Tetris | Versions Comparison | Almost 60 ports!

✅ Decide which is the DEFINITIVE VERSION of Tetris / Тетрис (1984).
Today we compare Tetris, one of the most popular games created by a Russian engineer called Alexey Pajitnov in 1984 for Elektronika-60.
Tetris quickly became a Mega Hit around the world and many ports and different versions were developed. Despite some licensing issues with some studios, we've collected all the "official" ports we found and made a video of it. Enjoy!
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👉 Check out all our comparisons: • Tetris | Versions Comp...
00:00 Intro
00:15 Elektronika-60 (1984)
01:00 ZX Spectrum (Andi, 1986)
01:37 ZX Spectrum (Baliasov, 1986)
02:26 PC DOS / MS-DOS (AcademySoft, 1986)
02:56 PC DOS / MS-DOS (Spectrum Holobyte / CGA, 1987)
03:27 PC DOS / MS-DOS (Spectrum Holobyte / EGA, 1987)
03:56 Amstrad CPC (Mirrorsoft, 1987)
04:28 ZX Spectrum (Mirrorsoft, 1987)
05:06 Atari ST (Mirrorsoft, 1987)
05:49 Atari ST (Spectrum Holobyte, 1988)
06:47 Arcade (Sega / System E, 1988)
07:22 Arcade (Sega / System 16, 1988)
07:57 Arcade (Sega / Taito B System, 1988)
08:42 Arcade (Atari Games, 1988)
09:14 Commodore 64 / C64 (Mirrorsoft, 1988)
09:48 Acorn BBC Micro (1988)
10:16 Apple IIGS (Specrtum Holobyte, 1988)
10:52 Mac II Classic (Spectrum Holobyte / B&W, 1988)
11:20 Mac II Classic (Spectrum Holobyte / Color, 1988)
11:52 Amiga (Spectrum Holobyte, 1988)
12:13 Amiga (Mirrorsoft, 1988)
12:55 Nintendo NES / Famicom (Japanese Version, 1988)
13:38 Nintendo NES / Famicom (Tengen, 1988)
14:23 MSX2 (Bulletproof Software, 1988)
15:10 Sharp X1 (Bulletproof Software, 1988)
16:00 Fujitsu FM-7 (Bulletproof Software, 1988)
17:10 NEC PC-88 (Bulletproof Software, 1988)
18:13 NEC PC-98 (Bulletproof Software, 1988)
18:46 Sharp X68000 (Bulletproof Software, 1988)
19:36 Arcade (Mega Tech, 1989)
20:09 Sega Genesis / Mega Drive (Unreleased, 1989)
20:54 Game Boy / GB (Bulletproof Software, 1989)
21:28 NES / Famicom (Nintendo, 1989)
22:08 Sam Coupé (Lord Insanity, 1990)
22:46 PC DOS / MS-DOS (Spectrum Holobyte / EGA, 1992)
23:11 PC DOS / MS-DOS (Spectrum Holobyte / VGA, 1992)
23:42 Philips CD-i (1992)
24:44 Super Nintendo / SNES / Super Famicom (1994)
25:40 Game Boy Color / GBC (1998)
26:29 Nintendo 64 (1998)
27:32 Arcade - Naomi / Dreamcast (1999)
28:28 Game Boy Advance / GBA (2001)
29:14 J2ME / Java ME (THQ, 2002)
29:42 J2ME / Java ME (THQ, 2002)
30:21 J2ME / Java ME (G-Mode, 2002)
31:16 J2ME / Java ME (iFone, 2002)
31:38 WonderSwan Color (2002)
32:04 PalmOS (2003)
33:12 Nintendo DS (2006)
34:13 J2ME / Java ME (Electronic Arts, 2008)
34:59 PlayStation Portable / PSP (Electronic Arts, 2009)
35:40 PlayStation 3 / PS3 (Electronic Arts, 2010)
36:27 J2ME / Java ME (Gameloft, 2018)
37:04 Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Mini (2019)
37:47 Android / iOS (2021)
Which are your favorite ports or conversions?
#retrogaming #retrogames #oldgames

[@Xenon_117]

Did you know, the Elektronika-60 version had a key that would open an empty terminal in case your boss came in? This is because it was often played during work hours.

