is a 1987 block breaker

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 in Japan 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 ...

. Controlling a paddle-like craft, the player is tasked with clearing each stage by deflecting a ball towards a formation of bricks towards the top of the screen. Power-up items are hidden in some blocks, which can increase the size of the player's paddle, a barrier that prevents the ball from moving off the screen, and a forcefield that will release eight other balls when touched. The game was produced 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 ...

, known as the creator 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 ...

''. It was created as a response to

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 1986 arcade title ''

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 ...

'', which helped revive the block breaker genre and inspire waves of its own clone games. A special version of the game was released shortly after the original's release, ''Quester: Special Edition'', featuring levels designed by readers of Namco's press literature. It was released 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, where it was renamed to ''Namco Quester''.

Gameplay

''Quester'' is a block breaker video game, often compared to Taito's ''Arkanoid''. Using a rotary knob, the player controls a paddle-like craft fixed at the bottom of the screen, the objective being to deflect a ball towards a large formation of bricks in each round. A life is lost when the player misses the ball and it falls of-screen. Some blocks contain power-up items that can help the player in the stage, such as increasing the width of the paddle, place a barrier at the bottom of the screen to prevent the ball from being lost, and a forcefield that will spit out eight other balls if touched. Some stages contain "killer meteors", which can decrease the paddle's size if touched. Alongside regular colored bricks, other block types include indestructible bricks, blocks that can speed up and slow down the ball when touched, and "generator blocks" that produce an endless number of red blocks. Some stages are based on other Namco video game characters, including a ''

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 ...

'' flagship,

, and a Rainbow Block from ''

Cutie Q is a 1979 block breaker/video pinball hybrid arcade game developed and published by Namco 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 block ...

''. The 33rd round of the game features a boss fight with a large mechanical fortress named "Breeder", which can be destroyed by deflecting the ball against its large metal shield. Collecting a Special Flag from ''

Rally-X is a maze chase arcade video game developed Namco and released in 1980. Players drive a blue Formula One race car through a multidirectional scrolling maze to collect yellow flags. Boulders block some paths and must be avoided. Red enemy cars ...

'' will award the player an extra life.

Development and release

''Quester'' was released in September 1987 by

in Japan only. It was produced by

, known as the creator of ''

'', and designed by Shinji Noguchi. It was created to rival the success of

's 1986 game ''

'', which helped revive the block breaker genre and spark a large amount of competition in arcades. Development of the game was relatively short. The game was dedicated to Shouichi Fukatani, a developer at Namco who died in 1985 and helped create several earlier games for the company, such as ''

Dig Dug is a maze game, maze arcade game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in 1982, distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player controls Dig Dug to defeat all enemies per stage, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them unde ...

''. Music for the game was composed by

Shinji Hosoe , also known as Megaten and Sampling Masters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring ''Ridge Racer'', ''Street Fighter EX'' and many Namco arcade games between 1987 and 1996. He also runs the music production ...

, who had very little contact with the team during development. Shortly after the original game's release, a modified version known as ''Quester: Special Edition'' was released, featuring altered level designs that were submitted by readers of Namco Community Magazine NG.

Reception and legacy

''Game Machine'' listed the game on their ''Quester'' issue as being the seventeenth most-popular arcade game at the time. Mari Yamakawa of ''

Gamest was a Japanese video game magazine that specialized in covering arcade games. Published by Shinseisha, it first began in May 1986 and originally published bi-monthly, later changed to be a monthly-issued magazine in the late 1980s. The magazine al ...

'' noted that the game was easier than other similar block breaker games, which made it more accessible for newer players. In a retrospective, ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

'' magazine listed it among the best '' Breakout'' clones, although would refer to the game's difficulty as "bloody hard" and for not doing anything ambitious with the genre, claiming it was likely the reason for its confinement in Japan.

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

Wii Virtual Console page (Japanese)
1987 video games Arcade video games Breakout clones Japan-exclusive video games Namco games Namco arcade games Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games