History
Mr. Do! was released in 1982 by Universal and quickly became one of the most popular arcade games of its era. Designed by Kazutoshi Ueda, it drew comparisons to Namco's Dig Dug but carved out its own identity with deeper mechanics and multiple ways to complete each level.
The game was notable for its vibrant colour palette, charming character design, and the strategic depth offered by the EXTRA letter system — a mechanic that rewarded skilful play with extra lives and gave every encounter with an alpha monster a risk-reward tension.
Mr. Do! was a massive commercial success, spawning three arcade sequels: Mr. Do's Castle (1983), Mr. Do's Wild Ride (1984), and Do! Run Run (1984). The original was ported to nearly every home platform of the era and remains a beloved classic among retro gaming enthusiasts.
Objectives
Each level can be completed in three ways — you only need to achieve one:
- Collect all cherries — gather every cherry on the field
- Kill all enemies — eliminate every enemy using your ball or apples
- Spell EXTRA — collect all five letters from alpha monsters to earn an extra life and clear the level
Controls
Keyboard
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Arrow Keys or WASD | Move / dig through dirt |
| Space or Z | Throw ball |
| Enter | Confirm (high score entry) |
Touch (Mobile)
- D-pad (bottom-left): Movement
- Fire button (bottom-right): Throw ball
Your Ball
Your primary weapon. Press Space/Z to throw it in the direction you're facing.
- Bounces off walls and dirt (up to 14 bounces)
- Kills any enemy it touches
- Returns to you after hitting an enemy or running out of bounces
- Regeneration delay increases with each throw — use it wisely
Cherries
Pink collectibles found in groups of 8 scattered around each level.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Collect one cherry | 50 |
| Collect a full group of 8 | 500 bonus |
Apples
Green hazards that can be used as weapons. Dig the dirt beneath them and they wobble and fall, crushing enemies underneath for big points. Be careful — falling apples kill you too.
| Enemies Crushed | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,000 |
| 2 | 2,000 |
| 3 | 4,000 |
| 4 | 6,000 |
| 5+ | 8,000 |
Enemies
- Standard enemies — chase you through tunnels using pathfinding
- Diggers — standard enemies transform into diggers after ~18 seconds; these can carve through dirt to reach you
- Alpha monsters — yellow enemies that appear at every 5,000 points, carrying one letter of EXTRA. Kill them with your ball to collect the letter. Worth 1,000 points.
EXTRA Letters
A rotating letter display at the top of the screen cycles through E-X-T-R-A. Collect all five letters from alpha monsters to earn an extra life and clear the level.
Levels
The game has 8 unique level layouts that cycle, each with a different dirt colour theme (green, brown, blue, purple, gold, crimson, teal, olive). Difficulty increases with each level — enemies get faster and more numerous.