TRANSLATION
- MR DRILLER -

-  MI  SU  TA~  DO  RI  RA~  =
MR DRILLER

Many turned their noses up at Namco for making this the next game they released for the Dreamcast. I must admit, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a Soul Calibur sequel or something of similar high profile. BUT! Mr Driller has turned out to be a superb puzzler, right up their with the likes of Tetris, Bust a Move and Columns!

The aim of the game is to dig deep into the ground, with every block depth dropped, equalling 1 metre on your depth gauge. The deeper you go, the harder it gets! There are goals at 500m or 1000m, or you can try the Tokoton Driller mode where you have 1 life to go as deep as possible in a never-ending chasm! My current record for Tokoton Driller mode starting at 0m stands at 865m! Challenge it if you dare. If a block falls past another block of the same colour, it will stick to it, until 4 or more are touching. They will then vanish, bringing any above blocks crashing down. Add the fact that your air supply continuously depleats, only replenished with hard to get air canisters, and solid blocks which take multiple 'digs', then you have an incredibly addictive game. A sequel is due towards the end of 2000, with extra modes and an all new female character for 2 player versus play! Gimme gimme!

Although released in America at the same time as the Japanese got theirs, I picked up my Mr Driller on Japanese. Menus and most options are in Japanese, so some may find it difficult to navigate. Below are the important parts translated.

After pressing START on the title screen, you are presented with-

- A~  KE~  DO  = ARCADE

-  TO  KO  TO  N  DO  RI  RA~  = TOKOTON(?) DRILLER
You have 1 life to get as deep as possible.

-  RE  KO~  DO  = RECORD

-  O  PU  SHO  N  = OPTION

- TA  I  MU  A  TA  KKU  = TIME ATTACK

If you select RECORD, you are presented with-

-  A  KE~  DO  = ARCADE

-  TO  KO  TO  N  DO  RI  RA~  = TOKOTON(?) DRILLER

- TA  I  MU  A  TA  KKU  = TIME ATTACK

EXIT

If you select OPTION, you are presented with-

-  A  KE~  DO  = ARCADE

-  SA  U  N  DO  TE  SU  TO  = SOUND TEST

SAVE

LOAD

????KANJI??? = SCREEN POSITION

-  BA  I  BU  RE~  SHO  N  = VIBRATION (ON/OFF)

EXIT

If you select TIME ATTACK, you are presented with-

-  SA  BU  UE  I  KO~  SU  = SUBWAY COURSE

-  KU  RA  SHI  KA  RU  KO~  SU  = CLASSICAL COURSE

-  A~  MA~  KO~  SU  = ARMOUR COURSE

-  E  JI  PU  TO  KO~  SU  = EGYPT COURSE

-  NE  SSHI~  KO~  SU  = NESSY COURSE

-  MA  M  MO  SU  KO~  SU  = MAMMOTH COURSE

-  ZA  U  RU  SU  KO~  SU  =  SAURS COURSE (DINOSAURS?)

-  A  M  MO  NA  I  TO  KO~  SU  = AMMONITE COURSE

-  MA  N  SHO  N  KO~  SU  = MANSION COURSE

-  FA  KU  TO  RI~  KO~  SU  = FACTORY COURSE

If you select ARCADE mode, you are presented with various messages, but the 2 main boxes in the centre of the screen ask you to choose 500 metre mode or 1000 metre mode.

-  MO~  DO  = MODE

When you come to enter your name in the high score table, you are presented with a Hiragana chart. Choose the following for other sets of Kana-

-  KA  NA  = KANA (Written in Hiragana)

-  KA  NA  = KANA (Written in Katakana)

ABC = For an English alphabet