Tetris DS
A Tetris title with retro Nintendo-themed modes.
Tetris DS is a puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS, released in 2006. It is an installment of the Tetris franchise and supports up to ten players locally, with online multiplayer for up to four players via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection before its discontinuation. The game is noted for its themed modes based on retro Nintendo games and has been regarded as one of the best portable Tetris titles.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Nintendo SPD
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Series
- Tetris
- Platforms
- Nintendo DS
- Released
- March 20, 2006 (NA)
- April 13, 2006 (AU)
- April 21, 2006 (EU)
- April 27, 2006 (JP)
- Genre
- Puzzle
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
- Director
- Masaki Tawara
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The standard mode follows classic Tetris mechanics: players move and rotate falling tetrominos to form solid lines at the bottom, with difficulty increasing every ten lines cleared. The infinite spin feature, first seen in Tetris Worlds, lets a piece keep spinning to delay locking. Mission mode, themed after The Legend of Zelda, presents changing goals on the top screen, sometimes restricting which pieces can fall, and includes a hold box to save a piece. Push mode is a two-player competition where clearing two or more lines shifts a block downward toward the opponent; the player wins if the block reaches the opponent's side. Touch mode has two variants: Tower mode, where players slide or double-tap pieces to bring a balloon box to the bottom, and Touch Puzzle mode, offering 50 puzzles solved by sliding pieces without rotation. Catch mode, themed after Metroid, has a rotating block core that catches falling pieces; forming a 4x4 block detonates the core, while letting pieces fall to the bottom depletes energy. Puzzle mode contains 200 puzzles requiring three to five pieces to be selected and rotated correctly to clear all blocks, with the puzzle board on the top screen and pieces on the bottom.
Development and release
Tetris DS was announced on January 10, 2006, and released in North America on March 20, 2006, followed by Australia on April 13, Europe on April 21, and Japan on April 27. Nintendo licensed the rights from The Tetris Company. Henk Rogers, an owner of The Tetris Company, stated that Nintendo was given considerable creative freedom and that producer Hitoshi Yamagami was one of the smartest game designers he knew. Rogers found Mission and Tower modes interesting for being unlike previous Tetris games. He explained that the infinite spin feature was included to let games progress to faster action without becoming overly difficult for players on the go. Rogers believed a sequel on DS was unnecessary due to the game's solid play, though he noted the online matchmaking was uneven. To promote the game in Japan, Nintendo held an event in August 2006 where 30 Club Nintendo members played against singer Hikaru Utada, who won most matches. In 2016, The Cutting Room Floor discovered a prototype developed by Tose Software for THQ, which was cancelled in favor of Nintendo's version after a legal dispute.
Reception
Tetris DS received generally favorable reviews according to Metacritic. GamePro gave a perfect 5/5, praising the variety of modes and calling it one of the best DS games. Nintendo Power rated it 9.5/10, stating that players may not love all of it but will love much of it. Game Informer gave 9.25/10, calling it an excellent reinvention. Pocket Gamer UK rated it 4.5/5, calling it a must-buy but noting zealots might find it too easy. 4Players gave 90/100, calling it next to Meteos the most important modern puzzler. Famitsu scored it 35/40. More mixed reviews included GameSpot's 7.5/10, which said it made minor mistakes preventing it from being essential. The A.V. Club gave a B+, praising innovative modes but criticizing online play where dedicated fanboys overwhelm newcomers. The Sydney Morning Herald rated it 3.5/5, praising multiplayer but suggesting purists would dislike the hold box and infinite spin. The Times also gave 3.5/5, calling it too retro for anything but short bursts. By August 1, 2006, sales in Japan neared 800,000 units; by July 25, 2007, worldwide sales reached 2.05 million. GameSpy named it #2 Nintendo DS Game of the Year, and IGN gave it an Editors' Choice Award. English copies later became rare due to popularity, leading many to buy Japanese copies.
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