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Kwirk
View on Wikipedia | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2008) |
| Kwirk | |
|---|---|
 North American Game Boy cover art | |
| Developer | Atlus |
| Publishers |
|
| Composer | Tsukasa Masuko |
| Platforms | Game Boy, Famicom Disk System, PC Engine |
| Release | Game Boy Famicom Disk System
|
| Genre | Puzzle |
| Modes | Single-player, multiplayer |
Kwirk, known in Japan as Puzzle Boy (パズルボーイ, Pazurubōi), is a puzzle video game developed and published by Atlus in Japan on November 24, 1989, for the Game Boy. It was the very first video game Atlus released under its own brand.[1] The game was later published in North America in March 1990 by Acclaim Entertainment.
Plot
[edit]Kwirk and his girlfriend Tammy were both out "painting the town red" when they decided to explore the unnamed city's subterranean labyrinth below. While down there, Tammy suddenly disappears and Kwirk, with his Veggie Friends, now has to find her in the labyrinth and bring her home.
In the original Japanese version of the game, the player character is an anthropomorphized potato called Spud. This was changed to a tomato named Kwirk for the US release. In both releases, the character Kwirk has set out to save is a tomato.
Gameplay
[edit]Kwirk has three game modes: Going Up?, Heading Out?, and Vs. Mode, each one with its own set of rules. The object is to get from one end of the room to the staircase on the other by rotating turnstiles, moving blocks, and filling holes with blocks.
The game has three skill levels: Level 1 - Easy, Level 2 - Average and Level 3 - Hard. One of two viewpoints may be selected: Diagonal or Bird's Eye. In Diagonal view, characters and blocks have shadows and appear in crude 3D, whereas in Bird's Eye view everything is 2D, viewed from the top down. The three skill levels and two viewpoints are featured in all three game modes.
Going Up?
[edit]In "Going Up?" the object is to go from floor to floor by rotating turnstiles, moving blocks, and filling holes with blocks to get to the staircase on the other side. There are ten floors for each Skill Level for a total of thirty floors. Along the way at certain levels, Kwirk will receive help from his Veggie Friends, who can be taken control of by pressing the Select button. The Going Up? game mode offers a menu screen (upon a press of the A button) that allows the following:
- Redo – Restart the entire stage from the beginning.
- End – Return to the menu.
- Back – Undo the last move made, up to eight times.
Scoring is based on the time taken to complete the stage and the number of steps taken to get to the stairs.
Going Up? serves as the story in which Kwirk has to rescue Tammy from the maze. Although the game features no storyline to progress the game, each stage ends with Tammy displaying the score, and after ten floors to each Level, Tammy and Kwirk are reunited.
Heading Out?
[edit]In "Heading Out?" the object is to complete a certain number of rooms consecutively to get a high score. There are a total of 99 rooms, any of which can be selected to run through by the player. Once started, the player sprints through each room solving the puzzle. Bonus Points are earned upon completion of each room. The Bonus Points start at 2000, decreasing during the course of the room, and resets after entering a new room. A timer is included to track the time through the course. After running through all the rooms the player's score is then recorded on a top four list.
Vs. Mode
[edit]Vs. Mode is a race using Heading Out? mode between two players. Each player selects a number of rooms to race through, but both player do not have to select the same number of rooms as a handicap. Then a Contest is selected to decide the win condition: 1 Game playoff, or a Best of 3, 5, 7, or 9. Once started, the players can monitor each other through a Progress meter on their respective screens. The match ends when one player completes all the rooms.
Obstacles
[edit]In each room, Kwirk must navigate around and interact with various obstacles in order to progress.
Obstacles:
- Brick walls cannot be moved nor walked through. Brick walls must be maneuvered around and blocks must be pushed around them.
- Turnstiles are blocks set on an axis that turn 90 degrees when pushed by a character. They come in single, double, triple, and quadruple variations. They cannot turn if something is blocking their radius of movement.
