Tetris (1989)

Unironically stoked for this. I've long felt that the story behind Tetris would make a great movie, so it's nice to finally see it happening.

I think someone brought up the topic of "the perfect game" here recently? Tetris is what comes to mind for me first. Easy to play, easy to get addicted to. Just as welcoming for a casual five minutes, as it is for a competitive five hours. The perfect number of block types, and the perfect shapes for each of those block types. Oh, and the perfect background music, for a cherry on top. There have been many iterations to the formula over the years, but you know what? The Game Boy version still rules in its own right. Some things really do stand the test of time.

There’s a surprisingly vibrant community of young people playing old-school Tetris these days on Twitch/YouTube and in regular high-score-based tournaments. The best among them have cracked the code for playing at the highest speeds, up to the insane level 40 and beyond, with a very odd-looking technique using both hands to mash the D-pad as fast as possible, but with exact precision. (edit: to explain "rolling", they're using the off-hand to push the controller rapidly into their thumb - pretty wild). They’re consistently getting scores waaay past the game’s intended 999,999 maximum. Not only is the physical skill really impressive, but the reaction time and quick thinking needed to do this effectively is just mind-boggling.

This is the current back-to-back champion of the biggest annual NES Tetris tournament. Those matches are super fun to watch, by the way—look up CTWC 2021 Finals if interested. Always pretty cool to see a new generation keeping an old game alive and appreciating its limitations even with much more “enhanced” Tetris games out there. I’ll stick to the easier new ones though…

Been trying to improve my Tetris game all week to compete in Tetris 99. Got the great tip to practice the 40-line sprint mode available in many Tetris games to work on the fundamentals—I’ve lowered my best time from around 3:30 to 1:53 so far this week and it makes a huge difference. Getting consistent Top 10-20 finishes and many heart-pounding Top 2-5s, but unfortunately... no #1 yet...

Anyway, my YouTube feed is filled with Tetris videos now, and I ended up on this:

I watched the world championships from 2018, 19, and 20 and what a story, watching NES Tetris evolve as an eSport in front of my eyes and seeing some absolutely amazing gameplay. The 2019 one was particularly great, with a really fun lighthearted vibe that reflects extremely well on the community. Very much worth a watch!

History:
I've played Tetris. I've not played "this" Tetris.

Expectations:
I mean, it's Tetris. I expect falling blocks, catchy music and generally a good time.

Disclaimer:
So, I love the history of the Tengen version of this game. Short version is that this was the technically superior version of Tetris on the NES, but due to licensing snafus it only lasted on store shelves for about a month before being recalled and destroyed. As a result, this is a bit of a collectors item. Now I thought long and hard about going out and spending $70 on a copy of Tetris, but ultimately I couldn't do it, not for Tetris. In the end, I decided to break my rule just htis once, and emulate.

Day 1:

Upon starting the game I'm instantly saddened by the lack of the classic Tetris track! The music is fine but it's not what I was looking forward to. That said, the gameplay is totally solid. I started off in standard mode.

The game actually plays incredibly well! Having played the official version of Tetris for the NES I think I can safely say that I like this version more. The controls just feel better, the game looks a little better, and it just seems like this version had more polish applied to it. Above you can see my first tetris! I learned from this year's AGDQ that a tetris is when you clear four rows in one move. I had no idea that was a thing!

Eventually I cleared the first stage, and little people came out and danced for me...

Sadly my victory would be short lived...

Finally I went ahead and tried playing versus against the computer. I can't say it added much to the game, and I can't really say it would have been that much more fun against a human opponent, but just having the option is nice.

I should take this opportunity to mention I actually suck at Tetris.

On Emulators:

I have absolutely zero issues with emulators, none whatsoever. I have built more than a couple emulator machines over time, and they definitely have their uses. I'm particularly pleased with the quality of the screenshots I can provide for my posts. Those things look amazing compared to me snapping pictures of the TV with my phone!

That said...

Going from playing the last several NES games on an actual NES with an actual NES controller, to sitting at my desk and using a Logitech gamepad at a computer screen, there's just no comparison. Still, getting a proper screen capture device for better screenshots and even annotated videos is sure looking might appealing right about now...

Conclusion:

Fun game! That's to be expected, Tetris is a fun little distraction of a game. I'll not be devoting any time to mastering it of course, but it's still a fun game to pick up from time to time. This version in particular has a much nicer visual appeal than the official counterpart, and some very nice game options. Still, I do miss the classic soundtrack...

Liked:

- The game looked really nice
- No play issues at all. It handles like Tetris should handle.
- Great additional modes, especially multiplayer

Disliked:

- While nothing's particularly wrong with the music, I really missed the original.
- Man... I suck at Tetris!

Personal Score: