Quarth is an arcade video game, a hybrid of puzzle and shooter , developed by Konami in 1989. It was originally released as a slot machine and outside of Japan it was called Block Hole . Subsequently, versions of the game were released for home computers MSX2 (with integrated SCC chip ), NEC PC-9801 and Sharp X68000 , as well as for Famicom / NES and Game Boy game consoles . All home versions of the game were called Quarth , with the exception of the European edition of Konami GB Collection Vol.4 for Game Boy Color , in which the game was called Block Game for unknown reasons. In 2005, the game was included in the Ganbare Goemon: Tokai Dochu Oedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki game for the Nintendo DS .
| Quarth | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Konami |
| Publisher | Konami and its subsidiaries ( Ultra Games in the USA ) |
| Release dates | Slot machine: November 1989 Game Boy: June 16, 1990 (USA) MSX2: 1990 Famicom / NES: 1990 i-mode mobile phones (Europe): 2005 |
| Genre | puzzle / shooter |
| Technical details | |
| Platforms | Slot Machine, MSX2 , NEC PC-9801 , Famicom / NES , Game Boy , Mobile Phones |
| Carrier | |
| Control | |
In 2001 and 2005, the game was released on Konami Net's i-mode mobile phone services, under the names Block Quarth and Block Quarth DX (an improved version).
The game has also been implemented in some versions of the electronic game Brick Game .
Gameplay
The Quarth gameplay is a combination of a Tetris -style puzzle and a Space Invaders type of shooter where the player’s aircraft can only be moved horizontally. The device constantly moves along a vertical corridor of a fixed width, in which there are obstacles consisting of square elements arranged in a certain order. The player must clear his way by shooting the same elements and making rectangular blocks from them and the elements already in the corridor. In this case, the elements included in the composed block disappear, and the player receives a certain amount of points, depending on the size of the block. As you move along the corridor, the speed of movement and the filling of the corridor with elements change. There are also various prizes obtained by removing blinking elements.
The game continues until the elements reach the horizontal line at the bottom of the screen and the player’s apparatus is flattened (“quarthed”).
Multiuser
Multiplayer mode is represented by two game options for two players. In the first version, the screen is divided into two parts, each player moves along his own corridor. In the second version, both players are in the same wide corridor and act together. The version for Game Boy required a link cable and had only the first version of the multiplayer, with each player seeing only his own corridor on the screen.