Quarth
Encyclopedia
is a hybrid puzzle game/shoot 'em up
developed by Konami
which was released in 1989 as an arcade game
, sold as Block Hole outside Japan. Besides the arcade version, there were also ports of the game to the MSX2
(with a built-in SCC
chip), Famicom, and Game Boy
—home releases used the Quarth name worldwide (with the exception of the Game Boy Color release on the European Konami GB Collection
Vol.4, where the game was renamed to the generic title Block Game for unknown reasons). In 2005 Konami
also included the game in the Nintendo DS
title Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki
.
Quarth was released on the Konami Net i-mode
service as Block Quarth, with an updated Block Quarth DX in 2001. It was released without the "DX" suffix in 2005, and was made globally available through Konami Net licensing on many i-mode
services offered by mobile operators. In Europe, for example, it was available from O2 UK
, O2 Ireland, and Telefónica Spain
.
Quarth is a combination of Tetris
-style gameplay and a fixed shooter in the Space Invaders
tradition. The player's focus is on falling blocks, and the action is geometrical. Rather than arranging the blocks together to make a row of disappearing blocks, a spaceship positioned at the bottom of the screen shoots blocks upwards to make the falling block pattern into squares or rectangles. Once the blocks have been arranged properly, the shape is destroyed and the player is awarded points based on the shape's size. The blocks continue to drop from the top of the screen in various incomplete shapes. As each level progresses, the blocks drop at greater speed and frequency. There are also various power-ups which could be located to increase your ship's speed, among other bonuses.
The game continues until the blocks reach the dotted line at the bottom of the screen, whereupon the player's ship is "quarthed," crushed flat.
The MSX2
and Famicom versions had two different 2-player modes: Mode A, where both players worked together on the same game, and Mode B which was the same as the arcade split-screen game.
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
developed by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
which was released in 1989 as an arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
, sold as Block Hole outside Japan. Besides the arcade version, there were also ports of the game to the MSX2
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
(with a built-in SCC
Konami SCC
The Konami SCC is a custom sound chip that was developed by Konami with Yamaha. It is one of several sound/memory management chips Konami developed in-house that ended up in use in home computer and video game systems from the late 1980s into the 1990s until the fourth generation systems were...
chip), Famicom, and Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
—home releases used the Quarth name worldwide (with the exception of the Game Boy Color release on the European Konami GB Collection
Konami GB Collection
Konami GB Collection is a series of video game compilations for the Game Boy composed of four volumes. The compilations were originally released from 1997 to 1998 in Japan, and were later released in Europe in 2000.-Lineup:...
Vol.4, where the game was renamed to the generic title Block Game for unknown reasons). In 2005 Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
also included the game in the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
title Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki
Ganbare Goemon: Tokai Dochu Oedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki
is a Ganbare Goemon game released for the Nintendo DS on June 23, 2005. Its release marked the revival of the series' medieval Japanese themes and quirky humor, as previous games had taken place in a futuristic setting or with a more serious tone.-External links:...
.
Quarth was released on the Konami Net i-mode
I-mode
NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocol, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail and the packet-switched network that delivers the data...
service as Block Quarth, with an updated Block Quarth DX in 2001. It was released without the "DX" suffix in 2005, and was made globally available through Konami Net licensing on many i-mode
I-mode
NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocol, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail and the packet-switched network that delivers the data...
services offered by mobile operators. In Europe, for example, it was available from O2 UK
O2 (United Kingdom)
Telefónica UK Limited is a telecommunications, internet and financial services provider in the United Kingdom owned by Telefónica, forming part of its Telefónica Europe division...
, O2 Ireland, and Telefónica Spain
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
.
Gameplay
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
-style gameplay and a fixed shooter in the Space Invaders
Space Invaders
is an arcade video game designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, and released in 1978. It was originally manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and was later licensed for production in the United States by the Midway division of Bally. Space Invaders is one of the earliest shooting games and the aim is to...
tradition. The player's focus is on falling blocks, and the action is geometrical. Rather than arranging the blocks together to make a row of disappearing blocks, a spaceship positioned at the bottom of the screen shoots blocks upwards to make the falling block pattern into squares or rectangles. Once the blocks have been arranged properly, the shape is destroyed and the player is awarded points based on the shape's size. The blocks continue to drop from the top of the screen in various incomplete shapes. As each level progresses, the blocks drop at greater speed and frequency. There are also various power-ups which could be located to increase your ship's speed, among other bonuses.
The game continues until the blocks reach the dotted line at the bottom of the screen, whereupon the player's ship is "quarthed," crushed flat.
Multi-player
Like most arcade games, the game featured a multi-player mode. In the arcade, this was demonstrated via a split screen with Player 1 on the left and Player 2 on the right. For the Game Boy, multiplayer required the Game Boy Link Cable with each player able to view only their fields on their own Game Boys.The MSX2
MSX2
MSX2 may refer to:* Msh homeobox 2, a human gene* The second generation of the MSX home computers...
and Famicom versions had two different 2-player modes: Mode A, where both players worked together on the same game, and Mode B which was the same as the arcade split-screen game.