Tetris: all version differences

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Version differences

• GraphicsElektronika 60 original

  The first version ran on a text-only Soviet computer: the pieces were drawn with characters (later square brackets) in monochrome, and the three-digit score display wraps around after 999.¹

• GameplayDOS v1.0 (1986)DOS v3.12

  Version 1.0 of the AcademySoft PC game ran at a speed that depended on the machine and only let players choose a level; v3.12 fixed the speed and added a pause key, a garbage-start option and a "phantom" mode.²

• GameplayFamicom (BPS, 1988)

  Bullet-Proof Software's Famicom version maps Down to rotate and A to hard drop, has no soft drop, and is built around rounds and stages with three lives.³

• GameplayNES (Tengen)NES (Nintendo)

  Tengen's withdrawn NES version was praised for its simultaneous two-player mode, and designer Ed Logg argued that Nintendo's version lacked Tengen's gradual speed tuning, which causes steep jumps in difficulty; critics generally rated Tengen's version higher.⁴

• AudioNES (Nintendo)Game Boy

  Nintendo's NES version uses arrangements of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker and Bizet's Carmen, while the Game Boy version made "Korobeiniki" the famous Type A theme.⁵

• AudioGame Boy v1.0 (JP)Game Boy v1.1

  The very first Japanese Game Boy print (v1.0, sold in a Link bundle, about 25,000 copies) used "Minuet" as the A-Type music; v1.1, used for the rest of Japan and all export copies, switched to "Korobeiniki".⁶

• GameplayGame Boy v1.0 (JP)Game Boy v1.1

  In v1.0 only 20 lines on Level 9 are needed to reach Level 10 (v1.1 needs 100), and v1.0 reads the D-pad during line clears, which lets players pre-charge auto-shift.⁶

• GameplayNES (Nintendo, EU)

  The European release of Nintendo's NES Tetris has a cheat missing from the US version: holding Select when a piece lands gives 10,000 points in A-Type or instantly clears the round in B-Type.⁷

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