Tetris DS Review

What makes Tetris DS so special? The biggest factor for me is the presentation. Rather than being developed by Blue Planet Software, the company responsible for every other Tetris title, Tetris DS was developed directly by Nintendo in collaboration with The Tetris Company. The result was not only a rock-solid version of Tetris, but a love letter to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Tetris DS features visuals directly inspired by several classic NES games, such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and even less obvious ones like Balloon Fight and Yoshi’s Cookie. In the classic Tetris game mode, you place blocks and clear lines on the bottom screen while NES gameplay animations are shown on the top screen. The music is also a key part of the presentation, with all-new remixes of NES tunes to go with the visuals. The end result is a great audiovisual presentation that makes Tetris DS fully unique from the rest of the series. 

The other aspect of Tetris DS that makes it great is the gameplay. The main mode is the Tetris gameplay everyone knows and loves, with many of the modern additions such as holding pieces, hard drops, and t-spins. There are also several side modes that provide new takes on Tetris, those being Catch, Mission, Puzzle, Touch, and Push. Catch mode involves moving a core to catch falling tetriminos. I didn’t really get this one at first, but I probably will as I play it more. In Mission mode, your goal is to clear lines in specific ways. It’s pretty straightforward and fun. Puzzle mode is also very fun, it challenges you to clear all of the lines with the specific blocks it gives you. Touch mode involves moving blocks with the touch screen to clear lines. I also liked this one a lot, as it is very intuitive and feels unique. Finally, Push mode is a competition where you must clear more lines than your opponent in order to push them down. This one also took a bit of getting used to, but I think it’s decent enough. All of these game modes give Tetris DS a ton of content and things to do beyond the basic Tetris experience. 

To conclude, Tetris DS is one of the most unique and well-made Tetris games in my opinion. The presentation is immaculate, with classic Tetris gameplay done perfectly, as well as tons of options and gameplay modes. I’d definitely say it’s a must-own for Tetris fans, Nintendo fans, and DS/3DS owners in general.