181. Tetris 2 + Bombliss (ChunSoft, Famicom, 1991)

Tetris 2 + Bombliss is a compilation of an updated version of Tetris plus a new Tetris derivative called Bombliss.

Tetris 2 is pretty straightforward and consists of 3 modes:

Type A: Just your normal, everyday Tetris
Type B: Blocks already exist on screen and you have to clear them to move to the next level.
Type C: A cool hybrid of types A&B where as you are stacking, random blocks will come up from the bottom of the screen. This mode actually felt like a cool evolution of Tetris, though it's not an earth-shattering revelation deserving of the name Tetris 2.

Tetris 2 is good Tetris, but not the best Tetris. The music is pretty good / chill and if you hold left or right as a piece spawns, it will snap to that side of the screen, which helps during frantic moments. On the other hand,  there's no hold option to store an inconvenient piece for later, and there is almost no leniency to move a piece around after it has descended, making play after a certain speed very difficult. Still, it's a big upgrade over the original Famicom Tetris. It's interesting that despite dozens of new Tetris titles being released in the years since, there's never been a Tetris 3.

While Tetris 2 is predictably good fun, the real reason to play is compilation is Bombliss. Bombliss is normal Tetris except with a new rule: each tetrinimo has one bomb block on it, and when a row is cleared, any bomb blocks present clear neighboring blocks, allowing upper blocks to drop down. If no bomb blocks are present in a cleared row, nothing happens. If 4 bomb blocks are arranged in a square, it becomes a giant bomb block that has a much bigger explosion radius that clears in all directions. A giant bomb block in the middle of the screen will clear to both sides of the playfield.

There are pieces already on the field, which usually includes a giant bomb block that you are trying to detonate to clear the level, so most levels consist of finding the quickest way possible to detonate the central bomb block. Later levels require you to complete the giant bomb block before detonating it.

There is also a puzzle mode where you have a predetermined small number of pieces (generally between 1-5) to clear the screen. Despite starting off simple, these puzzles quickly get very difficult, but the limited number of moves keeps them form being daunting. The music is not quite as good as classic Tetris, but there are lots of chill backgrounds and still plenty of good tunes.

5/5, a decent update of Tetris along with a great new Tetris-based game