This is the culmination of all of the past Mr Driller games into one updated collection. There is the classic game mode, a drillstone based one, an item based one, and two new game modes all wrapped up in an appealing UI and OST. Ultimately though the classic Mr Driller game mode remains the best which is why i have to score this game relatively low. Classic game modes like endless or time attack are locked behind grinding out and completing the other game modes meaning if you dont like them I cant even recommend this just for the classic game mode. The controls also feel ever more so sluggish compared to the OG which makes it hard to recommend at full price.
Offers a bunch of theme park-style takes on the Mr. Driller format, including some that reward a slower and tactical approach; and an RPG Lite spoof, my favorite. The Mod-ish menu designs and lounge-y OST are also neat.
This game is incredibly simple, but very fun and has a ton of charm to it. However, it falls short in terms of length & not having enough bones to carry me on doing the completion stuff.
Moreover, the absence of online play with friends is a drawback. It's hard to recommend at its current price, but if you come across it on sale, it's definitely worth giving a shot.
Nonetheless, I'm very happy to see this hidden gem out of the Japan-only cage.
Moreover, the absence of online play with friends is a drawback. It's hard to recommend at its current price, but if you come across it on sale, it's definitely worth giving a shot.
Nonetheless, I'm very happy to see this hidden gem out of the Japan-only cage.
Really tried to get on with this game, but just didn't end up clicking. Too tough for me, and I never felt much motivation to get better, only felt like I was trying to push through again and again just to say I'd done it rather than for the enjoyment of the journey. Sometimes in those situations, you just have to realise it isn't worth it and your time would be spent better elsewhere.
Gorgeous presentation and killer soundtrack, but the gameplay loop didn't keep me hooked enough to help me persevere through the onslaught of challenge.
Gorgeous presentation and killer soundtrack, but the gameplay loop didn't keep me hooked enough to help me persevere through the onslaught of challenge.
fun little arcadey puzzle game. all five of the different modes are unique enough and all of them are pretty fun although i wasn't a fan of the tower of daruga one. mister driller is just addicting and playing through it i just had a smile on my face. not something i could play all the time but a great game to pop in and play for 15-30 mins
GOTY 2020 - NUMBER FIVE
Video version
Right, we’re through the iffy half. Now I’m just talking about games I really like. Here’s a belter.
Maybe you saw this on the eShop and thought, “Oh, that’s nice. Mr Driller’s on the Switch. I’m sure the fans are happy”. No! This is far more than that. This is the game that delivers on the potential of Mr Driller.
DrillLand doesn’t feel like it was meant to spend 18 years as a Japan-only Gamecube game. It’s a much bigger deal than that. It’s Namco, reflecting on their key strengths in the arcade scene, and figuring out how to utilise that in an industry that had shifted focus towards home consoles. These kinds of welcoming, attractive, high skill-ceiling games have been a bedrock for Namco in Japan, both in arcades and on console, but apart from Tekken, and perhaps Soulcalibur, Namco hadn’t really managed to convince most western console-owners that these games justified their prices. It’s a side of the company that has become much quieter since those days, as they’ve got through the last decade or so on the back of Bandai licenses and handling international publishing duties for smaller Japanese companies like Level-5 and From Software. The Nintendo Switch has given them much more confidence to explore their roots though.
With Katamari Damacy Reroll and Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun, Europe finally became acquainted with two quintessentially “Namco” Namco games. Unique gameplay concepts explored through colourful, attractive visuals and backed by top-tier soundtracks. Mr Driller is one layer closer to the core of Namco. A sort of sequel series to maybe my favourite Namco game – Dig Dug – Mr Driller is born of 80s arcade design philosophy.
It’s a skill-based score attack game that rewards quick decisions and skillful action, and presents a concept that’s entirely its own. A cute wee game about drilling down through sets of coloured blocks without wasting too many actions, or you’ll run out of air. It’s a simple and inviting concept, but I didn’t really know how good it was until DrillLand explored all the different dynamics through its 6 main modes. Creating big block groups, navigating your way to alluring items, and avoiding overhead threats. It’s all stuff that gets richly explored in their own modes and develop your skill as a player. They’re not tutorials. They feel every bit as rich as the main game, and the ludicrous difficulty of the harder levels show how much there is to learn. Drindy Adventure is a personal favourite, bringing over Susumu’s dad, Taizo Hori from Dig Dug and presenting an Indiana Jones-inspired dig site filled with treasures and rolling boulders. It’s tense, cautious and thrilling, and it’s just one wee aspect of the game.
And the soundtrack? I’ve celebrated the mid-2000s Namco soundteam before, and the DrillLand music is every bit as good as anything you’d get from a Taiko no Tatsujin or Katamari Damacy game. It’s fantastic and shouldn’t be overlooked.
DrillLand is so far beyond the rest of the series. It’s the only Mr Driller game worth talking about now. Maybe you’re a little nervous, and you think you won’t get enough out of it. Want my advice? Dig a chance.
