History YMMV / Tetris

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: It's been argued that the game is a metaphor for life in the Soviet Union. The "Complete History of the Soviet Union" song plays this angle for all it's worth.
--> I am the man who arranges the blocks, but each night I go home to my wife in tears.\\
What's the point of it all if you're building a wall, and in front of your eyes it disappears?\\
Pointless work for pointless pay, this is one game I shall not play!

** Online play in ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' and especially ''Puyo Puyo Tetris 2'' is prone to slowdown, input delay, and even input dropping, in which your button press or control stick movement is ignored if you happen to do it during particular types of lag. It causes people to wonder how ''Tetris 99'' can handle up to 99 players without issue (on a system infamous for peer-to-peer networking that causes a lot of unique problems that other consoles' online play don't have, no less) while the Puyo Puyo Tetris games struggle with as few as 2 players.

** Online play in ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' and especially ''Puyo Puyo Tetris 2'' is prone to slowdown, input delay, and even input dropping, in which your button press or control stick movement is ignored if you happen to do it during particular types of lag. It causes people to wonder how ''Tetris 99'' can handle up to 99 players without issue while the Puyo Puyo Tetris games struggle with as few as 2 players.

** An update in 2021 for ''Tetris 99'' allows you to unlock skins from past Tetris Maximus events for 30 Tetris Tickets each, providing an option for those who missed any of these events or couldn't reach the 100 points necessary to unlock them. Prior to this, each Tetris Maximus skin was available only for a weekend,[[note]]Exceptions are the ones themed on ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'', ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', which were available for two two-day periods[[/note]] and once missed, was LostForever.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Many players were disappointed that there was initially no specific message for winning a match in ''Tetris 99''. A later update added a "TETRIS MAXIMUS!" ("TETO 1" in the Japanese version) screen for doing so.

* DifficultySpike: As a homage to ''TGM''[='=]s drop speed scaling, reaching the 500th line in ''Tetris 99''[='=]s "999 Line Mode" will suddenly cause all subsequent pieces to drop at roughly 5G speed, in stark contrast to the previous 499 lines where the rate of speed up is much more gradual. From thereon, the speed gradually accelerates ''even further'' as you approach the goal until you eventually hit 20G.

** Atari/Tengen ''Tetris'', ''Tetris DX'', and ''Tetris: The Grand Master'' featured wall kicks years before the introduction of the Super Rotation System in ''Tetris Worlds''. However, in these three games, the kicks don't have the properties that make them feel broken at high gravity; Atari ''Tetris'' and ''TGM'' only allow kicking in one or two directions, and while ''DX'' has [[GoodBadBugs piece climbing]], it requires a flat wall to work.

** ''TGM'' has a combo system, but it's balanced out by being more biased towards multi-line clears; in particular, the combo only starts or increments when clearing two or more lines, and is merely kept when clearing a single line. Even in the second ''TGM'' game, where an off-by-one error causes Tetrises to not have a bonus when performed as part of an active combo, Tetrises still contribute better to the player's grade than focusing on combos. This allows for consecutive line-clearing pieces to be rewarded, but not in a way that leads to the stagnant "center 4-wide" metagame that ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' is infamous for nor does it favor a "clear one line at a time, many times in a row" approach like "Goal"-based Marathon modes in later games.

* {{Sequelitis}}: Most fans disavow the existence of ''Tetris 2'' on the Game Boy, not least because it felt far more like a warmed-over ''VideoGame/DrMario'' game than a sequel to ''Tetris''. The UpdatedRerelease ''Tetris DX'' is similarly derided, both for the distracting animated backdrops and for its new Korobeiniki-free soundtrack.

** Ubisoft's ''Tetris Ultimate'' on the [=PS4=] and Xbox One. It has severe slowdown, framerate drops, and a tendency to crash frequently. Much has been made of how that result should by all appearances be ''physically impossible'' [[EpicFail with a game as simple as Tetris and consoles as powerful as the PS4 and One]]. Some have pointed out the DoubleStandard of The Tetris Company refusing to grant licenses to future ''Tetris TGM'' games in spite of the ''TGM'' series being some of the most highly-regarded ''Tetris'' games while being okay with such an ObviousBeta getting a release simply because it fits in with TTC's standards of a proper ''Tetris'' game at the design level. Even worse, due to how Ubisoft got the license, nothing else could be released until Ubisoft's license term expired, except for ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' due to some legal loopholes.

