Game Review - originally written by ???

Remember when Namco ported Mr. Driller to every single videogame system in existence? The Wonderswan was no exception, friends. And, exactly, how many of those ten thousand ports were released in North America? One, I think? Yeah, thanks a fucking ton Namco.

So you’re a driller. You drill through these colored blobs and go further down, and downward is the goal, see. Leave a blob hanging, and it will eventually fall, only to be caught by a blob of the same color. Does that make sense? No? Sorry.

Mr. Driller é um jogo esquecido que recomendo para qualquer um. Tem bons gráficos, músicas boas (apesar de altas) e uma jogabilidade diferente, divertida e desafiadora. O ponto mais fraco do jogo é o fator Replay baixo. Independente se jogar por console ou emulador, recomendo dar uma jogada.

Prós: Visualmente fiel à versão de Arcade; As músicas até que são boas...; A jogabilidade é diferente e divertida; O desafio que o jogo proporciona é interessante.
Contras: ... Apesar do volume alto; Poucos modos de jogo.

Expected this to be another Dig Dug judging by the title and the fact Namco made it and boy was I wrong. The only thing Mr. Driller and Dig Dug have in common is the burrowing into the ground gimmick and falling hazards, no enemies in sight.

This is another arcade game that I completely suck at yet I’m all the more addicted to, figuring out which block patterns to dig into that won’t get you crushed all the while keeping your air meter in check, it’s pretty hectic stuff. The main game had me hooked to the point where I even forgot there’s a Versus Mode and Time Attack included, not that I had a second player to try the latter with.

I’ve uncovered yet another Namco hit that is worth at least taking a glance towards, and I wish I discovered it sooner.

the music slaps, the art style slaps
the gameplay slaps and there's so much replayability its nuts

when the dreamcast gets cartoony its some of the best shit imaginable in the entire console gen it's from, i loooove how this game looks and presents

I surprisingly havent played this until a few hours ago today pftftft, i know its like practically a classic but I never got around to it
I think the major thing im stuck on is the fact that I played a bastardized version of this on Neopets when I was a kid and was addicted to it and never even knew it, also Mr Driller EARNED that spot in Pac Man Racing

Mr. Driller - прошёл аркадный оригинал, обе сложности, сначала 2500 ft, а потом 5000 ft. Не использовал продолжения, тем более их все равно нет.

Отличная залипательная аркада от Namco, в которой нужно бурить блоки в четырёх направлениях, двигаться вниз и добурить до самого дна. Обычные блоки можно бурить просто так, а особые расходуют 20% кислорода, вдобавок кислород расходуется сам по себе, но можно подбирать баллоны с кислородом, восстанавливающие 20%. На всю игру даётся три жизни, а жизнь теряется, если закончится кислород или блок упадёт на главного героя. При этом блоки одинакового цвета приклеиваются друг к другу, а если складывается группа из четырёх блоков и более, то они исчезают.

Аккуратно пройти эту игру не получится - нужно агрессивно бурить вниз до тех пор, пока особые блоки на пути не будут мешать, а затем тут же бурить налево или направо, но при этом сверху обязательно будут большие башни из блоков, которые через одну-две секунды после бурения упадут вниз. А значит снова нужно двигаться куда-то вбок, ну или рассчитывать на то, что широкий блок упадёт на узкий и не будет дальше падать. Пусть аркада выглядит простенько, но она поздняя, а значит зараза помнит все-все-все блоки, насколько глубоко вниз бы вы ни забурили - нужно быть очень осторожным, так как иногда блоки падают две-три секунды. Из-за жёсткого таймлимита и аркадной сложности в этой игре нельзя задумываться, но при этом нужно постоянно принимать решения. А на более поздних уровнях ещё и баллоны с кислородом запирают особыми блоками со всех сторон, а сами блоки начнут быстрее падать. В итоге при длительности игры меньше 10 минут я потратил более полутора часов на прохождение, поначалу постоянно умирая на ранних этапах игры - к ней придётся привыкнуть. Тем не менее игровой процесс настолько увлекателен, что хочется снова и снова пытаться пробовать это пройти, в итоге прошёл игру с большим удовольствием.

