History VideoGame / TetrisTheGrandMaster

* '''Tetris: The Grand Master 2015'' (Arcade, release date TBD, working title) -- An upcoming ''TGM'' title that recycles many elements from ''TGM 4''. Like ''TGM 3'', it features both "Classic" and "World" rotation systems, with the unique gimmick of each system having its own exclusive modes: "Worlds" and "Kamui" for World Type and the aforementioned Rounds and Konoha modes for Classic Type. A location test in Southern UsefulNotes/{{California}} is [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/599089194296741888 slated for June 2015, although details are not finalized yet]].

** ''Tetris: The Grand Master 3 Ω'' (Arcade, TBD; tentative name) -- Little is known about this game at the moment, other Mihara hinting at an overseas UpdatedRerelease to ''TGM 3''. It is scheduled to have a [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/579939850373050368 location]] [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/579939902017564672 test]] [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/579939957327851520 in]] [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/579940003851083776 June 2014]] around the same time as E3.

* ''Tetris: The Grand Master 4 - The Masters of Round'' (Arcade, CANCELED; aka [=TGM4=] or (T)[=MoR=]) -- The latest game in the ''TGM'' series, due to come out in 2010. The new "easy" mode in this game is Konoha mode, a simplified "big" mode in which the goal is to completely clear the playfield of blocks as many times as possible. Its answer to Ti's Shirase mode is Rounds, which goes up to at least level 1,400 and puts a new twist on the line-clearing mechanic. A location test was held in late 2009, but little details of the game's development have arised since; in fact, an entry on the blog of Arika vice president Ichiro Mihara suggests that the game has been ''canceled.''

* DifficultButAwesome: Firm drop/sonic drop, which drops the current piece to bottom immediately like the hard drop in SRS-based games like ''Tetris DS'', but doesn't lock the piece down. Newer players think it's retarded, but once you get the hang of it, it makes overhangs much less of a time-waster.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The randomizer is tailored to keep the game fair:
** The first piece will never be an S or a Z, so you cannot get overhangs in your first few pieces. You also will not get an O as your first piece, as an O followed by S or a Z forces an overhang.
** The game keeps track of the last 4 pieces dealt, and will select new pieces until it comes across a piece not in the piece history or has already tried 4 times (or 6 in sequels).

* FakeDifficulty: In games prior to ''TGM 3'', I-pieces are very difficult to manipulate at 20G speeds. A horizontally-oriented I can only rotate if there are two empty cells under the third block from the left. This means if an I is horizontally oriented and on a completely flat surface and you try to get it into a shaft on the leftmost or rightmost column, it can't rotate. ''TGM 3'' corrects this with "floor kicks"--the I can "kick off" the floor to rotate into a vertical position once.

* FakeDifficulty: In games prior to ''TGM 3'', I-pieces are very difficult to manipulate at 20G speeds. A horizontally-oriented I can only rotate if there are two empty cells under the third block from the left. This means if an I is horizontally oriented and on a completely flat surface and you try to get it into a shaft on the leftmost or rightmost column, it can't rotate.

* NintendoHard: On top of the difficult learning curve, getting GM in any of the games (other than [=TGM1=]) is a feat that takes many months, if not years, to attain. As of this update, there are maybe about 100 or so players with a GM rank in TAP Master (a mere three of which come from outside of Japan), and ''three'' Ti [=GMs=]. That said, the series is actually some of the fairest games in the ''Tetris'' franchise.

* StalkedByTheBell: If the game goes on for more than 15 minutes (which is unlikely in TAP and Ti, in which games usually last no more than 11 minutes), the game speed will suddenly kick into Shirase-level speeds.

** ''Tetris: The Grand Master 3 Ω'' (Arcade, TBD; tentative name) -- Little is known about this game at the moment, other than the title hinting at an overseas UpdatedRerelease to ''TGM 3''. It is scheduled to have a [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/579939850373050368 location]] [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/579939902017564672 test]] [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/579939957327851520 in]] [[https://twitter.com/tgm_series/status/579940003851083776 June 2014]] around the same time as E3.