[@feralstorm]

Imagine how long this video would be if all the unofficial clones and PD/shareware versions were included!

[@kingnick6260]

It'd for sure compete with the Marvel Universe

[@Channel-qr5mh]

It missed the best official one aswell kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWSqoYyDbM-aeNE

[@UMOGrunt]

Tetris without music is almost sacrilegious

[@paumic6366]

The Gameboy version is deeply burned into my memory.

[@igorpoco2420]

4:45 Wow, that shadow on the blocks. I didn't know it was possible to do that effect on a Spectrum!

[@SergShemet]

Yep, there are brightness attributes on every 8x8pix char enabled on whole screen except shadow chars.

[@BluCoolKnux]

My favorite version has to be the CD-I version. *The soundtrack.*

[@federicocatelli8785]

I'm astonished never thought it had so many ports😱

[@curbacz16]

I knew it had a lot of ports, but this is about 3x as many ports as I expected…

[@TheSuperSmashBros01]

Tetris is so big that it might just be THE most rereleased game ever. And this is coming from a fan of Mario Sonic and Street Fighter that has seen rereleases of Sonic 1, Mario 1 and Street Fighter II

[@brilliantmonarch]

The C64 version is weirdly foreboding.

[@Ezyasnos]

That tune and vibe is EPIC 🤩🤩🤩

[@GCSoundArtifacts]

Probably my favorite pick of them all!

[@theopenrift]

Kind of has a demoscene feel to it.

[@neodonkey]

It was known for being a crap tetris that had an awesome soundtrack.

[@elijahvincent985]

The song is LEGENDARY for being 26 minutes long and flawless throughout.

[@sikthehedgehog]

I wonder how Tetris looked in the original Elektronika-60 terminal? I know that originally Tetris used character 127 for the blocks since that terminal would show it as solid blocks (most terminals treat it as delete instead), switching to [] came in later to account for other terminals. I wonder if the beeps were also much shorter, seeing how prevalent they are?

[@tolstoj_]

pretty close to this, maybe? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWHKcpqHhq15mbM

[@RustyLeguito]

Here is a gameplay of the original version:kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWHKcpqHhq15mbM I see that almost all emulated versions (if not all) lack the effect of squares.

[@tolstoj_]

@@RustyLeguito I heard the rumour, that pajitnov used the filled char in the original version, but then changed it to the other char later. Not sure, where I heard that. I think it was mentioned in a YT video, but i forgot which one.

[@noaht2005]

My man actually made it. So many versions, even on the same platforms

[@PabloVasquesBravoVillalba]

Great video, thanks for your hard work! I just missed the MSX1 port, since it was one of the first ones I played. 😉

[@KrocCamen]

Okay I’m seriously impressed you included the 2018 J2ME release, that would have flown under everybody’s radar! That version exists because of EA’s Tetris licence coming to an end and feature-phones still being popular in some parts of the world!

[@McClane47]

Qué gran trabajo, genial vídeo, enhorabuena!

[@davidfernandezsabio3844]

Nice comparision video of the greatest puzzle game of the 80's.Thanks for the video

[@TheTenthArt]

Nice theme! I started my channel doing exactly this, making a playlist with various ports of Tetris :)

[@nintendianajones64]

The Gameboy version and the American NES version by Nintendo are easily the best just for the amazing music alone.

[@KesorodaBlk]

34:39 Wow, even Tetris had jiggle physics! 😂😊😊

[@Wasabialt]

10:53 The classic tetris theme was created here. (Korobeiniki)

[@deathcold_longplaysua4846]

First tetris that i ever played was handheld Brick Game. That was my first tetris that played. But if we talking about console or PC version of tetris, then on NES my very first tetris was one made by tengen. Then, on Mega Drive, my very first tetris was the one that is a arcade port. And on PC, my very first tetris was ticno-color tetris. But, besides those on consoles that i played, and on PC, there was also Jewelry Tetris on NES, Columns on Mega Drive and Tetris 5000 on PC.

