The old V8's had much more dramatic offsets with their wrist pins, so flipping the piston has a 'rod lengthening' affect. This creates a smaller compression area, and bumps compression up a little. V8's however use comparatively lower compression and much less aggressive timing than our fours. (Even Nascar engines are limited to 12:1 compression. Pretty low in comparison to most high-performance Honda builds) Most V8s have flat or dished piston domes, and can afford to be closer to the cylinder head. Not quite the case for our I4's with domed pistons. It's these extra tight clearances that distinguish Hondas from other cars.
The offset pins are intended to reduce side load on the cylinder walls and increase leverage during the power stroke when the explosion above the cylinder is forcing the rod down to turn the crank. Generally speaking, you wouldn't want to decrease compression with a thicker head gasket unless absolutely necessary. Doing so decreases quench area, which inhibits flame travel, and reduces cooling on the piston because it doesn't come as close to the head to transfer its heat into the coolant flowing above.
wrist pins? 
