Mr. Driller (1986 video game)

Mr. Driller (ミスタードリラー) is a 1986 side-scrolling platform arcade game developed by Drillimation Studios and published by Namco. It is the first game to be developed by Drillimation after being bought out by Namco in November 1985 and is the first installment in the Mr. Driller series of video games.

Gameplay
Players take on the role of Susumu Hori and the main objective is to reach the end of the stage without losing all of their air capsules or letting the timer run out. Players move from the left side of the screen to the right and defeat the boss at the end of the stage.

The stages are scattered with point items for Susumu to collect, which award points when collected and if the player collects a power item, Susumu's drill is raised by one level. These items are commonly found in the blocks that are scattered across the stages, and can be destroyed using Susumu's drill, hence the name "Mr. Driller". Players start with three lives, with an extra life awarded at 30,000 points, another at 80,000 points, and every 80,000 points after that. Extra lives are also awarded if the player collects 100 point items, and are lost if the player falls into a pit or loses all their air capsules. The game is over when all lives are lost.

The game is compromised of five stages that end with a boss, and after finishing the last boss, the player is presented with the good ending if they did not use continues, and using continues results in the bad ending.