* FandomHeresy: Say that you dislike Nintendo's versions (especially the Game Boy version), even just to explain that you like other ''Tetris'' games better. It will [[SarcasmMode end well]].

** [[CoOpMultiplayer Double/co-op mode]], where two players share one extra-wide field, can be a fun exercise for friends who like playing ''Tetris'' together, but very few ''Tetris'' games have it (Tengen's unlicensed NES port of Atari ''Tetris'', ''Tetris: The Grand Master 2 PLUS'', and ''Tetris Kiwamemichi'' which notably allows '''four''' players to use the same playfield at once).

** While also mentioned below in PortingDisaster, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byJLw-dQXHA CD-i version]] had a very chill set of tracks that helped offset the issues the game had.

* TheScrappy:
** S- and Z-blocks. Due to their odd shape, they often end up not fitting in at all. They're the only two pieces where, if the game was played with only that type of piece, you would be forced into an eventual GameOver.
** The O-block (square) can be this at times too, as it's usually the one that doesn't fit anywhere you need it to. It also doesn't rotate at all, which leaves it at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the pieces in games that allow pieces to kick.
** The ''I-piece'' of all pieces is this in the Sega branch of ''Tetris'' games, particularly at high gravity. For a horizontally-oriented I to rotate, the two cells immediately below the third block from the left have to be free, and I-pieces initially spawn laying horizontally. This can make Tetrises surprisingly difficult. In non-''TGM'' games (''TGM'' allows you to pre-rotate a piece before it has spawned), you have to be extremely quick and precise to rotate an I into a vertical position while it's still falling.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The release of ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Tetris'' in the West on three platforms not subject to the Ubisoft exclusivity contract as well as ''Tetris 99'' on the Switch shows that even after Ubisoft smeared the ''Tetris'' name with their rather janky ''Tetris Ultimate'', there is still hope for ''Tetris'' games by other developers. It helps that SEGA (''Puyo Puyo Tetris'') and Arika (''Tetris 99'') are both highly reputable ''Tetris'' game developers (of 1988 arcade ''Tetris'' and ''TGM'', respectively).
** Many players were disappointed that there was initially no specific message for winning a match in ''Tetris 99''. A later update added a "TETRIS MAXIMUS!" ("TETO 1" in the Japanese version) screen for doing so.

** Ubisoft's ''Tetris Ultimate'' on the [=PS4=] and Xbox One also falls under this. It has severe slowdown, framerate drops, and a tendency to crash frequently. Much has been made of how that result should by all appearances be ''physically impossible'' [[EpicFail with a game as simple as Tetris and consoles as powerful as the PS4 and One]]. Some have pointed out the DoubleStandard of The Tetris Company refusing to grant licenses to future ''Tetris TGM'' games in spite of the ''TGM'' series being some of the most highly-regarded ''Tetris'' games while being okay with such an ObviousBeta getting a release simply because it fits in with TTC's standards of a proper ''Tetris'' game at the design level. Even worse, due to how Ubisoft got the license, nothing else could be released until Ubisoft's license term expired, except for ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' due to some legal loopholes.

* WinBackTheCrowd: After Ubisoft's exclusivity contract coupled with their disastrous ''Tetris Ultimate'' damaged the reputation of the ''Tetris'' name ("How were they able to mess up ''TETRIS'' of all things?!"), the Western release of ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' and ''Tetris 99'' seem to have renewed people's faith in modern ''Tetris'' games, the former featuring a colorful cast of characters including ''Tetris''-representative characters and the butter-smooth gameplay that comes with a lot of Sega ''Tetris'' games and the latter being a unique Battle Royale twist on the multiplayer formula made by the same developers of the famous ''TGM'' series.
** The release of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini has a new console port of the original Sega arcade game, finally giving it the recognition it deserves.
** And then there is also ''Tetris Effect'', which was met with thunderous critical acclaim due to the faithful gameplay featuring SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome and SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic blending in for an ultimate Tetris experience.

