Dig Dug (1982)

Look: 8/10 Now this must have been the my other go-to arcade game besides Ms Pac-Man. While Ms Pac-Man was a deeper memory, way back at some place maybe it was called The Colosseum something like that, where they had a few arcade games--Dig Dug was a bit more recent, albeit maybe pre-teens or right before that. My step-dad's old college friend opened up a sports+playground+foam pit+arcade+trampolines+gokarts+etcetc fun place up by my grandparents' whom we'd visit often. I definitely remember this was the only arcade game I really played there! So, the look and gameplay is nostalgic, probly a part of why I loved Robby Roto so much when I came upon it this year. Anyway, oh wow yea things got a lot more difficult on Round 5

I have been liking the UI font/look of a lot of these '82 arcade games, like this and Moon Patrol and Kangaroo.

Sound: 7/10 I was surprised by how not nostalgic the sounds and music are. Mostly annoying tbh. Ok, well it grew on me oddly rather than getting older and older by around Round 5, usually the opposite happens heh. I do like the ending jingle, at first I found it odd cuz I couldn't discern if it were a death melody or a success melody lol, but over time I noticed the higher pitch tones and grew to feel the reward/serotonin from it :-p

Play: 8/10 The classic arcade digger game. And I definitely played the heck out of it back in the day. Quite addictive still today, tho not quite as much a standout arcade action game for '82 as I had hoped (considering my nostalgia). I've read the screens go infinitely? But I've also read to 32 rounds? If only I could realistically shoot for 32 heh... I tried my best. I like the combo-for-points concept, how the last enemy races out so you gotta get em ha, and how swift the controls are (e.g., when you gotta turn around real quick and start blowing up an enemy, it's nice how doable that is even when they're right on your tail; definitely can't say the same about most action maze games from this year). It was almost too forgiving with the collision masks, timings, and swiftness of controls. Plus, the difficulty increased more slowly than I recalled as a kid (then again, this time around I have infinite "coins" to insert ha). It still occasionally has that irritating directional movement issue that a lot of maze games have when you haven't quite finished clearing a path or rounding a corner and it misinterprets which way you wanted to go. Just something to get used to in each game, but one of the more annoying control issues of early maze games. Pro-tip: you can start blowing up the enemies while they're still the invisible-ish eyes-and-mouth ghost thingies. You don't have to wait for them to materialize before attacking em. Oh and it seems you can attack through an almost-destroyed wall even if you can't quite walk through it yet. Definitely take full advantage of that mechanic; by Round 8, I realized even the enemies seem not able to walk through those thin walls, while your blow-up-weapon still can. Mwahahah. Oh! And you can give up on a partly-blown-up enemy by moving, it didn't seem to work at first for me but around Round 9 I successfully left one when needed cuz I was about to get got. Then, I regrouped and went back for it! If it didn't get so repetitive in the later rounds, this would be a solid 9 for sure.

Feel: 9/10 Those darn dragons and their fire! I felt pretty strong with this game, which I have been feeling for a lot of these last few arcade games of '82 I hadn't played yet. Of course it helps that it's likely my most played classic arcade game from youth (which isn't saying much, I wasn't a big arcade game). Pretty petty with the 2 enemies blending together in some of the later rounds, where you only notice after they split up as you started blowing up one of em. When I was young, I thought I was brilliant for conceiving the idea to wait for the enemies to ghost over to you. Well, now that I got past the Rounds I never could (seemingly about 5 or 6), I realize that strategy goes out the window ha. Otherwise you get overwhelmed with enemies all at once, so you gotta seek out your next prey while still addressing any oncoming enemies. I really had a blast, going from at first iffy in the first few rounds, to feeling good about the game and my playing of it, to fully re-feeling my nostalgia at last. Not quite as instantaneous nostalgia as when I replayed Link's Awakening last year or Castlevania II, but this won me over. Nonetheless, by Round 11, I grew tired of the gameplay, as the increases in difficulty really just started focusing on doubling up enemies in different combinations--which eventually got old (and lets be honest, also really hard heh). I had fun getting there, feel that was a pretty darn good playthrough, and was glad I didn't give up and played long enough to engage my nostalgia.

Attachment: 9/10 It was nice to see that bigger red flower at last, something I had only see my cousin managed to do when young. Felt good, but not enough or varying enough or exciting enough changes to have me push through the frustrations of Round 11 and on. I did wanna see if there were 32 rounds, or endless, but going to call it for now. I definitely will have my brothers play this, particularly my younger brother because I believe it was mostly he and I who would go to that fun place. Either way, it's kinda unfair cuz my old favorites get a boost this way, but obviously I already have replayed it. Not to mention the countless times I replayed it when felt that addictive drive when young. I felt that a bit this time, probly not as much, but the fact I pushed through my initial iffiness and got further than I do in most arcade games, justifies this rating. Not one I will forget, obviously have replayed and will replay, etc etc

Completion: To Round 11 Playtime: ~40 mins

“Under the earth I go,
On the oak-leaf I stand,
I ride on the filly that never was foaled
And I carry the dead in my hand.”
-Hamish Henderson

One of the most famous and iconic of all classic arcade games, Namco’s Dig Dug is the paragon of video game success.

For one, it’s extremely fun to play and addicting as well. Then there’s the fact that it’s been recreated, re-released and repackaged an insane amount of times since its original arcade inception in 1982: from Namco to Atari to Intellivision, to Commodore 64, NES, Apple, Game Boy, Windows, Xbox Live Arcade, Wii Virtual Console, 3DS, Wii U, and the PS4 (which is where I most recently played it).

Dig Dug is a lesson in the success of simplicity. Sometimes a game is enjoyable simply because it’s stripped down to the barest elements, without all the bells and whistles. In Dig Dug, you immediately know your objective.

Dig Dug revolves around the subterranean adventures of a little blue man in a white suit, who is apparently officially named “Dig Dug”Dig Dug digs below the Earth and after he has dug a bit, he encounters fierce and terrifying monsters. Well, actually, just two of them. There are only two in the game and they aren’t very terrifying, either. Not with names like Pooka and Fygar.

The Pookas are a species of sentient red orbs who always wear their trendy yellow goggles. The Fygars are a race of underground dragons who can breathe fire. Both species are capable of metamorphic intangibility, that is, they can pass through solid rock. Perhaps they are the spirits of our ancestors come to remind us that history is circular, and if we don’t reign in our rape of the natural world (i.e. digging and dugging) then we surely face a bleak future devoid of fossil fuels and the internet, and other such modern conveniences.

Click here for the full review: https://thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2016/10/15/di...