| Tetris Attack Panel de Pon | |
|---|---|
 North American SNES cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Masao Yamamoto Hitoshi Yamagami Toshitaka Muramatsu |
| Producer(s) | Gunpei Yokoi |
| Programmer(s) | Shinya Yamamoto |
| Composer(s) | Masaya Kuzume Game Boy Masaru Tajima Yuka Tsujiyoko |
| Series | Puzzle League Yoshi |
| Platform(s) | Super NES,Game Boy |
| Release | SNESGB |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Tetris Attack, also known asPanel de Pon[a] in Japan, is apuzzle video game developed byIntelligent Systems and published byNintendo for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System. AGame Boy version was released a year later. In the game, the player must arrange matching colored blocks in vertical or horizontal rows to clear them. The blocks steadily rise towards the top of the playfield, with new blocks being added at the bottom. Several gameplay modes are present, including a time attack and multiplayer mode.
Tetris Attack was first released asPanel de Pon in Japan in October 1995, featuring fairies as the main characters with a mythical, fantasy setting. The game was released outside Japan in 1996, with the original characters and settings replaced by those fromSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Though international releases have the nameTetris Attack, the game bears no relation to theTetris video game series, leadingTetris Company co-founderHenk Rogers to regret giving Nintendo the license to use the name. BothPanel de Pon andTetris Attack were later broadcast through the Japan-onlySatellaview peripheral, the latter renamed toBS Yoshi's Panepon.[b]
Tetris Attack was well received by critics for its graphical style, addictive gameplay and multiplayer modes, with some[who?] noting the North American version was superior to the original Japanese release. It was followed by a series of sequels and remakes for multiple platforms, most of which instead use the namePuzzle League. The game is referenced in other Nintendo games, such as theSuper Smash Bros. series,Animal Crossing: New Leaf, andCaptain Rainbow.
Tetris Attack is a puzzle video game. The player must use an on-screen cursor to arrange colored blocks into horizontal or vertical rows – matching together three or more blocks of the same color will destroy them. Any blocks above cleared lines will fall, which can be used to cause chain reactions if they touch other matching blocks. The player can also earn combos, clearing more than three blocks in a single move. As the stage progresses, the blocks will begin to rise steadily towards the top of the screen, with new blocks generating from the bottom. Should the blocks touch the top of the playfield, the game will be over.
Several different gameplay modes are included. Story Mode pits the player against a series of computer-controlled opponents. In Endless Mode, the player is challenged to play as long as possible with a continuously rising stack of blocks, which increases in speed over time. Timed Mode challenges the player to score as many points as possible within a two-minute time limit. Stage Clear mode takes the player through a series of stages, in which the objective is to clear all blocks underneath a "boundary" line. In Puzzle Mode, the player must clear all the blocks in a preset block arrangement in a set number of moves – the blocks here do not rise towards the top. Several multiplayer modes are also present with adjustable difficulty levels.
