Tetris: The Grand Master
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| Tetris: The Grand Master | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Arika |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release date | 1998 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
| Input methods | 8-way joystick, 3 buttons |
| Arcade system | Sony ZN-2 |
| Display | Raster, 320 x 240 pixels, 65536 colors |
Tetris: The Grand Master (often abbreviated TGM) is a puzzle game created by Arika, Inc. based on the popular Tetris license. It was the first in Arika's Tetris: The Grand Master series of games, and introduced several play mechanics to Tetris gameplay which can be seen today in its sequels, and many other Tetris implementations. The game was only released to arcades in Japan.
A console version called Tetris: The Grandmaster ACE was published by AQ Interactive on December 10, 2005 and was a launch title for the Xbox 360's Japan release.
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[edit] Gameplay
The basic gameplay of TGM is similar to those of other Tetris games. The player must move and rotate tetromino-shaped pieces falling into a well to form horizontal lines, which will then be cleared. During gameplay, the game automatically gives ranks (or 'grades') to the player according to his/her score, starting from 9 all the way up to GM (Grand Master).
[edit] Levels in TGM
In most Tetris games, the game level (signifying its difficulty) will increase by one every time the player clears 10 lines. A different system is used in TGM, however. Levels in TGM increase by one for every piece placed and locked down, and for every line cleared. The exception to the rule is when the lower two digits of the level is at 99. (99, 199, 299...) When in this state, the level can only increased by clearing lines, and not by placing pieces.
The ultimate goal of the game is to reach level 999, the highest level, and attain the GM rank.
[edit] 20G (Instant Gravity)
The fall speed is measured in units called G, or grid cells per frame. For the first 300 levels, the game speed is less than 1G. After reaching level 500, the falling pieces cease to have an airborne phase, and instead will instantly appear at the bottom. This state is referred to by developers of the game as 20G. This change in behavior modifies the gameplay mechanics significantly, to a much more strategic game. When previously players would align the horizontal position while the piece is still airborne, and then drop the pieces, this becomes impossible since the pieces are already at their lowest possible vertical positions when they appear. Instead, players are required to quickly trundle the pieces along the terrain to get them to their intended locations, before they lock down. Similar conditions can be observed in some modern iterations of Tetris, such as level 20 of Tetris DS.
[edit] Lockdown
Carrying over a trait from its spiritual ancestor, Sega's Tetris, the pieces do not lock immediately when it comes in contact with the placed blocks on the screen (unless Down is held when the tetromino is in mid-air). Similar, but not identical, behavior can be seen in the later Tetris Worlds series. The pieces can be maneuvered for a half second on the same line it was dropped before it locks (meaning the player can drop the tetromino one line to restart the lock-down timer). This can be a great strategy for undesirable drops, and fitting in tetrominoes strategically in gaps.
[edit] Grades (GRS)
TGM uses one system to rank the player at the end of the game. It is called the Grade Recognition System, abbreviated GRS. As the player, your mission is to get each grade as fast as possible to rank to the top of the hiscore list. When you reach a fixed amount of points (by clearing lines), you will gain a new grade. If the grade was gained at a quicker time than the current hiscore shows, you will be asked at the end of the game to enter your name to the hiscore. During gameplay, the player's current grade and the points required to get the next grade, are always shown at the top left of the playfield. The grade starts at 9, and eventually decreases to 1 which then changes to S1. Afterwards the number will increase, up to S9, and to the GM, the highest rank of the game.
Here is the official list of points you have to reach in order to get the grades:
- 0 points = Grade 9
- 400 points = Grade 8
- 800 points = Grade 7
- 1,400 points = Grade 6
- 2,000 points = Grade 5
- 3,500 points = Grade 4
- 5,500 points = Grade 3
- 8,000 points = Grade 2
- 12,000 points = Grade 1
- 16,000 points = Grade S1
- 22,000 points = Grade S2
- 30,000 points = Grade S3
- 40,000 points = Grade S4
- 52,000 points = Grade S5
- 66,000 points = Grade S6
- 82,000 points = Grade S7
- 100,000 points = Grade S8
- 120,000 points = Grade S9
- 126,000 points = Grade GM
The game has three hidden checkpoints during gameplay. The first checkpoint is at level 300. Here it checks to see if you have attained grade 1 or a better grade. If you have failed this, you will never be able to get the GM grade and see the real game ending. The second checkpoint is at level 500. Here it checks to see if you have attained grade S4 or a better grade. Even if you've succeed with this, if you failed the first checkpoint, you will not be able to get the GM grade at the end of the game. The third and last checkpoint is at level 999. Here the game ends. But to see the real ending, all three checkpoints must have reported success during the gameplay. If any of them failed, you will be prompted to try again to become a grand master. The last checkpoint checks to see if you have received 126.000 points or more, and if you reached level 999 at the time 13:30:00 or faster. And of course it checks the 2 previous checkpoint results. If all of them succeeded, you will get the GM grade and see the real game ending.
Here are the conditions to get the GM grade:
- Attain grade 1 before level 300
- Attain grade S4 before level 500
- Receive 126.000 points or more when the game ends at level 999
- Reach level 999 with a faster time than 13:30:01
These conditions have been tested and confirmed.
[edit] Assistive features
To assist experienced players in attempting to combat 20G, and also to help beginning players avoid mistakes, the following assistive gameplay features exist in TGM:
[edit] Initial Rotation (IRS)
Initial rotation is a feature which allows players to have pieces appear in an already rotated state. This is crucial to play in 20G, where rotating the pieces before they hit the ground is impossible. Players can use initial rotation by holding down the rotation button after the previous piece has locked down - but before the next piece enters the well. A short metallic sound can be heard when initial rotation is invoked.
[edit] Temporary Landing (TLS)
Temporary Landing (sometimes known as a "ghost" piece in other Tetris variants) is an assistance feature for players to prevent mistakes in early levels. A transparent image of the current piece is displayed at the location it would occupy if allowed to fall from its current location. This feature is removed at level 100, most likely as part of the increase in difficulty as the game progresses.
[edit] Randomization algorithm
TGM keeps a history of the last 4 pieces in memory and is biased against giving one of these pieces when selecting the next piece. If the selection of a random piece yields a piece in the history, the game tries again up to a maximum of 4 random selections. After 4 attempts it will ignore the history and give the last selection. The history is initialized as 4 Z pieces.
[edit] Rotation rules
The basic rotation rule of TGM is identical to Sega's Japanese arcade version of Tetris, as most of the rule details of TGM are derived from Sega Tetris. It is unique in that no single center of rotation exists; instead, the J, L, S, T, and Z tetrominoes rotate so that the lowest grid block is always of the same height.
One difference from Sega's Tetris is the existence of rotation compensation, also called "wall kick". This applies a slight nudge to a tetromino in some cases where rotating it would bump into a wall. First it will try to move the piece one cell right, and then if that fails, one cell left. If both fail, rotation will not work.
[edit] External links
- Arika.co.jp - home of the developer
- ACE version Japanese website
- Tetris The Grand Master - more indepth information about the game on tetrisconcept.com
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