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Mr. Driller (video game)

December 20, 2023

Mr. Driller[a] is a 1999 puzzle arcade game developed and published by Namco. Versions for the PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color, WonderSwan Color, mobile phones, and iOS were also released. Controlling Susumu Hori, the titular "Mr. Driller", the player must dig their way to the bottom of the screen by destroying colored blocks that litter the playfield. Blocks will be cleared if four or more are touching each other, which can be used to cause chain reactions. Susumu has a constantly-depleting oxygen meter that can be refilled by collecting air capsules found throughout stages.

Mr. Driller
European advertising flyer
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)
Namco
  • Namco
    PlayStation
    Dreamcast, Game Boy Color
    Windows
    • JP: Namco
    • EU: Midas Interactive Entertainment
    iOS
    Namco Networks
Director(s)Yasuhito Nagaoka
Producer(s)Hideo Yoshizawa
Designer(s)Yasuhito Nagaoka
Artist(s)Kaori Shinozaki
Composer(s)Go Shiina
SeriesMr. Driller
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color, WonderSwan Color, mobile phone, iOS
Release
November 1999
  • Arcade
    • JP: November 1999
    • WW: 1999
    PlayStation, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color
    • NA: May 9, 2000 (PS)
    • NA: June 23, 2000 (DC)[1]
    • JP: June 29, 2000
    • NA: August 2, 2000 (GBC)
    • PAL: 2000
    Windows
    • JP: March 2, 2001
    • EU: 2001
    WonderSwan Color
    • JP: April 15, 2001
    Mobile
    September 20, 2004
    iOS
    August 28, 2009
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player
Arcade systemNamco System 12

Mr. Driller was designed by Yasuhito Nagaoka and produced by Hideo Yoshizawa, best known for his work on Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and the Ninja Gaiden series. It was intended as the third entry in Namco's Dig Dug series, tentatively titled Dig Dug 3. Originally meant to be exclusive to home consoles, it was instead made an arcade game to help increase sales. The game was completed before it was ever pitched, leading to a lengthy process that ended with the game being presented to company president Masaya Nakamura.

Upon release, Mr. Driller was met with mostly positive reviews from critics — reviewers praised its "refreshing" gameplay premise, colorful visuals and soundtrack, although criticized its low replay value and lack of extra content. It was met with a long series of sequels and spin-offs for multiple platforms, beginning with Mr. Driller 2 in 2000. The PlayStation version of the game was released for the PlayStation Store under the PSOne Classics series in 2014, and was also included as one of the 20 games in the PlayStation Classic mini console.

Gameplay edit

 
Arcade version screenshot

Mr. Driller is a puzzle video game, commonly described as a mix between Dig Dug and Columns.[2] The player controls Susumu Hori, the titular "Mr. Driller", who must destroy all of the piling-up blocks before they take over the city of Downtown.[3] The objective is to make it to the bottom of the stage by destroying, or "drilling", colored blocks that litter the playfield.[3] Susumu can move left and right to drill surrounding blocks, and can also jump up a block next to him by moving against it.[3] Blocks can also be cleared if four or more touch each other, which can be used to cause chain reactions.[3] Blocks will also fall if there is nothing underneath to support them, which can crush Susumu and lose a life if he is under them.[3]

Susumu has an oxygen meter at the right-hand side of the screen, which constantly depletes as the game progresses — Susumu can replenish part of his oxygen meter by collecting air capsules found throughout the game.[3] Susumu will lose a portion of his oxygen if he drills brown "X-Blocks", which take five hits to destroy, and will lose a life if his meter reaches 0%.[3] A skull-and-crossbones symbol will appear over Susumu's head if his oxygen dips under 30% as a warning sign.[3] The home console versions of the game add two new game modes, a "Time Attack" mode where Susumu must constantly collect clocks to reduce his elapsed time, and a "Survival Mode" where the player must drill as much as they can before dying.[4]

Development edit

 
Concept art of the player character.

Mr. Driller was designed by Yasuhito Nagaoka and produced by Hideo Yoshizawa, the latter being known for his work on the Ninja Gaiden series for Tecmo.[5] Nagaoka based the concept of Mr. Driller on a Japanese children's game, where at a beach players had to stand a piece of wood in the middle of the sand and carve away the sand without knocking down the wood.[6] The idea of a person being in the sand pile instead of the wood intrigued Nagaoka, who believed it made for an interesting game idea.[6] He also based Mr. Driller on Dig Dug, a classic Namco arcade game from 1982. The prototype was named Dig Dug 3 and starred Dig Jr., a tall and lanky character intended as the son of Dig Dug protagonist Taizo Hori. Nagaoka was designing Dig Dug 3 as a title for home consoles, as arcades at the time were dominated by fighting games.[5]