- Blocks are basic blocks of various sizes. They can be pushed by characters and may block paths necessary for a character to reach the stairs. Blocks can also fill holes to allow characters to walk past.
- Holes can not be walked over. Instead, blocks can be used to fill holes or characters must maneuver around the holes.
Kwirk’s Veggie Friends
[edit]At certain points in the game "Going Up?", one or all of Kwirk's Veggie Friends will appear to help. They do not have special abilities, but instead play exactly like Kwirk to allow maneuvers that are not possible with only one character. The player switches between characters by pressing the select button and all of the Veggie Friends must be brought to the stairs to clear the floor.
The Veggie Friends:
- Curly Carrot
- Eddie Eggplant
- Pete the Pepper
- Sass the Squash
Reception
[edit]| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 5.0/10.00[2] |
| GameSpot | 7.5/10.0[3] |
| Mean Machines | 85%[4] |
| Video Games (German) | 85%[5] |
| Console XS | 81%[6] |
Kwirk received largely positive reviews. Reviewers praised the game's challenging difficulty. According to Mean Machines, which rated the game a score of 85%, Kwirk is one of the "simple, but very addictive" puzzle games, as stated by Julian Rignall. Because of the number of different screens, it doesn't "become boring quickly". Rignall stated the game gets "incredibly hard" and "really taxes" the player's brain. Matt Regan criticized that once the player has solved each puzzle, there is "no interest left".[4] The German magazine Video Games reviewed Kwirk in its first issue and awarded it a "Video Games Classic" due to a score of 85%. The magazine's editor Stephan Englhart praised the game's variety of modes and puzzles. He stated that Kwirk captivates with a "well-elaborated and harmonious overall concept" ("wohl durchdachtes und stimmiges Gesamtkonzept").[5] Console XS gave review score of 81% and described the gameplay as "pleasing and occasionally confounding" and opined that Kwirk is one of the best puzzle games.[7] Writing for MSX Magazine in 1989, a reviewer considered the Game Boy version of Puzzle Boy to be a slightly easier adaptation of the MSX game Maze-kun (めいず君), yet equally addictive.[8]
Ports and sequels
[edit]A port for the Famicom Disk System was released on November 16, 1990, and a port for the PC Engine on February 22, 1991. These versions were only released in Japan, and retain the potato protagonist of the Japanese Game Boy version.
A spin-off called Spud's Adventure, known as Totsugeki! Valetions in Japan, was released for the Game Boy in 1991. It was published by Atlus in the U.S. instead of Acclaim. Unlike the first game, Atlus did not change the protagonist into a tomato, but left him as his original character of a potato. Unlike Puzzle Boy, it is an action/adventure game.
A second sequel Amazing Tater (known in Japan as Puzzle Boy II) also for the Game Boy was released later in 1991 in Japan, and in 1992 in the US. Like Spud's Adventure, the protagonist remains a potato called "Spud". It retains much of the gameplay of the first game.
In October 2018, the original game's North American publishing rights were acquired by Canadian production company Liquid Media Group along with other titles originally released by Acclaim.[9]
In other media
[edit]Kwirk's only appearance outside of the Game Boy game was on the television show Video Power, as part of a 15-minute cartoon short called The Power Team, which featured characters from Acclaim games.
References
[edit]- ^ "::: アトラス :::". www.atlus.co.jp. Archived from the original on 9 December 2003. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ EGM staff (April 1990). "Review of Kwirk". Electronic Gaming Monthly 9
- ^ Gamespot Other Reviews page for Kwirk. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-11-04
- ^ a b Kwirk - Nintendo Gameboy - Mean Machines review. Mean Machines (April 1991) Retrieved on 2008-11-04
- ^ a b A. German Video Games staff (January 1991). "Review of Kwirk". Video Games, p. 68
- ^ "A-Z Software". Console XS (1): 158. June 1992. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ "A-Z Software". Console XS (1): 158. June 1992. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
- ^ めいず君 [Maze-kun]. MSX Magazine (in Japanese). Vol. 7, no. 9. ASCII. September 1989. p. 25.
