Developed in-house by ModRetro for their Chromatic FPGA-based Game Boy Color handheld, Tetris is back and even bundled with launch units of the ModRetro Chromatic—almost like it’s 1989 all over again.
As part of ModRetro’s initiative to support and include brand-new Game Boy and Game Boy Color games for their just-released Chromatic hardware, Tetris has been reintroduced. The classic falling-block puzzler is among a select list of iconic titles making a comeback, appealing to both new owners of the ModRetro Chromatic and those who still have their old Game Boys ready to play.
I’ve reviewed my fair share of games, but I did not expect to review Tetris—a game that needs no introduction. However, for the sake of brevity, Tetris first debuted in 1989 alongside Nintendo’s original DMG Game Boy. Developed by Alexey Pajitnov, a Russian software engineer living in the Soviet Union, the breakout success of Tetris helped cement both the DMG Game Boy and the game itself into the cultural zeitgeist for decades.
Unfortunately, due to the complex socioeconomic climate of the Soviet Union, Pajitnov did not receive his rightful earnings until after relocating to the United States in the 1990s. There, he founded The Tetris Company, finally gaining access to his long-overdue royalties.
“Tetris is back and even bundled with launch units of the ModRetro Chromatic, almost as if it’s like 1989 all over again.”
The game Tetris is a puzzle game that requires players to manipulate moving pieces, or tetrominoes, as they fall, with the goal of clearing the screen before the pieces stack up to the top, resulting in a game over.
Stacking the falling tetrominoes into horizontal lines clears them from the screen, earning the player points. The basic gameplay loop in Tetris tasks players with building up stacks of fallen tetrominoes before clearing them in a timely manner. The risk and reward lie in deciding whether to clear the screen immediately or wait for a bigger combo that nets more points.
Unlike the 1989 pack-in bundle version of Tetris for the DMG Game Boy, the ModRetro Chromatic version includes several quality-of-life improvements, chief among them a save battery that allows players to maintain their high scores and individual profiles (with three available slots).
The ModRetro Chromatic version of Tetris features four gameplay modes: Marathon, Ultra, Sprint, and Endless. Marathon mode tasks players with clearing up to 20 levels in either a classic or modern style. Ultra mode challenges players to achieve the highest score possible within a time limit at a specific level. Sprint mode requires players to clear 40 lines as quickly as possible, encouraging replays to improve their times. Finally, Endless mode, which closely resembles the classic Game Boy version, includes 30 levels of increasing difficulty. After reaching the level cap, the game continues until the player gets a Game Over.
“Tetris for the ModRetro Chromatic features a few needed quality-of-life improvements…”
Link-cable-based multiplayer is also included in the game, something that I was unable to test, but should work between both the ModRetro Chromatic and other Game Boy or Game Boy derivate consoles, as long as both players are using the ModRetro Chromatic version of Tetris.
Tetris on the ModRetro Chromatic targets Game Boy Color hardware, which means the game appears far more vibrant than the original 1989 version of the popular puzzler. Thanks to the ultra-crisp sapphire screen of the ModRetro Chromatic, Tetris on this handheld looks almost as rich as a Game Boy Advance version.
One area I was initially concerned about with the latest release of Tetris on the ModRetro Chromatic was its sound design. Thankfully, the game features the classic tune likely ingrained in your memory from years ago, making this iteration worthy of the Tetris name.
