Intelligent Qube

PlayStation exclusive

Intelligent Qube is a puzzle game for the PlayStation. In the game, the player controls a character who must run around a platform made of cubes, clearing certain cubes as they approach. Cubes are "cleared" by marking a spot on the stage, waiting for the cube to roll on top of it, and then deactivating the marked spot.

Released: 9 January 1997
Platforms: PlayStation 3 PlayStation PlayStation Portable Legacy Mobile Device
Genres: Puzzle Strategy
Developers: G-Artists
Publishers: Sony Computer Entertainment
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Third person
Engine: J2ME

About

Intelligent Qube, also known as Kurushi in Europe, is a 1997 puzzle video game developed by G-Artists and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. In the game, the player controls a character who must run around a platform made of cubes, clearing certain cubes as they approach. Cubes are "cleared" by marking a spot on the stage, waiting for the cube to roll on top of it, and then deactivating the marked spot.

The game was well received by critics. The game performed well commercially in Japan and won the Excellence Award for Interactive Art at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Keywords

blocks
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block puzzle
digital distribution
playstation mobile
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playstation tv support
backwards compatibility
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playstation underground

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

I.Q.: Intelligent Qube was designed by Masahiko Sato, a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Sony Computer Entertainment Japan assisted on development. Reviewers often remark on Takayuki Hattori's soundtrack, which opts for an eerie orchestral score rather than a typical 'bouncy' puzzle game fare. It was released by Sony Music under the title IQ Final Perfect Music File on January 21, 1999.

Reception

Intelligent Qube received mostly positive reviews. Game Informer gave the game a positive review, over two months before its release Stateside. In Japan, however, Famitsu gave it a score of 23 out of 40.

While some critics took issue with the lack of a simultaneous multiplayer mode and the presence of graphical glitches and slowdown in spite of the game's undemanding visuals, most concluded that the game's well-balanced, intelligent challenge outweighs its shortcomings. A number of them additionally praised its music. On GameRankings, the game held an aggregate score of 72% based on seven reviews at the time of the site's closure in December 2019.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Platform	Released	Regions
PlayStation	9 January 1997	Europe · Japan 31 January 1997 · North America 1 October 1997
Legacy Mobile Device	4 February 2004	Worldwide
PlayStation 3Digital Compatibility Release	26 December 2007	Japan
PlayStation PortableDigital Compatibility Release	26 December 2007	Japan