Tetris The Grand Master Ace

Tetris The Grand Master Ace, sometimes abbreviated TGM Ace or TGMA is Arika's second console Tetris game, and the first (and so far, only) TGM brand console game.

Changes from previous entries in the series
Numerous elements in the gameplay have undergone significant changes, mostly to adhere more closely to The Tetris Company's Tetris Guideline.

Main mode
While the main modes of the TGM series has always been a mode to reach level 999, which increases using Arika's own counting method, with the highest grade possible, this has been replaced with several modes in which the objective is to clear 150 lines. Each 10-line section has a time limit, in which the game automatically ends if the player fails to get through the section in time. There is no grade system in this game, aside from Promotional Exam mode where a new grade is simply attained by beating missions.

Rotation
TGM Ace originally featured a selection of two rotation rule options, SRS and ARS. While ARS offered the same initial stances, rotation rules and wallkicks as TGM3, it also featured tetromino colors compliant with SRS instead of the Sega colors used in previous games. ARS also included a locking hard drop and a non-locking soft drop, instead of the non-locking hard drop and locking soft drop in TGM2 and 3. In addition to this, soft drop speeds were reduced to around 0.5G as well. These two changes essentially made Zangi-moves impossible. Finally, the lockdown behavior of the tetrominoes adhered to the Infinity behavior, allowing virtually unlimited lock delay resets. (The game had a limit, though, of 128 rotations or movements per piece before the piece automatically locked down.)

Ichiro Mihara, developer of the TGM series, had connoted closely before the release of the game that another ruleset existed within the game. The hidden rule option, ARS2, was essentially ARS except with the locking roles of the hard and soft drops reversed. This allowed players to play in a similar manner to the previous games, with Zangi-moves reenabled, although the Infinity behavior and the block colors still could not be changed.

According to Mihara, ARS2 was originally intended to be an unlockable element awarded only to players of the highest skill. Later on, however, the feature became unlocked for all players following a software update of the game. The conditions in which ARS2 was to be originally unlocked under remains unknown, although several players are said to have unlocked the feature before the update.

Online Features
TGM Ace is the first, and currently the only, TGM game to support online features. And this game basically forces you to use it, because most offline game modes are not unlocked until missions in Tetris Road mode is fully beaten, which requires a Xbox Live Gold account to play.

Without an online connection, the only single player mode available by default is the Normal mode. Clearing it unlocks High Speed 1, and clearing it unlocks High Speed 2, which does not unlock anything when beaten. With a Xbox Live Silver account, the player instantly gains access to aforementioned High Speed modes, Big mode, and the ARS2 rotation system. However, the rest of game modes still require a Xbox Live Gold account to unlock and play.

Tetris (テトリス)
Tetris is the main single-player mode. The objective of all modes under this category is to clear 150 lines.

Normal (ノーマル)
Normal begins with low gravity and eventually reaches 20G around level 14. The lock delay is constant.

High Speed 1 (ハイスピード1)
High Speed 1 begins with higher gravity than that of Normal and reaches 20G around level 6. The lock delay is constant.

High Speed 2 (ハイスピード2)
In High Speed 2, gravity is fixed at 20G with a constant lock delay. Without an Xbox Live Gold account, this is the fastest mode that can be unlocked.

Big (ビッグ)
In Big, all tetrominoes are twice their regular size. The speed curve is similar or possibly identical to that of Normal mode. This mode cannot be used for online time attacks. This mode was unlocked when Big Road in Tetris Road mode is fully completed, but after the software update it is unlocked by default.

Another (アナザー)
This mode is unlocked when Another Road in Tetris Road mode is fully completed. In Another, gravity starts at 20G and lock delay decreases as the mode progresses. Another is said to be the equivalent of T.A. Death in TGM2+ or Shirase in TGM3, although the difficulty is lower due to the game's lock delay move reset behavior. Clearing this mode will unlock Another 2.

Another 2 (アナザー2)
Another 2 is the last known mode unlocked in TGMA. Gravity is fixed at 20G. The lock delay is fixed to the lowest lock delay value of Another mode. Clearing this mode will not unlock any new modes or achievements. This mode also cannot be used for online time attacks, making its existence unknown to players who haven't unlocked it themselves.

Doubles (ダブルス)
Doubles is a co-op mode similar to TGM2+. Both players share the same level and lines counters.

Match (マッチ)
Match is a offline versus game where a player must clear 20 lines before the opponent does. The players can also send garbage lines and use items, but due to the 20 lines limit this does not normally come into play.

Eraser (イレイサー)
This mode is unlocked when Tricky Road in Tetris Road mode is fully completed. In Eraser mode, the player must clear all hot lines before the timer runs out.

Level Star (レベルスター)
This mode is unlocked when Grand Road in Tetris Road mode is fully completed. Level Star mode is similar to normal Tetris modes but variable number of lines are required to progress through the levels.

Target (ターゲット)
This mode is unlocked when Star Road in Tetris Road mode is fully completed. In Target mode, the player must erase all gem blocks on the field before the timer runs out. This mode plays similar to Sakura mode from TGM3 and reuses many stages from it, but the gem locations and stage order are randomized.

Versus (対戦テトリス)
This is a online version of Match mode.

Mission Modes
There are two mission-based game modes where the player must beat various missions before the timer runs out.
 * Level Star: The player must clear a specified number of lines.
 * Double: The player must clear two lines using a Tetromino (Double) for a specified number of times. Triples or Tetrises do not count.
 * Triple: The player must clear three lines using a Tetromino (Triple) for a specified number of times. Tetrises do not count.
 * Tetris: The player must clear four lines using an I Tetromino (Tetris) for a specified number of times.
 * Cycle: The player must do all kinds of line clears (Single, Double, Triple, and Tetris) in any order.
 * Big: The player must clear a specified number of lines. The Tetrominos are double sized.
 * Eraser: The player must erase a specified number of hot lines on the field.
 * Target: The player must beat a specified number of stages. A stage is beaten when all gem blocks are destroyed. The stages and gem block locations are randomized.
 * High Speed 2: The player must clear a specified number of lines in 20G gameplay.
 * Another: The player must clear a specified number of lines in Another mode's speed.

Tetris Road (テトリスロード)
EX Stage: (EXステージ) To play an EX Stage, finish a multiple-of-5 stage with a Double line clear. Beating all EX stages will unlock a offline game mode.

Promotional Exam (昇段審査)
Promotional Exam is also a mission mode where the player plays missions to attain a new grade. The notation of the grades are similar to those of the past TGM games.

Time Attack (タイムアタック)
This is the online version of normal Tetris modes where the player must complete 150 lines as fast as possible. Selectable difficulties are Normal, High Speed 1, High Speed 2, and Another.

Aesthetics
The game reuses several elements from TGM3, the previous entry in the series. Block graphics are identical, with different block surfaces between SRS and ARS, and the backgrounds share a space theme also used in TGM3, although different images than the ones in TGM3 are used. Many musical tracks used in TGM3 also appear in TGM Ace.