Tetris Attack
Encyclopedia
Tetris Attack is a puzzle
video game developed by Intelligent Systems
and published by Nintendo
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
home video game console
and Game Boy
handheld game console
. It is part of the Puzzle League series
and is a direct port of the Japan
ese game Panel de Pon
, rebranded to use characters and settings from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
. A Japanese version of this rebranded title, , was released in Japan for the Satellaview
satellite modem
service.
Despite using the Tetris
name, this game bears almost no resemblance to its Russian namesake. This has led Henk Rogers of The Tetris Company to remark that he regrets granting permission to Nintendo to use the name.
's friends. Playing as Yoshi, the player must defeat each of his friends in order to remove the curse. Once all friends have been freed, the game proceeds to a series of Bowser's minions, and then to Bowser himself. During these final matches, the player can select Yoshi or any of his friends to play out the stage.
Clearing more than three tiles in a single move scores a Combo, while Chains are scored when falling blocks from one clear cause another clear to occur. Both of these events score extra bonus points, and in multiplayer Versus games, these also send "garbage blocks" to the other player's playfield.
Tetris Attack provides several single-player modes. Story Mode takes the player through the game's main plot, pitting the player against a series of foes in a head-to-head match. The objective is to cause the computer-controlled player to lose. In Endless Mode, the player is challenged to play as long as possible with a continuously rising stack of blocks, which increases in speed over time. Timed Mode challenges the player to score as many points as possible within a two-minute time limit, and Stage Clear mode takes the player through a series of stages in which the objective is to clear blocks below a set line. A Puzzle Mode is also provided, which presents the player with a number of puzzles where he or she must clear all of the blocks in a set number of moves (Blocks do not rise in this mode).
In addition to the game's single-player modes, Tetris Attack also provides several multiplayer modes that are essentially two-player variants of the single-player modes. One or both human players may be substituted with a computer-controlled player with a selectable difficulty level.
, all of the in-game music in Tetris Attack remains unchanged from Panel de Pon. The Tetris Attack title theme is an arrangement of the title theme for Yoshi's Island, and Yoshi's theme and the Game Over screen are both arrangements of the Story Music Box theme from the same game. The original Panel de Pon tracks that were replaced are still present in the ROM code, and are accessible within the game's music test mode in the options screen, but were unused in the game itself.
The original Panel de Pon soundtrack was scored by Masaya Kuzume. The music tracks from Yoshi's Island were arranged by Fire Emblem
composer Yuka Tsujiyoko
. The demo theme is "Lip's Theme", which would later be remixed for Super Smash Bros. Brawl
.
Tetris Attack uses punctuation marks in passwords, but Panel de Pon does not. Unlike Tetris Attack, Panel de Pon does not offer the opportunity to enter passwords in single-player versus mode.
Additionally, Tetris Attack introduces a cheat code to the single-player versus menu that allows the player to unlock the game's bosses as playable characters. Also, the AI
characters in Tetris Attack are more advanced at the higher difficulties than in Panel de Pon.
listed it 87th on their list of "The 100 best games of all time", stating "you haven’t lived until you’ve played TA two-player and dropped an immensely satisfying five line garbage block on your opponent."
Computer puzzle game
Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion....
video game developed by Intelligent Systems
Intelligent Systems
is a Japanese first-party video game developer and internal team of Nintendo Co., Ltd. It has its headquarters in the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture....
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
home video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
and Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
handheld game console
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
. It is part of the Puzzle League series
Puzzle League (series)
Puzzle League is a series of video games published by Nintendo for its various video game consoles. The series began with Panel de Pon in Japan and Tetris Attack in North America, and has since been adapted to many other consoles...
and is a direct port of the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese game Panel de Pon
Panel de Pon
, also known as Panel de Pon: Action Puzzle Game, is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom home video game console. It was released on October 27, 1995 in Japan, and was later ported to the North American and European markets as Tetris...
, rebranded to use characters and settings from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, originally released as in Japan, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the SNES console. Despite its title, this game serves as a prequel to all other games within the established Mario Bros timeline...
. A Japanese version of this rebranded title, , was released in Japan for the Satellaview
Satellaview
The is a satellite modem add-on for Nintendo's Super Famicom system that was released in Japan in 1995. Available for pre-release orders as early as February 13, 1995, the Satellaview retailed for between ¥14,000 and 18,000 and came bundled with the BS-X Game Pak and an 8M Memory Pak.The...
satellite modem
Satellite modem
A satellite modem or sat modem is a modem used to establish data transfers using a communications satellite as a relay.There is a wide range of satellite modems from cheap devices for home internet access to expensive multifunctional equipment for enterprise use.A "modem" stands for...
service.
