History of NES Tetris World Records 🎮

Introduction

• Tetris' enduring legacy: Popular across consoles and smartphones.
• Most iconic version: NES Tetris (1989).
• Competitive Landscape: In-person tournaments, online competitions, and world record high-score chase.

Key Concepts in NES Tetris

Scoring

• Points accumulation: By clearing lines using various Tetris pieces.
• Highest points: Achieved by clearing four lines with a long piece (Tetris).
• Strategy: Leave a column open for the long piece.

Level System

• Higher levels: Offer more points per line cleared.
• Starting strategic levels: Top players start on level 18 before progressing to level 19.
• Kill Screen (Level 29): Blocks fall too fast to control.

Evolution of High Scores

Early Claims and Verification

• Thor Aackerlund: Early 1990s, credible claim of max-out.
• Scott Anderson: 1992, Nintendo Power magazine verification.
• Miscellaneous claims: 2000s, hard to verify without video evidence.

Documented Max Outs

• Jonas Neubauer: First documented max-out in 2005 (later on video but without audio).
• Other Max Outs: Numerous players achieved max-outs (2008-2014).

Competing Methods

1. Earliest max-out: Maxing out the score at earlier levels (Level 26 by Matt Buco).
2. Highest score until kill screen: Continuing play to add up points beyond max-out (Jonas' 1,123,160 points).

Advancements in Competitive Play

High Score Race

• Game Genie Code: Allowed scores beyond the hexadecimal limit (used by Harry Hong).
• 2017 Record: Harry Hong breaks 1.2 million points.

Hyper Tapping Technique

• Korren's Advantage: Faster piece control through hyper-tapping.
• New Records: Korren breaks 1.25 million in 2018.

Joseph Saelee's Arrival

• 2018 Classic Tetris World Championship: Joseph defeats Jonas Neubauer.
• Joseph’s Skills: First to cross 1.35 million, using hyper-tapping.

Technological and Methodological Improvements

The Rolling Technique

• Cheez's Discovery: Rapidly pressing the d-pad using multi-finger rolling technique.
• Dominance: By mid-2021, rolling showed greater potential than hyper-tapping.
• New World Record: Cheez setting 1.461 million in June 2021.

Progressive Records

• Hydrant Dude: Reached 1.6 million in late 2021 using extensive rolling technique.
• Eric ICX's Surprise Record: 3.77 million in April 2022, first to double roll-over.

Changing the Game: 2023 and Beyond

Game Crashes and Glitched Levels

• True kill screen: Level 155, where the NES Tetris memory overflows and crashes.
• First Game Crash: Achieved by Blue Scootie via glitch dodging.
• Media Attention: Scootie’s achievement gains mainstream media coverage.

Score Escalation

• Pixel Andy: Set new record with 8.9 million, November 2023.
• Weekly Races: Community push for 10 million point games.
• Alex Thatch's Game: Plays through level 235 to 16.7 million as part of No Cap Tournament.
• Future Prospects: Rebirth level (post level-255) plays projected.

Conclusion

• Continued Evolution: The competitive Tetris landscape continuously evolves with new strategies and techniques.
• Anticipation: Potential for breaking new boundaries despite perceived limits.