If you’ve ever played the popular game Dig Dug, then you likely have an understanding of what Mr. Do! is. Essentially, Mr. Do is a game that requires players to dig through the ground to figure find treasures and avoid oncoming enemies. The treasures that players find while digging through the ground are then used to both level players up and move on to the next level. I will not lie to you about this, Mr. Do! It is a very interesting game mainly because of all the things that players are allowed to do during gameplay. It may not look very interesting because of the old school graphics but the game has a lot of hidden treasures incorporated that we simply overlook.
Luckily, we’ll go over all of these “hidden treasures” and more in this article.
This is a video of Mr. Do gameplay
History
Mr. Do! just so happened to be created during the golden era of arcade gaming. Created in the year 1982 by the popular movie and video game creator, Universal Mr. Do! was almost an immediate hit. It was released on a large number of video game consoles, ranging from the Atari to ColecoVision.
*The game was so popular that it ended up selling roughly 30000 copies in the US alone. Consider how many copies it sold overall if it sold in other countries (which it did).
As we’ll mention in a later section in the article there were also a number of other games that were released by Universal that were spinoffs of the initial Mr. Do! Game.
How to play
The entire goal of Mr. Do! is to basically gain as many points as you possibly can by digging through the ground and gathering the cherries that you’ll find there. *does that remind you of anything? Here’s where the weird (and interesting part) of the game comes in. Mr. Do! Is basically a clown who is chased by red beings titled creeps (except that clowns are typically seen as creeps, lol). If you’re caught by a creep you immediately lose a life – which is typical of games like this.
Cherries
You’ll find that each level of the game has about (or exactly 8 cherries distributed throughout it. If you manage to collect all eight of the cherries continuously you’re able to get 500 extra points. Once all cherries in a level are gotten, you’re able to get rid of all of the creeps in a level, find a diamond, or you’re able to spell the word “Extra” the level is considered to be complete.
Beating Creeps
To defeat the creeps all you have to do is hit them with a tool you get called a Powerball or drop an apple on them. Don’t worry you’ll be able to find the apples on each level you play. Keep in mind that once you deploy your bouncing powerball to defeat an enemy/creep you’ll be defenseless until the powerball reforms. It takes a few extra minutes after each use to get the powerball back. Also, if you drop your powerball in an area where there are no creeps to destroy you’ll have to go and retrieve it yourself – in other words, it will not reform.
Apples
To defeat a creep you’ll simply have to push that apple off of a vertical edge onto said creep. However, if that apple falls for a height that is more than that is taller than that apple itself the apple will break apart and no longer be of use. If an apple just so happens to fall on top of Mr. Do! you will die.
Multi-colored creeps
Much like in Pacman (which is what I think Mr. Do! was designed after the creeps in the game have a tendency to turn into multi-colored monsters who (unlike in Pacman) have the ability to dig underground and through the cherries that Mr. Do! is supposed to collect. This basically takes away from the number of points that Mr. Do! can collect. These extra powerful creeps also have the ability to dig underneath apples that are on screen which results in the, being crushed to death. This can be both a blessing and a curse as it allows them to crush other creeps and the main player, you.
Passing 5000 points
Once you pass 5000 points you will get the chance to get a letter from the word EXTRA. But, be careful as this letter will usually come in the form of an Alpha Monster, a being that can essentially be defeated in the same way as a creep. Once you defeat the Alphamonster you’ll get access to the letter the Alphamonster is carrying. If you defeat 5 Alphamonsters you’ll basically beat the level you’re playing at the time. Be careful that you don’t allow these being to eat any apples since this will result in them becoming more difficult to crush.
Alpha and blue monsters
Creeps will form at the center of the gaming screen – the area they come from (generator if you will) will then turn into a food item that, if picked up, will give the player a few bonus points, freeze creeps, and spawn a single Alphamonster, and 3 blue monsters who, for lack of a better word can simply be referred to as big blue beings.
*The big blue monsters can also eat apples.
You can still die from touching creeps while they’re frozen but, they will remain frozen until you’re able to defeat the monsters that formed from eating the generator turned edible item, beating the level, or basically dying. It’s very straightforward.
Diamonds
Occasionally, if you drop an apple you’ll be able to find a diamond which, if collected in 15 seconds will basically allow you to beat the level and receive bonus points.
To play the game online you can go here
Fun Facts about Mr. Do!
- There are 3 spin-off games from the initial Mr. Do! game.
- The creators of Mr. Do went out of business in the year 1994.
- It did make a comeback in the year 1996 on systems like the Neo-Geo and Super NES.
Spin-offs
There were a few different spin-offs of the original Mr. Do! game, each of which is listed below.
- Mr. Do!’s Castle: Was released in the year 1983 and has the basic goal of having players move around a castle and avoid unicorns.
- Mr. Do!’s Wild Ride: Was released in the year 1984 and has the sole goal of exploring amusement parks and avoiding death via runaway coaster cars, ships, etc.
- Do! Run Run: Was released in the year 1984 and actually incorporated a 3D element. It includes monsters from the original game and is actually the closest thing you’ll get to the original game as you’ll see from all of the sequels created.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. The famous Mr. Do! And all of the sequels ever created. As you can see t includes several elements from previous and subsequent unrelated games. For example, the monsters in this game seem very much like the monsters from Pacman– however, that doesn’t take away from the unique elements of the game itself. If you’re interested you should give it a try. For more information, check out the resources below.
This information was taken from Wikipedia
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Do!#Gameplay
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