Quester

Quester is a 1987 block breaker arcade game developed and published in Japan by Namco. 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, known as the creator of Pac-Man. It was created as a response to Taito's 1986 arcade title Arkanoid, 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 in 2009, where it was renamed to Namco Quester.