Tetris 99, a new, free-to-play multiplayer take on the 1984 Soviet puzzle classic, is out now for the Nintendo Switch. All you need to play is a Nintendo Switch Online membership, which costs $3.99. TETRIS 99 is available as an exclusive offer for members of the Nintendo Switch Online paid membership service. After all, TETRIS 99 is all about battling online for block-dropping dominance.
| Tetris 99 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Arika |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo Switch |
| Release |
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| Gameplay info | |
| Next pieces | 6 |
| Playfield size | 10 × 20 |
| Hold piece | Yes |
| Hard drop | Yes |
| Rotation system | SRS |
Tetris 99 is a game for the Nintendo Switch, based around battle royale-style play. It is available as a free download to subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online service.
The game features an online multiplayer mode called Tetris 99, with single player and local multiplayer modes available by purchasing the Big Block DLC.
Gameplay
Tetris 99 mode
The mode is garbage-based, with the player being able to send garbage to other players. The aim is to be the last surviving player.
The player can earn badges by knocking out other players. Knocking out players with badges will cause the player to receive some (all?) of their badges. Collecting badges will increase the player's attack power.
When 50 players are remaining, the piece gravity begins to increase over time, eventually reaching 1G.[1]
This mode can also be played with a password, allowing only other players with the password to enter.
Badges
| Badge number | Attack boost | Required | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25% | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | 50% | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | 75% | 8 | 14 |
| 4 | 100% | 16 | 30 |
Garbage
By clearing lines the player can send lines of garbage to opponents.
Lines received will go into the pending garbage queue, where there is a delay before the lines appear on the playfield. This delay decreases as players are knocked out. The active set of pending lines will change colour to indicate how close it is to appearing, and when the active set spawns on the playfield the next set will become active.
The player can have at most 12 lines of garbage in their pending queue, and can send at most 20 with one line clear. In both cases any excess lines are lost.
Base table
The game's base garbage table is consistent with most guideline games, with the exception of the All Clear bonus. The game counts combos starting from the second consecutive line clear as 1.
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Targeting
The game provides four automatic targeting modes:
- Badges: Target opponents with many badges.
- KOs: Target opponents who are close to being knocked out.
- Attackers: Target opponents who are targeting the player.
- Randoms: Target opponents at random.
Alternatively, the player can also switch targets manually.
Target bonus
If the player is targeted by multiple opponents then they will receive a boost to attack power for each clear:
| Opponents | Bonus lines sent |
|---|---|
| 2 | +1 |
| 3 | +3 |
| 4 | +5 |
| 5 | +7 |
| 6+ | +9 |
This boost is applied before the badge attack boost.
Experience points
Experience points are awarded at the end of each game. Other than increasing the player's level, they seem to have no other effect on the game. The only two factors taken into account are final position, and number of K.O.s.
| Place | Experience points |
|---|---|
| 1st | 875 xp |
| 2nd | 725 xp |
| 3rd | 625 xp |
| 4th | 600 xp |
| 5th | 575 xp |
| 6th-10th | 550 xp |
| 11th-20th | 500 xp |
| 21st-30th | 450 xp |
| 31st-40th | 400 xp |
| 41st-50th | 375 xp |
| 51st-70th | 350 xp for 51st and decrements by 10 xp for each place drop until 70th. |
| 71st-99th | 150 xp for 71st and decrements by 5 xp for each place drop until 10 xp for 99th place. |
Additionally 50 xp are awarded for the first K.O. and 5 xp for any further K.O.s.
Tetris 99 Invictus
Tetris 99 Invictus plays similarly to Tetris 99 mode, with a higher gravity curve, and is exclusive to players who have previously won 1st place in a Tetris 99 match.
Team Battle
Up to four teams fight for the top spot, the team with the last player standing wins. To earn XP, the player must remain in the match until the end. While spectating another player, the player can give a like to cheer an ally on their team. This also earns the player extra experience points based on the team's final ranking.
Before the match starts the player can choose their team, each team can have up to 25 players, and the match a total of 99 players.
This mode can also be played with a password, allowing only other players with the password to enter.
Maximus Cup
- Main article: Maximus Cup
The Maximus Cup is a recurring event which players participate simply by playing Tetris 99 mode. So far two different categories of prizes have been offered, 999 My Nintendo Gold points, or unique themes for the game. In the case of the points, the top 999 with the most 1st place wins during the event are awarded the prize. The themes have a different format, players must accumulate 100 event points to permanently unlock the theme. Players earn event points by completing a Tetris 99 game, the points vary depending the rank attained.
Daily Missions
Daily Missions is a daily event that begins every day at 12:00 AM EST. Players complete the Daily Missions by playing regular modes, and fulfilling the requirements. Each day brings four new missions, two of which require the Big Block DLC. By completing a Daily Mission, the player is awarded a ticket, which can be exchanged to unlock a new theme for the game.
Tetris 99 Strategy
Big Block DLC
CPU Battle
CPU Battle mode pits the player against 98 CPU players. The AI difficulty and the player's starting badges can be adjusted.
