Blocks would be really fun if all players could link up and build/solve puzzles at the same time. Picking my nose for two minutes while I wait for my brother to solve a puzzle gets mighty old.

Final Comments: If you're a fan of the more frantic and fast-paced puzzle games, then Denki Blocks may not appeal to you. Like Rubik's Cube and the slider puzzle, Denki Blocks is all about putting your problem-solving skills to the test. It is certainly an aggravating experience in its intelligently challenging approach, but that same aggravation can also be highly rewarding. Did I mention that you can play this game with a friend, too? It's a shame there isn't any link cable support, but Denki Blocks is still a real treat without it.

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