is a 1979 block breaker/video pinball hybrid
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
developed and published by
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
in Japan. The player controls a set of paddles with a rotary knob, the objective being to score as many points possible by deflecting a ball against blocks, ghosts, spinners and other objects on the playfield. It was designed by Shigeru Yokoyama, with
spritework done by
Toru Iwatani
is a Japanese video game designer who spent much of his career working for Namco. He is best known as the creator of the arcade game '' Pac-Man'' (1980).
Early life
Iwatani was born in the Meguro ward of Tokyo, Japan on January 25, 1955. While ...
. It is the third and final game in the ''
Gee Bee'' trilogy.
''Cutie Q'' is described as Namco's first "character game", thanks to its use of colorful and cute character designs, a choice that would be a major influence on Iwatani's next project, ''
Pac-Man
originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
''. The title was derived from the band
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...
's 1968 cover of the song
Susie Q, which Iwatani was a fan of. To lower manufacturing costs, it was only sold as a conversion kit for older ''Gee Bee'' and ''Bomb Bee'' arcade units.
The game was ported to the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
in 1996 as part of the Japanese release of ''
Namco Museum Vol. 2'', with ''Bomb Bee'' included as an unlockable extra — international versions would instead replace them both with ''
Super Pac-Man
is a 1982 maze chase arcade game developed and published by Namco. It was distributed in North America by Midway Games. ''Super Pac-Man'' is Namco's take on a sequel to the original ''Pac-Man''; Midway had previously released ''Ms. Pac-Man'', w ...
''. The game was later included in 2007's ''
Namco Museum Remix
''Namco Museum Remix'' is a 2007 Product bundling, video game compilation developed and published for the Wii by Namco Bandai Games. The compilation includes nine Namco arcade games and five "remix" games made specifically for this compilation. A r ...
'' for the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
, and later in its 2010 update ''Namco Museum Megamix''. A Japanese mobile phone port was released for Yahoo! Keitai services in 2008, where it was renamed ''QTQ''. Ports for both the Sharp X1 and PC-9801 were developed but later cancelled.
Gameplay
''Cutie Q'' is a block breaker video game intermixed with elements found in pinball tables. The player controls a set of paddles using a rotary dial, the objective is to score as many points possible by deflecting a ball against objects on the playfield
- these include colorful "Rainbow Block" formations, pink ghosts known as "Minimon",
spinners that slow down the ball and small yellow creatures known as "Walkmen" that appear when an entire formation of blocks is destroyed.
The middle of the screen has a set of sad-faced rollover symbols, and touching them with the ball will instead make them turn happy
— lighting all of them up increases the score multiplier.
An extra ball is awarded by touching each of the lettered symbols found on both sides of the screen, or by having the ball collide with the green drainage blocks found at the bottom.
Having the ball touch the bottom paddle will replace any cleared-out brick formations and increase the number of Minimon on the screen.
Development and release
''Cutie Q'' was developed and released by
Namco
was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
in November 1979,
following the release of ''
Galaxian
is a 1979 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. The player assumes control of the Galaxip starfighter in its mission to protect Earth from waves of aliens. Gameplay involves destroying each formation of aliens, who ...
''.
The game was designed by Shigeru Yokoyama, known for his work on ''
Galaga
is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to ''Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starshi ...
'', while
Toru Iwatani
is a Japanese video game designer who spent much of his career working for Namco. He is best known as the creator of the arcade game '' Pac-Man'' (1980).
Early life
Iwatani was born in the Meguro ward of Tokyo, Japan on January 25, 1955. While ...
would design a number of the sprites.
It is the third game in the ''
Gee Bee'' trilogy, and much like its predecessors was the result of a compromise with Namco, who was disinterested in creating pinball machines. It was described as Namco's first "character game" for its use of cute, colorful characters, a design choice that would have a major influence on Iwatani's next work, ''
Pac-Man
originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
''.
The name is derived from the band
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...
