Summary
- A 16-year-old Tetris player achieved the first-ever "rebirth" by clearing level 255 on a special NES rom version.
- The gamer set multiple records by reaching level 255 and then looping back to level 0 in the classic game.
- Despite playing on a special version, the achievement was still impressive, with an incredible final score of 29,486,16
A Tetris player has done something no other Tetris player has done in the game's storied 35-year history: they've become the first person to clear level 255 and achieve the mythical "rebirth," which essentially loops the game all the way back to the first level. The first-of-its-kind feat, which was achieved by a 16-year-old live on Twitch, has been sending waves through the Tetris community and the greater gaming community in general.
Tetris, the classic puzzle game where players strategically rotate and place falling blocks of various shapes to complete and clear horizontal lines, has always enjoyed a certain level of popularity. However, interest in the quintessential original version of the video game has seemingly grown sharply in recent years, with NES Tetris finally beaten after 34 years at the end of last year by a 13-year-old called Blue Scuti. While reaching the "kill screen" at level 157 is an astounding feat, the 16-year-old has achieved something arguably even more impressive, setting multiple records in the process.
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According to a report by Ars Technica, Michael "dogplayingtetris" Artiaga reached the milestone while livestreaming on Twitch in front of hundreds of viewers, where he cleared roughly 3,300 lines over an hour and 20 minutes, something thought of as impossible to achieve prior to newer techniques like rolling and hypertapping being developed. While the gamer has certainly set a new bar for high-level Tetris gameplay, it should be noted that he was playing on a special version: an NES Tetris rom that prevents it from crashing, preventing the infamous Tetris kill screen that Blue Scuti triggered during his record-breaking attempt.
Artiaga's success on the rom version of Tetris doesn't lessen his accomplishment's impressiveness, as the NES version of Tetris has its own glitch in level 235 which causes the level to require a grueling 810 lines to be cleared - and at the game's fastest possible drop rate. The gamer reportedly spent 20 minutes alone on just this level. After clearing level 255 and triggering the fabled "rebirth," Artiaga kept playing all the way back to level 91 before finally calling it quits. The final score of the record-breaking run was 29,486,164, miles ahead of the highest-scoring game of classic Tetris.
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Tetris turns 40 this year, and the franchise is celebrating with the announcement of the Tetris Forever Collection. The Tetris Forever Collection will include over 15 games from across the long-running franchise's history, including titles like Hatris, Super BomBliss, and Super Tetris 3. It will also include a brand-new game called Tetris Time Warp. While the upcoming game collection currently has a general 2024 release date, it's safe to say Tetris remains an extremely popular video game franchise.
