Happy Monday, folks, and welcome to the Weekly Video Games Thread!
Today’s prompt is simple: talk about Tetris. Tetris is one of the true greats of this medium. It’s foundational, historical, competitive, funny, inventive, charming, tough, engaging, and excellently designed. And for today, I’m going to ask you to discuss whatever of it you’d like. Which game was your first? Which is your favorite? What aspects of it are particularly important to you? I think it’s one of those games that has that power, more than almost any other.
I’ll go first, I guess. For me, my first Tetris was “the” one, the one that defined the series as much as any game, Tetris for Game Boy. It was easily the best game my sister had for her Game Boy, vastly outpacing Super Mario Land, Bugs Bunny’s Crazy Castle, and Nintendo’s unabashed Breakout ripoff Alleyway. And that’s the one I do play the most – albeit emulated, via Nintendo Switch Online. I’m pretty sure I judge all puzzle games of its ilk by it, but I also wonder if my obsession with management, planning, and optimization comes at least a little bit from playing the game. Either way, Tetris has always been my classic arcade-y score-chasin’ game since. I loved Tetris Effect when I played it earlier this year, and while I’m not sure how many Tetrises I’d need to play, it always gives me a warm feeling.
And while you’re fitting the stupid T-Tetrimino in the best place you can, what did you play this weekend?