I was aware of Mr. Driller during the 32-bit generation and even past that, but I didn’t actually give it a shot until recently. Back then I wasn’t really into puzzle games. There were so many other great titles across genres I actually liked that Mr. Driller was lost in my shuffle. With that said I always appreciated the colorful aesthetic, and found some charm in the cover art. I recently acquired the Dreamcast version of the original release and dove in head first. Does Mr. Driller live up to the niche hype it has accumulated throughout the years? Read our review here to find out!
Colored blocks have reigned destruction on the cartoon styled city called Downtown. It has been completely buried by them. The only one who can save them is a cutesy character called Susumi Hori (or Mr. Driller to YOU). How is he going to save his town, you may ask? By drilling of course. He may look like a goofy stylized astronaut but Susumi Hori is actually a very talented and experienced driller and these colored blocks are no match for his capable hardware. If you can’t tell this is a kid friendly colorful game. There sure isn’t anything wrong with that though!
Mr. Driller likely disappointed many Dreamcast enthusiasts due to its 2D graphics. This game fails to take advantage of the hardware in any meaningful way, and as Namco’s release following Soul Calibur I’m sure many were surprised by it. I’m certainly not one to shy away from sprite based graphics. Mr. Driller is a side view puzzle game. As the titular character you can only perform two actions; you can walk and you can drill. There is no jump here. Mr. Driller can climb but only up one block. His movement is pretty limited but the focus in this game is on the drilling mechanic.
Think of Mr. Driller like Tetris only without the falling blocks. Well, at least they aren’t falling by default. The play field is already full, but it’s divided by large masses of blocks of varying colors. You can only drill one block at a time, but if it’s connected to others of the same color you eliminate the entire mass at once. Gravity is in play here and destroying masses with others on top of them causes these to fall. Susumi Hori can be squished which causes him to lose a life, but falling blocks will stop if they connect to other masses of the same color. If enough of these connect it will cause a larger elimination (like in most puzzle games ala Tetris) and these combos can be helpful or detrimental. You are given a few moments in which these rumble before they fall at least.
As if being squashed by falling blocks wasn’t enough of a hazard Mr. Driller is also limited by his oxygen supply. This is signified by points which are indicated on the right hand side of the screen. He starts with one hundred, but these deplete with the passage of time. When it reaches zero you lose a life, and considering you’ve only got three and they have to last you it’s in your best interest to not run out. You’ll find air bubbles littered throughout the game and these function just as you’d expect; they replenish some of your air. While they’re in pretty obvious and easy to reach places in the beginning their placement becomes more difficult to reach the longer you play.
The strategy comes in to play by means of selecting which path to take and which sections of ground to destroy. It’s not uncommon to make a wrong move and send everything above you tumbling down. You also have to be fast. As I mentioned earlier you’re given a few seconds before everything starts falling and even then it does so fairly slowly. You’ll certainly have to scramble to safety, and on a frequent basis. Mr. Driller is fun, frantic, and there’s actually a lot of strategy in play here. This is one of those games that is easy to play but difficult to master. In other words, it’s easy to approach but takes a long time to learn.
Mr. Driller originated in the arcades so there isn’t a ton of content. With how dynamic the experience is you’ll hardly notice, and this is one of those games that doesn’t really get old. With that said there are actually three separate game modes. First and foremost is arcade. This is your basic way to play wherein you can choose two depths. One is for beginners and the other for experts. The two other modes of play are time trials (competing in speed) as well as survival (to see how long you can last). That’s a fair bit of content for an arcade port, and personally I found there’s more than enough to keep gamers busy for a while.
It’s certainly no Soul Calibur, but Mr. Driller is a pretty game in its own right. The sprite based characters are very stylized and look great in my opinion. They feature a lot of subtle animations that are a treat when you’re really paying attention. Where Mr. Driller really excels, at least in terms of graphics, is how colorful it is. The game is a real treat to look at because of this. I really like how different sections of the game change visually. It helps to keep things fresh. I dig the visuals here. The soundtrack is just as pleasant. Each track is fun, bouncy, and a style all its own. This is one of the few puzzle game soundtracks that I would ever consider tracking down.
