Tetris (Sega) Techniques

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Revision as of 02:42, 7 December 2008 by *>Jujubo (→‎Rotation After Landing)
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These techniques can be very helpful for dealing with fast gravity in Sega Tetris.

Rotation Techniques

It's often useful to rotate a piece 2 or 3 times in quick succession. This can help to get a piece to the desired orientation before it lands, or after it lands and before the lock delay expires. The original arcade game only had 1 rotation button, but a version released with the Japanese PS2 game Sega Ages 2500 Series Vol.28 Tetris Collection allows the player to use up to 3 rotation buttons (each performs counter-clockwise rotation).

Rotation After Landing

When the gravity is fast you want to rotate only after the piece has landed, whenever this is possible. Here the player has an active L and an O coming next, and wants to stack them against the left wall. If the player is unable to rotate twice before the L reaches the left wall, it will get stuck in a vertical orientation. It won't rotate a 2nd time because there are no wall kicks.

lll
l
gggggg
gggggg
lll
l
gggggg
gggggg
l
l
ll
gggggg
gggggg
l
l
llgggggg
gggggg
l
lgggggg
llgggggg

It's much more reliable in this situation to wait and only rotate after the piece has landed. After it lands, release left then rotate twice. You only have to be quick enough to beat the lock delay, not the gravity or DAS.

lll
l
gggggg
gggggg
lll
l
gggggg
gggggg
lll
l
gggggg
gggggg
lll
lgggggg
gggggg
lllgggggg
lgggggg
l
lgggggg
llgggggg
lgggggg
lllgggggg

When the gravity is fast and you have a high stack it can be extra tricky to rotate the I, because of the lack of IRS, ceiling kicks, and floor kicks. You need perfect timing in this example.

zzzz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
zzzz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
z
z
z
z
ggggggggg
ggggggggg

It's much more sensible here to build a platform in the center and skim while you wait for another I.

zzzz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
oo
zzzzoo
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
oo
zzzzoojjj
gggggggggj
ggggggggg
s
ooss
zzzzoosjjj
ggggggggg
s
ooss
ggggggggg

Now the I is easier to rotate, because once again you're racing the slow lock delay instead of the fast gravity.

zzzz
s
ooss
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
zzzz
s
ooss
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
zzzz
s
ooss
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
zzzz
s
ooss
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
z
z
sz
oossz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
z
z
sz
oossz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg

This next situation is a little tougher than it may appear. If you start shifting too early you can miss the platform.

zzzz
ggggg
ggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
zzzz
ggggg
ggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
zzzz
ggggg
ggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg

If you wait too long before shifting, the I may not reach the wall because the rotation doesn't cause a lock delay reset.

zzzz
ggggg
ggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
z
z
gggggz
gggggz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
z
z
gggggz
gggggz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg

What you have to do is start to DAS as soon as the I lands, and then rotate while shifting.

zzzz
ggggg
ggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
zzzz
ggggg
ggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
z
z
gggggz
gggggz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
z
z
gggggz
gggggz
ggggggggg
ggggggggg

Rotation Before Landing

This is riskier because it requires precise timing, but it has to be done sometimes. The shape of your stack can cause pieces to get stuck if you wait too long to rotate. Let's say you want to place the J rotated twice and into columns 1-3. It can get stuck in the center like this.

ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
jjj
gjgggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
jj
gjgggg
gggjggg
ggggggggg

Shifting to the wall first doesn't help at all.

jjj
jggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
jj
jggggg
gjggggg
ggggggggg

If you try to shift and rotate, you can get stuck against the wall and the piece won't kick off.

jjj
j
ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
jj
j
jggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg

The proper technique is to rotate twice while the piece is falling, and only begin shifting after the 2nd rotation.

jjj
j
ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
jjj
j
ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
jj
j
j
ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
jj
j
j
ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
jj
j
j
ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
j
jjj
ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
j
jjj
ggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
j
jjjggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg

Twists

Because only counter-clockwise rotation exists in Sega Tetris, and because of the lack of wall kicks, the number of available twists is limited. The only ones that work in mirrored situations are S and Z twists.

gggggggg
ggggggg
gggggggg
ggggggggg
tgggggggg
ttggggggg
tgggggggg
ggggggggg
gggggggg
ttggggggg
ttgggggggg
ggggggggg
gggggggg
ggggggg
gggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggs
gggggggss
ggggggggs
ggggggggg
gggggggg
gggggggss
ggggggggss
ggggggggg

These twists can only work as shown below (no mirrors).

ggggggggg
gggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
gggggzgggg
gggzggg
gggggzgggg
gggggzgggg
ggggggggg
gggzzzzggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
gggggggg
gggggggg
ggggggg
gggggggjjg
ggggggjgg
ggggggjg
gggggggg
ggggggjgg
ggggggjjjg
gggggggg
ggggggg
ggggggg
gggggggjg
ggggggjg
ggggggjjg
gggggggjg
ggggggjg
ggggggjjg
gggggggg
ggggggjjjg
ggggggjg
ggggggg
ggggggg
l
gggggggl
ggggggllg
gggggggl
gggggglllg
gggggggg
ggggggg
ggggggg
lgggggggg
lggggggg
llggggggg
lgggggggg
lggggggg
llggggggg
gggggggg
lggggggg
lllggggggg
gggggggg
ggggggg
ggggggg
llgggggggg
lggggggg
lggggggg
gggggggg
lllggggggg
lggggggg
ggggggg
ggggggg
i
gggggggii
ggggggig
gggggggi
ggggggiiig
gg
ggggggg
ggggggggg
igg
ggggggiig
gggggggigg
gg
ggggggiiig
gggggggigg

DAS Techniques

The fast DAS in Sega Tetris allows for moves that aren't possible in most other games with fast gravity. Here the T can jump over the open column and stack nicely against the wall. When left is pressed and held, the piece first moves one column left, pauses, and then the auto-shift takes over. In this example you wouldn't want to shift and rotate as the piece is falling because it could easily get stuck against the left wall after one rotation.

iii
i
gggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
iii
i
gggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
i
ii
i
gggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
i
iii
gggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
i
ii
i
gggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
i
ii
i
gggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg
i
ii
giggggggg
ggggggggg
ggggggggg