Mr. Do! Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Compiled by Tony Bueno
Special thanks to Dave Giarrusso, Matt Lewandowski, Jess Ragan, Lee
Taylor, Marcel Gonzalez, Nathan Sidwell, John McIssac, Tim Duarte, Mike
Thibodeau, John L. Mooney, the compilors of the KLOV, Frank Polosky of
Video Magic, Joe Santulli of Digital Press, without whom this list would
not have been possible.
CONTENTS
1. Who/what is Mr. Do?
2. What other games are in this series?
3. Descriptions of the characters, levels, settings, intermissions, etc.
4. What home versions are available?
5. Recurring items in each game
6. Was there a fifth game?
7. Trivia
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1. Who/what is Mr. Do?
Mr. Do! was a coin-op release from Universal in 1982. It has many
similarities with Dig Dug, a Namco coin-op, but in my humble opinion, Do!
and his several sequels are far superior. It is debatable as to which
one copied which since both games were released in the same year. Here's
my write up which appeared in the fanzine "Video Magic" #107 (not verbatim)
Mr. Do!
In this game, the player is cast as Mr. Do!, a clown trying to harvest an
orchard of cherries and apples. Along the way your enemies are Badguys,
Diggers, Blue Chompers, and Alphamonsters.
The setting of each level is very much like Dig Dug in that you must move
Mr. Do! around on a path, or dig one as you move along, which is slightly
slower. Your goal is either to collect all the cherries or kill all the
enemies on the screen. There are two ways to kill enemies. First, there
are the apples located in various places around the level. By luring
enemies under these, they can be squashed, or by making them fall one
place without hitting an enemy, they can be used to push enemies away or
you may wait for more badguys to appear underneath, then push the apple
over them to score multiple kills.
Do!'s other defense is a "powerball," a weapon that when thrown, moves
erratically down any path it finds, thus you are never quite sure if it
will go the way you want it to. This may sound like a negative aspect,
but I find that it is very effective in long tunnels and much more
effective than the Dig Dug pump.
Also in the game are food treats located in the middle of the screen. By
eating these, the game is momentarily paused, and an alphamonster comes
out with four blue chompers. Alphamonsters have one letter of the word,
"EXTRA" written on their chest, and by destroying all of the
alphamonsters, you are rewarded with an extra life.
Mr. Do! has well-drawn graphics, charming music, and gameplay that never
grows old or tiresome.
Things I forgot to mention in this review:
Badguys will temporarily become Diggers if they remain stationary (stuck
behind an apple) long enough.
Alphamonsters and Blue Chompers can eat the apples if they are facing the
direction in which they are dropped, or if the apples are already on the
ground. This makes them much more difficult to kill with apples.
There is also a diamond that will allow the player to automatically skip
the level. It's uncommon but when it does happen, it will be located in
a recently broken apple. In the arcade, this would also reward the
player with an extra credit.
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2. What other games are in this series?
Mr. Do!'s Castle (Oct. 1983)
Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride (Jun. 1984)
Do! Run Run (Nov. 1984)
Mr. Do!'s Castle
I wrote this synopsis in the June/July "Video Magic" #109 (again, not
verbatim).
In 1984*, Universal followed up their small success of Mr. Do! with the
sequel, Mr. Do!'s Castle. Rather than make this the same game with a few
added enhancements, they decided to go in an entirely different direction.
This time, enemies (which I believe are supposed to be unicorns) have
invaded Mr. Do!'s castle and his only defense is a hammer which is
ineffective on the unicorns themselves. Instead, Mr. Do! must use the
hammer to hit floor tiles to either acquire the cherry or key displayed
on it, to cause the unicorns to fall in and repair the hole, or to squash
enemies with falling tiles from above.
To get from floor to floor, there are both straight ladders that cannot
be moved and ladders facing diagonally which may be kicked left or right
to suit your needs. If all three key tiles are hit, the doors at the top
of the castle light up. When Mr. Do! touches these doors, all enemies
become alphamonsters with one of the letters of the word EXTRA, and may
be crushed with the hammer. (Note: only the alphamonsters may be killed
by hitting them directly with the hammer) The only things remotely
related to the original were the cherries which may be used to complete a
level and the alphamonster EXTRA life system.
Having played only the arcade and 5200 versions, I can say that the
5200's graphics are only average. Mr. Do!'s clown outfit can be vaguely
recognized and the keys and cherries are easily identifiable. Music is
happy, childish, and perfectly suits this game.
Although I probably preferred the original, this sequel is highly
entertaining and challenging. Originality and innovation are what makes
this game a winner.
