Mr. Driller Drill Spirits

Originally known as New Mister Driller and later Mr. Driller DS, Drill Spirits was first shown at the E3 2004 tradeshow during a showcasing of third-party games in development for the Nintendo DS. It was produced by series creator Hideo Yoshizawa, and was created to take advantage of the system's touch control and dual-screen features. The game was announced as a launch title for the system, alongside Namco's own Ridge Racer DS. The North American version excludes several features announced prior in press releases due to time constraints, including an entire gamemode called Dristone Driller. Drill Spirits received mixed reviews for its lack of depth and multiplayer modes requiring two game cards to play, although its gameplay, visuals and modes were the subject of praise. It was followed by Mr. Driller Online in 2008.

• Title — Mr. Driller Drill Spirits • Developer — Namco • Publisher — Namco • Producer — Hideo Yoshizawa • Designer — Fumihiro Suzuki • Programmer — Masanori Higashi Ayako Murakami • Artist — Kaori Shinozaki • Composer — Hiromi Shibano • Platforms — Nintendo DS • Series — Mr. Driller • Genre — Puzzle • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer

• Illustration — In the Pressure Driller gamemode, the player will need to destroy a giant mechanical drill that pursues them, by collecting energy capsules and firing back at them. Mr. Driller Drill Spirits is a puzzle video game. The player controls a character that must make it to the bottom of each stage by destroying, or "drilling", formations of colored blocks that litter the playfield. The game features six playable characters: Susumu Hori, the main protagonist of the series; Anna Hottenmeyer, a German driller and rival of Susumu; Ataru Hori, Susumu's self-contained older brother; Taizo Hori, the father of Susumu and Ataru and the protagonist of the Dig Dug series; Puchi, Susumu's pet dog; and Holinger-Z, a drilling robot. Each character has their own unique traits that can alter the gameplay; for instance, Taizo can drill faster than other, while Holinger-Z can sustain an extra hit. The player has an oxygen meter at the right of the screen that acts as a timer, which will deplete as the stage progresses. Oxygen can be replenished by collecting air capsules, while oxygen can be lost by destroying brown-colored X Blocks. Blocks will disappear if four or more matching colors connect, and will fall if there is nothing supporting them underneath. Drill Spirits contains several gamemodes. In "Mission Driller" the player must complete each stage, taking place in different countries around the world and becoming increasingly difficult. "Pressure Driller" has the player outrunning an enormous mechanical drill named the Destroyer Drill that pursues them through an endless stage; the objective is to collect orange energy capsules and use them to launch powerful blasts at the drill when its weakspot is revealed. "Time Attack" has the player completing a short stage as fast as they can while collecting clocks to stop the countdown timer. A multiplayer mode is also present, which requires two copies of the game to play. The Japanese and European releases of the game features slight alterations; these include the addition of a new character, Ataru's black pet rabbit Usagi, and a mode called "Dristone Driller" where the player must complete a stage while drilling as little as possible, with a small percentage of oxygen being depleted for drilling blocks. Items called "dristones" can also be found that have varying effects on the game based on their color, such as changing the colors of certain blocks, destroying entire formations of blocks, and giving the player a one-hit shield.

Mr. Driller Drill Spirits was first announced during E3 2004 by Nintendo, in a panel relating to third-party games being produced for their then-upcoming handheld, the Nintendo DS. It was originally given the tentative title of New Mister Driller. Namco revealed further details on the game in September, renaming the game to Mr. Driller DS and was about 70% complete. Produced by series creator Hideo Yoshizawa, the game was created to take advantage of the system's dual screen and touch control features. A playable demo was presented at the Nintendo Gamer's Summit in October, announced to be a system launch title alongside Ridge Racer DS. It was officially released in North America on November 30; due to time constraints, several features announced during press releases, such as the Dristone mode, were cut from the game. Drill Spirits was released in Japan on December 2 with the removed features added, coinciding with the debut of the system in Japan. It was later released in both Europe and Australia on March 11, 2005.