Mr. Driller is back! Everyone’s favorite driller is back for more in this new Switch release of Mr. DRILLER DrillLand (and yes, that’s spelled and capitalized correctly). Oddly enough, this isn’t a new game but a surprisingly old one! Bandai Namco has finally decided to port the revered GameCube release of the game to English for the first time since it’s 2002 release, an unexpected surprise 12 years in the making!
If you’re not familiar with Mr. Driller, the series has been around quite some time, originally debuting in 1999 in arcades. It’s a spiritual sequel to the Dig Dug franchise, and Dig Dug’s protagonist, Taizo Hori, is actually Mr. Driller’s dad and is featured in Mr. DRILLER DrillLand! Essentially, Susumu Hori (aka Mr. Driller) and his family are the mascots for Namco and have been for some time. It’s quite surprising that the series hasn’t had more popularity in the US, but market penetration has been low, with the Game Boy Color, Playstation One and Dreamcast versions of the game falling flat here and the arcade versions of the game being exclusive to Japan.
In Mr. DRILLER DrillLand, we’re introduced to a drilling-based theme park and all the drillers and their friends from previous games are invited to join in the fun, trying out the theme park! However, there’s actually a bit more going on here, with a sinister plot and some enemies of the drillers out to destroy them from the shadows of the park. But all that takes a backseat to the game itself! Once you get past the incredibly Japanese introduction (and the only thing more Japanese than that intro is this Kikkoman Soy Sauce advertisement), the game begins in earnest!
DrillLand is 500 meters below ground and is a giant theme park. How the park itself is actually built, I’d love to know, because it’s absolutely massive and cool as all get out. There is a hub that leads to a variety of levels available for immediate play in single player mode, including the World Drill Tour, Star Driller, Drindy Adventure, Horror Night House, and The Hole of Druaga (based on the NES game The Tower of Druaga, naturally). Standard Mr. Driller levels consist of blocks that you must drill down through with a button press to reach each 100 meters of depth. Typically, a level is complete once you reach 500 meters, if you don’t die or run out of air first. Each of the above levels follows that basic style, but with its own rules and nuances.
For example, the Horror Night House has you destroying ghosts with holy water, which you must gather as you are chased down through the blocks. Not only must you make it to 500 meters, but you must also manage to take out 10 ghosts along the way. Break a ghost’s block without sprinkling holy water and a cloud of bats swarms you and takes down your health. The Hole of Druaga requires you to search out keys and unlock the pathway, then defeat Druaga inside his locked chamber. You collect stones that help you in your quest as well, saving them in your inventory. There’s even a map to reference as you play through. Each different level is wildly different in specifics from the last, but still manages to carry that distinctive Mr. Driller feel, and they’re all quite fun! But that’s not all!
On top of all the theme park games and the storyline, there’s even more to Mr. DRILLER DrillLand! In addition to playing through each level, you also collect points and items. Points can be exchanged in Drill Town, the theme park’s shopping district. You can buy a variety of trading cards, prizes, and helpful items that give you bonuses if you’re stuck on other, harder levels. The game auto-saves, making sure that just because you turned it off, you don’t lose all the progress you’ve made. Drill Town also features the DrillLand Library with all the history of the Mr. Driller franchise and characters, a Movie Theater that lets you re-watch every story segment you’ve unlocked so far, and a Music Palace that lets you peruse the various tracks in the game.
Speaking of the Mr. DRILLER DrillLand soundtrack, it’s short but absolutely delightful! Featuring a distinctive jazz feel, the entire mood of the DrillLand soundtrack is upbeat and exciting. Music is themed for each area, of course, shifting from style to style, but it all has a noticeably fun Japanese jazz current running threading through each track. Visually, the game is also quite appealing with a distinctive flair that mixes 1960s and 1970s color themes successfully with a very kawaii Japanese style of animation vaguely reminiscent of some Genndy Tartakovsky cartoons like Dexter’s Laboratory or The Powerpuff Girls. It’s fun, whimsical, and entertaining, and it all perfectly meshes with the gameplay of Mr. DRILLER DrillLand to make for a magically immersive experience.