[@Desmaad]

My introduction to Tetris the Spectrum Holobyte version for B&W Mac. I remember it fondly.

[@JeffreyJakucyk]

Interesting that the Apple IIGS version (10:16, the one I cut my teeth on) is nearly a pixel-for-pixel port of the Atari ST game (5:49). The music is way better in the IIGS version though, and it's still my favorite to this day. Level 9 is insanely difficult. There was an Apple II version as well that I recall playing in the computer lab in elementary school if all the IIGS's were taken. It was much inferior, with graphics similar to the PC DOS (2:26) and Amstrad (3:56) ports with solid color pieces, some of which weren't even quite the right width in pixels, leading to some ugly gaps. I don't think it had any music either. There was a later port for Mac OS called Tetris Max released in 1992 as freeware/shareware with an incredible score by Peter Wagner, later ported to Windows as BrickLayer. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5fKZH2Zfaiea6M The Game Boy version is a classic too.

[@gromitaardman339]

Cuando alguien dice 'Tetris' siempre tengo en mente la versión de Game Boy, y eso que jamás tuve una.

[@ChillyTheDog21]

The Sega Genesis Version of Tetris that was done by Tengen is Absolutely Expensive

[@Patrick2480]

I think Sega develop it themselves but got the Tetris rights from Tengen, theres only 4-5 physical copies out there for the genesis mini, Sega got the approval from the Tetris company(license rights holders) to put their version on the mini, the announcement video on Sega YT channel even had the creator Alexy and the guy that went to Russia to get the rights for Nintendo talking about it.

[@Patrick2480]

Theress another 8 bit port by Retrobit w/ approval from The Tetris company for their retro portable mid 2010s before the mega drive mini port that uses NES hardware since portable had NES roms on it

[@SomeInterestingName]

I love how extra the Philips CD-i version is.

[@presterjohn7789]

This is the best video compilation of Tetrises. In researching how far back Korobeiniki goes as the Tetris theme, I found mention that it started with the Gameboy in 1989. Yet other videos have early versions than this. This is almost certainly because they have the years all around wrong, including not featuring the original ASCII version as 1984. I find it interesting that the C64 Tetris music predated the use of Korobeiniki. It is much more interesting music and the best music up to that point in this video (still watching), but I guess not as gimmicky. EDIT: Now I hear the music in versions from 1988 in your video, before the Gameboy version? EDIT2: I understand it is likely hard to get all games in their exact data of release order. This is due to missing info as well as different releases in different areas of the world. It could be that the Gameboy version of 1989 was released in Japan in 1988, for instance, but Americans somewhere associated it with 1989. So it is probably going to be a mess to figure out where Korobeiniki appeared in amongst the 1988 releases. But some sources do say 1987 for the C64 release as well which makes me lean towards the claim that it first surfaced with the Gameboy version, 1988 or 1989, and the C64 music predated it.

[@davezanko9051]

The first version with Korobeiniki is Spectrum Holobyte's Apple IIGS and Mac versions from July 1988. Bullet Proof Software used it for the title screen of the Famicom version later that same year, and then as Music A on the Game Boy version (co-produced with Nintendo) the following year.

[@davy_K]

Have played 15 of these. Some of the spectrum ports looked very good.

[@luniversdenoe76]

20:55 best tetris ever

[@Alecfoo]

I played many versions since my childhood and my favourite one until now is the PS3 version (and the GB one) : 4 players, attack effects, several game modes, great gameplay

[@curbacz16]

I might be weird, but I’ve always resonated more with Gameboy Tetris than NES Tetris.

[@admiralcarrot756]

Nice video! But I noticed you never tried to Tetris Line clear, some games have special sfx for 4 lines clear :(

[@Lum2022]

Sure, it’s 1 of the most addictive games of all time, and an absolute classic at that. But I had no idea it had been rereleased so many times on so many different systems.

