Released for the
Game Boy by
Acclaim in 1991,
Kwirk follows the adventures of Kwirk the chilled
tomato as he maneuvers his way through a series of mazes in order to rescue his lost girlfriend. Along the way he'll get help from buddies Curly Carrot, Eddie Eggplant, and Peter Pepper. The player controls Kwirk (or his friends on some levels; the Select button alternates control) as he pushes blocks around to open a path to the staircase or exit tunnel. There two top puzzle modes in this game: Going Up? and Heading Out?
In Going Up? the object is for Kwirk to maneuver around a single screen's worth of obstacles, turnstiles, pits, and blocks to reach a staircase. After ten screens worth of this activity Kwirk has reached the top of the level and can find his girlfriend Tammy. Sometimes Kwirk can call upon his vegetable friends to get a helping hand in solving the puzzles. There is no scoring in this mode. Three difficulty modes - Easy, Normal, and Difficult - each contain ten different puzzles.
In Heading Out? Kwirk navigates a long horizontal tunnel of obstacles, turnstiles, and blocks in order to reach the other end of the tunnel. The number of levels in this mode is selectable by the player and can be anything from 1 to 99. After completing this mode the player's time is recorded. This mode can also be played 2-player style as gamers try and beat each other to the tunnel exit (a second Game Boy, Kwirk game pak, and a game link cable are required, of course).
Graphics and sounds are simple for a second generation Game Boy game, although there are two different viewpoints available in the game: a bird's eye view and a diagonal view. These modes allow the player to view the puzzles from their preferred perspective. A similar sequel to this game, Amazing Tater, was released several years later and follows the adventures of a potato in a puzzle-filled maze. Gamers may also remember the Kwirk character from the first season of television's Video Power.