Tetris The Grand Master Ace

Tetris The Grand Master Ace
File:Arika ACE boxart.jpg
Developer(s)	Arika
Publisher(s)	AQ INTERACTIVE
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release	December 10, 2005 (Japan)
Gameplay info
Next pieces	3
Playfield size	10w x 22h
Hold piece	Yes, with IHS
Hard drop	Yes, with optional sonic drop only with TGM wallkicks (ARS2)
Rotation system	TGM style wallkick Symmetry SRS

Tetris The Grand Master Ace, sometimes abbreviated TGM Ace or TGMA is Arika's second console Tetris game, and the first (and so far, only) TGM brand console game.

Changes from previous entries in the series

Numerous elements in the gameplay have undergone significant changes, mostly to adhere more closely to The Tetris Company's Tetris Guideline.

Main mode

While the main modes of the TGM series has always been a mode to reach level 999, which increases using Arika's own counting method, as fast as possible, this has been replaced with several modes in which the objective is to clear 150 lines. Each 10-line section has a time limit, in which the game automatically ends if the player fails to get through the section in time.

Rotation

TGM Ace originally featured a selection of two rotation rule options, SRS and ARS. While ARS offered the same initial stances, rotation rules and wallkicks as TGM3, it also featured tetromino colors compliant with SRS instead of the Sega colors used in previous games. ARS also included a locking hard drop and a non-locking soft drop, instead of the non-locking hard drop and locking soft drop in TGM2 and 3. In addition to this, soft drop speeds were reduced to around 0.5G as well. These two changes essentially made Zangi-moves impossible. Finally, the lockdown behavior of the tetrominoes adhered to the Infinity behavior, allowing virtually unlimited lock delay resets. (The game had a limit, though, of 128 rotations or movements per piece before the piece automatically locked down.)

Ichiro Mihara, developer of the TGM series, had connoted closely before the release of the game that another ruleset existed within the game. The hidden rule option, ARS2, was essentially ARS except with the locking roles of the hard and soft drops reversed. This allowed players to play in a similar manner to the previous games, with Zangi-moves reenabled, although the Infinity behavior and the block colors still could not be changed.

According to Mihara, ARS2 was originally intended to be an unlockable element awarded only to players of the highest skill. Later on, however, the feature became unlocked for all players following a software update of the game. The conditions in which ARS2 was to be originally unlocked under remains unknown, although several players are said to have unlocked the feature before the update.

Offline Modes

Tetris (テトリス)

Tetris is the main single-player mode. The objective of all modes under this category is to clear 150 lines.

Normal (ノーマル)

Normal begins with low gravity and eventually reaches 20G around level 14. The lock delay is constant.

High Speed 1 (ハイスピード1)

High Speed 1 begins with higher gravity than that of Normal and reaches 20G around level 6. The lock delay is constant.

High Speed 2 (ハイスピード2)

In High Speed 2, gravity is fixed at 20G with a constant lock delay. Without an Xbox Live Gold account, this is the fastest mode that can be unlocked.

Big (ビッグ)

In Big, all tetrominoes are twice their regular size. The speed curve is similar or possibly identical to that of Normal mode. This mode cannot be used for online time attacks.

Another (アナザー)

In Another, gravity starts at 20G and lock delay decreases as the mode progresses. Another is said to be the equivalent of Death in TGM2 or Shirase in TGM3, although the difficulty is lower due to the game's lock delay move reset behavior.

Another 2 (アナザー2)

Another 2 is the last known mode unlocked in TGMA; it is opened up once all other modes have been unlocked and completed. Gravity is fixed at 20G. The lock delay is fixed to the lowest lock delay value of Another mode. Clearing this mode will not unlock any new modes or achievements. This mode also cannot be used for online time attacks, making its existence unknown to players who haven't unlocked it themselves.

Online Modes

Tetris Road (テトリスロード)

EX Stage: (EXステージ)
To play an EX Stage, finish a multiple-of-5 stage with a Double line clear. Completing EX Stages will open up certain modes for offline play. (ex: Completing Star Road EX will unlock Level Star offline.)