When Nagaoka showed the prototype game to Yoshizawa, he became immediately interested and joined the project as its producer. Yoshizawa convinced Nagaoka to make Dig Dug 3 an arcade game, believing it would become lost in a crowded home console market.[5] Several changes were made when Yoshizawa joined the project, which included a faster pace, a new player character, and the game being renamed to Mr. Driller.[6][5] The characters and graphical style were designed by Namco artist Kaori Shinozaki, who had previously assisted in production of Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and LiberoGrande.[7] Shinozaki wanted the characters and look of Mr. Driller to appeal to a wide audience. She used bright, pastel colors like pink and blue to create a bright, colorful world, and designed Susumu to be cute and marketable. The development staff for Mr. Driller designed the game before they ever pitched it to Namco executives, and planned out a location test without any idea how well the game would perform. The game's development cycle, which Yoshizawa described as "the opposite of the typical game development and sales pitch", lead to a lengthy process that ended with the game being pitched directly to Masaya Nakamura, the president and executive chairman of Namco.[5] His approval of the game lead to him being mentioned in the end credits.[8] Minoru Sashida, a graphic designer for games such as Techno Drive and Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere, designed the graphical interface and the overall look of the game.[9]

The soundtrack for Mr. Driller was composed by Go Shiina, a then-new hire for Namco. As the company's other composers were more interested in working on larger franchises, Shiina was assigned to be the composer for Mr. Driller as nobody else signed on.[6] Shiina is known for his strange and unusual-sounding soundtracks, which Yoshizawa felt was a perfect fit for the game's style. He originally made the music sound like "pretty normal puzzle game music", which Yoshizawa rejected and encouraged him to do whatever he pleased for the music.[6] When the finished product was presented to the sales department of Namco, executives estimated that 3,000 units had to be sold in order for the game to turn a profit.[5]

Release edit

Namco demonstrated Mr. Driller at the 1999 Amusement Machine Show (AMO) in Tokyo, alongside Crisis Zone and Sweet Land 4.[10] The game attracted attention for its colorful graphics and original concept; Game Machine in particular believed that its simplicity would make it a sure-fire hit in arcades.[11] The game was released in Japan October 1999, running on the Namco System 12 arcade system board and sold only as a conversion kit for other arcade units.[12][13] Namco released the game in North America the same month, and in Europe later that year.

A PlayStation conversion of the game was released on May 10, 2000, followed by a Dreamcast version on June 23,[1] a Microsoft Windows version and a Game Boy Color version later that year. A version for the WonderSwan Color was released exclusively in Japan on April 5, 2001. A mobile phone port was distributed in 2005.[14] The PlayStation port was digitally re-released onto the PlayStation Store on February 18, 2014 under the "PSOne Classic" brand, which was delisted from the North American storefront on April 4, 2019.[15] The PlayStation version is also one of the 20 built-in games in the PlayStation Classic dedicated console.[16]

Reception edit

The PlayStation, Dreamcast, PC and mobile versions received favorable reviews, while the Game Boy Color and iOS versions received mixed reviews, according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[17][18][19][20][21][22] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 32 out of 40 for the PlayStation and Dreamcast versions,[30][32] and 30 out of 40 for the Game Boy Color version.[31]

The game was praised for its visuals, addictiveness and soundtrack. The arcade version had exceeded Namco's expectations, selling over 3,000 arcade units shortly after its release.[5]

Reviewing the PlayStation version, IGN stated that it is "quirky, different, and speedy arcade fun", praising its simplistic gameplay and "quirky" graphical style.[44] IGN also praised its soundtrack, comparing it favorably to music composed by Capcom and Konami.[44] NextGen commended the game's layer of strategy and controls.[45] GameSpot applauded the PlayStation port for its "refreshing" gameplay, colorful graphics and catchy music, while AllGame praised its pick-up-and-play gameplay and "clean" character graphics.[25] GameSpot liked the mobile phone version's portability and addictiveness, calling it "a stellar mobile port of a great game",[14] and praised the Game Boy Color port's faithfulness to the original. IGN highly praised the Dreamcast version for its fresh gameplay idea, addictive gameplay and cute visuals.[44]

Criticism was drawn towards the game's lack of replay value and low amount of content. IGN noted that the game was not a "long-term kinda game", saying that it was only best played in short bursts.[44] GameSpot echoed a similar response, criticizing the PlayStation and Game Boy Color versions for lacking any sort of replay value and being a "short-lived" experience,[2][39] while AllGame disliked the poor amount of content and presentation, unfavorably comparing it to Puzzle Bobble.[25] GameSpot also criticized the PlayStation version for not having a multiplayer mode, although noted that the $20 price point made this somewhat forgivable.[2]

