Mr. Driller[a] is a puzzle video game franchise created by Yasuhito Nagaoka and Hideo Yoshizawa for Namco.

Gameplay in the series consists of controlling Susumu Hori, the titular Mr. Driller, or one of his friends and destroying colorful formations of blocks to make it to the bottom of a well.

In order to survive, players need to collect air capsules to replenish their depleting oxygen and avoid being crushed by falling blocks.

[4] Players control a character that must destroy, or "drill", colorful formations of blocks in order to reach the bottom of a well.

The original Mr. Driller was created by R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 director Yasuhito Nagaoka and former Tecmo employee Hideo Yoshizawa.

The two worked to implement new features, such as a second-player character and making the gameplay faster and more chaotic than the original.

[13] Though Drill Land received the most acclaim out of any game in the series, its exclusivity to the GameCube made it a commercial failure.

[4] Namco's North American division stripped most of its content in order for it to be ready in time for the launch of the DS in the United States, a move that garnered significant criticism from publications.

[17] Maya Ito, the producer for Encore, says Bandai Namco would consider continuing the series if the remake was popular enough.

Star Trigon is a puzzle game where players hop across planets to create triangles in order to rescue yellow creatures.

[39] Western perception of the series has varied depending on the game, though consensus agrees its gameplay is simple and addictive.

Journalist Jeremy Parish speculates this backlash resulted in the series receiving a largely lukewarm reception outside Japan.

[40][41] Drill Spirits and home ports of Mr. Driller and Mr. Driller 2 were criticized for being barren of content, though the Japanese and European releases of Drill Spirits have been identified as being a far bigger improvement over the North American version for their inclusion of additional game modes.