- ^ Doolan, Liam (2018-10-02). "Liquid Media Acquires Acclaim Entertainment Video Game Properties". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
External links
[edit]- Kwirk at MobyGames
- Kwirk at GameRankings
Kwirk
View on GrokipediaDevelopment and Release
Development
Kwirk was developed by Atlus as their inaugural title branded under their own name for the Nintendo Game Boy, with production beginning in 1989.[8] The game originated as Puzzle Boy in Japan, marking Atlus's entry into handheld puzzle design following their earlier work on other platforms.[3] The soundtrack was composed by Tsukasa Masuko, who crafted chiptune melodies tailored to the Game Boy's audio hardware, using short, looping tracks that evolve with puzzle-solving progression to maintain player engagement without overwhelming the system's limited sound channels.[9] Masuko's contributions emphasized rhythmic cues for actions like block movement, enhancing the puzzle-focused gameplay on the portable device.[10] Drawing inspiration from transport-based puzzles such as Sokoban, the game's design adapted block-pushing mechanics for handheld portability, incorporating dual viewpoints—diagonal for a pseudo-3D perspective with shadows and bird's-eye for a clear top-down layout—to accommodate the Game Boy's monochrome screen and thumb-operated controls.[8] This dual-view system allowed players to switch between immersive and strategic displays, optimizing visibility on the small LCD.[11] Development faced constraints from the Game Boy's hardware, particularly its sprite limitations of up to 40 on-screen objects with only 10 per horizontal line, which required efficient handling of animated obstacles like spinning tops and conveyor belts alongside the protagonist's movements. Animations were kept simple to avoid flicker and palette clashes in monochrome mode, ensuring smooth puzzle interactions despite the 8x8 pixel sprite size and lack of hardware scaling.[8]Release
Kwirk, originally titled Puzzle Boy in Japan, was developed and published by Atlus for the Game Boy and released there on November 24, 1989.[1] The game launched in North America in March 1990, published by Acclaim Entertainment under the localized title Kwirk, which included character redesigns such as changing the protagonist from a potato to a tomato.[1][8] A European release followed later that year by the same publisher.[1] Subsequent ports expanded availability in Japan, including a Famicom Disk System version titled Puzzle Boys released on November 16, 1990.[12] This was followed by a PC Engine port on February 22, 1991, which remained exclusive to Japan and was published by Telenet Japan. In September 2018, Liquid Media Group acquired the North American publishing rights to the original Game Boy version from Throwback Entertainment for $1 million as part of a larger deal involving 65 classic titles, with plans for potential re-releases and sequels.[13] As of November 2025, no such re-releases or sequels have been published.Story
Plot Summary
In the North American version of Kwirk, the protagonist is depicted as a sunglasses-wearing tomato who, along with his girlfriend Tammy, decides to explore a subterranean vegetable labyrinth beneath their city.[3] During their adventure, Tammy mysteriously vanishes, leaving Kwirk to embark on a quest through the labyrinth's depths to rescue her, aided briefly by a group of vegetable allies known as the Veggie Friends.[8] The narrative unfolds across 30 floors in the main mode, with Kwirk progressing level by level toward the exit on each to advance and ultimately reunite with Tammy.[11] In the original Japanese release, titled Puzzle Boy, the protagonist is instead portrayed as a potato named Spud, emphasizing an adventurous tone as he navigates the labyrinth in the Vegetable Kingdom to save his companion, Tomato-chan, an anthropomorphic tomato.[8] This regional variation alters the character's appearance and framing while retaining the core rescue premise and labyrinthine structure.[3]Characters