The Game Boy Color version was nominated for "Best Puzzle Game" at GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2000 Awards, which went to Samba de Amigo.[48]

Sequels and legacy edit

Mr. Driller was met with a long series of sequels and spin-offs for several platforms. The first of these, aptly titled Mr. Driller 2, was released for arcades in 2000 and followed by a Game Boy Advance port a year later, adding multiplayer and new gameplay mechanics.[49] Mr. Driller G was released for both arcades and the PlayStation in 2001 for Japan only, adding a story mode and new characters, including Dig Dug series protagonist Taizo Hori.[50] A Game Boy Advance game, Mr. Driller A, was released in Japan in 2002, featuring support for the GameCube - Game Boy Advance link cable peripheral, which could be used for Mr. Driller: Drill Land for the GameCube, also released in 2002. Mr. Driller Drill Spirits was released as a launch title for the Nintendo DS in Japan and North America in 2004, and in Europe in 2005. Mr. Driller Aqua, an aquatic-themed spin-off, was released for Japanese mobile phones in 2006.[51] An Xbox 360 sequel, Mr. Driller Online, was released in 2008.[52] Two digital-only sequels, Mr. Driller W and Mr. Driller: Drill Till You Drop, were released in 2009.[53][54]

Protagonist Susumu Hori would make multiple cameos in later Namco video games. He appears as a playable character in the arcade game Star Trigon,[55] and as a supporting character in Dig Dug: Digging Strike, where he would assist the player in sinking parts of the island.[56] The PlayStation Portable version of Pac-Man World Rally adds Susumu and his dog Puchi as playable characters, alongside Mappy. Susumu is also an unlockable character in the Game Boy Advance game Family Tennis Advance and as part of the "Namco Stars" baseball team in the iOS title Famista Dream Match. Susumu also appears in the now-defunct browser game Namco High, simply known as "Mr. Driller".[57]

In 2022, Mr. Driller was added as part of the premium collection for PlayStation Plus.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Japanese: ミスタードリラー, Hepburn: Misutā Dorirā
  2. ^ In GameFan's viewpoint of the PlayStation version, three critics gave it each a score of 84, 69, and 60.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Williamson, Colin (June 23, 2000). "Mr. Driller Is Out in America". IGN. Ziff Davis. from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Bartholow, Peter (May 26, 2000). "Mr. Driller Review (PS) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. from the original on January 29, 2005. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Mr. Driller Game Boy Color instruction manual (PDF). Namco. 2000. (PDF) from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "Mr. Driller PlayStation Classic digital manual" (PDF). SIE Worldwide Studios. 2018. (PDF) from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Kemps, Heidi (March 27, 2018). "INTERVIEW: Hideo Yoshizawa and Keiji Yamagishi". Gaming.moe. from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e Parish, Jeremy (September 20, 2012). . 1Up.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
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  8. ^ Namco (November 1999). Mr. Driller (Arcade). Namco. Scene: Credits.
  9. ^ Murakami, Munjo (March 4, 2016). "「ナムコ遺伝子」を継ぐ者が大集結！ 30年前の受付ロボ復活劇". ITMedia (in Japanese). from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  10. ^ "37th Amusement Machine Show" (PDF). Game Machine. Amusement Press. 15 October 1999. p. 8. (PDF) from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  11. ^ "TVアクションパズル「Mr.ドリラー」" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 599. Amusement Press. November 15, 1999. p. 15. (PDF) from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  12. ^ Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト 国内•海外編 (1971-2005) (in Japanese) (1st ed.). Amusement News Agency. pp. 54, 127, 159. ISBN 978-4990251215.
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  14. ^ a b c Palley, Steve (February 1, 2005). "Mr. Driller Review (Mobile)". GameSpot. Red Ventures. from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  15. ^ Glagowski, Peter (April 4, 2019). "PS1 classic Mr. Driller gets delisted from PSN store". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