Tetris 99 Computer
Marathon
The player can select between 150 Line and 999 Line modes. In 150 Line mode the starting level can also be selected. In either case the speed level will increase every 10 lines until it reaches the maximum.
The 150 Line speed curve is similar to that of current guideline games.
Local Arena
Local Arena allows up to eight consoles to play against each other locally.
2P Share Battle
This mode is similar to CPU Battle, with the exception of two human players playing with each Joy-Con, or seperate game controllers.
Development
Tetris 99 was announced on February 13, 2019 during a Nintendo Direct presentation on YouTube and Twitch. It was available for download later that day free, exclusively for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.[3] On May 9, 2019, the Big Block DLC was announced with two new modes, CPU Battle, and Marathon. It promised two additional modes to be released later in the year as part of the purchase.[4] A physical release which includes a 1 year subscription to the Nintendo Switch Online service, and Big Block DLC was released in Q3 of 2019 worldwide.[5]
Version 2.0.0 of Tetris 99 was revealed on September 4, 2019, adding daily missions, Tetris 99 Invictus mode, and new player icons. It was released the following day alongside the remaining two Big Block DLC modes.[6]
Version 2.1.0 was released on December 10, 2019, featuring the new Team Battle mode, as well as configurable controls, Password Match for Tetris 99 and Team Battle, new user emblems, and made the first four themes from Maximus Cups available to redeem for 30 tickets each.[7]
References
- ↑https://www.reddit.com/r/Tetris99/comments/c03g2i/how_tetris_99_gravity_works/
- ↑https://www.reddit.com/r/Tetris99/comments/bay97i/analysis_of_how_xp_per_game_is_calculated_in/
- ↑https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/13/18224020/tetris-99-battle-royale-nintendo-switch-fortnite
- ↑https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190509006008/en/
- ↑https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/17/20697701/tetris-99-physical-release-nintendo-switch-bundle-online-subscription-dlc
- ↑https://twitter.com/NintendoUK/status/1169535643384344576
- ↑https://twitter.com/NintendoVS/status/1204567703110836225
External links
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On April 20, 2021, a new software update for Tetris® 99 became available for download. Please take a moment to download and install this update while your Nintendo Switch console is connected to the Internet.
Note
- This update must be applied in order to use the game’s Internet features.
- Save data will still be available for use after downloading the update.
- If the system is connected to the Internet, the update will download and install automatically.
Complete these steps
- Connect the Nintendo Switch console to the Internet.
- Return to the HOME Menu and launch the game.
- The update will be downloaded and installed automatically.
- Once the update is installed, the newest version number will be displayed on the title screen.
Update history
Click the version number below for information about the update. Each update also includes all previous updates.
Ver. 2.2.0 (Released April 20, 2021)
- Feature
- You can now exchange some of your previously downloaded event themes (Special Themes) for game tickets using the Customize menu. Each event theme is worth 30 tickets.
- Overview
- The gameplay has been improved by addressing a few additional bugs.
Compatible with Ver. 2.1.0 via Local Network (Local Arena). Not compatible with Ver 2.0.0 or earlier via Local Network. Please check each system’s update data version.
Ver. 2.1.0 (Released December 10, 2019)
Tetris 99
- Added Team Battle mode.
- Added Password Match to Tetris 99 and Team Battle modes.
- Enabled additional button assignment customization options.
- Made previously released event themes (Maximus Cup 01-04) available. Event themes can be unlocked by exchanging 30 tickets.
- Added a new Team Battle-themed player icon.
- The gameplay has been improved by addressing a few bugs.
Ver. 2.0.0 (Released September 5, 2019)
- Design / Functions
- Main Menu screen redesigned.
- New Tetris 99 Invictus mode added. It is unlocked by achieving Tetris Maximus in Tetris 99 mode.
- New daily missions added.
- New themes added. Complete daily missions to earn tickets that can be exchanged for new themes.
- New player icons added.
- Icon missions added. Complete icon missions to unlock new player icons.
- Staff credits added.
- Additional Contents
- Now supporting additional (paid) DLC modes Local Arena and 2P Share Battle. The new DLC is playable without a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. For details on DLC, please visit tetris99.nintendo.com.
- General
- The gameplay has been improved by addressing a few bugs.
Ver. 1.3.0 (Released May 9, 2019)
- Functionality
- Players can now obtain distributed themes.
- Players can now change themes and player icons.
- Players can now view records of their most recent ten matches.
- Added content
- CPU Battle Mode and Marathon Mode paid DLC has been added.
- You can purchase and play this additional content even if you do not have a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online.
- For more information about this additional content, please visit tetris99.nintendo.com.
- CPU Battle Mode and Marathon Mode paid DLC has been added.
- General
- Various issues have been addressed to ensure a comfortable play experience.
Ver. 1.2.0 (Released April 2, 2019)
- Changes related to events
- We have implemented a system that grants points based on place ranking while an event is ongoing.
- General
- This update also includes various minor gameplay fixes.
Ver. 1.1.0 (Released March 5, 2019)
- Various fixes to improve gameplay.