Tetris
Nintendo Entertainment System
Nostalgia Factor:
Ah, Tetris. I'm surprised I have made it to 556 game reviews without reviewing this game. It was a big part of my childhood, as it was with many kids who grew up in the 80s and 90s. That said, I never actually owned Tetris. My friends had it. My stepbrothers had it. Everyone I knew had it. So even though I didn't actually own it, I had every opportunity to play the heck out of this game. Which I took full advantage of.
Even after my childhood passed, Tetris stayed in my life, as I had two different serious girlfriends who had an NES and also this game.
I haven't played Tetris since I broke up with them, which was almost 20 years ago. That's crazy. I have played a few other variations of Tetris, like Tetris Worlds on XBox. I also played a mobile version of Tetris on my flip phone later on in life. But the OG Tetris? Haven't played it since the early 2000s.
Time to remedy that.
Story:
This is a straight up puzzle game with no story elements to speak of.
Gameplay:
I don't think I've ever encountered a Tetris hater in my 42 years of life. Do they exist? Are they out there? I'm sure there are, but there are so few for a reason: this game rocks!
The premise of the game is simple. Different colored shapes made out of blocks fall from the top of the screen. These shapes come in seven different varieties, and are each composed of four individual blocks. The goal is to stack these shapes so they form a solid line across the screen. Once you do so, the line disappears and anything stacked on top of it drops down one level. Each line you make earns you points. You can't really beat the game, you are just playing for a high score. The more lines you make, the more points you earn. Be warned, though, if you allow your stack to get so high it reaches the top of the screen, you lose and have to start over. To make things difficult, the game gets faster and faster as you make more lines. If you start on level zero, for example, you'll notice how slowly the shapes descend. On level ten, they drop like a freaking brick.
The game gives you a number of different levels to start on. So you can start with things slow and easy, while gradually working your way up to a higher difficulty, or you can start right off the bat on a higher difficulty. Beginners should start on a lower level, but once you get used to the game you should start at least a five or six, as higher levels earn more points. And that is really the goal of the game - to get the highest score.
Aside from getting a high score, the main goal whenever I play is to get a "Tetris." There is a shape that is a straight line made out of four blocks. You want to create your stack so that you can drop the straight line down and create four complete horizontal lines in the process. If you do so successfully, you create a Tetris. The screen flashes, your stack drops down four levels, and a large number of points are added to your total - many more points than you would get if you had just made four lines individually.
This game requires a lot of strategy and advance planning. One of the shapes that drops is a block, so you have to make sure you have a flat landing space for the block to land. Otherwise, you have to drop it and create a gap underneath the block that can be hard to remove. Likewise, there are two different "Z" and "L" type shapes, both pointing in the opposite direction from one another. These are ideal for stacking on corners of things. But again, you have to plan in advance, or you may have nowhere to drop this shape. If you panic and make a mistake, your stack is going to get buried quickly and you are going to find yourself in big trouble. You can be in the middle of a perfect run, and one mistake can almost instantly end your game.
For such a simple concept, I didn't realize this game would be so hard to describe!
No Tetris conversation is complete without someone bitching about how the game does not give you enough straight lines. Your whole goal is to create a structure that is set up to drop a straight line next to it, so you can create a Tetris. I can't tell you how many times I have had things set up perfectly, and the game just flat out refuses to give me the piece I need, and then I get screwed over. It happens nearly every time I play this game. It is like the game does it maliciously. I'm sure everyone who has ever played Tetris has said something similar. "Give me a straight line! That's all I need! Just one. No, not a block. No, not a Z. No. Not an L. A line! Give me a freaking line! Come on!!! Are you serious?"
Graphics:
This game does not look like much. That said: I don't care. It is perfect for what it is. Everything is bright and vibrant. I like how the color of the shapes change when your level changes. I like the little scenes that play when you encounter a game over. It's just a charming looking game, with charming presentation. It oozes retro goodness from every pore. I know the game doesn't look beautiful. It's never going to win any graphical awards or anything like that.
But I'll repeat: I don't care. I will never care.
Sound:
I've been chomping at the bit to get to the Sound portion of this review. I am in love with this game's music. There are three different songs to pick from as you play. The default song is my favorite, but I generally will play all three at some point whenever I fire this game up. Just like the graphics, they ooze charm and retro nostalgia. I would not change a single thing about this game's music. Which is good, because you are going to be listening to it a lot. I also like how the music speeds up when you get closer to the top of the screen. It really is enough to send you into panic mode.
Sound effects are few and far between. You hear a sound when you flip your piece. You hear a sound when the piece hits the ground. There's a sound when you get a Tetris. Nothing too special, but again: iconic. I would change nothing about this game's music and sound effects.
For your enjoyment, I made a little play list of the game's three main musical numbers. Enjoy.
Overall:
Let's be real. This game is going to get an excellent score from me. It looks good, it sounds good, it was wildly influential, and it is one of the most addicting games I have ever played in my life. Every time I turned this game on for review purposes, I'd think it would just be for a few minutes. And then I'd look up at the clock and see that three hours had passed.
It's as close to a perfect game as you can get. All these years after its initial release, Tetris is still being played in one form or another. Is Tetris the single most-played video game in human history? It is very possible. This is an easy A+ for me. One of the easiest A pluses I have ever given.
THE GRADE:
A+
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