Review: Tetris
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:This game didn't have the ability to save anything, including your high scores. However, you can pause it by pressing START on your controller. Time needed per session:Very few players can keep an A Type game going for more than ten minutes, so the main issue is going to be how many attempts you make in a row. I'd suggest giving yourself about 15 minutes per session to let yourself get into the "groove" and play well.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians Simple games rarely have room for anything objectionable. |
Screenshots
These screenshots were captured using video from an actual console.
Game Overview
The NES edition of Tetris was often the first version of the classic block clearing game that your average 1980s kid encountered, and for many, it left a memorable impact. However, this isn't the version most people would call the definitive retro Tetris experience - that honor goes to the Game Boy version, which is the one that featured that the Korobeiniki-inspired song that people call the "Tetris theme" today.
But that doesn't mean the NES version was bad - far from it!
By now, everyone knows how the basic game is played: Tetrominoes (blocks made of four pieces) will drop from the top of the play area, and it's up to the player to rotate and move them into position. When a line is completely filled, it will be cleared, the stack will fall down, and you'll get some points.
Tetris on the NES doesn't elaborate on this gameplay very much. In fact, it only has two game modes, called A Type and B Type. In an A Type game, you continue playing until no more tetrominoes can be added to the play area, with the speed increasing by one step for every 10 lines you clear. B Type, on the other hand, tasks you with clearing 25 lines at a given speed, and you can make it more difficult by opting to have the play area filled up to a certain height with garbage.
Now, that's not a lot of options for a game, but there are some other ways that this version of Tetris makes itself stand out. For example, there are ten color palettes that are used for the graphics. These correspond to the first ten speeds ( 0 - 9 ) and they'll repeat in sequence from level 10 onwards.
There are also cutscenes that can be seen when the player finishes a game: in A Type, a rocket will launch, while B Type features different objects flying over St. Basil's Cathedral. The size of the rocket depends on your final score, and what kind of objects are in the sky depends on how fast you were going. You'll get dragonflies at speed 0, blimps at speed 5, and so on. How many of them go by is determined by the starting height: it's always one more than the height you selected.
B Type also has a special cutscene waiting for those players who are able to clear 25 lines at speed 9: various Nintendo characters will play music and dance to celebrate your victory! In order to reveal everyone, you'll need to beat speed 9 with a height of 5 - the hardest of the B Type options. Doing this has been a right of passage for many Tetris fans.
Today, this version of Tetris is still one of the best versions of the game. The main catch is that Tetris clones are a dime a dozen these days, which dulls the shine on this classic gem a bit. Even so, it's still one of the best ways to spend your afternoon with your NES - clearing stages in B Type games has never lost its thrill.
But that doesn't mean the NES version was bad - far from it!
By now, everyone knows how the basic game is played: Tetrominoes (blocks made of four pieces) will drop from the top of the play area, and it's up to the player to rotate and move them into position. When a line is completely filled, it will be cleared, the stack will fall down, and you'll get some points.
Tetris on the NES doesn't elaborate on this gameplay very much. In fact, it only has two game modes, called A Type and B Type. In an A Type game, you continue playing until no more tetrominoes can be added to the play area, with the speed increasing by one step for every 10 lines you clear. B Type, on the other hand, tasks you with clearing 25 lines at a given speed, and you can make it more difficult by opting to have the play area filled up to a certain height with garbage.
Now, that's not a lot of options for a game, but there are some other ways that this version of Tetris makes itself stand out. For example, there are ten color palettes that are used for the graphics. These correspond to the first ten speeds ( 0 - 9 ) and they'll repeat in sequence from level 10 onwards.
There are also cutscenes that can be seen when the player finishes a game: in A Type, a rocket will launch, while B Type features different objects flying over St. Basil's Cathedral. The size of the rocket depends on your final score, and what kind of objects are in the sky depends on how fast you were going. You'll get dragonflies at speed 0, blimps at speed 5, and so on. How many of them go by is determined by the starting height: it's always one more than the height you selected.
B Type also has a special cutscene waiting for those players who are able to clear 25 lines at speed 9: various Nintendo characters will play music and dance to celebrate your victory! In order to reveal everyone, you'll need to beat speed 9 with a height of 5 - the hardest of the B Type options. Doing this has been a right of passage for many Tetris fans.
Today, this version of Tetris is still one of the best versions of the game. The main catch is that Tetris clones are a dime a dozen these days, which dulls the shine on this classic gem a bit. Even so, it's still one of the best ways to spend your afternoon with your NES - clearing stages in B Type games has never lost its thrill.
Points of Interest
Two Game Modes
As mentioned above, you have your choice of an A Type or B Type game. B Type is more of a sprint compared to A Type's marathon, but regardless of which you choose, you'll likely be coming back for another try again and again.
Old school Multiplayer
This version of Tetris doesn't have a proper two player mode (hacks notwithstanding), but back in the 1990s, we'd play it together by taking turns and comparing our scores in the game's high score table. Since the cartridge didn't have the ability to remember scores between sessions, we could do this again and again, passing the controller as needed.
Very short
Today, games are typically designed to give you at least an entire afternoon's worth of entertainment. Players will likely struggle to find that here, as most games of Tetris last only a few minutes. Even if you're able to play A Type from level 0 to level 9 and beyond, it won't take half an hour.
Concerns and Issues
None
If you really want to be pedantic about it, level 7 in B Type rewards the player by having dragons fly overhead. If a barely animated graphic in a cutscene is a major turn off, stick with Bejeweled.