Kwirk serves as the protagonist of the game, depicted as an anthropomorphic tomato wearing sunglasses in the North American version, while the Japanese release portrays him as a potato named Spud.[3][8] As the playable hero, he navigates the underground labyrinth to rescue his girlfriend, capable of jumping and pushing objects to solve puzzles.[3] Tammy is Kwirk's girlfriend and the central rescue target, appearing as another anthropomorphic tomato with minimal on-screen presence but driving the narrative motivation throughout the levels.[3][8] She vanishes early in the story during their exploration of the subterranean maze, prompting Kwirk's quest.[8] The Veggie Friends are Kwirk's supporting allies in the vegetable-themed world, consisting of anthropomorphic produce characters including Curly the Carrot, Eddie Eggplant, Pete the Pepper, and Sass the Squash.[11][8] These companions assist in the adventure to locate Tammy, each featuring distinct visual designs as stylized vegetables that fit the game's whimsical, edible cast.[3] No named antagonistic characters appear, with conflicts arising from environmental obstacles in the labyrinth setting.[3]Gameplay
Core Mechanics
Kwirk is a tile-based puzzle game where players control the protagonist, a anthropomorphic tomato named Kwirk, navigating grid-based rooms using the directional pad to move in four cardinal directions: up, down, left, or right.[14] Movement occurs one tile at a time, allowing Kwirk to traverse floors, climb stairs, and interact with environmental elements such as pushable blocks, which can be shoved in any direction to fill holes, clear pathways, or manipulate other objects.[14] Blocks cannot be pulled, emphasizing strategic forward planning to avoid isolating them in inaccessible positions.[8] The game features two distinct viewpoints to facilitate different play styles: a diagonal pseudo-3D view that provides an action-oriented perspective with visible sides and shadows for depth perception, and a bird's-eye top-down view optimized for strategic overview without shadows, reducing visual clutter during complex planning.[14] Players select the preferred viewpoint when starting or resuming a room, tailoring the display to their approach—diagonal for immersive navigation or bird's-eye for precise puzzle solving—though the underlying grid and mechanics remain identical across both.[15] To win each room, players must guide Kwirk (and any required vegetable companions) to the exit stairs or door, solving the puzzle by repositioning blocks and navigating the layout without getting stuck.[14] Certain modes impose time limits, starting with a 2,000-point bonus that depletes by 100 points every 10 seconds, encouraging efficient solutions.[14] Scoring rewards quick completion, with remaining time bonus points added to the total upon reaching the exit; vegetable assists, such as switching control to companions like Curly the Carrot via the Select button, enable multi-character strategies that indirectly boost scores by facilitating faster puzzle resolution, while hazards deduct points or cause restarts if encountered.[14] High scores track the top four performances per session, resetting on power-off.[14]Game Modes
Kwirk features three distinct game modes, each offering varied approaches to its puzzle-solving gameplay. The primary single-player mode, "Going Up?", serves as the main campaign, structured as an ascending labyrinth divided into 30 floors across three skill levels: easy, normal, and hard, with 10 floors per level.[16] Players progress linearly through these floors, solving increasingly complex puzzles to unlock subsequent skill levels upon completion of the prior ones.[17] This mode emphasizes strategic navigation and resource management in larger maze-like environments. In contrast, "Heading Out?" provides a free-play experience, allowing players to select and tackle up to 99 rooms per skill level in a non-linear fashion, randomly selected from a pool of pre-made rooms for replayability.[18] These smaller, focused rooms challenge players to complete a chosen number of puzzles consecutively, with scoring based on time bonuses for quick solutions, encouraging practice and high-score pursuits without the structured progression of the main campaign.[8] The multiplayer "Vs. Mode" introduces competition, requiring two Game Boy consoles, cartridges, and a link cable to connect them.[18] Players race head-to-head through rooms similar to those in "Heading Out?", aiming to complete puzzles first in a best-of series (such as three or five rooms), fostering direct rivalry and skill comparison.[8]Obstacles and Helpers