Big Road (ビッグロード)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Big	2	1:00	10
2	Tetris	4	2:00	5
3	Cycle	4	2:00	4
4	Big	5	2:00	20
5	Level Star	6	1:30	15
EX	Big	10	2:00	20

Tricky Road (トリッキーロード)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Eraser	5	2:00	4
2	Target	3	4:00	5
3	Cycle	7	2:00	4
4	Target	5	4:00	5
5	Eraser	4	1:30	4
EX	Eraser	7	1:50	5

Grand Road (グランドロード)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Target	8	2:00	3
2	Tetris	5	1:40	4
3	Big	5	1:40	20
4	Eraser	7	2:00	5
5	Cycle	6	1:30	4
6	Level Star	6	1:30	20
7	Target	4	3:00	3
8	Triple	6	1:40	5
9	Eraser	6	2:00	4
10	Level Star	7	1:20	20
EX	Level Star	8	1:10	20

Star Road (スターロード)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Tetris	5	2:00	5
2	Eraser	5	2:00	4
3	Target	2	1:30	3
4	Cycle	10	1:30	4
5	Level Star	9	2:10	40
6	Big	6	1:30	20
7	Target	6	2:10	3
8	Eraser	6	2:00	4
9	Cycle	12	1:30	4
10	High Speed 2	1	0:40	10
EX	High Speed 2	1	2:00	35

Another Road (アナザーロード)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Level Star	8	1:10	20
2	Eraser	4	1:30	4
3	Eraser	3	1:30	3
4	Target	4	1:30	3
5	High Speed 2	1	1:10	20
6	Triple	6	1:40	5
7	Big	5	1:40	20
8	Eraser	6	1:40	4
9	Target	10	3:00	3
10	Another	1	1:00	10
11	Double	8	2:00	5
12	Triple	8	1:40	5
13	Tetris	10	1:40	5
14	Cycle	10	1:30	4
15	Another	2	1:30	20
16	Big	15	2:00	20
17	Eraser	10	2:00	8
18	High Speed 2	1	2:00	40
19	Tetris	15	1:40	5
20	Another	4	2:00	40
EX	Another	7	1:00	10

Promotional Exam (昇段審査)

The notation of the grades are similar to those of the past TGM games.

Grade 9 (九級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Level Star	2	2:00	10

Grade 8 (八級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Tetris	4	1:00	1

Grade 7 (七級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Level Star	5	3:00	20

Grade 6 (六級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Cycle	5	2:00	4

Grade 5 (五級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Eraser	3	1:30	3

Grade 4 (四級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Target	2	1:30	3

Grade 3 (三級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Big	2	2:00	20

Grade 2 (二級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Tetris	4	3:00	5

Grade 1 (一級)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	High Speed 2	1	1:10	10

Grade s1 (初段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Big	2	2:00	20
2	Level Star	8	1:00	12

Grade s2 (ニ段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Eraser	3	1:40	3
2	Tetris	4	2:00	5
3	Level Star	8	1:00	15

Grade s3 (三段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Target	4	1:30	3
2	Cycle	5	1:40	4
3	Eraser	5	1:30	4
4	High Speed 2	1	1:00	15

Grade s4 (四段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Big	2	2:00	20
2	Cycle	5	1:40	4
3	Eraser	6	2:00	4
4	High Speed 2	1	2:00	35

Grade s5 (五段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Target	6	2:30	4
2	Triple	4	2:00	5
3	Big	2	2:00	20
4	High Speed 2	1	3:00	50

Grade s6 (六段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Target	7	2:40	5
2	High Speed 2	1	2:00	35
3	Eraser	8	2:00	6
4	Target	8	3:00	5

Grade s7 (七段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Double	4	1:30	5
2	Tetris	4	2:00	5
3	Eraser	10	2:00	8
4	High Speed 2	1	1:30	40

Grade s8 (八段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	High Speed 2	1	1:00	20
2	Triple	8	2:00	5
3	Cycle	8	1:40	4
4	Another	4	1:40	40

Grade s9 (九段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Eraser	7	1:50	5
2	Another	7	3:00	80

Grade s10 (十段)

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	High Speed 2	1	2:00	40
2	Target	9	3:00	4
3	Big	8	1:30	20
4	Another	10	1:30	40

Grade TM

Stage	Subject	LV	Time Limit	Norm
1	Another	7	1:10	30
2	Eraser	10	2:00	8
3	Another	7	0:40	20
4	Double	15	1:30	5
5	Another	13	0:40	20

Aesthetics

The game reuses several elements from TGM3, the previous entry in the series. Block graphics are identical, with different block surfaces between SRS and ARS, and the backgrounds share a space theme also used in TGM3, although different images than the ones in TGM3 are used. Many musical tracks used in TGM3 also appear in TGM Ace.