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-= guide to the original game boy game =-
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| FAQ/Strategy Guide || Version 1.11 || November 25, 2002 |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| by Michael Gonzalez (Coffee) |
| http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
Contents:
1) Basic Information
- Mini-review
- Overview
- Mode B
2) Scoring
3) Characters
4) Tips
5) Secrets & Cheats
6) Frequently Asked Questions
7) Credits & Info
Version 1.11 (11/25/2002):
- Formatting changes
- Updated website URL
Version 1.1 (03/12/2001):
- Spellchecked everything
Version 1.0 (08/03/2000):
- First released version
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 1) BASIC INFORMATION |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
= = = MINI-REVIEW = = =
Tetris. If there was ever such thing as a perfect game, this would be
it. It takes a minute to learn, and a lifetime to master. So simple
that your parents can play it. The controls are simple and responsive.
It's extremely addicting and it has unlimited replay value. And to
make things even better-- it's portable!
= = = OVERVIEW = = =
It's an exciting puzzle game. Throughout the game, Tetris pieces fall
from the top to the bottom of the playing area. You can rotate the
pieces and control where they fall. When these Tetris pieces form a
solid row of blocks across the playing area, that row vanishes and you
score a "line".
Because this is the only way to remove blocks, you should try to form
solid rows whenever possible. The game ends when the pieces stack up to
the top of the playing area.
For every 10 lines you make, your level goes up by 1 and the pieces fall
a little bit faster-- thereby increasing the challenge. At level 0 the
pieces fall at a snail's pace. At level 5 your whole mind is devoted to
the game. At level 10 your blood pressure increases. At level 15 you'll
get sweaty palms. At level 20, if you ever reach it, you will most
likely die of a heart attack. Yep, it's that exciting.
Use the left and right buttons on the D-pad to move the piece. Press the
A or B buttons to rotate the piece clockwise or counter-clockwise. If
you want, you can press the down button to drop the piece quickly.
= = = MODE B = = =
Aside from the regular game, there is also a "Mode B". All the rules
apply from the regular game, except your goal is different. You need to
score 25 lines to beat it. There is also a "High" that you must pick. If
the high is 5, the screen will be filled almost to the top with random
blocks. If the high is 0, the screen will have no random blocks at all.
When you beat it on level 9, you get a cute cinema of some musicians and
dancing ladies.
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 2) SCORING |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
Although the main way of measuring your skill is by the line count,
there is also a "proper" score. You get points when you drop a piece
(with the down button) and when you score a line.
You get a higher score depending on how high the piece is when you drop
it (when you press the down button). If a piece is only 1 "block" away
from the ground when you drop it, you will only get 1 point. If it is
15 blocks away, you will get 15 points.
The number of points you get for making a line depends on how many lines
you make at a time, and on your level. Making lines at a higher level
will get you more points than if you made that line at a lower level.
This also applies for Mode B. Take a look at this chart:
.-------------------------------------------------------------------.
| | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----|
|Single | 40| 80| 120| 160| 200| 240| 280| 320| 360| 400|
|-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----|
|Double | 100| 200| 300| 400| 500| 600| 700| 800| 900| 1000|
|-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----|
|Triple | 300| 600| 900| 1200| 1500| 1800| 2100| 2400| 2700| 3000|
|-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----|
|Tetris | 1200| 2400| 3600| 4800| 6000| 7200| 8400| 9600|10800|12000|
'-------------------------------------------------------------------'
Obviously, you should start at a higher level if you're aiming to get a
high score. If you have more than 100,000 points when the game ends, you
get a small rocket. You'll get a space shuttle if you end the game with
over 200,000 points.
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 3) CHARACTERS |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
_
_ _|_| - This piece, commonly known as the "L piece", does not
|_|_|_| appear very often. He is useful for filling up 2-block
deep holes but can really mess things up when you have a
bumpy surface
_
|_|_ _ - This piece is referred to as the "reverse L", and is often
|_|_|_| confused with his twin brother, the L piece. He is also
quite shy and he has the same uses as his brother. He
likes classical music and enjoys long walks on the beach.
_ _
_|_|_| - Sometimes called the "S piece", this piece is very common.
|_|_| He can usually fit in easily whenever you have a bumpy
surface area, but he feels awkward on a flat surface. He
longs for a sense of individuality.
_ _
|_|_|_ - This piece, the "Z piece", has all the qualities of his
|_|_| brother, the S piece. However, he is much more rare
although people usually don't realize it.
_
_|_|_ - This piece, called the "T piece", appears quite often like
|_|_|_| the S piece. Luckily so, because he is versatile and can
fit into almost any situation, bumpy or flat. Some people
consider him to be a hybrid of the S and Z pieces.
_ _
|_|_| - This big fat guy is known as the "Square" or the "Block".
|_|_| He needs a flat surface at least 2-blocks wide to fit
comfortably. Unfortunately, he appears quite often.
