10 Things You Didn’t Know about Tetris 99
Tetris 99 is one of the numerous versions of Tetris that can be found out there. In its case, it came out for the Nintendo Switch in February of 2019. Some people might be curious about whether Tetris 99 will be released for other platforms or not, but so far, there has been no indication of such an occurrence. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Tetris 99:
1. It Is a Version of Tetris
For those who are unfamiliar, Tetris was invented in 1984 by a Russian software engineer named Alexey Pajitnov working under the Soviet Union. Since that initial release, there have been numerous versions of Tetris released by various parties, which have had a wide range of features added on to them while still retaining the core system. Something that speaks volumes about the enduring appeal of Pajitnov’s work.
2. Made By Arika
Tetris 99 was made by a video game developer called Arika. In short, Arika was founded by ex-Capcom employees, who happened to include one of the co-creators of the Street Fighter franchise Akira Nishitani. In fact, it should be mentioned that Arika is Akira in reverse, which says much about the extent of his influence over the video game developer. Generally speaking, Akira is best-known for fighting games, as shown by its involvement with the Street Fighter EX series. However, this isn’t the first time that it has put out a Tetris game.
3. Published By Nintendo
The publisher for Tetris 99 is Nintendo. This makes perfect sense because Tetris 99 is a title for the Nintendo Switch with no indication that it will be released for one of the other platforms that can be found out there. As a result, having Nintendo be the publisher eliminates the need for a middleman in the process.
4. Online Multiplayer Game
As curious as it sounds, Tetris 99 is an online multiplayer game. This is a very logical consequence of its main selling point, seeing as how online multiplayer is the sole option that can provide it with the number of players needed to sustain its basic premise. Theoretically, local multiplayer would be an option as well, but it would be very inconvenient to say the least, meaning that it wouldn’t be possible save under exceptional circumstances. There is a single player mode for Tetris 99 added to it via DLC, but it isn’t really the content that makes it so special among Tetris titles.
5. Has Battle Royale Elements
Essentially, Tetris 99 is named thus because each match can have a maximum of 99 players competing against one another. As such, it can be said that Tetris 99 is an example of the battle royale genre that has become so popular in recent years thanks to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds as well as Fortnite, though a very strange example to say the least. Still, this is the core premise of the title that enables it to be both fresh and familiar in a flawless manner.
6. Both Attack and Defense Are Important
Like in other battle royale games, both attack and defense are important in Tetris 99. First, players want to make matters more difficult for other players by adding garbage to their game board, thus increasing their chances of overflowing. Second, players want to prevent their own game board from overflowing, which is particularly important because other players will be adding garbage to it. Generally speaking, Tetris 99 players can manage both by playing well, but there will be plenty of times when a move for the strongest attack won’t be the same as the movie for the strongest defense.
7. Various Tricks Can Be Performed to Send More Garbage
There are various tricks that can be performed to send more garbage to other players. First and foremost, the simplest and most straightforward method for sending garbage would be clearing multiple lines in a simultaneous manner. This is followed by clearing multiple lines in short succession, which may or may not be more practical depending on the exact circumstances of the board. Besides these, there is the so-called “T-spin,” meaning moving the T-shaped tetromino into a position that it cannot fit into under normal circumstances with a fast, well-timed spin.
8. Badges Mean More Attack Power
Speaking of which, players can gain more attack power by collecting badges. In short, interested individuals can collect pieces of badges by beating other players. Just the act of beating a player will grant them a piece of a badge. Moreover, it will grant them any badges as well as any pieces of badges that have been accumulated by said individual, thus making defeating the front-runners that much more important. In total, it is possible for players to boost the amount of garbage lines that they send to other players by 100 percent, which is a lot of power that can be put to excellent use.
9. Players Can Choose Who They Attack
Players have a fair amount of choice over who they attack. For instance, they can attack their choice of the players who are competing in the same match, which can be very useful if they see someone who needs to be eliminated sooner rather than later. However, players can also automate their target selection using one of four criteria, which would be random, those who are targeting them, those who are on the verge of being beaten, and those who have collected badges.
10. Has Events
One of the ways by which the people behind Tetris 99 seek to capture and hold the interest of players is via events. For the most part, these events are very straightforward in nature. Essentially, players should do their best to collect as many points as possible by playing as well as possible. In exchange, they can pick up various rewards, with examples ranging from a new theme inspired by the Game Boy version of Tetris to Gold Coins in the My Nintendo program. Of course, there are bragging rights as well, particularly when it comes to the tournaments.