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  23. ^ Miller, Skyler. . AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
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  27. ^ Gaudiosi, Peyton (June 9, 2000). . Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  28. ^ Edge staff (August 2000). "Mr. Driller (PS) [US Import]" (PDF). Edge. No. 87. Future Publishing. p. 90. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  29. ^ Smith, Shawn (June 2000). "Mr. Driller (PS)" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 131. Ziff Davis. p. 169. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
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  32. ^ a b "ミスタードリラー [PS]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  33. ^ "Mr. Driller (GBC)". Game Informer. No. 87. FuncoLand. July 2000.
  34. ^ "Mr. Driller (PS)". Game Informer. No. 86. FuncoLand. June 2000.
  35. ^ "REVIEW for Mr. Driller (DC)". GameFan. Shinno Media. June 26, 2000.
  36. ^ Rodriguez, Tyrone "Cerberus" (June 2000). "Mr. Driller (PS)". GameFan. Vol. 8, no. 6. Shinno Media. p. 52. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  37. ^ Mylonas, Eric "ECM"; Ngo, George "Eggo"; Weitzner, Jason "Fury" (June 2000). "Mr. Driller (PS)". GameFan. Vol. 8, no. 6. Shinno Media. p. 12. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  38. ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (July 6, 2000). "Mr. Driller Review (DC) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. from the original on January 27, 2005. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  39. ^ a b Provo, Frank (August 7, 2000). "Mr. Driller Review (GBC) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  40. ^ Mr. Domino (June 30, 2000). . PlanetDreamcast. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  41. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (June 28, 2000). "Mr. Driller (DC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  42. ^ Harris, Craig (August 10, 2000). "Mr. Driller (GBC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  43. ^ Buchanan, Levi (September 2, 2009). "Mr. Driller Review (iOS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  44. ^ a b c d e Bishop, Sam (May 23, 2000). "Mr. Driller (PS)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  45. ^ a b Fischer, Blake (September 2000). "Mr. Driller (PS)". NextGen. No. 69. Imagine Media. p. 108. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  46. ^ Baker, Chris (June 2000). "Mr. Driller". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. Vol. 3, no. 9. Ziff Davis. p. 107. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  47. ^ Holden, Anthony (July 2001). "Mr Driller". PC Zone. No. 104. Dennis Publishing. p. 60. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  48. ^ GameSpot staff (January 5, 2001). . GameSpot. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on February 14, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  49. ^ Provo, Frank (April 29, 2005). "Mr. Driller 2 Review". GameSpot. Red Ventures. from the original on May 23, 2005. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  50. ^ Kawamoto, Masumi (November 22, 2001). "シリーズの集大成ともいえる穴掘りアクション 「ミスタードリラーグレート」". GAME Watch (in Japanese). Impress Group. from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  51. ^ Ota, Ryozo (July 26, 2006). "バンダイナムコ、EZweb向け新作「ミスタードリラーアクア」". MOBILE Watch (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  52. ^ IGN staff (March 31, 2008). "Namco Bandai Games Brings Classic Mr. Driller Online to Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday". from the original on April 11, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  53. ^ J. Reed, Philip (August 26, 2009). "Mr. Driller W Review (WiiWare)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  54. ^ Dillard, Corbie (April 8, 2010). "Mr. Driller: Drill Till You Drop Review (DSiWare)". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  55. ^ IGN staff (September 16, 2008). "Star Trigon Rockets onto iPhones and iPods". IGN. Ziff Davis. from the original on August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  56. ^ Theobald, Phil (October 21, 2005). "GameSpy: Dig Dug: Digging Strike". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  57. ^ Prell, Sam (December 21, 2013). "Date Namco characters and the Galaga ship in Namco High". Engadget. Yahoo. from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2022.

