Tetrisphere N64 Retro Game Review
| Platform | N64 |
| Release Date | 8/11/97(NA) |
| Developer | H20 Interactive |
| Publisher | Nintendo of America |
This morning, I looked at this article for top 5 n64 soundtracks. That article is trash, giving 5 very popular games(guess what’s #1!) and ignoring the more obscure stuff. I posit that one of the very best soundtracks on the is a puzzle game by the name of Tetrisphere, created by a man named Neil Voss. It is full of great tracks ranging from ambient to club bangers.
I have uploaded this 6 minute video taken from my time playing Rescue level 5:6 or level 46(all the screenshots are as well). At this level, things are hard, but what I really want you to do is listen to it and hear how great this really is.
Did you hear the greatness? You don’t have to like techno to appreciate how good this is for the time it was released. Certain tracks still give me goosebumps. But wait, I’m forgetting something… Oh right, the actual game!
Tetrisphere Itself
Tetrisphere might have Tetris in the name, but does not have much in common beyond the shapes you will match. The game is played on a 3d sphere filled with the shapes and purple filler pieces. You drop pieces onto or next to at least two correctly touching pieces to make a match, and they’ll disappear, along with any touching filler pieces. Your goal is to get to down to the center of the sphere, but the specifics will change depending on the mode. For example, in Rescue mode, you just have to reveal enough of the sphere’s center so your robot buddy stuck in the center can escape. In Hide + Seek, you must reveal a very specific section.
Tetrisphere get tricky once you peel away enough layers, which is where dragging pieces comes in. You can drag pieces around using the B button. They cannot be dragged through other pieces, just the filler pieces. Also, they cannot be dragged more than one level up or down. Note, when dropping pieces you must always have a match of three touching tiles or more, or you lose a heart. Lose all its game over.
Note the glowing lava in the above screenshot, removing those will give you a power-up. Collecting more of those piece will level up the power-up to different power-up. Collect one and you get a rocket which removes the top revealed layer of a section. Collect three, you’ll get a magnet that will continually suck pieces from an area for a few seconds. All are useful and its up to you how you use the power-ups.
Tetrisphere in Retrospect
It is unfortunate that this game is kind of unknown today, because it’s soundtrack is one of the N64 greats. It is not on Switch Online yet, but should be. Therefore, The question for you is, should you seek Tetrisphere? Of course you should seek it out. The great soundtrack wouldn’t be anything if the puzzling action it was attached to was garbage. The game is a great puzzle game that still plays great years later and if you haven’t sought it out yet, go out and get it. Its not expensive loose.