Denki Blocks!

"Become a puzzlemaster in the airport lounge"

Now that the GBA SP has come out gaming on this little gem is a real treat. For my money some of the best games are those that rely on patience and slow button movement, games like Advance Wars arent just excellent examples of strategy games but they also set the pace in their methodical use of the games controls. No button mashing here and dont be put off by the cutesy icons and environment that the game board is placed in.


Gameplay - I gave this game a ten because operating in its own terms this is a classic game that does everything it should do. When the difficulty level gets too much you can always go elsewhere within the modes and game types and try something different thus avoiding the loss of your GBA through the window in frustration. Gameplay is genuinely innovative - moving the crosspad moves the all of the blocks on the board in that direction. The aim is to link blocks together and, if when you get good, linking into certain shapes. Do well and you are rewarded with stars to open up special puzzles or progress further the singleplayer mode. There are twenty five puzzles per level, each of which is represented by a nice little character (e.g. miner, dragon, fairies) who look on as you strain your brain to move those little blocks around varyingly difficult puzzles. The sound of the blocks moving is strangely satisfying and progression through the game even more so. The cerebral nature of the game and the fact that people must have genuinely sat for hours designing some of the combinations makes this a classic in my eyes. I think the game won best puzzle at E3 in 2001 and this seems well earned given the numerous Tetris spinoffs and the like.


The graphical content of the game is satisfying, chunky icons and buttons and all nicely animated but nothing can hide the fact that this is a puzzle game that gets you thinking spatially in a very clever way. The game is a great time killer or serious endeavour. Like the excellent Kuru Kuru Kururin this will no doubt be viewed as a GBA essential in years to come.

In sum, Denki Blocks is a well concealed classic that deserves wider recognition. Buy this game and do your grey matter a favour. Play this for a few hours and you will be moving those blocks in your sleep and telling the Puzzlemaster where he can stick that wand, this is a distinctly chilled game that will appeal to gamers of all ages looking for a strong challenge and one which you can genuinely get satisfaction from playing.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/03, Updated 07/08/03