Tetris: The Grand Master

The basic gameplay of Tetris: The Grand Master is similar to that of other Tetris games. The player must move and rotate tetromino-shaped pieces falling into a well to form horizontal lines, which will then be cleared. During gameplay, the game automatically gives ranks to the player according to their score, starting from 9 up to Grand Master (GM), roughly following the dan ranking system. The game speeds up rapidly, eventually reaching instant gravity, where blocks appear immediately at the bottom, and upwards of three tetrominoes per second.

Tetris: The Grand Master{{'}}s gameplay is heavily inspired by Sega's Japanese arcade version of Tetris, released 10 years earlier. It uses a modified version of that game's rotation system, the same color scheme for tetrominoes, and relies heavily on mechanics such as lock delay, similar to Sega's game.

The main goal in Tetris: The Grand Master is to score points, awarding the player a higher grade. The game ends when a player reaches level 999. If the player scored enough points, they will be awarded with the grade S9. To achieve the grade GM, the player must also meet some time requirements during play. If the player tops out before reaching level 999, the game ends, awarding the player the current grade and its "mastering time", the time at which the grade was awarded during gameplay.

Tetris: The Grand Master was released in Japanese arcades in August 1998.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Chris |date=1998-07-15 |title=Arika Goes Tetris |url=http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_07/15_arika/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001004172604/http://headline.gamespot.com/news/98_07/15_arika/index.html |archive-date=2000-10-04 |access-date= |website=GameSpot}}

On November 1, 2021, Arika president Ichiro Mihara posted on Twitter that a formal announcement for the upcoming release of a home port of the Tetris: The Grand Master series was being delayed, thus revealing that a home port for the series was currently in development.{{cite web |title=Mihara revealing an announcement regarding an upcoming Tetris: The Grand Master game is being delayed |url=https://twitter.com/miharasan/status/1455059629835120642 |website=Twitter |access-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519011945/https://twitter.com/miharasan/status/1455059629835120642 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Tetris: The Grand Master home port seemingly announced via delay of announcement |url=https://www.destructoid.com/tetris-the-grand-master-home-port-announced-delay-arika |website=Destructoid |date=November 2, 2021 |access-date=May 19, 2022 |ref=tgmannounceddestructoid |archive-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519011945/https://www.destructoid.com/tetris-the-grand-master-home-port-announced-delay-arika/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Random: Tetris: The Grand Master Home Port Announcement Revealed By Announcement Delay |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/11/random-tetris-the-grand-master-home-port-announcement-revealed-by-announcement-delay |website=Nintendo Life |date=November 2021 |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523221305/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/11/random-tetris-the-grand-master-home-port-announcement-revealed-by-announcement-delay |url-status=live }} A year later, Arika announced on Twitter that Hamster Corporation licensed the first Tetris: The Grand Master game as part of their Arcade Archives series, to be released on December 1, 2022, for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.{{cite web|title=The hardest Tetris game ever is coming to Switch and PS4|url=https://www.polygon.com/23474921/tetris-the-grand-master-switch-ps4-release-date|website=Polygon|date=November 23, 2022|access-date=November 26, 2022|archive-date=November 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127021918/https://www.polygon.com/23474921/tetris-the-grand-master-switch-ps4-release-date|url-status=live}}

Tetris: The Absolute – The Grand Master 2 was released in 2000, and added additional modes of play. One of these new modes is the Master mode, which extends the classic Tetris: The Grand Master gameplay with larger speed increases, more requirements to achieve the M or GM grades, and an additional challenge when the M rank is achieved where the player must survive the credits roll with the additional handicap of the tetrominoes turning invisible upon locking. Additional modes include a more casual Normal mode, a Versus mode enhanced with item battles, and a two-player co-op mode.

An update, Tetris: The Absolute – The Grand Master 2 Plus, added additional modes such as "TGM+", which adds rising garbage blocks to the game field, and "T.A. Death" where the game begins at 20G (maximum gravity where blocks appear at the bottom instantly) and every other aspect of the game also speeds up steadily.

A port based on the Plus version for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 was announced by Hamster Corporation as part of their Arcade Archives series. It was released on June 1, 2023.{{Cite web |last=Norman |first=Jim |date=May 22, 2023 |title=Tetris The Absolute Grandmaster 2 Plus Slots Into Hamster's Arcade Archives Next Month |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/05/tetris-the-absolute-grandmaster-2-plus-slots-into-hamsters-arcade-archives-next-month |access-date=May 22, 2023 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522151252/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2023/05/tetris-the-absolute-grandmaster-2-plus-slots-into-hamsters-arcade-archives-next-month |url-status=live }}

Tetris: The Grand Master 3 – Terror‑Instinct was released in 2005. The game runs on PC-based hardware, specifically the Taito Type X. The level system has been expanded in many forms with increasingly stricter requirements to reach the Grand Master rank. Modes include Easy, Sakura (a puzzle mode also seen in Tetris With Cardcaptor Sakura: Eternal Heart), the traditional Master mode, and Shirase (an extension of T.A. Death with even harsher speed, garbage, and levels beyond 999). It also features World and Classic Rules, the former added by Arika due to The Tetris Company's then-recent policy changes.

