How NES Tetris's Hardest Mode Was Conquered After 29 Years 

CTM June Recap coming up next! In the meantime, here is finally what was meant to be the first of my "weekly" videos after CTWC 2019. Somehow originally this video was supposed to be made in a week, and it turned into a several month long rabbit hole of research, interviews, and a continually expanding script. Big thanks to everyone who contributed. Check out all the links and the google doc in the description for further watching - in particular, I highly recommend Josh Tolles' series.

I remember watching my Mom take on level 15-5 over and over again for months. It was a huge deal when she finally beat it, we were all celebrating. I still haven't done it to this day.

Me: Man, level 9 is impossible. RU-vid: There's a level 19.

everyone: "19-5 is impossible lol" a German with 20 minutes to spare and a 14 y/o kid:

Ah yes, my favorite Nintendo character, Icarus from Kid Icarus.

This guy saying how easy some levels are is like a minecraft redstone engineer describing how simply easy it is to build a 100 x 100 piston door

So Mark contacted You, to include somebody else in the video, that was suposed to glorify him. I love this community

World record progression of 19-5

So basically, 19-5 is a like a 19-4, you "just" need to clear out the first 3 lines. Easy! More seriously, gg to all of them for beating this level out!

"You all know what DAS is, but in case this is the first video you've ever seen from me, here's an explanation" This is actually the first time I've seen a video from you, haha

"I'm Jake, 14 years old" ...woah. 14 years and a top Tetris player? Damn.

wait aGameScout is a perfectly average tetris player so he can make videos on what the average player can do! big brain

I did not know about the different levels giving different endscreens. Another great video as always! Your videos always show a lot of care and effort which I really appreciate.

I like that you use the same mic throughout the video. The volume is consistent and it's less distracting when you go from the narrated segments of the video to the segments where you're in front of the camera.

There's something poetic about it taking 29 years to complete, and 29 being the kill level.

Interviewer: How long did it take you to scale Everest? Tetris hyper-tappers: oh, about 20m Everyone: ... Hyper-tappers: it's really not that hard

Man watching Jonas celebrate that 19-4 made me so sad. RIP to an absolute legend.

Just casually being the second person ever to beat 19-5 while just chilling in a discord chat. At 14 nonetheless

watching that jonas reaction made me feel things :(

Jake seems like the most mature 14-year-old

Jake has a really adult tone to the way he talks. Not the sound of his voice, but just his cadence. I swear he sounds more intelligent and mature than most adults I know.

As a german casual gamer I am a little proud of Marc's achievement :D Also I'm fond to see, that you are turning into the "Summoning Salt" of Classic Tetris! Keep up the good work, your Videos are always worth a watch!

Marc: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg. *Sad Liechtenstein noises.* Edited 4 times for grammar.

'All German-speaking countries in Europe' *cries in Belgium*

"It isn't as hard as you expect it to be" Yeah nah, that's the kind of answers my speedrunner friend gives me after stringing together 3 frame perfect tricks while talking. Some people are just built different

Wow, thank you for this video, it made me cry a little as it made me miss my mom. A little backstory - when I was much younger, my mom was obsessed with NES Tetris and would play it for hours on end every day to the point that she once actually burned out the AC adapter for the NES because she was playing it so long. One of her goals was to unlock all of the B-Mode endings, which she eventually did with 9-5, but then I learned about the +10 levels and told her, so she set to work trying to beat them to see if any of the endings were different. I remember watching in awe as she knocked down level after level, eventually getting to the 19's. I honestly don't remember if she ever beat 19-5, but part of me wants to say she did because even if I don't remember the exact event, I do remember feeling elated that she'd done something that monumental then feeling disappointed about it for some reason. That could be the intervening 20 some years mixing up her first 9-5 clear with her 19-5 attempts, though, which is why I can't say for certain I remember her beating 19-5, but I do know she made many attempts at it. She's been dead for over 5 years now, which is why these fond memories are making me miss her and a little weepy as I wish I could share this video with her and reminisce over her NES Tetris accomplishments. Still, I'm grateful that your video helped me to remember that part of my childhood and congrats to the astounding young men who accomplished this daunting task, you guys are awesome and I appreciate how humble and honest you seem to be. We need more young people like you in the world.

Icarus, metroid, and zelda all made it to the score screen, i see.

At this rate of community skill explosion, we will reach the Tetrisingularity sometime next year.

