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| Tetris Attack |
|---|
| | Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems | | Publisher(s) | Nintendo | | Platform(s) | Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Game Boy | | Release date | Super NES
NA August 1996 (1996-08)
JP November 03, 1996 (1996-11-03)–June 30, 2000 (2000-06-30) (Satellaview)
EU November 28, 1996 (1996-11-28)
Game Boy
NA August 1996 (1996-08)
JP October 26, 1996 (1996-10-26)
EU November 28, 1996 (1996-11-28)
| | Genre(s) | Puzzle | | Mode(s) | Single player
Multiplayer | | Rating(s) | ESRB: Kids to Adults (K-A) | | Media | 8-megabit cartridge | | Input methods | Gamepad |
Tetris Attack is a puzzle video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System home video game console and Game Boy handheld game console. It is part of the Puzzle League series and is a direct port of the Japanese game Panel de Pon for the Super Famicom with significant rebranding. A Japanese version of this rebranded title, Yoshi no Panepon (ヨッシーのパネポン, Yoshi no Panepon?), was released in Japan for the Satellaview satellite modem service. Tetris Attack uses characters and settings from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and despite its use of the Tetris name, the game bears almost no resemblance to the Russian puzzle classic.
StoryThe game's single-player story mode takes place in the world of Yoshi's Island, where Bowser and his minions have cursed all of Yoshi's friends. Playing as Yoshi, the player must defeat each of his friends in order to remove the curse. Once all friends have been freed, the game proceeds to a series of Bowser's minions, and then to Bowser himself. During these final matches, the player can select Yoshi or any of his friends to play out the stage.
GameplayIn Tetris Attack, the player is presented with a playfield consisting of a virtual grid of squares, each of which can be occupied by a colored block. Blocks are stacked on top of one another and rise steadily toward the top of the playfield, with new blocks being added at the bottom. The player must arrange blocks in horizontal or vertical lines of three or more matching colors by swapping blocks horizontally two at a time. As matching lines are formed, the blocks are cleared from the screen and any blocks above them fall into the gaps. The game is over when the blocks touch the top of the playfield, or another game-ending condition is met (such as reaching a time limit or clearing blocks below a set line). The player moves a two-block cursor around the playfield using the D-pad and swaps blocks within the cursor using the action button. A block may be swapped with an empty space, and blocks that are moved into an empty column immediately fall toward the bottom of the playfield. The player can cause the playfield to rise more quickly by pressing either shoulder button. The cursor is free to move while blocks are clearing, allowing the player to form other matches and line up chains. Clearing more than three tiles in a single move scores a Combo, while Chains are scored when falling blocks from one clear cause another clear to occur. Both of these events score extra bonus points, and in multiplayer Versus games, these also send "garbage blocks" to the other player's playfield. Tetris Attack provides several single-player modes. Story Mode takes the player through the game's main plot, pitting the player against a series of foes in a head-to-head match. The objective is to cause the computer-controlled player to lose. In Endless Mode, the player is challenged to play as long as possible with a continuously rising stack of blocks, which increases in speed over time. Timed Mode challenges the player to score as many points as possible within a two-minute time limit, and Stage Clear mode takes the player through a series of stages in which the objective is to clear blocks below a set line. A Puzzle Mode is also provided, which presents the player with a number of puzzles where he or she must clear all of the blocks in a set number of moves. (Blocks do not rise in this mode.) In addition to the game's single-player modes, Tetris Attack also provides several multiplayer modes that are essentially two-player variants of the single-player modes. One or both human players may be substituted with a computer-controlled player with a selectable difficulty level.
Differences from Panel de PonAside from several new tracks based on Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, all of the in-game music in Tetris Attack remains unchanged from Panel de Pon. The Tetris Attack title theme is an arrangement of the title theme for Yoshi's Island, and Yoshi's theme and the Game Over screen are both arrangements of the Story Music Box theme from the same game. The original Panel de Pon tracks that were replaced are still present in the ROM code, but were dummied out of the game itself. These tracks are included in the Tetris Attack SPC emulator music archive, available at Snesmusic.org. The original Panel de Pon soundtrack was scored by Masaya Kuzume. The music tracks from Yoshi's Island were arranged by Yuka Tsujiyoko. Tetris Attack uses punctuation marks in passwords, but Panel de Pon does not. Unlike Tetris Attack, Panel de Pon does not offer the opportunity to enter passwords in single-player versus mode. Additionally, Tetris Attack introduces a cheat code to the single-player versus menu that allows the player to unlock the game's bosses as playable characters. Also, the AI characters in Tetris Attack are more advanced at the higher difficulties than in Panel de Pon.
