Dig Dug II/How to play

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the 4-way joystick to direct Dig Dug around each island. Dig Dug can move in four directions, and can not be forced over the edge of a cliff in to water.  After cutting off a section of island, Dig Dug will lose his balance.  Push the joystick towards the land to help him regain his balance, or he will tumble into the water and drown due to inability to swim.
 * Pump: Press this button to launch Dig Dug's pump in the direction that he is facing. If an enemy is within range of the hose, it will connect and latch on to the enemy.  Then tap or hold the pump button to fill the enemy with air until it pops.  Tapping it is generally faster than holding.  You must completely pump up an enemy until he explodes, or he will begin to deflate.
 * Jackhammer: Press this button to jump on the jackhammer. This generally has no effect unless Dig Dug uses the jackhammer on one of the island pegs.  Using the jackhammer on the peg locks Dig Dug in place, and creates a crack in the direction that Dig Dug is facing.  By holding the button down, Dig Dug can create cracks in multiple directions, but as soon as the button is released, the peg disappears.  Cut off three pieces of land to make a bonus vegetable appear - there are ten different bonus vegetables, three of which are from Pac-Man.
 * 1 or 2 Player Buttons: Push these buttons to begin a one or two player game.

Dig Dug
Dig Dug (Taizo Hori) is the hero of the game. He must defend each of the islands from the Pookas and Fygars. Armed with his air pump from the original game and his new jackhammer, he must either pump the enemies out of existence, or use his jackhammer to cut off a section of the islands and drown the enemies. Dig Dug is vulnerable to the touch of the enemies, as well as the flame breaths of a Fygar. He is also vulnerable to falling in the water if he stands on the wrong side of the island after he cuts a section off. Dig Dug may also lose his balance after cutting off a section of island. Push the joystick towards land to prevent him from tumbling in to the water. In order to advance to the next round, Dig Dug must clear every enemy from the round. When only one enemy is left, it will cowardly jump off the island edge and swim away. If the enemy escapes by doing so, the game will proceed to the next round, and the potential points will simply be lost.

Pooka
Pookas can best be described as a tomato-red balloons with yellow goggles. Nobody is really quite certain what a Pooka is, but one thing is for sure - it's deadlier than it looks. Pookas start out a bit slower than Dig Dug, but they will eventually match his speed in later rounds. They cannot cross over cracks in the ground, but they will occasionally switch to a ghost form that can float over the cracks. As a ghost, it takes the form of its yellow goggles. A Pooka in ghost form is just as lethal as a Pooka in solid form. Pookas can be easily dispatched by Dig Dug's pump from any direction, and are worth 200 points whenever they are killed in this way (given that the islands do not have layers, like the original gardens did).

Fygar
Fygars are fire-breathing dragons that also seek Dig Dug out. Their fire breathing adds an extra element of danger when Dig Dug confronts these green beasts. They behave like Pookas in most other respects, yet move somewhat faster. They can also become ghosts in order to pass over cracks. As ghosts, they appear as a pair of eyes and a mouth. As they chase after Dig Dug, they will occasionally pause and flash once or twice before letting out a huge fiery blast to the left or to the right (but never up or down). Because of the danger they'll present when facing them from the right or left, their point value doubles compared to blowing them up from above or below (200 vertically, 400 sideways).

Scoring
The score received for drowning enemies by cutting off a section of island depends on the number of enemies killed. (You will still receive the points if you drown, but you will lose a life).

Bonus Vegetables
Bonus vegetables appear after Dig Dug has successfully cut off three sections of the island, regardless of their size. Random vegetables appear on Round 17 and successive rounds. Trivia: The banana and corn sprites are from Super Pac-Man. Even more surprising, the grapes and drink sprites are from Pac-Man Plus, which wasn't a Pac-Man variation developed by Namco, but rather by Midway.