while "puzzle action" was not necessarily a new concept in the late '90s, mr driller decides to literally drop its titular hero into the claustrophobia of a tightly-packed falling-block playfield and let him scramble ever deeper to avoid being crushed. the arcade mode establishes two opposing forces of urgency: an air gauge that decreases with each block you break and the constant threat of unstable blocks succumbing to gravity above you. my first inclination (and I assume that of most new players) was to dig like crazy while making lateral movements in a mad dash to each 500 ft marker. of course this is wasteful and will result in many missed air canisters along the way (which refill your gauge), and eventually my mind began scanning the area below me sussing out the most efficient paths towards the bottom. larger block structures destroyed in a single puff will open long corridors that the player can quickly move through, and on easier difficulties it seems these often will lead to air canisters.

eventually I began to actually slow down and take greater stock of my surroundings, especially when it came to trapped canisters that could be opened up with a bit of careful block trimming in the vicinity. canister acquisition became a much more measured activity where at a moment's glance I needed to determine if a given canister was easy enough to secure or should be left behind as I continued further and further into the depths. however, past a certain point you've seen everything the game has to offer, and it remains an open question on whether you really need to grind for score or increase your maximum depth if there's little variation past trickier canister placement and more traps to enclose unsuspecting players in near-inescapable formations. during the occasional "bonus stage" areas the structures are much larger and more entangled, and it makes it easy to get caught falling with no control for longer than feels comfortable, and it was after playing several of these that I figured I had done my time in the arcade mode and really wanted to move on.

other than a one-life survival mode that parallels the arcade mode, there's the fascinating time attack mode which functions as timed and coherently designed puzzles for the player to solve. rather than air the stages are littered with time reduction items that are generally vital to collect in order to place under the target time and progress to the next stage. finding the optimal route from item to item becomes key, and the structures around them serve as a guiding hand from the developers shuttling you along. unfortunately the window for sliding through some of these obviously-intended pathways is rather tight, and changing the exact blocks you destroy along the way or showing up a bit late can radically change the block layout, generally resulting in accidentally getting crushed. what's particularly annoying that is that showing up early can have the same effect, which seems antithetical to the time attack concept but also intrinsic to the rube goldberg-esque structures in some of these levels. thus these encourage more trial-and-error rather than proper puzzle solving, and it highlights one of the core issues with the concept: it's really difficult to actually manipulate the blocks to fall how you want them given the fast pace of the game, the limited player kit, and the fraility of the avatar. the frenzy that ensues is the strongest drawing point of the title, but it creates a wide gulf in the intermediate zone of play that pushed me off the title given that, as mentioned prior, there isn't enough variety to really press me into continuing to hone my skills.

regardless, I do recommend those interested in the title to definitely sit through those first set of ten time attack levels. the difficulty seems so high at the start but quickly becomes approachable; the only one I needed to watch a video for was Mansion and its elevator ride mechanic that requires some rather precise movement to succeed at. reaching a bona fide credits scroll at the end of these felt satisfying, even if I'm not positive that my skills in this mode necessarily transferred over to the arcade mode like I had hoped. there's a set of advanced time attack levels with mirrored layouts and stricter time limits as well, though after trying a couple I think I had my fill and was ready to move on from this title.

addendum: supremely comfy in a handheld format. I played it on my psp but it looks perfectly playable on wonderswan and GBC as well, not that those are any easier to access... (presumably some version of it can be played on 3ds, sanctioned or otherwise). also the soundtrack is an eclectic mix of propellant rhythms with surprisingly synergistic strings on top. I'm shocked the composer (go shiina, also known for his contributions to ace combat, tales, the later tekkens, and god eater) wasn't involved with katamari given the similarities between their soundtracks, down to certain motifs in both works.