[@softpixels4355]

you forgot to include MSX 1987, AmigaA500 1987 and the unreleased version of the master system

[@davezanko9051]

Mega Drive. There was no such thing as an unreleased Mater System version. There were a few bootleg versions for the Korean version of the SMS, but no unreleased official version. It was the cancelled Mega Drive version that is so famous for authentic carts being so rare.

[@daniels_exclusive_channel]

My favourite is probably the Dreamcast version. I know, weird right? Also, I honestly think the Game Boy version is better than the Game Boy Color one. This is coming from someone born in 2003 who has never owned a Game Boy.

[@Steelcrow81]

I never knew about all the other older versions of Tetris for various computer systems. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by how hard some of them leaned into the whole Russia/U.S.S.R. origin as the game's theme. However, once the Cold War was over developers were able to explore new themes and idenities for the game. We have tropical Tetris on the Dreamcast, wonders of civilization Tetris on N64, 8-bit Nintendo Tetris on DS... Then we have Tetris for the CD-i, which attempted to turn the game into a relaxing gameplay expierence by playing FMVs of beautiful natural landscapes in the background while also playing chill music. I've never played it but I've seen enough videos to agree that it is one of the best versions simply for it's OST alone. It's just a pity that it is stuck on such a flop of a console. But then we have the latest entry: Tetris Effect and Tetris Effect Connected, which not only turns Tetris into a spectacular show of light and sound, but also presents itself as a unifying expierence for people across the globe.

[@BAZFANSHOTHITSClassicTunes]

I love the chip tunes on the ST version. I would load it up just to listen.

[@germanskena6537]

Si bien no es el juego que mas me gusta, es el que mas recuerdos me trae. En la escuela secundaria, en el aula de computacion (hace mas de 25 años) jugaba al tetris en las pc de la escuela. Habia escondido una copia en un disco duro de una 286. Era la version de pc para CGA y la jugaba con el simcga. y lo gracioso de esa version es que con una tecla que no recuerdo cual era, cambiaba a una suerte de protector de pantalla como si fuera una hoja de calculo como lotus 1-2-3 o similar (nada que ver con excel!!!!), asi cuando los profesores se acercaban, no se daban cuenta que era un juego, EVIDENTEMENTE eso es algo que han hecho muchos, y los profesores no sabian que eso era un juego (lo supieron con el tiempo). Para ZX hay mas de 20 versiones pero las que estan aca, son las mas famosas, fundamentalmente la de Mirrorsoft. Y cuando pienso en el TETRIS, lo unico que escucho en mi cabeza es Korobeiniki, que es la cancion original de la version de arcade, asi que cuando veo otras versiones, me parece RARO que tengan algun otro sonido o que esten en silencio.

[@MattTheSpratt]

s/o to Wally Beben, the composer of the Nearly 20 Minutes Long opus for the commodore 64 port of tetris

[@cessnaace]

Sega had planned to release Tetris (licensed from Tengen) in Japan for the Sega Mega Drive. They voluntarily pulled and destroyed all known copies due to Nintendo. Only 5 are known to exist. Of course there are all of the homebrew ports. The Atari 2600 has several. One that I own is Chetiry. Another homebrew version exists for the Sega Master System called Gotris.

[@jasonlee7816]

what was Nintendo going to do about it?

[@fran5678can]

@@jasonlee7816 i think Sega only had the license for the arcade version, while Nintendo had the license for home consoles. Sega probably didn't want to get in legal trouble with Nintendo.

[@cessnaace]

@@jasonlee7816 The rights to Tetris were a mess for years as it was developed in Communist Russia. SEGA licensed the console rights from Tengen (aka Atari Games), but the console rights had just been snapped up by Nintendo. Nintendo sued Tengen and won, thus Tengen had to destroy all unsold copies of their NES port. SEGA’s own version was a collateral damage of that operation. Indeed, seeing what happened to Tengen, they stopped the production of their Mega Drive cartridge right when it started so only a small number made it into people's hands. Tengen had argued that they owned the rights to that version as they owned the North American Arcade rights, and their NES release was a port of the Atari Games Arcade version.

