Understanding and mastering DAS is important both in NTSC and PAL versions of the NES Tetris but even more so in PAL version – top speeds of the NTSC version can be played by using DAS or hypertapping technique, but there is not as much of a significant advantage to play the top speed of the PAL version by hypertapping since the DAS is so much better. DASĭAS (Delayed Auto Shift) describes how fast the pieces can be moved sideways. However, it’s not only the drop speed of the pieces that affect the playability of the game – as said earlier, DAS is a significant factor in NES Tetris.

Only at the end of the speed curve, at the ”kill screen” speeds, the NTSC version goes faster than PAL version. PAL lvl 13-15 speeds are approximately in between the speeds of NTSC lvls 13-15 and 16-18, and PAL lvl 16-18 speeds are closer to the NTSC lvl 19-28 speeds than NTSC 16-18. NTSC systemįrom level 13 onwards PAL version’s faster drop speed starts to be notable. ”20 spaces” indicates how long it takes for a piece to fall from top of the game area to the bottom of it (in seconds). ”1 space” indicates how long it takes for a piece to fall one space downwards (in seconds). In the following chart ”x/G” is the amount of frames (x) in and equation of frames/framerate (NTSC framerate is 60,0988 frames/second and PAL framerate is 50,0070 frames/second). Comparison of level speeds on NTSC and PAL systems

Regardless of the obvious differences, as the lvls 29 (NTSC) and 19 (PAL) are the technical equivalents (pieces move at the top speeds of the games), it’s in any case practical to speak of both of them as the ”kill screens” of the games. It could be argued that the ”kill screen” in the PAL version is not actually a kill screen! However, the improved DAS (=how the pieces move sideways) of the PAL version facilitate gameplay so that it’s not uncommon for top tier PAL players to reach lvls 20 and beyond. The ”kill screen” in the PAL version of the game is lvl 19 – the pieces fall at top speed and it’s difficult to play anymore. The ”kill screen” in the NTSC version truly is the kill screen! There are only a couple of players who have reached lvl 30, and even fewer who have reached higher lvls. The ”kill screen” in the NTSC version of the game is lvl 29 – the pieces fall at top speed and it’s VERY difficult to play anymore. As of 2021, there is a separate page for identifying whether your NES console+game cartridge (i.e. Hopefully this will clarify some of the misunderstandings that regularly pop up on (Facebook, Discord, etc.) conversations. This webpage gathers some similarities and differences between the PAL and NTSC versions of the NES Tetris by making some simple comparisons of the games. However, when arranging and playing in an online or live national/regional Tetris competition (other than the CTWC/CTEC) it is not necessarily obvious which version is, or should be, played. In the CTEC, the PAL version is played as the competition is held in PAL region (Europe/Denmark). In the CTWC, the NTSC version is played as the competition is held in an NTSC region (USA). As there are two main versions of the game, there are two main competitions held annually: the Classic Tetris World Championship (CTWC) and the Classic Tetris European Championship (CTEC). But at the same time, there seems to be a bit of a confusion whether one should play PAL or NTSC version of the game. Recently, there has been a constant emerging of new national/regional NES Tetris competitions around the World.

Tetris vs