_ _ _ _
|_|_|_|_| - The elusive "Long piece" is very tricky. He is the only
block who can fill up canyons more than 2 blocks deep, but
he never seems to appear when you need him. He can fit in
almost any scenario when he is in his vertical position.
= = = THE APPEARANCE RATE OF PIECES = = =
I played a quick game and noted down how many times the pieces appeared.
Surprisingly, the Long Piece was NOT the most rare one. I noted down 100
pieces, and these were the results:
L piece.......11%
Reverse L.....11%
S piece.......19%
Z piece.......10%
T piece.......19%
Square........18%
Long piece....12%
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 4) TIPS |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
- In the bottom right corner of the screeen there's a box with a piece in
it. That piece is the one that's going to come next. You should try to
take note of it and think of where it's going to go. Advanced players
(like me) usually do this without even realizing it. It's especially
helpful in the later levels when you don't have much time to think.
- As much as possible, try not to make "ccanyons" more than 2 blocks
deep. Holes like that require the long piece to fill it up, and you know
that the long piece doesn't come often. In fact, if you can help it, try
not to make 2 block deep holes either since you'll need an L piece to
fill it up.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
|L|L|L| |L|L| <- you'll need a you'll need an -> |L|L| |L|L|L|
|L|L|L| |L|L| long piece to L piece or the |L|L|_|L|L|L|
|L|L|L|_|L|L| fill that gap long piece for |L|L|L|L|L|L|
|L|L|L|L|L|L| this one |L|L|L|L|L|L|
|L|L|L|L|L|L| |L|L|L|L|L|L|
- If you do have a canyon more than 2 bloocks deep and you're desperate
to get rid of it, put an L piece inside... or even an S or Z piece will
do. It better than waiting for a long piece that may never come.
- It's okay to try making a Tetris at thee lower levels, but stop after
level 6 or 7, just to stay safe. After that you should keep as low as
possible to the bottom of the screen.
- Start at a higher level if you want to get more points. See the
scoring section for details.
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 5) SECRETS & CHEATS |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
HARDER GAME
- At the title screen, hold down and presss the start button. Now start
the game normally. There will be a little heart beside your level and
the pieces will fall much much faster.
NO PREVIEW
- During the game, press start and press select while the game is
paused. The preview that is normally in the bottom right corner is gone!
Do that process again to bring it back.
RUSSIAN DANCERS
- Try playing Mode B on level 9 (any "higgh" you like). If you manage to
get all 25 lines, you'll get a special ending with some Russian
musicians and dancers. At high 1 you'll get only 1 guy playing the
violin. At high 5 you'll get a whole Russian circus of instrument
playing guys and dancing girls.
THE ROCKET/SPACE SHUTTLE
- If you finish the normal game with moree than 100,000 points, you'll
get an ending where you get to see a rocket take off. If you end the
game with more than 200,000 points, it will be a space shuttle. For tips
on getting points, see the scoring section. You'll also get this ending
if you beat Mode B on level 9, high 5.
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 6) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
Here's where I'll put the answers to all the questions that can't be
answered in the other sections. Got a question? Ask it! The address is
mike@yeayea.com.
Q: What's your high score?
A: I'm not sure about the score, but the highest number of lines I
got was 204. I can only reach that high with the European version of
the game. With the US version I can only get up to 160 lines. I have
both versions of the game (don't ask why).
Q: What other versions of Tetris are there?
A: Tetris 2 (GB), Tetris Attack (GB), Tetris Blast (GB), Tetris Plus
(GB), Tetris DX (GB), Tetrisphere (N64), Mickey's Tetris Challenge
(N64), The New Tetris (N64), The Next Tetris (PSX), Tetris 4D (DC),
Tetris by Nintendo (NES), Tetris by Tengen (NES), Tetris Attack
(SNES), and countless others...
Q: Does the Long Piece really appear less than the others?
A: Yes, but it's actually not the most rare of the pieces. As you can
see from my study (found in the character section), the most rare
piece is the Z piece, and the most common one is the S piece.
Q: Who created Tetris?
A: Tetris was the concept of a single man: Alexy Pajitnov. After
creating Tetris, he want on to design a whole bunch of other puzzle
games including Yoshi's Cookie (NES;SNES;GB) and Wild Snake (SNES).
,----------------------------------------------------------------------.
| 7) CREDITS & INFO |
'----------------------------------------------------------------------'
Special thanks to...
- Gamefaqs.com for posting all my FAQ's. This is my 10th so far.
NOTE TO WEBMASTERS:
You may freely place this document on non-profit websites without
explicit permission from the author as long as (1) it is not modified at
all and (2) I recieve full credit. Take note that any future
updates will be sent only to gamefaqs.com.
REGARDING FEEDBACK:
Before coming to me with questions, please make sure that it's not
already answered in this guide. And make sure you're looking at the most
recent version of the guide (always available at www.gamefaqs.com). All
feedback goes to mike@yeayea.com.
For news about the progress of my FAQs, and announcements of future
projects, visit my site at http://www.geocities.com/coffeefaqs.
Copyright (c) Michael Gonzalez 2000-2002
