User:Namcokid47/Mr. Driller

Mr. Driller (ミスタードリラー) is a puzzle video game franchise developed and published by Namco, now owned by their successor company Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series began in arcades in 1999 with Mr. Driller, running on the Namco System 12 arcade hardware, and would see several ports and sequels for arcades and home video game systems, the latest being the 2015 game Mr. Driller for Kakeo, released exclusively for mobile phones in South Korea. Early games in the series were developed by Project Driller, an internal development team at Namco in the 2000s.

The series stars Susumu Hori, the son of Dig Dug protagonist Taizo Hori and Baraduke protagonist Masuyo "Kissy" Tobi. Gameplay revolves around the player destroying colorful blocks in an attempt to reach the bottom of each stage. Blocks will disappear when four of a color are connected, which can cause large chain reactions. The player has an oxygen meter that will constantly drain as the game progresses - collecting air capsules will replenish a fraction of the meter. Brown-colored "X Blocks" take five hits to destroy, which will deplete a small portion of the player's oxygen meter.

The original Mr. Driller was originally intended as a third entry in Namco's own Dig Dug series, aptly titled Dig Dug 3. Technical restrains caused the project to be shelved, however Namco executives expressed interest in the project, causing the game to be revived as an official project. The series has received mostly mixed reviews from critics, who praised its addictive gameplay and characters, although some would criticize some entries for a poor presentation or lack of variety compared to other games.

Games

 * Mr. Driller is the first entry in the series, originally released for arcades in 1999. Ports for the Game Boy Color, WonderSwan Color, PlayStation and Dreamcast were released a year later in 2000. It established the series' core gameplay mechanics and introduced series protagonist Susumu Hori, who would appear in all games to follow. Home versions of the game were met with mixed to positive reviews, many praising its gameplay and characters while criticizing its lack of multiplayer and extra content. The PlayStation port of the game was released digitally onto the PlayStation Store on February 18, 2014, which was delisted from the North American storefront in April 2019. The PS version was also included on the North American version of the PlayStation Classic dedicated console.


 * Mr. Driller 2 was released for arcades in Japan in 2000. A Game Boy Advance version was released in Japan in 2001 as a system launch title, and worldwide in 2005. 2 introduces Susumu's German rival Anna Hottenmeyer and his dog Puchi, who became staple characters in the series. Several new mechanics were added, such as flashing "Crystal Blocks" that vanish after a brief period of time.


 * Mr. Driller G (Mr. Driller Great) was released for arcades and the PlayStation exclusively for Japan in 2001. The third installment introduced many recurring characters, including Susumu's older brother Ataru Hori, Dig Dug protagonist and father Taizo Hori, and the robotic drill Holinger-Z. G features a story mode, revolving around Susumu and company in their efforts to prevent antagonist Dr. Manhole from destroying the world with large, mechanical drills. A "Scenerio" mode is also included that adds power-up items, such as a speed boost and the ability to climb two blocks higher.


 * Mr. Driller A (Mr. Driller Ace) was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002, exclusive to Japan.


 * Mr. Driller Drill Spirits was released for the Nintendo DS in 2004, becoming a launch title for the system in North America, Europe and Japan.

Common elements
In Mr. Driller, after a character is selected and a country is selected, the player then drills a seemingly endless onslaught of colored blocks, ending with that country's given mileage (given in meters). The levels are randomly generated, and the blocks can merge with other similarly colored blocks, therefore disppearing after 4 or more blocks merge. There are 4 main colors of blocks: red, blue, green, and yellow. There are also 3 special kinds of blocks: white blocks, which are pale blocks that don't merge with other similarly colored ones; crystal blocks, blocks that last for around a few seconds before disappearing; and X-blocks, brown crate-like boxes that take 5 drill hits to disintegrate, and also take off 20% of the player's air supply. The player has an air supply that acts as his vitality gauge, and when it is under 30%, the player's complexion will turn blue and a bubble with an air capsule will appear over his head. To keep the air from running out, the player can collect air capsules that replenish the driller's health by 20%. A life is lost when the player's air runs out, or if he/she is squished by falling blocks. The gameplay has been described as "Dig Dug meets Tetris."

History and development
The Mr. Driller series began as a proposal by R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 director Yasuhito Nagaoka in 1998 as a second sequel to Dig Dug (1982), a classic arcade game from Namco that hadn't received a mainline installment since Dig Dug II (1985). Nagaoka's idea, Dig Dug 3, was a Boulder Dash-inspired puzzle game, a departure from the Dig Dug series' fast-paced action gameplay. It involved the player traveling down a well and destroying colorful hexagonal-shaped blocks, which would clump together in correspondingly-colored groups similar to games like Puyo Puyo. The Dig Dug 3 pitch caught the attention of Klonoa creator Hideo Yoshizawa, who became the project's producer and made multiple changes to the game, including the removal of the hexagonal block idea, a faster pace, and the name being changed to Mr. Driller. Namco released the game in 1999 to commercial success, and was re-released for consoles such as the Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, and WonderSwan Color.