is a
puzzle video game franchise created by Yasuhito Nagaoka and
Hideo Yoshizawa
born September 2, 1960, is a Japanese video game director, screenwriter, and producer, most famous for his work on the ''Ninja Gaiden'' and '' Klonoa'' series of video games. Prior to being employed by Namco, he worked for Tecmo and was involve ...
for
Namco
was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...
. The
eponymous first game was released in 1999 for arcades and several home consoles, such as the
PlayStation. Gameplay in the series consists of controlling Susumu Hori, the titular Mr. Driller, or one of his friends and destroying colorful formations of blocks to make it to the bottom of a well. In order to survive, players need to collect air capsules to replenish their depleting oxygen and avoid being crushed by falling blocks.
Nagaoka intended ''Mr. Driller'' to be the third mainline entry in Namco's ''
Dig Dug
is a maze arcade game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in 1982, distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player controls Dig Dug to defeat all enemies per stage, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rock ...
'' series. The two franchises have since been directly connected to one another through sharing characters and similar gameplay concepts. Project Driller was established as the development team for the series, which produced four sequels from 2000 to 2004.
Bandai Namco Entertainment became the owner of the ''Mr. Driller'' property after Namco's 2005 merger with
Bandai
is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
, where it released several more installments for digital distribution services and mobile devices.
The ''Mr. Driller'' series was popular in Japan and its characters have become synonymous with the Namco brand. Reception from western publications has varied depending on the game. Most critics agree the series benefits from its simplicity and addictive nature, though several installments have been criticized for their lack of content and recycling of assets from earlier games.
Titles
Games
* ''
Mr. Driller'' (1999) was first released to arcades for Namco's
System 11 arcade hardware. It was later ported to several consoles, including the
Game Boy Color,
PlayStation,
Dreamcast
The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, Nint ...
,
WonderSwan Color
The (ワンダースワン) is a handheld game console released in Japan by Bandai. It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto Laboratory and Bandai, and was the last piece of hardware Yokoi developed before his death in 1997. Released ...
,
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
, and
mobile phones. It introduces the core components of the series, the character Susumu Hori, and a story involving creatures known as Undergrounders flooding the Earth with giant blocks.
* ''
Mr. Driller 2'' (2000) was released for arcades in Japan and later for the
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
and Windows. The sequel features Susumu's rival, the hot-headed German driller Anna Hottenmeyer, alongside improvements such as increasing the game speed, two-player cooperative play, and additional game modes.
* ''
Mr. Driller G'' (2001) was released for arcades and the PlayStation in Japan, serving as the final ''Mr. Driller'' game for arcades and the first developed by Project Driller. In addition to including a story-driven campaign mode, ''G'' adds several new playable characters, including Susumu's older brother Ataru Hori, his father Taizo Hori, the dog Puchi, and the drilling robot Horinger-Z.
* ''
Mr. Driller A'' (2002) was released in Japan for the Game Boy Advance. The game presents new mechanics and concepts that are designed after classic role-playing games, as opposed to the fast-paced action of previous installments. Players can also care for and train a virtual pet named a "Pacteria" through progress made in the main game.
* ''
Mr. Driller Drill Land'' (2002) was released for the
GameCube in Japan. The game is more ambitious than previous ''Mr. Driller'' games, featuring multiple game modes that vary in gameplay. These modes are tied together through a menu and presentation designed after an amusement park. In 2020, the game was remastered for the Nintendo Switch and
PC through
Steam with English subtitles.
* ''Mr. Driller: Driller Puzzle'' (2003) was released for Japanese mobile phones through
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
and
i-Mode
NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet (distinct from wireless internet) service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocols, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail, and the pa ...
. The game has players completing a series of levels in the quickest amount of time. A sequel named ''Mr. Driller: Driller Puzzle S'' was released in 2006.
* ''
Mr. Driller Drill Spirits'' (2004) was released for the Nintendo DS and takes advantage of the system's dual screens.