[@neodonkey]

I wrote a homebrew for the Sega Master System called Bloki some years back. Another fellow helped me with the music. The score gets screwy if you get too far in the game but I never fixed the bug. The music is slightly off too, some notes 'stick' but I think it's half decent, it doesn't that I'm aware ever drop a frame so should run at full 60fps at its fastest level (that is one tetromino drop per frame!). I also wrote a Tetris clone in Pascal in the 90s for DOS but I have long since lost it to the ether, that one used text mode and had Adlib SFX.

[@Fortuna1]

Faltaron: -The new tetris (n64) -Tetris DS, THQ -Tetris Axis (3ds) -Tetris (THQ), android -Tetris 99 (tiene maraton) -Tetris Ultimate (3ds, android, iOS)

[@FLUFF_TV]

Wut Tetris Ultimate on android and iOS? Wiki says it was only on Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation Vita & Microsoft Windows

[@The_ProfessorJ1]

Yo: ???

[@DavidKimFX]

8:42 Arcade version by Atari is best 13:38 NES version by Tengen is best home port There are some Android (before 2021) and iOS versions that are missing

[@diskyboy1990]

@retrosutra i posted a comment asking for info on the palm os emulator used, but you probably didn't catch it because it was at the end of the comment. Anyway, i'm curious what palm os emulator is being used and how can you play games with it?

[@retrosutra]

Sorry for the delay Dislike Advocator, I used retroarch with palmos core, worked like a charm! I'm not sure but I think I used a retroarch bios pack from archive .org

[@diskyboy1990]

@@retrosutra thank you, I'll try it soon!

[@CraigGrannell]

Against the others, that C64 version looks terrible these days, but the Hagar soundtrack is the best of them all. Amazing stuff. (I did enjoy the weird 80s thing the WonderSwan Color was going for too.)

[@arciks11]

10:16 first version with what mostly sounds like Korobeiniki. 12:57 Korobeiniki as title theme.

[@daniel_lucio]

Spectrum Holobyte for PC MS-DOS with MT--32 mid, is by far the most nostalgic and best OST Tetris

[@enzof_rancisco]

My childhood with Tetris was with the TENGEN version on NES. I was surprised that before the "Nintendo" exclusive version, two previous versions were released by different publishers.

[@VOAN]

The Famicom version was very terrible, don't ever play that version. In that one you use the side of the d-pad to rotate the tetrominoes instead of the buttons. It plays super awkward.

[@AnimationMaster167]

Wow... There has been multiple Tetris Platforms on nearly everything! I guess Tetris is the biggest of ports.

[@kacperzimowski4626]

Dreamcast version is completely out of this morbid world. I love it!

[@player1_fanatic]

I'm surprised that infamous Windows version of Tetris is missed in this compilation.

[@tekkensentai]

The music for the Sega arcade version reminds me of Dr Robotniks Mean Bran Machine

[@mastersproutgamer9327]

Nintendo's in-house NES of Tetris has some Christmas music in i, which is a better way to celebrate the holidays.

[@Guilherme-cw3rh]

I only played an alternate version for 3ds and the Gameboy version

[@GoGoGadgetAsh]

N64 - The New Tetris

[@michelmoroni9865]

Wait a minute… What? Tetris is a Russian game?!

[@user-pq9hc9sj4r]

Not Russian, Soviet

[@RedStone576]

lol reinventing the wheel

[@silvanaprestia15]

The game that is everywhere?!

[@stevenwhuntva]

Appropriately, the Sega arcade ones' music would sound right at home in Columns.

[@elluciano5808]

As soon as i saw "tetris" i knew this was gonna be long.

[@deftcoleman0552]

My favorites are the Electronika 60 and the Gameboy.

[@sanseverything900]

Interesting how Nintendo didn't implement the hard drop mechanic when they ported the game over to America. The Famicon version had it.

[@ivanpolaroid231]

Duuude!! I'm still playing the dx for gbc and psp versiones!!!

[@disasterincarnate]

c64 version still my all time fave, if anything the music making it better than it should be.

