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Atari Tetris PCB

Chelnov

Chelnov

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Hey everyone!

I'm thinking on getting an atari tetris pcb. Does anyone knows if I need a 4 or an 8-way joystick?

Thanks!
 
it will work with either, but if you want authenticity you should go with a 4-way
 
I just grabbed one and I love it, but I'd offer two alternatives since you haven't purchased yet.

1. MiSTer, the Atari Tetris on it seems pretty accurate on it, but I'm not really good at Tetris, so this is from an untrained eye.
2. Magical Tetris Challenge (I got mine for $120 on YAJ). It's a Disney themed Tetris game that is really fun. Although I grew up with the Atari one, this has been the go to version for Tetris play in our house now.

Oh, as to your question, it seems to play fine with an 8 way joystick. Not like some games (Burgertime I think) which seem to cause problems with an 8 way.
 
I've made it a point to collect as many arcade Tetris variants as possible. Magical Tetris Challenge is pretty decent but my favorite Arcade Tetris Game is the first Tetris Plus on Jaleco Mega System 32, it's got a pretty amazing feature set, and is a blast in both single player and 2-player modes. a close second is the first Tetris the Grand Master on Capcom ZN2; the 2-player modes especially.

Atari Tetris is probably the best out of all the different "classic" arcade tetris games from that era (it's certianly better than Sega Tetris and Bloxeed), but once you get past the nostalgia factor it really doesn't hold a candle to the other better Tetris games that came after. I'd argue that NES Tetris the best of the classic bunch though.
 
twistedsymphony said:
I've made it a point to collect as many arcade Tetris variants as possible. Magical Tetris Challenge is pretty decent but my favorite Arcade Tetris Game is the first Tetris Plus on Jaleco Mega System 32, it's got a pretty amazing feature set, and is a blast in both single player and 2-player modes. a close second is the first Tetris the Grand Master on Capcom ZN2; the 2-player modes especially.

Atari Tetris is probably the best out of all the different "classic" arcade tetris games from that era (it's certianly better than Sega Tetris and Bloxeed), but once you get past the nostalgia factor it really doesn't hold a candle to the other better Tetris games that came after. I'd argue that NES Tetris the best of the classic bunch though.
Click to expand...
Since you know your stuff, why is TGM2+ so damn expensive? Is it considered the best competitive Tetris?

I'll check out the JMS32 and TGM since they doesn't seem to be to expensive, thanks!
 
XtraSmiley said:
Since you know your stuff, why is TGM2+ so damn expensive? Is it considered the best competitive Tetris?
Click to expand...
The TGM series is considered the gold standard for competitive Tetris. The reality is that TGM2 is worth more than TGM1 and TGM3 is worth more than TGM2. It's just that TGM3 being on TTX hardware is easy to bootleg and TGM2 is not. but if you find an original TGM3 it's usually 2-3x the price of an already crazy expensive TGM2.

From a high-level single player scoring perspective each game has more depth than the previous. from a casual player perspective the only noticeable difference is the inclusion of the "Hard Drop" in TGM2 and 3 which is absent from TGM1.

All of them are really solid "Tetris" games but the 2-player vs mode in TGM1 is really quite fun, there are lots of interesting power ups and it feels like there are some auto-scaling feature to help keep it competitive without making it feel cheep. The later games didn't really improve on this aspect and I'd argue that the added single player functionality in the later games actually make them worse games for causal players since you're presented with a bunch of options, usually in Japanese, that are rather pointless unless you're a really high-level player.
 
twistedsymphony said:
I've made it a point to collect as many arcade Tetris variants as possible. Magical Tetris Challenge is pretty decent but my favorite Arcade Tetris Game is the first Tetris Plus on Jaleco Mega System 32, it's got a pretty amazing feature set, and is a blast in both single player and 2-player modes. a close second is the first Tetris the Grand Master on Capcom ZN2; the 2-player modes especially.