Video version
Right, we’re through the iffy half. Now I’m just talking about games I really like. Here’s a belter.
Maybe you saw this on the eShop and thought, “Oh, that’s nice. Mr Driller’s on the Switch. I’m sure the fans are happy”. No! This is far more than that. This is the game that delivers on the potential of Mr Driller.
DrillLand doesn’t feel like it was meant to spend 18 years as a Japan-only Gamecube game. It’s a much bigger deal than that. It’s Namco, reflecting on their key strengths in the arcade scene, and figuring out how to utilise that in an industry that had shifted focus towards home consoles. These kinds of welcoming, attractive, high skill-ceiling games have been a bedrock for Namco in Japan, both in arcades and on console, but apart from Tekken, and perhaps Soulcalibur, Namco hadn’t really managed to convince most western console-owners that these games justified their prices. It’s a side of the company that has become much quieter since those days, as they’ve got through the last decade or so on the back of Bandai licenses and handling international publishing duties for smaller Japanese companies like Level-5 and From Software. The Nintendo Switch has given them much more confidence to explore their roots though.
With Katamari Damacy Reroll and Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun, Europe finally became acquainted with two quintessentially “Namco” Namco games. Unique gameplay concepts explored through colourful, attractive visuals and backed by top-tier soundtracks. Mr Driller is one layer closer to the core of Namco. A sort of sequel series to maybe my favourite Namco game – Dig Dug – Mr Driller is born of 80s arcade design philosophy.
It’s a skill-based score attack game that rewards quick decisions and skillful action, and presents a concept that’s entirely its own. A cute wee game about drilling down through sets of coloured blocks without wasting too many actions, or you’ll run out of air. It’s a simple and inviting concept, but I didn’t really know how good it was until DrillLand explored all the different dynamics through its 6 main modes. Creating big block groups, navigating your way to alluring items, and avoiding overhead threats. It’s all stuff that gets richly explored in their own modes and develop your skill as a player. They’re not tutorials. They feel every bit as rich as the main game, and the ludicrous difficulty of the harder levels show how much there is to learn. Drindy Adventure is a personal favourite, bringing over Susumu’s dad, Taizo Hori from Dig Dug and presenting an Indiana Jones-inspired dig site filled with treasures and rolling boulders. It’s tense, cautious and thrilling, and it’s just one wee aspect of the game.
And the soundtrack? I’ve celebrated the mid-2000s Namco soundteam before, and the DrillLand music is every bit as good as anything you’d get from a Taiko no Tatsujin or Katamari Damacy game. It’s fantastic and shouldn’t be overlooked.
DrillLand is so far beyond the rest of the series. It’s the only Mr Driller game worth talking about now. Maybe you’re a little nervous, and you think you won’t get enough out of it. Want my advice? Dig a chance.
Oozing with Y2K charm, this game keeps you hooked - as you'd hope, there's plenty to do, though not all the game modes are equally as fun.
As someone who has this as my first Mr. Driller game, it's a pretty wholesome and cute time. While I do feel like a couple of attractions play a bit too similarly to one another, it's still a good time with enough variety to see it through to the end.
Short but rather fun experience! This is probably the best Mr. Driller game out of all the other ones I've experienced in the series. The gameplay styles vary out and the replayability shows out! Music is also really good along with the soft art style. In terms of the quality of the remaster, it's a vast improvement over the original!
Recommend from me!
Recommend from me!
While I've always enjoyed the Mr. Driller series, they were never the kind of games that I would play for hours at a time. That all changed when I played Drill Land. Originally a Japan only Gamecube game released in 2002, Bandai Namco decided to localize and remaster this game in 2020 as part of its Encore series.
For those unfamiliar with how Mr. Driller plays, your goal is to drill your way to the bottom of the stage while avoiding any falling blocks from above that will crush you if you’re not careful. Your oxygen meter will also deplete over time so you need to collect air capsules to replenish it. Where this game really shows its depth is in its puzzle mechanics. When 4 or more blocks of the same color connect, they’re cleared from the board. Skillful drilling can result in massive chain reactions which lead to big point bonuses. It’s a simple, yet addictive game that is easy to learn but hard to master.
Drill Land consists of five unique gameplay modes presented as theme park attractions:
First up is Drill Land World Tour, the standard Mr. Driller gameplay mode with 6 playable characters to choose from, each having their own unique abilities. Then there’s Star Driller, which adds power-ups to the mix, ranging from screen clearing bombs to black holes that suck up everything in its path, including you if you’re not careful. Drindy Adventure is an Indiana Jones inspired mode where you must collect a certain number of golden idols before reaching the goal, all while avoiding spike traps and rolling boulders. Horror Night House has you hunting for ghosts hiding in blocks. To capture them, you first need to collect holy water and then inject the blocks containing the ghosts; otherwise, all of the ghosts on screen turn into a swarm of bats and hurt you. Last, but not least, is The Hole of Druaga, my personal favorite. This mode basically turns Mr. Driller into a dungeon crawling RPG complete with side rooms to explore, an item inventory system, enemy encounters, and boss battles. This one mode is so feature rich, it could have easily been its own game.