[@MultiBUSFAHRER]

I miss the sound of the Tetris 2 on ZX spectrum 😀

[@aniluaces149]

0:17 Ah yes, my favorite game, *TETPNC*

[@JoseGregorioValeroVillarroel]

Well... That's Tetris' Russian name

[@rafa-qq7xm]

24:44 Super Nintendo / SNES / Super Famicom (1994) 30:21 J2ME / Java ME (G-Mode, 2002) 34:13 J2ME / Java ME (Electronic Arts, 2008) 34:59 PlayStation Portable / PSP (Electronic Arts, 2009) 35:40 PlayStation 3 / PS3 (Electronic Arts, 2010)

[@Dare1C]

Tetris 99 my favorite.

[@dimctpuir2358]

I had play original Tetris in 1987! 😎

[@ilya-Star.]

You forgot about Tetris 2011 from EA (android).

[@fonzworthbentley7455]

So all the Tetris songs were jams then

[@player1_fanatic]

My personal favorite is the original MS-DOS version. No fluff, all the gameplay.

[@Ama-hi5kn]

The only Tetris port/clone I play is Twintris for the Amiga.

[@robbiewalker2831]

The Andi version came before the Spectrum Holobyte and Nintendo Game Boy versions? Is this version why Nintendo had a similar looking title screen on the Game Boy version? And I thought Spectrum was the first to give this game the Russian touch.

[@gold_tv15]

8:56 is my faworite

[@gold_tv15]

13:40 is what i first play

[@Tarika916]

Electronika 60 version beeping sounds hurt my brain

[@henrywolbeck793]

My favorite one is the gameboy version

[@psychoticgiraffe]

Cdi port by far the best of the pre-1999 ports

[@igordemelo4128]

10:26 first time of the original theme :)

[@JamalTheTitan]

33:13 THE GOAT

[@dannewnam2701]

For some reasons, the Tetris Version of Commodore 64 was from 1986.

[@Tarika916]

You missed Tetris: The Grand Master 1, 2 & 3

[@Rasmarin2]

Гордость нашего игропрома

[@BrianFan7650]

can you do puyo puyo?

[@retrosutra]

We'll do sooner or later

[@user-yf6dr7lu9e]

Why is there a face of a woman tweaking at the Sam Coupe version?

[@The_ProfessorJ1]

And the Tetris blitz!?

[@enzof_rancisco]

28:45 Mario's invencible theme?

[@manuefeli]

1.Why tetris ms-dos is twice? 2. All my life was thinking this borned in game boy 1989. 3. I stared expecting "mk deception tetris".

[@JoseGregorioValeroVillarroel]

Doom: Finally, a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!

[@xavierbelmont1]

What is Mirrorsofts' beef with my eyeballs?

[@LDTV22OfficialChannel]

You forgot about the Roku OS port

[@VOAN]

You don't count Tetris Worlds, Tetris Plus, The New Tetris, Tetris 99, and Tetris Effects?

[@EnderArlo]

You forgot the Squeak Port

[@kingnick6260]

Who's the lady in the Sam Coupé version? (Asking for a friend)

[@gold_tv15]

11:05 have best song,

[@michelmoroni9865]

Did you know Mario made some cameos in Tetris?

[@Moisesians.]

El tetris de parentesis ya tiene una version con graficos y con sonido de tetris y su musica

[@SoyLuciano]

29:14 I think there's a mistake in the video.

[@listen2164]

the atari version is so weird. i never understood why they stylised it with a "ya" in place of an "r". "tetyais" "pyaess 1 playeya stayat" "high scoyae" "cyaedits"

[@Formedras]

Versions of Tetris displayed: 55. Number of Tetris clears: 0. There was... SOME... potential. The Fujitsu FM-7 and N64 versions almost had a Tetris clear. Almost.

[@SUPERMARIORUSSIAN24]

elektronika-60 have a russian tetris but i know russian language too

[@ELN3DS]

Where are the next tetris for the ps1 n64 and dreamcast and tetris worlds