Navigating your Japanese copy of Tetris DS

by JC Fletcher { Apr 10th 2008 at 10:30AM }

Tetris DS has become a hard-to-find item, leaving the DS with the distinction of being the only Nintendo handheld (except for the Pokémon Mini stuff) without a ubiquitous Tetris game. And that just feels wrong. The surprising rarity of the Nintendo-nostalgia-themed puzzler has driven prices on eBay way up. In order to clear lines without clearing their bank account, many would-be Tetrists are buying Japanese copies -- including DS Fanboy staffers eager to drop Tetriminoes every Game Night.

It's easy enough to play Tetris DS even without understanding the menus. Just push enough buttons and eventually something will happen. But it's somewhat trickier to engage in multiplayer without being able to read the interface. In order to help anyone stuck in such a situation (and to encourage online Tetris-ing, of course!) we've gone through the menus in a Japanese copy of Tetris DS and translated the screen text.

Click the picture to browse the entire gallery, or you can pick your starting point from the list below. We hope this guide is the I-piece in the prospective Tetris that is your Tetris DS experience!

Tags: guide, japanese, joystiqfeatures, tetris

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

jsutcliffe @ Apr 10th 2008 10:59AM

Man, y'all should come to Chicago. Just about every Gamestop in town has it used.

mike @ Apr 10th 2008 12:35PM

i'll sell mine for $60

Alisha Karabinus @ Apr 10th 2008 11:37PM

You and everyone else -- that's the problem! (for those of us who want to pay less)

Kelly @ Apr 10th 2008 12:58PM

Actually, the Pokemon Mini did have a Tetris game called "Pokemon Shock Tetris", only out in Europe and Japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokemon_mini

AmishPhysicist @ Apr 10th 2008 4:59PM

ummm... looks like an ebay auction hasn't crested $5 and only has 2 hours left... you sure the prices are soaring?

angelbabe531 @ Apr 10th 2008 11:13PM

Those $5 auctions no one is bidding on are coming from other countries, so they have higher shipping and will potentially take longer to get. If you look at the ones with normal shipping, they're still selling pretty well.

Alisha Karabinus @ Apr 10th 2008 11:41PM

It's back and forth, too. Sometimes you can find 'em on eBay for less than $35. Sometimes, you can't find 'em anywhere for less than $70. There are a few other early DS games that are just as expensive, because you can't find them new any longer and not many people sell them. They seem to go through cycles.

Roto13 @ Apr 10th 2008 5:40PM

Tetris DS is hard to find? Huh. Who'da thunk it? I got mine at launch and enjoyed it.

Bluebreaker @ Apr 10th 2008 9:12PM

When I bought my DS lite for my mother's birthday I bought Tetris DS cause it was her favorite NES game. I don't know why it's considered rare now though....

Jenni @ Apr 12th 2008 5:24PM

Try checking Wisconsin. I found my copy of Tetris DS for $19.99 at a Pamida in Spooner, Wi last year while on vacation.

Mad Martin Kinderhook @ Apr 12th 2008 8:05PM

Just try Pamida in general, I got mine for $7.50 at one a few months ago, and they had two others besides the one I bought. Didn't know it was rare at the time. They had discounted copies of all sorts of rare Gamecube games, too, but I only got Mario Power Tennis. Seems like they pitch tent in small towns where the only thing the kids play is Madden, so everything else just rots on the shelves for years at a time until they lower the price to almost nothing.