Your Favorite Mr. Do! Arcade Game

[digitalpress]

One of the really cool things about this series is that Universal managed to keep most of the characters and items intact while considerably changing the genre for each release. I'm going to stick with the original four Universal coin-ops and ask you to name your favorite and why.

Mr. Do! (1982)
The original. Thought by many to be derivative of Namco's Dig Dug, but the similarities end with dropping stuff on the bad guys. The game has unique starting patterns, a ball weapon, the ability to rack up bonus points via cherry picking, an E-X-T-R-A meter, the center bonus prize, the chance at the "mystery diamond"... WOW.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/arcade/mrdo.png

Mr. Do!'s Castle (1983)
Back in the day, no one saw this coming. The original game didn't seem "big" enough to warrant a sequel let alone such a change in style. It LOOKS like a platformer but it's definitely a maze game. Lots of neat elements carried over from the original plus the change from throwing ball of death to a hammer weapon truly challenged us then and now.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/arcade/docastle.png

Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride (1984)
If you didn't expect the original-to-Castle sequel/genre surprise, then surely you didn't expect Mr. Do! to go on yet another ride, this time in a game that's still so very unique. Is it an action game? A puzzle game? We don't care. It's FUN!

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/arcade/dowild.png

Do! Run Run (1984)
I've NEVER seen this in an arcade and even questioned it's existence to a fewllow DP'er right up until about 1990 when someone finally produced an arcade flyer (yeah, this was a bit before info was so easily acquired via the internet). Again, many elements from the Mr. Do! legacy are intact in this maze game that might remind you a little of Taito's Qix.

http://www.digitpress.com/dpsightz/arcade/dorunrun.png

[ehall]

I enjoy Mr. Do's castle very much. It's very addictive. I've played this one a few hundred times and I think I made it to level 3.

[Arcade Antics]

Love 'em all. They're all quite brilliant, and in the arcades of yesteryear, all four managed to rob me of countless quarters and tokens. I spent the most "arcade time" with Mr. Do! and Mr. Do!s Castle, as Wild Ride and Do! Run Run turned up less frequently.

But if I have to vote for just one as my favorite... I've gotta go with Do! Run Run. IMO it's got the most "depth" (haha!) of the bunch and that groovy music is a nice spin on the original Mr. Do! theme. Plus there's nothing like steamrolling hordes of villains in one shot.

[asharru]

Mister Do! is one of the first game I recall playing as a kid and actually being quite good at it. I remember they had it down the street and the local arcade right near the front door, so I didn't have to walk very far in to play it. I just recently played it at Disney Quest and to this day, I still rock it. Damn if that place isn't the greatest. Wild Ride is great, but I have to stick with the original.

[maxlords]

Well, I've only owned Mr. Do's Castle and Mr. Do's Wild Ride, so I can't say anything about hte other two, but I REALLY liked Mr. Do's Wild Ride when I had it....before I sold my arcade! :(

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Original Mr. Do! for me

[kainemaxwell]

Do! Run Run for me with th eoriginial a close 2nd.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

Gotta go with Do Run Run!, followed by Mr. Do's Castle, then Mr. Do. Wild Ride barely rates at all in my book.

I love the music in DRR - it's kinda like what you'd get if Devo scored a cartoon.

[Tempest]

Gotta go with Mr. Do's Castle, except I like the earlier version "Mr. Do vs. Unicorns" better (no stupid cherries to destract my attention).

Tempest

[ubersaurus]

No Neo Mr. Do? :P

[digitalpress]

No Neo Mr. Do? :P

I considered it, but since it wasn't done by Universal and was really far away from the original Mr. Do! era, it shouldn't be part of the question. It's TOO much of the apples and oranges syndrome to sit well with me.

Also, FWIW, I think Neo Mr. Do! sucks ass.

[Captain Wrong]

Baah! Neo Mr. Do! rocks! I don't see it as apples and oranges, I see it like the Namco Arrangement updates of their classic games. Keeps enough of the original, and updates it nicely. Plus it's the most unlikely game on the Neo (and a fairly later game at that.) Gotta love that.

So, if I gotta pick from the oldies, it's either the first or castle. I play the frist more, but I really like castle to.

Where's my next gen Mr. Do! dammit?

I really hope no one takes that suggestion seriously...I could just see someone making a really crappy 3D paltformer with the license...ugh!

[qaotik]

See my avatar. :P The answer is none. One of the most enjoyable games ive ever played is the clone, Boulder Dash on c64 and is definately in top ten of my personal favorites. Still remember how i tried to squeeze in few more minutes of playtime before school in the morning.

EDIT: MN there you go.

[ManekiNeko]

...and?

JR

[Videogamerdaryll]

Mr Favorite would be the Original Mr Do..
It's just the Classic originality it has..to it..

But my favorite Mr Do game of all time is "Neo Mr.Do"..

[Raccoon Lad]

I'm with you Joe, I think Neo-Mr. Do! stinks

As for my favorite, I'll go with Super Pierrot, it's the same as Do! Run Run, but the Mr. Do! sprite looks a little better, and you get to see the "diamond screen" art regularly.

[Charlie]

I picked Do Run Run... and if you had known me before 1990 I would have been able to settle it sooner. My parents went to a bowling tournament in Corvalis, Oregon when I was a really little kid (four years old or so) and I must have spent $20 on it over the course of a few hours. Easily my favorite Arcade game that I don't own... it must be rare becaues I've been looking for it ever since I figured out the name of it several years ago and all I can turn up is "yeah, we have Mr. Do!" "no, there is a different one." "yeah, Mr. Do's castle." "No" "Then Wild Ride?" "No"