Tetris The Grand Master 4 Absolute Eye

Tetris The Grand Master 4 Absolute Eye
Absolute Eye Steam banner
Developer(s)	Arika
Publisher(s)	Arika
Producer(s)	Ichiro Mihara
Composer(s)	Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso
Series	TGM series
Platform(s)	PC (Steam)
Release	WW: April 4, 2025
Predecessor	Tetris The Grand Master 3 Terror-Instinct
Gameplay info
Next pieces	6
Playfield size	10 × 22
Hold piece	Yes (Toggleable)

Tetris The Grand Master 4 Absolute Eye is a game by Arika in the TGM series. It was released on Steam on April 4, 2025. It's the first TGM game to be released on PC.

Gameplay

Buffer zone

Pieces spawn in rows 20-21 in most cases (with I-pieces in 20), except in Shiranui where they spawn one row higher. Cyclone rotates pieces from 20-21, which can cause I-pieces to reach as low as row 18.

Rotation system

Much like its predecessor TGM3, Absolute Eye features two different gameplay styles, Standard akin to TGM3's World rule, and TGM, TGM3's Classic rule.

Rule difference

Aspects	Standard Rule	TGM Rule
Rotation system	Standard Tetris Guideline controls and Super Rotation System	The original Arika Rotation System, modified with extended wall kicks
Drop Method	Hard drop and Soft drop.	Sonic drop and Soft Lock. Hard drop possible by holding down EXTRA when Sonic dropping.
Piece movement limitation	16 move reset, 4 rotation reset. No limitation in Asuka.	16 move reset, 4 rotation reset, quota resets if the piece moves down. No limitation in Asuka.
Randomizer	7BS with no S, Z or O as the first piece IRM (Konoha only)	IRM 7BS with no S, Z or O as the first piece (Shiranui only)

Level advance

In TGM4, the level increase of each line clear depends on the mode:

Line clear level advance

Line clear / Modes	Normal, Asuka	Shiranui	Konoha	Master
Single	1	1	2	Varies
Double	2	2	4
Triple	4	3	6
Tetris	6	4	8

Game modes

Absolute Eye features a variety of game modes designed to accommodate different skill levels and playstyles.

Marathon

Marathon is a mode found in most Guideline games and is newly introduced to the Tetris: The Grand Master series. This mode is only available in Standard Rule.

TGM4 Marathon mode screenshot

Normal

TGM4 Normal mode screenshot

Normal is a time-attack mode in which players aim to clear lines as quickly as possible. It closely resembles the Master mode from previous entries. This mode is only available in TGM Rule. The mode has grades, presented as a fraction with the maximum grade being (probably) Ten of Ten. The denominator represents how many levels the player has survived (credited every 111 levels), and the numerator seems to represent the number of currently unknown requirements met in the run.

The grading at the end is n of m. It is still unknown how the n is chosen by the game.

Experiments:

• $n$ is not just overall time alone. If two players both beat the credits, it is possible for the slower player to rank higher than the faster player.
• $n$ does not look time-based, because if the player spends 15 minutes clearing levels 0-300 with only Tetrises without soft or hard dropping, the player will get rank Two of Two.
• If the player clears levels 0-199 with only Tetrises, the player will get rank Zero of One.
• If the player clears levels 0-111 with only Tetrises, then levels 112-200 with only singles, the player will get rank One of One.

YOU ARE

Level	$m$
0 to 110	Zero
111 to 221	One
222 to 332	Two
333 to 443	Three
444 to 554	Four
555 to 665	Five
666 to 776	Six
777 to 887	Seven
888 to 998	Eight
999	Nine
Completing credits	Ten

Konoha

TGM4 Konoha mode screenshot

Konoha is a mode centered around big tetrominos, with an emphasis on achieving All Clears. Successfully completing All Clears rewards players with unlockable illustrations, which can be viewed in the Konoha Character Gallery. Kita Kitsune appears beside the playfield when the AI detects a bravo is possible, and celebrates when it's achieved or falls over when the opportunity is missed. An icon of Kita Kitsune in a flower appears below the playfield if the current character illustration is one that has not yet been unlocked. There is an optional assist which shows outlines of where to place pieces to achieve the All Clears. The assist defaults to being turned on, and there's no penalty for using it. It goes away after the 25th All Clear in a run.

