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Tetris Triumph - Nintendo Vs. Tengen

The Great Debates #7

By Adam WallacePublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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Hi, and welcome back to The Great Debates where I settle pop culture's biggest scores, and we're playing with blocks today.

First created by Russian computer pro Alexey Pajitnov in 1984, Tetris is a game that just about everyone knows how to play. It is a game that has never gone away. It's shown up just about everywhere that has a display screen. It even found its way to the CD-i, The Virtual Boy, and even the Nuon! Hell, there are even Tetris playable keychains and programs to play it on TI graphing calculators! Counting unofficial homebrews, it'd probably be faster to list the consoles that DON'T have it!

(This article has an accompanying video! Check out my channel "Cool Media" on YouTube!)

However, for the vast majority of old-school gamers, the true home of Tetris is the good old Nintendo Entertainment System. People have fond memories of playing this version of the game. It was part of the first Nintendo World Championships, and it's the version still used in tournaments to this day. Now THAT is some staying power! However, it wasn't the only version of the game on the NES. A few months prior, the Atari subsidiary Tengen released their own version of the game on the NES unofficially after cracking the system's lock-out chip. This was illegal in two ways. First, Atari had the rights to make Tetris games but only for the arcades, not for home consoles. Second, Atari broke copyright law to get access to the specs for Nintendo's lock-out chip, resulting in a legal battle between the two companies that wouldn't end until 1994. But that's the most I'll say about that. The question I'm here to answer is just about the end products. Which is the better version of Tetris on the NES, the first-party stalwart or Tengen's renegade.

I didn't work on this piece alone. My significant other Ally is much better at Tetris than I am; so, we collaborated here. Now, if there's one thing that really counts in Tengen's favor, it would be the number of gameplay options. Along with the basic marathon mode, there are two player cooperative and competitive modes as well as variants against the computer. There are even handicaps which can be set for those modes. The AI in the two-player modes is rather dense, especially in the co-op, but I've seen worse. The Tengen version also fully embraced the game's Russian heritage. There are four tracks from famous Russian composers done in 8-bit, and they all still sound great. Whenever a level is cleared, there's a nice little interlude of Russian dancers which are very well-animated for the time. There are even some nice animated fireworks over the Russian chapels on the title screen. However, the visuals during gameplay are very plain. They're not bad at all; they just don't stick out. While the blocks are colorful on the way down, once they land, they change to a single solid color that varies depending on what level you're at. Each time lines are cleared, the line or lines are simply wiped with text identifying singles, doubles, triples, and Tetrises. I've gotten used to games having fanfare when Tetrises are scored, and the lack of such in the Tengen version is disappointing. The game also plays a bit slower than Ally was accustomed to; the version of the game she played the most was Tetris DX on the Game Boy Color. It takes longer for the speed to ramp up in the game. Also, while I liked them, Ally felt that the interludes between levels broke the flow of the game too much.

By contrast, the official Nintendo version is a more stripped down experience. There's no multiplayer at all and only two modes. There's the basic marathon and a score attack mode to see how many points can be scored before reaching a certain number of cleared lines. To be fair, there are plenty of difficulty settings for those two modes, especially B-Mode. The references to Russia are limited to three musical tracks (one of which is an 8-bit rendition of Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" from The Nutcracker Suite), a score screen at the end of B-Mode, and the game box. However, there is more flair during the actual gameplay. While the Tengen version is almost a solid wall of black, the Nintendo version has a cool background of pieces that help draw your eyes to the gameplay field. Each difficulty level has a hue that all the pieces match, even the ones that are still falling. Line clears are accompanied with a cool whoosh sound effect, and there is even some fanfare whenever a Tetris is scored. There's no pause when a level is cleared. The color changes, and the game keeps going. It also plays noticeably faster. Pieces shift side-to-side at a quicker pace, and the game speeds up sooner. Being a pro, Ally kept up with this version quite well. From a gameplay standpoint, it was almost the same as the Game Boy Color version she had been playing.

Well, now it's time to decide, and, in this case, it makes sense to factor both Ally's thoughts and my own. Of the two versions on the NES, Ally preferred the Nintendo version. The gameplay experience felt more comfortable to her with the quicker pace and tighter movement. She largely didn't care about the lack of extras. I, however, preferred the Tengen version. I'm a sucker for bonuses, and the slower pace of that version worked better for me as a more novice player. Even though we each had our preference, neither of us thought the other version was bad in any way.

The winner of this debate is...

BOTH OF THEM!

So, this is a first for The Great Debates. It is a split decision! Both versions of Tetris on the NES are still great games and possibly the best versions of Tetris you can load up. There are plenty of versions on later consoles that have their own quirks, and most of them are still enjoyable. However, the two on NES are still the tightest and purest experiences you can find. While the Nintendo version is rather easy to get, the Tengen version is much tougher. After a lawsuit, the unsold copies of the Tengen version had to be recalled. Tracking down a copy will cost a pretty penny. I was lucky enough to get my copy for $55 (without the manual or original box).

What do you think? Upset about the draw? Let me know, and take care!

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About the Creator

Adam Wallace

I put up pieces here when I can, mainly about games and movies. I'm also writing movies, writing a children's book & hosting the gaming channel "Cool Media" on YouTube! Enjoy & find me on Twitter!

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