* DevelopmentHell: ''[=TGM4=]''. It's been over a year and [[strike:there's been very little word of its release in months.]] it ended with announcement of cancellation.

* NoExportForYou: The entire series, pretty much. Most players outside of Japan use clones or emulators to play, and a few are lucky enough to live near an actual TGM machine, and even fewer are able to find and afford to ''own the actual hardware.''

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: ''[=TGM4=]'' was canceled due to Sega's refusal to publish it, as well as Mihara's [[http://tetrisconcept.net/forum/showpost.html?p=39965&postcount=144 hatred of fan clones and his Western fanbase]].

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: WordOfGod alleges that there is a way to surpass level 1300 in [=TGM3=]'s Shirase mode, but since no one has been able to confirm this even today, it's now believed that they are [[LyingCreator pulling our leg]].
** It's now confirmed with the leaked data that those extra levels don't exist.

''[[CatchPhrase Ready, go!]]''

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: ''[=TGM4=]'' was canceled due to Sega's refusal to publish it, as well as Mihara's [[http://tetrisconcept.net/forum/showpost.html?p=39965&postcount=144 hatred of fan clones]].

** Level 100-199: [[{{Squick}} Let's just call them]] [[UnusualEuphemism balloon things]].

* CreativeClosingCredits: The game doesn't end at level 999. After clearing a line at level 999, the board clears and the game goes on for 60 more seconds at 20G speed. In [=TGM2+=] and later games, if you reach the end fast enough and have a high enough grade, you then have to clear the [[BonusDungeon Invisible Roll, in which pieces disappear on lock.]] You not only have to survive this credit roll, but also ''perform well'' [[EarnYourHappyEnding in order to get the highest grades.]]

* NintendoHard: On top of the difficult learning curve, getting GM in any of the games (other than [=TGM1=]) is a feat that takes many months, if not years, to attain. As of this update, there are maybe about 100 or so players with a GM rank in TAP Master (a mere three of which come from outside of Japan), and ''three'' Ti [=GMs=].

*** Said history is initialized to SSSS (or SZSZ) in sequels, so such unfortunate piece sequences happen even less often at the start of the game.

** The first piece will never be an S or a Z, so you cannot get overhangs in your first few pieces. You also don't get an O as your first piece, as an O followed by S or a Z forces an overhang.

* BreatherLevel: The speed resets at level 200. At that point on, the speed increases much faster than before.

At level 500, the game's drop speed maxes out and pieces drop ''instantly'' in what is known as "20G"[[hottip:* :20 grid cells per frame (1/60th of a second). The playing field is 20 blocks high. Do the math.]] speed, forcing you to slide pieces along the stack (or ground) into place. And in newer games, some of the game's finer details are adjusted to [[UpToEleven make the game harder]]. 20G went on to be featured in other, more mainstream ''Tetris'' games, such as ''Tetris DS'', but most of those games had a mechanic known as "infinite rotation", so in practice, the drop was instant but the lock could be delayed indefinitely for each piece; this is not the case in ''TGM''. In speed-ups after 20G, the time that the pieces take to lock decreases. The game ends at level 999.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: ''Tetris: The Grand Master 3 - '''Terror-Instinct'''''. You'd think it was a Tetris-themed survival horror or something with a name like that. Although it ''did'' introduce the Shirase mode, which can be a nightmare in itself if one tackles it unprepared.

* CreativeClosingCredits: The game doesn't end at level 999. After clearing a line at level 999, the board clears and the game goes on for 60 more seconds at 20G speed. In [=TGM2+=] and later games, if you reach the end fast enough and have a high enough grade, you then have to clear the [[BonusDungeon Invisible Roll, in which pieces disappear on lock.]] You not only have to survive this credit roll, but also ''[[BeyondTheImpossible perform well]]'' [[EarnYourHappyEnding in order to get the highest grades.]]

