Yokta
That's Yoktastic!
The Super Smash Bros series is all about celebrating notable videogames, and few games are more notable than Tetris, the apex of action puzzle games! But how do you build a fighting game character around a collection of falling blocks? Smashers have pondered this question for many years, but now it's time to introduce the perfect candidate:
The Tetris King
TEE
Tee is the captain of the S.S. Tetra and the current Tetris King. His mission is to travel the cosmos in search of anomalies in spacetime, and he will find plenty of those in the biggest crossover in gaming!
His debut appearance was in Puyo Puyo Tetris, a game which was released in Japan in early 2014 on the 3DS and Wii U. It would see an international release three years later on Switch and PS4. Despite being created for a crossover between Tetris and Puyo Puyo, Tee's appearance in Smash is strictly as a representative of Tetris, from its 8-bit origins to its most eye-watering journeys.
And before you ask, yes, one of his taunts is a T-pose.
Would you be interested in seeing Tee join Smash as an ambassador of all things Tetris? Voice your support and let's honor the perfect videogame!
The Tetris King
TEE
His debut appearance was in Puyo Puyo Tetris, a game which was released in Japan in early 2014 on the 3DS and Wii U. It would see an international release three years later on Switch and PS4. Despite being created for a crossover between Tetris and Puyo Puyo, Tee's appearance in Smash is strictly as a representative of Tetris, from its 8-bit origins to its most eye-watering journeys.
Tee makes use of a disc-like weapon in combat. He can use it as a close-range slashing weapon in his basic moves, but its real utility lies in its ability to create and control Tetriminos. All of Tee's smash attacks, specials and aerials (excluding his nair) make effective use of these Tetriminos to deal with opponents.
There are seven different Tetriminos. In combat, symmetrical pairs of Tetriminos have identical properties. That means that all of Tee's moves that make use of a Tetrimino can have one of five different forms.
L and J Tetriminos have the most balanced properties.
S and Z Tetriminos are slightly weaker, but have a strong tipper.
T Tetriminos are safe multi-hit moves that do more damage to shields.
O Tetriminos have low knockback and damage, but often lead to easy follow-ups with bury or stun properties.
I Tetriminos are slow but powerful, especially when used in a charged attack!
Of course, as you would expect from Tetris, Tee doesn't have complete control over what pieces he can use at any given time. That is dictated by his Queue. The Queue is displayed over Tee's icon in the overlay. It shows the piece Tee will use in his next Tetrimino attack, the Tetrimino coming NEXT, and the Tetrimino in his HOLD bay. The current Tetrimino also appears inside his disc.
The Tetriminos are randomised with a 7-bag system. Tee receives Tetriminos in groups of seven, with each group containing one of each Tetrimino in a random order. There is no indication of when a new bag starts.
There are seven different Tetriminos. In combat, symmetrical pairs of Tetriminos have identical properties. That means that all of Tee's moves that make use of a Tetrimino can have one of five different forms.
L and J Tetriminos have the most balanced properties.
S and Z Tetriminos are slightly weaker, but have a strong tipper.
T Tetriminos are safe multi-hit moves that do more damage to shields.
O Tetriminos have low knockback and damage, but often lead to easy follow-ups with bury or stun properties.
I Tetriminos are slow but powerful, especially when used in a charged attack!
Of course, as you would expect from Tetris, Tee doesn't have complete control over what pieces he can use at any given time. That is dictated by his Queue. The Queue is displayed over Tee's icon in the overlay. It shows the piece Tee will use in his next Tetrimino attack, the Tetrimino coming NEXT, and the Tetrimino in his HOLD bay. The current Tetrimino also appears inside his disc.
The Tetriminos are randomised with a 7-bag system. Tee receives Tetriminos in groups of seven, with each group containing one of each Tetrimino in a random order. There is no indication of when a new bag starts.
Neutral Special: Matrix
Tee projects a matrix over himself, on which a game of Tetris can be played! The matrix is only six minos wide and 10 minos high, there is no Hard Drop, and he can't access the Hold Queue while the matrix is up. Otherwise, Guideline Tetris rules apply. Tee can preview the next three Tetriminos on the right of the Matrix while it's up.
Every line cleared gives Tee a small boost, depending on the Mino used to clear it:
T: Increased damage, attacks have Magic properties
S: Increased ground speed, attacks have Explosive properties
Z: Increased jump height, attacks have Fire properties
J: Increased defence against physical attacks, attacks have PSI properties
L: Increased defence against ranged and non-physical attacks, attacks have Aura properties
O: Knockback resistance, attacks have Electric properties
I: Increased knockback, attacks have Ice properties
Each boost lasts for 2 seconds per line cleared up to a maximum of 10 seconds, and the boost is paused while the Matrix is open. He can only have one type of boost; if he clears lines with different Minos, the type of boost will change.
