The GOAT. Excellent art style, beautiful music, intense multiplayer, all with the dynamic fun of the Tetrises before it. I think the thing that sets this apart from the others is the meaning they give to each tetromino as you place it by tying it to the art and music, allowing you to feel like you are creating art alongside navigating a puzzle game. That last level is a doozy for sure!

Quite the slam dunk, would probably be my favorite based on pure mechanics even without the use of storable tetrominos but it's aesthetic is (understandably) muted to give way to much more challenging gameplay. The sense of progression through even the normal mode is felt immediately, and the little "wiggle" they allow you to do before setting a piece down is as satisfying as it is engaging. The added game modes in specifically this version are a whole lot of fun, I could see myself easily losing hours to this game in particular.

Another insane hitter. While there are some improvements over its predecessor, such as a password system, the ability to save a tetromino, a better sense of progression in the Master mode, and an absolutely killer aesthetic (seriously, look at that poster), it lacks many of the extra game modes that made Grand Master 2 so engaging, substituting them with uninteresting "1-and-done" type design. The inclusion of an Easy mode is a good thing though! This game is still one of the finest feeling Tetris games out there, I particularly like the lack of a "wiggle" if you immediately just send the piece down since you know where you want it to go, and I really adore how it looks and sounds, but I see myself returning to TGM2 more often due to its better modes, even without the save feature. Still well worth playing though!

The OG. The GameBoy version came with my GameBoy Color that I bought on eBay a while back, but this NES version has a lot of sauce too. Obviously barebones but the simple loops and repetitive nature of the game are somewhat relaxing despite its difficulty and novelty.

Leans pretty heavily into the party game side of Tetris but still really cool. I like the use of dual screens to achieve complete sensory overload as well as introduce a lot of Nintendo-themed mini games which can be a lot of fun. Using a DS to control pieces honestly feels really natural. Doesn't have a whole lot of staying power but definitely one to throw on time to time.

A pretty genius concept for a game that unfortunately highlights a lot of issues with the Battle Royale genre as a whole. I can't tell if matchmaking is just sorta weird since the only people left playing this are megafans or if I lose out of nowhere to 12 spawning rows of grey blocks more often than most people. Still super fun and competitive, just not as streamlined as I think it could be. Pretty easily the best BR though since you are always engaged with the game.

Another decent title on the DS. Way less functionality with an aesthetic that isn't as interesting, but still plays just as well as Tetris DS. Maybe the deluxe version goes even further on the Wii? I do love me some motion controls.

Definitely closer to the Yoshi game on the GameBoy rather than Tetris, as is made apparent in the Yoshi theming of the game, so this hardly counts as a mainline entry but I will include it anyway. The puzzle mode ranges from super quick and easy to weirdly incongruous pretty often, but I did enjoy it and it got me to think about the new mechanics in a different way. Endless mode and Time Trial mode are similar to their original Tetris counterparts in set-up, but the gameplay of this puzzle game just isn't as satisfying. I find myself accidentally solving rows more often than purposely, but when you get on those chains and utilize the time freeze mechanic, it can get pretty fun. Overall, super weird Tetris-inspired game that just doesn't have the depth or replayability of the mainline series.

Incredibly barebones but honestly hilarious. The backgrounds are goofy, the music is silly, and the bootleg version I played had a Korean monkey appear when you lost. Controls feel a bit outdated even for the time, but this is definitely still a very playable and bizarre version of this game I am glad exists.

Completely bizarre Frutiger Aero-esque ambient Tetrising with a story for some reason. I think its hilarious to be honest, and its always nice to be able to play Tetris on the PS2. Not super satisfying or anything but definitely one of the more defined aesthetics for a Tetris game and I think about it fairly often, more than I play it that's for sure.

Kind of a cutesy game but has some serious slot machine vibes. I feel like the randomness of the game makes it a little less engaging to be honest, being able to speedrun easily telegraphed puzzles would probably make this game feel more engaging. Still very cute though.

Probably the Tetris game I have the least to say about, not a whole lot going on here in the vibes or gameplay department. Weirdly obscure for how flat it is.

Pretty easily the worst Tetris I have played yet. This is stripped almost entirely of any typical Tetris functionality, despite coming out 1 year after Grand Master 1. Feels like a pretty confused game, the aesthetic is bubbly and welcoming but the game is unforgiving and weirdly cold for a Tetris game. Not great for competition and equally not great for casual fun.

Pretty disgusting, really the only thing it has going for it is its bonkers energy. The controls are slippery and imprecise which make the game much harder than it should be, the music and effects sound disgusting, the power-ups are uninspired, and typical Tetris functionality is at a minimum. Really bottom of the barrel stuff, maybe marginally saved by its intended multiplayer, but likely not considering how unfun it is to look at and interact with.

I had to add this to IGDB personally because nobody rightfully wants to talk about this version of the game. While obviously a very low quality bootleg, that doesn't excuse the very poor controls, weird physicality of the pieces, and horrendous aesthetic. The pastoral background is kind of funny and it actually seemed to go in on that weird floating eye aesthetic before Tetris Worlds did, but this is still just a dreadful game.