Genre: Puzzle
Year: 1989
Developed by: Nintendo R&D 1, Alexey Pajitnov
Published by: Nintendo
Platforms: Game Boy
#129
Feeling Like: From Russia with Fun!
I covered the basics of Tetris in the Tetris DS post, but there’s a very good chance you didn’t need a recap. It’s one of the most perfect video games ever created, a puzzle challenge so ingenious that the mechanics harken to games created thousands of years ago, like Chess or Backgammon. It taps into something primal; we enjoy patterns, shapes and figuring out where things should go. It’s a premise that seems so basic, yet its design is masterful. In the decades since, it wouldn’t be a bold claim to say no puzzle game has surpassed Tetris.
It wasn’t the first game I owned or played, but it was the first one I was obsessed with. My very first video game console I owned, the Game Boy, arrived alongside Kirby’s Dream Land and Tetris. I beat Kirby quickly, but Tetris had staying power; even dad was interested in playing and competing with me to get high scores.
Whereas I feel that most handheld games are held back by their portability and lack of hardware power, for games like Tetris it’s a benefit. You barely need any bells and whistles for something like this and the portability means I can quickly sneak in a game of Tetris before dinner, after dinner, in bed while I’m supposed to be asleep, at church (that led to an immediate Game Boy Church Ban) and any other location that was lit enough. Depending on that location, I’d have to turn the volume all the way down.
I said in the Street Fighter 2 post that there are umpteen spin offs and sequels and few game franchises could even sniff at that many. Ha. A quick glance at a list of Tetris variants shows 85 releases.
85.
That’s not even counting the “unofficial” Tetris types, or copycats or games obviously inspired by Tetris. Because it was easy to program and port, every platform wanted it back in the 80s and 90s. Because the gameplay is timeless, developers today are finding new ways to put window dressing on perfection – Tetris Effect is my latest favorite in this regard. The soundtrack is heavenly, I listen to “Metamorphosis Always Been But Never Dreamed” daily. The original obviously didn’t sound anything like this, but this theme is just as memorable as anything in gaming.
I even liked the Tetris movie. Although there’s quite a bit in there that was fabricated, the core premise of Pajitnov’s story is one of the most compelling in gaming history; under an oppressive government, he wasn’t fairly compensated or recognized for his genius for a very long time. I’m glad his story had a happy ending, as we’re seeing these days Russians who try to decry or change established systems often find themselves in a far worse situation. Pajitnov went on to head the Tetris company, finally receiving royalties from his creation and apparently seems to live a good life in the United States. He also went on to make another 500 entry, Hexic! Not quite as good as Tetris, but dangerously addictive.
I wonder how he feels about seeing indie developers like Eric Barone (Stardew Valley) or Toby Fox’s wild success (Undertale). I am hopeful that he would be happy for them, after all he was intrigued by games because of the way they could bridge a connection between logic and emotion. Still, with the threats against his freedom and the money he missed out on, I don’t know how he’s not a bitter man. He seems to be anything but. What a legend, and what a legendary game.
The 500 