Excellent Retro Puzzle Games: Magical Tetris Challenge

It is the puzzle game that has had many variations on numerous consoles, and has inspired countless clones over the years. Of course, I am referring to Tetris, which has become famous for its simple and addictive game play. It is so popular that at one point, there was a Tetris game featuring popular Disney characters. Released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, Magical Tetris Challenge, starring Mickey Mouse and his friends, is as addictive and exciting as many other Tetris games. Some may dismiss it as being a kid's game, but there is plenty of challenge that can keep even experienced players on their toes.

Since this is a puzzle game, the story is, naturally, going to be weak. Basically, it revolves around a mysterious purple stone that Donald Duck finds while out on a fishing trip. He tries to discover the mysteries surrounding the stone. Meanwhile, Goofy wants the stone as a hood for his tractor, and Minnie wishes to have it made into a necklace. It is Mickey, however, who discovers the stone's true power when his nemesis, Pete, gets a hold of it and uses it to brainwash Minnie into marrying him. Each of the four playable characters-Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy-has their own part of the story which ties into the big picture. These stories can be played in any order, though Donald's story begins the saga, Mickey's story completes it, and Goofy and Minnie's portions of the tale fall somewhere in between.

In Story Mode, the character that you choose must successfully beat six opponents in a game of Tetris in order to complete his or her part of the story. The first three challengers are the characters that the player did not choose on the character selection screen. The order in which you face these opponents is different for each character. The other three challengers are encountered in the same order every time. You end up battling two of Pete's minions, Weasel and the Big Bad Wolf, before going on to fight Pete himself. Each story is pretty short, and must be completed in one sitting, though you get an unlimited amount of continues to use should you lose to any opponent.

As for the game play, it is similar to the standard game of Tetris. For those unfamiliar with the game, your mission is to stack different shaped blocks such as an L-shaped block and a T-shaped block in order to clear lines. You can get a Tetris by clearing four lines at once. As you progress, the blocks fall at a faster rate, forcing you to try and prevent too many blocks from filling up the screen. If the blocks reach the top of the screen, then the game will be over. Veterans of Tetris can get the hang of the game rather quickly, but there are several new features that make this version of the game unique and challenging.

By playing Magical Tetris in the story mode, you can clear lines and send garbage blocks to your opponents. Naturally, they can do the same thing to you, and the blocks become larger and harder to place in a spot where you can easily destroy them. Additionally, you can perform a Pentris by clearing fives lines at once, which can cause trouble for your challenger. As you clear lines, you also fill up a special gauge that, when full, will clear any blocks that are at least as high as the gauge. However, the gauge increases in size every time this is done. All of these features make for a heart-pounding challenge, especially against Pete and his cohorts.

There are other variations of the game that can be played, as well. First there is Standard Tetris, which is the normal Tetris game without any of the added features from the Magical Tetris mode. For players who want an easier variation of the game or who want to get the hang of it if they have never played a Tetris game before, this mode is perfect for them. This mode as well as Magical Tetris can be played in Endless Mode, in which you play the game until the screen is filled. Then there is Updown Tetris, which can be played in the story mode instead of Magical Tetris. Here, you can clear lines to push your opponent's stack of blocks closer to the top of the screen. With all of these modes to choose from, players can try out every one of them and see which one they like best.

The game play is fun, addictive, and challenging, and players of all ages can enjoy it. Even without the added appeal of the beloved Disney characters, the game shines by offering several variations of Tetris for players to try out. Naturally, you can play with a friend and see who can fill up the other player's screen first. However, the game is a bit limited in that there are only three variations of Tetris and two modes to try them out. As mentioned, the story mode is quite short, and it may only take you a day or two to get through all four stories. The lack of a four player mode is a bit disappointing, and players would have to wait until The New Tetris was released so that they could play Tetris with up to three other people. All that said, the game is still enjoyable, and one of the better puzzle games for the Nintendo 64.

Instead of using 3D models of the Disney characters, the game presents them as 2D sprites with limited animation. This is nothing really special save for the fact that there are times when the characters perform actions that appear as if they were taken straight out of the classic cartoons, such as Donald getting angry as he is about to fight Wolf and Pete. The backgrounds are likewise nothing to write home about and simply get the job done. The music can be catchy, and they range from an 80s-style tune for Mickey's Lab to a suspenseful final battle them for Pete. There is a missed opportunity in that there is no voice acting in the game. Having even a handful of voice samples for each character would have added to the game's charm. The game is fun even without stellar graphics or voice acting, but with some added effort, the graphics could have been made to look at least fairly appealing and the characters could have spoken with the voices we all know and love.

Magical Tetris Challenge may be limited, but the game play is solid and addictive to the extent that players will not care about the limitations so much. The three variations of Tetris offer plenty of challenges for newcomers and veterans alike, and the Disney characters add to the game's charm. For those who want to check it out, your best bet would be to look for it at used game stores, Amazon, or eBay. It is not available on the Wii Virtual Console, and unless Disney offers to release their classic games for Wii owners to download and enjoy, it likely never will be released there. If you do find the game, I recommend you try it out, as it is challenging and fun for Tetris fans of all ages.