Tetris Attack was released in Japan on October 27, 1995, August 1996 in North America, and November 28, 1996, in Europe. Development was headed byIntelligent Systems and produced byGunpei Yokoi, known as the creator of theGame Boy. The Japanese version of the game is titledPanel de Pon, featuring fairies as the main characters with a fantasy setting. International versions instead replace these with characters and settings fromSuper Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, a game released earlier in 1995. Though international releases have the nameTetris Attack, the game has no relation to theTetris video game franchise, leading toTetris Company co-founderHenk Rogers saying in a 2009 interview he regrets giving Nintendo permission to using the name. Although Rogers liked the game, he believed it "got lost in history" due to it using theTetris branding.[1]
AGame Boy version ofTetris Attack was released in 1996. Two years later, in 1998, a special version ofPanel de Pon was broadcast through theSatellaview peripheral for theSuper Famicom in Japan, renamedBS Panel de Pon – Event '98 as part of a contest bySt. GIGA.Tetris Attack was later released for the Satellaview the same year, renamedBS Yoshi no Panepon. The originalPanel de Pon was digitally re-released for the JapaneseWii Virtual Console on November 27, 2007. It was later added to theNintendo Classics service on May 20, 2020.[2]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame | 4.5/5 (SNES)[5] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 8.25/10 (SNES)[3] |
| Honest Gamers | 9/10 (SNES)[4] |
Tetris Attack was met with very positive reviews, earning a 90% average rating onGameRankings.[6] The four reviewers ofElectronic Gaming Monthly gave it an 8.25 out of 10, lauding the addictive gameplay, colorful and cartoony graphics, use of Mario characters in the North American localization, and two-player mode.[3]GamePro gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 in graphics, control and FunFactor, and a 4.5 out of 5 in sound. The reviewer commented that it has "a gentler, slower style of gameplay that requires learning some easy new controls, but this game's no less addicting than the originalTetris."[7]GameSpot called it "absolutely brilliant".[8]
GamePro gave the Game Boy version a brief positive review, saying it "updates the age-oldTetris concept by inverting the basic action".[9]
Electronic Gaming Monthly editors namedTetris Attack Super NES Game of the Year, Hand-Held Game of the Year, and Puzzle Game of the Year, commenting that "[T]he simple premise makes it a game of mass appeal; its depth makes it a hardcore gamer's delight."[10] In 1997Electronic Gaming Monthly editors ranked the Super NES version the 16th best console video game of all time. They cited its accessibility and addictive quality, confessing that their boss had confiscated the office copy of the game because of how much time they spent playing it.[11]GamesRadar+ listed it 87th on their list of "The 100 best games of all time", stating "you haven't lived until you've playedTetris Attack two-player and dropped an immensely satisfying five-line garbage block on your opponent."[12]Game Informer featured it on its own best games of all-time list at 96 and called it one of the most addictive puzzle games made.[13] In 2018,Complex listed the game #64 on its "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time".[14]
Tetris Attack was followed by several sequel games, most using the namePuzzle League in western territories. The first of these werePokémon Puzzle Challenge for theGame Boy Color andPokémon Puzzle League for theNintendo 64 in 2000, featuring characters from thePokémon anime series. A previously unreleased sequel,[15]Panel de Pon 64, was later released as part ofNintendo Puzzle Collection for theGameCube in 2003,[16] followed byDr. Mario & Puzzle League for theGame Boy Advance in 2005.Planet Puzzle League was released for theNintendo DS in 2007 (renamed toPanel de Pon DS in Japan andPuzzle League DS in Europe), featuring online multiplayer support via the now-defunctNintendo Wi-Fi Connection service and touch-screen controls. A similar game forDSiWare,Puzzle League Express, was released in 2010 for theNintendo DSi with many of the same features asPlanet.
Several Nintendo games referenceTetris Attack andPanel de Pon. The "Lip's Stick", the primary weapon of the main character ofPanel de Pon, appears throughout theSuper Smash Bros. series sinceSuper Smash Bros. Melee, poisoning the opponent.Super Smash Bros. Brawl features multiplePanel de Pon 64 characters and a red-colored block as collectible stickers. A remix of Lip's theme song appears in multiple series entries, beginning withBrawl, where it can be played on the stagePictoChat inBrawl,Wrecking Crew inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U, and on any miscellaneous Nintendo series stage inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. Lip appears in the Japan-onlyWii gameCaptain Rainbow and as a Spirit and Mii Fighter costume inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate.[17][citation needed][citation needed] A 2016 update toAnimal Crossing: New Leaf adds a minigame based on thePuzzle League series, titledAnimal Crossing Puzzle League.[18]
Panel de Pon was included solely in Japan as part of the 21 games rereleased on theSuper Famicom Mini on October 5, 2017, and was made available internationally on theNintendo Classics service on May 20, 2020.[2][19]
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Puzzle League video games | |
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| Dr. Mario series |  | |
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| Mario's Picross | ||
| Mario vs. Donkey Kong | ||
| Other games | ||
| See also | ||