's cover of the song "
Susie Q" from 1957, which Iwatani was a fan of.
To help save manufacturing costs, ''Cutie Q'' was only sold as a conversion kit for older ''
Gee Bee'' and ''
Bomb Bee
is a Japanese arcade game that was released by Namco in 1979. It is the sequel to '' Gee Bee'', which was released in the previous year.
Gameplay
The maximum number of players is two, and the two players have to alternate. The control is a rota ...
'' arcade units.
''Cutie Q'' was ported to the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
as part of the Japanese release of ''
Namco Museum Vol. 2'' in 1996, which also included its predecessor ''Bomb Bee'' as an unlockable extra.
Both titles would be replaced with ''
Super Pac-Man
is a 1982 maze chase arcade game developed and published by Namco. It was distributed in North America by Midway Games. ''Super Pac-Man'' is Namco's take on a sequel to the original ''Pac-Man''; Midway had previously released ''Ms. Pac-Man'', w ...
'' in international releases. A limited edition "collector's box" was also released in Japan that bundled the game with a paddle controller and replica promotional material for the included games.
''Cutie Q'' was also included in the 2007 compilation ''
Namco Museum Remix
''Namco Museum Remix'' is a 2007 Product bundling, video game compilation developed and published for the Wii by Namco Bandai Games. The compilation includes nine Namco arcade games and five "remix" games made specifically for this compilation. A r ...
'' for the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
as one of the nine included arcade titles, as well as its 2010 update ''Namco Museum Megamix''. A Japanese
mobile phone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
port was released for Yahoo! Keitai network services on September 1, 2008, renamed to ''QTQ''.
In 1987, a port of ''Cutie Q'' and its predecessor ''Bomb Bee'' was being developed for the Sharp X1 by Dempa, a developer that had worked with Namco to bring many of the company's arcade titles to home computers in Japan.
Programming was done by Mikito Ishikawa, who was fascinated with the arcade version's source code.
The game was cancelled due to the impending rise of more powerful consoles, notably the Sega Mega Drive, with Dempa believing Ishikawa was proposing the port as a sort of joke.
A second port was in development by Ishikawa for the PC-9801 in the mid-1990s; a deal with Namco was nearly finished; however, it was cancelled again due to the company instead porting it to the PlayStation for ''Namco Museum Vol. 2''.
Reception and legacy
In their coverage of ''Namco Museum Vol. 2'', ''
Computer & Video Games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website w ...
'' called the game "brilliantly addictive" for combining the gameplay of ''
Breakout'' and pinball tables, as well as for the inclusion of an "authentic" paddle controller to play it.
In a retrospective, Earl Green of
Allgame
RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel.
Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...
noted of the game's importance to the creation of ''
Pac-Man
originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'' with its colorful character designs. Kristan Reed of ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' was more negative, calling the game "rubbish" in his review of ''
Namco Museum Remix
''Namco Museum Remix'' is a 2007 Product bundling, video game compilation developed and published for the Wii by Namco Bandai Games. The compilation includes nine Namco arcade games and five "remix" games made specifically for this compilation. A r ...
'', commenting that while the game was interesting for its historical value, said that players would only play it for a few minutes before becoming bored.
Nearly a decade after the release of ''Cutie Q'', Namco would release a similar block breaker game in 1987, ''
Quester'', in an effort to compete against
Taito
is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...
's ''
Arkanoid
is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflect ...
'' — Iwatani was assigned as the project's producer. Although not directly related to the ''Gee Bee'' trilogy, the game's 26th stage is designed after a Rainbow Block ''Cutie Q''. This game was ported to the Japanese
Wii Virtual Console
A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
in 2009, renamed to ''Namco Quester''.
Notes
References
External links
*{{KLOV game, id=7462
1979 video games
Arcade video games
Breakout clones
Japan-exclusive video games
Namco arcade games
Pinball video games
Video games developed in Japan
Video game sequels
ja:ジービー#キューティーQ