_______ ______ _______ ______ _______ ______
|__ __| | ____| |__ __| | ____|_ |_ | _| | ____|
|_| |_|____ |_| |_|____| | | | | |_|
| | | ____| | | | |______| |_|_| | |____
| | |_| | | | | | |_ | | | |______|
| | | |____ | | | | |_ | _| | |_ ____| |
|_| |______| |_| |_| |_| |___|___| |______|
-------------------
Tetris Mini-FAQ
v. 1.0
(c) Pegboy 2003
All rights reserved
-------------------
Welcome to my Tetris Mini-FAQ! This FAQ is copyright Pegboy (Derek Kader) 2003
and should not be copied, stolen in whole or in part, sold for money, or
changed in any way, shape or form. If you want to use it on your website, all
I ask is that you ask me first. E-mail me at
[email protected] if you want to use
this on your site. Do not copy my guide, please, because that's plagiarism,
which is illegal of course, and you don't want to mess with that stuff. ;)
Also, don't change the words around and credit it as being your owns work,
because that's also against the law. Oh yeah, and if you actually like the
above ASCII art and want to use it anywhere, just e-mail me first!
===============================================================================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
===============================================================================
I. Introduction
II. Controls
III. Modes of Play
IV. Types of Pieces
V. Scoring
VI. Endings in Mode B
VII. Tips
VIII. Credits and Legal Stuff
******************************************************************************
I. INTRODUCTION
----------------
The original Tetris was released by Nintendo in 1989 on the NES. It has
another version, unlicensed by Nintendo and produced by Tengen, on the NES
and it was also released by Nintendo on the Gameboy (it came along with the
system). It is THE classic puzzler game and almost everyone has played it.
Ranked up there along with the greats such as Super Mario Bros. and Pacman,
Tetris is one of the best selling games of all time, and is just a legend in
itself. The point of the game is to try to fill rows of 10 blocks up
completely given several different shaped pieces. Each piece contains four
blocks, but they all are a different shape.
Tetris was originally designed (at least the concept) by a Russian man by the
name of Alexey Pazhitnov. For some reason, though, I heard he never saw a
dime from the sales and huge the success the game had. Perhaps he never
copyrighted the idea, who knows, but whatever it was I bet he feels cheated
still today (hey, I know I would!).
This FAQ is basically here to tell you a little history of the game and how
to play it, some tips and strategies for play, but also to reveal the endings
and after beating a certain level, 0-9, on the Mode B form of play. That
being said, lets move along to the guide.
******************************************************************************
II. CONTROLS
-------------
The controls are really simple and you should be able to master them in no
time, if part of your brain is still functioning. ;)
A Button - Rotates piece 90 degrees to the
B Button - Rotates piece 90 degrees to the
Start - Pauses the game, makes selections on the main menu.
Select - Hides the preview of the upcoming piece.
D-Pad:
Down - Pushes or moves your piece towards the ground, moves cursor on the
menu.
Up - Moves cursor on the menu.
Right - Moves your piece over to the right one space, moves cursor to the
right on the menu.
Left - Moves your piece over to the left one space, moves cursor to the left
on the menu.
******************************************************************************
III. MODES OF PLAY
-------------------
There are two modes of play in the game, Mode A and Mode B. In Mode A, your
goal is to try and get through as many lines as possible. In Mode B, your goal
is to get through 25 lines at a certain speed and at a predetermined height.
Mode A
------
Mode A is the main mode of play and is what most people remember about
Tetris. Your goal, as mentioned earlier, is to get through as many lines as
possible. You can start on levels 0-9 (or actually 0-19 using a cheat) and it
is best to start at 0 if you are trying to get as many lines as possible.
When you destroy 10 lines, you move up a level (if you started at 0). The
digit in the front of the number of lines is the level you are on. So, say
you started at Level 7. You would have to get to 80 lines to move up to level
8, not just 10. That is why it's best to start on the lowest level. Depending
on the number of points earned, whenever your game over (which is over
whenever you fill the screen with blocks without destroying the lines) you
get a different little cutscene depending on how high your score is. Each one
consists of a different sized rocket (the higher the score the bigger the
rocket) being launched from a launch pad sitting next to the czar's palace in
Russia (I forget the name of it). For example, if you finish with a very low
score, you might get this thing that sort of resembles a bottle rocket
firework, and if you get a really high score, you get a huge red spaceship
and sometimes even the palace takes off!