The game reuses concepts established in ''Drill Land'' and includes boss fights, item shops, and multiplayer modes.
*''Mr. Driller Aqua'' (2006) was released for Japanese mobile phones through the i-Mode and
EZweb
au, or au by KDDI, is a Japanese mobile phone operator. au is a brand marketed by KDDI in the main islands of Japan and by Okinawa Cellular in Okinawa for their mobile cellular services. au is the second-largest wireless carrier in Japan, wit ...
networks. It features an aquatic theme and was available for a limited time through
Namco Bandai Games' mobile phone content providers.
*''
Mr. Driller Online'' (2008) was released for the
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
as a downloadable release. It contains an online multiplayer mode that is accessible through the
Xbox Live online subscription service, though a single-player mode is also available.
*''Mr. Driller: Drill Till You Drop'' (2009) was released for the
Nintendo DSi
The is a dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony's ...
through the
DSiWare
This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 201 ...
service, and is titled ''Sakkuto Hama Reru Hori Hori Action: Mr. Driller'' in Japan. It features the "Dristone" role-playing game mode from ''G'' and ''Drill Land'', where players collect crystals that have varying effects on the game.
*''
Mr. Driller W'' (2009) was released for the WiiWare service for the Wii, and is known as ''Mr. Driller World'' in Japan. W reuses mechanics from Drill Land while being presented in high-definition and featuring online leaderboards.
*''Mr. Driller VS'' (2010) was released for i-Mode cellular devices in Japan. It includes a local multiplayer mode and online co-op using
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
. The servers were shut down in May 2011.
*''Mr. Driller for Kakao'' (2015) was developed and published by
Netmarble
Netmarble Corp. (Hangul, Korean: 넷마블 주식회사) is a South Korean mobile game developer. It is South Korea's largest mobile-gaming company which was founded in 2000 by Bang Jun-hyuk.
Overview
Netmarble developed ''Lineage 2 Revolution ...
for
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
in South Korea. It uses free-to-play elements and involves players trying to collect pets that are trapped inside blocks.
Common elements
The ''Mr. Driller'' games are puzzle action games and have been described as a cross between ''
Puyo Puyo
''Puyo Puyo'' (ぷよぷよ), previously known as ''Puyo Pop'' outside Japan, is a series of tile-matching video games created by Compile. Sega has owned the franchise since 1998, with games after 2001 being developed by Sonic Team. ''Puyo Puyo ...
'' and ''
Dig Dug
is a maze arcade game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in 1982, distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player controls Dig Dug to defeat all enemies per stage, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rock ...
''.
Players control a character that must destroy, or "drill", colorful formations of blocks in order to reach the bottom of a well.
Blocks of the same color can connect to each other; if four of a kind connect, they are destroyed, which can be used to create chain reactions. The player has a constantly depleting oxygen meter that can be replenished by collecting blue air capsules. Oxygen is lost by destroying brown "x"-marked blocks, which take five hits to destroy. Certain characters have their own attributes and abilities, such as depleting oxygen less and moving faster.
Later games introduce mechanics such as star-marked blocks that disappear after a brief period, boss fights, power-ups, and game modes that implement ideas from role-playing games.
Development
The original ''Mr. Driller'' was created by ''
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4'' director Yasuhito Nagaoka and former
Tecmo
, was a Japanese video game corporation founded in 1967. It had its headquarters in Kudankita, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its subsidiary, Tecmo Inc, was located in Torrance, California. Tecmo was formerly known as Tehkan.
Tecmo is known for the ''Captain ...
employee
Hideo Yoshizawa
born September 2, 1960, is a Japanese video game director, screenwriter, and producer, most famous for his work on the ''Ninja Gaiden'' and '' Klonoa'' series of video games. Prior to being employed by Namco, he worked for Tecmo and was involve ...
.
Nagaoka drafted the game in 1998 as a second sequel to ''Dig Dug'', a classic Namco arcade game from 1982, aptly named ''Dig Dug 3''.
