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is a 1982
maze game A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lea ...
developed by
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...
. It is the first
arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arc ...
to be released as a conversion kit for other arcade machines;
Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...
published the conversion kit in Japan. The game was inspired by 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 ...
'' released earlier in 1982. ''Mr. Do!'' was a commercial success in Japan and North America, selling 30,000 arcade units in the US, and it was followed by several arcade sequels.


Gameplay

The object of ''Mr. Do!'' is to score as many points as possible by digging tunnels through the ground and collecting cherries. The title character, Mr. Do (a circus clown—except for the original Japanese version of the game, in which he is a snowman), is constantly chased by red dinosaur-like monsters called creeps, and the player loses a life if Mr. Do is caught by one. The game ends when the last life is lost. Cherries are distributed throughout the level in groups of eight, and collecting all the cherries in one group without a pause awards bonus points. A level is complete either when all cherries are removed, all creeps are destroyed, "EXTRA" is spelled, or a diamond is found. Mr. Do can defeat creeps by hitting them with his bouncing "power ball" or by dropping large apples on them. While the power ball is bouncing toward a creep, Mr. Do is defenseless. If the ball bounces into an area where there are no creeps to hit (such as behind a fallen apple), Mr. Do cannot use it again until he has retrieved it. When the power ball hits a creep, it then reforms in Mr. Do's hands after a delay that increases with each use. Mr. Do or the creeps can push an apple off the edge of a vertical tunnel and crush one or more creeps. If an apple falls more than its own height, it breaks and disappears. Mr. Do can also be crushed by a falling apple, causing a loss of life. Occasionally, the creeps transform briefly into more powerful multicolored monsters that can tunnel through the ground. If one of these digs through a cherry, it leaves fewer cherries for Mr. Do to collect. When it digs under an apple, it often crushes itself, other creeps, and/or Mr. Do. As the game progresses, a display at the top of the screen cycles through the letters in the word EXTRA. Every time the player's score reaches a multiple of 5,000 points, the highlighted letter enters the playfield as an Alphamonster, which can be defeated in the same manner as a creep. Defeating the Alphamonster awards its letter; collecting all five letters ends the level, plays a cut scene accompanied by the theme to ''
Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 ''tankōbon'' v ...
'', and awards the player an extra life. Alphamonsters attempt to eat any apples they encounter, which makes them difficult to crush. The creeps spawn at the center of the screen. After they have all appeared, the generator will turn into a food item; picking this up scores bonus points, freezes all the creeps, and calls out an Alphamonster (if one is not already on the field) and three large blue monsters. The latter can eat apples as well. The creeps stay frozen until the player either defeats all three blue monsters, defeats the Alphamonster (in which case any remaining blue monsters are turned into apples), loses a life, or completes the stage. Rarely, dropping an apple reveals a diamond which, if collected, completes the level and awards a bonus credit to the player.


Development

''Mr. Do!'' was created by Kazutoshi Ueda.
Translation
by Shmuplations. ).

Translation
by Source Gaming. ).
It was inspired by the gameplay 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 ...
'' game, similar to how many of Universal's other games took license from other companies' more successful games; i.e. '' Lady Bug'' (also designed by Ueda) being similar to ''
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
''. The idea for the power ball, came from Mr. Ueda observing a
Super Ball A Super Ball or Superball is a toy bouncy ball based on a type of synthetic rubber invented in 1964 by chemist Norman Stingley. It is an extremely elastic ball made of Zectron, which contains the synthetic polymer polybutadiene as well as hy ...
stuck on the roof of a home near the Universal office in Japan.


Ports

''Mr. Do!'' was ported to the
Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocesso ...
,
Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE ...
,
ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer expe ...
,
Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-mol ...
,
MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...
,
Neo Geo Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. The Neo Geo MVS was su ...
,
Tomy Tutor The Tomy Tutor, originally sold in Japan as the and in the UK as the Grandstand Tutor, is a home computer produced by the Japanese toymaker Tomy. It is architecturally similar, but not identical, to the TI-99/4A, and uses a similar Texas Instrum ...
, and
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
. A handheld
LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...
version was released by
Tomy is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Tak ...
in 1983. In the ColecoVision adaptation, the Alphamonster and sidekicks are unable to eat apples, making them easier to crush, but the blue monsters eat the shrubbery and cherries. Also, if an Alphamonster is over a letter that has already been acquired, the dinosaur monsters just freeze for a few seconds. The Apple II and Atari 8-bit computer versions were released in May 1985.


