Tetris (Game Boy)

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Description

This version of Tetris is one of many conversions of the famous block-stacking game and was included with the Game Boy upon its release in several territories. The goal is to place pieces made up of four tiles in a ten-by-twenty well, organizing them into complete rows, which then disappear. As rows are cleared, the pace of the game increases, the background changes, and the game ends if the stack reaches the top of the well.

The game is very similar to Nintendo's own NES version of the game, featuring the same "Type A" endless and "Type B" set-clear modes. The game also features a 2-player versus mode that can be played with two Game Boys, two copies of Tetris, and a Game Boy link cable. Clearing lines in this mode will cause the other player's stack to rise, with the goal being to make the other player lose.

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Alternate Titles

• "Tetris: The relentless building block video puzzle." -- Tag-lined title
• "Tetris: L'implacable casse-tête vidéo des blocs a empiler." -- French tag-lined title
• "テトリス" -- Japanese spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Games referenced in movies
• Nintendo Player's Choice releases
• Tetris licensees
• Tetris variants

User Reviews

So ... many ... falling ... blocks ...	Kartanym (12706)
It's fun that lasts.	optrirominiluikus (118)
A classic must-have for the gameboy.	Jim Fun (243)	unrated

Critic Reviews

N-Philes	2002	10 out of 10	100
Electric Playground	Nov 01, 1996	10 out of 10	100
Retro Game Reviews	Mar 24, 2019		100
Nintendo Life	Aug 04, 2009		100
Video Games	Mar, 1991	96 out of 100	96
RPGFan	Apr 01, 2016	95 out of 100	95
Tilt	Sep, 1990	19 out of 20	95
Digital Press - Classic Video Games	May 01, 2005	9 out of 10	90
Retrogaming.it	Feb 19, 2008	9 out of 10	90
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)	Dec, 1989	31 out of 40	78

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

Tetris appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Articles

After playing the Game Boy version of Tetris for a while, Liam Jordan submitted Zen and the Art of Tetris to GameSpot, an article about why "life is like a game of Tetris."

Doctor Spin

The theme to the Game Boy version of Tetris was turned into a EuroDance single, and released by Doctor Spin in the UK which reached #6 in 1992. Doctor Spin was a pseudonym of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Nigel Wright.

References in film

• In The Simpsons, the Strong Arms of the Ma TV episode airing in 2003, the family goes to Rainier Wolfcastle's bankruptcy garage sale and Homer buys too much stuff. Bart says "There's no way all this junk is going to fit in that car". Homer replies "Now, don't worry. This is what all those hours of playing Tetris was for." The music theme from the Game Boy version begins to play and Homer pictures his family as different shaped pieces. He begins to pack the trunk with different items he bought and then twists his kids and Marge rotating them to fit them in seats among other items. He shuts the car door, dusts his hands off and says "Perfect!" Marge replies "But there's no room for you." and Homer says "Doh!".
• In the 2008 film The Wackness a graduate can be briefly seen playing the game during the graduation ceremony at the start of the film.

Awards

• Power Play
  • Issue 01/1991 - Best Game Boy Game in 1990
• Retro Gamer
  • October 2004 (Issue #9) – Best Game Boy Game
  • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #14 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)