In Kwirk, players navigate levels filled with environmental obstacles that demand careful manipulation to progress. Turnstiles, available in single, double, triple, or quadruple configurations, rotate 90 degrees around a central axis when pushed, dynamically blocking or revealing paths based on their position. These mechanisms can lock if obstructed by other objects, necessitating the relocation of blocking elements to enable rotation.[11] Pushable blocks, varying in size and shape, serve as versatile tools for overcoming barriers, requiring players to align and shove them into specific positions to create traversable routes or resolve blockages. Holes and gaps function as hazardous voids that cannot be crossed directly; falling into them triggers a full level restart, compelling the use of appropriately sized blocks to fill them and form stable bridges or platforms.[11][17] These obstacles frequently interact in layered challenges; for instance, blocks may need to be pushed onto or away from turnstiles to unlock rotations or stabilize paths over holes, integrating physical manipulation with spatial planning to reach level exits.[11] Complementing these challenges are the Veggie Friends, helpful allies including Curly Carrot, Eddie Eggplant, and Pete the Pepper, which appear in select levels to expand puzzle-solving options. Summoned as needed, these characters operate identically to the main protagonist, with players switching control via the SELECT button to coordinate multiple entities simultaneously. This allows for collaborative actions, such as simultaneous block pushing or path securing, essential for puzzles requiring divided efforts; all allies must arrive at the exit alongside the protagonist to succeed.[11]Reception and Legacy
Contemporary Reception
Upon its release in 1990, Kwirk garnered positive feedback from gaming magazines, with reviewers highlighting its engaging puzzle mechanics and unique theme. Mean Machines awarded the game an 85 out of 100, lauding the addictive nature of its puzzles and describing it as one of the more compelling early Game Boy titles.[19] Other outlets, including Computer and Video Games (88%) and Power Play (88%), praised its innovative vegetable-themed levels.[20] Critics commonly praised Kwirk for balancing challenge with accessibility, allowing players to progress through increasingly complex mazes without excessive frustration, while the quirky veggie protagonist added charm to the experience. The multiplayer mode was also appreciated for enabling competitive puzzle-solving sessions, setting it apart from solo-focused contemporaries. However, some outlets pointed out shortcomings, such as the single-player campaign's brevity—limited to 30 levels (10 per difficulty level)—and the tendency for later stages to feel repetitive in their obstacle patterns. Graphics were critiqued as basic even by 1990 Game Boy standards, relying heavily on simple monochrome sprites that lacked visual flair. As one of the earliest third-party Game Boy releases from Atlus following the console's 1989 launch, Kwirk helped establish the publisher's foothold in the handheld market, benefiting from the system's growing popularity in North America and Europe.[21]Modern Views and Re-releases
In the 21st century, retrospective reviews have highlighted Kwirk's enduring appeal as a nostalgic entry in the Game Boy library, often praising its clever puzzle design and quirky vegetable-themed characters that evoke early handheld gaming charm.[22] A 2016 review by Classic Game Room emphasized the game's strategic depth in navigating transport-style puzzles across varied difficulty levels, noting its compatibility with later systems like the Game Boy Advance SP for modern playthroughs.[22] Similarly, a 2013 analysis on Nerd Bacon described Kwirk as an intricate maze puzzler that challenges problem-solving skills through block manipulation and dual-character controls, though it critiqued the lack of hints for frustrating later stages.[16] A 2020 retrospective on Freezenet.ca appreciated its addictive core loop despite simplistic audio, positioning it as a solid choice for puzzle enthusiasts revisiting Game Boy classics.[23] As one of the earliest Game Boy titles, released in Japan on November 24, 1989—just months after the console's April launch—Kwirk holds a notable place in handheld gaming history for pioneering action-transport puzzles inspired by Sokoban mechanics, where players push and spin blocks to clear paths.[21] This foundational approach influenced the Puzzle Boy series' emphasis on vegetable protagonists and escalating environmental challenges, as detailed in a 2016 Hardcore Gaming 101 overview of Atlus's early output.