Tetris Deluxe
Game by Nintendo
Released: 1998
Use With: Gameboy Color, Super Gameboy, or Gameboy.
Size: 8 Megs.
Save: Battery Pak (4 Slots)
Reviewed by The Avardancer

Opening Snide Remarks: This is the "showcase" title for Gameboy Color. So, in
a way, if this game looks good, plays good, and sounds good; people may judge
the Gameboy Color accordingly. The Tetris liscense has been spread in such a
liberal way; that I'm not quite sure if the name means ANYTHING anymore. The
series has had some horrible blemishes. Mainly Tetris Plus, Tetris 2, 3-D
Tetris, etc. There are bright spots like Tetris Attack; but I need to be wary
of this program. Basically, it's Tetris in Color; I'm hoping that it's a bit
deeper than that.

Gameplay: Hmm. There's normal tetris and several different variations. Lucky
for us; there's no stupid looking guy in a safari hat to save, like in Tetris
Plus. The variations are truly good this time. There's "Marathon" which is
just Tetris for points. The game also saves you High Scores and what players
have spent the most time on it, etc. The game seems to be mostly flash in a
pan though. As there's really not much new. There's a new "40 Line" challenge
which is really just the old "25 Line clear" from the original Gameboy Tetris
game. There's a "VS Computer"; which is basically "Kick the Computer's Butt".
There is also "Ultra" where you must get a high score in under the time limit
set by the game. You can save your scores in "files" which can be sent out to
another Gameboy via Game Link or Infrared port (Gameboy Color) You can also
play against a friend using the Game Link. This is Tetris pure and simple.
You move blocks around to make lines. Oh, there's a neat-o "Stop Save" option
that is really cool. Can't finish the game? Hit the pause button and turn off
the power; when you come back to the game; you can restart your game and
continue matching stuff up. This feels like Tetris; but it also feels a bit
quicker than usual. Wanna know something spooky? The game "saves" your
strategy that you used to beat the Computer opponents and lets you play a
computer version of your self that knows how you play and acts like you.
That kicks the big one. You can beat yourself! That's pretty cool.

Graphics: Gratuitous color is EVERYWHERE! It's Tetris; it's easy to see; and
it has color graphics on the go. Big yeah. Actually, there are some fairly
nice and colorful schemes. The whole Tetris-bit looks like it did in "Tetris
and Dr. Mario" for the SNES. Rather nice. I like the little reward screens.
Though, I miss the dancing Russian people. (The game seems to have been
"Americanized" a lot.) The game looks decent. And it has some interesting
Super Gameboy enchancements... mainly ONLY a nice pastel border. Yup. It has
NO Super Gameboy color Pallettes. That's pretty half-baked if you ask me. It
seems that the game was made for Gameboy Color and the backwards compatable
features where an after-thought. It looks nice on the old Gameboy as well.

Sound: The sound is a little unusual; but it seems fitting. Various explosion
sound effects in the reward screens sound good.

Music: The Classic tetris Russian music is missing. (Oh, fudge.) The music
that replaced it is a mixed bag. There's some tunes that are cool; but a good
majority of them are annoying or just "there" with no real influence. Yucky.
Bad. Spit. Spit. Some of the music is best described by those last few words
of wisedom and incredible grasp of the English language.

Play Control: Left Right, Down, B, A, Start. Those are the buttons you use.
tetris is EASY as pie to control. The blocks move a little quick; so be
light with your touch or you will over shoot the area you want to place the
block.

Final Analysis: If you do not own a Gameboy Color; than you really don't
need this game. That's it in a nut-shell. It's good; but you need a Gameboy
Color to appreciate it If you have a Gameboy Color; go ahead and pick it up.
It's a decent game. It's a must-have for die-hard Tetris fans with a Gameboy
Color though.

Score
Gameplay: *****
Graphics: *****
Sound: ***
Music: ***
Play Control: *****
Total: 21 out of 25

Final Score: 84%


Currently Known Codes:

Move the Blocks Up 
In Tetris DX, there's a bug. When any piece but a straight bar or a block is
falling, hold LEFT (even after it's against the wall keep holding left) and
keep pressing A really fast and the piece will actually start moving back up!
You can do the same thing on the right side wall, but you have to hold RIGHT
and keep pressing B instead. It's strange but it works.