Tetris The Grand Master 4 The Masters of Round
- This page is about the cancelled version of TGM4, for the newly announced version, see Tetris The Grand Master 4 Absolute Eye'
| Tetris The Grand Master 4 The Masters of Round | |
|---|---|
 Players play testing TGM4 on location | |
| Developer(s) | Arika |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Gameplay info | |
| Next pieces | 4 |
| Playfield size | 10 × 20 |
| Hold piece | Yes |
| Hard drop | Classic rule: Sonic Drop World rule: Standard hard drop |
| Rotation system | Classic rule: ARS with floorkicks World rule: SRS |
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Tetris The Grand Master 4 The Masters of Round is an unreleased sequel to the TGM series created by Arika. It was announced in 2009 by Arika vice president Ichiro Mihara, and unveiled at Sega's Amusement Machine Show the same year.
The game's release was in limbo for many years, citing various problems reaching an agreement with publishers or The Tetris Company. In December of 2024 it was revealed that a new game would be released as TGM4 called Tetris The Grand Master 4 Absolute Eye.
Gameplay
Similar to TGM3, the game first asks you for Control Type before selecting a mode: World Type or Classic Type. The game modes are split into two categories: Master/Worlds and Rounds are Standard modes, while Kamui and Konoha are Time Attack modes. Tetrominoes now spawn above the play field, where the Next piece preview is. As a side effect, the I-piece no longer drops instantly to the bottom of an empty play field at 20G.
In the 2009 version, the mode labeled as "Master" would behave differently depending on whether World Type or Classic Type was selected. In the 2015 version, this slot in the menu was relabeled "Worlds" and was unavailable for selection.
Master (World Type)
The label of "Worlds" in the 2015 test menu is presumed to refer to this mode. A Marathon mode with Guideline standard scoring and line-based leveling. This mode has a blue field border, with displays for line, level, and score.
Master (Classic Type)
Not shown in menu of 2015 test. In the 2009 test, it was described as being similar in speed to TGM2's Master, the mode has torikans at levels 700, 800, and 900. This mode has a blue field border, with displays for level and time. No grade was displayed.
Rounds
TGM4's equivalent to Death and Shirase, the mode starts at 20G and the delays decrease as further sections are cleared. Starting at level 300, every other section will be a "frozen" version of the previous section, with the bottom half of the playfield not clearing lines until the section is passed. The background of these "frozen" sections are the same as the previous section but with colours inverted, so for example the section starting at 300 has the same circular bricks background as 200, and then 400 proceeds to the rainbows background that normally follows the 200 background. When a frozen section is passed, the formerly frozen lines that clear do not count towards the level. This mode has at least 1400 levels. Has a red field border.
Kamui
Kamui is the only mode that has yet to be revealed in either test. It was also a locked mode in the TGM3 prototype. Has an orange field border.
Konoha
The goal of this mode is to get to the highest level as possible in Big mode under a time limit (3 minutes in 2009 version, 2 minutes in 2015 version). S and Z pieces do not appear. In video of the 2009 test, the ARE is fixed at 26 and Line Clear is fixed at 11. The gravity curve appears to follow the usual speed curve until around level 80, where it stalls out until 120 and then rapidly increases to hit 20G at level 20.
Levels given for line clears are as follows:
| Lines cleared | Level advance |
|---|---|
| 1 (single) | 2 |
| 2 (double) | 4 |
| 3 (triple) | 6 |
| 4 (tetris) | 12 |
Extra time is obtained by performing certain clears:
| Clear Type | Time Awarded |
|---|---|
| Triple Line Clear | 1/3 of a second |
| Tetris Line Clear | 2/3 of a second |
| Single All Clear | 5 seconds |
| Double All Clear | 8 seconds |
| Triple All Clear | 11 seconds |
| Tetris All Clear | 15 seconds |
At level 1000 and above, the bonuses change. No time bonuses are gained for normal line clears and All Clears now give much less time:
| Clear Type | Time Awarded |
|---|---|
| Single All Clear | 0 seconds |
| Double All Clear | 1 second |
| Triple All Clear | 2 seconds |
| Tetris All Clear | 3 seconds |
Whenever the game detects that a perfect clear can be performed, a small fox character is shown beside the level counter, and when the next piece or held piece is able to All Clear, the "Go" sound effect is played. Instead of earning an All Clear medal, the number of All Clears performed is tracked and shown every time one is performed. All Clears also cycle through what is shown in the background of the play field, from a silhouette of a character, to the character partially shown, then the character fully shown. Every cycle also changes which character is shown, from a total of 13. This mode has at least 1299 levels. Has a pink field border.
Development
2009 unveiling playtest
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2015 playtest
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External links
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