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FAQ/Walkthrough

by sonic_chicken

                    _      __  _       __ _
              |\/| |_|    |  \|_||| | |_ |_| 
              |  | | \ .  |__/| \||_|_|__| \ 

                 ___        _  __  __
                |   \  ___ |_||  ||  |
                | |\ ||   \ _  | | | |
                | |/ || |_/| | | | | |
                |___/ |_|  |_| |_| |_|
                  _____
                 |  ___| ___   _       _    _
                 | |___ |   \ |_| ___ |_| _| |_  ____ 
                 |___  || || | _ |   \ _ |_   _||  __|
                  ___| ||  _/ | || |_/| |  | |_ |__  |
                 |_____||_|   |_||_|  |_|  |___||____|

 _______                     ____________   __________     _______
|CONTACT|___________________|LAST UPDATED|_|WRITTEN BY|___|VERSION|_
|                           |              |              |         |
|[email protected]|  31/3/05     |sonic_chicken |  1.0    |
|___________________________|______________|______________|_________|

===============================================================================
===============================================================================

The following is 79 characters, just as a note to myself.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890/|\()[]
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1234567890/|\()[]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       *~-  CONTENTS  -~*

Search using Ctrl + F if you need to.

All titles with a * next to them are unfinished, or indeed, not there at all.
 ____ ______________________________________________________________
|____|                                                              |
|____| I.   Version Information                                     |
|____| II.  Game Info                                               |
|____| III. Search Codes                                            |
|____|  -  -  -                                                     |
|____| 1. Introduction                                              |
|____| 2. Controls                                                  |
|____| 3. How to Play                                               |
|____|       ~   including Block Types                              |
|____| 4. Characters                                                |
|____| 5. Aim of the game                                           |
|____| 6. Game Mechanics*                                           |
|____| 7. 1 Player Mode*                                            |
|____|       a.  Mission Driller                                    |
|____|       b.  Pressure Driler                                    |
|____|       c.  Time Attack Mode                                   |
|____|       d.  Dristone Driller                                   |
|____|       e.  Driller Store                                      |
|____| 8. Vs. Mode*                                                 |
|____|       a.  Single Cart                                        |
|____|       b.  Multi Cart                                         |
|____|______________________________________________________________|


Note: If you find anything that I have missed, just email me at the address 
      below the title.
      Please do not correct my spelling of some words, as I am English and 
      spell words the english way. ie. color = colour.

===============================================================================
                       #=-  I. Version Information  -=#
===============================================================================

0.1   Wrote Introduction section.

0.3   Wrote Controls and How to Play sections.

0.5   Wrote Characters section.       

0.6   Added Contact info, wrote 'Aim of the Game' section, and started Game
      Mechanics. Corrected typos, and changed some wording of senteces to make
      them easier to understand.

0.6b  Added Info about Usagi.

0.9   Added Undergrounder theory, Search Codes, and finished the Block Joining
      section in Game Mechanics.

1.0   Completed Game Mechanics section

===============================================================================
                       #=-  II. Game Info  -=#
===============================================================================

Official description by Nintendo Europe

"As the titular power-tooled miner, it�s your job to dig through layer
upon layer of colourful blocks, scramble for air capsules, dodge cave-ins and
race to rescue fellow Drillers. This all-new Nintendo DS version of Namco�s 
cute action-puzzler features precise Touch Screen control, three different
game modes (Mission, Time Attack and the frantic Pressure mode), six playable
characters and a wireless Driller Race mode for up to five people. You�ll dig
this game � literally!"

------------------------------------------------------
System:             Nintendo DS
Release Date:       30.11.2004 (US)
(D/M/Y)             02.12.2004 (JP)
                    11.03.2005 (EU)
Genre:              Puzzle
Developer:          Namco
Publisher:          Namco
Number of Players:  Up to 5 (Single or Multi Cart)
Multiplayer Type:   Simultaneous
------------------------------------------------------


===============================================================================
                       #=-  III. Search Codes  -=#
===============================================================================

Use Ctrl + F to search.