Getting a Tetris or T-Spin line clear has a bonus effect, in the form of a shockwave that knocks away nearby fighters.
The state of the matrix will remain the same when Tee next uses it. However, if he holds shield and special for three seconds, the matrix will reset, at the cost of 0.1% damage for each individual mino that was still on the matrix.
If Tee gets hit while the matrix is up, he will power through it with super armor, but garbage lines will likely be added to the bottom of the matrix! Tee will receive more garbage lines relative to the knockback he would have received from the attack, up to a maximum of 6 per attack.
If the matrix tops out, Tee will be stunned as if he broke his shield! At least the matrix will be clean the next time it's brought up...
Side Special: Tetrimino Thrust
Tee fires a Tetrimino from his disc to attack from a distance. He can hold down the Special Button for a stronger, larger projectile.
L/J have decent range, and travel even further and faster when charged.
S/Z arc upwards, and have a steeper arc when charged
T spins rapidly and returns to Tee after reaching its max range, but hangs in place at max range when charged.
O is slow and short-ranged with high damage and low knockback, and lasts longer when charged.
I is quick and long-range but weak. It takes longer to charge, but the charged I is Tee's fastest and strongest projectile!
Down Special: HOLD
Tee swaps his current Tetrimino for the contents of his HOLD bay. This move is very quick, stalls in the air and has super armor, but can't be used again until the new Mino is used in another attack or in the matrix.
Up Special: Hard Drop
Tee leaps off of his current Mino and sends it crashing down near instantly with its longest edge facing down. When the Mino lands on solid ground, it will persist for a while and act as ground itself, unless it lands on top of a ledge.
Tee doesn't enter freefall after using this move, but he won't receive new Tetriminos in his Queue until he lands. This means that he can use his up special three times without landing, assuming he doesn't use the Tetriminos in other attacks.
Tee gets more height when hard dropping an I or T Tetrimino.
Final Smash: ZONE
Tee enters the ZONE, as made famous by Tetris Effect. All other fighters slow down dramatically, and Tee is free to attack at will, but the damage he deals doesn't get applied immediately. Instead, it adds up.
The damage Tee deals in the ZONE is listed above the respective fighter's health, and the knockback his attacks will apply is represented with something similar to a DI indicator. Otherwise, fighters will behave as if they have super armor against Tee.
Tee can bring up the Matrix during the ZONE. When he clears lines, the boost he receives will last until he exits the ZONE. Plus, every filled line adds 4% damage to every opponent on screen. However, filled lines move to the bottom of the matrix instead of clearing, and don't cause shockwaves like they would out of ZONE.
ZONE ends if one of the following conditions occurs:
-The ZONE meter is depleted
-Tee deals a total of 40% ZONE damage to a single opponent
-Tee tops out the Matrix
-Tee is KO'd.
When ZONE ends, all the damage and knockback Tee dealed out during ZONE is inflicted in a hail of Minos. Tee's Matrix is also cleared of all filled lines, and the Matrix buffs he applied in the ZONE are dismissed.
Tee projects a matrix over himself, on which a game of Tetris can be played! The matrix is only six minos wide and 10 minos high, there is no Hard Drop, and he can't access the Hold Queue while the matrix is up. Otherwise, Guideline Tetris rules apply. Tee can preview the next three Tetriminos on the right of the Matrix while it's up.
Every line cleared gives Tee a small boost, depending on the Mino used to clear it:
T: Increased damage, attacks have Magic properties
S: Increased ground speed, attacks have Explosive properties
Z: Increased jump height, attacks have Fire properties
J: Increased defence against physical attacks, attacks have PSI properties
L: Increased defence against ranged and non-physical attacks, attacks have Aura properties
O: Knockback resistance, attacks have Electric properties
I: Increased knockback, attacks have Ice properties
Each boost lasts for 2 seconds per line cleared up to a maximum of 10 seconds, and the boost is paused while the Matrix is open. He can only have one type of boost; if he clears lines with different Minos, the type of boost will change.
Getting a Tetris or T-Spin line clear has a bonus effect, in the form of a shockwave that knocks away nearby fighters.
The state of the matrix will remain the same when Tee next uses it. However, if he holds shield and special for three seconds, the matrix will reset, at the cost of 0.1% damage for each individual mino that was still on the matrix.
