
1990 · Port · Konami · Puzzle · Shooter
Quarth
Nintendo console exclusivePort
Quarth is a combination of Tetris-style gameplay and a fixed shooter in the Space Invaders tradition.
- Released
- 16 March 1990
- Platforms
- Game BoyMSXNESNintendo 3DS
- Genres
- PuzzleShooter
- Developers
- Konami
- Publishers
- Konami
- Modes
- Single-player
- Themes
- ActionScience fiction
About
Block Hole, released in Japan as Quarth, is a 1989 puzzle video game developed and published by Konami for arcades. It was released in Japan on October 9, 1989 and internationally the same year. It was ported to the MSX2, Famicom and Game Boy as Quarth, with the exception of the European Game Boy Color release of Konami GB Collection Vol.2, where the game was renamed to the generic title Block Game for unknown reasons.
A sequel, Block Quarth, released on the Konami Net i-mode service, with an updated Block Quarth DX in 2001. It was released internationally without the "DX" suffix in 2005.
Keywords
- blocks
- digital distribution
- game boy link cable support
- nintendo 3ds virtual console
Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
Block Hole 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 ship's speed, among other bonuses.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Quarth on their December 1, 1989 issue as being the third most-successful table arcade unit of the month. Block Hole was a hit overseas in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom and Italy.
Philip J Reed of Nintendo Life gave the Game Boy version a 6/10 score, praising its fun gameplay but criticizing its repetitive nature.
Releases by platformdates and regions as published
Editions and related releases
- Part of
- Block Hole
- Remastered as
- Block Game
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Collections9 collections
Platform libraries
- MSX games
- Nintendo Entertainment System gamesLicensed games
- Virtual Console games for Wii U (Japan)Titles › MSX
- Game Boy gamesList of games
- Multiplayer Game Boy gamesTwo-player games via the Game Link Cable › Puzzle
- Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS (Japan)Available titles › Game Boy
- Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS (North America)Available titles › Game Boy
Genres
- Puzzle gamesTile matching › Advancing blocks puzzles
Publishers
- Virtual Console games for WiiTitles › MSX
Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.