Released in 2005 as a Japan-only launch title for the Xbox 360, this was the only game in the series exclusive to home consoles.{{Cite web |url=http://www.aqi.co.jp/product/tetris/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311081625/http://www.aqi.co.jp/product/tetris/index.html |archive-date=March 11, 2010 |title=Tetris: The Grand Master Ace |website=aqi.co.jp |publisher=MarvelousAQL |language=Japanese |access-date=March 15, 2016 |url-status=dead }}

In September 2009, Arika unveiled a planned fourth game titled Tetris: The Grand Master 4 – The Masters of Round at the Amusement Machine Show.[https://web.archive.org/web/20131208081606/http://am-show.sega.jp/jamma09/t_tgm.shtml Tetris THE GRAND MASTER4 THE MASTERS OF ROUND. :第47回 アミューズメントマシンショー セガ公式HP]{{Cite web |url=http://arcadeheroes.com/2009/09/10/sega-to-release-tetris-the-grandmaster-4-the-masters-of-the-round/ |title=Sega to release Tetris: The Grandmaster 4 The Masters of Round |access-date=June 16, 2015 |archive-date=August 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806053301/http://arcadeheroes.com/2009/09/10/sega-to-release-tetris-the-grandmaster-4-the-masters-of-the-round/ |url-status=live }} Tetris: The Grand Master 4 was supposed to run on the Sega RingWide hardware. On September 18, 2010, Arika Vice President Ichiro Mihara announced the cancellation of The Grand Master 4 on his blog.{{Cite web |url=http://mihara.sub.jp/top/blog/sb203/log/eid10764.html |title=Mihara's sub Layer 2010/09/18 |access-date=November 13, 2018 |archive-date=March 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313091648/http://mihara.sub.jp/top/blog/sb203/log/eid10764.html |url-status=live }} In July 2015, Arika began location testing The Grand Master 4 in Japan{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/Taito_Hey/status/614275585771114496 |title=Official Taito Hey Arcade Twitter announcement |access-date=November 13, 2018 |archive-date=December 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201140929/https://twitter.com/Taito_Hey/status/614275585771114496 |url-status=live }} and the United States.{{cite web|title=The Grand Master 2015 Arcade Testing In The US June 13th-14th|url=http://arcadeheroes.com/2015/06/08/the-grand-master-2015-arcade-testing-in-the-us-june-13th-14th/|website=Arcade Heroes|date=June 8, 2015|accessdate=June 26, 2015|archive-date=July 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702094440/http://arcadeheroes.com/2015/06/08/the-grand-master-2015-arcade-testing-in-the-us-june-13th-14th/|url-status=live}} The titled was changed to The Grand Master 2015 reflecting the lack of a Tetris license or planned release.

On September 26, 2024, Arika and The Tetris Company announced that they had signed a licensing deal to release a new Tetris: The Grand Master game.{{Cite web |date=September 26, 2024 |title=株式会社アリカ公式アカウント on X: "ARIKA CO., LTD. and The Tetris Company, Inc. signed a license agreement on the New Tetris Game (TGM series)." |url=https://x.com/arika_co_jp/status/1839510781899231581 |access-date=September 27, 2024 |website=X (formerly Twitter)}} On December 4, 2024, the title was announced under the name Tetris: The Grand Master 4 – Absolute Eye.{{Cite tweet |number=1863824456705245491 |user=tgm_series |title=テトリスカンパニー社のヘンクさんが来社され、弊社三原と平嶋と今後のテトリスに関してディスカッションを行いました。素晴らしい時間を過ごせたことをとても嬉しく思います。ここで正式にタイトル名を TETRIS THE GRANDMASTER4 - ABSOLUTE EYE -と発表させていただきます。TGMシリーズ最新作です。2025年3月末までにSteamでリリース予定です。※非オンライン ※画面は開発中の物です |date=December 3, 2024 |access-date=December 3, 2024}} The game was released on April 4, 2025, for Microsoft Windows.{{cite web|last=Romano|first=Sal|url=https://www.gematsu.com/2025/03/tetris-the-grand-master-4-absolute-eye-launches-april-4|title=Tetris the Grand Master 4: Absolute Eye launches April 4|work=Gematsu|date=March 25, 2025|access-date=March 28, 2025}}

Tetris: The Grand Master was to be ported to the PlayStation in 1999, but because of a licensing restriction the port was canceled.{{Cite web |url=https://www.itmedia.co.jp/games/news/9905/28/news01.html |title=アリカの「テトリス ザ・グランドマスター」 版権元の方針によって発売中止に |access-date=February 20, 2023 |archive-date=March 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326103403/http://www.itmedia.co.jp/games/news/9905/28/news01.html |url-status=live }}

In July 2004 Arika announced TGM-K for release on the PlayStation Portable.{{Cite web |url=https://www.jp.playstation.com/info/release/nr_20040712_psp.html |title=「プレイステーション・ポータブル」（PSP） 国内参入ソフトウェアメーカー59社、ソフトウェアラインナップ59タイトル |access-date=November 12, 2018 |archive-date=June 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616003436/https://www.jp.playstation.com/info/release/nr_20040712_psp.html |url-status=dead }} However, development was abandoned when Arika could not secure a license because of a combination of Electronic Arts having the license for the PSP, and The Tetris Company's concern about the proliferation of TGM clones.[http://mihara.sub.jp/top/blog/sb203/log/eid10196.html Mihara's sub Layer] Retrieved October 1, 2009.

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• Arika pages: [https://web.archive.org/web/20010816225300/http://www.arika.co.jp/tetris_top1.htm TGM1], [https://web.archive.org/web/20011021154123/http://www.arika.co.jp/tetris_top2.htm TGM2P], [https://web.archive.org/web/20060219082822/http://www.arika.co.jp:80/product/tgm3/index.html TGM3]

{{Tetris}}

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Grand Master

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