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Comment by tda | Hacker News Reader

What is it about nes tetris that makes it so much better? I have never enjoyed any other tetris implementation but I played nes tetris many hours as a kid and also for a bit in my twenties. Still have that nes, but haven't touched it in a decade. But even if it still works I don't have a screen for it anymore :(

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At least for me, it's the lack of (1) a Hold function and (2) EasySpin.

IMO those break the game and I wish the Tetris Company wouldn't keep insisting on their inclusion!

Part of the fun of Tetris is, sometimes you have pieces that just don't go well anywhere, or which you just couldn't maneuver in time, and you have to find a way to recover from those errors.

Personally it feels like without a "Hold" mechanic the battle mode isn't very well balanced

Oh, that's an excellent point! Let me clarify: I think both Hold and EasySpin are great mechanics in multiplayer Tetris.

Multiplayer Tetris is a very different game. Speed is paramount regardless of how quickly pieces fall, and players need to deal with garbage blocks. Thus, it makes sense for players to have more options and maneuverability.

However, when you put these mechanics into traditional singleplayer marathon mode, they become a problem.

Thanks for explaining, I see where you're coming from now

What is EasySpin? I assume Hold means the ability to "bank" a tetromino for later use.

I've only ever played the GameBoy Tetris game, both on the original Game Kart and on 3DS Virtual Console, and it only has spin and drop buttons.

You're current on "Hold".

"EasySpin" is also known as "Infinity" depending on who you talk to. Basically, as long as you continue to move and/or turn a piece when it hits the bottom, it won't actually lock in place. This is very easy to abuse.

Neither of these so-called features is in the Gameboy version, so you wouldn't know about them. :) However, they're in basically ever modern Tetris game.

Game boy Tetris IS Tetris to me.

Is it largely the same as NES Tetris?

Yes, it's basically the same! NES Tetris has color though, so that's my preferred version.

Untrue about infinity / easy spin. Easy spin means that when you rotate a PIECE, it's locking timer is reset. This is not a feature on any recent major tetris. The closer would be TAP's or Ti's locking system where the timer resets if the piece moves down a row. Those games compensate a lot of the difficulty with increased speed meaning you have to play faster and cleaner to keep up.

> This is not a feature on any recent major tetris.

Huh, well maybe I’m using the wrong term then. But whatever locking system was on e.g. Tetris Effect was totally abusable and stupid.

Pieces should lock when they hit the bottom, period, at least in single player. Like they do in NES Tetris.

It's a more difficult and punishing experience. No 7-bag randomiser, no piece lock delay. That alone makes it much more difficult to play. The "old-school hardcore" mechanics are part of the appeal.

I'm not really sure, as I don't play other versions.

I would guess that the simplicity of the interface and rules.

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