Yes, I finally get an explanation of what this is!

honestly 19-5 just looks like my board after playing for 10 mins

LOVE the interview parts with Marc and Jake in this video. That’s what makes this a top tier video. Nicely done as always, Dave! Also double check. I could’ve sworn Greentea is the only DAS player to clear 19-5. Thought I heard him say it at CTWC19.

the amount of time this man puts into spreading NES tetris is unbelievable this video was just stunning

"Tapping 10 times a second is very rare" Minecraft players: Hold my Vape Li- I mean mouse, hold my mouse.

getting called out by songscout made my day

Rolling changed tetris forever. It really is wild to see before and after rolling content.

19:10 i'm so proud of that kid and i don't even know him

RIP Jonas

Now, all we need is people doing 29-2.

Always love these Tetris videos. Well-explained for the beginner, but enough in-depth research that even a strong follower of the Tetris scene tends to get something new. Really good stuff every time.

Now that you posted this video watch as like 20 other hypertappers clear 19-5.

I always love your videos! They are presented so clearly, and they honestly serve as one of the major sources for info about Tetris and the community! I'm probably not the only person who fell even further down the Tetris rabbit hole because of your excellent videos

Rest in peace Jonas, you will never be forgotten as a Tetris legend

Your attention to detail and the passion that drives you to explaining this so in-depth is incredible. I've been greatly appreciating your videos!

Scout you've outdone yourself!! Seriously awesome work. The bits about the endscreens were fascinating, and the interviews with Marq and Jake were great too! And man the production value is just through the roof here, just wanna call out the time and effort you put into these. It's so much and it's so worth it -- it shines through! Thank you!!

really nice story telling. they both seem like cool people and great recent additions to the tetris community, marq and jake classic tetris germany sounds like a nice idea but i can still only get up to 100k points :D and i have so little freetime currently to practice.

Cheez pulling up with the 29-4 clear 😎 29-5 coming soon boys

Man, i really love your videos and this is another great one! I love the effort you put in, interviewing players, linking resources for everyone interested in joining the community etc. Keep it up!

You're one of the best video producers for this genre, keep it up. I love watching this kind of research on the game, the people, and the achievements, come to a cohesive story in the end.

This shows you how when a community perceives something as "impossible", it hinders development and progress significantly.

aGameScout: "Icarus appears" Me: *angry illiterate noises*

Great video! Made me finally remember to post my 19-5 video 🙂

The algorithm recommended this to me and I clicked on a whim, and MAN am I glad! you explained it so clearly even to someone like me who has only played tetris once or twice (and on a PC). What a great video; so well researched and produced, like watching a really wholesome Vice documentary! Keep it up :)

both explinations are "all you gotta do is get really lucky and burn a few lines and now your just playing 19-4"

I see a new aGameScout video. I click.

I love watching your videos. With everything going on in the world I really needed some escape from it all and your videos have really helped me. I've seen most of them almost a dozen times but every time I enjoy them even more. I haven't watched this one yet but I will as soon as I have time. Thank you for all these videos.

Omg an upload This is my favorite channel, I've watched every vid atleast 20 times

Great video and thanks for mentioning me! The order isn't correct though. Joseph was actually 5th and I was the 6th player to beat 19-5. Some people got it wrong because I wrote on 1st april I would have got it, but I didn't show any proof. And yesterday BV (youtube: BV Tetris) beat it too.

People: level 19 5 is impossible! 14 years old guy:

Your Tetris content and narratives are very engaging. Great work covering the Tetris scene. Great great job man! Keep it up!

Love your videos, I feel like you put so much effort into making these that make them so worth to watch. Keep up the good work, Scout!

This was really interesting, the interviews were very insightful.

Another great video. As a DAS player myself it's great to see that you are still talking about DAS despite it becoming less viable in high level competition. It's still the best way for new players to become familiar with the game. I've used hypertapping and the fast DAS codes but I've realised that wrestling with the DAS monster is fundamental to my enjoyment of the game, having grown up with it. I still think a clear and thorough anaylsis of the difference between DAS play and hypertapping, (the different skill sets required and the advantages they have over each other) has yet to be done.

Excellent content, well produced. I love to see a younger generation getting into classic Tetris and appreciating the pioneers of E-Sports!

Awesome video man! The NES Tetris renaissance has been fun to watch.

This hyper tapper video has aged like fine wine.