Section                Code

1. Introduction        #10#

2. Controls            #11#

3. How to Play         #12#

4. Characters          #13#

5. Aim of the Game     #14#

6. Game Mechanics      #15#

7. Single Player       #16#
  a) Mission Mode      #90#
  b) Pressure Mode     #91#
  c) Time Attack Mode  #92#
  d) Dristone Mode     #93#
  e) Driller Store     #94#

8. Vs Mode             #17#
  a) Single Cart       #95#
  b) Multi Cart        #96#

       --------->


~ Miscellaneous ~

Usagi                  #50#
Undergrounder Theory   #51#

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *
          
===============================================================================
#10#                   *~-  1. INTRODUCTION   -~*
===============================================================================

  The whole series of Mr. Driller is very loosely based on Dig Dug (a game for
the SNES). From what I have gathered, Mr. Driller himself (otherwise known as 
Susumu) is the son of the guy in Dig Dug. This means that Taizo (head chief of
drilling council) was the guy in Dig Dug. If you read the manual, It tells you
that Susumu is the son of Taizo anyway, so it all works out.
  Drill Spirits doesnt make good use of the touch screen, unless you have super
quick reactions and a touch screen made of fibreglass. Most of the time you 
have to jab fiercely at the touch screen to make it work. I find the D-Pad is 
much more useful as you can drill very quickly with more control.

===============================================================================
#11#                   *~-  2. CONTROLS   -~*
===============================================================================

           _______________________________________
          |          ___________________          |
          |         |                   |         |
          |         |                   |         |
          |         |                   |         |
          |         |                   |         |
          |         |                   |         |
          |  .....  |                   |  .....  |
          |  .....  |                   |  .....  |
          |  .....  |___________________|  .....  |
          |          ___________________          |
         _|_________|_|______|______|_|_|_________|_
        |/________   ___________________   ________\|
        |   ___   | |                   | |  _  _   |
        |  |___|  | |                   | | (_||_)  |
        |    _    | |                   | |         |
        |  _| |_  | |                   | |   (X)   |
        | |_   _| | |                   | | (Y) (A) |
        |   |_|   | |                   | |   (B)   |
        |         | |                   | |         |
        |         | |___________________| |         |
        |_________|                       |_________|
        |                                           |
        |            ||               ||||          |
        \___________________________________________/


(A)    Drill
       Confirm Action
(B)    Drill
       Cancel Action
       Go back to last menu
(Y)    Drill
(X)    Fireball        (in Pressure Driller only)
       Choose Dristone (in Dristone Driller only)
START  Pause (During Game)
       Confirm Action
SELECT --no use--
D PAD  Move
       Climb up blocks
|L/    Drill
\R|    Drill

Power  Turn off system (duh!)

===============================================================================
#12#                   *~-  3. HOW TO PLAY   -~*
===============================================================================

  When you begin a game, you will be dropped onto some blocks. In case you 
hadnt realised these are what you have to drill through. To drill, press either
(A), (B), (Y), |L/, or \R|. To choose the direction to drill, use the D PAD.

To summarize:
  1. Use the D Pad to choose direction to drill.
  2. Press (A), (B), (Y), |L/, or \R| to drill.

Occasionally, youll see green cylinders. These are AIR TANKS. Collect them. 
They are good. To collect them, just move over them using the D PAD. 
WARNING: Most of the time, these air tanks are underneath other blocks When you
collect the tanks, the block above will fall down and crush you. So you have 
to be quick. Here is an example using amazing ASCII art.

-------------------------          
     R R R R R(B)
     Y G R R G #  [*]G
     Y G R R R R R G G

R   Red block
Y   Yellow block
G   Green block 
B   Blue block
#   Air Tank
[*] Character

-------------------------
If the character moves left:
-------------------------

    R R R R R(B)
    Y G R R G #<-[*]G
    Y G R R R R R G G

-------------------------
And collects the air tank under the blue block:
-------------------------

    R R R R R(B)
    Y G R R G[*]    G
    Y G R R R R R G G

-------------------------
The blue block will crush them, and they will lose a life.
Thats if they didnt move right quickly BEFORE the blue block fell.
-------------------------


    R R R R R(B)
    Y G R R G #  [*]G
    Y G R R R R R G G


    R R R R R(B)
    Y G R R G[*]    G
    Y G R R R R R G G


    R R R R R
    Y G R R G(B) [*]G
    Y G R R R R R G G

------------------------
Note: Clearly, this bit about the block falling should have been in Game
      Mechanics. But I put it here. And its not moving.

*   *   *

Very regularly you will see brown blocks called X-Blocks They are called
this because they have an 'X' on them. Like so:
     _
    |X|

These blocks take FIVE drills to get through them. And then they release
a poisonous gas thet loses you 20% of your air. These Blocks are best left
alone.