* I see now that I was initially incorrect on the game's release date.
Things I forgot to mention in this review:
There are three types of unicorns: slow, faster, and fastest, the latter
having the ability to multiply if not destroyed promptly. Mid-level
unicorns may be hammered through the floor, but they will be raised up
one level in power. Highest level unicorns may not be hammered through
the floor.
One platform in each level has a skull tile at either end. If both
skulls are hit, the entire floor will go down, as will any enemy trapped
between those tiles.
The diamond is present in the arcade version.
Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride
Unlike the other three Do! games, there is much difference in opinion
regarding Wild Ride. Matt Lewandowski tells me it was his favorite in
the series, Jess Ragan says it was definitely the worst and an overall
terrible game. I played it only once, and I remember it being not as
good as the other Do! games, but not terrible either.
From Matt Lewandowski's description of Wild Ride in "Video Magic" #120 in
addition to letters from both Matt and Jess, here's what I've compiled.
Mr. Do!'s scenario is a roller coaster, and the object is to
reach the top. As the cars (and eventually other objects) speed around
the track, you must escape by using a super speed button, or by climbing
up small ladders scattered about the track. Two icons at the end of the
level range from cakes to EXTRA letters or diamonds change upon
collecting cherries at the top of each letter. The game is timed, and
the timer ticks faster when the super speed button is depressed.
First screen: basic roller coaster
second: Large bobbing pirate ship
third: Elevators
fourth: large bowling balls fly around track
fifth: carousel intersects coaster
sixth: elevators in circular paths
Do! Run Run
I've never seen this game, but I have many screen shots from back issues
of RePlay magazine and descriptions from Lee Taylor, Dave Giarrusso, and
Jess Ragan, I have a very good idea of how this one played. Also,
everybody to whom I've spoken about this game has nothing but good things
to say about it. Lee, Dave, Jess, and several arcade dealers are all
unanimous in their accolade of Do! Run Run.
This information was compiled from the aforementioned sources:
The fourth and final game in the Mr. Do! series had our clown
protagonist in a three-dimensional, multi-leveled playing field with dots
evenly configured around the board and two strategically located logs at
the edge of one of the higher levels. When the player walks around the
dots, a line is drawn around them. Once the line is completed and the
dots have been boxed, they become cherries.
The alphamonsters are back this time, as are several other
monsters including snakes, evil pac-man looking creatures, and possibly a
green slimy blob as well. The blue chompers have been replaced by little
triangular enemies which vaguely resemble wind-up mice.
Mr. Do! has his powerball back, this time flying straight, and
the logs may be used to crush enemies, similar to the apples in the first
game. Again, the diamond will randomly appear, rewarding the player with
an extra credit.
Here is a brief description from an ad for the game in the November 1984
issue of RePlay:
Do! Run Run
...and better than ever in the new game, Do! Run! Run! You run for your
life as you're pursued around a 3-dimensional playing field, Up and down
the stairs you race - just one step ahead of danger. A sizzling snake
whizzes past and cuts off your escape! Quickly you throw your powerball
and run as more snakes approach, rocketing balls of flame. No time to
get another powerball. Hurry! Roll the log and let it crush everything
in its path. More monsters appear! How will you ever escape?! Non-stop
action is in store for you in the latest Mr. Do! adventure from
Universal. You'll be breathless every time you play Do! Run! Run!
The ad has three screen shots over a photograph of a cute stuffed
clown sitting at the top of three steps. The levels are filled with
different colored balls, and masking tape on the floor draws a box around
some of the balls.
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3. Descriptions of the characters, levels, settings, intermissions, etc.
Badguys: look like wild eyed red dinosaurs
Diggers: resemble ugly gila monsters
Alphamonsters: Friendly looking monsters with no remarkable features
They have two eyes on top and a letter on their
chest.
Blue Chompers: Very similar in appearance to the ghosts in all the
Pac-Man games.
Unicorns: Badguys with horns.
Snakes: well, they're snakes...
Evil Pac-Men: green in color and have two yellow stalks that are
most likely eyes. They've also got large mouths
with two vampirish front teeth
The level configurations for the first game have very distinct
shapes. There is always a pre-made path, and it always says something,
usually the number of the level you're on. For example, levels 2 through
9 have their corresponding letter written into the path. The first level
has a period and a capital D, the tenth a zero with a line drawn through
it.
Every three levels a close up is shown with an Alphamonster and
Digger running away from Do!, who is pushing an apple. Simultaneously
the time in which each of the previous levels were completed is
displayed, as is the way they were defeated, represented by a badguy
(killing all enemies), alphamonster (spelling EXTRA), cherry (collecting
all of them), or diamond.