Atari Tetris is probably the best out of all the different "classic" arcade tetris games from that era (it's certianly better than Sega Tetris and Bloxeed), but once you get past the nostalgia factor it really doesn't hold a candle to the other better Tetris games that came after. I'd argue that NES Tetris the best of the classic bunch though.
Click to expand...
Just wanted to point out, while Tetris Plus can be played with a 4 way, it does work with 8 way, and allow diagonal drops.
 
Tetris Plus is not Atari Tetris

AFAIK Atari Tetris does not support diagonal drops. I'm not sure why @Simon felt the need to confuse the original question with an answer to a question that was not asked.

IMO the original point still stands. For ATARI TETRIS:
twistedsymphony said:
it will work with either, but if you want authenticity you should go with a 4-way
Click to expand...
 
I don't know of any Tetris version that can't use an 8-way, however a number of them do play better with a 4-way.
Sega Tetris on both System 16A, System 16B, and System H don't support diagonal drops, and they prioritize which ever 4-way directional input was triggered last.

The Sega Tetris on System E is a slightly different game, but also does not support diagonal drops and again prioritizes whichever 4-way directional input was triggered last.

For the JAMMA era Tetris games:
4-Way Recommended (but not required)
Atari Tetris
Bloxeed (System C)
Bloxeed (System 18 )
Final Tetris
Flash Point
Hattris
Sega Tetris (System 16A)
Sega Tetris (System 16B)
Sega Tetris (System H)
Sega Tetris (System E)
Sega Tetris (System B)
Sega Tetris (Mega Tech)
Tetris The Grand Master
Tetris The Absolute The Grand Master 2
Tetris The Absolute The Grand Master 2 Plus
Welltris

8-Way Supported
Block Out
Disney Magical Tetris Challenge featuring Mickey
Tetris Fighters
Tetris Plus
Tetris Plus 2 (single board)
Tetris Plus 2 (Mega System 32)
 
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twistedsymphony said:
Tetris Plus is not Atari Tetris

AFAIK Atari Tetris does not support diagonal drops. I'm not sure why @Simon felt the need to confuse the original question with an answer to a question that was not asked.

IMO the original point still stands. For ATARI TETRIS:
Click to expand...

Thank you! 4 way it is. The PCB its on the mail. one more question. Is it true that the 4 way joystick for tetris does not really need a microswitch for the UP position? It makes senses to me that it doesn't I just want to make sure that Up is not used for anything at all. Someone told me that you can use up to slow down the falling on the pieces but I don't remember that happening when I played the game in the arcade .... but its been a minute since then!

Thanks twistedsymphony for all the info that you provided!


has anyone checked out these 4 and 8 way joysticks from Ultimarc that you can switch by pulling the joystick up and rotating it? do they feel good? I'm used to the IL joysticks but this sounds interesting.

https://www.ultimarc.com/arcade-controls/joysticks/mag-stik-plus/
 
Most Sanwa and Seimitsu sticks have a gate that can be changed for 4 or 8 way operation.
In my cab when I install a 4-way game I pop off the gates on my 8-way Sanwa JLFs and put them in the 4-way position, then I change it back when I change to a different board.

Honestly it's not worth working with some expensive fancy stick like the Mag Stick for this.

As far as Atari Tetris not using Up at all. that is completely correct, the Test mode doesn't even list it as an input to test. there's no good reason to disconnect the switch though.
 
Thanks! again twistedsymphony. I have never tried sanwas maybe I'll give them a go. I picked out the cabinet and bought the artwork and PCB, now I have to finish cleaning the cab, wiring the cab and recondition the control panel.

It used to be one of those Deer hunter cabs. I'm thinking of using Yellow T-molding for it.
 
Yes I am. It will be more than tetris but Mainly tetris. and the cabinet with be full tetris theme.

I'll post a pic once im a little bit further along
 
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Ok here are is a pic. There is still a lot to do on it but it is already looking much better. the cab used to be a Deer hunter USA which is why i got it so cheap.

twistedsymphony is not not going to be a dedicated tetris 100% as it has 3 buttons instead of one. I will be a tetris but i wanted to make it so i can play more games on it other than tetris.

ill post more pics when It's done
 

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