Mode B
------
The goal in Mode B is to destroy 25 lines. Depending on what level you choose
to play on, the ending is different. The endings are all common in at least
one way because they feature the czar's palace out in the middle of a field
with something different flying by it (the higher the level, the bigger and
better object that goes by). To see the different endings, see section VI.
After you've chosen the level you wish to play on, you can also choose a
height, 0-5. On 0 height, it is like normal gameplay, but with 1-5, you start
out with a certain number of layers of random placed blocks on the screen,
and the higher height you choose, the more layers you start out with.
After you've completed 25 lines, the word "Success!" comes up, and it takes
you to the ending cutscene. The higher the height the more you get of, well,
whatever your getting!
*******************************************************************************
IV. TYPES OF PIECES
--------------------
There are 7 different types of pieces in the game, and each one is made up of
four blocks. They are arranged in every possible way to arrange four blocks.
They are as follows:
_ _
|_|_|
|_|_| Square - Can be very helpful at times, but when there are
no flat surfaces, it can harmful.
_
|_|
|_|_
|_|_| L Piece - Both it and its reverse can be useful in getting triples,
but often it is more of a nuisance than anything.
_
|_|
_|_|
|_|_| Reverse L Piece - Both it and its reverse can be useful in getting
triples, but often it is more of a nuisance than anything.
_
|_|_
|_|_| T Piece - The most helpful piece in the game, it can go almost
|_| anywhere, and its diversity in uses it what makes it probably the
best piece in the game.
_
|_|
|_|
|_| Straight Piece - The only way to score a Tetris in the game, it is
|_| the second best piece to get. If you have built up many layers and
left one row empty, this is the piece needed to complete that
Tetris (and get rid of four layers of blocks!). But, if you don't
Have and pockets to fill, than this piece can be a big problem.
Use it carefully.
_
|_|_
|_|_| Z Piece - These come in handy and are used mainly to fill in
|_| jagged edges. It and it's reverse are the most common pieces in
the game, so it seems.
_
_|_|
|_|_| Reverse Z Piece - These come in handy and are used mainly to fill
|_| in jagged edges. It and it's reverse are the most common pieces in
the game, so it seems.
That covers all of the pieces, and it just takes a while to get used to them
and you should have them down in no time.
******************************************************************************
V. SCORING
-----------
There are several different ways to score in the game. They are:
Single - Completing one line at a time will earn you a single.
Double - Completing two lines at the same time will earn you a double.
Triple - Completing three lines at the same time will earn you a triple.
Tetris - Completing four lines at the same time will earn you a Tetris.
Whenever you score a Tetris, you hear special sound effects and the screen
flashes very briefly.
Also, whenever you lay down a piece it gives you an undetermined amount of
points. Perhaps it deals with where you lay the piece, how you lay it (as you
can rotate them), or what piece it is, but whatever the reason, the points are
usually not the same amount each time.
These are the only way to score in the game.
******************************************************************************
VI. ENDINGS IN MODE B
----------------------
Depending on what level and height you play on in Mode B, you get a special
ending after you complete 25 lines.