On the right of the screen in Mission, Pressure, Dristone and Vs. Modes,
will be your air meter. This gradually empties during the game, so air
tanks are crucial. Air tanks will restore 20% of your air minimum, but
this can be changed as you get upgrades from the driller store.

                         *         *        *
Block types:

         _
Red       \
Blue       \ These are just normal blocks that only take one drill to break
Green      / More about these in Game Mechanics. Seen in all modes.
Yellow   _/

X Blocks  -  These blocks take 5 drills to break them and when you do, they
             will release a poisonous gas that takes off 20% of your air.
             Seen in all modes.

Mud       -  These blocks will not stick to others (see Game Mechanics) 
(White       and will just fall down regardless. Quite annoying, but they 
Block)       only take one drill to break them. Seen in Mission, Pressure,
             Dristone and Vs. Modes.

Crystal   -  These will break after about a second when you come within a
             3-block radius of them. Seen in all modes.

Metal X   -  These cannot be drilled through, so just drill around them.
             Only seen in Time Attack Mode.


                         *         *        *

Items:

Air capsule    - You know about these already. Gives you 20% - 40% air 
                 (depending on upgrades). Rarity: *

Power Capsule  - Only in Pressure mode. Gives you a grade one fireball.
                 This is added to your total fireball power (maximum 3).
                 If your power meter is already full, you will not collect
                 the power capsule and it will just fall down the screen.
                 Rarity: *

? Blocks       - As the name suggests, these are blocks with ? on them. They
(Random Block)   can do a variety of things:
                 
                 Good effects :- Full Air  Will refill your air tank to the 
                 :)                        top.
                               - Max Up    Will add 5% to your maximum air 
                                           level
                               - Speed     Increases Movement and drilling 
                                           speed for a while
                               - Erase     Destroys all blocks on the two 
                                           screens
                               - Slow      Slows down falling blocks for about
                                           10 seconds
                               - Barrier   Adds a barrier, which will stop you
                                           being crushed by a block once.

                 Bad effects  :- Turn      Rotates the screen 90 degrees
                 >:(                       clockwise
                               - Crystal   Changes all blocks of one colour to
                                           crystal
                               - Mud       Changes all blocks of one colour to
                                 (White)   mud (white) blocks.
                               - X Block   Changes all blocks of one colour to
                                           X blocks
                               - Flip      Flip the screen horizontally
                               - Reduce    Takes away 50% of your air.
                
                 Random Blocks are only found in two stages: 2000m Moon Stage,
                 and infinity m stage Outer Space. These blocks are only in
                 mission mode. Rarity: *

Time Reducer   - These reduce the total time in Time Attack mode. They come in
                 6 varieties: 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The number on the circle
                 shows how much your time will be reduced by. They are 
                 sometimes essenial for victory.Only in Time Attack Mode. 
                 Rarity: * to ***
                  
                 (0.5) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Flip Switch    - These flip the screen horizontally when collected. Only in
                 Time Attack mode. Rarity: ****

Turn Switch    - These turn the screen 90� clockwise when collected. Only in
                 Time Attack mode. Rarity: ****

Crystal Switch - These create crystal blocks when they are collected. Only in
                 Time Attack mode. Rarity: *****

Undergrounder  - Not really an item, but sometimes, when you drill a block,
                 one will appear and fall down the background of the screen.
                 They look like little blue blobs with arms and legs (like
                 Kirby, really). When you have a large amount of points, and
                 you find an undergrounder, you may get an extra life. These
                 are found in all mission mode lessons, except The Moon and 
                 Outer Space stages.

Space          - Exactly the same as a normal undergrounder, but they are
Undergrounder    yellow. Only found in Then Moon, and Outer Space stages.

 _____
|CODE \
+------+
| #51# | 
+------+-------- *  *  *  MY UNDERGROUNDER THEORY  *  *  * ---------------+

  To get an extra life, I believe that either:-

              -  You need to find 15 undergounders, and the 15th will give you
                 a life
               
                                    -OR-
               
              -  You need to have a certain amount of points.
           ie.   
                  Stages 300m to 1500m, get 100,000 points.
                  Stages 2000m above, get 300,000 points.

+--------------- *  *  *  ------  *  *  *  ------  *  *  * ---------------+

===============================================================================
#13#                   *~-  4. Characters   -~*
===============================================================================

The following is a list of the characters in Mr. Driller, along with special
abilites and description.

Name              Description                            Special Abilities

Susumu            A well-balanced character. Suitable    Nothing in particular
(Soo-Soo-Moo)     for drillers of all skill levels.