Marq vs Joseph would be one of the most insane matches ever

Thank you RU-vid algorithm, this was literally what I needed. I watched your first video and loved it but immediately jumped into watching Tetris videos from players and champion ships with a better understanding because of you video, without subscribing. Couldn't find this channel untill now when this video gets recommended. Keep making these ...

I absolutely love your videos, Scout! Can't wait for the PAL/NTSC one - I've had the pleasure of competing at CTEC several times and have much love for the PAL community

Shows picture of mario* This is Zelda, he's my favourite pokemon from Call of Duty *Gamrr*

So its all about a good starting board and pieces dropping at the right time. If more people had tried it and didn't just say its impossible I'd imagine there would be a crap load more 19-5 finishes

I love your videos about tetris, really! You talk about it with some passion and its incredible to watch I liked how at the end you talk about nes tetris around the world, so maybe a good theme for a video research or something like that would be the competitive scenes around the world (singapur, finland, etc) and how many maxout players are in the world right now Keep up the good work!

Yes! Coming home from work to a brand new video from you - perfect! 😀

Almost 40 years later and the NES still challenging people. Props to Nintendo for making such an iconic and nearly ageless system.

Your channel is definitely an example of quality over quantity. Always nice to see when you release a well done informative video

Love your videos man. The amount of time that must have taken to research all these things really shows your passion. And the overall great quality of the whole video. Amazing! Keep safe and have a nice day good sir!

Another amazing video! Thanks David!

Someone tries to enter the RU-vid algorithm. 😉

11:16 Joseph: k Jonas: OMG WTF FK YEAH This made me giggle.

I gotta say, I really love your channel. You’re really a charming guy and I appreciate all the work you put in to these! Keep up the good work!

another highly informative high quality nes Tetris documentary. 24 min flew by! Good job!

That’s pretty insane how when the gates are open and people see it’s possible, it then becomes done over n over

"It's a topic for another video" is how this man says "alright see you in a few months".

I like you man. You've invested a lot of time in this hobby, you still find joy in it, and you want to share it with people. Thanks

This is the first video I've seen from you, so thanks for explaining DAS.

Got a few lines in, I'll clear 19-5 soon

crazy to rewatch this video now that 29-4 has been beaten

The quality of your videos is insane. The interview Marc is from November and the video is made in June. Dude don't kill your creativity in pursuit of perfection! Your vid from CTWC2018 is one of the best things I've seen on the tube. Keep it up and don't be afraid of posting videos that don't take a lifetime to make!

I love how at one point in the video, Jake and Marq are both seen wearing the same Avatar Black Waltz tour t-shirts. Tetris is super Metal! Also, Jake is very well spoken for his age, seems like a bright dude. Not surprised he has figured out Tetris at such a young age.

Well, previous to watching this, I had little no interest in Tetris. Excellent job on keeping the topic interesting enough to watch the full 24 minutes. It's absolutely insane how these two players were able to beat the impossible in such a short period of time. Flashes of genius mixed with genuine talent make for some amazing developments.

Ryan Lockwood skipped 1:13 on streets, Marc skipped 19-4 on b-mode.

Excellent video, as always. Thanks!!

This is totally the first video of you I saw so thank you for explaining DAS :) As a matter of a fact the whole video was super informative and interesting as someone who is merely a couch tetris gamer :)

Fun fact: The rocket you use that look like the space shuttle is actually the buran space shuttle is from the USSR and it's more safe than the American space shuttle. And the Buran is Atonimous so it's all computer that do the work. Sadly the program been cancelled.

This is very impressive. I'd never actually attempt a task this ambitious because I like to have fun in my games, and getting stressed out from trying to become one of the best is not fun to me. Yet these young kids still achieved the practically impossible.

Love your videos, man! Keep making them please.

This has reminded me how different Tetris is in the newer games due to the delay before it places and the SRS spins etc. I need to go back sometime and play the older games again.

Level 35 took the longest. Achieved recently by Joseph Saelee.

I genuinely believe my grandmother did this in the 90s. She once told me she beat the game and I said "did you see the rocket at the end?" And she said "no I was mario, Luigi and donkey Kong." I had no idea what she was talking about. Now seeing this in hindsight it is the only conclusion I can come to. Also she would tap the pieces over just like these guys.

i just seen your other videos and i love them! i know you probably already get this alot but your videos are really helpful and informative! also.... your smile is super catchy lmao

Very well researched, informative, and entertaining.