** ''TGM'' has a combo system, but it's balanced out by being more biased towards multi-line clears; in particular, the combo only starts or increments when clearing two or more lines, and is merely kept when clearing a single line. Even in the second ''TGM'' game, where an off-by-one error causes Tetrises to not have a bonus when performed as part of an active combo, Tetrises still contribute better to the player's grade than focusing on combos. This allows for consecutive line-clearing pieces to be rewarded, but not in a way that leads to the stagnant metagame that ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' is infamous for nor does it favor a "clear one line at a time, many times in a row" approach like "Goal"-based Marathon modes in later games.

** ''TGM'' has a combo system, but it's balanced out by being more biased towards multi-line clears; in particular, the combo only starts or increments when clearing two or more lines, and is merely kept when clearing a single line. This allows for consecutive line-clearing pieces to be rewarded, but not in a way that leads to the stagnant metagame that ''Puyo Puyo Tetris'' is infamous for nor does it favor a "clear one line at a time, many times in a row" approach like "Goal"-based Marathon modes in later games.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Atari/Tengen ''Tetris'', ''Tetris DX'', and ''Tetris: The Grand Master'' featured wall kicks years before the introduction of the Super Rotation System in ''Tetris Worlds''. However, in these three games, the kicks don't have the properties that make them feel broken at high gravity; Atari ''Tetris'' and ''TGM'' only allow kicking in one or two directions, and while ''DX'' has [[GoodBadBugs piece climbing]], it requires a flat wall to work.

** Most fans, [[AmericansHateTingle especially in the West]], are quick to poo-poo the Genesis Mini version of ''Tetris'' due to [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks not seeming to provide anything new]] and [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny not understanding what's so innovative about classic Sega Tetris]]. To those who do understand why Sega ''Tetris'' is such a big deal in Japan, it's a port of the 1988 Sega arcade version by Creator/M2 with arcade-accurate graphics and sound, and button assignments that let you add clockwise rotation and hard drop buttons, neither of which were in the original arcade version nor the 1989 prototype Genesis version. It's also the first new[[note]]It's actually built from the ground up, not based on the prototype Genesis version[[/note]] version of ''Tetris'' in over a decade to not be subject to the [[ExecutiveMeddling Tetris Guideline]][[note]]Different piece colors, different rotation system, different lock delay system, no hold pieces, 1-piece preview, leveling up is based on a hidden counter of sorts rather than strictly on lines cleared, "Korobeiniki" is not part of the soundtrack[[/note]].

** Most fans, [[AmericansHateTingle especially in the West]], are quick to poo-poo the Genesis Mini version of ''Tetris'' due to [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks not seeming to provide anything new]] and [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny not understanding what's so innovative about classic Sega Tetris]]. To those who do understand why Sega ''Tetris'' is such a big deal in Japan, it's a port of the 1988 Sega arcade version by [=M2=] with arcade-accurate graphics and sound, and button assignments that let you add clockwise rotation and hard drop buttons, neither of which were in the original arcade version nor the 1989 prototype Genesis version. It's also the first new[[note]]It's actually built from the ground up, not based on the prototype Genesis version[[/note]] version of ''Tetris'' in over a decade to not be subject to the [[ExecutiveMeddling Tetris Guideline]][[note]]Different piece colors, different rotation system, different lock delay system, no hold pieces, 1-piece preview, leveling up is based on a hidden counter of sorts rather than strictly on lines cleared, "Korobeiniki" is not part of the soundtrack[[/note]].

* AccidentalInnuendo: When you clear five lines at once in ''Magical Tetris Challenge'', the game calls it a "Pentris"[[note]]from the prefix ''penta-'', meaning "five"[[/note]]. Which sounds like a combination of "penetrate" and "penis".

* SignatureSong: The arrangement of "Korobeiniki" from the Game Boy version practically serves as the series' flagship song, to the point where the Tetris Guideline mandates its inclusion in ''Tetris'' games.

** While the Game Boy version's arrangement of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmCCQxVBfyM Korobeiniki]] needs no introduction (after all, it is now the ''de facto'' theme song for ''Tetris''), the often-overlooked [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30eWWOvAzwg Music C]] from the NES edition is a very calm and relaxing theme. The NES Music A, a version of "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" from TheNutcracker is also fondly remembered.

** Spin (i.e. twist) bonuses only apply to the T-piece. No Guideline game has ever awarded anything extra for doing, say, a "J-Spin Double" or an "S-Spin Triple".