Nintendo
Tetris
| Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Overall: |
8.66 8.80 9.00 8.91 |
| Votes: | 70 |
| Reviews: | 3 |
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| Reviewer: Tricob | Date: Jan 8, 2009 |
| For those who don't know, Tetris is a well-known puzzle game where you maneuver different shapes of falling blocks, and try to fill in complete lines with them. The pieces can be rotated clockwise and counter-clockwise, and you can start the game from different skill levels. The game ends when there's no room at the top for more pieces to appear.
Graphics: 2 The title screen alone is a fair indicator of what sort of graphics you should expect - Color is minimal, animation is non-existent, and some graphics even appear to be half-finished. Check the borders of the High Scores chart and Level Select screens if you don't believe me. Also missing is the landscape in the background when you play the game. In the home computer versions, each level had its own unique, detailed, colorful background. The licensed Nintendo version has no backgrounds of the sort, and has nothing interesting to take its place. Sound: 4 Another reviewer said the same thing I will - The sound effects are really nothing to write home about. The Nintendo's PCM capability is tragically ignored, and this is definitely one game where that kind of sound would benefit the game. What offsets this problem a little is the music ... most of it is actually very good. But nowadays, you can download the music from an NSF site instead. Gameplay: 4 Most of the controls are quite responsive. But all the graphics are so lacking in detail and color, it becomes dry for the player much sooner than it should be. And aside from speed increases, the game has nothing new to offer when you go from one level to the next - No new sounds, no new graphics, and no gameplay variation. I'll now compare it to Tetris releases for the home computers. Next to the home computer versions, is the gameplay itself there in Nintendo's Tetris? Yes. Is the strategy there? Yes. Is the replay value there? No, not really. Overall: 3 For a Nintendo port, this game is awfully disappointing. Nintendo blamed the port's poor quality on the console's limitations, but then they released their superior Gameboy Pocket Tetris a year later. What happened here, anyway? My guess is that Nintendo hired the cheapest NES programmer available, gave them the Tetris project, and said, "You've got thirty days to do this." The over-rushed production seems to back up my theory - There's the poorly-detailed title screen with no animation, the incomplete borders for the High Score chart, Level Select, and Height windows, and the total lack of polish in any part of the game. It comes across as a prototype rather than a legitimate release, and it shocked me that it got Nintendo's Quality Seal. Whoever made this port had known little about programming the Nintendo, and had very little time to learn. In 1982, this Nintendo port could have passed off as average. In its 1989 release date, it comes across as poorly designed, lackluster, and even outdated. It falls far short of the quality that Nintendo has been recognized for in years past. If you *must* play Tetris on an NES, try out the Tengen Tetris release (or Tetris 2 if you have "Power Games"). Otherwise, pull out your Gameboy and plug in Tetris or Tetris DX - you'll be much better off. |
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| Reviewer: Mega Man 5 | Date: Aug 8, 2006 |
| This is one of three versions of Tetris released for the NES, and this one (in my opinion) is the best.
Graphics: 7 Tetris was never about the graphics, but there are some good touches. The graphics here are better than the Tengen version, with more colors and bigger, more Tetris-like shapes. The colors for each block change after clearing 10 lines, something not seen in other old versions of Tetris. Sound: 10 There are 3 music tracks to choose from, and you also have the option to play without music. Though nowhere near as popular as the famous Mario theme song, the music tracks in Tetris are classics and very memorable. The second and third music tracks (B and C) are about 40 seconds long, before repeating, while the first (and, possibly, more well-known and popular) is more than a minute long. Not bad for an early NES game. My favorite is Music C. Gameplay: 10 This, without a doubt, is where Tetris shines. Though there's no 2-player mode, 1-player is still great. Like all Tetris games, blocks in various shapes fall. Using the A and B buttons, you can rotate each block before placing them. You need to make a perfect fit to make a line. Once you do, the line is cleared. You can clear up to 4 lines at once for big bonus points. This version of Tetris also has a few enhancements over the Tengen version. A statistics list shows how many of each block has appeared while playing, the blocks won't change to grey and white after they've been placed, and the colors of the blocks change after every 10 lines cleared. There's also a new mode not present in the Tengen version: "Game-Type A". In this mode, you clear a certain number of lines. Not only do you still try to get the highest score by clearing lines, clearing a certain amount if lines unlocks a few cutscenes, including a cutscene with various Nintendo characters (Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Bowser, Samus, etc.). The gameplay is truly addicting. Overall: 9 A must for any Tetris fan. 10 difficulty settings, classic Tetris gameplay and nice touches not present in the Tengen version makes this game worth adding to your collection. Plus, it's also cheaper and easier to find than the other versions to boot. Have fun. |
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| Reviewer: Venom | Date: Oct 7, 2001 |
| Tetris: the game that spawned a thousand puzzle games. Too bad the version in question here is a ripoff. This version is nothing compared to the real Tengen version. no two player. No coop. Hell, you can't even go one on one with the CPU here. The graphics just plain suck, the sounds are nothing to write home about, but, nintendo got one thing right...the gameplay. They hit the nail on the head. The two versions play exactly the same, except the nintendo version gets harder, faster. I can't respect this game at all. It's a knock off, and not even a good one. That's why it got the big 6. Pass on this and get tengen, it'll cost a lot more, but it's more than worth it. | |