Overview
The Next Tetris is a falling-block puzzle game developed by AnimaTek (along with Blue Planet Software) and published by Bullet-Proof Software for the PlayStation in Japan on January 7, 1999. It later received an overseas release for both the PlayStation and Windows PCs by Hasbro Interactive (with its Atari branding) later that year.
The first game in the Tetris series to be designed by Blue Planet Software (a U.S. company founded by Henk Rogers, who originally founded Bullet-Proof Software and holds the rights to Tetris), The Next Tetris features 3D graphics, multiple game modes, and a new variation of the classic Tetris formula (although the original is playable as "Classic Tetris").
The new variation, known as "The Next Tetris" (or "TNT"), builds on the original formula by introducing multi-colored tetrominoes that can split apart by color when they land, sticking onto other blocks of the same color when they split. Known in the Japanese version as "multiminoes" and in the English version as "breakaway" or "sticky" blocks, these blocks have their own gravity, potentially allowing multiple cascading line clears. These mechanics were later used for the "Sticky" mode in Tetris Worlds.
The Japanese version received an enhanced update on December 16, 1999 as The Next Tetris DLX, featuring a new puzzle mode, while the overseas received a Dreamcast remake. It also received a port to NUON-supported DVD players on January 2001.
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