"Magical Tetris Challenge" Gameplay FAQ

"Magical Tetris Challenge" Gameplay FAQ
by Merit Celaire

[TABLE OF CONTENTS]

1. Introduction
2. Story
3. Introducing the Characters
4. Gameplay Basics
5. Game Modes
6. Before You Go
7. Credits & Other Important Information

[1. INTRODUCTION]

Hi everyone! Your Disney fan Merit Celaire here ready to provide strategies
to the #1 puzzle game with the Disney twist... "Magical Tetris Challenge"!
Featuring your favorite Disney characters that we all know and love, get
ready to hang with them as they do their take on the world renowned Tetris
game made popular in Russia by Alexey Pajitnov. This guide will provide the
tips that you'll need to overcome your rivals and come out the winner in
every round of Tetris games. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy are ready to
get into the "Magical Tetris Challenge"! Are you ready? Let's get this
guide started!

[2. STORY]

Now, although the stories are unique for the character that you wish to
choose, it all targets around a major event stirring things up. Actually,
it's more like a mysterious object... which looks like a stone. Rumors
state that the stone has magical powers and that it must be handled very
carefully. There are some that want to use it for decorative purposes,
and some who just want to use it to fulfill evil desires. There are
surely some mysteries that need to be solved... so there's no time to
waste. It's time to get into some fast-paced "Magical Tetris Challenge"
style action to uncover the mysteries, and uncover the fun that lies
ahead!

[3. INTRODUCING THE CHARACTERS]

The "Magical Tetris Challenge" game stars some of the most beloved
characters of Disney fame -- four 'heroes' and three 'villains'. Each
play a certain role in the story that has yet to unfold.

THE HEROES:
MICKEY MOUSE: On his journey to Minnie's house in the middle of town,
he runs into Pete and his two minions Weasel & Big
Bad Wolf. Mickey gets suspicions of a mysterious gem
on Pete's cane. Could Pete be up to something again?
MINNIE MOUSE: She's the sweetest mouse in the neighborhood who loves
to bake and admires beautiful things. While baking one
afternoon, she notices a beautiful stone and decides to
see if she can ask someone to make her a beautiful
pendant...
DONALD DUCK: One day while Donald was fishing, he unexpectedly pulls
up the mysterious stone from out of the water. Donald
hasn't seen any other stone like this, so he takes the
stone to Mickey and others to uncover any mysteries
about the discovery.
GOOFY: While plowing the fields, he also notices the mysterious gem
and thinks it would look great on his tractor.

THE VILLAINS:
PETE: The #1 enemy of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. He is also
after that stone to fulfill his evil desires. What evil
schemes that he plans to do after he gets that stone are
mysteries in itself.
WEASEL: The first of Pete's two followers. His main mission is to
trip all the hero characters up.
BIG BAD WOLF: The second of Pete's two followers. He's also
determined like Weasel to trip all the hero characters
up.

[4. GAMEPLAY BASICS]

Although "Magical Tetris Challenge" takes the overall Tetris game to a
whole new level, the gameplay rules are still the same. For first-timers
wondering what this whole "Tetris" game is all about, this game is
basically aligning falling blocks to make complete horizontal 'lines' on
the playfield. Whenever you complete a horizontal line, then it
disappears from the playfield. You can clear two lines at a time, and
three lines at a time depending on the block that fall. Of course, if
you're able to clear four lines at one time with a four vertical-line
block (which is one of the standard Tetris blocks), then you have made
a "Tetris". Of course, there is a warning: make sure to maintain your
stack well and get rid of lines at the earliest possible moment...
incomplete lines won't count, and it would result in the stack filling up
higher and higher. If the playfield is completely full, then the game
ends.

Now, in the terms of "Magical Tetris", this plays the same as the
regular Tetris... only that there is one difference. Whenever you clear
lines from your playfield, then complex 'obstacle blocks' are sent to
your opponents side to make things more troublesome for him or her.
Another amazing is that if a player clears more than one line, then
a "Counter Block" will be sent to your opponent. However, your opponent
can also clear more lines (it's recommended that you clear at least two
lines) to send the counter block back, as well as make it grow bigger.
The highest the Counter Block can grow is 5 x 5 (height x width).
Counter blocks also include 2 x 2 (the lowest), 3 x 3, and 4 x 4.

Another big factor of Magical Tetris is the 1 x 5 block, also known as
the "Pentris" block, which is one step higher than the "Tetris" block.
If you position the 1 x 5 block correctly and clear 5 lines at one
time, you'll get a Pentris, and then the opponent is in extreme
trouble in terms of a difficult block that he or she must deal with.

Other features in Magical Tetris include the "Magical Gauge" and the
"Magical Level". For the Magical Gauge, it fills up every time you
complete a line or are attacked by your opponent. When that gauge is
full, all of the blocks at the maximum point of that gauge and higher
are cleared, but once they are, the gauge grows and it becomes more
challenging to fill it back up quickly. The "Magical Level" is
represented by a 'clock' on the top of the gameplay screen. After one
minute of gameplay time, the Magical Level is increased (the highest
is Level 4). The higher the Magical Level, the more obstacle/counter
blocks are sent to your opponent after you clear lines.

NOTE: Always be alert for if you're in the receiving end of 5 x 5
counter blocks. If placed correctly, you might be able to tilt
the odds in your favor. The same applies for if you see the
"Pentris" block falling (the 1 x 5 block); if placed correctly
to complete 5 lines at the same time, the same result occurs
there as well (in terms of getting the "Pentris").

