Tetris 99 is already a tremendously-addictive puzzle game, but after participating in this past weekend’s Maximus Cup, I’ve been thinking a lot about its future.
After its launch, Nintendo promised that Tetris 99 would (like all “Battle Royale” games) receive regular updates, and if I had my way, the consolemaker would add these features to the puzzle game as soon as possible…
A Tutorial
Tetris 99 may have reimagined Tetris for an entirely new generation of players, but Nintendo also went out of their way to build a familiar core for long-time fans of the franchise. Skipping out on Tetris 2‘s Bombs or The New Tetris‘s Squares was probably the right call, but there are parts of Tetris 99’s new ruleset that are still fairly impenetrable even to veteran players.
I’ve been able to piece together exactly how the rules of Tetris 99 differ from a standard multiplayer match thanks to several great online tutorials, though I’m baffled that Nintendo didn’t include this information anywhere in the game. A short Training section that lets players experiment with the various targeting options (while also explaining targeting bonuses, T-Spin mechanics, and how to earn Badges) would be ideal. But hopefully even something as simple as a text screen explaining all the new rules would be a welcome addition to the game for newcomers.
More Stats
I love statistics. I love knowing that I’ve earned 429 Badges, knocked out 966 other players, and once had 17 players targeting me at the same time. But I want MORE.
I especially want to know my Average Finish and Average KOs across every match I’ve played, and I want to filter it down to matches played in the last month or the last week. But I also want statistics I haven’t even thought of yet. And I want to share all those numbers with my friends. Sure, the Switch makes it easy to push a picture of my Stats Page onto social media, but I absolutely want to dig through my Friends List and see how everyone else is faring in Tetris 99.
An Option to Tone Down the Graphical Effects
Visually, Tetris 99 can be a very busy game, and sometimes it feels like I’m fighting against the flashing lights in the background just as much as I’m fighting against the other players.
Perhaps the brightness setting on my TV isn’t turned up high enough, but I have a lot of problems with the game’s “Danger Zone” warning. I know the reddish fog encroaching on the screen is probably supposed to be an approximation of Fortnite’s Storm, but it makes it very difficult to determine where the edges of the well are. Having the ability to change the opacity of that warning and the targeting lines (which I find less distracting) would be much appreciated.
Hardcore Mode
While Tetris has remained virtually unchanged over the last 35 years, the basic mechanics of today’s version of the game are very different in a few key ways as Alexey Pajitnov and The Tetris Company have added an expanded Next Queue, the Ghost Piece, and the Hold Piece to the “Tetris Guideline” over the years. All three features are included in Tetris 99’s main mode, but Nintendo could give fans the option to travel back to Tetris’s NES debut with a Hardcore Mode that removes the Next Queue (or limits it to one), the Ghost Piece, and the Hold Piece.
In addition to satisfying fans who prefer an older style of Tetris, a Hardcore Mode would make for an absolutely wild tournament as players adjusted to life without the guiding hand of the Ghost Piece.
Leaderboards for Events
This goes back to my love of statistics, but I want to know where I stand in the world of Tetris 99, especially during online tournaments like the Maximus Cup. Creating a real-time leaderboard for Tetris 99’s special events probably wouldn’t be easy, but even something as simple as a message telling players “You Currently Need XXX Wins to Qualify for a Spot in the Top 999” would be useful.
Private Rooms
While it’s nice to know I KOed “xxJoeyxx” and “MarioDude,” sometimes I’d prefer to open up a private space in Tetris 99 and battle it out with my friends and family and that bizarre-yet-interesting person from down the street. Gathering together 98 other folks to play Tetris 99 on a certain day at a certain time would probably be pretty tricky, but I absolutely want to try.
Out of all my Wish List requests, this is the one that I most expect to see in a future update. But what features would you like to see added to Tetris 99?
