Tetris Blast

When a full row of blocks is completed, any bombs within the blocks explode which has the potential to set off a chain reaction of other blocks nearby. The game has three modes: one for practice. The second is titled "Contest" where the goal is to clear an area of blocks in a chute already filled with blocks and bombs. The third is Fight mode which allows for the player to play the game while insect-like creatures cause problems on the playing board from adding blocks to eating bombs. Released in Japan in 1995 and then the following year for the Game Boy. The Japanese publication Famitsu lamented the lack of a puzzle mode and said it lacked enough differences from previous iterations of Bombliss. A number of English-language reviewers generally complimented Tetris Blast, while finding it not as strong as the original Tetris.

• Title — Tetris Blast • Developer — Bullet-Proof Software • Publisher — Nintendo • Series — Tetris • Platforms — Game Boy • Genre — Puzzle • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer

As in the original Tetris, the goal is to clear away blocks before the stack gets too high. Unlike the original game, Tetris Blast allows the player to slide their blocks even after they have landed. Some blocks contain bombs. When a line is cleared a bomb in that row explodes. There are three modes of play in Tetris Blast: a training mode where the player can choose ten different speeds the blocks can drop from. As the blocks fall from the top of the screen, the player can stack and destroy blocks. There is no end game to this mode. In Contest mode, the player stacks blocks as they fall in a partially pre-filled chute. The goal is to clear existing blocks from the chute by placing new blocks and bombs around them. In Fight mode, insect-like enemies float around the playfield and try to edit the blocks. This ranges from adding blocks to the screen, eating the bombs, or even adding an entire row of blocks. Players can hinder their activities by dropping blocks on them or activating the bombs to cause damage to them. Tetris Blast features a two-player mode where players can battle head-to-head via a Game Boy link cable. The two-player mode is not accessible when playing via the Super Game Boy adapter.

The initial gameplay of Tetris Blast is rooted in a game called Bombliss which was designed by Akihiko Miura. Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov visited Japan in the Spring of 1989 and met with Tsunekazu Ishihara, who showed him the concept. Ishihara would be the producer for a game titled Tetris 2 + Bombliss. The Japanese developers spent the next two and a half years developing the game. On December 13, 1991, Bullet-Proof Software released Tetris 2 + Bombliss for the Famicom in Japan. Tetris Blast was developed by Bullet-Proof Software.

Tetris Blast was released for the Game Boy in Japan as Super Bombliss on March 17, 1995. A similar game also called Super Bombliss was released for the Super Famicom in Japan on the same date. Both versions of Super Bombliss were re-released in the video game compilation Tetris Forever in 2024. The game was released in the United States and Europe as Tetris Blast. It was released in the United States on January 23, 1996. This was followed by a June 1996 release in the United Kingdom.