Newer versionsTetris Attack was first released in 1996. It was updated for the Nintendo 64 console and rebranded as Pokémon Puzzle League (PPL). PPL was not a direct port of Tetris Attack; it included many changes and new features along with the characters from the Pokémon anime that replaced Yoshi and friends. PPL added a training mode, a puzzle editor, and a 3-D game mode that takes place in a cylindrical playing field three times the width of the 2-D board. It also had smoother game play and smarter computer opponents than Tetris Attack. In tandem with Pokémon Puzzle League, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge was released for the Nintendo Game Boy Color. PPC dropped the puzzle editor and 3-D mode but had a new game mode of its own, Garbage mode, which was basically Marathon mode with the addition of garbage blocks that periodically fall onto the stack. Whereas Pokémon Puzzle League added several new features, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge was essentially Tetris Attack with a Pokémon theme. An additional difficulty level, "Intense" mode, was added for Pokémon Puzzle Challenge. Panel de Pon, the predecessor to Tetris Attack, has been remade for GameCube as a component of Nintendo Puzzle Collection released in Japan in 2003, receiving a graphical and audio facelift along with a new four-player competitive mode. It is unknown whether the Yoshi's Island infusion would have been applied to Panel de Pon for a North American release like it was applied to the SNES version, since the game's release in North America was quietly cancelled. Panel de Pon is also available in the Game Boy Advance title Dr. Mario & Panel de Pon, released in Japan in 2005. This title has also been released in North America as Dr. Mario & Puzzle League. Both the Japanese and North American releases feature generic backgrounds, with characters and story mode completely removed, making it the first time the game has been released on its own merit, without the infusion of cartoon characters from one source or another. Planet Puzzle League is the most recently available iteration of Panel De Pon, released in Japan (as Panel de Pon DS) and the US in the second quarter for the Nintendo DS. The Japanese and American versions of Planet Puzzle League are identical, save for the ability to unlock a background featuring Lip and her stage theme from Panel De Pon in the Japanese version, the only way to unlock this feature in the American version is by using a cheat device. This title is also Wi-Fi enabled on the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service so that players may compete with each other around the globe.
References in other mediaIn Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl, one of the various objects that Kirby randomly transforms into when using his "Stone" special attack is a garbage block from Panel de Pon. Also in these games, there is an item called Lip's Stick, named after the Panel de Pon character replaced by Yoshi for Tetris Attack. Lip's Stick poisons the opponent that it contacts, as a flower is planted atop his or her head. While some in-game graphics exclusive to the Japanese market were replaced with more recognizable items, Lip's Stick was left as-is with its trophy explaining its Japanese-only origin. Also present in Brawl is a collectible Sticker depicting one of the characters from the Nintendo Puzzle Collection iteration of Panel de Pon, marking the first time a Panel de Pon character is intentionally shown to audiences outside of Japan. The game also includes a remix of Lip's theme as an unlockable song for the stage PictoChat.
References
External links- Tetris Attack at MobyGames
- Tetris Attack at GameFAQs
- American Dr. Mario & Puzzle League website
| Yoshi series |
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| | Puzzle games | Yoshi • Yoshi's Cookie • Tetris Attack | | | Sidescroller/Platform | Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island • Yoshi's Story • Yoshi's Universal Gravitation • Yoshi Touch & Go • Yoshi's Island DS | | | Other | Yoshi's Safari |
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| Puzzle League Video games |
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| | Console games | Panel de Pon / Tetris Attack · Pokémon Puzzle League · Nintendo Puzzle Collection | | | Portable games | Pokémon Puzzle Challenge · Dr. Mario & Puzzle League · Planet Puzzle League |
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| Tetris games |
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| | Main articles | Alexey Pajitnov · Tetris · Tetris effect · Tetromino · The Tetris Company · List of Tetris variants | | | Descendant games | Tetris Plus · Tetris: The Grand Master · The New Tetris · Tetris 64 · Tetris Worlds · Magical Tetris Challenge · Tetris Splash | | | Portable games | Tetris (Game Boy) · 3D Tetris · V-Tetris · Tetris DS | | | Unofficial/Variant games | Blockout · Hatris · KSirtet · Tetrisphere · Tetris Attack · TetriNET · Welltris · Wordtris |
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