Tengen's Tetris, the first Tetris American NES players saw, came out at the same time as parent company Atari Games's arcade machine. The two are similar, sharing graphics and music, but the NES release is closer to the original Tetris, challenging the player to complete as many rows as possible before the screen becomes too full. One feature this release does share with the arcade machine is the two-player variation, allowing friends to compete against each other for the most completed rows.
This version is a good effort, and some fans even prefer it to Nintendo's later release. Sadly, Tengen's Tetris was declared illegal and had to be recalled when it was revealed Atari Games had not properly secured licensing for any home version of the game. Today, this game is one of the rarer and more collectible cartridges for the NES