Tetris 99 - NES Tetris Cup

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Tetris, Tetris 99 has a special Maximus Cup-though I suppose because it wasn’t planned even further in advance than it already is, this is the 43rd Maximus Cup rather than the more appropriate 40th one. (That would be the one for Endless Ocean: Luminous.) And hence, since Game Boy Tetris had already been covered (though not the Tetris on that computer Alexey Pajitnov originally programmed it on back in 1984), this one is based on the NES Tetris from 1989, though it also shares many similarities with Arcade Tetris at least visually speaking. The one for the arcade was made by SEGA, however.
The background for this skin is a zoomed out version of the background in NES Tetris, with the font a modified version of the standard NES font. The Tetriminos take the form of how, well, the Tetriminos look in NES Tetris, with that glossy sheen they liked to do back then that makes each Mino look like chewing gum, including the garbage blocks. I don’t remember if they were white, dark blue, and red like they are here, but I take it that these shades, in particular, are meant to evoke the flag of Russia (though technically, Tetris was invented in the Soviet Union). This color scheme probably wreaks havoc on Tetris players who rely on the pieces’ colors rather than their shapes.
KOed players take the form of space vehicles: flying saucers if you KOed that player yourself, and rockets for everyone else. I don’t remember the significance of flying saucers in NES Tetris (but it must be important, considering it’s also this skin’s icon), but the rocket is a reference to how your accomplishments are tied to the progress of a rocket’s construction: the more goals you finish, the more of the rocket gets made, and once completed, it blasts off. The Badges are the usual insignia used in Tetris 99 by default, as is the hexagonal reticule for whoever you’re targeting.
I am not too familiar with the soundtrack for NES Tetris, so I don’t know what the theme is when a game begins. At 50 players remaining, it becomes “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” which also turns up in Tetris Effect (and Tetris Effect: Connected) At 10 players remaining, it becomes “Type B,” which you may have heard remixed for the Super Smash Bros. series, beginning in Brawl and carrying over to Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, for 3DS, and Ultimate. Not sure if it’s a folksong like “Type A” is, however. I don’t know the song that plays when you place 2nd or below, but I do recognize the 1st place finish theme from the opera Carmen.
Yeah, as you can see, I don’t know that much about NES Tetris.
00:07 Match #1
Skin: Special Theme 35 (Tetris (NES))
Mode: Normal
This was my first match jumping in. I played this on Thursday night, as I live in an area where Daylight Savings is observed, and currently, Nintendo online events begin at 11 PM instead of midnight for me. I did better than expected considering I hadn’t played Tetris 99 since the last Tetris Maximus (Splatoon 3: Side Order in August 2024), though I did play some Tetris Effect: Connected in between. I was hoping to go all the way, as I was building up Badges, but when you have multiple people in the top 10 targeting you relentlessly, both of whom have a comparable Badge count with you, it’ll be difficult. Unless you’re a Tetris grandmaster, which I am not.
08:33 - Match #2
Skin: Special Theme 35 (Tetris (NES))
Mode: Normal
This is the one where I reached the 100 points necessary to unlock the skin. It was, unfortunately, one where I got thrashed. Perhaps it was the billing of this as a particularly special Maximus Cup, but there were a lot of experts playing out there, and I had a way rougher time than usual, even compared to other Maximus Cup events.
12:45 Match #3
Skin: Special Theme 35 (Tetris (NES))
Mode: Invictus
Here is an Invictus match, where the gravity is higher, Tetriminos lock faster, and, when 10 players remain, the background switches over to the fire and embers theme but keeps the music. “Type B” isn’t a bad fit for it at all, certainly a better one than for the Animal Crossing: New Horizons skin or the Princess Peach: Showtime! skin. And if you wanted to see (or hear) what a 1st place finish with this skin is like, here it is! And I don’t take 100 points away from someone else who might have wanted it, considering I already had the 100 points by then (as evidenced in me using this skin for an Invictus match). I also pulled it off without getting my 4th Badge until after it was over! (And remained at 1 completed Badge all the way up to 4th place.)