Tengen Tetris (Prototype A)

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Title Screen
Tengen Tetris (Prototype A)
Build name N/A
Dump status Released, redump needed
Dumped by Steve Lin
Released by Hidden Palace
File release date January 1, 2022
Origin EPROM cartridge
Labels N/A
Game Tengen Tetris
System NES
Genre Puzzle
Final build JP Unreleased
EU Unreleased
US N/A
Release date JP Unreleased
EU Unreleased
US May 1989
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A prototype of Tengen Tetris for the NES.

Notes

The Cutting Room Floor research
  • Has a totally different and much more basic-looking intro screen, with a more basic logo. There is no menu music.
    • There are no animated fireworks on this screen, in this version.
    • In the copyright text, "(C)1987 ACADEMYSOFT-ELORG." begins with a "TM", in this version. Instead of the "(C)1988 TENGEN" line, the following lines appear at the bottom of the screen:
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
LICENSED BY
NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC.
  • The screen border is visually very different, and is green and red instead of blue. This also differs from later builds.
  • The main menu also contains some licensing information which entirely differs from what was used in the final:
TETRIS LICENSED TO
ANDROMEDA SOFTWARE LTD.
SUBLICENSED TO MIRRORSOFT
LTD. AND SPHERE INC.
  • The main menu is totally missing its logo.
  • There is no autodemo at this point in development.
  • The only options on the main menu are "1 PLAYER" and "2 PLAYER" - there are no cooperative or versus computer modes.
    • In each of these modes, instead of selecting a level, the following options are available:
BEGINNER
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
EXPERT
  • The difficulty modes screen also contains three lines crediting the developers, which are normally split onto different menus:
CONCEPT BY ALEXEY PAZHITNOV
DESIGN BY VADIM GERASIMOV
PROGRAMMED BY ED LOGG
  • There are no handicap or music menus, and only one track (Loginska) plays in-game.
  • The HUD at the top of the screen in the menus is missing the "LEVEL" line.
  • The menu sound effects differ from the final.
  • The blocks all have a different look, with each block being represented by a unique pattern. The blocks look much more primitive than they do in the final as they lack defined borders or a 3D design. Additionally, the blocks use different patterns to the later builds.
    • The block stats on the right half of the screen do not feature images of the blocks underneath; instead, they're identified by that respective block's unique pattern.
  • The Tetris logo in the in-game HUD looks different.
  • The "STATS" text is lower than it is in the final, and it's red instead of white.
  • The "HIGH SCORE" section of the in-game HUD is missing, and instead the HUD appears the same as it does in two player mode.
  • The "PAUSE" text does not have a red border around it, in this version.
  • The music continues on the pause screen.
  • The "GAME OVER" text has a blue border instead of a red one. The usual game over theme is missing. Any button can be used to exist the game over screen, rather than just the start button.
  • There are no Russian dancers or bonus screen each level increase - instead, the game continues as if nothing important had happened.
    • Also, the level increases every 10 lines, instead of every 30.
  • Blocks hold the same colour and pattern when they drop, rather than changing to a different colour like they do in the final.
  • The block dropping sound differs from the final.
  • Blocks often cannot be turned when they are pressed against the wall.
  • There is no high score screen after gameplay.
  • Score numbers for individually placed blocks are not displayed.
  • The score calculation is very basic - it starts on 1 and increases by 1 for every block placed and every line cleared. Additional points are awarded for multi-line clears.
  • Lines clear instantly without any visual effects.
    • Unlike Prototype C, when multiple lines are cleared they all disappear simultaneously, like Prototypes B and D.
    • They also do not show text indicating how many lines have been scored ("SINGLE", "DOUBLE", etc).
    • The blocks do not clear from left to right as they do in the final, instead all blocks in a row clear simultaneously.

Screenshots


Files

File Type Date Size Comment SHA-1
Tengen Tetris (Prototype A).nes ROM file 2012-08-19 22:24:18 24 KB ROM file. 03227b9dd125b7b3b66c610dc42c8ff8398805ed

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Frank Cifaldi at the Video Game History Foundation and the anonymous donor for this part of the lot! A huge thanks to Hwd45 for researching this prototype!

See also