Tetris (C64)

Tetris

Platform: Commodore 64 Year: 1988 Developer: Mirrorsoft Ltd.

This page is for the Commodore 64 game, for other releases see Tetris.

Tetris is a European Commodore 64 variation of the cult tetromino puzzle game. Comparing it to the other versions released in the 1980s, it has a well of 21 blocks high instead of the standard 20, clearing rows makes the score bigger, and you can't toggle off the preview of the next brick coming. It also has a converted professional drawing as its background picture.

Some critics have stated that the Commodore 64 version of Tetris was arguably the best for 8 and 16-bit systems.

Screenshots

The title screen. Game's progress. Blocks are near the well's edge, so you should be very careful!

Music

Tetris on Commodore 64 has one of the longest tunes ever written for a video game (25:50 without looping). While it has been surpassed by later video game tunes such as Prime #4507 for Echochrome II (PS3) (1 hour 15 minutes 6 seconds) and a couple of others, it's still the longest video game tune ever written for Commodore 64 and, most probably, it was the longest video game tune ever back then.

Although its sound does not change largely during the playback, it keeps the player's interest until the end. It uses all 4 channels of the SID chip, and digital guitar harmony is presented from 2:58 to 24:48. It's unique to this port.

Atwiki.jp said of the soundtrack:

“

At any rate, the most distinctive feature of this game is the music. Only one song is played throughout the game, but its length is extraordinary. The BGM continues to play for a tremendous length of about 26 minutes. It is probably the longest music in Commodore 64. The BGM, however, is devoid of any Russian elements, and a lonesome, plaintive melody continues on and on. However, the game's background screen is not the familiar St. Vasilii Cathedral, but a vague black-and-white space (?), which matches the music quite well. The song also adds a thick guitar sample sound in the middle of the song, so the melody itself is melancholy but flashy.

„

Recording

Because the beginning of the second loop slightly differs from the first, its recording fades away not quite from the beginning of the second playing, to show the difference.

#	Title	Composer	Length	Listen	Download
01	Title	Wally Beben	26:17		Download

Credits

• Ripper: High Voltage SID Collection
• Recorder: M1911
• Game Credits:
  • Not Credited Composer: Wally Beben

(Source: The soundtrack was listed on the charts of ZZAP! 64 No. 38 from June 1988 and credited to Hagar, an alias of Beben. The game does not have credits.)

Game Rip

Format	Download
	Download (Info)

Ripping Commodore music is a very arduous process that is beyond the scope of this site.

The music was recorded using JAM For Windows.

Audio Devices

This game utilizes the standard 6581 chip for music and sound effects.

Releases

USA Title: Tetris Platform: Commodore 64 Released: 1988-01-?? Publisher: Spectrum Holobyte, Inc.     France Title: Tetris Platform: Commodore 64 Released: 1988-0?-?? Publisher: Mirrorsoft Ltd.     Germany Title: Tetris Platform: Commodore 64 Released: 1989-??-?? Publisher: Mastertronic plus     Italy Title: Tetris Platform: Commodore 64 Released: 1989-??-?? Publisher: Mastertronic plus     UK Title: Tetris Platform: Commodore 64 Released: 1989-??-?? Publisher: Mastertronic plus

Links

• mobygames.com/game/c64/tetris_c64 - MobyGames.
• gamefaqs.gamespot.com/c64/572013-tetris - GameFAQs.
• w.atwiki.jp/gamemusicbest100/pages/9531.html - Atwiki.jp (Japanese).