It's a long way from what "Tetris Attack" was, but for a free game, it at least gives a piece of that masterpiece to people who like the battle and endless parts. I'll list the flaws of this game and the differences I can remember from that aforementioned game below.
[h3]Flaws:[/h3]
[list][*]No resolution selection options, but it did default to my system's native resolution of 2560*1440, which is at least a plus
[*]No windowed mode option
[*]No framerate or v-sync options, though do note that it does appear to be capable of running at high framerates and likely has v-sync enabled, as checking with MSI afterburner revealed the game to be running at 170fps on my system, which is in line with the fact that I use a 170Hz refresh rate monitor
[*]No volume controls
[*]Only 2 selectable characters
[*]Audio could be better, and I'd like to separately adjust the block sounds, character sounds, and music volumes from each to my liking on a scale of at least 1 to 10 for each. Note that yes, I know the SNES didn't have these options, but modern games should, and "Tetris Attack" actually did have some pretty incredible audio and varied depending on the character the player chose. "Tetris Attack" is what I'm judging this game by, as that game is THE golden standard to me, and it had much punchier audio, with ranges between fast and slow, depending on the chosen character and how close to the top of the screen the row was. The music in this game does change when the row is close to the top, but the music and sounds just aren't to my liking. Perhaps others will like it more, but I don't care much for it.
[*]Steam controller was disabled upon first launch, so I had to enable it to get my Wii Classic Controller Pro with a USB adapter to be registered by the game, though after doing so, my controller worked without any issues and had the exact same inputs I remember "Tetris Attack" having on SNES, so I was able to quickly and easily jump in without relearning anything
[*]Selecting options and modes with a controller has very poor clarity, so it's easy to get confused about what's actually being selected, as one option will always be highlighted, even if it's not what's actually being selected by the controller. I suspect this issue has to do with the game being designed to work with a keyboard and mouse while not changing the selection priority to ignore the mouse when controller inputs have been recently, or are actively being, detected, but I'm not entirely sure.
[*]No metal drop-block function to mix things up in the way "Tetris Attack" had, wherein a metal drop-block would be incapable of being merged into multi-block thicknesses, but would prevent multiple regular drop-blocks from being cleared until it was first cleared, as those metal drop-blocks themselves wouldn't chain to the regular drop-blocks for clearing. The metal blocks will send a metal drop-block when combining 3 or more, though, unlike other blocks requiring 4 or more, so the function is halfway implemented. This will also be listed in the differences list, but it's here because it's a gameplay element that matters.
[*]Only an endless mode, battle against the computer (AI battle - this is in the practice mode) mode, and option to battle others online
[*]Blocks don't have shapes on them, which may make it difficult for people with colorblindness to tell them apart
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[h3]Differences I can remember from "Tetris Attack" on SNES:[/h3]
[list][*]No story/adventure mode ("Tetris Attack" called this VS)
[*]No puzzle mode
[*]No time trial mode
[*]No stage clear mode
[*]Difficulty selection allows more control over the row speeds, allowing the full range on a per-number basis rather than only the 1 to 10 selection option that was available in the endless mode of "Tetris Attack", making this an improvement
[*]Metal drop-blocks can be cleared like normal drop-blocks, rather than functioning as a barrier that must be cleared before the regular drop-blocks touching on top can be cleared, or after the regular drop-blocks below them and touching are cleared, so they get treated like regular drop-blocks, but without the ability to become thicker. However, metal drop-blocks can be sent when combining 3 or more blocks, rather than requiring 4 or more.
[*]Blocks don't have shapes on them, which may make it difficult for people with colorblindness to tell them apart, whereas "Tetris Attack" did have distinctly different shapes on each differently colored block
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[h3]Bottom line:[/h3]
I'd like to see more, but because this game is free, I really can't complain. It gives me a part of what I've been wanting to play for a long time, and I'd honestly gladly pay for something that's equal to, or better than, "Tetris Attack" was when I played it as a kid. For now, I thank the developers for at least making what they have of this. I know I listed a lot of flaws, but that's because "Tetris Attack" was actually one of my favorite games, and it's one I played a lot of as a kid and have a lot of good memories of playing against my mom, as well as going through and beating the secret super difficulty of the VS mode. I have no idea why there aren't other games like it, as far as I'm aware of, so this gives me hope that this game could be expanded in the future to be just as incredible as that golden standard, if not even better.
Also note that I didn't test the online multiplayer as of this time, so I can't attest to its functionality.
[h3]Unrelated note:[/h3]
Since I've listed my system's specs, keep in mind that Steam has a false identifier when it comes to the RAM listing. I've noticed reviews may be up to 2GB off on the accuracy, and my listing is also 1GB off, as I actually have 64GB, not 63GB, and it's all there, visible, and properly functional for me. I'm not sure why Steam is failing this proper level of identification, but keep it in mind if that amount is confusing to you.
