Platform: ColecoVision

Developer: Universal

Publisher: Coleco

Release Date (NA): 1983

Genre: Arcade

Nerd Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Mr. Do!

I love Mr. Do!

Why? I don’t know!

When I was 11 years old, my cousin introduced me to the wondrous world of MAME. This exposure allowed me to experience countless arcade classics – some that might fly under the radar of those who are not arcade enthusiasts – like Crystal Castles, Crazy Climber, Congo Bongo, and of course the subject of this piece: Mr. Do!

Though I’m not a fan of clowns, something about this game series enticed me. I often played Do Run Run, and of course I occasionally played Mr. Do’s Castle and the original. What was the allure of this kooky game?

To be honest, I’m not sure I ever played it enough to articulate my opinion, but since it’s Retroary, what better time than now to revisit this gem!

While Mr. Do! may not be remembered in the same way as Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Frogger, Q-Bert, and the like, it’s definitely a classic. A cute little title that plays kind of like a cross between Pac-Man and Dig Dug, but with enough of its own personality to set it apart from those heavyweights, you’d better believe Mr. Do! is worth checking out.

You play as a spunky clown who mows a path through a field collecting cherries and fighting off monsters. It’s about as simple as that. You burrow like the hero in Dig Dug, but your objective is to either gather all the cherries on screen – like the pellets in Pac-Man – or kill every enemy. Collecting the cherries is by far the easier option, and thus will likely be your go-to strategy, whereas total bad guy annihilation is definitely the more enjoyable way to go. Gameplay is fairly straightforward but oddly charming in its early 80s aesthetic.

Mr. Do! employs some interesting mechanics that offer the player strategic options you might not expect from a game of its time – or at least options I didn’t expect.

Second-generation console gaming isn’t necessarily in my wheelhouse, just so you know.

Anyway

As you dig, you’ll create intricate tunnels, which can work to your advantage as a way of keeping your quick opponents at more of a distance since most are unable to burrow like you. They can, however, transform into Diggers (who of course dig) if they become fed up with the chase, but they revert to their original form after a few seconds or so.

The tunnel system also works well with Mr. Do’s projectile weapon, which is a ball that bounces off of walls. As such, you can fire this ball and it will ricochet all throughout the corridors you created until it either A.) strikes down an enemy or B.) returns to its sender (i.e. you). If the ball hits one of the baddies, you’ll have to wait until Mr. Do can create another one. And it seems to be the more you fire off, the longer it takes for him to…well, think of it like nutting. The more you do it, the greater the duration of your next session…if you catch my drift.

Another element at play here is the placement of apples throughout each stage. These apples (like the boulders in Dig Dug) serve one purpose: to kill. If you dig underneath, the flimsy ground will give and the apple will fall down, potentially crushing an enemy or the charismatic pixel pattern that is Mr. Do. Time it just right, and you get the former. Time it just wrong, you get the latter. You can also nudge these apples to reposition them or push them off a ledge if you see an enemy whose face you just don’t like. After an apple falls and breaks, there might be a diamond hidden inside, which will earn you a nice chunk of points and move you to the next stage. And what’s neat about Mr. Do! is the baddies are hip to this whole apple game. They will sometimes push the deadly fruit in an attempt to crush you.

Payback is a bitch, ain’t it?

I have to give the developers credit for adding a little pushback to the AI.

You have four difficulty settings to choose from on the title screen with single player and two-player options, which was a common setup back then and I believe a standard for all ColecoVision games. Perhaps I’ll verify this later. Of course, if you’re reading all of this, that means I couldn’t be bothered to pop in a bunch of ColecoVision carts to confirm, which really reflects poorly on me as a reviewer if this is the case.

Oh, who am I kidding? You know me. I know me. I won’t do it.

Anyway, the first setting is a bit too easy for my liking, which is to be expected. It took about seven or eight stages for this mode to pose any sort of threat to my skillset.