[8] No official digital re-releases or ports of Kwirk exist for modern platforms like Nintendo Switch Online, though its 2018 acquisition of North American publishing rights by Liquid Media Group—a Canadian studio focused on retro revivals—has sparked speculation about future inclusion in subscription services. The acquisition also led to the announcement of a sequel titled Miss Kwirk in December 2018, intended as the first title in a five-game retro series, but it has not been released as of November 2025.[13][24] Fan-driven efforts fill this gap, including emulations via open-source Game Boy simulators and a 2024 homebrew remake for the Arduboy handheld by developer filmote, which adapts the original's puzzles to a grayscale display with enhanced audio using the FX chip.[6] Kwirk's physical copies command high collectible value due to its age and relative scarcity, with sealed examples fetching $100 to $300 on secondary markets as of 2024 sales data.[25] This desirability is amplified by the extreme rarity of its sequel, Amazing Tater (1992), which reaches $1,950 for complete-in-box versions, drawing collectors to the entire Puzzle Boy lineage.[26]Related Media
Sequels
The first sequel to Kwirk, titled Spud's Adventure and released in 1991 for the Game Boy, was developed and published by Atlus. In this game, the potato hero Spud embarks on an action-adventure quest through a 100-floor tower to rescue Princess Mato from the villain Devi, incorporating RPG elements such as experience points, enemy combat via projectiles, and randomly generated levels. While shifting toward overhead action-RPG gameplay, it retains core puzzle mechanics like block-pushing from the original, and introduces new vegetable allies including Arnie the Eggplant, Gerrit the Carrot, and Terry the Turnip to assist in navigation and battles.[8][27] The second sequel, Amazing Tater (known as Puzzle Boy II in Japan), followed in 1991 for the Game Boy in Japan and 1992 in the United States, also developed and published by Atlus. This entry returns more closely to the original's puzzle format, tasking Spud with navigating over 100 levels filled with block-pushing challenges, now enhanced by rotating walls and obstacles, across two story modes: the Mega Picnic and Puzzle Forest.[8][28] Both sequels maintain the foundational pushing and jumping mechanics of Kwirk while expanding puzzle complexity through larger levels, new environmental interactions like rotating barriers, and narrative-driven progression.[8] Commercially, both titles achieved limited distribution, making them among the rarer Game Boy cartridges today; Amazing Tater in particular commands high collector prices due to its small print run and enduring cult appeal among puzzle enthusiasts.[8][29]Adaptations
Kwirk, the protagonist of the 1990 Game Boy puzzle game, made its sole notable appearance in non-interactive media as part of the animated segment "The Power Team" on the syndicated television series Video Power, which aired from 1990 to 1992.[30] In this 15-minute cartoon short, Kwirk was depicted as a superheroic talking tomato joining a team of video game characters—including Max Force from Arch Rivals, Narc from the game of the same name, and others—to battle villains in episodic adventures.[30] The segment integrated promotional elements for contemporary video games, with Kwirk's quirky personality highlighted in humorous scenarios, such as the premiere episode "Yes We Have No Tomatoes," where the team confronts the antagonist Mr. Big.[30] Kwirk/Puzzle Boy mechanics appear in a minigame within the 2004 PlayStation 2 RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, where the demon Pyro Jack navigates 3D block-pushing puzzles.[8] Beyond the television adaptation, Kwirk has seen limited merchandise, primarily confined to Japanese releases tied to its original title Puzzle Boy. Official strategy guides for Puzzle Boy were published in Japan to assist players with the game's maze puzzles, though no extensive licensing or consumer products emerged in the United States. The character's vegetable-themed design has occasionally inspired fan creations within retro gaming communities, though it has not generated widespread memes or cultural references.References
- https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Kwirk
- https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Kwirk/Gameplay