Straight Outta Moscow

Tetris Review (Game Boy)

Genre: Puzzle
Number of Players: 1-2
Developer: Nintendo R&D1
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: June 14, 1989 (JP), July 31, 1989 (US), September 28, 1990 (EU)
Platform: Game Boy
Also Available On: NES, Game Boy Color (Tetris DX), Nintendo Switch Online

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The Game Boy was the perfect present—something my brother would experience when he graduated from middle school. It was the summer of 1990. There were the usual activities one would associate with a graduation party, most notably the opening of presents. After the festivities were over, presents unwrapped, and our home emptied of guests, my parents noticed that my brother had a disappointed look on his face, as if there was something specific he was hoping to receive.

But wait! Mom and Dad come downstairs with a small gift-wrapped box they saved for last. I remember him opening it and exclaiming, “It’s a Game Boy”! Since Tetris came packaged with it, we wasted no time playing the Russian-born puzzle game. Seeing the Nintendo logo come down the center of the screen, followed by that familiar “bling” chime, was a fresh experience that felt like we were holding the future. It was the perfect game for the perfect present.

Even if you’re not into Tetris games, chances are you know of its origin. Perhaps you even saw the entertaining biopic on Apple TV+ detailing how game designer Henk Rogers brokered a deal to secure the rights for Nintendo to publish Tetris for their shiny new Game Boy handheld. Embellishments aside, Henk’s victory was no easy feat in the game of legal cat and mouse, which was arguably as intriguing as the block puzzle game he was fighting to secure.

If by chance you’ve never played or seen a Tetris game in action, here’s the basic concept: seven varieties of block formations called tetrominoes descend from the top of the playing field, one at a time. The goal is to keep the blocks from piling up to the ceiling. To do this, you can move the blocks left or right and rotate them as they fall. If you fill in one horizontal line, that line will disappear, and you’ll score points. As you get better at the game, you can clear up to four lines simultaneously. Should the blocks pile up past the ceiling threshold, it’s game over, man.

Tetris has two game modes, A-Type and B-Type. The A-Type mode is the most familiar version of the game, with its endless marathon mode. The goal is to manage your blocks for as long as possible while achieving the highest score. Each time you clear 10 lines, you’ll advance to the next level, which speeds up the game the further you go. If you start at level zero, the increase in speed is nearly imperceptible initially. Once you reach level nine, the pace quickly morphs into a frantic barrage of blocks.

B-Type is similar to the previous mode, except it isn't a marathon game. The goal here is to clear 25 lines. As with the first mode, you can still choose between levels zero and nine, but you can also throw in an extra challenge by setting a pre-existing height of blocks. The challenge is that they’re positioned so you cannot clear the entire group with just one perfect fit. Instead, you must break them down one line clear at a time.

When it all comes together, these simple gameplay mechanics are perfect for both novice and expert players. The game's rules are basic enough to be approachable by anyone, but become increasingly difficult to master. The beauty of Tetris lies mainly in the fact that, despite its age, it's still just as enjoyable as it was almost 36 years ago. Part of its appeal was that, unlike many games at the time, it wasn’t about memorizing a specific pattern to the point where the game becomes easier.

Since the blocks are distributed at random (at least in earlier versions like this one), no one play session is identical to another. Part of the fun was seeing how high I could build my stack before getting as many consecutive line clears as possible. There's a big risk/reward system in doing that because, while you can score some serious points and possibly lower the stack down to the very bottom, it only works assuming you get the pieces you need.

You could be just one block away from success or disaster when you desperately need that straight tetromino to clear four lines. But the Tetris gods frown upon thee, and a square tetromino falls instead, forcing you to deal with the cascade of problems it has now created for the rest of your meticulously stacked plans. At this point, I'd even settle for a T block (my personal favorite) since I can usually squeeze a line or two from it and buy myself some time to course correct. It's that dynamic strategizing I enjoy about Tetris. Essentially, you’re constantly problem-solving in an evolving situation. It’s a game about improvising and making lemonade out of lemons.

One thing that places the Game Boy version above the NES port of Tetris is the inclusion of a two-player mode. Using a link cable, two players can connect their Game Boy for competitive head-to-head play. The goal is the same as in the single-player mode, with an interesting twist (for its time). As one player clears multiple lines, it creates “garbage” blocks from the bottom of the screen for the other player, forcing their stack upward. It's a dynamic that has since been used in just about every future iteration of Tetris, handheld or otherwise.

It’s no secret that the original Game Boy's graphical capabilities weren’t super impressive. Besides the lack of a backlit screen, the monochrome screen only displayed colors in several hues of green. Despite the hardware limitations, the game uses the screen real estate to provide a clean visual presentation. Since the tetrominoes are based on recognizable shapes, it frees up the player to concentrate on strategizing without worrying about distinguishing each block from the other.

When I first heard the music in Tetris, I noticed that the tunes weren’t of the more jaunty variety I was accustomed to with Super Mario Bros. and other games like it. Instead, the music seemed so...serious. Little did I know then that most of the game’s music was either derived from or heavily inspired by songs originating in Russia and other European countries, hence the decidedly European motif.

Famed Nintendo composer Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka composed the soundtrack for Tetris. You can choose between three musical selections or silence if you prefer. Music A is a remake of "Korobeiniki"—a poem by Nikolay Nekrasov, fragments of which later evolved into a popular Russian folk song.

Music C is a loop from Johann Bach’s "French Suite No. 3 in B Minor". Interestingly, Music B is not based on a pre-existing orchestral arrangement, but still has that Russian motif. The audio presentation is delightful and complements the gameplay elements quite well.

Tetris on the Game Boy captures the basics of pocket-sized puzzle gaming. It's easy to learn but challenging to master, and can be played anytime, anywhere. This, along with the European orchestral music and simple visuals, combine to make one of the most enduring puzzle game concepts.

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