Anything pre-N64 qualifies, I guess. I only ask because after playing lots, and lots, and lots of Ti, I started to play Tetris DX for Game Boy Color again. And I still enjoy it quite a bit. I remember playing the 40 lines mode a LOT as a kid. Sadly, I never did any multiplayer. It was the first Tetris game I played seriously. It's also one of the few older Tetris games I can still play without getting frustrated. The lock upon landing on the official NES and original game boy Tetris are too hard for me to get used to now. Playing Tetris DX just feels totally natural. Probably because it was the first game I had a chance to get a feel for. It's also pretty cool that it keeps track of what percentage of your line clears were singles, doubles, triples, and Tetrises. The first Tetris game I ever played was one for the computer, but I was too young to understand how to play, and no one took the time to teach me. My next favorite old school Tetris game is Super Tetris 3. I like it because it's got a pretty solid multiplayer mode. No weird items or anything. Also it's one of the only Tetris games I've ever seen (if not THE only one I've ever seen) where there's an animation for the pieces rotating. It's a pretty satisfying to watch the blocks rotate and to hear the game shout out Tetris! Single! Double! I suppose this topic was also inspired a little by this one I found: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1105&st=0&sk=t&sd=a It was cool to read everyone's stories of how they got into Tetris. Please post about your favorite old versions of Tetris, and why you like them. Also, quick question about the non-Tengen NES Tetris to finish this off. Are there any "tricks" to it? For instance, in Tetris DX you can rotate a piece upwards, and in Tetris for Game Boy moving quickly horizontally seems to slow the vertical speed down. I'd love to learn to play NES Tetris at high speeds. I can play the game boy one, but NES gets a little ridiculous.
Let's see. I don't know what my favorite old school Tetris would be. The only Tetrises that I have played would be original Game Boy Tetris, non-Tengen for the NES and Tetris DX. I would probably go with DX. I seem to do the best with that version. It's also the one that I have sunk the most time into for oldschool versions. The only trick that I know for the non-Tengen NES Tetris is this: Don't start the game immediately. Let the demo run for a bit. When it clears out a Tetris and the screen is flashing, press start. When you start a game, the sound effect for clearing out a Tetris and the screen flash will be present untill the first piece locks down. Once this happens you will get awarded points for clearing a Tetris. Not very usefull, but there ya go.
Huh. I actually had no idea Tengen Tetris had a doubles mode. I've never played it. Now after looking up some videos on youtube, it looks pretty cool. Especially the Konami code cheat.
I always enjoyed Tetris Plus on the gameboy. The adventure mode was alright. I usually just play regular mode. I still play it a lot. I prefer playing it over Tetris DS.
i would have to go with the first Sega Tetris from 1988. the gameplay has 3 elements which were pretty revolutionary (lock delay greater than the rate of gravity, gravity approaching "instant drop" speeds, and fast DAS) and have stood the test of time. and of course the basic rotation of the pieces, piece colors, and presence of multiple CCW rotation buttons can still be seen in TGM series games. if i could go back and ask the designers to implement one thing that was missing from the game, it would have to be CW rotation. to me it only makes sense that if a twist works with L, the mirrored twist should work with J. this still isn't the case today in TGM games, but that's because of the strict wallkick rules/Mihara's conspiracy. but at least all CCW/CW twists that don't rely on wallkicks are possible in TGM games. i don't think the absence of wallkicks in Sega Tetris is really a problem. after playing enough you find that you have all the maneuverability you really need once the piece has landed, due to the basic rotations and manageable lock delay. generally if you get a piece stuck in a bad spot, you realize that there was a better place for it, and it was a mistake to try to do something difficult or impossible with the piece. in a sense there's a "correct way" to stack, and you just have to play enough to figure out how to do it. the memoryless randomizer really helps to hold up this idea, because it bites you if you stack the wrong way or expect to get an I piece every x pieces. it's a game that provides a great challenge for the beginner, but also allows the player to conquer every situation if determined and dedicated enough.
Besides the original GB Tetris, the version I played the most was Super Tetris 3 for the Super Famicom. I really liked the vs in that game, and the movement is fast. I also like Tetris DX, but found that one much later.