The game was designed to be more puzzle-like in gameplay structure, a contrast to the action-oriented gameplay of ''Dig Dug'' and ''
Dig Dug II
is an action arcade video game developed and published in Japan by Namco in 1985. It is a sequel to 1982's ''Dig Dug''. Pookas and fire-breathing Fygars return as the enemies, but the side view tunneling of the original is replaced with an overhe ...
''. Yoshizawa made several alterations to Nagaoka's prototype build, including the renaming to Mr. Driller. Namco released the game in arcades in 1999 to critical and commercial success.
''Mr. Driller'' was ported to several platforms, including the Dreamcast, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color.
Yoshizawa and Nagaoka quickly began work on a sequel, ''Mr. Driller 2'', in late 1999. The two worked to implement new features, such as a second-player character and making the gameplay faster and more chaotic than the original. The sequel was released for arcades in 2000 to moderate success and was followed by a port for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. The Game Boy Advance version was a launch title for the system and sold over 100,000 copies,
however, the game wasn't released in North America and Europe until 2005.
The third entry, ''Mr. Driller G'', was released in 2001 for arcades and later the PlayStation. The game was created to be more story-driven than the previous installments, which expanded on the ''Mr. Driller'' universe and helped bridge the connection between the ''Mr. Driller'' and ''Dig Dug'' franchises. Taizo Hori, the protagonist of the ''Dig Dug'' series, is a playable character in G and is revealed to be the father of Susumu and his older brother Ataru Hori. The PlayStation version was only moderately successful with around 10,000 being sold during launch week.
Yoshizawa intended ''G'' to be the final game in the series, but Namco was approached by Nintendo to create a ''Mr. Driller'' game for the GameCube that took advantage of the console's
GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable
The GameCube Game Boy Advance cable (DOL-011) is a cable used to connect the Game Boy Advance (GBA) to the GameCube (GCN). Depending on the games, the cable may facilitate unlocking additional content, turning the GBA into a second screen, turnin ...
peripheral.
This resulted in the creation of ''Mr. Driller A'' for the Game Boy Advance and ''Mr. Driller Drill Land'' for the GameCube in 2002. ''A'' implemented a
Tamagotchi
The is a handheld digital pet that was created in Japan by Akihiro Yokoi of WiZ and Aki Maita of Bandai. It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the USA on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the biggest toy fads o ...
-inspired virtual pet that could be transferred to ''Drill Land''. Though ''Drill Land'' received the most acclaim out of any game in the series, its exclusivity to the GameCube made it a commercial failure.
Namco became less interested in supporting the franchise as a result.
''Mr. Driller Drill Spirits'', the second portable entry in the series, was released in 2004 for the Nintendo DS and reused many of ''Drill Land''s game modes and assets, though condensed to meet the system's hardware limitations.
Namco's North American division stripped most of its content in order for it to be ready in time for the launch of the DS in the United States, a move that garnered significant criticism from publications.
Namco Bandai Games became the owner of the ''Mr. Driller'' intellectual property after Namco's 2005 merger with
Bandai
is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
. ''Mr. Driller Online'' (2008) for the Xbox 360, ''Mr. Driller: Drill Till You Drop'' (2009) for DSiWare, and ''Mr. Driller W'' (2009) for WiiWare all recycle art assets and pre-established concepts from earlier games. Yoshizawa considered ''Drill Till You Drop'' to be the "culmination" of the series and likely the last one he would develop.
By the early 2010s, Namco Bandai largely abandoned the property outside several mobile phone spin-offs.
In 2020, Bandai Namco Entertainment began to remaster of ''Drill Land'' for the Nintendo Switch and PC as part of its Encore series of remasters. The decision to remaster the game was based on the success of the remake for ''
Katamari Damacy
() is a third-person puzzle-action video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan in March 2004 and in North America in September 2004. Designer Keita Takahashi struggled to pitch the game to Namc ...
'' (2004).
