Tetris 99 – Where we hard droppin’ boys?

When Nintendo announced during their February 13 Direct presentation that they would be releasing not just ANOTHER Tetris game, it was going to be a battle royale game. I felt some strange combination of skepticism and curiosity. A Tetris battle royal game? This is one of the games they were excited to announce?( This was before we all saw the teaser for the Link’s Awakening remake also”. Nintendo released the game shortly after the presentation for free for Switch Online subscribers; they can certainly use more features to beef up their online service(which vastly needs it…). I thought “sure, sounds interesting….and free” and I do not regret it one bit, it’s already one of my favorite Switch titles. I’ve been having a blast playing this!

There probably aren’t too many out there who haven’t played a Tetris game in one way or another, as it is available in about every way there is to play. Tetris was first released in the Soviet Union in June 1984 but did not become a world-wide phenomenon until it was bundled with the original Nintendo Game Boy in 1989. It has since been inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2015. https://www.museumofplay.org/press/releases/2015/06/2108-2015-world-video-game-hall-fame-inductees-announced

The basic gameplay of Tetris 99 is exactly the same as the multiplayer mode we know and love, but with a couple unique twists on it. First, it’s you versus 99 other online players trying to be the “last one standing”. Second, you can send your completed lines or “garbage” to another player to add to their screen. This is similar to standard multiplayer mode, except in typical battle royale fashion you can be playing with nothing happening and then all of a sudden, you’re being attacked from every angle. The game keeps track of your KO’s – opponents you have knocked from the match and you can also target other players by selecting one of the modes at the top of the screen. You can sort by KO – you attack another player who is closest to being knocked out, Attackers – you…um…attack the players who are currently targeting you, Badges – you attack players with the most in-match badges or essentially the Top Player(s) in the round, and then there’s Random – you send your garbage to completely random players.

You can see all the other online players you are competing against, including those attacking you and the ones you are attacking

Tetris 99 is equally tense and exhilarating, and just get to the final 25 or even 10, 5 players and it is just as, if not more stressful than the final couple squads in any other battle royale game. I have already spent over between 5-10 hours playing Tetris trying to outplay the other 98 online opponents and I still plan to put in plenty more. I cannot recommend this enough to anyone who is currently paying for the Switch Online service.

Keep rotating those blocks!

Retirement – The Regginator says “Hasta la vista”

“My name is Reggie. I’m about kickin’ ass, I’m about takin’ names, and we’re about makin’ games.”

At the Nintendo E3 press conference in 2004 the world(and internet) were introduced to Nintendo’s new Vice President of Sales and Marketing – Reggie Fils-Aime. Today Reggie, or as the internet dubbed him ” The Regginator” announced he will be retiring from his current position as President and Chief Operating Office of Nintendo of America as of April 15. He has been with Nintendo since December 2003 and has been the President and COO since May 2006.

Reggie is retiring ; Bowser is taking control

Reggie immediately made an impact with fans old and new, he brought with Nintendo a charisma and personality that had been absent from corporate Nintendo. Historically the executives at Nintendo had always been the conservative, almost robotic type and this new guy was clearly the opposite. Reggie was able to bring Nintendo back as a industry leader in the video game industry. In 2003, people were preparing to bury Nintendo. The Gamecube while having excellent first party games like The Legend of Zelda : The Windwaker , Super Smash Bros : Melee , and Metroid Prime, was lagging behind in games being developed for the console. It was been left in the dust by Sony and Microsoft with the Playstation 2 and Xbox and the emergence of online console gaming. It seemed like the sun had set on Nintendo and it was going to go the way of game companies like Atari and Sega before it. Reggie was able to help guide Nintendo back with more modern, aggressive marketing. He brought personality to the company and oversaw a revitalization, or “Reggie-lution” rather of the brand which includes the marketing and sales of the Wii, 3DS, and most recently the Switch. I’m not going to leave out mention of the general feeling the Wii U was an epic failure, though I don’t think it was THAT bad of a console. (FACTOID : Reggie also worked for corporate Pizza Hut and was behind the Bigfoot and Big New Yorker pizzas….for those of us old enough to remember).

Reggie Fils-Aime’s positions with Nintendo of America will be assumed by the current Head of Sales – Doug Bowser….yes…..BOWSER. The future president of Nintendo is name Bowser…..lol….ok sorry! I’m sad to see “the Regginator” move on from his position at Nintendo, but we’ll always have the memes…..

Next Smash Bros Ultimate character announce?