Mr. Driller/Walkthrough

Once you have inserted your coin into the cabinet of Namco's 1999 puzzle arcade game Mr. Driller, and pressed the Start Button, you shall have fifteen seconds to select either "beginner" (500m) or "expert" (1000m) mode by pushing the joystick left and right, then pressing the Drill Button to confirm your choice; the playfield is nine blocks wide and allows the player to see up to twelve blocks high. Once Mr. Driller has appeared on the screen with the text "START!" above him you will have to drill directly down to the air capsule below him - and from then on, he must reach the bottom before he runs out of air, which, because of the fact that both modes are so short, shouldn't take you more than five minutes for 500m mode, or ten minutes for 1000m mode.

In the game the levels are populated by enormous blocks; all common ones come in four colors (blue, green, red, and yellow), and will link with other blocks of the same color. When you drill in one of four directions, you will remove all linked blocks of the same color - and any unsupported blocks shall shake for one second before falling downward. If a falling block passes a block of a same color, it shall link with the other block, instead of continuing downward, and when a link of four or more blocks hits the ground it shall disappear; however, any supported blocks shall drop instantly. X-Blocks also more dangerous, as they require multiple drillings to break through, and drain 20% of your air when you break them - and unlike common blocks, only the block you drill through shall be destroyed. However, they can still be destroyed as a group by causing them to fall; also, when a group of X-Blocks lands and disappears, they will leave a blue creature called a "Chisokojin" behind who can be picked up for 765 (Namco's goroawase number) extra points. If a block lands on Mr. Driller, it will kill him - however, if he is only partway into the falling block, he will be knocked back and stunned for a second. The last aqua-green blocks at the bottom of each level indicate each 100-meter mark; removing them clears all blocks and items above you but does not replenish your air unless there were enough of the air capsules above you to do it.

The first level of the "beginner" mode features all four colors of blocks, and an introductory section that shows the different block types, while the second only features three colors; the third one also only features two colors while the fourth one (again) features all four colors of blocks but also surrounds the air capsules with X-Blocks (it is not recommended to drill through them to get to them, but instead either drop a group of three or more X-Blocks on them or dislodge the blocks to the left or right of the capsules). The fifth and final level of this mode also for a second time only features three colors of blocks, and again surrounds the air capsules with X-Blocks - and at the end of it, Mr. Driller will be met by a whole party of Chisokojins and receive 30000 points for every life he has remaining, along with a time bonus determined by how long it took him to finish the game. The text "RESULT" will then appear upon the screen with your depth (500m), score, play time and misses (deaths) under it; the game will then go into high-score mode, and your score shall most likely be the highest for the mode to date, so you should enter your initials at the top of the table with pride. The game will now go back into attract mode.

However, the first level of the "expert" mode is identical to that for the "beginner" one while the second, seventh and eighth ones are identical to the fifth one; the third one is also identical to the second one, while the fourth, sixth, ninth, and tenth ones are identical to the fourth one, and finally, the fifth one is identical to the third one. However, after you receive your life and time bonuses, and your results have been displayed on the screen, you will be able to sit back and enjoy the ending sequence in this mode - which features Mr. Driller talking to the "Chisokojin King", a clone of him flying a helicopter into view from the right side of the screen, stopping over the hole and lowering a hook into it to pick him up, then raising the hook up again, and flying away.