Tetris: Axis

Summary

Tetris: Axis, released as Tetris in some regions, is a puzzle video game developed by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in all regions in October 2011 and was published by Namco Bandai Games in Japan, Nintendo in North America, and Tetris Online in Europe and Australia.

Tetris: Axis
Developer(s)Hudson Soft
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Tony Tran
Composer(s)Brian DiLucente
SeriesTetris
Platform(s)Nintendo 3DS
ReleaseRetail
  • NA: October 2, 2011
  • JP: October 20, 2011
  • EU: October 21, 2011
  • AU: October 27, 2011
Nintendo eShop
  • JP: February 28, 2013
  • NA: April 19, 2013
  • PAL: June 6, 2013
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Game modes edit

Tetris: Axis features over 20 game modes, which are divided up into three modes, Featured modes, Party modes, and AR modes.

Featured modes edit

  • Fever: The player must get as many points as possible in only a minute of time. Racking up a certain number of points as quickly as possible earns the player color bonuses which when used, alter the gameplay and rack up extra points.
  • Computer Battle: The player competes against computer players where clearing lines floods the opponent's area with garbage blocks that can only be eliminated by clearing them.
  • Marathon: The standard mode of gameplay.
  • Survival: The player plays in an extra-narrow area while blocks are constantly rising up from the bottom. The game ends if the stack of blocks rises to the top.

Party Modes edit

  • Jigsaw: Every piece contains a part of a picture and the piece must be correctly oriented before it is dropped into place.
  • Shadow Wide: There is a picture shadowed out on the lower screen and the pieces must be dropped in to reveal it.
  • Fit: The pieces are flying continuously at a wall with a hole cut out in it and the shapes must be moved to fit through the hole or else crash into the wall.
  • Tower Climber: Similar to the tower climber mode in Tetris Party except that the tower is now a 3D cylinder.
  • Bombliss Plus: Based on the Bombliss variant, every piece has a bomb inside and clearing a row containing one makes it explode and clear out all surrounding pieces.
  • Stage Racer: Similar to the stage racer mode in Tetris Party, the player must guide a single piece through a continuously moving obstacle course, with the game ending if the piece hits the top.
  • Capture: Colored stars are hidden within the playfield and the player can only remove them by touching them with blocks of the same color.
  • Master Mode: A variant of the standard mode where the pieces appear on the field instantly instead of falling down.
  • Sprint: The player must clear 40 lines in as little time as possible.

Augmented reality modes edit

  • AR Marathon: The player must clear 50 lines as fast as possible. Some block contain bombs which shift the field if activated, requiring the player to move the system to reorient it.
  • AR Climber: Similar to the Tower Climber mode except the player must manually rotate the tower.

Development edit

The music was composed by Brian DiLucente.[1]

Release edit

Tetris: Axis was released on October 2, 2011 in North America[2] and in Europe on October 21[3] under the name Tetris. The North American version was released for the Nintendo eShop on April 19, 2013.[4]

In November 2014, it was announced that Tetris for Nintendo 3DS and the Virtual Console release of Tetris for Game Boy would be removed from the European Nintendo 3DS eShop at the end of that year.[5] On December 31, 2014, both games were removed from the European and North American Nintendo 3DS eShops, despite there being no prior announcement of the removal from the North American Nintendo 3DS eShop.[6]

Reception edit

Tetris: Axis received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[7] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one eight and three sevens for a total of 29 out of 40.[10]

References edit

  1. ^ DiLucente, Brian. "Brian DiLucente Portfolio". Pyrophonic. Idea Garden Advertising & Production House. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  2. ^ Drake, Audrey (August 29, 2011). "Tetris: Axis Release Date". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  3. ^ Newton, James (September 21, 2011). "Tetris 3DS Drops Into Europe on 21st October". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Brian (April 19, 2013). "Tetris Axis is just $10 on the 3DS eShop". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  5. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (November 28, 2014). "Two Tetris Downloads to be Removed from the 3DS eShop in Europe". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  6. ^ Brian (January 1, 2015). "Tetris for Game Boy, Tetris Axis pulled from the North American 3DS eShop as well". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Tetris Axis for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  8. ^ Parish, Jeremy (October 3, 2011). "Review: Tetris Axis is the Tetris Game That Does it All, Boringly". 1UP.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  9. ^ North, Dale (October 17, 2011). "Review: Tetris Axis". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Brian (October 11, 2011). "Famitsu review scores (10/11)". Nintendo Everything. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  11. ^ Vore, Bryan (October 3, 2011). "Tetris Axis: Hudson Soft Continues The Tetris Party Legacy". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  12. ^ Haywald, Justin (October 3, 2011). "Review: Tetris: Axis (3DS)". GamePro. GamePro Media. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  13. ^ Meunier, Nathan (October 11, 2011). "Tetris Axis Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Workman, Robert (November 19, 2011). "Tetris Axis Review (3DS)". GameZone. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  15. ^ Drake, Audrey (October 4, 2011). "Tetris: Axis Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  16. ^ Wahlgren, Jon (October 7, 2011). "Tetris Axis Review (3DS)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  17. ^ "Tetris: Axis". Nintendo Power. Vol. 272. Future US. October 2011. p. 83.
  18. ^ Miller, Zachary (October 17, 2011). "Tetris: Axis". Nintendo World Report. NINWR, LLC. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  19. ^ Hargreaves, Roger (November 1, 2011). "Tetris 3DS review - variety pack". Metro. DMG Media. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2018.

External links edit