External links edit

December 20, 2023
driller, video, game, driller, 1999, puzzle, arcade, game, developed, published, namco, versions, playstation, dreamcast, microsoft, windows, game, color, wonderswan, color, mobile, phones, were, also, released, controlling, susumu, hori, titular, driller, pla. Mr Driller a is a 1999 puzzle arcade game developed and published by Namco Versions for the PlayStation Dreamcast Microsoft Windows Game Boy Color WonderSwan Color mobile phones and iOS were also released Controlling Susumu Hori the titular Mr Driller the player must dig their way to the bottom of the screen by destroying colored blocks that litter the playfield Blocks will be cleared if four or more are touching each other which can be used to cause chain reactions Susumu has a constantly depleting oxygen meter that can be refilled by collecting air capsules found throughout stages Mr DrillerEuropean advertising flyerDeveloper s NamcoPublisher s Namco NamcoPlayStationJP NA NamcoPAL Sony Computer EntertainmentDreamcast Game Boy ColorJP NA NamcoPAL Virgin InteractiveWindowsJP NamcoEU Midas Interactive EntertainmentiOSNamco NetworksDirector s Yasuhito NagaokaProducer s Hideo YoshizawaDesigner s Yasuhito NagaokaArtist s Kaori ShinozakiComposer s Go ShiinaSeriesMr DrillerPlatform s Arcade PlayStation Dreamcast Microsoft Windows Game Boy Color WonderSwan Color mobile phone iOSReleaseNovember 1999 ArcadeJP November 1999WW 1999PlayStation Dreamcast Game Boy ColorNA May 9 2000 PS NA June 23 2000 DC 1 JP June 29 2000NA August 2 2000 GBC PAL 2000WindowsJP March 2 2001EU 2001WonderSwan ColorJP April 15 2001MobileSeptember 20 2004iOSAugust 28 2009Genre s PuzzleMode s Single playerArcade systemNamco System 12Mr Driller was designed by Yasuhito Nagaoka and produced by Hideo Yoshizawa best known for his work on Klonoa Door to Phantomile and the Ninja Gaiden series It was intended as the third entry in Namco s Dig Dug series tentatively titled Dig Dug 3 Originally meant to be exclusive to home consoles it was instead made an arcade game to help increase sales The game was completed before it was ever pitched leading to a lengthy process that ended with the game being presented to company president Masaya Nakamura Upon release Mr Driller was met with mostly positive reviews from critics reviewers praised its refreshing gameplay premise colorful visuals and soundtrack although criticized its low replay value and lack of extra content It was met with a long series of sequels and spin offs for multiple platforms beginning with Mr Driller 2 in 2000 The PlayStation version of the game was released for the PlayStation Store under the PSOne Classics series in 2014 and was also included as one of the 20 games in the PlayStation Classic mini console Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Development 3 Release 4 Reception 5 Sequels and legacy 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksGameplay edit nbsp Arcade version screenshotMr Driller is a puzzle video game commonly described as a mix between Dig Dug and Columns 2 The player controls Susumu Hori the titular Mr Driller who must destroy all of the piling up blocks before they take over the city of Downtown 3 The objective is to make it to the bottom of the stage by destroying or drilling colored blocks that litter the playfield 3 Susumu can move left and right to drill surrounding blocks and can also jump up a block next to him by moving against it 3 Blocks can also be cleared if four or more touch each other which can be used to cause chain reactions 3 Blocks will also fall if there is nothing underneath to support them which can crush Susumu and lose a life if he is under them 3 Susumu has an oxygen meter at the right hand side of the screen which constantly depletes as the game progresses Susumu can replenish part of his oxygen meter by collecting air capsules found throughout the game 3 Susumu will lose a portion of his oxygen if he drills brown X Blocks which take five hits to destroy and will lose a life if his meter reaches 0 3 A skull and crossbones symbol will appear over Susumu s head if his oxygen dips under 30 as a warning sign 3 The home console versions of the game add two new game modes a Time Attack mode where Susumu must constantly collect clocks to reduce his elapsed time and a Survival Mode where the player must drill as much as they can before dying 4 Development edit nbsp Concept art of the player character Mr Driller was designed by Yasuhito Nagaoka and produced by Hideo Yoshizawa the latter being known for his work on the Ninja Gaiden series for Tecmo 5 Nagaoka based the concept of Mr Driller on a Japanese children s game where at a beach players had to stand a piece of wood in the middle of the sand and carve away the sand without knocking down the wood 6 The idea of a person being in the sand pile instead of the wood intrigued Nagaoka who believed it made for an interesting game idea 6 He also based Mr Driller on Dig Dug a classic Namco arcade game from 1982 The prototype was named Dig Dug 3 and starred Dig Jr a tall and lanky character intended as the son of Dig Dug protagonist Taizo Hori Nagaoka was designing Dig Dug 3 as a title for home consoles as arcades at the time were dominated by fighting games 5 When Nagaoka showed the prototype game to Yoshizawa he became immediately interested and