* CreativeClosingCredits: The game doesn't end at level 999. After clearing a line at level 999, the board clears and the game goes on for 60 more seconds at 20G speed. In [=TGM2+=] and later games, if you reach the end fast enough and have a high enough grade, you then have to clear the [[BonusDungeon Invisible Roll, in which pieces disappear on lock.]] [[EarnYourHappyEnding A good performance here is mandatory to get the highest grades.]]

** ''Tetris with CardcaptorSakura - Eternal Heart'' (PlayStation, 2000; aka [=EH=]) -- A console-exclusive LicensedGame that uses the rotation system of [=TGM2=]. Rather than play Tetris for a grade at high speed, the emphasis is clearing seven jeweled blocks in a Tetris board as quickly as possible (at minimal speeds) over a number of stages, similar to the Sega-produced Tetris derivative ''Flash Point''. A combined time limit for all stages is imposed in the story mode. This mode of play has been carried over into ''Tetris: The Grand Master 3'' as Sakura mode (with SerialNumbersFiledOff, obviously).
* ''Tetris: The Grand Master 3 - Terror-Instinct'' (Arcade, 2005; aka [=TGM3=] or Ti) -- Makes a few changes to the series' signature rotation system and incorporates the Super Rotation System (the rotation system used in "guideline" ''Tetris'' games). Revises the Master mode grade system and implements a "qualified grade" system that indicates your (roughly) average performance, similar to those of martial arts classes. T.A. Death has been replaced by Shirase mode, which has faster speeds and goes up to level 1,300 instead of 999. For those who aren't too bright at TGM, there's Easy mode, which has a slower speed curve and a special scoring system, as well as Sakura mode, which is based on the "target block"-clearing system from ''Tetris with CardcaptorSakura: Eternal Heart''. This is also the game on which the infamous [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwC544Z37qo "Invisible Tetris"]] video was recorded.

At level 500, the game's drop speed maxes out and pieces drop ''instantly'' in what is known as "20G"[[hottip:* :20 grid cells per frame (1/60th of a second). The playing field is 20 blocks high. Do the math.]] speed, forcing you to slide pieces along the stack (or ground) into place. And in newer games, some of the game's finer details are adjusted to [[BeyondTheImpossible make the game harder]]. 20G went on to be featured in other, more mainstream ''Tetris'' games, such as ''Tetris DS'', but most of those games had a mechanic known as "infinite rotation", so in practice, the drop was instant but the lock could be delayed indefinitely for each piece; this is not the case in ''TGM''. In speed-ups after 20G, the time that the pieces take to lock decreases. The game ends at level 999.

* BeyondTheImpossible: The games strive to push the limits of speed.

* ExecutiveMeddling: ''Tetris: The Grand Master ACE''. The Tetris Guideline, a series of rules that games carrying the "Tetris" name must abide by, forced significant changes to the gameplay mechanics. On top of that, Microsoft wanted Arika to hurry the game to make it a launch title for the {{Xbox 360}} and incorporate downloadble content; as a result, proper ARS can only be unlocked if you have an XBL Gold account.
** Arika has, on two occasions, had videos of TGM clones (such as ''Heboris'' and ''Texmaster'') removed from {{YouTube}}. In the case of the second wave of removals, Arika denied doing so of their own volition, claiming that The Tetris Company made them do it, which leads to some UnfortunateImplications about TTC's possible intentions. Since then, most, if not all, videos of TGM clones have been put back up, with no further action from Arika or TTC.
** [=TGM4=] was allegedly canceled due to difficulty with "cleaning up foreign clones". [[NoExportForYou Excuse me?]]
* FanNickname:
** [[{{Squick}} Mihara's sperm]]: The level 100-199 background in [=TGM1=], which suffers from a case of DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything.
** [[FunWithAcronyms The MOve Reset]]: [=TGM4=]:TMOR, for Arika's decision to make ARS an easier, "move reset" rotation system.