Now, if you haven’t played Mr. Driller before, you might be surprised that with all the fun and lightheartedness around, there’s a particularly challenging puzzle game here too! Part of the appeal of Mr. Driller and the reason it’s been so popular in Japan for so long is that it’s not only cute but deceptively challenging as well, especially on higher levels of difficulty. The game is vicious and unforgiving and even the most skilled puzzlers can have a tough go of it. Namco was quite aware of this when porting DrillLand to the Switch, and they put in two modes, a Casual one where difficulty has been adjusted for newcomers to the series, and a Classic mode which is identical to the original GameCube release of Mr. DRILLER DrillLand from 2002.
Also included in the game is a local multiplayer mode that offers a split screen Race Mode where competitors rush down to 500 meters and a Battle Mode in which players compete for medals. Both modes are designed based on the Classic difficulty, not the Casual one and both can host up to four players. It should be noted that Bandai Namco attached a terms of service rider to Mr. DRILLER DrillLand that has to be confirmed before gameplay can commence, but there is no online play option in the build of the game provided for this review, nor is one advertised on Nintendo’s official placement on the eShop. There is a ranking section for each area once you finish it the first time which might explain this and indicates online rankings will be available, but it was non-functional as of the writing of this article. Rankings actually crashed the game when selected, the only issue found in this review copy of the game. One could reasonably assume it will go live along with Mr. DRILLER DrillLand on release day, June 25th.
For solo play, there is only one save slot for Casual mode and one for Classic mode, so if multiple players are playing solo, it could be an issue in terms of saving your game, but this is a relatively minor gripe. Each stage actually has four sections of increasing difficulty, levels one through three and a special mode. By beating all sections on level 1, you unlock level 2 for them all and so forth. Each area you beat adds more story segments and slowly reveals the mystery behind what’s happening in DrillLand, even if our heroes seem blissfully unaware of the machinations against them. Once you finally manage to beat each level once, a final stage is unlocked and you take on the evildoers hiding in the park. Upon their defeat, you’ll be allowed to continue to level two of each stage, repeating the cycle. As you progress, perks are applied to each level and stamps track your progress in the menu screen. You can also look at all the items and cards you’ve collected over the course of play.
On the Nintendo Switch, one of the most important gameplay considerations is undocked mode. Many games look or play terribly when undocked, or suffer from lag, framerate drops or other issues. That’s absolutely not the case with Mr. DRILLER DrillLand, which runs smooth as silk in both docked and undocked modes on the Switch, loading quickly and responding snappily no matter how you decide to play it. Gameplay on the undocked screen is easy to see and everything translates extremely well for on-the-go play, an essential component in a release like this one. In addition to being an awesome, game, DrillLand is just as awesome portable, and is great whether on the go or at home!
This is easily one of the best puzzle games released for the Switch and at $30, it’s an excellent value as well! With a wide variety of gameplay, multiple level styles, a casual mode for more approachable play, two distinct multiplayer modes, and a fun storyline that unfolds as you play, it’s hard not to love Mr. DRILLER DrillLand. It’s an absolute must-buy if you have even the slightest interest in puzzle games, or simply want to enjoy some light, innocent gameplay! There’s so much love that’s been injected into every corner of the game that it’s absolutely infectious from the very first stage. There’s something for everyone here, from completionists to casual puzzle gamers to entire families. Mr. DRILLER DrillLand is truly a game for all ages as well as pure, unadulterated fun!
This review is based on a digital copy of Mr. DRILLER DrillLand provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes. Mr. DRILLER DrillLand is also available for PC on Steam, a surprising release as well! This is a digital-only release as of the writing of this article, but hopefully there will be a physical release as well, as this is easily one of the best offerings out there for the Switch! If you don’t love Mr. Driller after playing this game, you are hollow and dead inside. Just accept that Mr. Driller shall become a permanent fixture in your life starting now and you can begin enjoying every second of it!
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