Catrap (eShop)

There aren't many games that can claim to have invented an entire mechanic - especially one as great as this.

Catrap is credited by many for having introduced the rewinding time mechanic. Just imagine if we didn't have the likes of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Braid and you'll have an idea of how important this classic Game Boy title is.

That's not all it's remembered for, however, as Catrap is also a fantastic puzzler that still holds up well against puzzle games of recent times. This is the best Virtual Console title the Nintendo 3DS has seen to date.

Catrap puts you in control of an anthropomorphic cat as it attempts to deal out pain to numerous nasty creatures and ghosts.

Over the course of 100 levels you need to push rocks, bash through mounds of sand, and climb ladders in order to reach all the baddies and pow them in the face.

The puzzles start off simple as a means of teaching you the basics, but they eventually become utterly brain-busting. It'll take hours and hours to complete the whole game, and the sense of accomplishment you feel whenever you solve a puzzle is immense.

You can choose between two characters, which don't have any noticeable differences apart from appearance. Later in the game you'll find yourself controlling both in the same level, and that's when things become even trickier and more exciting.

Now for that rewind time mechanic. At any point you can hold the A button and your character will begin to do the moonwalk, retracing its steps all the way to the beginning of the level.

All the items that you boffed out of the way will also fall back into their original resting places. Letting go of A at any moment will allow you to continue from that point.

It's great to watch in motion, and incredibly useful. The mechanic is one of the best game design innovations of the Game Boy era.

Apart from being great fun, Catrap also has a wealth of content on its side.

With 100 levels to play in any order via a level select screen, you'll get your money's worth (and then some).

Our only real gripe is the lack of variety in items and visuals. While the puzzles themselves change a great deal, they always use the same objects, and after a few hours we were left wishing a few different enemies and the like were available.

But that's not enough of an issue to put anybody off Catrap. Whether you're browsing the eShop or the shelves at your local Game store, this should be your next 3DS purchase.