Easy and Hard difficulties

Easy features only L, J, I, T and O pieces, while Hard has all 7 pieces. Any difficulty can be selected before starting a run of Konoha mode.

Asuka

TGM4 Asuka mode screenshot

Designed for intermediate players, Asuka features 20G drop speeds, demanding quick and precise placements to level up within a set time limit. It also introduces a rewind mechanic, allowing players to retry piece placements. Completing the 1300 levels of this mode awards the player with the Asuka-Master grade.

The unfinished Kamui mode from TGM3 is thought to be an early version of Asuka.

Speed timings

Gravity is fixed at 20G.

Delays

Level	ARE (frames)	Line ARE (frames)	DAS (frames)	Lock (frames)	Line clear (frames)
000 - 099				30
100 - 199				26
200 - 399				18
400 - 499				17
500 - 799				15
800 - 999				12
1000 - 1300				12

Kita (Foxes)

Clearing a Tetris gives you a Kita, which is displayed above the level. To advance to the next section, you need to have at least 1 Kita (that is, at least clear a Tetris in the section).

Rewind

One can use the Rewind button to undo a placed piece.

You cannot rewind to previous section.

Infinity

Unlike other modes in TGM4, Asuka has infinity, no limit on how you can stall the piece before you locked the piece.

Fading / Invisible Tetris

Starting from level 1000, the game enters the fading phase, where pieces fade out from the stack briefly after being placed.

Starting from level 1200, all the next pieces placed become invisible.

Master

TGM4 Master mode screenshot

Master mode is the ultimate test of Tetris skill, following in the footsteps of T.A. Death and Shirase modes from previous TGM titles. Master mode has a red field border.

The unfinished Rounds mode from the location test of TGM4:MoR is thought to be an early version of Master.

Speed timings

Gravity is fixed at 20G.

Delays

Level	ARE (frames)	Line ARE (frames)	DAS (frames)	Lock (frames)	Line clear (frames)
0000-0099	12	15		20
0100-0199	12	12		20
0200-0299	12	10		20
0300-0399	10	10		20
0400-0499	9	10		20
0500-0599	8	8		20
0600-0699	7	8		16
0700-0799	7	7		14
0800-0899	7	7		12
0900-0999	6	6		10
1000-1799	12	13		16

Medals

You earn medals by completing corresponding tasks.

• All clear: Performing an All Clear.
• Tetris: Performing a Tetris.
• T-spin: Performing a T-spin Double or T-spin Triple (Standard rule).
• Pikii: Clear a line in the frozen area starting from Level 300.

Pikii (300-500) and Pikii-2 (700-999)

In levels 300-399, 500-599, and 700-999, the game will enter the Pikii section, where the bottom half of the playfield is frozen; any line clears in the frozen area will not clear until the section is passed, but they do count for levels as if they had cleared. The background of these "frozen" sections have their colors inverted.

When a frozen section is passed, all finished line in the frozen area will be cleared, leaving only the unfinished lines.

Cyclone (1000+)

Starting at level 1000 the game will enter the Cyclone section, during which the piece spawned will have its rotation randomized, as shown in the next box. Only the very next piece will show its rotation.

When a pre-rotated piece is held, it will retain its rotation.

Reaching level 1100 awards the Master grade if the game does not reach the end.

Master Pikii (1300+)

Starting at level 1300, minos will begin to freeze a certain number of pieces after they are placed. The time before the freeze depends on the medals earned up to that point.

The frozen minos do not clear, but non-frozen minos in the line with them will clear.

As a special gimmick, Clearing a Tetris in these sections deletes the bottom row of the playfield.

Shiranui

TGM4 Shiranui mode screenshot

Shiranui is a newly introduced mode in TGM4. It is a standard guideline versus mode where players face off against CPU-controlled opponents of varying difficulty. Higher tiers present more challenging adversaries, and under specific conditions, a hidden difficulty level may become available. There are tiers 0-101, and possibly more that are yet undiscovered. Defeating tier 0 does not award stars, which usually mark how well a player has beaten a tier.

