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| Source // Nintendo |
How can you tweak a classic like Tetris? Different shaped blocks? A landscape-oriented grid to fill? Special abilities and power-ups? These are just a few ideas off the top of my head, and all of them cause a little shudder because they all seem a bit naff when compared to the pure Tetris experience.
And yet developers have still tried to make some Tetris-y spin-offs work, and may well have succeeded in Tetris Party, a collection of different Tetris-based modes for a gathering of Tetris fans.
Are any of the games in here good enough to replace the O.G. itself, or is this just a neat little compilation of something to do with your mates?
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| Source // Nintendo |
Frustrations
Sadly, I'm having an absolute nightmare trying to get Tetris Party to even work for me on this computer, which is clearly Nintendo's way of telling me I shouldn't be emulating. Sorry.
Tetris Party is a colourful game where your Mii's face off against each other across multiple different modes, from your basic Tetris all the way up to some much more unusual affairs.
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| Source // Nintendo |
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| Source // Nintendo |
While many games are competitive, some are co-operative, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to try co-op Tetris. That sounds like quite the adventure between two folks, probably leading to as much celebration as frustration, and a lot of questioning over each other's strategy.
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| Source // Nintendo |
Some modes come out of left field completely, like this one where you build a platform for a tiny little man to climb up and reach the goal line. Does he fall off? Can you squash him? What happens if you build it wrong, can you play Tetris to delete bits of it, or is that game over?
Once again, it's something I'd want to try. Not as much as co-op, but I still want to see if it was a game that actually felt fun.
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| Source // Nintendo |
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| Source // Nintendo |
Finally, for the mad amongst you, there's a mode where you can use the Nintendo Wii's balance board to move and rotate the pieces into place. What a stupid idea. I want to try it.
Final Word
Tetris Party would see a release on the Nintendo DS as well as the Nintendo Wii, ensuring that there was a Tetris-themed collection of games on the go, and I suppose it may at this point be the best chance I've got at actually playing these games.
I suspect, though, that whatever version of this game I finally find in the wild or get working via emulation is going to result in words to the effect of "Was that it?"
I can't say for sure, of course, but my hunch is that for all the entertainment Tetris Party offers, most people would likely go straight back to the original ruleset and just get in the zone. That's why Tetris games of today are just pure Tetris experiences. That's what we want from a game of Tetris, that feeling of focusing on the screen and nothing else, and realising that an hour has whizzed by.
We might think we want to make a tower or colour in a picture, but not for long. Not for the same amount of time as we want to just play Tetris.
I really do hope to be able to play co-op Tetris somehow, though. I'll have to keep an eye out for this one.
Fun Facts
Uhhmmm... This game features Tetronimoes...?
Tetris Party, developed by Hudson Soft, Blue Planet Software, first released in 2008.