joined the project as its producer Yoshizawa convinced Nagaoka to make Dig Dug 3 an arcade game believing it would become lost in a crowded home console market 5 Several changes were made when Yoshizawa joined the project which included a faster pace a new player character and the game being renamed to Mr Driller 6 5 The characters and graphical style were designed by Namco artist Kaori Shinozaki who had previously assisted in production of Klonoa Door to Phantomile and LiberoGrande 7 Shinozaki wanted the characters and look of Mr Driller to appeal to a wide audience She used bright pastel colors like pink and blue to create a bright colorful world and designed Susumu to be cute and marketable The development staff for Mr Driller designed the game before they ever pitched it to Namco executives and planned out a location test without any idea how well the game would perform The game s development cycle which Yoshizawa described as the opposite of the typical game development and sales pitch lead to a lengthy process that ended with the game being pitched directly to Masaya Nakamura the president and executive chairman of Namco 5 His approval of the game lead to him being mentioned in the end credits 8 Minoru Sashida a graphic designer for games such as Techno Drive and Ace Combat 3 Electrosphere designed the graphical interface and the overall look of the game 9 The soundtrack for Mr Driller was composed by Go Shiina a then new hire for Namco As the company s other composers were more interested in working on larger franchises Shiina was assigned to be the composer for Mr Driller as nobody else signed on 6 Shiina is known for his strange and unusual sounding soundtracks which Yoshizawa felt was a perfect fit for the game s style He originally made the music sound like pretty normal puzzle game music which Yoshizawa rejected and encouraged him to do whatever he pleased for the music 6 When the finished product was presented to the sales department of Namco executives estimated that 3 000 units had to be sold in order for the game to turn a profit 5 Release editNamco demonstrated Mr Driller at the 1999 Amusement Machine Show AMO in Tokyo alongside Crisis Zone and Sweet Land 4 10 The game attracted attention for its colorful graphics and original concept Game Machine in particular believed that its simplicity would make it a sure fire hit in arcades 11 The game was released in Japan October 1999 running on the Namco System 12 arcade system board and sold only as a conversion kit for other arcade units 12 13 Namco released the game in North America the same month and in Europe later that year A PlayStation conversion of the game was released on May 10 2000 followed by a Dreamcast version on June 23 1 a Microsoft Windows version and a Game Boy Color version later that year A version for the WonderSwan Color was released exclusively in Japan on April 5 2001 A mobile phone port was distributed in 2005 14 The PlayStation port was digitally re released onto the PlayStation Store on February 18 2014 under the PSOne Classic brand which was delisted from the North American storefront on April 4 2019 15 The PlayStation version is also one of the 20 built in games in the PlayStation Classic dedicated console 16 Reception editReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScoreDreamcastGBCiOSmobilePCPSGameRankings82 17 65 18 62 19 78 20 83 21 75 22 Review scoresPublicationScoreDreamcastGBCiOSmobilePCPSAllGame3 5 23 3 5 24 N AN AN A3 5 25 CNET Gamecenter8 10 26 N AN AN AN A8 10 27 EdgeN AN AN AN AN A8 10 28 Electronic Gaming MonthlyN AN AN AN AN A6 10 29 Famitsu32 40 30 30 40 31 N AN AN A32 40 32 Game InformerN A8 25 10 33 N AN AN A8 10 34 GameFan93 35 N AN AN AN A T R 93 36 71 37 b GameSpot5 6 10 38 7 9 10 39 N A7 8 10 14 N A6 1 10 2 GameSpy8 5 10 40 N AN AN AN AN AIGN8 9 10 41 6 10 42 6 5 10 43 N AN A8 10 44 Next GenerationN AN AN AN AN A4 5 45 Official U S PlayStation MagazineN AN AN AN AN A4 5 46 PC ZoneN AN AN AN A80 47 N A The PlayStation Dreamcast PC and mobile versions received favorable reviews while the Game Boy Color and iOS versions received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings 17 18 19 20 21 22 In Japan Famitsu gave it a score of 32 out of 40 for the PlayStation and Dreamcast versions 30 32 and 30 out of 40 for the Game Boy Color version 31 The game was praised for its visuals addictiveness and soundtrack The arcade version had exceeded Namco s expectations selling over 3 000 arcade units shortly after its release 5 Reviewing the PlayStation version IGN stated that it is quirky different and speedy arcade fun praising its simplistic gameplay and quirky graphical style 44 IGN also praised its soundtrack comparing it favorably to music composed by Capcom and Konami 44 NextGen commended the game s layer of strategy and controls 45 GameSpot applauded the PlayStation port for its refreshing gameplay colorful graphics and catchy music while AllGame praised its pick up and play gameplay and clean character graphics 25 GameSpot liked the mobile phone version s portability and addictiveness calling it a stellar mobile port of a great game 14 and praised the Game Boy Color port s faithfulness to the original IGN highly praised the Dreamcast version for its fresh gameplay idea addictive gameplay and cute visuals 44 Criticism was drawn towards the game