Gameplay

Each game will be played on a Best-of-3, with a 2 minute limit on each round. You win the round by either Top out your opponent, having more levels than the opponent when time is up, or reaching the Level limit (999) first. The game ends in a draw if when times is up both player have the same level count.

The gameplay is the same as in standard versus mode found in most multiplayer Tetris game.

Ruleset difference

Depending on the rule one uses, certain attacks' damage and timings will change:

Ruleset difference

Rules		Standard Rule	TGM Rule
Attacks sent	Single	0	0
	Double	1	1
	Triple	2	2
	Tetris	4	5
	Back to Back Tetris	5	6
	Mini T-Spin Single	1	?
	T-Spin Single	3	2
	T-Spin Double	5	4
	T-Spin Triple	7	N/A
	All Clear	10 Fixed, not counting last line clear type
DAS (frames)
ARE (frames)
Line ARE (frames)
Line clear (frames)
T-spins do not receive Back to Back bonus, nor do they maintain Back to Back. Only Consecutive Tetrises counts as Back to Backs.

Combo/REN	Both Rules
0	0
1	0
2	1
3	1
4	2
5	2
6	3
7	3
8	4
9	4
10	4
11+	5

Other Modes

Practice

Practice modes allows players to practice and learn game mechanics.

Textbook practice

Main article: Tetris The Grand Master 4 Absolute Eye/List of practices

This submode teaches you common block placements as well as techniques. under TGM rule game will also show the frames taken to complete the task.

TGM4 Practice mode screenshot

Gamemode practice

This submode allows you to play all the main modes with custom starting level, as well with several guide options. Runs completed under this mode will not count towards the leaderboards. The guide options are:

• Prioritizing Tetris;
• Prioritizing T-spins;
• Prioritizing All Clears;
• Prioritizing survival;
• Prioritizing battle modes.

Development

Originally announced as TGM4: The Masters of Round, the game made its debut at the 47th Amusement Machine Show on September 17, 2009. Arika showcased the game installed in arcade cabinets, running on Sega's RingWide hardware. Attendees could rank the games by enjoyment, and the results of each day were posted. TGM4 failed to rank in the first two days but managed to secure tenth place on the third day. Also unveiled during the event was Sega's Tetris Dekaris, which consistently ranked in the top three across all three days.

TGM4 2009 promotional title screen image

TGM4 2009 first promotional ingame image, showing Classic Master mode on the left

TGM4 2009 second promotional ingame image, showing World Master on the left and Classic Rounds on the right

On September 18, 2010, Mihara announced on his blog that TGM4: The Masters of Round had been canceled. According to him, a significant factor was the inability to address the proliferation of unofficial clones overseas.

"We can't release TGM4 because we don't have the capacity to clean up the clones overseas (that's one of the reasons). So I've given up. To put it arrogantly, good money lost to bad money. I'm sorry, but it annoys me when people bring up TGM. Of course, I want to say something sarcastic. So please forget about TGM. I'm the one who's saddest."

The Grand Master 2015

In July of 2015, Arika ran two location tests, one at Round1 in Los Angeles, and one at Taito Hey in Akihabara, Tokyo. The game did not feature Tetris branding.

TGM2015 title screen

TGM2015 ingame

Revival and the Road to Absolute Eye

In the years that followed, Mihara hinted at a possible future for TGM4. On Twitter, he discussed the potential for home console ports of earlier TGM titles, suggesting that their success could pave the way for TGM4 to be published.

In 2022, a home port of TGM1 was announced, followed by TGM2 the following year. These games sold well enough that in November 2024, Arika began teasing a new entry in the series and eventually released a press release confirming the project.

A month later, the game was officially revealed as Tetris The Grand Master 4: Absolute Eye.

Post announcement

Due to licensing restrictions and wanting to get the game out as quickly as possible, Mihara stated that there would be no online connectivity in the game at launch. He then later mentioned the lack of online leaderboards, but there would be a replay feature.

On December 5, 2024, Mihara announced a play test for the versus mode, but did not reveal the location, challenging dedicated players to find it.

See also

• Tetris The Grand Master 4 The Masters of Round - A cancelled version of TGM4.

External links

• Official website
• Tetris The Grand Master 4 Absolute Eye at Steam