Kwirk
Encyclopedia
Kwirk, known in Japan
as , is an action
/puzzle video game first developed and published by Atlus
in Japan on November 24, for the original Game Boy
. The same port was later published in North America
in March 1990
by Acclaim Entertainment
. On February 22, 1991, Atlus ported and released Puzzle Boy to the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
exclusively in Japan.
There are three Skill Levels which accounts for the games difficulty settings, Level 1 - Easy, Level 2 - Average and Level 3 - Hard. After that you select two different viewpoints Diagonal or Bird's Eye. The difference between the two is that in Diagonal view, characters and blocks have a shadow, whereas Bird's Eye view does not. These are featured for all three game modes.
Scoring is based on the amount of time it took to complete the stage and the number of steps you took to get to the stairs.
Going Up? serves as the story where Kwirk has to rescue Tammy from the maze. Although it 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.
List of Obstacles
List of Veggie Friends:
, 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 criticised that once the player has solved each puzzle, there is "no interest left". The German magazine Video Games reviewed Kwirk in its very 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").
, as part of a 15-minute cartoon short called The Power Team, which featured characters from Acclaim games. He usually went berserk whenever anyone calls him a "to-MAH-to" and not a "to-MAY-to".
On November 16, 1990, Kwirk got a Japan-only Famicom Disk System
version titled . As with the Japanese release of Puzzle Boy, Kwirk didn't appear in it.
Next, a gaiden to Puzzle Boys called Spud's Adventure
, known as , was released for the Game Boy on January 25, 1991. Unlike Kwirk, in the US Spud's Adventure was published by Atlus
instead of Acclaim Entertainment
, due to Acclaim losing their license in publishing Atlus's Puzzle Boy series of games. Unlike Kwirk, Atlus did not change the protagonist into a tomato, but left him as his original character of a potato, translating his name as "Spud."
Next, Puzzle Boys was ported to the PCEngine on February 22, 1991. Again, it was only released in Japan.
This game later got a proper sequel in the US titled Amazing Tater
(known in Japan as Puzzle Boy II) for the Game Boy. Like Spud's Adventure, the protagonist remains a potato called "Spud."
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is an action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
/puzzle video game first developed and published by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
in Japan on November 24, for the original 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...
. The same port was later published in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in March 1990
1990 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Bonk's Adventure is released for NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and is the first US appearance of Bonk, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16.*February 12 — Nintendo releases the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America...
by Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
. On February 22, 1991, Atlus ported and released Puzzle Boy to the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
exclusively in Japan.
Story
Kwirk and his girlfriend Tammy, a tomato herself, were both out "painting the town red" when they both 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.Gameplay
Kwirk is actually three separate games in one, Going Up?, Heading Out?, and Vs. Mode, each one with its own set of individual rules. The objective is to run from one end of the room to the other by rotating turnstiles, moving blocks, or filling holes with blocks.There are three Skill Levels which accounts for the games difficulty settings, Level 1 - Easy, Level 2 - Average and Level 3 - Hard. After that you select two different viewpoints Diagonal or Bird's Eye. The difference between the two is that in Diagonal view, characters and blocks have a shadow, whereas Bird's Eye view does not. These are featured for all three game modes.
Going Up?
In Going Up?, your objective is to go from floor to floor moving and rotating blocks to make your way to the staircase on the other side. There are ten floors for each Level for a total of thirty floors. Along the way at certain levels, Kwirk will receive help from his Veggie Friends which you can control by switching between them and Kwirk. This game mode offers a menu screen that allows the following;- Redo – You can start the entire stage from the beginning if you make an error or you can’t make any more moves.
- End – You can end the game and return to the menu screen.
- Back – You can undo the last move you made in the stage up to eight times.
Scoring is based on the amount of time it took to complete the stage and the number of steps you took to get to the stairs.
Going Up? serves as the story where Kwirk has to rescue Tammy from the maze. Although it 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?
