Tetris DS And The Tetris BOP IT!

 If you look at a console there is a decent chance there is a Tetris game on there, and in most cases several, but one that so many people seem to talk about is Tetris DS, which as just mentioned is on a system, the houses one or two more Tetris titles, and if you play it on a 3DS then there are even more options in the popular block dropping, line clearing series. So, I found a copy of this game for twenty dollars, as well as a Tetris themed BOP IT and figured I would cover both! Let's see if this is a version of the beloved puzzle series worth seeking out, while also trying to get a high score more than five, my hand eye coordination is not the best when it has to be speedy.

Let's start with the BOP IT/ It has LED lights and plays like a run of the mill version of this game except you match the lights to the game as well, on a smaller grid. There is even a mode where you can turn the sound down or off, and play just LED Tetris, a fun a nifty novelty. I found it for four dollars, and it makes a fun display piece to occasionally play, fiddle with and of course show off at parties. Because nothing impresses a guest like matching LED lights into squares on a small grid. There is also a Tetris Jenga as well as other board game adaptations, but I have not tried those...yet, I have to at least show off my Tetris BOP IT once. 

Moving on to a DS version, I asked, why do people like this version so much going in. It did not take long for me to see why. Every mode is tied to a classic NES game, from Mario, Zelda and Metroid to even Ballon Fight and Donkey Kong. Each mode from a touch screen only, to a mission mode, to the classic marathon are all given a different game, and the aesthetic and music of this game are fantastic.  The game plays and controls well, but it's Tetris, but a good version none the less. There is multiplayer and WIFI battles or should I say were, I did neither and the latter is impossible to do now. That being said the mission modes. The different kinds of versus matches, the different modes using mechanics like flipping pieces in an inverted way or clearing lines with a only three or four pieces made for a fun afternoon alongside the marathon mode the series is known for. This is a version of the game I could see myself going back to, not just for the fun gameplay but the great presentation.

The next version of Tetris besides this and Tetris 99 that I will be going to is Tetris Effect, these games and that one is proof that you can reinvent things without changing what people love about a game. There may be so many different versions of this one, but games like Tetris DS are worth looking into because you never know how they will stand out. Sometimes trying something new works better than others but at the end of the day, seeing all these different ways people can try and make Tetris interesting is fun to follow. From cool graphics, fun callbacks, or a making it a last one standing game, the core gameplay never changes shows the quality of this classic game series. What started as stacking bricks on the original Gameboy line of systems as a pack in title has grown into a staple of the puzzle game genre that has inspired so many. The idea behind Tetris DS needs to be replicated for Switch using classic Nintendo franchises for different modes, I would buy it day one if they did it again, and they should. Until then this version will be great when I am the mood for this kind of game and is worth being a part of every DS owner's library as a fun puzzle game with a ton of heart.