BreakThru! is a tile-matching puzzle video game released in 1994. Developed by the Japanese studio Zoo Corporation and published by Spectrum HoloByte, the title was made available for several platforms, including MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, the Game Boy, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
The game was prominently marketed with the endorsement of Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris, who assisted in the game's design and production. This association was a central part of the game's branding and promotional materials.
Gameplay in BreakThru! centers on a grid populated with colored blocks. The player's objective is to clear the board or reach a specific goal within a designated time limit. This is achieved by selecting groups of two or more adjacent blocks of the same color, causing them to disappear. When blocks are removed, the remaining blocks above them fall into the vacated spaces, potentially creating new groups.
The game features a progression system where players travel through various levels, each represented by famous international landmarks or historical sites, such as the Great Wall of China or the Pyramids of Giza. As the game progresses, the complexity increases through the introduction of new block colors and shorter time limits.
BreakThru! is categorized within the "SameGame" or "collapse" subgenre of puzzle games. While it shares some conceptual similarities with Tetris, it distinguishes itself by focusing on the removal of existing blocks rather than the placement of falling pieces.