Level 0 - Dragonfly
-------------------
Height 0 - 1 Dragonfly
Height 1 - 2 Dragonflies
Height 2 - 3 Dragonflies
Height 3 - 4 Dragonflies
Height 4 - 5 Dragonflies
Height 5 - 6 Dragonflies
Level 1 - White Bird
--------------------
Height 0 - 1 White Bird
Height 1 - 2 White Birds
Height 2 - 3 White Birds
Height 3 - 4 White Birds
Height 4 - 5 White Birds
Height 5 - 6 White Birds
Level 2 - Penguin
-----------------
Height 0 - 1 Penguin
Height 1 - 2 Penguins
Height 2 - 3 Penguins
Height 3 - 4 Penguins
Height 4 - 5 Penguins
Height 5 - 6 Penguins
Level 3 - UFO
-------------
Height 0 - 1 UFO
Height 1 - 2 UFOs
Height 2 - 3 UFOs
Height 3 - 4 UFOs
Height 4 - 5 UFOs
Height 5 - 6 UFOs
Level 4 - Flying Dinosaur
-------------------------
Height 0 - 1 Flying Dinosaur
Height 1 - 2 Flying Dinosaurs
Height 2 - 3 Flying Dinosaurs
Height 3 - 4 Flying Dinosaurs
Height 4 - 5 Flying Dinosaurs
Height 5 - 6 Flying Dinosaurs
Level 5 - Blimp that says "Good" on it
--------------------------------------
Height 0 - 1 Blimp
Height 1 - 2 Blimps
Height 2 - 3 Blimps
Height 3 - 4 Blimps
Height 4 - 5 Blimps
Height 5 - 6 Blimps
Level 6 - Ostrich from Super Mario Bros. 2
------------------------------------------
Height 0 - 1 Ostrich
Height 1 - 2 Ostriches
Height 2 - 3 Ostriches
Height 3 - 4 Ostriches
Height 4 - 5 Ostriches
Height 5 - 6 Ostriches
Level 7 - Dragon
----------------
Height 0 - 1 Dragon
Height 1 - 2 Dragons
Height 2 - 3 Dragons
Height 3 - 4 Dragons
Height 4 - 5 Dragons
Height 5 - 6 Dragons
Level 8 - Rocket
----------------
Height 0 - 1 Rocket
Height 1 - 2 Rockets
Height 2 - 3 Rockets
Height 3 - 4 Rockets
Height 4 - 5 Rockets
Height 5 - 6 Rockets
Level 9 - Nintendo Characters
-----------------------------
Height 0 - Kid Icarus playing violin
Height 1 - Kid Icarus playing violin, Link playing flute
Height 2 - Kid Icarus playing violin, Link playing flute, Samus playing cello
Height 3 - Kid Icarus playing violin, Link playing flute, Samus playing cello,
Donkey Kong playing Bass Drum
Height 4 - Kid Icarus playing violin, Link playing flute, Samus playing cello,
Donkey Kong playing Bass Drum, Bowser playing accordion
Height 5 - Kid Icarus playing violin, Link playing flute, Samus playing cello,
Donkey Kong playing Bass Drum, Bowser playing accordion, Mario and
Luigi jumping up and down, and Princess Peach (Toadstool) clapping
her hands
That covers all of the endings in Mode B.
******************************************************************************
VII. TIPS
----------
- When playing on the lower levels, always leave a gap one row long between
the wall and the rest of your blocks, then when you get a
straight piece, fill in the gap with that piece. Easy Tetris.
- To turn the preview of your upcoming piece (on the right hand side of the
screen) off or hide it, press the select button.
- To start 10 levels ahead (in Mode A, there is nothing above 9 in Mode
B), get on the level which has the last digit of the level you want to
start on. For example, if you wanted to start on Level 19, you would hold
A and press the start button on Level 9.
- Have Fun!!! :)
******************************************************************************
VIII. CREDITS AND LEGAL STUFF
------------------------------
This FAQ is copyright Pegboy (Derek Kader) 2003 and should not be copied,
stolen in whole or in part, sold for money, or changed in any way, shape or
form. If you want to use it on your website, all I ask is that you ask me
first. E-mail me at
[email protected] if you want to use this on your site. Do
not copy my guide, please, 'cause that's plagiarism, which is illegal of
course, and you don't want to mess with that stuff. ;) Also, don't change the
words around and call it your own work, because that's against the law too.
Don't steal this guide of course, and by steal I don't mean store it on your
computer, by all means go ahead, but don't use things from it without giving
me credit, and really, if you want to use something from it just e-mail. I'm
a nice guy and I'll probably allow you to do so. So just don't steal from it.
Thanks go out to the following people/sites/corporations:
Nintendo - For making such an awesome game. Too bad they stole (at least to
my knowledge) the concept behind it! And for their awesome system for which
they released this game, the NES.
Alexey Pazhitnov - He came up with the concept, design and program for Tetris,
and really, he should be the credited first and foremost, because after all,
it IS his idea! I don't think this poor guy ever saw a dime from the huge
profits this game made.
CJayC - For posting my stuff.
GameFAQS - For hosting this and all of my other FAQs.
Kid Icarus, Link, Samus, Donkey Kong, Mario, Luigi, Peach/Toadstool are all
copyright Nintendo of America.
Tetris is copyright Nintendo 1989.
All other references made to trademarked stuff is copyright whatever
corporation came up with them.
Well, what are you wasting time looking down here for? Get busy playing this
game that came "From Russia With Fun"! ;)
(c) Pegboy 2003