If Tee gets hit while the matrix is up, he will power through it with super armor, but garbage lines will likely be added to the bottom of the matrix! Tee will receive more garbage lines relative to the knockback he would have received from the attack, up to a maximum of 6 per attack.
If the matrix tops out, Tee will be stunned as if he broke his shield! At least the matrix will be clean the next time it's brought up...
Side Special: Tetrimino Thrust
Tee fires a Tetrimino from his disc to attack from a distance. He can hold down the Special Button for a stronger, larger projectile.
L/J have decent range, and travel even further and faster when charged.
S/Z arc upwards, and have a steeper arc when charged
T spins rapidly and returns to Tee after reaching its max range, but hangs in place at max range when charged.
O is slow and short-ranged with high damage and low knockback, and lasts longer when charged.
I is quick and long-range but weak. It takes longer to charge, but the charged I is Tee's fastest and strongest projectile!
Down Special: HOLD
Tee swaps his current Tetrimino for the contents of his HOLD bay. This move is very quick, stalls in the air and has super armor, but can't be used again until the new Mino is used in another attack or in the matrix.
Up Special: Hard Drop
Tee leaps off of his current Mino and sends it crashing down near instantly with its longest edge facing down. When the Mino lands on solid ground, it will persist for a while and act as ground itself, unless it lands on top of a ledge.
Tee doesn't enter freefall after using this move, but he won't receive new Tetriminos in his Queue until he lands. This means that he can use his up special three times without landing, assuming he doesn't use the Tetriminos in other attacks.
Tee gets more height when hard dropping an I or T Tetrimino.
Final Smash: ZONE
Tee enters the ZONE, as made famous by Tetris Effect. All other fighters slow down dramatically, and Tee is free to attack at will, but the damage he deals doesn't get applied immediately. Instead, it adds up.
The damage Tee deals in the ZONE is listed above the respective fighter's health, and the knockback his attacks will apply is represented with something similar to a DI indicator. Otherwise, fighters will behave as if they have super armor against Tee.
Tee can bring up the Matrix during the ZONE. When he clears lines, the boost he receives will last until he exits the ZONE. Plus, every filled line adds 4% damage to every opponent on screen. However, filled lines move to the bottom of the matrix instead of clearing, and don't cause shockwaves like they would out of ZONE.
ZONE ends if one of the following conditions occurs:
-The ZONE meter is depleted
-Tee deals a total of 40% ZONE damage to a single opponent
-Tee tops out the Matrix
-Tee is KO'd.
When ZONE ends, all the damage and knockback Tee dealed out during ZONE is inflicted in a hail of Minos. Tee's Matrix is also cleared of all filled lines, and the Matrix buffs he applied in the ZONE are dismissed.
Stage: Tetris Journey
This stage allows fighters to play on the shifting landscape of a Tetris game, as its mechanics and appearance shift to represent seven different Tetris games from the series' history:
Tetris for Gameboy
Tetris for NES
Sega Tetris
Tetris TGM3
Puyo Puyo Tetris
Tetris 99
Tetris Effect
The main theme of this stage is the iconic Type-A tune, which changes its arrangement seamlessly to match the stage's current form. The challenge pack also comes with other tracks, including:
Type-C (NES)
Level 1 (Sega Tetris)
Level 4, 5 and 6 Medley (Tetris TGM3)
Tectonic Tetro at War! (PPT)
Main Theme (Tetris 99)
Next Chapter (Tetris Effect)
Tetris Effect is also represented in Tee's eighth skin, which takes on the sparkly appearance of a Tetris Effect avatar and has no voice.
This stage allows fighters to play on the shifting landscape of a Tetris game, as its mechanics and appearance shift to represent seven different Tetris games from the series' history:
Tetris for Gameboy
Tetris for NES
Sega Tetris
Tetris TGM3
Puyo Puyo Tetris
Tetris 99
Tetris Effect
The main theme of this stage is the iconic Type-A tune, which changes its arrangement seamlessly to match the stage's current form. The challenge pack also comes with other tracks, including:
Type-C (NES)
Level 1 (Sega Tetris)
Level 4, 5 and 6 Medley (Tetris TGM3)
Tectonic Tetro at War! (PPT)
Main Theme (Tetris 99)
Next Chapter (Tetris Effect)
Tetris Effect is also represented in Tee's eighth skin, which takes on the sparkly appearance of a Tetris Effect avatar and has no voice.
Would you be interested in seeing Tee join Smash as an ambassador of all things Tetris? Voice your support and let's honor the perfect videogame!
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