Over the decades since its 1989 release, each of the hundreds of millions of standard NES Tetris The game ended the same way. When the blocks reach the top of the screen, a “game over” message will appear. On December 21, 2023, that 34-year record was finally broken.At that time, the 13-year-old genius Blue Cutie Became the first person to reach the game’s “kill screen” After 40 minutes and 1,511 lines of performance, a functional limit was reached and the game crashed.
A game-breaking, record-setting performance. Jump to 38:56 for BlueScuti’s incredible reaction to his accomplishments and a short interview.
What makes BlueScuti’s accomplishments even more incredible is that (as some articles have pointed out) wonderful YouTube summary scene) until just a few years ago. Tetris The entire community believed it was functionally impossible for humans to go much beyond 290 lines.The road to the first Famicom Tetris Kill Screen highlights the surprisingly robust competitive scene surrounding the classic game, and how much its competitive community was able to collectively improve in a relatively short period of time.
From hyper tap to rolling
If the player reaches level 29 on NES Tetris After clearing lines 230-290 (depending on the starting level), the game reaches its highest possible speed. At this point, just holding down left or right on the NES D-pad won’t work, unless the board is very “low” (i.e. there are only pieces on the first one or above the first one). , it is usually not possible to get the pieces to the end of the well. 2 rows, max). So for years, players who reached level 29 usually found that the game would “top out” after just a few pieces.
Demonstration of hyper-tapping technique.
The first known method of getting past the brick wall of level 29 was a technique that became known as hypertapping.by using a special grip This allows you to vibrate your finger in the direction of the d-pad at least 10 times per second, creating a “delayed autoshift” (DAS) that limits the speed at which pieces move laterally when you press the d-pad. You can skip it.
Hypertapping allows players to effectively move pieces at level 29 speed even when the board is stacked 4 or 5 levels high. This gives some leeway, but if bad pieces or bad execution continues, the Hyper Tapper can be put in an untenable position where the pieces pile up so high that it’s basically impossible to complete a new line. there is.
First level 30 NES Tetris Performance on record in 2011.
I got it. Tetris Professional Thor Ackerland is In 2011, I was able to achieve a level 30 hyper tapping performance.. However, it was not until 2018 that Joseph Salley used his expert technique to win the 2018 and 2019 editions. Classic Tetris World Championship, a live tournament held annually at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo. By 2020, Saelee hyper-tapped towards a level 35 performance, and his fellow player Eric ICX achieved a level 35 performance. first level 38 performance.
Dig deep into advanced features Tetris A control technique called rolling.
And in 2021, a new, even faster button mashing technique has entered the competitive environment. Tetris scene. This “rolling” technique was inspired by his arcade player Hector “Fly” Rodriguez. A similar multi-finger roll was used to set a button-mashing record. athletics stadium arcade game. Tetris Players adapted this technique by combining it with a grip that allowed them to tap the back of the NES controller by “rolling” three to five fingers in succession. This finger rotation forces his other finger into his D-pad, registering a very quick series of directional button presses.
Rolling is fast enough to push pieces to the sides of a level 29 speed board stacked up to 8 rows high. Tetris Master considerable leeway in pursuing the long game. Cheez was one of the first players to master the rolling technique. Reach level 40 in 2021but that was just the beginning of how far things would go.
Level 146 performance in 2022 showing NES Tetris You can play virtually endlessly at level 29 speed.
By then EricICX I managed to reach level 146. By August 2022, players will be proficient enough to play effectively indefinitely at the same “level 29” speed that was considered an effective kill screen just a few years ago. was obvious.Player has become very good at stretching his NES Tetris Games made by the community We started discussing ways to prevent tournament matches from being too long. (They eventually Modded game with even faster level 39 “Super Kill Screen” for competitive play).