s lack of replay value and low amount of content IGN noted that the game was not a long term kinda game saying that it was only best played in short bursts 44 GameSpot echoed a similar response criticizing the PlayStation and Game Boy Color versions for lacking any sort of replay value and being a short lived experience 2 39 while AllGame disliked the poor amount of content and presentation unfavorably comparing it to Puzzle Bobble 25 GameSpot also criticized the PlayStation version for not having a multiplayer mode although noted that the 20 price point made this somewhat forgivable 2 The Game Boy Color version was nominated for Best Puzzle Game at GameSpot s Best and Worst of 2000 Awards which went to Samba de Amigo 48 Sequels and legacy editMr Driller was met with a long series of sequels and spin offs for several platforms The first of these aptly titled Mr Driller 2 was released for arcades in 2000 and followed by a Game Boy Advance port a year later adding multiplayer and new gameplay mechanics 49 Mr Driller G was released for both arcades and the PlayStation in 2001 for Japan only adding a story mode and new characters including Dig Dug series protagonist Taizo Hori 50 A Game Boy Advance game Mr Driller A was released in Japan in 2002 featuring support for the GameCube Game Boy Advance link cable peripheral which could be used for Mr Driller Drill Land for the GameCube also released in 2002 Mr Driller Drill Spirits was released as a launch title for the Nintendo DS in Japan and North America in 2004 and in Europe in 2005 Mr Driller Aqua an aquatic themed spin off was released for Japanese mobile phones in 2006 51 An Xbox 360 sequel Mr Driller Online was released in 2008 52 Two digital only sequels Mr Driller W and Mr Driller Drill Till You Drop were released in 2009 53 54 Protagonist Susumu Hori would make multiple cameos in later Namco video games He appears as a playable character in the arcade game Star Trigon 55 and as a supporting character in Dig Dug Digging Strike where he would assist the player in sinking parts of the island 56 The PlayStation Portable version of Pac Man World Rally adds Susumu and his dog Puchi as playable characters alongside Mappy Susumu is also an unlockable character in the Game Boy Advance game Family Tennis Advance and as part of the Namco Stars baseball team in the iOS title Famista Dream Match Susumu also appears in the now defunct browser game Namco High simply known as Mr Driller 57 In 2022 Mr Driller was added as part of the premium collection for PlayStation Plus Notes edit Japanese ミスタードリラー Hepburn Misuta Dorira In GameFan s viewpoint of the PlayStation version three critics gave it each a score of 84 69 and 60 References edit a b Williamson Colin June 23 2000 Mr Driller Is Out in America IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on October 14 2013 Retrieved August 17 2019 a b c d Bartholow Peter May 26 2000 Mr Driller Review PS date mislabeled as May 17 2006 GameSpot Red Ventures Archived from the original on January 29 2005 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b c d e f g h Mr Driller Game Boy Color instruction manual PDF Namco 2000 Archived PDF from the original on May 17 2018 Retrieved August 18 2019 Mr Driller PlayStation Classic digital manual PDF SIE Worldwide Studios 2018 Archived PDF from the original on August 18 2019 Retrieved August 18 2019 a b c d e f g Kemps Heidi March 27 2018 INTERVIEW Hideo Yoshizawa and Keiji Yamagishi Gaming moe Archived from the original on February 13 2019 Retrieved August 18 2019 a b c d e Parish Jeremy September 20 2012 Champion of Dreams An Interview with Hideo Yoshizawa 1Up com Ziff Davis Archived from the original on November 3 2012 Retrieved June 20 2020 ミスタードリラーインタビュー PDF Nours in Japanese No 28 Namco May 2000 pp 22 23 Archived PDF from the original on February 28 2016 Retrieved June 20 2020 Namco November 1999 Mr Driller Arcade Namco Scene Credits Murakami Munjo March 4 2016 ナムコ遺伝子 を継ぐ者が大集結 30年前の受付ロボ復活劇 ITMedia in Japanese Archived from the original on December 28 2019 Retrieved July 26 2020 37th Amusement Machine Show PDF Game Machine Amusement Press 15 October 1999 p 8 Archived PDF from the original on May 24 2020 Retrieved June 20 2020 TVアクションパズル Mr ドリラー PDF Game Machine in Japanese No 599 Amusement Press November 15 1999 p 15 Archived PDF from the original on May 23 2020 Retrieved June 20 2020 Akagi Masumi October 13 2006 アーケードTVゲームリスト 国内 海外編 1971 2005 in Japanese 1st ed Amusement News Agency pp 54 127 159 ISBN 978 4990251215 Mr Driller Videogame by Namco Killer List of Videogames Archived from the original on June 2 2019 Retrieved August 18 2019 a b c Palley Steve February 1 2005 Mr Driller Review Mobile GameSpot Red Ventures Archived from the original on February 6 2005 Retrieved May 21 2022 Glagowski Peter April 4 2019 PS1 classic Mr Driller gets delisted from PSN store Destructoid Enthusiast Gaming Retrieved May 21 2022 Reynolds Matthew November 16 2018 PlayStation Classic full games list size difference specs and everything else we know Eurogamer Gamer Network Archived from the original on April 13 2019 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b Mr Driller for Dreamcast GameRankings CBS Interactive Archived from the original on May 5 2019 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b Mr Driller for Game Boy Color