Puchi             Suitable for Novice drillers.          Can climb up 2 blocks
(Poo-chee)        Despite of his appearances, he is       at once
                  actually quite intelligent.

Holinger-Z        Suitable for Novice Drillers. He's     Has one automatic
(Hol-ing-ger-zed) This robot is quite fast at             barrier
                  drilling. 

Anna              Suitable for intermediate drillers.    Moves faster than
(Ann-ah)          She is always competing with Susumu     normal
                  to become the best driller.

Taizo             Suitable for advanced drillers. Taizo  Drill speed is faster
(Tie-zoh)         is head of the drilling council, and    than normal
                  is also Susumu's father.

Ataru             Suitable for advanced drillers. Ataru  Moves and drills
(At-ta-roo)       is also Taizo's son, but Taizo has      extremely fast.
                  disowned him.

Rabbit/Usagi      Ataru's mysterious friend. It appears  Drills 3-ways at once
(Oo-sah-gee)      to have special abilities of some      Slow drill speed
                  kind...                                Can climb up 2 blocks
                                                          at once


As you know, you dont start off with all of these characters, you have to unlock
them as you go through mission mode. The following is a list showing how to
unlock different characters.

Character         How                              Depth of level

Puchi             Complete Japan                   500m
Holinger-Z        Complete China                   800m
Anna              Complete India                   1000m
Taizo             Complete Egypt                   1500m
Ataru             Complete America                 2000m
Usagi             Complete The Moon with Ataru     2000m

+----+
|#50# \
+------+
|Usagi  \
+--------+--------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                       |
|  Here I will correct any misleading rumors that may have arisen about |
|Usagi.First of all, unlocking Usagi has NOTHING to do with Driller     |
|Medals, but is in fact just as unlockable as anyone else. Unlock Atarus|
|friend by using ATARU in the moon stage on mission mode.               |
|                                                                       |
|  NOTE: As I have only the EU version of this game, could anyone tell  |
|me if the above is true for the US version of the game. Email at the   |
|address below the title.                                               |
|                                                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

===============================================================================
#14#                   *~-  5. Aim of the Game  -~*
===============================================================================

The aim of Mr. Driller is to get to the bottom of the pit without losing all
of your lives. This is a very simple, yet addictive, concept.

===============================================================================
#15#                   *~-  6. Game Mechanics  -~*
===============================================================================

To start with, lets look at BLOCK JOINING. This may happen when you drill.
Block joining is when one block falls down, touches the side of another block
of the same colour, and they join into two or three blocks of the same colour.
I will show you using ASCII art.

---------------------------                      R |Red Block
 _ ___ _   ___ _ ___                             B |Blue Block
|R|B B|Y| |Y Y|B|X X|                            Y |Yellow Block
|R|B|Y|R|@|G G G G G|                            G |Green Block
|B B|Y|G|R|G|Y Y|X X|                            X |X Block
                                                 @ |Character
---------------------------                      % |Disappearing Block
If you drill the Red block, 
the Yellow block will fall and
join with the two Yellow blocks
already joined together.
---------------------------
 _ ___ _   ___ _ ___ 
|R|B B|Y| |Y Y|B|X X|
|R|B|Y|  @|G G G G G|
|B B|Y|G|R|G|Y Y|X X|


 _ ___     ___ _ ___ 
|R|B B|_  |Y Y|B|X X|
|R|B|Y Y|@|G G G G G|
|B B|Y|G|R|G|Y Y|X X|

---------------------------
This will happen with blocks of all 
colours.

When there are 3 or more blocks joined 
together, and a block of the same colour
falls down and joins with them, they
will disappear. To summarize: 3 or more
blocks of the same colour will disappear
when another block joins onto them.
---------------------------

#  Summary of the last bit (SotLB)  #
 _ _ _   _ _____ ___ 
|R|B|G|_|Y|B B B|X X|   The Yellow block is currently in midair, just about 
|R|B|Y Y|  @|G G G G|   to fall.
|B B|Y|G|R|G|Y Y|X X|      

 _ _ _     _____ ___ 
|R|B|G|__ |B B B|X X|   The Yellow Block falls, thus joining onto the 3 
|R|B|Y Y Y|@|G G G G|   already joined blocks below.
|B B|Y|G|R|G|Y Y|X X|

 _ _ _     _____ ___ 
|R|B|G|   |B B B|X X|   Then the 4 blocks disappear, leaving the green block,
|R|B|% % %|@|G G G G|   that they are supporting, to fall.
|B B|%|G|R|G|Y Y|X X|

