From The Forum issue 183 - Tetris: Best puzzler ever?

[NickThorpe]

Hi all, it's from the forum time. This month, we're seeking your opinions on the following warm apple of the earth:

Is Tetris the best block puzzle game ever?

Of course, there's more to it than that. If it is, why - and what's the best version? If not, what would you rank above it?

Personally, I have a huge respect for Tetris and enjoy playing it, but I've never found that perfect two-player variant despite some close attempts (Magical Tetris Challenge is a great example). My heart lies with puzzle games that were designed for competitive play from the start, like Puyo Puyo and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.

[kiwimike]

I love Tetris. It deserves its accolades of course. My late mum god rest her soul was addicted when I bought her an original GB with the cart! IMO it is a better solo game than two player though. I love Bust a move and it's variants for that.

Many of the Popcap games are great too, as is columns. But one favourite overlooked at times is Klax. That would probably be my personal favourite, and the Lynx had a close to perfect version.

Speaking of Lynx, it had a great version of Chips Challenge- a different kind of puzzler but puzzler nonetheless!

[Solegor]

Tetris is great and can be enjoyed in hundreds of different iterations (bar some of the recent UbiSoft games). Even today we can see developers finding ways to improve on the simple but addictive formula - apparently we will now get Tetris in VR
Tetris is also the game to bridge generations and is loved by people who otherwise don't play videogames. In that regard it is definitely the best puzzler ever.
Though for me personally rhythmically-oriented puzzlers have more appeal - Lumines, for example.

[The Laird]

As good as Tetris is there are other puzzle games that I prefer more such as Columns, Baku Baku and Shanghai.

[RetroBob]

For me Tetris is not just the best block puzzlers out there but one of the best games out there. The gameplay is evergreen and anyone can play it.

[NorthWay]

Yeah, but no. Depends on how you view Lumines. In my opinion it is Tetris II, but they are seen as different games so I'd have to vote for Lumines in that case.
Oh, and as for best Tetris version, there was an Amiga Scene version by a Norwegian (IIRC) that I thought was utterly slick. Exact names escapes me atm.

[the_hawk]

Tetris is not a puzzle game, there's nothing to solve, it's a twitch reaction arcade game.

But in term of "Tetris style" games, there's been like a billion clones each trying to add their own (Dr) Spin to proceedings.
Although there are some interesting variations, most of the gimmicks are pretty unnecessary & the simplicity of the original still reigns supreme.

[Big Shoes]

It is still an awesome game, the best version is still on the original Gameboy, lots of great memories playing that.
My wife and I play Poyo Poyo/Tetris on the Switch a lot which is great!

[antsbull]

From a purity point of view, yes it is, however I personally prefer Puzzle Bobble, as it has a similar can't-put-it-down feel, and the added characters and graphics give it a bit of extra visual flair.

[Greyfox]

The best and devilish two player Tetris taken has to be Tetris Battle Gaiden for the Super Nintendo, it never got a European or American release, but by Christ was it addictive in two player mode as each charater had their own powers in which when thing got hairy you could cast spells on the other players side and create all sort of taking the censored action to reverse the tides..fantastic..now include that in your article you won't regret it

[sirclive1]

Lumines - its hypnotic !

[Matt_B]

I'll go for Portal, with honourable mentions to World of Goo, Contre Jour, Crayon Physics and Osmos.

Thinking about it, the whole physics puzzle genre is a relatively new one that's only really been opened up by the huge advances in computing power that make it almost trivial to implement engines that would previously have required a supercomputer. I suppose you can look at ancestors like The Incredible Machine and A Whole New Ball Game to see where it all came from, but they're obviously restricted by having to keep the mechanics simple and you don't get that glorious feeling of hundreds of objects clattering into each other chaotically to get the desired result.

[joefish]

Nope. Got to be Buzzsaw+ (Box Deluxe Mix) on the Spectrum.
This is a completely independent and unbiased opinion, of course.

[Bluce_Ree]

Tetris is good but gets a bit too intense later on and is super repetitive. Chime (Xbox 360) takes the concept and makes it a whole lot more interesting.

[CodyJarrett]

Oh, and as for best Tetris version, there was an Amiga Scene version by a Norwegian (IIRC) that I thought was utterly slick. Exact names escapes me atm.

Twintris or Super Twintris?