GameRankings CBS Interactive Archived from the original on May 22 2019 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b Mr Driller for iOS iPhone iPad GameRankings CBS Interactive Archived from the original on May 26 2019 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b Mr Driller for Mobile GameRankings CBS Interactive Archived from the original on May 19 2019 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b Mr Driller for PC GameRankings CBS Interactive Archived from the original on May 26 2019 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b Mr Driller for PlayStation GameRankings CBS Interactive Archived from the original on April 29 2019 Retrieved May 21 2022 Miller Skyler Mr Driller DC Review AllGame All Media Network Archived from the original on November 16 2014 Retrieved May 21 2022 Thompson Jon Mr Driller GBC Review Allgame All Media Network Archived from the original on November 16 2014 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b c Miller Skyler Mr Driller PS Review Allgame All Media Network Archived from the original on November 16 2014 Retrieved August 18 2019 Steinberg Scott July 7 2000 Mr Driller DC Gamecenter CNET Archived from the original on August 24 2000 Retrieved May 21 2022 Gaudiosi Peyton June 9 2000 Mr Driller PS Gamecenter CNET Archived from the original on August 18 2000 Retrieved May 21 2022 Edge staff August 2000 Mr Driller PS US Import PDF Edge No 87 Future Publishing p 90 Retrieved May 21 2022 Smith Shawn June 2000 Mr Driller PS PDF Electronic Gaming Monthly No 131 Ziff Davis p 169 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b ミスタードリラー ドリームキャスト Famitsu in Japanese Enterbrain Retrieved May 21 2022 a b ミスタードリラー ゲームボーイ Famitsu in Japanese Enterbrain Retrieved May 21 2022 a b ミスタードリラー PS Famitsu in Japanese Enterbrain Retrieved May 21 2022 Mr Driller GBC Game Informer No 87 FuncoLand July 2000 Mr Driller PS Game Informer No 86 FuncoLand June 2000 REVIEW for Mr Driller DC GameFan Shinno Media June 26 2000 Rodriguez Tyrone Cerberus June 2000 Mr Driller PS GameFan Vol 8 no 6 Shinno Media p 52 Retrieved May 21 2022 Mylonas Eric ECM Ngo George Eggo Weitzner Jason Fury June 2000 Mr Driller PS GameFan Vol 8 no 6 Shinno Media p 12 Retrieved May 21 2022 Gerstmann Jeff July 6 2000 Mr Driller Review DC date mislabeled as May 17 2006 GameSpot Red Ventures Archived from the original on January 27 2005 Retrieved May 21 2022 a b Provo Frank August 7 2000 Mr Driller Review GBC date mislabeled as May 17 2006 GameSpot Red Ventures Archived from the original on February 8 2005 Retrieved May 21 2022 Mr Domino June 30 2000 Mr Driller PlanetDreamcast IGN Entertainment Archived from the original on February 25 2009 Retrieved May 21 2022 Musgrave Shaun June 28 2000 Mr Driller DC IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on July 26 2019 Retrieved August 18 2019 Harris Craig August 10 2000 Mr Driller GBC IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 21 2022 Buchanan Levi September 2 2009 Mr Driller Review iOS IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 21 2022 a b c d e Bishop Sam May 23 2000 Mr Driller PS IGN Ziff Davis Retrieved May 21 2022 a b Fischer Blake September 2000 Mr Driller PS NextGen No 69 Imagine Media p 108 Retrieved May 21 2022 Baker Chris June 2000 Mr Driller Official U S PlayStation Magazine Vol 3 no 9 Ziff Davis p 107 Retrieved May 21 2022 Holden Anthony July 2001 Mr Driller PC Zone No 104 Dennis Publishing p 60 Retrieved May 21 2022 GameSpot staff January 5 2001 Best and Worst of 2000 Best Puzzle Game Runners Up GameSpot Ziff Davis Archived from the original on February 14 2001 Retrieved May 21 2022 Provo Frank April 29 2005 Mr Driller 2 Review GameSpot Red Ventures Archived from the original on May 23 2005 Retrieved May 21 2022 Kawamoto Masumi November 22 2001 シリーズの集大成ともいえる穴掘りアクション ミスタードリラーグレート GAME Watch in Japanese Impress Group Archived from the original on August 8 2017 Retrieved August 18 2019 Ota Ryozo July 26 2006 バンダイナムコ EZweb向け新作 ミスタードリラーアクア MOBILE Watch in Japanese Retrieved August 18 2019 IGN staff March 31 2008 Namco Bandai Games Brings Classic Mr Driller Online to Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday Archived from the original on April 11 2014 Retrieved August 18 2019 J Reed Philip August 26 2009 Mr Driller W Review WiiWare Nintendo Life Gamer Network Archived from the original on June 2 2019 Retrieved August 18 2019 Dillard Corbie April 8 2010 Mr Driller Drill Till You Drop Review DSiWare Nintendo Life Gamer Network Archived from the original on April 29 2019 Retrieved August 18 2019 IGN staff September 16 2008 Star Trigon Rockets onto iPhones and iPods IGN Ziff Davis Archived from the original on August 14 2019 Retrieved August 14 2019 Theobald Phil October 21 2005 GameSpy Dig Dug Digging Strike GameSpy IGN Entertainment Archived from the original on September 8 2015 Retrieved August 11 2019 Prell Sam December 21 2013 Date Namco characters and the Galaga ship in Namco High Engadget Yahoo Archived from the original on August 18 2019 Retrieved May 21 2022 External links editMr Driller at the Killer List of Videogames Mr Driller at MobyGames Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mr Driller video game amp oldid 1190174843, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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