 _ _ _     _____ ___ 
|R|B|G|   |B B B|X X|   By now, the yellow blocks have disappeared, and the
|R|B|  _ _ @|G G G G|   green block is in midair.
|B B| |G|R|G|Y Y|X X|

 _ _       _____ ___ 
|R|B|     |B B B|X X|   The green block falls to join with the other green 
|R|B|___ _ @|G G G G|   block below.
|B B|G G|R|G|Y Y|X X|

----------------------------
Also, when 4 or more already joined
blocks fall one or more spaces, they
will disappear.
----------------------------

 _________   _ ___
|R R R R R| |G|B B|     If the character drills the yellow blocks, which 
|R|Y Y Y Y|@|G|B|G|     will all disappear as they are joined together,
|B|G G|R R|Y Y|B B|     It will leave an empty spacein those 4 spaces.

 _________   _ ___
|R R R R R| |G|B B|
|R|___ ___ @|G|B|G|
|B|G G|R R|Y Y|B B|

 _________   _ ___
|R R R R R| |G|B B|     Then the character moves into the space below the
|R|@__ ___ _|G|B|G|     reds, and drills the green blocks beneath.
|B|G G|R R|Y Y|B B|

 _________   _ ___
|R R R R R| |G|B B|     Then the character drills the blue block next to
|R|    ___ _|G|B|G|     them.
|B|@  |R R|Y Y|B B|

 _________   _ ___
|R R R R R| |G|B B|
|R|    ___ _|G|B|G|
   @  |R R|Y Y|B B|

             _ ___
 _________  |G|B B|     Then the red blocks fall down and join onto the two
|R R R R R|_|G|B|G|     red blocks below them. Predictably, they will
|R|@  |R R|Y Y|B B|     disappear.

             _ ___
            |G|B B|
|% % % % % _|G|B|G|
|%|@   % %|Y Y|B B|

             _ ___
            |G|B B|     Then the character is left without any blocks around
           _|G|B|G|     them.
   @      |Y Y|B B|

----------------------------
That was all you need to know 
about block joining.

Next, I will tell you about Air,
Power, and the actual game screen.
----------------------------

                                   *  *  *

Air, obviously, is what you breathe.
But in the game, you lose air more rapidly than you do in reality.
So this effect of losing air is countered by collecting air tanks. These are
green cylinders. with the word 'AIR' in white writing on it. They look rather
much like this-

                  ____
                 /    \
                /      |
               / /\    |
              /  \/_  /
             /  \ \  /
            / /\ \  /
           /  \/\  /
           |   \  /
           |     /
            \___/


- except more rounded.

These replenish your air, by adding 20% onto your current total (This figure
may be 25%, 35%, or 40%, depending on your upgrades from the Driller store.
Your Air is represented by the tank on the right of the touch screen, with a
percentage showing the amount of air left.


Power, is what you use in pressure mode to kill the Death Drill (This is the
massive thing on the top screen drilling downwards trying to kill you, if you
hadnt guessed already). 
Unlike air, power doesnt deplete over time (Also unlike air, power is in a red
capsule). Your amount of power is represented by the tank on the right of the
touch screen, right next to your air, and it has a number next to it. This
number shows how many power tanks you have collected.
To summarize, the more tanks that you have, the more damage that fireball
will do (The more tanks you collect, the more pain he'll get).
Press (X) to shoot a fireball. This fireball will travel upwards.

[ MORE ABOUT POWER IN SECTION 7b - SEARCH CODE #91# ]

===============================================================================
#16#                   *~-  7. 1 Player  -~*
===============================================================================

===============================================================================
#90#                   *~-  7a) Mission Mode   -~*
===============================================================================

===============================================================================
#91#                   *~-  7b) Pressure Mode   -~*
===============================================================================

===============================================================================
#92#                   *~-  7c) Time Attack Mode   -~*
===============================================================================

===============================================================================
#93#                   *~-  7d) Dristone Mode   -~*
===============================================================================

___ _  __
 | |_\|  
 | |_\|__
 o  e  o 
        n
       t 
        i
       n 
        u
       e 
        d

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Copyright 2005 Rikki Tooley+
+                           +
+This FAQ is only to be used+
+on the following sites:    +
+                           +
+    www.gamefaqs.com       +
+    www.supercheats.com    +
+                           +
+If it is anywhere else,    +
+please email me.           +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++