Tetris 99 devs on how the game came to be, scrapped targeting mechanics, future plans, much more

Path to Glory

By the way, what’s the best way to climb the leaderboard? I think there are probably many players who have never taken first place before.

Kinashi: I think first off, being good at the basic Tetris game formula will improve your chances, and for those that still need improvement, I think watching the state of the battlefield and gathering badges can also help. I think the first thing a player needs to master is the speed. Towards the latter half of the game the Tetrominos fall much faster, so how you deal with that speed is important. I think with that you can climb into the top 10 and, if luck is on your side, even take top spot.

Nakada: I think first you need to get used to the orthodox piling system of Tetris. Once you have done that, I think the important things are keeping an eye on the NEXT box that tells you the next Tetromino that will fall and also the state of other players around you.

When do you think it’s best to change tactics?

Kinashi: For beginners I think the aim should be to focus on your own screen and play well. Then a good start would be to set tactics to ‘Random’ and switch over to ‘Attackers’ only when you are being targeted.

Nakada: But if you overdo the ‘Counter’ tactic you can draw attention to yourself, so it’s possible to keep it only as a makeshift tactic and change back to ‘Random’ when you want to avoid interest. The player can also switch to ‘KOs’ for the brief moment of an attack, send off their blocks, and then switch back to ‘Random’ immediately. Deftly changing between these tactical modes is a good strategy.

Kinashi: That way your own attack goes through but you don’t suffer a counter from the player you attacked. These sort of plays were already beginning to come out in playtesting. But if you overdo some of those quick-change tactics, the core play elements of Tetris tend to get neglected. In my case there were plenty of times when I thought too much about the battling element and ended up with a poor result. (laughs) But on the other hand there are times when things look terrible but I just keep fighting and, for one reason or another, everyone else got defeated and I ended up winning.

So it’s important to know when to focus on tactics and when to focus on simply playing?

Kinashi: Not using a set tactic and building up blocks to attack your opponent manually also works well. The ‘KOs’ tactic will automatically target people for you, but the players targeted by this tactic will also be focused on by other players with the ‘KOs’ tactic selected. Since only one person can receive the badge from the defeated player, the competition is obviously much higher. While you need to search out targets for yourself on manual, there is no competition for your target from those with ‘KOs’ tactic selected. Because of that, it can be a much more effective way of gathering badges.

I see. You also mentioned earlier being aware of the condition of others around you, so I guess that also helps.

Kinashi: Once you get used to it, you can even work out the skill level of your opponents, and if you notice someone using the ‘T-spin’ technique then you can probably assume they are an advanced player. But if you spend too much time thinking about this, other players with quick reactions will quickly gain the upper hand. So while choosing your tactics wisely is good, being skilled at maneuvering the blocks is also important. I think this constant balancing act is what makes Tetris 99 interesting.

Can both of you use the T-spin technique and link up combos?

Kinashi: I’m not great at T-spinning or linking combos. I just fit the blocks into the space and clear lines. Still, that’s enough to get me first place in around 10% of the games I play.

Nakada: I’m the same. But when I see a chance to T-spin I get greedy and go for it. There are plenty of times when I got KO’d while trying out that move. (laughs)

I think there are some that feel the T-spin technique and combos are necessary to finish high in the rankings, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Kinashi: That’s right. I think the essential thing is the ability to move at speed in the latter stages of a match.

The Undiscovered Country

Finally, What sort of updates do you have planned from here?

Kinashi: In terms of free content, the ability to change the appearance of your own Tetrominos and also choose your own emblem. Also from May 10 onwards, we’ll be adding new modes as paid DLC. The first stage of this is a mode to get those not yet used to the game ready for the online mode by competing against CPU players, ‘CPU Battle Mode’, as well as a standard mode for those wanting to play Tetris alone, ‘Marathon Mode’. I can’t talk about the second wave properly yet, but we also plan to add content that lets people enjoy playing with their family and friends offline.

Why did you decide not to include that one-player mode on release?

Kinashi: I think mainly we wanted people to play the online mode against other players. With more players, the matchmaking is also much faster.

I see. For now, please tell us a little more about those different modes you are adding.

Kinashi: To put it another way, ‘Marathon Mode’ is basically one-player Tetris. We’ve added options such as having the blocks suddenly fall quicker and other conditions for the player to practice. Because the blocks always fall faster in the latter stages of an online game of Tetris 99, getting used to this is important. I think this mode is also a good way to try out those combos and T-spins. The ‘CPU Battle Mode’ pits the player against 98 other CPU players. Players can choose from five difficulty levels and also begin the match with a number of badges already in stock. In this mode you can get used to battling 99 other players and also using badges more efficiently.

I think there will be a lot of players interested in both modes.

Nakada: Also we touched on this earlier, but from May 17 until the 20th we will be having a Tetris 30th Anniversary cup. Actually this year is also the 30th anniversary of the Game Boy Tetris game, so as a present we are giving players the Tetromino design theme from the original Game Boy version of the game. Anyone playing during the event and accruing 100 points will receive the gift, so please take part.

I look forward to it. I’m sure diehard fans of the original Game Boy will be especially pleased. So as we’re a little pressed for time, do you have a final message for our readers?

Nakada: The theme for this third event is the Game Boy Tetris, but we have a framework in place that makes a number of future collaborations possible. I think fans should look forward to a lot more of those in future.

Kinashi: First I’d just like to thank all of those who are playing the game. Because Tetris is such a simple concept, it would be great if players could involve their friends and family, and also participate in some of our future events.

4Gamer: Thank you for speaking to us today.

Translation by provided by Corks on behalf of Nintendo Everything

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