Reception

In Japan, ''Mr. Do!'' was one of the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1982, on the annual '' Game Machine'' chart. ''Game Machine'' later listed ''Mr. Do!'' on their June 15, 1983 issue as being the 21st highest-earning
table arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement M ...
of the month. The arcade game was also a commercial success in North America, where it became the best-selling conversion kit up until 1984, selling approximately 30,000 arcade units in the United States. On the ''
Play Meter ''Play Meter'' (initially ''Coin Industry Play Meter'') was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op amusement arcade industry, including jukebox and arcade game machines. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. ...
'' arcade charts, it topped the street locations chart in May 1983. On the ''RePlay'' arcade charts, it topped the software conversion kit charts for five months in 1983, in June and then from August through November. It was among the thirteen highest-earning arcade games of 1983 in the United States, according to the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA). ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website w ...
'' magazine gave the arcade original a positive review, stating that it "takes the best from" ''Dig Dug'' "and improves on it." ''Computer and Video Games'' later rated the ColecoVision version 81% and
Atari VCS The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor- ...
version 77% in 1989. ''Computer Games'' magazine gave the ColecoVision and
Coleco Adam The Coleco Adam is a home computer and expansion device for the ColecoVision released in 1983 by American toy and video game manufacturer Coleco. It was an attempt to follow on the success of the company's ColecoVision video game console. The Ad ...
conversions a B+ rating in 1985. ''
Famicom Tsūshin formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the ...
'' awarded the Super Famicom version of the game 25 out of 40. The four reviewers of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The ...
'' gave it 4.875 out of 10. All but Dan Hsu felt that ''Mr. Do!'' has fun gameplay, but they criticized the lack of enhancements to what was by then over a decade old game, and recommended that players only get it if it were released at significantly less than the normal retail price for an SNES cartridge. Their later feature on 16-bit games reported that, contrary to their hopes, the game was priced at over $50. In 1995,
Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...
magazine ranked the arcade version 67th on their "Top 100 Video Games."


Legacy

''Mr. Do!'' was followed by three sequels: ''
Mr. Do's Castle ''Mr. Do's Castle'' is a platform game released in arcades by Universal in September 1983. In Japan, the game is titled ''Mr. Do! versus Unicorns''. Marketed as a sequel to the original '' Mr. Do!'' released one year earlier, the game bears a ...
'' in 1983, '' Mr. Do's Wild Ride'', and ''
Do! Run Run ''Do! Run Run'', also known as ''Super Pierrot'' (スーパーピエロ ''Sūpā Piero''), is the fourth and final incarnation of '' Mr. Do!'', the Universal video game mascot. Returning to his Mr. Do! roots, the clown has a bouncing powerball ...
'' both in 1984. An expanded 99-level version of ''Mr. Do!'' was released in arcades by Electrocoin in 1988. ''Neo Mr. Do!'', was developed by Visco and licensed by Universal for
SNK is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 1978 ...
's
Neo Geo Neo Geo is a family of video game hardware developed by SNK. On the market from 1990 to 2004, the brand originated with the release of an arcade system, the Neo Geo MVS and its home console counterpart, the Neo Geo AES. The Neo Geo MVS was su ...
system in 1997. ''Mr. Do!'' was adapted to Nintendo's
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same tea ...
and
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...
with some new gameplay features. A
rebranded Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
adaptation of the game was released for the
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
in 1999 as ''Quest: Fantasy Challenge'' (''Holy Magic Century'' in Europe). It was developed by Imagineer. The arcade version was released for the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...
Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...
in Japan on April 27, 2010.


Impact

''Mr. Do!'' is credited as the first arcade game to be released as a conversion kit. Multiple clones of ''Mr. Do!'' were released for home systems, including '' Magic Meanies'' (ZX Spectrum), ''Henri'' (Atari 8-bit), '' Fruity Frank'' (Amstrad CPC, MSX), '' Mr. Dig'' (TRS-80 Color Computer, Atari 8-bit). and Mr Ee for the BBC Micro. The game's creator Kazutoshi Ueda went on to work at
Tehkan , 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 ''Captai ...
(now Tecmo) and then became a co-founder of
Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Tra ...
, where he worked on the ''
Megami Tensei ''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...
'' series. Ueda's work at Universal, particularly ''Mr. Do!'', inspired the game design style of Tehkan's Michitaka Tsuruta, who went on to create ''
Guzzler ''Guzzler'' is a maze video game developed and manufactured by Tehkan and licensed to Centuri for US distribution in 1983. It was released as an arcade conversion kit, including a new marquee and control panel, then ported to the SG-1000 console ...
'' (1983), ''
Bomb Jack ''Bomb Jack'' is a platform video game developed and published by Tehkan for arcades in and later ported to various home systems. The game was a commercial success for arcades and home computers. It was followed by several sequels: the console ...
'' (1984), '' Solomon's Key'' (1986), and the ''
Captain Tsubasa is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yōichi Takahashi. The series mainly revolves around the sport of association football focusing on Tsubasa Oozora and his relationship with his friends, rivalries with ...
'' game series.


References


External links

* {{Mr. Do 1982 video games Arcade video games Apple II games Atari 2600 games Atari 8-bit family games ColecoVision games Commodore 64 games MSX games Game Boy games Game Boy Color games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games X68000 games U.S. Gold games Video games about clowns Video games developed in Japan Virtual Console games Universal Entertainment games Single-player video games Taito arcade games