Tengen Tetris (Prototype A)

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

This prototype has a research article on TCRF.

• 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

• 

  Title screen

• 

  Main menu

• 

  Main menu

• 

  1 Player

• 

  1 Player

• 

  2 Player

• 

  2 Player

• 

  2 Player

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

• New Years 2022 (January 1, 2022)
• The Cutting Room Floor (TCRF)
• Internet Archive (IA)
• Video Game History Foundation (VGHF)