Another kind of intermission occurs when EXTRA is spelled. The
level is automatically completed and we see a close up of Mr. Do! hitting
a helpless badguy with a powerball, who then waves a white flag while the
powerball reappears in the form of an extra 1up in the life register with
the message, "Congratulations! You win EXTRA Mr. Do!" appearing on the
screen.
The third intermission is shown when a diamond is collected.
"Congratulations! You win special. One more game," is the text
accompanying another close up of Do! doing a one-handed handstand on a
huge diamond. The clown then drops a coin with a skull on it to the
bottom of the screen.
As for intermissions for the others, I can't say because I don't
know exactly what they were. All games had intermissions for the diamond
and extra. All game had attract modes as well.
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4. What home versions are available?
Mr. Do! is available for 2600, ColecoVision, C-64, Atari 800
disk, Game Boy, and most recently Super Famicom. I loved the 800
version, the Game Boy version is OK but is hurt greatly by the scrolling
of the screen, but the Super Famicom version is hands down the best.
With the exception of Williams Arcade Classics for PC, this is arguably
the closest arcade to home translation I've seen. Additionally, it has
adjustable difficulty levels and a battle mode, which has enhanced
graphics and allows two-player competitive play.
Mr. Do!'s Castle is available for 2600 (butchered almost beyond
recognition), 5200, ColecoVision, C-64, and Atari 800 cartridge. The
best one I've played is the ColecoVision version as it has better
graphics and sound than the 5200's. But the 5200 version definitely
isn't bad. I'd be willing to bet that the Atari 800 version is very
similar if not identical to its 5200 counterpart.
Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride exists for C-64 and has the first, third, and
fifth levels from the arcade only.
Do! Run Run was (to my knowledge) never released for a home system.
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5. Recurring items in each game
All Do! games have
cherries
an EXTRA system
a diamond
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6. Was there a fifth game?
No, but it was planned. Universal released one animated
laserdisc game called "Super Don Quixote," which I never saw. They had
planned to release several games on laserdisc, among them was "Adventure
Mr. Do!". I can only assume that Universal went belly-up shortly after
their first laser game was released, and that killed any chance of the
fifth Do! game ever seeing the light of day. This is a real tragedy for
me, as Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II are two of my favorite arcade
games. I can only imagine what a fully animated Do! game would have been
like.
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7. Trivia
There is a version of Mr. Do!'s Castle without cherries on the tiles.
The Asian version of Castle is called "Mr. Do vs. the Unicorns".
The music from the original if from a famous classical piece (the can
can, I think).
Mr. Do! appears different on screen from the intermissions.
The Game Boy cover art looks nothing like the classical renditions of the
clown.
Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride may be an homage to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, an
attraction at Disneyland.
There is some debate surrounding the titles for the games. I've seen the
second called "Mr. Do!'s Castle" and "Mr. Do's Castle". Similarly the
third game may be "Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride," "Mr. Do!'s Wildride," "Mr. Do's
Wild Ride," or "Mr. Do's Wildride". The last is even more confusing as
it calls the game "Do! Run Run" in the logo but "Do! Run! Run!" in the
description.
The final treat in the original is quite interesting:
A list of treats in Mr. Do! (arcade arcade and Super Famicom)
Scene Treat
------ ------
1 Cherry cake slice
2 graham crackers
3 Bowl w/cherries
4 Ice Cream sundae
5 Cheeseburger
6 "
7 Green and white cake (lime?)
8 "
9 Waffle
10 "
11 Sandwich, cut diagonally
12 "
13 Milk bottle
14 "
15 "
16 Fried eggs
17 "
18 "
19 Pancakes
20 "
21 "
22 Cocktail (might be a margarita or martini or similar, but
definitely an alcoholic beverage of some sort)
List of treats in Game Boy Mr. Do!
Scene Treat
------ ------
1 Cherry cake slice
2 Graham crackers
3 Fried egg
4 Sundae
5 Cheeseburger
6 Banana
7 Muffin
8 Game Boy
9 Cookie
10 Phone
11 Milk Bottle
12 Carrot
13 Fish
14 Drumstick
15 Umbrella
16 Boot
17 (repeat level 1)
List of treats for Mr. Do!'s Wild Ride
Treat Point value
----- ------------
Sundae 100
Cocktail 200
Umbrella 300
sword 400
money bag 500
trophy 600
EXTRA letter 500
diamond 10,000
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