In Heading Out? your objective is to complete a certain number of rooms consecutively to get a high score. There are a total of ninety-nine rooms of which you can select the number you want to run through. Once you start, you sprint through each room solving the puzzle. You score by earning Bonus Points 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 your time through the course. After running through all the rooms your score is then recorded on a top four list.Vs. Mode
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
In each room, Kwirk has to navigate around various obstacles which are blocks in order to advance in the game.List of Obstacles
- Brick Walls – sometimes they are lined up in the middle of the room. You can’t move them and sometimes you have to move blocks around them.
- Turnstiles – Blocks set on an axis that turn 90 degrees when moved. They come in single, double, triple, or quadruple turnstiles. They won’t turn if something is next to them.
- Blocks – Basic blocks of various sizes, some may take up half a room, in which you move around to open a way for Kwirk to move across the room.
- Holes – You can’t walk over a hole, instead you have to walk around it, but if there is a block in the room and it can fit in the hole, you may move the block to fill the gap and walk over it.
Kwirk’s Veggie Friends
At certain points in the game Going Up?, one or all of Kwirk’s Veggie Friends will appear to help. They don’t have special abilities instead they play like Kwirk and offer the player the ability to position a Veggie Friend in certain places that will allow Kwirk to move along the room past all the obstacles. The player has to move all of the Veggie Friends onto the stairs with Kwirk in order to advance past that stage.List of Veggie Friends:
- Curly Carrot
- Eddie Eggplant
- Pete the Pepper
- Sass the Squash
Reception
Kwirk got mixed reviews, most of them were positive. Reviewers praised the games challenging difficulty. According to Mean MachinesMean Machines
Mean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and its sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.- Origins :In the late...
, which rated the game a score of 85%, Kwirk is one of the "simple, but very addictive" puzzle games, as stated by Julian Rignall
Julian Rignall
Julian "Muppet" Rignall is a longterm publishing veteran with experience launching and managing numerous video game magazines and websites...
. 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 criticised that once the player has solved each puzzle, there is "no interest left". The German magazine Video Games reviewed Kwirk in its very 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").
Legacy
Kwirk’s only appearance outside of the Game Boy game, was on television was in the show Video PowerVideo Power
Video Power is an American television series that aired in two different formats from 1990-1992 in syndication. Both formats revolved around video games, and actor Stivi Paskoski presided over both series playing video game master Johnny Arcade.Allen J...
, as part of a 15-minute cartoon short called The Power Team, which featured characters from Acclaim games. He usually went berserk whenever anyone calls him a "to-MAH-to" and not a "to-MAY-to".
On November 16, 1990, Kwirk got a Japan-only Famicom Disk System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version titled . As with the Japanese release of Puzzle Boy, Kwirk didn't appear in it.
Next, a gaiden to Puzzle Boys called Spud's Adventure
Spud's Adventure
is an adventure video game with RPG elements published by Atlus in 1991. This game, unlike most, stars a cast of mostly vegetables, hence, Spud, a cap wearing potato is the hero and must save Princess Mato from the evil clutches of Devi.-Gameplay:...
, known as , was released for the Game Boy on January 25, 1991. Unlike Kwirk, in the US Spud's Adventure was published by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
instead of Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
, due to Acclaim losing their license in publishing Atlus's Puzzle Boy series of games. Unlike Kwirk, Atlus did not change the protagonist into a tomato, but left him as his original character of a potato, translating his name as "Spud."
Next, Puzzle Boys was ported to the PCEngine on February 22, 1991. Again, it was only released in Japan.
This game later got a proper sequel in the US titled Amazing Tater
Amazing Tater
Amazing Tater is a puzzle video game for the Game Boy from Atlus. The game features a password system. It is the sequel to Kwirk.-Gameplay:...
(known in Japan as Puzzle Boy II) for the Game Boy. Like Spud's Adventure, the protagonist remains a potato called "Spud."
External links
- Kwirk at Game RankingsGame RankingsGameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...