Tetris is a puzzle video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) released in 1989, based on Tetris (1985[1]) by Alexey Pajitnov. It is the first official console release of Tetris to have been developed and published by Nintendo. It was preceded by an official Tetris for Family Computer in Japan in December 1988,[2] and an unofficial Tetris by Atari in North America in May 1989.
Gameplay – Tetris
This version of Tetris has two modes of play: A-Type and B-Type. In A-Type play, the goal is to achieve the highest score. As lines are cleared, the level advances and increases the speed of the falling blocks. At the beginning of a B-Type game, the board starts with randomized obstacle blocks at the bottom of the field, and the goal is to clear 25 lines. In B-Type, the level remains constant, and the player chooses the height of the obstacle beforehand.[3]
During play, the tetrominoes are chosen randomly. This leaves the possibility of extended periods with no long bar pieces, which are essential because Tetrises are worth more than clearing the equivalent amount of lines in singles, doubles, or triples. The next piece to fall is shown in a preview window next to the playfield. In a side panel, the game tracks how many of each tetromino has appeared in the game so far.[3]
In A-Type, the level advances for every 10 lines cleared. Each successive level increases the points scored by line clears and changes the colors of the game pieces.[3] All levels from 1 to 10 increase the game speed. After level 10, the game speed only increases on levels 13, 16, 19, and 29, at which point the speed no longer increases. On level 29, pieces fall at 1 grid cell every frame, which is too fast for almost all players, and it is thus called the “kill screen“.[4] The developers of the game never intended anyone to play past the killscreen, as the game does not properly display the level numbers past 29,[5] but with modern speed techniques, a few very skilled players can play past level 29.[6][4]
When starting a game, the player can select a starting level from 0 to 9, but if the A button is held on the controller when selecting a level, 10 additional levels are added, raising the starting options to 0 to 19.[3] When starting on a later level, the level is not supposed to advance until as many lines have been cleared as it would have taken to advance from level 0 to the starting level.[3] Due to a bug, the levels will begin advancing earlier than intended when starting on level 11 or higher.[7]
Reception
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [18] |
| Aktueller Software Markt | 8.2/12[17] |
In its first six months of release by 1990, Nintendo’s NES version of Tetris had sales of 1.5 million copies totaling $52 million (equivalent to $123 million in 2022), surpassing Spectrum HoloByte‘s versions for personal computers at 150,000 copies for $6 million (equivalent to $14.8 million in 2022) in the previous two years since 1988.[19] As of 2004, 8 million copies of the NES version were sold worldwide.[20]
IGN noted that “almost everyone” regarded Nintendo’s Tetris as inferior to Atari’s Tetris, which was pulled from shelves due to licensing issues.[21]
Legacy
Tetris & Dr. Mario (1994) features an enhanced remake of Tetris.[22] Tetris Effect: Connected (2020) includes a game mode that simulates Tetris‘s rules and visuals.[23][24]
Tetris Marquee
