Getting Back to Basics w/ Tetris Ultimate for Nintendo 3DS

Once upon a time there was a little girl that loved playing video games. If she wasn’t looking stomping Gumbas in Super Mario Brothers on her 8-bit Nintendo, she was arranging precisely configured blocks on the monochromatic screen of her Nintendo Gameboy. Now that girl is all grown up and she has discovered Tetris Ultimate for the Nintendo 3DS.

Tetris Ultimate Review for Nintendo 3DS

Unlike many versions of this classic game, Tetris Ultimate for Nintendo 3DS does not aim to be revolutionary with new gameplay styles or extreme graphics. Instead, it’s all about getting back to the basics. Just rotate and drop blocks to clear lines and level up. You can choose one of several modes:

• Marathon – Finish level 15 and get as many points possible while doing so. This is fun but gets really hard, really fast. I have only been able to get up to level 13.
• Endless – Keep going until you can’t. You must pass Marathon Mode to unlock this mode. So far, it’s still locked for me.
• Ultra – Try to get as many points as possible during a three-minute challenge round. This is nice for a quick game.
• Sprint – How fast can 40 lines be cleared? Keep playing to beat your score.
• Battle – Try to out-play up to four challengers.
• Battle Ultimate – Go against an opponent and use power-ups to help you while making it harder for them.
• Challenge – See how well you can play with disappearing pieces or ones that can’t be rotated. It’s all about strategy here.

Tetris Ultimate Gameplay and Price

Overall, I like that the basic “no frills” gameplay is back. I don’t like how fast the pieces start moving after hitting level 12 or so. It’s extremely hard to even get to level 15, let alone beat it, to unlock the Endless mode (which is usually my favorite). As for the music, that was a bit disappointing. I was hoping to hear at least one of the two classic background tracks that are mostly commonly associated Tetris. Unfortunately, players must endure a solemn depressing version throughout. The tempo does speed up but only causes more stress as the pieces fall faster in higher levels.

The screen looks good in 3D but, with so much going on with rotating and placing pieces, it’s just easier to play with it in regular 2D. Since the graphics are so basic and there’s not much in terms of new elements during play, I do feel that the price of $29.99 for Tetris Ultimate for Nintendo 3DS is a bit high. Fortunately, you can get the download only version for $19.99 and that’s a much better buy for the included content.

Game download provided for review, part of my participation as an UbiStars official blogger for Ubisoft titles. All opinions are my own.