Yoshizawa, who had left Bandai Namco in 2016, supervised the project.
The remaster was released in 2020 worldwide, titled ''Mr. Driller Encore'' in Japan.
Maya Ito, the producer for ''Encore'', says Bandai Namco would consider continuing the series if the remake was popular enough.
Related games
The scrolling shooters ''
Baraduke'' (1985) and ''
Bakutotsu Kijutei'' (1988) have retroactively been connected to the ''Mr. Driller'' series through ''Baradukes protagonist, Masuyo Tobi, having been formerly married to Taizo Hori.
The 2002 arcade game ''
Star Trigon'' adopts many of ''Mr. Driller''s characters and concepts. ''Star Trigon'' is a puzzle game where players hop across planets to create triangles in order to rescue yellow creatures.
Project Driller developed ''Star Trigon'' and is considered a spin-off of the ''Mr. Driller'' series. The game was ported to mobile phones and Windows in 2008.
In 2005, Namco revived its ''Dig Dug'' series with ''
Dig Dug: Digging Strike'' for the Nintendo DS. The game was designed to be closer to the company's original vision of ''Mr. Driller'', and features gameplay that combines mechanics present in ''Dig Dug'', ''Dig Dug II'', and ''Mr. Driller''. ''Digging Strike'' was part of Namco's continuing efforts in making ''Dig Dug'' and ''Mr. Driller'' part of the company's pillar franchises.
It received mixed reviews and was primarily criticized for its lack of long-lasting appeal and replay value. The 2005 compilation ''
NamCollection
is a video game compilation released in July 2005 by Namco in Japan only to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. The compilation includes five PlayStation video games (''Ace Combat 2'', '' Klonoa: Door to Phantomile'', '' Mr. Driller'', ''Rid ...
'' includes ''Mr. Driller'' along with four other Namco-published PlayStation games for the
PlayStation 2, in addition to bonus material such as conceptual art.
Reception
In Japan, the ''Mr. Driller'' series was commercially and critically successful, and its characters have become synonymous with the Namco brand. The original received the 1st Arcadia Grand Prize from the Japanese magazine ''
Monthly Arcadia
was a Japanese arcade game magazine, published by Enterbrain.
History
''Monthly Arcadia'' launched on December 8, 1999. It was the successor to the then popular magazine ''Gamest
was a Japanese video game magazine that specialized in covering ...
'', and Namco received a prestigious award from ''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
'' for ''Drill Land''. Famitsu awarded the Game Boy Color port of ''Mr. Driller'', ''Mr. Driller G'', and the Game Boy Advance port of ''Mr. Driller 2'' the Silver Hall of Fame awards, while ''Mr. Driller A'' and ''Drill Land'' received the Gold Hall of Fame award.
Western perception of the series has varied depending on the game, though consensus agrees its gameplay is simple and addictive. The Dreamcast conversion of ''Mr. Driller'' received negative attention from the press for being technically inferior to Namco's previous Dreamcast offering, the 3D weapon-based fighter ''
Soulcalibur
is a weapon-based fighting video game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
There are seven main installments of video games and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books. The first game in the series, '' ...
''. Journalist Jeremy Parish speculates this backlash resulted in the series receiving a largely lukewarm reception outside Japan.
''Mr. Driller G'' and ''Drill Land'' have been ranked as the best in the series for their quality and amount of content,
while ''Online'', ''W'', and ''Drill Till You Drop'' have been listed as the weakest for their poor presentation and lack of innovation. ''Online'' in particular was negatively received for its online multiplayer, which multiple reviews found to have been unfinished and "broken".
''Drill Spirits'' and home ports of ''Mr. Driller'' and ''Mr. Driller 2'' were criticized for being barren of content, though the Japanese and European releases of ''Drill Spirits'' have been identified as being a far bigger improvement over the North American version for their inclusion of additional game modes.
Notes
References
External links
Official website (Japanese)
{{Bandai Namco franchises
Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises
Video game franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1999