Arcade Legends Tetris

Arcade Legends Tetris
Publisher(s)	Radica Games
Platform(s)	Dedicated device
Release	2004
Gameplay info
Next pieces	1
Playfield size	10 × 20
Hold piece	No

Arcade Legends Tetris is a plug and play system developed by Radica.

Details

Like many other plug and play systems, the unit is both the controller and the console, connects directly to a TV set by RCA video and mono audio, and is powered by 4 AA batteries.

The only input device is a red O piece which can be tilted sideways, downward and twisted both clockwise and anticlockwise, providing a intuitive but unwieldy control scheme, however tilting the piece up or pushing it down have no effect.

The second controller can be daisy-chained into the first and is required to select 2-player mode, but is not necessary for single player.

Gameplay

Despite being developed and released well into the guideline, the game does not feature the Super Rotation System.

Pieces are random, and previews are rotated to fit the HUD in the middle of the screen. Despite this, they will spawn normally inside the playfield.

Standard Tetris (1P only)

This game's Marathon mode. This mode does not end.

Garbage Tetris (1P and 2P)

The playfield spawns with garbage blocks like B-Type on Nintendo games, but unlike B-Type there is no line goal, as such the mode does not end. The amount of rows that contain garbage is $Level+2$.

Timed Tetris (1P and 2P)

Line attack mode with a downwards-counting score acting as timer. The timer always starts at one tick from 10000, and the line goal is $5+(5\times Level)$.

Hot-line Tetris (1P only)

Score attack mode with no timer, but any line cleared that is not, or has not been cleared together with, a colored line is worth no points.

Battle Tetris (2P only)

Versus mode. The garbage will spawn for any double, triple or tetris line clear at a random position on the opposite playfield.

Hot-Line Score

Hot-line scores are $Level\times X\times Y$ where X is:

• Unknown for the Orange line at row 20
• 100 for the Purple line at row 19
• 70 for the Red line at row 17
• 50 for the Yellow line at row 14
• 30 for the Green line at row 10
• 20 for the Blue line at row 5

and Y is:

• 1 for a single line clear
• 3 for a double line clear
• 5 for a triple line clear
• 8 for a tetris line clear

Rotation system

Pieces spawn at row 21 with opposite rotation state than Guideline, there is no ARE or Lock delay.

Locking any piece in any way that places it, or part of it, in row 21 will result in a game over.

The piece can always kick sideways against the wall or sometimes inside the playfield if the following conditions are met:

1. There is at least one playfield block inside the rotation box's bottom row
2. The piece's next rotation will be inside the playfield
3. There is empty space for the block to move to that does not place the piece fully outside the starting rotation box

A fumen with a few kicks that are known to work. Further investigation is required.

Bugs

• Due to no Lock delay, no ARE and the lack of a vanish zone, row 20 cannot be cleared making the orange line in Hot-line Tetris purely cosmetic.
• The piece will only test and perform a left/right kick at the bottom row of the rotation box.
• Both the menus and the Game Over dialog cannot be interacted with until any previously held input is released.

External links

• Archive of product page
• Arcade Legends Tetris - Demonstration - Gameplay video on YouTube
• Arcade Legends Tetris on Arcade Database