The game credit sequences you'll actually enjoy

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Watching a list of names is usually boring as hell. But in these games it's a pleasure

Tetris The Absolute: Grand Master 2 | 2000 | Arcade | Arika

That title’s just missing a quick “Turbo” to make it complete, is it not? Convoluted monicker or not, Arika’s Japanese Tetris coin-op has a devious little trick up its sleeve should you manage to prove yourself inhumanly skilled enough to beat it. In a classic example of lulling the player into a false sense of security, the game’s ultimate ranking of Grand Master only becomes available once the credits start to roll. The dev team’s names start to scroll up the screen, but rather than allowing the sore-wristed pro to take a step back and admire his or her achievements, the game forces them to keep on playing through the sequence in order to attain the fabled accolade. But doesn’t the text obscure the stack, or vice versa? Well no. You see that’s the really evil part.

David Houghton
David Houghton
Long-time GR+ writer Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.