Despite using the Tetris
Tetris
Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...
name, this game bears almost no resemblance to its Russian namesake. This has led Henk Rogers of The Tetris Company to remark that he regrets granting permission to Nintendo to use the name.
Story
The game's single-player story mode takes place in the world of Yoshi's Island, where Bowser and his minions have cursed all of YoshiYoshi
, is a fictional dragon-like character who appears in video games published by Nintendo. His debut was in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick , and he later established his own series with several platform and puzzle games, including Super...
's friends. Playing as Yoshi, the player must defeat each of his friends in order to remove the curse. Once all friends have been freed, the game proceeds to a series of Bowser's minions, and then to Bowser himself. During these final matches, the player can select Yoshi or any of his friends to play out the stage.
Gameplay
In Tetris Attack, the player is presented with a playfield consisting of a virtual grid of squares, each of which can be occupied by a colored block. Blocks are stacked on top of one another and rise steadily toward the top of the playfield, with new blocks being added at the bottom. The player must arrange blocks in horizontal or vertical lines of three or more matching colors by swapping blocks horizontally two at a time. As matching lines are formed, the blocks are cleared from the screen and any blocks above them fall into the gaps. The game is over when the blocks touch the top of the playfield, or another game-ending condition is met (such as reaching a time limit or clearing blocks below a set line).Clearing more than three tiles in a single move scores a Combo, while Chains are scored when falling blocks from one clear cause another clear to occur. Both of these events score extra bonus points, and in multiplayer Versus games, these also send "garbage blocks" to the other player's playfield.
Tetris Attack provides several single-player modes. Story Mode takes the player through the game's main plot, pitting the player against a series of foes in a head-to-head match. The objective is to cause the computer-controlled player to lose. In Endless Mode, the player is challenged to play as long as possible with a continuously rising stack of blocks, which increases in speed over time. Timed Mode challenges the player to score as many points as possible within a two-minute time limit, and Stage Clear mode takes the player through a series of stages in which the objective is to clear blocks below a set line. A Puzzle Mode is also provided, which presents the player with a number of puzzles where he or she must clear all of the blocks in a set number of moves (Blocks do not rise in this mode).
In addition to the game's single-player modes, Tetris Attack also provides several multiplayer modes that are essentially two-player variants of the single-player modes. One or both human players may be substituted with a computer-controlled player with a selectable difficulty level.
Differences from Panel de Pon
Aside from several new tracks based on Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's IslandSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, originally released as in Japan, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the SNES console. Despite its title, this game serves as a prequel to all other games within the established Mario Bros timeline...
, all of the in-game music in Tetris Attack remains unchanged from Panel de Pon. The Tetris Attack title theme is an arrangement of the title theme for Yoshi's Island, and Yoshi's theme and the Game Over screen are both arrangements of the Story Music Box theme from the same game. The original Panel de Pon tracks that were replaced are still present in the ROM code, and are accessible within the game's music test mode in the options screen, but were unused in the game itself.
The original Panel de Pon soundtrack was scored by Masaya Kuzume. The music tracks from Yoshi's Island were arranged by Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem
is a fantasy tactical role-playing video game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems , the maker of Advance Wars , and published by Nintendo...
composer Yuka Tsujiyoko
Yuka Tsujiyoko
Yuka Tsujiyoko is a Japanese video game music composer for Nintendo. She is the music composer for the Fire Emblem video game franchise, which was not released outside Japan until 2003, and several other Intelligent Systems developed games. She also scored the Super Scope games Battle Clash and...
. The demo theme is "Lip's Theme", which would later be remixed for Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
.
Tetris Attack uses punctuation marks in passwords, but Panel de Pon does not. Unlike Tetris Attack, Panel de Pon does not offer the opportunity to enter passwords in single-player versus mode.
Additionally, Tetris Attack introduces a cheat code to the single-player versus menu that allows the player to unlock the game's bosses as playable characters. Also, the AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
characters in Tetris Attack are more advanced at the higher difficulties than in Panel de Pon.
Reception
Tetris Attack was met with very positive reviews, earning a 90% average rating on Gamerankings. GamesRadarGamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
listed it 87th on their list of "The 100 best games of all time", stating "you haven’t lived until you’ve played TA two-player and dropped an immensely satisfying five line garbage block on your opponent."