Mr. Driller
Dig, Dig, and Dig!
Developer: Placeholder
Platforms: SNES
Release Date: JP: Oct. 27, 1995 NA: Aug. 11, 1996 EU: Nov. 28, 1996
Mr. Driller! I love this game. It isn't quite a puzzle game in the traditional sense, instead it’s about surviving and digging down a well of puzzle game falling blocks. They’re affected by gravity, so the main threat is getting squished by blocks above you. You’re also constantly running out of air, so you can't always plan out every little move- you have to keep going and react on the fly to which blocks are dropping. Different colors of blocks will connect with each other and are all cleared together when you drill through them. You have to try to watch for blocks that will stick together and make a solid foundation above you. It's such a unique game and it’s also a little terrifying.
As the intro tells you, the town is overrun with blocks! Young driller Susumu dives in to see where the blocks are coming from. For fans of Namco games being very interconnected, he’s the son of Taizo Hori (Dig Dug) and Masuyo “Kissy” Tobi from Baraduke. Things didn’t work out for them for long, sadly, and now Dig Dug from Namco is a divorced father character. Divorce leads children to the worst places (giant pit full of blocks). That's not really important, but I think it’s good to know. Susumu drills down and finds little blue Undergrounders along the way, until he finally reaches a throne room. He speaks to the king of the Undergrounders, and learns that the blocks are their favorite food, which was being mass-produced. They didn't realize the impacts of that on the surface world... Susumu loses his temper and tells the king to stop and be more careful! The king agrees, and Susumu gets lifted out of the pit by a helicopter. All is well again, for now. Adorable.
Since the blocks are food, it turns out that each one has a canonical flavor! But it’s also confirmed that no, Susumu can’t eat them. Isn’t that sad?
As you go further down, your reaction time will get tested more and more. You can sidle up blocks, and there will be a lot of close calls where you pull yourself up just in the nick of time. Making sure you pay attention to what's above you, moving forward and collecting air, not accidentally trapping yourself in the garbage blocks; doing this all at once is demanding and satisfying to get better at. Every few layers you get a level with less block colors and more open space that you’ll end up free falling through. It's easier, but still a little scary and a fun change of pace. By the end, the odds are so heavily stacked against you- your air drains as fast as you can refill it. If you make it all the way to the end, pat yourself on the back!
There's so many good songs in this game just like crazy ethereal songs and also the loudest title screen music in existence. I should check if it's like that on the arcade version. This game is so charming and cute and fun and also terrifying it is it is one of the scariest puzzle games this is what it's like to be in one of those Wells and it's claustrophobic and horrible and it's great.
Connie's Collectibles that really cute looking plush set I should put a picture of that here and if there's anything else for this game specifically I should find it.
Are there any secrets in this game I don't know I forget I'll have to look that up. Mostly it's just doing 500 M and 1,000 M and actually the measurement might be different in the American version in a funny way.
The following games in the series would add a lot to the Mr. Driller world and I like them all quite a bit, but I think overall the first game is probably my favorite of the ones I’ve played so far. It's just very simple, and it's got a great presentation to it. As much as I'd like to link a delightful live performance of the Mr. Driller main theme, “Susume! Driller” sung by Mitsuko Horie, it actually debuted in the next game. Maybe I can link it anyway. No one will stop me…
Thank you for reading!
