I think just seeing gameplay of Mr. Driller undersells how much quick thinking and caution is required to be successful at it. It makes sense that Dig-Dug's protagonist is the father of Susumu Hori, the titular Mr. Driller, as this is essentially a puzzle game that requires the kind of sharp thinking and adaptability that the best of Namco's classic arcade titles required. Yet at the same time, you can mostly keep it at your own pace, as everything is mostly stationary until you use your drill, hopefully getting the chain reaction you wanted while also most likely being faced with all kinds of unforeseen consequences.
It's funny to me that when the game starts, the mode you are faced with is Hole of Druaga, as it's possibly the most complicated of all the modes, but also the most engaging. The dristone mechanic is so good I wish it was in every mode (apparently it is in older entries in the series), and every move made me feel the weight of everything I had done leading up to it. All the other modes are good, but this is the one I'm going to be sinking hours into, you could make a whole game out of it.
The presentation is exactly my shit. Love the art style to pieces, and I was shocked by how good the soundtrack is, and how unreasonably hard it goes in. And how about that credits music? It's another one for the list! As a side note, I love the way that the Mr. Driller series ties into Galaga, Dig-Dug, the Ace Combat series, and several other Namco arcade games. It's all done in a way that's endearingly complicated and not too in-your-face about it. (are there Mr. Driller fans who talk about "the deep lore" as obsessively and annoyingly as Kirby fans? If not, I'll start)
Really, the thing I'm most disappointed by is the fact that this isn't actually a new release, but instead a re-release of a Gamecube game that only came out in Japan. It just feels like a shame that the last truly new game in this series was a phone game released only in South Korea. Hopefully, this sells well enough to convince someone to make a new one (look, I hate the whole "buy the old game again so we'll make a new game" thing just as much as anyone but at least this is a game most people outside of Japan haven't played before).
It's funny to me that when the game starts, the mode you are faced with is Hole of Druaga, as it's possibly the most complicated of all the modes, but also the most engaging. The dristone mechanic is so good I wish it was in every mode (apparently it is in older entries in the series), and every move made me feel the weight of everything I had done leading up to it. All the other modes are good, but this is the one I'm going to be sinking hours into, you could make a whole game out of it.
The presentation is exactly my shit. Love the art style to pieces, and I was shocked by how good the soundtrack is, and how unreasonably hard it goes in. And how about that credits music? It's another one for the list! As a side note, I love the way that the Mr. Driller series ties into Galaga, Dig-Dug, the Ace Combat series, and several other Namco arcade games. It's all done in a way that's endearingly complicated and not too in-your-face about it. (are there Mr. Driller fans who talk about "the deep lore" as obsessively and annoyingly as Kirby fans? If not, I'll start)
Really, the thing I'm most disappointed by is the fact that this isn't actually a new release, but instead a re-release of a Gamecube game that only came out in Japan. It just feels like a shame that the last truly new game in this series was a phone game released only in South Korea. Hopefully, this sells well enough to convince someone to make a new one (look, I hate the whole "buy the old game again so we'll make a new game" thing just as much as anyone but at least this is a game most people outside of Japan haven't played before).