In addition to the story mode, there’s also two multiplayer modes that are playable for up to four players. Race mode is exactly what it sounds like; it’s a split-screen game where players race to the goal. Battle mode has players competing on the same screen as they search for hidden medals. Your controller will vibrate when you’re close to one. These modes are fun, but they’re not really games that you’d want to play for more than 20 minutes. It’s a shame that none of the main Drill Land modes are playable in multiplayer. The Hole of Druaga is really the only mode that might be considered too complex to turn into a multiplayer game, but all the other modes could have easily been playable in split-screen. The barebones multiplayer is the only blemish on an otherwise stellar game.
Drill Land is widely considered to be the best game in the series, and I totally understand why. It takes the simple gameplay formula of the arcade original and over the course of its five game modes, explores every possible way to expand and build upon that groundwork. Add to that a stylish presentation with fully voiced animated cutscenes, a catchy and diverse soundtrack, and a charming art direction and this game is the complete package.
For those unfamiliar with how Mr. Driller plays, your goal is to drill your way to the bottom of the stage while avoiding any falling blocks from above that will crush you if you’re not careful. Your oxygen meter will also deplete over time so you need to collect air capsules to replenish it. Where this game really shows its depth is in its puzzle mechanics. When 4 or more blocks of the same color connect, they’re cleared from the board. Skillful drilling can result in massive chain reactions which lead to big point bonuses. It’s a simple, yet addictive game that is easy to learn but hard to master.
Drill Land consists of five unique gameplay modes presented as theme park attractions:
First up is Drill Land World Tour, the standard Mr. Driller gameplay mode with 6 playable characters to choose from, each having their own unique abilities. Then there’s Star Driller, which adds power-ups to the mix, ranging from screen clearing bombs to black holes that suck up everything in its path, including you if you’re not careful. Drindy Adventure is an Indiana Jones inspired mode where you must collect a certain number of golden idols before reaching the goal, all while avoiding spike traps and rolling boulders. Horror Night House has you hunting for ghosts hiding in blocks. To capture them, you first need to collect holy water and then inject the blocks containing the ghosts; otherwise, all of the ghosts on screen turn into a swarm of bats and hurt you. Last, but not least, is The Hole of Druaga, my personal favorite. This mode basically turns Mr. Driller into a dungeon crawling RPG complete with side rooms to explore, an item inventory system, enemy encounters, and boss battles. This one mode is so feature rich, it could have easily been its own game.
In addition to the story mode, there’s also two multiplayer modes that are playable for up to four players. Race mode is exactly what it sounds like; it’s a split-screen game where players race to the goal. Battle mode has players competing on the same screen as they search for hidden medals. Your controller will vibrate when you’re close to one. These modes are fun, but they’re not really games that you’d want to play for more than 20 minutes. It’s a shame that none of the main Drill Land modes are playable in multiplayer. The Hole of Druaga is really the only mode that might be considered too complex to turn into a multiplayer game, but all the other modes could have easily been playable in split-screen. The barebones multiplayer is the only blemish on an otherwise stellar game.
Drill Land is widely considered to be the best game in the series, and I totally understand why. It takes the simple gameplay formula of the arcade original and over the course of its five game modes, explores every possible way to expand and build upon that groundwork. Add to that a stylish presentation with fully voiced animated cutscenes, a catchy and diverse soundtrack, and a charming art direction and this game is the complete package.
The game is fun but the price is not justifiable by any means, it's overpriced as hell
While some of the modes aren't as good as others (Hole of Druaga is kind of a slog on the higher difficulties), I genuinely think the World Tour mode is absolutely adrenaline pumping, with high paced and dense gameplay that keeps you coming back over and over. You absolutely need to be on your toes and making quick decisions all of the time. Heavily overlooked, in my opinion, probably my favourite arcade puzzle game after TGM (which I'm a lot worse at).
Just keep in mind that in order to get to the harder content you need to beat all of the easier content. If that doesn't sit well with you, maybe look at Mr Driller G instead, which is just as good and only focuses on the core gameplay. If you enjoy the variety of this package though then there's few downsides here.
Also this soundtrack goes from like 0 to 100 a lot it is very very strange but extremely memorable and I love it
Just keep in mind that in order to get to the harder content you need to beat all of the easier content. If that doesn't sit well with you, maybe look at Mr Driller G instead, which is just as good and only focuses on the core gameplay. If you enjoy the variety of this package though then there's few downsides here.
Also this soundtrack goes from like 0 to 100 a lot it is very very strange but extremely memorable and I love it
🗣️🗣️🗣️ DO RI RU RANDOOOO!!!
they should make the deadbeat divorced father and the stupid robot kiss
addicted to digging