The final new feature to this Tetris game is the "Updown Tetris" mode.
The rules are simple: clear two or more lines to push your opponent's
playfield up a few notches so it reaches the top. If one of the play-
fields gets pushed all the way to the top then he or she loses the
game.

All of these modes sound challenging, but once you get the hang of
them, all, you'll get used to the Tetris game itself in no time!

Gameplay controls for each gameplay mode are as follows:

Control Pad Left/Right: Moves falling blocks left or right.
Control Pad Up: The falling block drops immediately
Control Pad Down: The falling block falls faster
A Button: Rotates block right
B Button: Rotates block left

[5. GAME MODES]

Here in detail are the available gameplay modes in "Magical Tetris
Challenge":

[A. STORY MODE (MAGICAL TETRIS/UPDOWN TETRIS)]

This is where the 'heart' of the "Magical Tetris Challenge" game is.
As specified earlier, each character's story is unique. The layout
is this: work your way up the ladder challenging every character
you come across in the story. If you win the round, the story
proceeds and your are able to go on to the next round. If you lose
the current round, you are given an opportunity to try again (make
sure to press Start before the Continue time runs out, or the game
is over).

Here are the order of challengers you will face in the Story Mode
(according to the featured character selected):

IF YOUR CHARACTER IS: Mickey YOUR CHALLENGERS ARE: (1) Minnie
(2) Goofy
(3) Donald
(4) Weasel
(5) Big Bad
Wolf
(6) Pete

IF YOUR CHARACTER IS: Minnie YOUR CHALLENGERS ARE: (1) Donald
(2) Mickey
(3) Goofy
(4) Weasel
(5) Big Bad
Wolf
(6) Pete

IF YOUR CHARACTER IS: Donald YOUR CHALLENGERS ARE: (1) Goofy
(2) Minnie
(3) Mickey
(4) Weasel
(5) Big Bad
Wolf
(6) Pete

IF YOUR CHARACTER IS: Goofy YOUR CHALLENGERS ARE: (1) Minnie
(2) Donald
(3) Mickey
(4) Weasel
(5) Big Bad
Wolf
(6) Pete

[B. ENDLESS MODE (STANDARD TETRIS/MAGICAL TETRIS)]

Choose your favorite Disney character and get ready for some
fast-paced Tetris fun in these two Endless Mode games!

For the "Endless Mode: Standard Tetris" game, this is great for
first timers to get acquainted with the original Tetris game that
took the world by storm when it was introduced way back in 1987.

For the "Endless Mode: Magical Tetris" game, this is the "Magical
Tetris" game itself without the stories. You will choose your
favorite Disney character and face your challengers in a random
order.

All the rules for the Standard Tetris and the Magical Tetris
game modes themselves apply here in Endless Mode here as well;
but once the playfield is full, the game is over at that point.

[6. BEFORE YOU GO...]

Don't forget that you can also play these modes in "Magical
Tetris Challenge" with another human player as well to add to
the fun! All available modes are available for 2 players as
well. Just make sure that two N64 controllers are plugged in
to the system prior to turning the power on. Also, remember that
when it comes time to selecting your character(s), you cannot
choose the same one.

Oh, and still, make sure to take breaks after a long period of
time. As the game specifies, Tetris is "completely addictive,
depictively simple". It's a great way to pass the time, but make
sure you know how much time you're able to spend on the game.

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If there is any other info that needs to be added to this "Magical
Tetris Challenge" gameplay FAQ or corrections that need to be made,
then please don't hesitate to contact me via the methods located on
the bottom of this FAQ. Thanks a bunch.

Oh, and by the way, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and myself wish
you the best of luck on your current and future gameplays of
"Magical Tetris Challenge" for the Nintendo 64. With this guide by
your side from here on out, we're sure you'll gain the winning edge
when you face off against a computer or human opponent next time.
The Disney characters hope you'll still hang out with them even
after playing through the story modes. I know I will! I'm always
hanging out with my first favorite character, Minnie! The rest are
great too. They all are the best (gets a hug from Minnie and high-
fives from Mickey, Donald, and Goofy at this point)! We're now
cheering as we end this "Magical Tetris Challenge" gameplay FAQ.
See you next time, Disney game fanatics! Merit Celaire out.

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[7. CREDITS & OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION]

Tetris (C) 1987 Elorg. "Magical Tetris Challenge" (C) 1998 Elorg.
Original concept and design by Alexey Pajitnov. "Magical Tetris
Challenge" copyright licensed to the Tetris Company and sublicensed
to Capcom Co., Ltd. "Magical Tetris Challenge" sublicensed to
Capcom Co., Ltd. by the Tetris Company. All rights reserved.

Disney characters, scenes, storylines, animation, art, sound, and
music are (C) 1998 Disney. All rights reserved.

"Magical Tetris Challenge" N64 game layout developed by
Capcom Co., Ltd.

T.L.S. (Temporary Landing System) designed by ARIKA CO., LTD.

"Magical Tetris Challenge" Gameplay FAQ written and copyrighted
by Merit Celaire (2004).

This FAQ may only be seen on the GameFAQs website
(http://www.gamefaqs.com), unless I specify otherwise, and
may not be placed on any other website without my permission.

To contact me:
EMAIL: [email protected]
INSTANT MESSAGING:
AOL INSTANT MESSENGER: mcelaire
MSN MESSENGER: [email protected]

In the event that someone contacts me in relation to any
additional material(s) that may need to be added/updated,
please don't hesitate to contact me through these methods.
If the info is valid, I'll add them on the next update and
add you to the acknowledgments list on this FAQ.

FAQ completed on 1/3/2004; last updated on 5/30/2004