ModRetro Version Of Tetris Gets Updated With Battle Mode It Really Should Have Shipped With

'Cart Clinic' system allows you to update the game

by Damien McFerran 1:30pm

ModRetro Version Of Tetris Updated With Battle Mode It Really Should Have Shipped With 1 — *Image: ModRetro*

The ModRetro version of Tetris is getting a multiplayer mode which really should have been included in the game when it launched alongside the Chromatic handheld back in 2024.

While the game shipped with link cable support for multiplayer, it was missing the all-important 'Battle' mode that made the original 1989 Game Boy edition of the game so popular with players.

In this mode, players can send 'garbage' lines to their rival's screen, making things more difficult for their opponent.

This update is unique in that it can be applied to the Chromatic Tetris cartridge using ModRetro's recently released 'Cart Clinic' system. This requires a PC or Mac, and because the cart itself is getting the update, it means you can run the game on non-Chromatic systems, like the Analogue Pocket or even the original Game Boy Color or GBA.

In case you weren't aware, the Chromatic is an FPGA-based Game Boy clone which can run original Game Boy and Game Boy Color carts.

It's made by ModRetro, a company founded by former Oculus boss Palmer Luckey, a controversial figure thanks to his political views and the fact that his new venture, military contractor Anduril Industries, produces autonomous drones.

[source theverge.com]

“… it was missing the all-important 'Battle' mode that made the original 1989 Game Boy edition of the game so popular with players.“

Citation needed, because this looks like a specious argument. The Game Boy original was popular thanks to the portability of the Game Boy and a design that highlighted the concept.

2
KraniX
2:48pm

@ProjectGoemon

You're absolutely right that the Game Boy's portability was a huge factor in the success of the original console. That said, the head-to-head 'Battle mode'—which was enabled by the Game Link Cable—was a central and heavily promoted feature of the original Tetris for Game Boy. It transformed the game from a solitary puzzle experience into a competitive one, and many fans consider it a key part of what made that specific version so iconic. Later versions of the game on other platforms that lacked this multiplayer element often received criticism for that very reason.

3
Coalescence
29m ago

Weird that I grew up with the Game boy and Tetris, and never once played the multiplayer mode. Mostly because I had no link cable and never knew anyone with a link cable until the Pokemon days.

Anyway, it's crazy cool that they are releasing updates that can be applied to the cart but it's also introducing the annoying release a game incomplete and patch it later that modern console gaming has never escaped ever since the units went online.

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