When a simple arcade title has such a difficulty curve, it can emphasize the repetitive nature of the game. This is why you’ll likely want to start on either 3 or 4. When you play Mr. Do! on a more difficult setting, you can really enjoy what it has to offer. Of course, I had the distinct pleasure of playing the actual arcade cabinet recently, and I will say compared to the original, this is significantly easier.  It’s a good thing too because it was almost impossible to make any progress on the original – or at least it was on the machine I played.  So while the easiest setting may be too easy, I can’t complain that much because it’s better than being unable to move past the first stage.

As you advance, the enemies become so fast they can outrun you, making Mr. Do! significantly more challenging.

There is a bonus that makes the game harder, and thus more fun. The word “EXTRA” can be seen on top of the screen, with an “Alphamonster” moving from one letter to another. After all the enemies have cleared away from their spot, there will be a treat you can grab. If you grab the treat while the Alphamonster hovers over a letter you already have, it’ll simply freeze all the enemies on screen for a short while. Grab it while he’s hovering over a letter you don’t have and Blue Chompers, who can chomp through the ground, are unleashed along with the Alphamonster. Touch any of them and you’re dead. Kill the Alphamonster and its letter becomes yours. Collect all letters and you win an extra life and move on to the next stage.

While this added incentive gives the player more to wrestle with, I will say a lot of the difficulty comes from wrestling with the shoddy ColecoVision controllers. Surprisingly, I have one standard paddle that works fine, allowing me what could be a rare opportunity to enjoy an uninhibited experience with Mr. Do! for this particular system. I also have a Super Action™ Controller (yes, it really is trademarked), which I assumed would work better, but it does not.

Spotty ColecoVision pads aside, the controls are okay – not the most responsive, but not terrible either. When you find a working paddle you’ll still feel like something’s not quite right – as if you have to push the stick aggressively in the direction you want to go, which can be uncomfortable and feel like you’re gonna wind up with another dud controller at any second. The stiffness will make it impossible to turn around and quickly fire your ball at an enemy approaching from behind. Though it’s a little inconvenient, you should be okay so long as you get used to the awkward paddle.

The control pad does not reflect on the game itself, but I have to weigh it as a mark against this particular port because if the system’s controllers are generally not good then this may not be the best way to play Mr. Do!. And I’ve gone through at least six standard paddles; it’s hard to find one that works well. In order for anyone to objectively get the most out of a game, I believe uninhibited controls are important.

As far as looks are concerned, the visuals are alright for its time. I find it difficult, and perhaps inappropriate, to be critical of the graphics in a game from this generation, though I will admit, the overall layout and color scheme are pleasing to the eye. Mr. Do is essentially a nondescript block pattern, but detailed enough for you to at least extrapolate a clown from the pixels you see. Since you can distinguish the elements on screen pretty clearly, I’d have to say it probably ranks on the higher end of average compared to its contemporaries. Regardless, I believe your enjoyment of the visuals will heavily depend on your history with that era of gaming.

Like the graphics, I think the sounds are going to appeal to a particular audience. Even so, I find it would be hard not to feel your spirits lifted when hearing those cheerful tunes dancing out your speakers.

The music and tones of this game are light and playful. While the sound chip is not the most advanced, producing simple and repetitive loops, everything you hear is inoffensive. It never feels annoying or irritating to me because it’s so innocent and fun. It sets the mood perfectly for this fanciful world. Though we are not treated to the Can Can that scores the original arcade game, the track for the ColecoVision port is just as enjoyable, if not better.

So, after having the opportunity to play Mr. Do! seriously, and with a number of attempts under my belt, I feel it’s safe to say my fondness for this quirky title is deserved. It’s a fun arcade game with enough of a unique take to stand on its own. The ColecoVision version feels rather decent despite the controllers, with nice sounds and graphics that are what they are for the time. And though the Coleco control pad may not be ideal, it’s not bad enough to ruin the other merits this port has earned.

With all that said, I can safely say this is a welcome part of my collection, and I would gladly enjoy an afternoon of competing for the high score with a friend.